nj, clovek se snazi vyorat na tom svete svoji brazdu, a hned je pro smich

GNU, n. An animal of South Africa, which in its domesticated state
resembles a horse, a buffalo and a stag. In its wild condition it is
something like a thunderbolt, an earthquake and a cyclone. -- A. Pierce

Science Advances One Funeral At A Time. -- Max Planck

"Measuring programming progress by lines of code is like measuring aircraft building progress by weight."
- Bill Gates

"Sometimes it pays to stay in bed on Monday, rather than spending the rest of the week debugging Monday's code." - Christopher Thompson

"If McDonalds were run like a software company, one out of every hundred Big Macs would give you food poisoning, and the response would be, 'We're sorry, here's a coupon for two more.'"
- Mark Minasi

"Learning to program has no more to do with designing interactive software than learning to touch type has to do with writing poetry"
- Ted Nelson

"A good programmer looks both ways before crossing a one-way street."

A programmer is a person who reasonably expects the first 90% of a project to take 90% of their time and the other 10% of the project to take the other 90% of their time

Dalekohlad (n): zariadenie majuce podobny vstah k oku, aky ma telefon k uchu, umoznuje, aby nas vzdialene objekty unavovali mnozstvom nepotrebnych detailov.

The lesson is: never try. - Homer Simpson

Sayings as related to Safe Living March 31, 2006
Compiled by Henry Shovic

* The important things are always simple.
* The simple things are always hard.
* Focus on nothing but see everything,
* What you believe is what you'll achieve
* What do you bring to a knife fight? A gun.
* What do you bring to a gun fight. Two friends with guns.
* Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
* Never leave your wingman.
* Always remember your jet was made by the lowest bidder.
* Train like you plan to fight.
* Always honor a threat.
* If something makes you look up, look down.
* Trust, but verify.
* Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. Special Olympics
* Know the opposition.
* Good Fences make good neighbors.
* If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
* Know when it's time to get out of Dodge.
* Always know how to get out of Dodge.
* If you make it through, it's up to you.
* Tough times don't last, tough people do.
* Don't let anyone ruin three minutes of your day.
* United we stand, divided we fall
* Beware you who fight with monsters, lest ye become one.
* When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back into you.
* The more thou sweatest in training, the lest thou bleedest in combat.
* Indeed, if thou hurteth in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou are Doing It Right.
* Thou shalt remember there are no rules- Thou Shalt win at any cost.
* Thou Shalt Keep it Simple, Stupid.
* Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
* Watch their hands. Hands kill.
* Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement is preferred.)
* Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
* Pigs get fed; hogs get slaughtered.
* If you dance with a grizzly bear, you'd better let him lead. (The law of volunteering.)
* When putting cheese in the mousetrap, always leave room for the mouse. (The law of avoiding oversell.)
* The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets. (The know-when-to-quit law.)
* Never accept a drink from a urologist. (The law of common sense.)
* There are days when no matter which way you spit, it's upwind. (The first law of reality.)
* When you starve with a tiger, the tiger starves last. (The second law of reality.)
* Whatever it is that hits the fan, it will not be evenly distributed. (The third law of reality.)
* Never get into fights with ugly people. They have nothing to lose. (The fourth law of reality.)
* Creativity is great, but plagiarism is faster. (The fifth law of reality.)
* Reality is a crutch for those who can't cope with fantasy. (The law of goal-setting.)
* The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
* If you're up to your eyeballs in Gomers, you're in combat.
* When in doubt, use industrial strength deterrence.
* Never fly in the same cockpit with someone who is braver than you.
* Priorities are man-made, not God-made.
* A plan never survives the first thirty seconds of combat.
* If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid.
* Only turn to blow the opposition away; otherwise, run away and fight another guy.
* From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots. --Thomas Jefferson
* "There is no avoiding war, it can only be postponed to the advantage of others. -- Niccolo Machiavelli
* You don't win a war by dying for your country. You win a war by making the other son-of-a-bitch die for his. -- General Patton
* A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive. --Anonymous
* Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate -- the bombs always hit the ground.--Anonymous
* A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit. - the Army's magazine of preventive maintenance. --Anonymous
* Any ship can be a minesweeper... once. --Anonymous
* Five second fuses only last three seconds. --Anonymous
* Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid. --Anonymous
* Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons! --Anonymous
* Don't draw fire, it irritates the people around you. --Anonymous
* Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever volunteer to do anything. --Anonymous
* Don't look conspicuous: it draws fire. --Anonymous
* Friendly fire - isn't. --Anonymous
* If the enemy is in range, so are you. --Anonymous
* If you can't remember, the Claymore is pointed towards you. --Anonymous
* Mines are equal opportunity weapons. --Anonymous
* If your attack is going well, you have walked into an ambush. --Anonymous
* Incoming fire has the right of way. --Anonymous
* It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed. --Anonymous
* Make it too tough for the enemy to get in and you can't get out. --Anonymous
* Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do. --Anonymous
* Odd objects attract fire - never lurk behind one. --Anonymous
* Push to test... Release to detonate. --Anonymous
* Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy someone else to shoot at. --Anonymous
* The easy way is always mined. --Anonymous
* The enemy invariably attacks on one of two occasions: 1. When you're ready for them. 2. When you're not ready for them. --Anonymous
* The side with the simplest uniforms wins. --Anonymous
* There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole. --Anonymous
* Try to look unimportant, they may be low on ammo. --Anonymous
* We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction. --Anonymous
* When in doubt empty the magazine. --Anonymous
* When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend. --Anonymous
* When you're short of everything but the enemy, you're in combat. --Anonymous
* Who *cares* if a laser guided 500 lb bomb is accurate to within 9 feet? --Anonymous
* Tracers work both ways. --Anonymous
* Fall down seven times, get up eight. (old Japanese proverb)
* We tend to get what we expect. -- Norman Vincent Peale
* You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
* The true meaning of life is to plant a tree under whose shade you will never sit.

