Tao Te Ching · Ch. 29

將欲取天下而為之,吾見其不得已。天下神器,不可為也,不可執也。為者敗之,執者失之。故物或行或隨;或噓或吹;或強或羸;或挫或隳。是以聖人去甚,去奢,去泰。

Jiāng yù qǔ tiān xià ér wéi zhī, wú jiàn qí bù dé yǐ. Tiān xià shén qì, bù kě wéi yě, bù kě zhí yě. Wéi zhě bài zhī, zhí zhě shī zhī. Gù wù huò xíng huò suí; Huò xū huò chuī; Huò qiáng huò léi; Huò cuò huò huī. Shì yǐ shèng rén qù shèn, qù shē, qù tài.

Those who wish to take the world and act upon it, I see they cannot succeed. The world is a sacred vessel that cannot be acted upon or grasped. Those who act upon it ruin it; those who grasp it lose it. Thus among all things, some lead and some follow, some breathe gently and some breathe hard, some are strong and some are weak, some rise and some fall. Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excess, and extravagance.

— Tao Te Ching 29

Source: Wang Bi edition (Chinese) + Hanyu Pinyin transliteration