Laozi: "Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few..."

About Laozi

Laozi (variously spelled; , low-TSUH; Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ) is the name traditionally given to an ancient Chinese philosopher, also identified as Li Er or Lao Dan, who is regarded as the author or originating teacher associated with the Tao Te Ching (Pinyin: Dào Dé Jīng), one of the foundational...

More quotations from Laozi

Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied.

—Laozi

desire

He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire.

—Laozi

body

Silence is a source of great strength.

—Laozi

strength silence

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

—Laozi

Nature is not human hearted.

—Laozi

humanity heart nature

More quotations tagged with “desire”

Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied.

—Laozi

desire

If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.

—Henry George

desire

There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it.

—George Washington

desire

While we don't have much say over the desires that we have, we certainly can decide which we prefer-and then search for ways to act on that basis.

—George Bernard Shaw

desire

He who desires is always poor.

—Claudianus

poverty desire

History

11 Jul 2015 Added
15 Jun 2018 Edited (details weren’t recorded yet)
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.

Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires.

About Laozi

More quotations from Laozi

More quotations tagged with “desire”

History

Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.