78 天下莫柔弱於水

老子道德經第七十八章

天下莫柔弱於水
而攻堅強者莫之能勝 　
以其無以易之

弱之勝強　柔之勝剛
天下莫不知　莫能行

是以聖人云
受國之垢　是謂社稷主
受國不祥　是為天下王
（正言若反）

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SEVENTY-EIGHT (Feng)

Under heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water.
Yet for attacking the solid and strong, nothing is better;
It has no equal.
The weak can overcome the strong;
The supple can overcome the stiff.
Under heaven everyone knows this,
Yet no one puts it into practice.
Therefore the sage says:
He who takes upon himself the humiliation of the people
is fit to rule them.
He who takes upon himself the country's disasters deserves
to be king of the universe.
The truth often sounds paradoxical.

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78.

Nothing is as soft and weak as water.
Yet nothing is better in destroying the firm and strong.
Because there's nothing like water.

The weak overcomes the strong;
The soft overcomes the firm;
This is just common sense,
Yet no one knows how to apply it to life.

Therefore, the Master says,
Be willing to take in shame and humiliation,
And be ready to act upon adversity and calamity,
Then you will become a master of the universe.