Beauty does never come for free.

hi darling how was your day today?

Some people have got a mental horizon of radius zero and call it their point of view. [Dave Hilbert]

He took a duck in the face at two hundred and fifty knots

Stestvi tveho zivota zalezi na druhu tvych myslenek. -- Marcus Aurelius Antonius

> You can buy a decent used piano, or a nice guitar, for the price of all that stuff. Want music? Go play some.
I tried that, but once I managed to get the piano set up I had difficulty working out which pedals did what and I couldn't see through the windscreen very well. Frankly, I thought it was a little dangerous. Now I only drive while playing the oboe.

After the first printing, an errata file was started. The publisher did not incorporate this into the second printing. For the third printing, he made all the corrections known up to that point in time. For the fourth and fifth printings, the publisher subcontracted the production work, and accidentally gave the subcontractor the files for the first printing. The sixth printing corrects all the errors known up to when it was printed (November 2006). Therefore, the best copy to obtain is the sixth printing, and the second best is the third printing.

When in panic, fear and doubt,
Drink in barrels, eat, and shout.

If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of progress?

Violence is a sword that has no handle -- you have to hold the blade.

Quit? You know, once I was thinking of quitting when I was diagnosed with
brain, lung and testicular cancer all at the same time. But with the love and
support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and won the Tour de
France five times in a row. But I'm sure you have a good reason to quit.
-- Lance Armstrong

Rain showers my spirit
and waters my soul.
-- Emily Logan Decens

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

C++ has its place in the history of programming languages. Just as Caligula has his place in the history of the Roman Empire.

In My Egotistical Opinion, most people's C programs should be indented six feet downward and covered with dirt.

There are only two things wrong with C++: The initial concept and the implementation.

If Java had true garbage collection, most programs would delete themselves upon execution.

The Space Shuttle and the Horse's Rear End

Say friend, did you know that the US Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches.

That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used?

Because that's the way they built them in England, and the US railroads were built by English expatriates.

I see, but why did the English build them like that?

Because the first railway lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.

Well, why did they use that gauge in England?

Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.

Okay! Why did their wagons use that odd wheel spacing?

Because, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads. Because that's the spacing of the old wheel ruts.

So who built these old rutted roads?

The first long distance roads in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The Roman roads have been used ever since.

And the ruts?

The original ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagons, were first made by the wheels of Roman war chariots. Since the chariots were made for or by Imperial Rome they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.

Thus, we have the answer to the original question. The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches derives from the original specification for an Imperial Roman army war chariot.

And the motto of the story is Specifications and bureaucracies live forever.

