Line by Line - Verse 46, Lines 3-4

When the Tao is disregarded in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

When the Tao is absent from the universe,
War horses are bred outside the city.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

When the world lacks the Tao
Warhorses give birth on the battlefield
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When the world loses touch with Tao,
horses are trained for cavalry."
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

The flip side of Li Hsi-Chai's observation (as quoted by Red Pine) is that:

When the ruler does not possess the Tao, farmers become soldiers.

In this same vein, when our lives become about hurting others, we leave behind tranquility and productiveness. Our fields of creativity lie fallow and the only thing that can grow in our soil is negativity and hate.

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