70. Being obscure

My words are so easy to understand,
so easy to follow,
and yet nobody in the world
understands or follows them.
Words come from an ancestry,
deeds from a mastery:
when these are unknown, so am I.

In my obscurity
is my value.
That’s why the wise
wear their jade under common clothes.

Source: Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu
Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published on February 3, 2022 at 6:00 by

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