Line by Line - Verse 3, Line 1

Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Not exalting the gifted prevents quarreling.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Do not glorify the achievers So the people will not squabble
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If you toss compliments around freely, people will waste time trying to impress you.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

As Derek Lin writes in his book,

When we glorify achievers and set them aside for special treatment, people will compete aggressively and step over one another to achieve that glory.

Of course, this is precisely the kind of mentality that pervades American society. People will engage in all sorts of antics -- many of which are wholly unethical -- to win their 15 minutes of fame.

As we saw in the last lines of the previous verse, selfishness is the barrier between each of us and selflessness. The selfless person has no need or use for glory!

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