“People are submissive to power, and few of them can be influenced by doctrines of righteousness.”

In dealing with those who share his bed, the enlightened ruler may enjoy their beauty but should not listen to their special pleas.

The way is the beginning of all beings and the measure of right and wrong.

No benefit is more constant than simplicity; no happiness more constant than peace.

People at present think that five sons are not too many and each son has five sons also, and before the death of the grandfather there are already 25 descendants. Therefore people are more and wealth Is less; they work hard and receive little.

It is not difficult to know a thing; what is difficult is to know how to use what you know.

He who claims to be sure of something for which there is no evidence is a fool, and he who acts on the basis of what cannot be proved is an imposter.

It is dangerous for a ruler to trust others. He who trusts others can be manipulated by others.

Claiming certainty without corroborating evidence is stupid.

He stares at me, and I don’t look away. He isn’t a dog, but the same rules apply. Looking away is submissive.

In slave times the Negro was kept subservient and submissive by the frequency and severity of the scourging, but, with freedom, a new system of intimidation came into vogue; the Negro was not only whipped and scourged; he was killed.

Mothers cannot pray with authority for their children when they have no submissive spirit to their own husbands.

Submissive, sure, but someone who wants it all the same.