Line by Line - Verse 41, Line 14

Its largest square doth yet no corner show
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The perfect square has no corners;
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The great square has no corners
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

The largest space has no boundaries.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Nothing in this world is perfect, except Tao, and Tao is not perfect in a moral sense. Tao is perfect in that Tao encompasses all (completeness). So, to me, this line is trying to express that Tao knows no boundaries. There is no point or corner outside of the Way.

Another way to look at this line is to say it rejects a linear notion of existence.

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