第六十五章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 65
The ancients kept the people simple rather than clever; knowing this is mysterious virtue.
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古之善为道者，非以明民，
Those of old who were good at the Way did not use it to make the people clever,
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将以愚之。
but to keep them simple.
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民之难治，以其智多。
People are hard to govern because they are too clever.
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故以智治国，国之贼，
So to govern a state with cleverness is to rob the state;
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不以智治国，国之福。
not to govern a state with cleverness is a blessing for the state.
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知此两者亦稽式。
Knowing these two is also knowing the pattern.
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常知稽式，是谓玄德。
Always knowing the pattern is called mysterious virtue.
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玄德深矣，远矣，
Mysterious virtue is deep, is far-reaching,
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与物反矣，
it turns back with all things,
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然后乃至大顺。
and then reaches the great harmony.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 古 | gǔ | antiquity, ancient |
| 之 | zhī | of, 's (linking particle) |
| 善 | shàn | to be good at |
| 为 | wéi | to act, to do, to make |
| 道 | dào | the Way |
| 者 | zhě | one who, that which |
| 非 | fēi | is not |
| 以 | yǐ | in order to |
| 明 | míng | to make clever |
| 民 | mín | the people |
| 将 | jiāng | about to; to intend |
| 愚 | yú | to keep simple |
| 之 | zhī | it, them (object) |
| 之 | zhī | that (clause particle) |
| 难 | nán | difficult |
| 治 | zhì | to govern; in order |
| 以 | yǐ | because, by |
| 其 | qí | its, his, their |
| 智 | zhì | clever, cunning |
| 多 | duō | much, many |
| 故 | gù | therefore |
| 以 | yǐ | by means of, with |
| 国 | guó | the state |
| 贼 | zéi | robbery, bane |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 福 | fú | good fortune |
| 知 | zhī | to know |
| 此 | cǐ | this, these |
| 两者 | liǎng zhě | these two |
| 亦 | yì | also |
| 稽 | jī | pattern, standard |
| 式 | shì | model, pattern |
| 常 | cháng | always, ever |
| 是 | shì | this |
| 谓 | wèi | to call, to be called |
| 玄 | xuán | mystery, mysterious |
| 德 | dé | virtue |
| 深 | shēn | deep, profound |
| 矣 | yǐ | final particle (completion) |
| 远 | yuǎn | far, distant |
| 与 | yǔ | with, and |
| 物 | wù | thing, beings |
| 反 | fǎn | return, reversal |
| 然后 | rán hòu | and then |
| 乃 | nǎi | then, in turn |
| 至 | zhì | to arrive at |
| 大 | dà | great, big |
| 顺 | shùn | accord, harmony |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
The ancients who showed their skill in practising the Tao did so, not to enlighten the people, but rather to make them simple and ignorant.
The difficulty in governing the people arises from their having much knowledge. He who (tries to) govern a state by his wisdom is a scourge to it; while he who does not (try to) do so is a blessing.
He who knows these two things finds in them also his model and rule. Ability to know this model and rule constitutes what we call the mysterious excellence (of a governor). Deep and far-reaching is such mysterious excellence, showing indeed its possessor as opposite to others, but leading them to a great conformity to him.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 65
Chapter 65 says that the ancients who were good at the Way did not use it to make the people clever, but to keep them simple. People are hard to govern when they are too clever; to govern a state by cleverness robs it, and not to do so is a blessing.
The key word is 愚, which in modern Chinese means "foolish". The house translation renders it "simple", and this is the hardest choice in the chapter; Legge wrote "simple and ignorant". Wang Bi explains 愚 as being without cunning, keeping to what is genuine and following what is so of itself, and chapters 3 and 19 point the same way. The cleverness the chapter rejects (智) is scheming, and line 4 holds it against the ruler as much as the people.
Knowing these two ways is knowing the pattern, and always knowing the pattern is called 玄德 (mysterious virtue), the phrase that ends chapters 10 and 51. Such virtue is deep and far-reaching; it turns back with all things, as returning is the movement of the Way in chapter 40, and so reaches the great harmony.