CHINESE ORIGINAL
曲则全，枉则直，洼则盈，敝则新，少则得，多则惑。
是以圣人抱一为天下式。
不自见故明，不自是故彰，不自伐故有功，不自矜故长。
夫唯不争，故天下莫能与之争。
古之所谓曲则全者，岂虚言哉！
诚全而归之。
ENGLISH · JAMES LEGGE, 1891
The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.
Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self-display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.
That saying of the ancients that 'the partial becomes complete' was not vainly spoken:--all real completion is comprehended under it.
READ IN CONTEXT
Self-cultivation
Begin with the way you attend to your own life: quietness, humility, honesty, and the patient work of knowing yourself.
Self-cultivation