Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Line by Line - Verse 80, Line 5

though they had buff coats and sharp weapons, they should have no occasion to don or use them.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Though they have armor and weapons, no one displays them.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Although they have armors and weapons
They have no need to display them

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

They may have owned weapons,
but they kept those weapons locked up, securely hidden.

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
It is sad that throughout history humans have equated power with force. If you want others to do what you want, you flex your military muscles. (In the present day, think of the US and Israel posturing versus Iran.)

Real power comes from working with others to solve society's ills. The compassionate and just role model can utilize their virtuous power to convince others of the folly of force, prejudice and injustice.

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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