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58 ~
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!
Who knows what either will come to in the end?
Shall we then dispense with correction? The method of correction shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn
become evil. The delusion of the people on this point has indeed subsisted for a long time.
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.
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