"To be identified with the supreme Reason is to win eternal life.
"Even when the body is put to death, there is no need to have any fear of annihilation."
So much for Lao-Tsze's belief in the immortality of the soul; now note in what touching terms he expresses his compassion for the unhappy and unfortunate:
"If the people suffer from hunger, it is because they are weighed down by taxes too heavy for them.
"This is the cause of their misery. . . .
"If the people are difficult to govern, it is because they are oppressed by work too hard for them. . . .
"This is the cause of their insubordination.
"If the people are indifferent to the approach of death, it is because they find it too difficult to obtain sufficient nourishment.
"That is why they die with so little regret."