Top 500 Laozi Quotes (2026 Update)
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401. “The True Person benefits yet expects no reward, does the work and moves on. There is no desire to be considered better than others.”

— Laozi

402. “I have three treasures which I hold and keep. The first is mercy; the second is economy. The third is daring not to be ahead of others. From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generosity; From humility comes leadership.”

— Laozi

403. “Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor’s son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief and spoke like a thief. But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor’s son, the boy walked, looked and spoke like any other child.”

— Laozi

404. “Knowing the future is the flower of the Way, and the beginning of folly.”

— Laozi

405. “Be humble and you will remain entire. The sages do not display themselves, therefore they shine. They do not approve themselves, therefore they are noted. They do not praise themselves, therefore they have merit. They do not glory in themselves, therefore they excel.”

— Laozi

406. “Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.”

— Laozi

407. “Know honor, Yet keep humility. Be the valley of the universe! Being the valley of the universe, Ever true and resourceful, Return to the state of the uncarved block.”

— Laozi

408. “My teachings are easy to understand and easy to put into practice. Yet your intellect will never grasp them, and if you try to practice them, you’ll fail. My teachings are older than the world. How can you grasp their meaning? If you want to know me, look inside your heart.”

— Laozi

409. “Who can wait in stillness while the mud settles?”

— Laozi

410. “A whale out of water is over-run by ants.”

— Laozi

411. “Those who are quiet value the words. When their task is completed, people will say: We did it ourselves.”

— Laozi

412. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants. A good scientist has freed himself of concepts and keeps his mind open to what is.”

— Laozi

413. “True words are not fancy. Fancy words are not true. The good do not debate. Debaters are not good.”

— Laozi

414. “Things exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end.”

— Laozi

415. “I do not concern myself with gods and spirits either good or evil nor do I serve any.”

— Laozi

416. “The sage desires no desire, does not value rare treasures, learns without learning, recovers what people have left behind.”

— Laozi

417. “Good Government is not intrusive the people are hardly aware of it; the next best is felt yet loved; then comes that which is known and feared; the worst government is hated.”

— Laozi

418. “We go from birth to death. Three out of ten follow life. Three out of ten follow death. People who rush from birth to death are also three out of ten. Why is that so? Because they want to make too much of life.”

— Laozi

419. “The hard and stiff are death’s companions. The soft and weak are life’s companions.”

— Laozi

420. “Heavy is the root of light.”

— Laozi

421. “Heaven’s Way gives no favors. It always remains with good people.”

— Laozi

422. “Warriors say: I dare not be like the host, but would rather be like the guest. I dare not advance an inch, but would rather retreat a foot.”

— Laozi

423. “Return animosity with virtue.”

— Laozi

424. “Those who are one with deprivation are deprived of deprivation.”

— Laozi

425. “He who talks more is sooner exhausted.”

— Laozi

426. “Filling all the way to the brim is not as good as halting in time.”

— Laozi

427. “Moderation means prevention. Prevention means achieving much virtue.”

— Laozi

428. “The forceful and violent will not die from natural causes.”

— Laozi

429. “Can you gather your vital breath and yet be tender like a newborn baby?”

— Laozi

430. “What is well rooted cannot be pulled up. What is firmly grasped will not slip loose. It will be honoured from generation to generation.”

— Laozi

431. “To manage your mind, know that there is nothing, and then relinquish all attachment to nothingness.”

— Laozi

432. “Those who praise victory relish manslaughter. Those who relish manslaughter cannot reach their goals in the world.”

— Laozi

433. “Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you.”

— Laozi

434. “The greatest teacher has nothing to say. He simply gives himself in service, and never worries.”

— Laozi

435. “The one who rules like the mother lasts long.”

— Laozi

436. “The sage seeks freedom from desire. He does not collect precious things. He learns not to hold on to ideas. He brings men back to what they have lost.”

— Laozi

437. “Be merciful, moderate, and modest.”

— Laozi

438. “No misfortune is worse than underestimating the enemy. Underestimating the enemy, I risk losing my treasure.”

— Laozi

439. “If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.”

— Laozi

440. “There is no greater mistake than to make light of an enemy By making light of an enemy many a kingdom has been lost.”

— Laozi

441. “True words seem false.”

— Laozi

442. “The value comes from what is there, but the use comes from what is not there.”

— Laozi

443. “Keeping plenty of gold and jade in the palace makes no one able to defend it.”

— Laozi

444. “Thus it is that “Some things are increased by being diminished, others are diminished by being increased.” What others have taught, I also teach; verily, I will make it the root of my teaching.”

— Laozi

445. “Observe how endings become beginnings.”

— Laozi

446. “The best form of leadership is to be conscious of the leadership potential with the followers and to let them unleash this potential in a spontaneous way. When a great leader accomplishes this task with effortless ease, the followers say, “We did it ourselves.””

— Laozi

447. “By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time, but by virtue of love and kindness he may rule the world forever.”

— Laozi

448. “Do not strive for the shine of jade, but clatter like stone.”

— Laozi

449. “When the Way is lost there is virtue. When virtue is lost there is benevolence. When benevolence is lost there is righteousness. When righteousness is lost there are rituals.”

— Laozi

450. “Highest good is like water. Because water excels in benefiting the myriad creatures without contending with them and settles where none would like to be, it comes closest to the way.”

— Laozi