Lao Tzu quotes

• A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
• A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.
• An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.
• Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
• Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
• By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.
• Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
• He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.
• He who talks more is sooner exhausted.
• Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.
• I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
• If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
• If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.
• In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.
• It is better to do one's own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins.
• Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
• Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.
• Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
• Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.
• Silence is a source of great strength.
• The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
• To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
• Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
• When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
• When right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder.
• When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

Marie Curie

• There are sadistic scientists who hurry to hunt down errors instead of establishing the truth.

Albert Einstein

• Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.
• Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.
• The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
• If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
• Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.

Benjamin Disraeli

• Justice is truth in action.

JH again

"... We need to build a sense of responsibility, a sense of pride.
We need to be ashamed to check in careless changes.
Careful code needs lots of thinking, lots of tinkering with the fix,
doing a few things with it that are a bit on the periphery,
just to make sure. Don't commit until you are comfortable with it,
until the little nagging doubts are gone.
The pressure to chalk up the next commit suppresses all that quality
time you could spend with your code.
The result is loose ends, one fix/two breaks, etc."