Line by Line - Verse 20, Line 20

(Thus) I alone am different from other men,
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

I am different.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

I alone am different from them
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

I'm not like other people.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

On one level, each of us is different. We each have unique selves and we view the world through the prism of our own individual egos.

That's not what I think Lao Tzu is driving at with this line. I believe he speaking for the idealized sage; those individuals who do not allow external criteria and internal [ego-induced] blindness to cause the sage to live a life not in keeping with their own internal nature.

That represents a BIG difference from the norm.

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