Line by Line - Verse 68, Line 5

Thus we say, 'He ne'er contends,
And therein is his might.'
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

This is known as the Virtue of not striving.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

It is called the virtue of non-contention
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

This is the power of modesty.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Again, we return to the idea of non-competition and that is what striving tends to be about. We want to outdo and outperform others. Because we try so desperately to move ahead of them, they will try just as hard to get or keep ahead of us. Ya know, a perpetual rat race?

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