<span class="chinese-post-title">三十六 </span> Chapter 36 from the <span class="chinese-post-title">道德經</span> Dào​dé​jīng

三十六

將欲歙之，必固張之。
將欲弱之，必固強之。
將欲廢之，必固興之。
將欲奪之，必固與之。
是謂微明。
柔弱勝剛強。
魚不可脫於淵，
國之利器，不可以示人。

老子

"When one is about to take an inspiration, he is sure to make a (previous) expiration;
when he is going to weaken another, he will first strengthen him;
when he is going to overthrow another, he will first have raised him up;
when he is going to despoil another, he will first have made gifts to him.
This is called 'Hiding the light.'
The soft overcomes the hard; and the weak the strong.
Fishes should not be taken from the deep; instruments for the profit of a state should not be shown to the people."

Unless noted otherwise, all quotations of classical texts and accompanying translations come from the Chinese Text Project