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Tao Te Ching · 58 of 81

Chapter 58

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?

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.

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.

Asked of Guide

Why does Lao Tzu praise a ruler who seems unwise and avoids meddling?

Lao Tzu says a government that “seems the most unwise” often supplies goodness because meddling “touching everything” brings ruin and disappointment; restraint preserves the people’s natural well-being. He warns that attempts at correction can “by a turn become distortion,” so reforms meant to help easily create harm when they overreach.

The sage-ruler therefore behaves like a harmless square or corner—straightforward and clear but without sharpness that injures; he is “bright, but does not dazzle.” This echoes Chuang Tzu and the Taoist emphasis in The Sayings of Lao Tzu on moderation and hiding cleverness: ruling by reducing interference rather than by conspicuous skill.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.

Echoes elsewhere

Chuang Tzu · Taoismshall be the limit; and when one knows not what the limit shall be, he may be the ruler of a state. 3. He who possesses the mother of the state may continue long. His case is like The Republic · Classicalthough many that appear to be as great and many times greater. That is most true, he said. And what, I said, will be the best limit for our rulers to fix when they are considering The Sayings of Lao Tzu · Taoismlike moderation. For only by moderation can there be an early return to man's normal state. This early return is the same as a great storage of Virtue. With a great storage of Virt Tao, The Great Luminant · Taoismthe tao-man in governing hides his intelligence; he blots out his symbols of majesty. Depending on the Tao, he does away with cleverness: he acts in common with the people, and eve