Listen to this article

十七章

太上,不知有之;
其次,亲而誉之;
其次,畏之;
其次,侮之。
信不足焉,有不信焉。
悠兮,其贵言。
功成事遂,百姓皆谓:「我自然」。

Of the best rulers
The people (only) know that they exist;
The next best the love and praise;
The next they fear;
And the next they revile.
When they do not command the people’s faith,

Some will lose faith in them,
And then they resort to oaths!
But (of the best) when their task is accomplished,
their work done,
The people all remark, ‘We have done it ourselves.’

Rate this post

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here