」對曰：「臣年八十矣，齒再墮而舌尚存。
“My teeth keep falling out, but my tongue is still there.
老聃有言曰：『天下之至柔，馳騁乎天下之至堅。
』又曰：『人之生也柔弱，其死也剛強；萬物草木之生也柔脆，其死也枯槁。
Lao Dan has a saying that goes, ‘The softest things in the realm can compete with the most resilient things in the realm.’24 He also said, ‘When a person is alive, he is soft and weak; but, when he dies, he is hard and stiff.
因此觀之，柔弱者，生之徒也；剛強者，死之徒也。
In the world of nature, grass and plants are soft and fragile when alive and dry and withered when dead.’ From this we can see that the soft and the weak are the followers of life, whereas the hard and the stiff are the followers of death.
』夫生者毀而必復，死者破而愈亡，吾是以知柔之堅於剛也。
Living things in general recover after being mangled, whereas dead things are further destroyed when broken. That is how I know that soft things are more resilient than dead things.” “How fine!” exclaimed Pingzi.
」平子曰：「善哉！
然則子之行何從？
“But which way do you follow?” “I adhere to the soft,” said Shu Xiang.
」叔向曰：「臣亦柔耳，何以剛為。
“How could I be hard?” “Aren’t soft things fragile?” asked Pingzi.
」平子曰：「柔無乃脆乎？
“Soft things will not break when twisted and won’t diminish when made sharp.
」叔向曰：「柔者，紐而不折，廉而不缺，何為脆也！
天之道微者勝。
How can they be considered fragile?
是以兩軍相加，而柔者克之；兩仇爭利，而弱者得焉。
The Way of Heaven is such that minute things are successful.
易曰：『天道虧滿而兼益謙，地道變滿而流謙，鬼神害滿而福謙，人道惡滿而好謙。
That is why, when two armies join in battle, the softer side will win; and, when two enemies match weapons, the weaker will prevail.
』夫懷謙不足之柔弱，而四道者助之，則安往而不得其志乎？
」平子曰：「善。」
As is said in the Changes, ‘The Way of Heaven is to destroy the self-satisfied and to benefit the modest; the way of Earth is to take substance from the self-satisfied and allow it to flow to the modest; the way of ghosts and spirits is to do injury to the selfsatisfied and confer blessings on the modest; and the way of human beings is to hate the self-satisfied and to love the modest.’ When one cultivates the softness of one who modestly takes himself to be inadequate and thus enjoys the aid of the four realms, how can one fail in any sphere to realize one’s objectives?” “Well observed!” exclaimed Pingzi.