So, the next time you are handed a specification and wonder what horse's ass came up with it, you may be exactly right. Because the Imperial Roman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate the back-ends of two war-horses.

So, just what does this have to do with the exploration of space?

Well, there's an interesting extension of the story about railroad gauge and horses' behinds. When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on the launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are the solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at a factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs might have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site.

The railroad from the factory runs through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than a railroad track, and the railroad track is about as wide as two horses' behinds.

So a major design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was originally determined by the width of a horse's ass.

Dr. Sierpinski stepped back from the operating table to admire his handy-work. The stitching was complete, a meticulous and expertly done job.
The electrodes were in place, and only administering the life giving elixir remained. Soon his work would be done, soon the world would see!

"Igor!" he yelled, "Raise the table into position so we may begin the final stage!" His trusty yet somewhat dimwitted hunchback assistant
complied, and slowly turned the crank that moved the operating table into a vertical position.

The creature would stand seven feet tall and was stronger than an ox. His heart and lungs twice that of a normal man's allowing him to carry his
massive size as if he were a sprinter. Lifting a cart above his head would be no difficult feat, and his advanced nervous system made him
impervious to the jabs and barbs only his future profession could dish out.

His physical prowess was outmatched only by his mental faculties. Dr. Sierpinski had spent years designing and building the biomechanic wonder
(some would call monstrosity) that sat inside the creature's over sized skull. In it he had placed the knowledge and experience of all the worlds
greats - Igor had been most helpful at gathering the necessary remains, scouring the globe and riding coach to boot. Burns, Marx, Pryor - almost
every comedian who'd ever gotten a laugh was represented in the devilish clockwork of the creatures mind. Here truly would be someone that would
show the world. Dr. Abraham "Giggles" Sierpinski would be laughed at no more...yes, truly, his creature...would be laughed _with_!

The table clicked into place with a final clash. Far above the castle's dungeon laboratory thunder cracked from the approaching storm. "Now Igor,
Now! Quickly, throw the switch!" Igor shuffled to the table and pulled the lever. A bright flash erupted as lighting struck the castle's tower
and traveled through a series of wires to the creatures base.

"Yes....Yes...YES! LIVE MY CREATURE! LIVE! LIVE AND MAKE THEM LAUGH!!!!"

The lighting subsided, and the laboratory was suddenly quiet. The doctor held his breath. Quietly, almost a murmur escaped from the creatures
lips.

"...bsod..."

"He speaks Igor, he speaks! Quickly! Release the straps! My creature, tell me, what are you trying to say?"

"...mmmmrrchhc.......bsod....mrrrrrghhh.......mmmm rrrrg....Microsoft.....Mrrrrgh...Microsoft has announced that it is partnering with a Japanese
automaker to incorporate Windows Vista Auto Edition with all of their car systems."

"What?"

"mrrrgh...mrrrrrrgh....In other news, family of 4 dies as their Japanese car careens off of a cliff after experiencing a BSOD in their Microsoft
Windows Vista Auto Edition software."

Igor helpfully chimed in with a boom-tsk from his laboratory drum set.

"WHAT! What was that? That...that...that wasn't even funny! How...how could this be? My creature, the reanimated flesh of dead humor itself...its
not even funny!" He sank to the ground in despair. "How...how could I have been so wrong! Where did I fail? Where did I fail?"

The creature lifted its massive head, "I for one welcome...mrrrrgh...I for one welcome our failed humor overlord....ggggggahhahghg"

Dr. Sierpinksi ran from the laboratory, from his monster, clawing his eyes and hair, and wailing into the depths of the night.

While the engineer developed his thesis, the director leaned over to
his assistant and whispered, "Did you ever hear of why the sea is salt?"
"Why the sea is salt?" whispered back the assistant. "What do you
mean?"
The director continued: "When I was a little kid, I heard the story of
`Why the sea is salt' many times, but I never thought it important until just
a moment ago. It's something like this: Formerly the sea was fresh water and
salt was rare and expensive. A miller received from a wizard a wonderful
machine that just ground salt out of itself all day long. At first the miller
thought himself the most fortunate man in the world, but soon all the villages
had salt to last them for centuries and still the machine kept on grinding
more salt. The miller had to move out of his house, he had to move off his
acres. At last he determined that he would sink the machine in the sea and
be rid of it. But the mill ground so fast that boat and miller and machine
were sunk together, and down below, the mill still went on grinding and that's
why the sea is salt."
"I don't get you," said the assistant.
-- Guy Endore, "Men of Iron"

Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead.
-- James Thurber

If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that
would be like the splendor of the Mighty One... I am become Death, the
Shatterer of Worlds.
-- J. Robert Oppenheimer, quoting The Bhagavad Gita

There was a devout nun in the XVth century,
who decided to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
But she belonged to an order that wore bags over their heads.
And the mother superior told the nun
that if she walked through the countryside with a bag on her head,
she would scare people.
But the nun insisted,
so the mother superior allowed to her to walk around and around the cloister,
every day
for three years
until she covered the equivalent distance to the Holy City.
At the end of her journey
the nun was so exhausted that she collapsed.
A doctor was called.
After examining her he announced that she was too weak to make the return trip.
The nun died shortly after.

Projekt National Missile Defense (NMD) je budován pro obranu USA před útokem
mezikontinentálních balistických raket (anglicky Intercontinental Ballistic
Missiles - ICBM). Tyto rakety představují pomyslný vrchol toho, co člověk
vyvinul v neustálé snaze o zničení sebe sama jako druhu. Dnešní ICBM dokáží po
svém odpálení z podzemního sila, pohyblivé rampy či ponorky obletět polovinu
zeměkoule a ve vesmírném vzduchoprázdnu vypustit svůj smrtelný náklad, který
může čítat i deset samostatně naváděných hlavic, z nichž každá může, v případě
použití jaderné náplně, zničit větší město.
-- Jan Vurbs, blog.respekt.cz

Spočítej si, jaké Boží dary jsi dostal, a nech svého souseda, ať v klidu spočítá své.
-- James Thurber

Ever try. Ever fail. No matter.
Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
-- Samuel Beckett

"You would do well not to imagine profundity," he said. "Anything that seems
of momentous occasion should be dwelt upon as though it were of slight note.
Conversely, trivialities must be attended to with the greatest of care.
Because death is momentous, give it no thought; because victory is important,
give it no thought; because the method of achievement and discovery is less
momentous than the effect, dwell always upon the method. You will strengthen
yourself in this way."
-- Jessica Salmonson, "The Swordswoman"


Romance is dead. It was acquired in a hostile takeover by Hallmark and Disney,
homogenized, and sold off piece by piece. -- Lisa Simpson

"There was a young lady from Niger¹
Who went for a ride on a tiger
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside
And a smile on the face of the tiger."


¹_{ev. 'Riga', ale Niger se mi libi vic;)}

Consider for instance some comfortable English professor defending Russian totalitarianism. He cannot say outright, "I believe in killing off your opponents when you can get good results by doing so." Probably, therefore, he will say something like this:

"While freely conceding that the Soviet regime exhibits certain features which the humanitarian may be inclined to deplore, we must, I think, agree that a certain curtailment of the right to political opposition is an unavoidable concomitant of transitional periods, and that the rigors which the Russian people have been called upon to undergo have been amply justified in the sphere of concrete achievement."

-- George Orwell, Politics and the English Language

Nejvíce ze všech se mi líbili dva hoši, kteří nesli na tyčích prázdný průhledný igelit bez jakéhokoli znaku. Opravdu, to mi připadalo jako naprosto nejvýstižnější politické heslo dneška. -- Klub #726

A witty saying proves nothing. -- Voltaire
Bullshit! Witty sayings are the very essence of wisdom, and I should know. -- Oscar Wilde

Alan Stanowski, masér a frontman kapely Igor, se svěřil CB s nevšedním zážitkem
s uruguayskou kuchyní: "Byla to malá řežba na pláži - normálně jsme s kámošema
točili takovej malej videoartík, když se z lesa u beachu vyvalila fakt mega
vlna ovesný kaše. Nejdřív jsem to moc nechytal, ale pak mi to celý vysvětlili.
Červený pandy v pralese kradou domorodcům voves. Snědí ho a pak se jdou jako
obvykle vyválet do horkýho bahna na úpatí sopky Xiloxualio. Jenže je tu mini
hák - oves působí na jejich nervosexuální centra v mozku, takže se samci pand
naparujou před roštěnkama vo dost dýl než normoš. Kombinace ovesný kaše a teplý
vody neudělá moc mega cool jejich střevům, takže jednoduše vybuchnou. Obvykle
je v jedný lázni >300 pand, což je dohro asi šestnáct tisíc litrů kaše. Jediný,
co jsem nechyt, byla namodralá barva kaše, ale byl jsem zaučenej, že to
způsobujou ty pandí velikánský roztomilý vočíčka - sklivec těhle sudoústejch
ptakořitnejch savců je laděnej do modra.

