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Full Idea
Those who are good I treat as good; those who are not good I also treat as good; in doing so I gain in goodness.
Gist of Idea
To gain in goodness, treat as good those who are good, and those who are not
Source
Laozi (Lao Tzu) (Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) [c.530 BCE], II.XLIX.111)
Book Ref
Lao Tzu: 'Tao Te Ching', ed/tr. Lau,D.C. [Penguin 1963], p.110
A Reaction
Socrates (idea 346) and Jesus (Idea 6288) had similar ideas. Who, though, is going to administer justice, and where is the idea that people 'deserve' good or ill treatment? Schoolteachers should treat all children as if they were good.
Related Ideas
Idea 346 One ought not to return a wrong or injury to any person, whatever the provocation [Socrates]
Idea 6288 Don't resist evil, but turn the other cheek [Jesus]
| 23401 | A military victory is not a thing of beauty [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 23402 | The highest virtue is achieved without effort [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6319 | Wise people choose inaction and silence [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6320 | The best rulers are invisible, the next admired, the next feared, and the worst are exploited [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6321 | Vulgar people are alert; I alone am muddled [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6325 | One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6326 | The better known the law, the more criminals there are [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6327 | Do good to him who has done you an injury [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6328 | To know yet to think that one does not know is best [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6329 | People are hard to govern because authorities love to do things [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6330 | One with no use for life is wiser than one who values it [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6331 | Truth is not beautiful; beautiful speech is not truthful [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6324 | To gain in goodness, treat as good those who are good, and those who are not [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6322 | There is no crime greater than having too many desires [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 6323 | Pursuit of learning increases activity; the Way decreases it [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |