第七十二章  水可覆舟

民不畏威，则大威至。无狎其所居，无厌其所生。夫唯不厌，是以不厌。 是以圣人自知不自见，自爱不自贵。故去彼取此。

WaterSwallows Boats Occationally

When people lack a sense of awe, then something awful will happen.

If peopleno longer have fear for authority,

therecomes the real trouble.

Do not constrict people's living space. Do not suppress theirlivelihoods. It is because you do not oppress them that your leadership will berespected.

Therefore, the Sage knows himself, But makes no show of himself; Loveshimself, But does not exalt himself.

He lets go of showing off and conceit, and embraces self-knowledge andlove.

 [译文]

当百姓不畏惧威镇时，推翻统治的反抗就要来了。不要逼迫百姓无处安居，不要压榨百姓无法生存。只有不压迫人民，才不会被百姓所厌恶和抛弃。因此，真正悟道的人不自以为是，懂得珍爱自我而不自居高贵。

因此，他们能够自知，自爱，而不自见，自贵。