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Who really said it

He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty

Written by Lao Tzu (Laozi) fl. 6th century BC (traditional) · Chinese philosopher, reputed author of the Tao Te Ching
Verified Free to reuse

This is a genuine line from the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33. The exact English wording — “overcomes…is strong…overcomes himself is mighty” — is James Legge’s 1891 translation. Note that the widely-shared “He who conquers others…” form swaps in “conquers” and is a later variant of Legge’s “overcomes.”

Last verified 10 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33 (trans. James Legge, 1891)

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Provenance

The source

Work
Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing), Chapter 33
Author
Lao Tzu (Laozi), traditionally 6th century BC
Translation
James Legge, 1891 (Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 39)
Original
Classical Chinese: “勝人者有力，自勝者強”

He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will.

Chapter 33 in James Legge’s 1891 translation. Legge renders the Chinese 有力 (“has force”) as “strong” and 強 (“strong/firm”) as “mighty.”

James Legge’s 1891 translation, Chapter 33

How we traced it

Public domain

The Chinese original has been in the public domain for over two millennia, and this specific English wording comes from James Legge’s 1891 translation (Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 39), first published well before 1931 — so it too is public domain in the United States. Modern translations of Chapter 33 (e.g. Stephen Mitchell’s 1988 “Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power”) remain under copyright, but that is not the wording quoted here.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Fact-check

Wording watch

The attribution to Lao Tzu is correct — this really is Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33. The catch is the wording: the internet circulates several forms, and the most popular one is not what Legge actually wrote.

“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty” variant

This “conquers” form is the most-shared version (see Goodreads), but Legge’s 1891 text reads “overcomes,” not “conquers.” The swap is a later smoothing.

“Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power” different translation

A popular alternative that is Stephen Mitchell’s 1988 rendering, not Legge’s — same verse, different (in-copyright) translation.

All these forms trace to the same genuine source — Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33 — but the exact quoted wording (“overcomes…mighty”) is specifically James Legge’s 1891 translation.

Context

Why it resonates

Chapter 33 builds a ladder of paired virtues: knowing others is intelligence, but knowing yourself is wisdom; overcoming others is strength, but overcoming yourself is might. The point is that the harder, more valuable conquest is inward.

The line has stayed popular for the same reason it was written — it reframes power. External dominance looks impressive; mastering one’s own impulses is the rarer and, in Lao Tzu’s framing, the greater achievement.

He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Character Power

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Tao Te Ching, Ch. 33 — James Legge (1891)terebess.hu

Full public-domain text of Legge’s translation containing the exact wording.
Chapter 33 — 30+ parallel translationsegreenway.com

Side-by-side English/Chinese translations and commentary for Chapter 33.
Legge, Chapter 33 (verbatim line)ratmachines.com

Clean copy of Legge’s Chapter 33 confirming the quoted sentence.
The Texts of Taoism — Sacred Text Archivesacred-texts.com

Legge’s Sacred Books of the East edition of the Tao Te Ching.
Popular "conquers" variantgoodreads.com

Shows the widely-shared “conquers” wording that departs from Legge’s “overcomes.”

The true author

About Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu (Laozi)

fl. 6th century BC (traditional) · Chinese philosopher · reputed author of the Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu (“Old Master”) is the semi-legendary figure traditionally credited with founding philosophical Taoism and authoring the Tao Te Ching. Modern scholars doubt he was a single historical person and date the text to roughly the 4th–3rd centuries BC, but the work itself is very real — a foundational classic of Chinese thought on the Way (Tao), simplicity, and self-mastery. Chapter 33, from which this line is drawn, is one of its most quoted passages.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Lao Tzu. The Tâo Teh King, Chapter 33. Translated by James Legge. In The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 39: The Texts of Tâoism, Part I. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891.

MLA (9th ed.)

Lao Tzu. The Tâo Teh King. Translated by James Legge, The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 39, Clarendon Press, 1891, ch. 33.

APA (7th ed.)

Laozi. (1891). The Tâo Teh King (J. Legge, Trans.). In The sacred books of the East (Vol. 39). Clarendon Press.

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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty’?” Last verified 10 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/he-who-overcomes-others-is-strong-he-who-overcomes-himself

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