Line by Line - Verse 38, Line 15

when benevolence was lost, righteousness appeared;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

When kindness is lost, there is justice.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Benevolence is lost, and then righteousness
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If you don't have kindness,
there's always justice.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

I really like the way Nina Correa phrases this line (the whole verse too) as I think it captures the meaning quite well.

They lose compassion and simply parody justice.

As a way of explanation, she states,

If they can't convince others of their compassion, they'll fall back on pretending that what they’re doing is fair for everyone.

Sounds an awful lot like what justice has come to mean in America!

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