Tao Te Ching, 33

He who knows others is wise;

He who knows himself is enlightened.

He who conquers others has physical strength.

He who conquers himself is strong.

He who is contented is rich.

He who acts with vigor has will.

He who does not lose his place (with Tao) will endure.

He who dies but does not really perish enjoys long life.

(Tao Te Ching, 33)

Today, I would like to try to interpret the above text which is from the topic "The Te".

The virtue that the text is trying to teach is the virtue of happiness through fulfillment in the self. In the said text, it presented different levels of fulfillment that leads to happiness. There is this fulfillment in knowing others but there is better fulfillment if he knows his self first before knowing others. A true strong person is when he had conquered the self more than when he conquered other people. The happiness in the fulfillment of other things outside of the self is a good sign of the strong characteristic of a person but the happiness in the fulfillment of knowing the self is a better sign of a strong characteristic. 

Being happy and fulfilled because he knows himself lets the other virtues arise like contentment in what he has and trust in what he is capable of doing. As long as the person will hold on to these virtues, he will have his life fulfilled. It is fulfilled because he had satisfied his self. He may be physically dead but his soul will eternally live.