Tao Te Ching - Chapter Fifty-Eight
When the government is dull,
People are simple and sincere.
When the government is complex and stringent,
People are cunning and shall cause trouble.
Calamity is what blessings depend upon.
In blessings there hides the calamity.
Who knows the ultimate end of the cycle of calamity and blessings?
Is there no true principle that exists?
The normal may revert and become unusual.
The good may revert and turn into evil.
Long indeed, man has been under such delusion.
Therefore, the saint abides by firm principle and does not depart from it.
He is honest and not mean.
He is upright and not rue.
He is honored and not eminent.