Chapter 57
When governance is muted and subdued, the people are genuine and simple; when governance is sharp and scrutinizing, the people become deficient and cunning.
Misfortune, alas—fortune leans upon it; fortune, alas—misfortune lurks within it.
Who knows where this culminates?
There is no fixed standard.
The standard reverts to the deviant; the good reverts to the monstrous.
The people's confusion—these days have certainly been long.
Therefore the sage is square yet does not cut, sharp-edged yet does not lacerate, straight yet does not impose, luminous yet does not dazzle.