Line by Line - Verse 3, Line 2

not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Not collecting treasures prevents stealing.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Do not treasure goods that are hard to obtain So the people will not become thieves
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If you give things too much value, you're going to get ripped off.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Let's see how three of my Taoist blogging compatriots view this line.

Bragging about what you have may incite someone to take it away from you. Not only is it wrong type of speech, it may prove to be dangerous. A wise man does not count his money while walking down the street.
~ Roshi Hogan ~

And of course it is because we place such a high value on physical possessions that we begin to covet and steal them. If everyone stopped caring about whether they had enough of necessities and luxuries of life, wouldn’t there be plenty of both for everyone? What if you alone chose to live this way?
~ Chris Bryan ~

By simplifying, and living that way, no one would rob or need to, government would not be required.
~ Ta Wan ~

As we continue our slow journey through the Tao Te Ching line-by-line, what matters most is NOT what I or others think about each line. No, what matters most is what YOU think. That's the underlying point of this whole exercise!

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.