"When a country obtains great power,
it becomes like the sea:
All streams run downward into it.
The more powerful it grows,
The greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Way,
thus never needing to be defensive.

A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He consideres those who point out his faults as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy,
as the shadow that he himself casts.

If a nation is centered in the Way,
if it nourishes its own people
and doesn't meddle in the affairs of others,
it will be a light to all nations in the world."