Line by Line - Verse 60, Lines 5-6

It is not that it could not hurt men, but neither does the ruling sage hurt them.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Not only will it do no harm to others,
But the sage himself will also be protected.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Not only do its gods not harm people
The sages also do not harm people
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Also, as a wise leader,
you cause no harm to others,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

From the standpoint of Lao Tzu, the great Way is impartial. The laws of nature do not single out life forms to be rewarded or punished. Gain and loss, abundance and scarcity, and life and death occur through the normal processes that we signify as Tao.

Consequently, if the sage (as leader) seeks to embody Tao in all she thinks and does, then she too will treat the ten thousands things impartially and her actions will not be undertaken to mete out harm to anyone.

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