Line by Line - Verse 49, Line 11

and he deals with them all as his children.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

He behaves like a little child.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The sages care for them as children
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

because he lives a life of child-like wonder.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Well, it's very obvious that the Feng/English & Hogan versions see the meaning of this line one way, while Legge and Lin see it another! To break the tie -- just kidding -- let's see how some other folks have interpreted it.

Red Pine's rendition is completely different.

people open their ears and eyes
the sage covers them up

For Jonathan Star, this line reads as

All people are drawn to him
every eye and ear is turned towards him

Victor Mair's translation reads:

The common people all rivet their eyes and ears to him,
And the sage makes them all chuckle like children.

Pick the one that speaks to you best and away you go!

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