Chapter 81

Truthful words are not pretty; pretty words are not truthful. Those skilled in the Tao do not argue about it; those who argue are not skilled in it. Those who know the Tao are not broadly learned; the broadly learned do not know it.

The sage does not hoard. The more he spends on others, the more he has for himself; the more he gives to others, the more he gains.

The Way of Heaven, for all its sharpness, does no harm; the way of the sage, for all his action, does not contend.