Line by Line - Verse 65, Lines 5-6

He who (tries to) govern a state by his wisdom is a scourge to it;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Rulers who try to use cleverness
Cheat the country.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Therefore, using cleverness to govern the state
Is being a thief of the state
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Leaders who try to be clever
always screw things up.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Again, we know these lines to be true for a nation because they are true for ourselves in our own individual lives.

We rob and cheat ourselves out of so much by our rationalizations. We injure our bodies and pollute our minds. We build obstacles where no obstacles existed. We create stress out of thin air and then must deal with the tension and disharmony that WE wantonly created.

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