Line by Line - Verse 51, Line 16

this is called its mysterious operation.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

This is Primal Virtue.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

This is called Mystic Virtue
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

That's the secret of the power of Tao.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

For me, the secret of Tao is selflessness. As we've wended our way through this verse, selflessness permeates the description of Tao's attributes. I view this verse as one of the key ones in the Tao Te Ching -- how to give of ourselves freely without forcing ourselves on anyone and anything!

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