While the extremes of "honor" require an attitude of never surrendering, skillful strategies respect and frequently use subtleties of strategic withdrawal. Gallant retreats often surpass courageous attacks. The higher fortune heaps for us success, good fortune, and luck; the more likely that the luck will end, the success become failure. And so, don't expect luck to last long, quit while still winning, store and hide your resources when you have enough—even when not enough. Fortune often balances the intensity of her favors with the shortness of their time span.

Wisdom and virtue are to our happiness like our hands and eyes are to our bodies. Because they represent the essence of immortal goodness, when we align with them, that goodness channels through us and that's what we become. However, one without the other means little. A person with skill but not understanding is like a world without light. A mind with understanding but without confident courage becomes useless.

With a rival or competitor, avoid predictability. It's easy to shoot a bird flying in a straight line, not so easy if they weave back and forth. Don't conform to predictable patterns always doing the same procedures in the same ways at the same times. And likewise, don't always act on either the first or the second impulse, the first or the second thought. Poker players don't play with their cards face up. Even more so, with an enemy watching, frequently change the way you do things.

Without an empty hub,
Wheels are useless.
Without an inside emptiness,
Pots and bowls are useless.
Without an empty space for doors and windows,
Houses are useless.
Without an empty mind,
People are useless.

Without leaving home
You can understand all that goes on in the world.
Without looking through a window,
You can see the universal patterns.
The farther you go,
The less you know.
The wise therefore
Don’t go but know,
Don’t look but see,
Don’t try but succeed.
The best way to do is to be.

Works of nature mature to a point of ripeness and then degrade. But recognizing and harvesting at this point requires both rare insight and uncommon skill. A similar kind of ripening occurs in the realm of understanding and wisdom; but in the world of art, such points of perfection beyond potential improvement are rare or non-existent.

You can always add a word to a conversation, but you can never take one away. Those who speak too quickly tend to also quickly fail. So be careful speaking; talk like you were testifying in court or writing your will. This can keep ammunition away from rivals and save your reputation with others. Practice with small and inconsequential conversations and you will be ready for the important and consequential ones. Reserve attracts respect.