Prevention of Dao

What is stable is easy to hold. What has not yet shown signs is easy to plan for. What is fragile is easy to break. What is tiny is easy to scatter. Deal with things before they arise. Put things in order before disorder begins. A tree so large you can wrap your arms around it grows from a tiny sprout. A nine-story tower rises from a heap of earth. A journey of a thousand miles begins from the first step under your feet. If you force things, you ruin them. If you clutch them tightly, you lose them. So the sage does not force, and therefore does not fail. He does not clutch, and therefore does not lose. People often fail just when they are about to succeed. If you are as careful at the end as at the beginning, you will not ruin your work. So the sage seeks what others do not seek. He does not prize rare treasures. He learns what others are unwilling to learn. He remedies the mistakes people commonly make. He helps all things develop naturally, and does not dare to act by force.