Practice no-action; Attend to do-nothing; Taste the flavorless, Magnify the small, Multiply the few, Return love for hate.
Deal with the difficult while it is yet easy; Deal with the great while it is yet small;
The difficult develops naturally from the easy, And the great from the small; So the sage, by dealing with the small, Achieves the great.
Who finds it easy to promise finds it hard to be trusted; Who takes things lightly finds things difficult; The sage recognizes difficulty, and so has none.
Attend to do-nothing;
Taste the flavorless,
Magnify the small,
Multiply the few,
Return love for hate.
Deal with the difficult while it is yet easy;
Deal with the great while it is yet small;
The difficult develops naturally from the easy,
And the great from the small;
So the sage, by dealing with the small,
Achieves the great.
Who finds it easy to promise finds it hard to be trusted;
Who takes things lightly finds things difficult;
The sage recognizes difficulty, and so has none.