Line by Line - Verse 30, Line 4

Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns spring up.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Thorn bushes spring up wherever the army has passed.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The place where the troops camp
Thistles and thorns grow
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

An army on the move leaves a trail of tears,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

In days of yore, large armies traveled by foot and horseback. As they moved from hither to yon, they trampled the vegetation. Their horses often foraged all the grass in the area of their encampments. What was once a vital and beautiful landscape became little more than parched earth and dust.

If you think about it, modern armies aren't all that different. Through war, our species destroys ecosystems, crops, waterways and anything else that happens to get in the way.

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