Line by Line - Verse 24, Line 6

he who is self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

He who brags will not endure.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Those who boast about themselves do not last
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

People who hype themselves
don't have anything else to offer.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

This line is a continuation of the last two. I think that John Lash captures the essence of this line well when he writes,

Opposites are inseparably connected. Thus, sooner or later, success must be followed by failure. To brag is not to understand the nature of things.

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