Thursday, October 7, 2010

Line by Line - Verse 8, Line 11

no one finds fault with him.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

No fight: No blame.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Because it does not contend It is therefore beyond reproach
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If you don't compare yourself to others, nobody can compare to you.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
I think Feng and English sum up this last line nicely.
This line tersely expresses the idea that he who does not seek to impose his own will is beyond reproach.
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

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