Line by Line - Verse 41, Line 15

A vessel great, it is the slowest made;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Great talents ripen late;
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The great vessel is late in completion
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

The greatest talent
seems to produce nothing.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

It has been said that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. From a Taoist perspective, we could say that we should not judge Tao by mere manifestations.

We too often look only at the surface of circumstances, situations and people. We make snap judgments without consideration for the deeper aspects. It is only by plumbing the depths that we can come to see life as it really is.

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