Tao Te Ching · Ch. 17

太上,下知有之;其次,親而譽之;其次,畏之;其次,侮之。信不足焉,有不信焉。悠兮其貴言。功成事遂,百姓皆謂:我自然。

Tài shàng, xià zhī yǒu zhī; Qí cì, qīn ér yù zhī; Qí cì, wèi zhī; Qí cì, wǔ zhī. Xìn bù zú yān, yǒu bù xìn yān. Yōu xī qí guì yán. Gōng chéng shì suì, bǎi xìng jiē wèi: wǒ zì rán.

With the greatest rulers, the people merely know they exist. With those of lesser quality, the people love and praise them. With those lesser still, the people fear them. With the least, the people despise them. When trust is insufficient, there is distrust. How easy-going is such a ruler in his use of words! When his work is done and his affairs completed, the people all say: 'We did this ourselves, naturally.'

— Tao Te Ching 17

Source: Wang Bi edition (Chinese) + Hanyu Pinyin transliteration