ᐅᑕᖅᑭᓐᓇᖅᑎᑕᐅᓂᐊᖅᓴᖅ

Wang Bi (226–249 CE)

James Legge (1891)

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! 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.