Chinese text
吾言甚易知，甚易行。天下莫能知，莫能行。言有宗，事有君。夫唯无知，是以不我知。知我者希，则我者贵。是以圣人被褐怀玉。
Translation
My words are very easy to understand, very easy to practice.
In the world, no one can understand them, no one can practice them.
My words have an origin, my actions have a rule.
Men do not understand them, that is why they ignore me.
Those who understand me are very rare. Therefore, I am all the more esteemed.
Hence, the Sage wears coarse clothes and hides precious stones in his bosom.
Notes
E: All of Lao-tze's words are certainly easy to understand and easy to practice. If, in the empire (or in the world), no one can understand or practice them, it is because no one has a clear idea of the 道 and the 德 .
E: The words 宗 “origin” (A: lit. ancestor), and 君 “rule” (vulgo “prince”), refer to the 道 and the 德 . There is not one word of Lao-tze's that does not have a solid foundation. Indeed, they have as their origin and basis the 道 and the 德 . Through them (through the 道 and the 德 ), the Sage manages all the affairs of the empire; through them, he clearly distinguishes success from failure, what is worthy of approval or blame; through them, he brings to light the certain omens of misfortune or happiness, victory or defeat. Thus, the 道 is the origin of his words, the 德 is the rule (literally “the prince, that is to say the regulator”) of his actions.
Liu-kie-fou: They do not know the 道 , which is the origin of my words, nor the 德 , which is the rule of my actions.
E: It is necessary that men know the 道 and the 德 ; then they will know the source and nature of my words, and perhaps they will be able to practice them. But, as they do not know the 道 nor the 德 , it follows that, although my words are very easy to understand, until the end of their lives, they cannot understand them.
E: Those who understand my words are very rare. This shows that my words are elevated and subtle; because of this, they are worthy of esteem. They would not be worthy of esteem if all men could understand them.
Several editions, for example A, B, H, have 则 “those who” after 我 “me”. In this way, the adverb 则 becomes an active verb “to imitate, to take as a model” (H: 法 ), and the three words 则我者 mean: “those who take me as a model (are esteemed)”.
Literally: He wears woolen clothes and holds jade or precious stones in his bosom. E: Lao-tzeu wants to show thereby that ordinary men cannot know him.
B: Internally, he possesses sublime beauty; but, in his appearance and outward demeanor, he seems common and foolish. He is like the oyster that hides a pearl under its coarse shell; like a shapeless stone that conceals a precious diamond. Hence, the vulgar cannot see his inner beauty or his hidden virtues.
