Heroism has two faces:
Courage with caution may conserve life.
But feats of foolhardiness foster death.
Bravery can help, or it can hurt,
And it’s not always easy to anticipate the outcome.
Even the sages recognize the difficulty and danger in this.
Tao does not contend,
Yet it conquers.
It does not speak,
And yet it answers.
It does not summon,
And yet it receives.
Though it slacks, it succeeds.
Its web is porous,
And yet nothing falls from its embrace.
You may order or download The Tao Te Ching here.
List of verses here