Dao De Jing

41. Following

When the great man learns the Way, he follows it with diligence;

When the common man learns the Way, he follows it on occasion;

When the mean man learns the Way, he laughs out loud;

Those who do not laugh, do not learn at all.

Therefore it is said:

Who understands the Way seems foolish;

Who progresses on the Way seems to fail;

Who follows the Way seems to wander.

For the finest harmony appears plain;

The brightest truth appears coloured;

The richest character appears incomplete;

The bravest heart appears meek;

The simplest nature appears inconstant.

The square, perfected, has no corner;

Music, perfected, has no melody;

Love, perfected, has no climax;

Art, perfected, has no meaning.

The Way can be neither sensed nor known:

It transmits sensation and transcends knowledge.