Line by Line - Verse 61, Line 10

In the one case the abasement leads to gaining adherents,
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Therefore those who would conquer must yield,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Thus one uses the lower position to take
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

[No corresponding line]
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

It has been said that honey attracts more flies than vinegar! In my mind, that says approximately the same thing as this line.

I should note, however, that demurring -- simply as a strategy to get what we desire -- is like trying to attract flies with saccharin. The smart fly knows the difference between the imitation and the real thing!

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