Chapter 19 |
絕聖棄智,民利百倍;絕仁棄義,民復孝慈;絕巧棄利,盜賊無有。此三者以為文不足,故令有所屬,見素抱樸,少私寡欲。 |
jue sheng qi zhi, min |
Cease to respect the holiness of the ruler and expel the crafty mindset. Then, the people will benefit a hundred times more. |
jue ren qi yi, min fu |
Cease to emphasize ren and expel yi. Then, the people will restore their trust in the leader and |
jue qiao qi li, dao |
Cease to introduce the shortcut for an unrealistic life and expel the desire of accumulating wealth. Then, there will be no more thieves and robbers. |
ci san zhe yi wei wen |
These three suggestions indicate that written decrees are insufficient to restore social order. It needs certain extraordinary measures other than that like role-modeling. |
xian su bao pu, shao |
As a leader, you are better to live a simple life and care for those people in the lower level of society and better to lessen your wealth and diminish your desires. |