Saturday, May 12, 2012

Line by Line - Verse 67, Line 11

the hindmost place, and seek only to be foremost;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

They do not believe in humility, but always try to be first.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Goes ahead but discards being behind
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

They act like leaders,
but they have no sense of modesty.

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
I think almost everyone who has ever held a job has had to put up with coworkers and supervisors who exhibit a "me first" attitude. These are the kinds of individuals who will backstab you at the drop of a hat and engage in all sorts of slanderous gossip. Many are not above cheating or dishonesty -- all is fair for them (not you) because being the top dog is all that matters.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

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