Line by Line - Verse 39, Line 10

If earth were not thus sure, 'twould break and bend;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The firmness of the earth prevents its splitting.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The earth, lacking tranquility, would erupt
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Without Tao,
the earth would crumble.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

There is something that causes substance to be substance and matter to be matter. There is something that undergirds the laws of biology, chemistry and physics.

In this instance, we could postulate that Tao -- the underlying principle -- is the glue that holds things together.

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