Sunday, January 2, 2011

Line by Line - Verse 18, Lines 7-8

when the states and clans fell into disorder,
loyal ministers appeared.

~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

When the country is confused and in chaos,
Loyal ministers appear.

~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The country is in confused chaos
There are loyal ministers

~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When the nation is unstable,
they start talking about "patriotism".

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004~
I think Ron Hogan captures these two lines very well indeed!

Patriotism is not paraded out of moth balls when the nation is at peace and the standard of living is equitable. There is no real need to brag about putting "country first" when we're all getting along. It is only when there is a breakdown somewhere along the continuum that placing something first -- country, region, ideology, family, business, etc. -- becomes paramount.

It should go without saying that, if something is placed first, then all other things are viewed as occupying a lower rung on the ladder. There must be one or more scapegoats!!

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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