Line by Line - Verse 28, Line 20

The sage, when employed, becomes the Head of all the Officers (of government);
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

When the sage uses it, he becomes the ruler.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The sages utilize them
And then become leaders
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Let Tao show you how to get right with Tao,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

This is one of those lines than can be explained in one of two ways: the collective or the personal. As is my wont, I tend to look at sentiments like this from the perspective of the latter.

When we take all the attributes listed in this verse and apply them to our own lives, we become sages. It is through our understanding of the wisdom we have gained that we are able to lead our own self to embrace a life of simplicity, humility and virtue.

Those individual who live their lives in this way can serve as leaders (examples) to others.

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