72. When the People Do Not Fear｜Tao Te Ching

民（mín）不（bù）畏（wèi）威（wēi），（）则（zé）大（dà）威（wēi）至（zhì）。（）

When the people no longer fear imposed authority, a greater danger will arrive.

When pressure exceeds what people can bear, intimidation loses its force and can provoke deeper resistance and disorder.

无（wú）狎（xiá）其（qí）所（suǒ）居（jū），（）无（wú）厌（yàn）其（qí）所（suǒ）生（shēng）。（）

Do not crowd the places where people live; do not oppress the means by which they sustain their lives.

Government should not intrude on basic living space or make livelihood unbearable, or resentment will accumulate through daily hardship.

夫（fú）唯（wéi）不（bù）厌（yàn），（）是（shì）以（yǐ）不（bù）厌（yàn）。（）

Only by not oppressing the people will the ruler avoid being rejected by them.

Lasting authority depends less on force than on leaving people enough room to live securely and sustain themselves.

是（shì）以（yǐ）圣（shèng）人（rén）自（zì）知（zhī）不（bù）自（zì）见（jiàn）；（）自（zì）爱（ài）不（bù）自（zì）贵（guì）。（）

Thus the sage knows himself without putting himself on display; he values himself without exalting himself.

Self-knowledge and self-respect are inward steadiness. They need not turn into display, competition for status, or superiority over others.

故（gù）去（qù）彼（bǐ）取（qǔ）此（cǐ）。（）

Therefore he leaves the former behind and chooses the latter.

He rejects self-display and self-exaltation, choosing self-knowledge and self-respect instead. This also accords with governing without coercion.

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