Chapter 60 60

You impose upon them duties they cannot understand, and make them unwilling to pay attention to your despotism, and you cannot obtain their love.You teach deceit, hypocrisy, lying, which they will do in order to get a reward or escape punishment, and you accustom them to use superficial reasons to cover up private motives.You yourself put into their hands the means of deceiving you, that you could not know their true characters, and they met you or others with empty words whenever they had the opportunity.You will say that the law is imposed on grown-ups as well, though it has to do with conscience.True, but who are these people if not children who have been taught bad by adults?And that's exactly what you should avoid.It is the natural order to talk about physical strength with children and reason with adults. A wise man does not need laws.