Chapter 31
"Even the finest arms are an instrument of evil,
A spread of plague,
And the way for a vital man to go is not the way of a soldier.
But in time of war men civilized in peace
Turn from their higher to their lower nature.
Arms are an instrument of evil,
No measure for thoughtful men
Until there fail all other choice
But sad acceptance of it.
Triumph is not beautiful.
He who thinks triumph beautiful
Is one with a will to kill,
And one with a will to kill
Shall never prevail upon the world.
It is a good sign when man's higher nature comes forward,
A bad sign when his lower nature comes forward,
When retainers take charge
And the master stays back
As in the conduct of a funeral.
The death of a multitude is cause for mourning:
Conduct your triumph as a funeral."
- Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 31
"So far as arms are concerned, they are implements of ill-omen.
They are not implements for the man of Tao.
For the actions of armies will be well requited; where armies have quartered, brambles and thorns grow.
Great wars are for certain followed by years of scarcity.
The man of Tao when dwelling at home makes the left as the place of honour, and when using arms makes the right the place of honour.
He uses them only when he cannot avoid it.
In his conquests he takes no delight.
If he take delight in them, it would mean that he enjoys the slaughter of men.
He who takes delight in the slaughter of men cannot have his will done in the world."
- Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 31
"Even the finest arms are an instrument of evil,
A spread of plague,
And the way for a vital man to go is not the way of a soldier.
But in time of war men civilized in peace
Turn from their higher to their lower nature.
Arms are an instrument of evil,
No measure for thoughtful men
Until there fail all other choice
But sad acceptance of it.
Triumph is not beautiful.
He who thinks triumph beautiful
Is one with a will to kill,
And one with a will to kill
Shall never prevail upon the world.
It is a good sign when man's higher nature comes forward,
A bad sign when his lower nature comes forward,
When retainers take charge
And the master stays back
As in the conduct of a funeral.
The death of a multitude is cause for mourning:
Conduct your triumph as a funeral."
- Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 31
夫佳兵者不祥之器.
物或惡之, 故有道者不處.
君子居則貴左.
用兵則貴右.
兵者不祥之器.
非君子之器.
不得已而用之.
恬淡為上.
勝而不美.
而美之者, 是樂殺人.
夫樂殺人者, 則不可以得志於天下矣.
吉事尚左.
凶事尚右.
偏將軍居左.
上將軍居右.
言以喪禮處之.
殺人之衆, 以哀悲泣之.
戰勝以喪禮處之.
- Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 31
fu bing zhe bu xiang zhi qi.
wu huo wu zhi, gu you dao zhe bu chu.
jun zi ju ze gui zuo.
yong bing ze gui you.
bing zhe bu xiang zhi qi.
fei jun zi zhi qi.
bu de yi er yong zhi.
tian dan wei shang.
sheng er bu mei.
er mei zhi zhe, shi le sha ren.
fu le sha ren zhe, tse bu ke yi de zhi yu tian xia yi.
ji shi shang zuo.,
xiong shi shang you.
pian jiang jun ju zuo.
shang jiang jun ju you.
yan yi sang li chu zhi.
sha ren zhi zhong, yi ai bei qi zhi.
zhan sheng yi sang li chu zhi.
- Pinyin Romanization, Dao De Jing, Chapter 31
"Weapons of war are omens of doom,
To be loathed by every living thing
And shunned by those who keep the Way.
Presiding at court the leader honours the left.
Resorting to war he honours the right.
But weapons are never the leader’s choice.
Weapons of war are omens of doom,
Not to be used unless compelled.
Above all, with mind and heart unstirred,
To arms give no glory:
For to glory in arms
Is to sing and rejoice in the slaughter of men.
And singers in praise of the slaughter of men
Shall not in this world gain their ends.
Thus the left is for deeds that are blessed,
The right is for deeds that bring death.
To the left the minor commander,
To the right the chief general:
Placed for the rites to honour the dead.
When the slaughter is great,
Let the leader come forth to keen for the slain;
The victory won,
To perform solemn rites in mourning the day."
- Translated by Moss Roberts, 2001, Chapter 31
"Las armas son instrumentos nefastos.
El hombre del Tao nunca se sirve de ellas.
El hombre de bien considera a la izquierda
como sitio de honor,
pero se inclina a la derecha cuando porta armas.
El sabio prefiere la izquierda.
El soldado prefiere la derecha.
Las armas son instrumentos nefastos,
no adecuados para el hombre de bien.
Sólo las usa en caso de necesidad,
y lo hace comedidamente,
sin alegría en la victoria.
El que se alegra de vencer
es el que goza con la muerte de los hombres.
Y quien se complace en matar hombres
no puede prevalecer en el mundo.
Para los grandes acontecimientos
el sitio de honor es la izquierda,
y la derecha para los hechos luctuosos.
En el ejército,
El comandante adjunto se coloca a la izquierda,
El comandante en jefe, a la derecha.
Esta es la misma disposición que se usa en los ritos fúnebres.
Esto significa que la guerra se compara a un servicio funerario.
Cuando ha sido matada mucha gente,
sólo es justo que los supervivientes lloren por los muertos.
Por esto, incluso una victoria es un funeral."
- Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capitulo 31
"Of
all things, soldiers are instruments of evil,
Hated by men.
Therefore the religious man (possessed of Tao) avoids them.
The gentleman favors the left in civilian life,
But on military occasions favors the right.
Hated by men.
Therefore the religious man (possessed of Tao) avoids them.
The gentleman favors the left in civilian life,
But on military occasions favors the right.
Soldiers
are weapons of evil.
They are not the weapons of the gentleman.
When the use of soldiers cannot be helped,
The best policy is calm restraint.
They are not the weapons of the gentleman.
When the use of soldiers cannot be helped,
The best policy is calm restraint.
Even
in victory, there is no beauty,
And who calls it beautiful
Is one who delights in slaughter.
He who delights in slaughter
Will not succeed in his ambition to rule the world.
And who calls it beautiful
Is one who delights in slaughter.
He who delights in slaughter
Will not succeed in his ambition to rule the world.
[The
things of good omen favor the left.
The things of ill omen favor the right.
The lieutenant-general stands on the left,
The general stands on the right.
That is to say, it is celebrated as a Funeral Rite.]
The things of ill omen favor the right.
The lieutenant-general stands on the left,
The general stands on the right.
That is to say, it is celebrated as a Funeral Rite.]
The
slaying of multitudes should be mourned with sorrow.
A victory should be celebrated with the Funeral Rite."
- Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 31
A victory should be celebrated with the Funeral Rite."
- Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 31
Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching
Taoism: A Selected Reading List
A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo on a Chapter of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes at least 16 different translations or interpolations of the Chapter in English, two Spanish translations, the Chinese characters for the Chapter, a Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin Romanization of the Mandarin Chinese words for the Chapter, recommended reading lists, a detailed bibliography; indexing by key words and terms for the Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization; some commentary, and other resources for the Chapter.