Moc, která degraduje samu sebe a začne se svými nepřáteli smlouvat, nakonec
nikdy nedostane od nepřítele milost.
-- Chateaubriand

Život je ze své vnitřní podstaty systémem na ukládání paměti.
-- L. Margulisová, Symbiotická planeta

Biomasa suchozemského života představuje stonásobek, snad i tisícinásobek
biomasy života v mořích. Většinu této masivní přítomnosti života na souši,
odhadem nějakých 84 procent, je třeba připsat na konto stromů.
-- L. Margulisová, Symbiotická planeta

... pozemský život byl v průběhu své tři miliardy let trvající historie
vystaven bezpočtku impaktů vesmírných těles, energeticky se rovnajících, nebo
dokonce převyšujících současný výbuch všech pěti tisíc v současnosti
skladovaných jaderných bomb. Život, zvláště bakteriální život, je přizpůsobivý.
Od samého začátku těžil i z katastrof a pustošení.
-- L. Margulisová, Symbiotická planeta

"Nejlepší je střelit se do úst. Pukne lebka a člověk nic neví. Smrt nastane
okamžitě," vysvětloval Hitler. Nás ženy při tom pomyšlení mrazilo. "Já chci být
hezká mrtvola," tvrdila Eva Braunová, "já si vezmu jed."
-- T. Jungeová, Do posledního okamžiku

Dostal jich od Himmlera deset, a když jsme po jídle odcházely, dal nám osobně
každé jednu se slovy: "Je mi líto, že vám na rozloučenou nemohu dát hezčí
dárek."
-- T. Jungeová, Do posledního okamžiku (o ampulích)

Laboratorní sešity Marie Curieové poskytují vážné varování o nebezpečích
radioaktivity. Více než šedesát let po její smrti jsou stále nebezpečné a z
důvodu radiační bezpečnosti jsou uloženy v krabicích vyložených olovem. Když
rovnala stránky, rovnala je prsty spálenými radioaktivním zářením a zamořenými
radioaktivními látkami. Ještě dnes, když se mezi stránky vloží fotografický
film a pak vyvolá, vidíme na něm přízračné radiové a poloniové otisky
autorčiných prstů.
-- M. Chown, Čarodějná pec

(všechno to) mne stejně jako všechny laiky přesvědčilo o tom, že Rudá armáda
představuje mimořádně velkou sílu. ... Německá armáda reprezentovala sílu
organizační a technickou; tato východní armáda působila spíše tak, jako by
nějaká biologická síla - lidská varianta mravenců nebo termitů - nabyla podoby
vojenského útvaru. Jako by válčili termiti, nevypočitatelně, s tajemnými
schopnostmi organické látky.
-- S. Márai, Země, země...!

S komunisty nelze spolupracovat, protože nejsou mezi nimi džentlmeni.
-- S. Márai, Země, země...!

Ale snobství, komplexy méněcennosti, osvětářská přemoudřelost a nábožná úcta
před Duchem, jež v každém Němci doutnají stejně jako vášeň pro "dril",
sebekázeň, "disciplínu" - až mnohem později, mezi Angličany, jsem se naučil, že
dobrovolně přijatá kázeň znamená jistou relativní svobodu!
-- S. Márai, Zpověď

Angličané ukázněně a s účastí ignorují úzkosti a bolestné pocity méněcennosti -
Londýn je vpravdě ideálním sanatoriem pro léčbu středoevropského
Minderwertigkeits-komplexu... Navštěvoval jsem Londýn, jako by to byl nějaký
vyšší ročník, respektive nějaký speciální seminář toho nejvyššího ročníku ve
škole zvané Evropa.
-- S. Márai, Zpověď

