a newborn is soft and tender,

　　a crone, hard and stiff.

　　plants and animals, in life, are supple and succulent;

　　in death, withered and dry.

　　so softness and tenderness are attributes of life,

　　and hardness and stiffness, attributes of death.

　　just as a sapless tree will split and decay

　　so an inflexible force will meet defeat;

　　the hard and mighty lie beneath the ground

　　while the tender and weak dance on the breeze above.