Line by Line - Verse 39, Line 12

If not so filled, the drought would parch each vale;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The fullness of the valley prevents its running dry.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The valley, lacking abundance, would wither
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Without Tao,
the valleys would dry up.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

There are certain things we could not survive without. One of these is water. While we can understand the scientific mechanics of the rain cycle, we still have no idea what caused the first rain. What set this whole thing in motion?

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