Line by Line - Verse 51, Line 2

and nourished by its outflowing operation.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

They are nourished by Virtue.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

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

and they are nourished
by Tao's power.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Whatever this mysterious something is, we are bathed in it. Whether in life or in death, it constitutes us. It defines us. It is the essential essence of what we are.

We can't escape it, even if we wanted to. There is no place or time that this something does not exist. It is everything and we are part of it.

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