Tao Te Ching

Man during life is tender and delicate. When he dies he is stiff and stark. The ten thousand things, the grass as well as the trees, while they live are tender and supple. When they die they are rigid and dry.

Thus the hard and the strong are the companions of death. The tender and the delicate are the companions of life. Therefore he who in arms is strong will not conquer. When a tree has grown strong it is doomed.