Weakness triumphs over rigidity

Nothing in the world is softer or weaker than water. Yet when it comes to attacking what is hard and strong, nothing can surpass it, and nothing can take its place. The weak can overcome the strong. The soft can overcome the hard. Everyone in the world knows this, but no one can put it into practice. That is why the sage says: Only one who can bear a country’s disgrace deserves to be its ruler; only one who can bear a country’s calamities deserves to be king of the world. True words often sound like their opposite.