"Děkuju ti, že jsi ještě naposledy přišel," řekl mi tak mírně a tak noblesně,
že mi vhrkly slzy do očí. Otec znal to velké tajemství, tajemství zdvořilosti.
Občas si myslím, že je to nejvíc, co může člověk člověku předat.
-- S. Márai, Zpověď

Společenská třída, do které jsem se narodil, pomalu splývá s třídami, jež jsou
právě na vzestupu; úroveň její kultury za posledních dvacet let strašlivě
upadla, náročnost civilizovaného člověka je na ústupu. ... Z celé duši
opovrhuji průměrným vkusem, zábavami i nároky mnohohlavých zástupů svých
současníků; jejich morálka mě naplňuje nedůvěrou... Duchovní člověk je osamělý
solitér přinucený uchylovat se do katakomb, tak jako středověcí mniši se svým
tajemstvím písma před dobyvačnými vandaly. ... V této době musím žít a
pracovat, jak je to bude možné. ... A já chci do poslední chvíle, dokud ještě
udržím pero v ruce, svědčit o tom, že byla doba a bylo několik generací, jež
hlásaly triumf rozumu nad pudy a věřily v odbojnou sílu ducha, který dokáže
zbrzdit sebevražednou touhu stáda. Jako životní program to asi není mnoho, já
však nemohu jinak.
-- S. Márai, Zpověď

Člověk stárne pomalu: nejdřív zestárne jeho chuť do života a zájem o lidi, víš,
zvolna je všechno velice skutečné, poznáš smysl všeho, všechno se strašlivě a
nudně opakuje. I to je stáří. Když už víš, že sklenice není nic jiného než
sklenice. A chudák člověk není nic jiného než člověk a smrtelník, ať dělá, co
dělá. ... Jednoho dne se probudíš a mneš si oči: už ani nevíš, proč ses
probudil. Přesně znáš to, co ukazuje den: jaro nebo zimu, kulisy života,
počasí, denní řád života. Už nic překvapivého se nemůže přihodit: už tě
nepřekvapí ani nečekané, neobvyklé, strašlivé, protože všechny možnosti znáš,
se vším jsi počítal a nic už neočekáváš, ani špatného, ani dobrého. A toto je
stáří. ... Člověk pomalu svět pochopí a potom umře.
-- S. Márai, Svíce dohořívají

Moudrý vládce není dobrotivý
zachází s lidem jako se slaměným psem!
-- Lao-c', Tao te ťing

K tomu Wang Pi: "Kdyby varhany chtěl hrát samy od sebe, nebyly by hráči
k užitku."

Měkkost je vlastností dokonalé harmonie.
-- Lao-c', Tao te ťing

Třicet loukotí se sbíhá uprostřed kola,
ale teprve díra pro hřídel dá kolu smysl
Smíchej vodu s hlínou a vytvoř nádobu,
ale teprve to prázdné uprostřed jí dá užitek
Postav dům a prolom okna a dveře,
teprve otvory jej učiní obyvatelným
Proto užitek spočívá v tom, co tu je,
a smysl v tom, co tu není.
-- Lao-c', Tao te ťing

O těch největších vladařích
lid sotva ví, že je má,
ty menší uctívá jako své otce,
ještě menších se bojí
a na ty docela malé hledí s pohrdáním.
-- Lao-c', Tao te ťing

Svět se dá spravovat,
jen když se do něj příliš nevměšujeme
Jak to vím? Tím, že tomu tak je:
čím víc zákonů a omezení, tím chudší je lid
čím větším počtem ostrých nástrojů je lid tísněn,
v o to větším zmatku stát je
čím jsou lidé chytřejší a vzdělanější,
tím víc nesmyslů se objevuje
jak přibývá zákonů, tak přibývá lupičů.
-- Lao-c', Tao te ťing

Mám tři poklady, které strážím jako poklady
první je soucit
druhý je skromnost
a třetí je ten,
že si nemyslím, že jsem první pod sluncem
Díky soucitu mohu být odvážný
díky skromnosti mohu být velkorysý
a díky tomu, že si nemyslím,
že jsem první pod sluncem,
mohu vytrvat ve všem ostatním.
Ale, když někdo opustí soucit
a nechá si statečnost,
když někdo opustí skromnost
a nechá si velkorysost,
opustí poslední a zaujme první místo,
takový zemře!
-- Lao-c', Tao te ťing