Sacred Texts Taoism Index
1st ed.
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A great state is like the current of a river; it is always flowing down the lower valleys. There is a bond of unity, also, in a great state that draws its people together, like the attraction of male to female.
The female wins the favor of a male by her quietude and quietude is always submissive. Thus a great state by its service to smaller states wins their allegiance. A smaller state by its submission to a great state wins an influence over it. Thus one wins by condescension, and the other by submission, and their interests are mutually conserved.
The great state likes to federate more states and have more people; the small state to guard its safety is willing to submit to the greater and enter its federation. Each by the same procedure gains its particular
end. So it is a good policy for a great state to lead the way by itself first practicing humility.