老子道德经英译第三章

　　不尚贤，使民不争;不贵难得之货，使民不为盗;不见可欲，使民心不乱。

　　是以圣人之治，虚其心，实其腹，弱其志，强其骨。常使民无知无欲。使夫智者不敢为也。为无为，则无不治。

　　【译文】采集者退散

　　政府不标榜所谓的贤能，人们就不会争夺权力;不珍贵难得的财务，人们就不会巧取豪夺;不炫耀那些刺激人类贪欲的事物，人们的心灵就不会受到困惑。

　　所以，圣人治理国家政事，会净化人们的心灵;满足人民的安全和温饱;削弱人们的贪欲;增强国民的体魄;使人们没有弄虚作假的巧诈心思，使民风归于淳朴，没有争、夺的贪念。使那些自作聪明的人不敢妄为，不敢耍手段和阴谋。

　　遵循自然的法则，以无为的态度去治理政治事务，国家是不会治理不好的。

　　【英译】

　　Government do not sparkplug so-called aristarchy, then people will not contend for power and profit; Government don't think a lot of rare property, then people will not steal or rob; Government do not splurge the things that maybe activate greed, then the soul of people's won't be fazed.

　　Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, purifies people's mind; makes people dress warmly and ear their fill; weakens their greed, and strengthens their body and spirit. Common social practice will become Simple and honorable. At the same time, the sage will keeps smarty from unseemly behavior and plot.

　　To manage the state affairs follow natural principle. Then the good social order will be established.

　　【备注】

　　很多人误解老子的哲学思想是替封建统治阶级出谋划策，强调愚民政策，实则绝非如此。

　　导致这样的误解的真正原因是没有连贯全文，通篇认真理解诵读，就会找到老子的真正用意。