Line by Line - Verse 37, Lines 3-4

If princes and kings were able to maintain it, all things would of themselves be transformed by them.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

If kings and lords observed this,
The ten thousand things would develop naturally.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

If the sovereign can hold on to this
All things shall transform themselves
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If our leaders could get in touch with Tao,
the world would take care of itself.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Human civilization is built upon the edifice of will. Societies, nations and individuals constantly try to impose their will -- wants and desires -- on others. Sometimes we try to impose our will through persuasive means, but at other times, the imposition is through force.

What if we decided today to pattern our lives after the natural world around us? To live via our internal nature and nothing else?

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