Line by Line - Verse 4, Line 2

How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things!
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things!
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

So deep! It seems to be the source of all things
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Use as much as you want, there's plenty more where that came from.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

The grand mystery of all.

We can't see, hear, touch, taste, feel or understand it. We can only experience tiny fragments of it. But there's something that brings forth and sustains life. Call it what you like -- God, Science, Tao, the mysterious void. Naming it does not lead to greater comprehension!

Whatever this nebulous it is, it is.

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