Laozi
使我介然有知，行於大道，唯施是畏。 大道甚夷，而民好徑。 朝甚除，田甚蕪，倉甚虛； 服文綵，帶利劍，厭飲食，財貨有餘； 是謂盜夸。非道也哉！
James Legge
If I were suddenly to become known, and (put into a position to) conduct (a government) according to the Great Tao, what I should be most afraid of would be a boastful display.
The great Tao (or way) is very level and easy; but people love the by-ways.
Their court(-yards and buildings) shall be well kept, but their fields shall be ill-cultivated, and their granaries very empty. They shall wear elegant and ornamented robes, carry a sharp sword at their girdle, pamper themselves in eating and drinking, and have a superabundance of property and wealth;—such (princes) may be called robbers and boasters. This is contrary to the Tao surely!
Victor H. Mair
If I were possessed of the slightest knowledge, traveling on the great Way, My only fear would be to go astray. The great Way is quite level, but the people are much enamored of mountain trails. The court is thoroughly deserted, The fields are choked with weeds, The granaries are altogether empty. Still there are some who wear clothes with fancy designs and brilliant colors, sharp swords hanging at their sides, are sated with food, overflowing with possessions and wealth. This is called “the brazenness of a bandit.” The brazenness of a bandit is surely not the Way!
C. Spurgeon Medhurst
When knowledge compels me to practice the supreme Tao, the danger lies in putting it into action. [^1]
The supreme Tao is a vast plain, yet the people prefer by-paths. The palace is magnificent, but the fields are full of weeds; the granaries are empty, but elegant clothes are worn; sharp two-edged swords are carried, fastidiousness in eating and drinking is displayed, many useless things are amassed—this is robbery and swaggering. [^2]
This is not the Tao! [^3]
The true life of the soul is realized as it exercises its power apart from the senses. Until reborn into the spiritual the senses are blind to the beautiful, or simplicity without superfluity. Man, not realizing this, prefers the by-paths in the lowlands of the physical. These, says Lao-tzu, are not the TAO. To comprehend THAT one must, in the language of Michael de Molinos, know that the center of the kingdom of God is the soul; this must be kept quiet, unoccupied, peaceful, free from fault (personal), inclinations and desires. “Du sollst wissen das Deine Seele der Mittelpunkt, die Wohnung and das Reich Gottes ist; dass deshalb, and damit der hochste aller Konige auf diesem Throne Deiner Seele ruhen kann, Du Dir Muhe geben sollst, diesen Thron rein, ruhig, unbesetzt und friedvoll zu erhalten, frei von Schuld und Fehlern, frei von (personlichen) Neigungen, Begierden und Gedanken, und gelassen in Versuchungen und Ungemach.”—(Der Geistige Fuhrer, S. 1.)
[^1] Translators differ widely.
[^2] If, says Han Fei Tzu as rendered by Giles in his Remains of Lao Tzu, “If accumulation of property prevail in the State, the ignorant masses will naturally take to chicanery in imitation of their betters, and thieving will come into vogue. The lower classes respond to the higher precisely as the lesser musical instruments of a band follow the leading instruments.”
A lesson for modern times. Extravagance now-a-days is common, where there should be economy, economy is practiced where there should be extravagance. There is much extravagance in the glory and swagger of war, and too much economy in the impartation of the economic science and the fine arts.
[^3] The Tao is Simplicity. vid. chap. 32.
Ursula K. Le Guin
If my mind’s modest, I walk the great way. Arrogance is all I fear.
The great way is low and plain, but people like shortcuts over the mountains.
The palace is full of splendor and the fields are full of weeds and the granaries are full of nothing.
People wearing ornaments and fancy clothes, carrying weapons, drinking a lot and eating a lot, having a lot of things, a lot of money: shameless thieves. Surely their way isn’t the way.
Note UKLG: So much for capitalism.