Laozi protested against the despot's draconian enforcement of severe laws which forced people to their deaths, saying: The common people no longer fear even death itself. Would you now use the threat of death to cow them?
他抗議當時極權者為維護一己之私，嚴刑峻法逼使人民走向死途，說出：民不畏死，奈何以死懼之？老百姓已經死都不怕了，還以死來恐嚇他們？