Line by Line - Verse 39, Line 14

Princes and kings, without that moral sway,
However grand and high, would all decay.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The leadership of kings and lords prevents the downfall of the country.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The rulers, lacking standard, would be toppled
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Without Tao,
rulers would stumble and fall.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Human history is a chronicle of rulers and empires coming apart. It doesn't matter which epoch of history we look at; all powers eventually are overthrown, die away or are toppled.

In our present day, we are watching this dynamic slowly play out with the United States. As with most empires that came before us, we have and continue to sow the seeds of our own destruction. In time, we will fall off of our self-created pedestal.

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