Chapter 76 · The Soft and the Strong

Tao Te Ching (Legge, 1891) · chapter title added by Learn the Dao

Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered. Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death; softness and weakness, the concomitants of life. Hence he who (relies on) the strength of his forces does not conquer; and a tree which is strong will fill the out-stretched arms, (and thereby invites the feller.) Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above.

Soft and Bending Keeps Company With Life

Dao De Kooi — an original rendering by David Kooi

Alive, a body is soft and bends. Dead, it's stiff and hard. Plants the same - green and supple while they're living, dry and brittle once they're gone. So hard and stiff keeps company with death, and soft and bending keeps company with life. That's why a rigid army loses and a rigid tree gets snapped. The big and stiff ends up on the bottom. The soft and yielding ends up on top.

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