Line by Line - Verse 64, Line 3

that which is brittle is easily broken;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The brittle is easily shattered;
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

When it is fragile, it is easy to break
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Fragile things break easily,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

As John Lash sees it,

That which is not flexible is easily destroyed because it cannot yield and adapt. People with no flexibility of mind, soul, or body, are very fragile and easily crushed by diversity adversity.

And let's face it. We each face adversity in life. Some people must deal with loads of it, while others deal with a lesser amount. Not a one of us will escape it, though.

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