Line by Line - Verse 52, Lines 1-2

(The Tao) which originated all under the sky is to be considered as the mother of them all.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The beginning of the universe
Is the mother of all things.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The world has a beginning
We regard it as the mother of the world
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Everything starts with Tao,
the mother of all things.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

In his discussion of these first two lines of Verse 52, John Lash writes that Tao, like a mother, "loves all [her] children equally."

This is a sentiment that I think most parents can understand intuitively. While your children have differing strengths and weaknesses, you love each one unconditionally. Since all things come from one source, how could that source play favorites?

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