Line by Line - Verse 28, Lines 13-14

Who knows how glory shines,
Yet loves disgrace, nor e'er for it is pale;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Know honor,
Yet keep humility.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Know the honor, hold to the humility
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If you are honorable, but remain humble,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

For me, knowing honor (position, privilege or status) is not the same thing as seeking it. If you know what it entails, then you can also ascertain why others seek it and all the pitfalls that go with it. When people seek honor as a goal, they must work their butts off and, too often, eschew ethics or principles to attain it.

Humility, on the other hand, doesn't really take much effort at all. You do what needs to be done and then walk away. You don't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and energy engaged in self-promotion and self-aggrandizement.

In other words, allow your work to speak for itself.

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