If My Mind Be Not Engaged In

The Ideal Teacher Guides His Students But Does Not Pull Them Along; He Urges Them To Go Forward And Does Not Suppress Them; He Opens The Way But Does Not Take Them To The Place.

There Are 3 Elements Essential In The Matters Of The State, Food, Military Equipment, And Confidence Of The People In The Ruler. Of These 3, Military Equipment Is The Least Important, Food Being The 2nd Important, And Confidence Of The People Being The Most Important. All Men Rather Die Of Starvation Than In War, But Nevertheless All Men Do Die Of Old Age. Lacking In Confidence From The People, A State Cannot Survive.

As In The Case Of Making A Mound, If, Before The Very Last Basketful, I Stop, Then I Shall Have Stopped. As In The Case Of Leveling The Ground, If, Though Tipping Only One Basketful, I Am Going Forward, Then I Shall Be Making Progress.

If There Were An Honorable Way To Get Rich, I’d Do It, Even If It Meant Being A Stooge Standing Around With A Whip. But There Isn’t An Honorable Way, So I Just Do What I Like.

Some Are Born With Knowledge, Some Derive It From Study, And Some Acquire It Only After A Painful Realization Of Their Ignorance. But The Knowledge Being Possessed, It Comes To The Same Thing. Some Study With A Natural Ease, Some From A Desire For Advantages, And Some By Strenuous Effort. But The Achievement Being Made, It Comes To The Same Thing.