Verse.........................

        All under heaven say that I am great,
           great but unconventional.

Now, 
        precisely because I am unconventional.
          I can be great;
        If I were conventional,
          I would long since have become a trifle.

        I have always possessed three treasures
          that I guard and treasure.
        The first is compassion.
        The second is frugality.
        The third is not daring to be ahead of all under heaven.

Now,
        Because I am compassionate,
          I can be brave;
        Because I am frugal,
          I can be magnanimous;
        Because I dare not be ahead of all under heaven.
          I can be a leader in the completion of affairs.

If, today, I were to
        Be courageous while forsaking compassion,
        Be magnanimous while forsaking frugality,
        Get ahead while forsaking the hindmost,
          that would be death!

-Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu
Chapter 67