When thoughtful hear about the Tao, they practice it zealously. When ordinary people hear about the Tao, sometimes they remember it, sometimes they forget it. When thoughtless people hear about the Tao, they make jokes about it. It wouldn't deserve the name of Tao if they didn't make jokes about it.
This is why the ancients said:
The royal road seems obscure. The way forward looks like a way back. The plain way seems winding. The man of higher virtue is like a valley. The man of great purity is as if covered with opprobrium. The man of great merit appears to be incapacitated. The man of solid virtue seems full of laziness. The sober and honored man appears vile and degraded.
A perfect square lacks corners; a great vase is finished late; a great voice is barely heard; a great image is devoid of shape !
The Tao is hiding and no one can notice it. But only the Tao can help everybody and lead them to success.