Line by Line - Verse 51, Line 12

matures them, maintains them, and overspreads them.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Grown, and protected.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Nurtures them, protects them
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

and comforts them.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Derek Lin sums up not only this one line but this whole section of the verse like this:

We, too, are part of nature. We, too, come from the Tao, the ultimate source. We are also shaped by our environment and tested by various forces. Although many may not be aware of it, we all learn, grow, and mature within the embrace of Tao. The physical aspect of this growth happens automatically; the spiritual aspect of it is up to us.

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