Line by Line - Verse 45, Lines 1-2

Who thinks his great achievements poor
Shall find his vigour long endure.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Great accomplishment seems imperfect,
Yet it does not outlive its usefulness.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Great perfection seems flawed
Its function is without failure
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

The greatest achievements
may look like mistakes,
but you will always be able
to build upon them.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

For Derek Lin,

"Great perfection" here can be read as a synonym for the Tao. "Flaw" in this context means a lack of completeness. This flaw that we may perceive in the Tao is due to our limited human perspective.

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