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Full Idea
The better known the laws and edicts, the more thieves and robbers there are.
Gist of Idea
The better known the law, the more criminals there are
Source
Laozi (Lao Tzu) (Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) [c.530 BCE], II.LVII.132)
Book Ref
Lao Tzu: 'Tao Te Ching', ed/tr. Lau,D.C. [Penguin 1963], p.118
A Reaction
Nice. I link this with my favourite moral maxim from Democritus (Idea 519). The idea is that continual emphasis on what you should not do fills the mind with evil possibilities. Moral perfection must start by taking goodness for granted.
Related Idea
Idea 519 One must avoid even speaking of evil deeds [Democritus (attr)]
| 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)] |