"People starved because the ruler taxed too heavily."

“Translation from the City University of Hong Kong: On-line Tao Te Ching. Classical and Vernacular Chinese, and English.”

“Commentary by Swami Nirmalananda Giri: Commentary on the Tao Te Ching.”

“Those about whom you inquire have moulded with their bones into dust. Nothing but their words remain. When the hour of the great man has struck he rises to leadership; but before his time has come he is hampered in all that he attempts. I have heard that the successful merchant carefully conceals his wealth, and acts as though he had nothing—that the great man, though abounding in achievements, is simple in his manners and appearance. Get rid of your pride and your many ambitions, your affectation and your extravagant aims. Your character gains nothing for all these. This is my advice to you.”

“He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.”

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning.”

“When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.”