
Following the road of the Tao is easy
For it is great and broad and simple
But people prefer the crooked by-ways
When the palaces and royal courts are grand
The farmers' fields are left to weeds
When food and drink are indulged
Granaries are empty
When people wear fine clothes
And bear sharp swords
Hoarding wealth and possessions
This is far from the Tao surely
Tao Wisdom