Lao Tzu
Traced to source
5 quotes we’ve traced to Lao Tzu
“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened”
Verified“In the highest antiquity, the people did not know that there were their rulers. In the next age they loved them and praised them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. Their work was done and their undertakings were successful, while the people all said, 'We are as we are, of ourselves.'”
Verified“The way to do is to be”
Attributed“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage”
Disputed“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished”
DisputedNot actually Lao Tzu
Often misattributed to Lao Tzu
Famous lines widely pinned on Lao Tzu that we’ve traced to someone else.
“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream”
actually Aileen Miga & Janice Hughes
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”
actually Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love”
actually Lao Tzu (misattributed)
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality”
actually Vernon Howard
“What I hear, I forget. What I say, I remember. What I do, I understand”
actually Xun Kuang (Xunzi)
On the research bench
Commonly pinned on Lao Tzu — under review
2 lines flagged as pinned on Lao Tzu and queued for a full source trace — not yet verified.
Did they really say it?
Thought Lao Tzu said something else?
Type a quote you think Lao Tzu said — we’ll tell you what we know, or point you to the best sources.