From Lau-Tzu

"Men [and women] are born soft and supple;

dead, they will only be stiff and hard.

Plants are born tender and pliant;

dead, they are brittle and dry.

Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible

is a disciple of death.

Whoever is soft and yielding

is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken.

The soft and supple will prevail."

-Tao Te Ching, chapter 76