Tao Te Ching 32 (67)

   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 have long since become a trifle.

        I have always three treasures
            that I guard and cherish,
        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!

For compassion
         In war brings victory,
         In defense brings invulnerability.

        Whomsoever heaven would establish,
        It surrounds with a bulwark of compassion.