Q0159

Laozi

A verified English rendering from the curated archive.

English

One who knows others is wise; one who knows oneself is enlightened. One who conquers others has strength; one who conquers oneself is truly strong. One who knows contentment is rich; one who persists has will.
Thinker Laozi
School Daoism
Source Daodejing, Ch. 33
Theme Knowledge
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source context

This English passage is associated with Daodejing, Ch. 33, within the tradition of Daoism. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.

A short reading

Read in the register of knowledge, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Laozi's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?

How to cite this quotation

APA: Laozi. (n.d.). One who knows others is wise; one who knows oneself is enlightened. One who conquers others has strength; one who conquers oneself is truly strong. One who knows contentment is rich; one who persists has will. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0159

MLA: Laozi. “One who knows others is wise; one who….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0159.

Chicago: Laozi. “One who knows others is wise; one who….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0159.

Same thinker

More from Laozi

  1. The highest good is like water. Water benefits the myriad things and does not contend; it dwells in places the multitude dislike — therefore it is close to the Way.
  2. A tree that fills the arms' embrace grows from a tiny shoot; a nine-story tower rises from a heap of earth; a journey of a thousand li begins beneath one's feet.
  3. Difficult affairs under Heaven must arise from the easy; great affairs under Heaven must arise from the small.
  4. Humans model themselves on earth; earth on heaven; heaven on the Way; and the Way on what is naturally so.
  5. Know contentment, and you will not be disgraced; know when to stop, and you will not be imperiled — thus you can endure.

All quotations by Laozi

Same theme

More on knowledge

  1. What I do not know, I do not claim to know.
  2. No one errs willingly.
  3. What then is time? If no one asks me, I know; if I wish to explain it to one who asks, I do not know.
  4. What do I know?
  5. Once in a lifetime, everything must be doubted.

Browse the knowledge theme