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3 - Making thieves

When you praise worthy people, you make other people envious and quarrelsome.
When you value rare things highly, you turn honest people into thieves.
If you show people exciting things, you will make them covetous and greedy.
The wise rule by keeping the peoples' hearts empty (of desire) and their bellies full.
Making their bones strong and their ambitions weak.

Since the people are free of avarice and desire,
even the most cunning grifter has no opportunity to corrupt them.

By using the "act without action" principle,
everything just falls into place.

Original Chinese and notes