Line by Line - Verse 45, Line 5

Do thou what's straight still crooked deem;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Great straightness seems twisted.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Great straightness seems bent
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

The straightest line looks crooked.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

This line speaks to me loudly. I don't what it is about me, but straight lines often look crooked and crooked lines look straight!

Rulers are of no help whatsoever. No matter how I try to measure things out and then line them up, my so-called straight lines always seem a bit off-center. Ironically, I can draw lines that seem off-center to me, but others will tell me it's perfectly straight!

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