The Tao Teh King ~ Ch. 58. | < Last - Next >

Ch. 58.

1.

   The government that seems the most unwise,
   Oft goodness to the people best supplies;
   That which is meddling, touching everything,
   Will work but ill, and disappointment bring.

Misery!--happiness is to be found by its side! Happiness!--misery lurks beneath it! Who knows what either will come to in the end?

2. Shall we then dispense with correction? The (method of) correction shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn become evil. The delusion of the people (on this point) has indeed subsisted for a long time.

3. Therefore the sage is (like) a square which cuts no one (with its angles); (like) a corner which injures no one (with its sharpness). He is straightforward, but allows himself no license; he is bright, but does not dazzle.

The Tao Teh King ~ Ch. 58. | < Last - Next >

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