beck

Force of Arms
Whoever advises a leader according to the Way
opposes conquest by force of arms.
The use of force tends to rebound.
Where armies march, thorns and brambles grow.
Whenever a great army is formed, scarcity and famine follow.

The skillful achieve their purposes and stop.
They dare not rely on force.
They achieve their purposes, but do not glory in them.
They achieve their purposes, but do not celebrate them.
They achieve their purposes, but do not take pride in them.
They achieve their purposes, but without violence.

Things reach their prime and then decline.
Violence is contrary to the Way.
Whatever is contrary to the Way will soon perish.

blakney

The Means of the Way ...

To those who would help
The ruler of men
By means of the Way:

Let him not with his militant might
Try to conquer the world;
This tactic is like to recoil.
For where armies have marched,
There do briars spring up;
Where great hosts are impressed,
Years of hunger and evil ensue.

The good man's purpose once attained,
He stops at that;
He will not press for victory.
His point once made, he does not boast,
Or celebrate the goal he gained,
Or proudly indicate the spoils.
He won the day because he must:
But not by force or violence.

That things with age decline in strength,
You well may say, suits not the Way;
And not to suit the Way is early death.

byrn

He who by dao purposes to help a ruler of men, will oppose most conquest by force of arms:
such things are wont to rebound.
Where armies are, thorns and brambles can grow.
The raising of a great host could be followed by a year of dearth.
Therefore a good general effects his purpose and next stops; for he dares not rely upon the strength of arms: he doesn't take further advantage of a victory. He fulfils his purpose and does hardly glory in things he has done; effects his purpose and doesnt boast of a thing he accomplished;
fulfils an ignoble purpose, but takes no pride in something he did well; fulfils his purpose as some perhaps regrettable necessity - does it as a step that could hardly be averted and avoided. So he effects his purpose, but hardly loves violence. Why?

Things age after reaching their prime. What has a time of vigour (and conquest) also has its time of decay. After things reach their prime, they begin to grow old, which means being contrary to dao. Furthermore, morbid violence and violence in excess could be against dao. He who is against the dao perishes young. Whatever is contrary to dao will soon perish. Whats against dao will hardly survive.

feng

Whenever you advise a ruler in the way of Tao,
Counsel him not to use force to conquer the universe.
For this would only cause resistance.
Thorn bushes spring up wherever the army has passed.
Lean years follow in the wake of a great war.
Just do what needs to be done.
Never take advantage of power.

Achieve results,
But never glory in them.
Achieve results,
But never boast.
Achieve results,
But never be proud.
Achieve results,
Because this is the natural way.
Achieve results,
But not through violence.

Force is followed by loss of strength.
This is not the way of Tao.
That which goes against the Tao comes to an early end.

ganson

Tao in War

Whoever advises a ruler according to Tao
opposes conquest by war.
Policies of war tend to rebound.
Where the armies march, brambles grow.
Whenever a great army is formed,
hunger and evil follow.

So, a wise general achieves his goal and stops;
he does not battle beyond victory.
He wins, but does not boast of it;
he wins, but does not celebrate it;
he wins, but does not revel in the spoils;
he wins, for it is his duty to win;
he wins, but not from love of violence.

Things reach their peak, then decline.
Violence opposes Tao.
Whoever opposes Tao dies early.

gnl

Violence
Powerful men are well advised not to use violence,
For violence has a habit of returning;
Thorns and weeds grow wherever an army goes,
And lean years follow a great war.

A general is well advised
To achieve nothing more than his orders:
Not to take advantage of his victory.
Nor to glory, boast or pride himself;
To do what is dictated by necessity,
But not by choice.

For even the strongest force will weaken with time,
And then its violence will return, and kill it.

hansen

Government without Coercion
Those who use a guide to help the ruling class
should not coerce the social world with arms.
Social affairs are highly reciprocal.
Where you place a division,
thorns and briars grow.
In the wake of a great army
inevitably lies years of calamities.
Skill bears fruit --period!
Do not presume, in view of that, to choose coercion.
Have effects and avoid regard.
Have effects and avoid assault.
Have effects and avoid pride.
Have effects and treat it as inevitable.
Have effects and avoid coercion.
Natural kinds are robust--then they get old.
This is called 'don't guide.'
Practice 'don't guide' early!

legge

He who would assist a lord of men in harmony with the Tao will
not assert his mastery in the kingdom by force of arms. Such a course
is sure to meet with its proper return.

Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns spring up. In the
sequence of great armies there are sure to be bad years.

A skilful (commander) strikes a decisive blow, and stops. He does
not dare (by continuing his operations) to assert and complete his
mastery. He will strike the blow, but will be on his guard against
being vain or boastful or arrogant in consequence of it. He strikes
it as a matter of necessity; he strikes it, but not from a wish for
mastery.

When things have attained their strong maturity they become old.
This may be said to be not in accordance with the Tao: and what is not
in accordance with it soon comes to an end.

mccarroll

If you would assist leaders of people
by way of the Tao,
you will oppose the use of armed force to overpower
the world.

Those who use weapons will be harmed by them.
Where troops have camped only thorn bushes grow.
Bad harvests follow in the wake of a great army.

The skillful person strikes the blow and stops,
without taking advantage of victory.
Bring it to a conclusion but do not be vain.
Bring it to a conclusion but do not be boastful.
Bring it to a conclusion but do not be arrogant.
Bring it to a conclusion but only when there is no choice.
Bring it to a conclusion but without violence.

When force is rlsed, youthful strength decays.
This is not the way of Tao.
And that which goes against the Tao
will quickly pass away.

mcdonald

Those who lead people by following the Tao
don't use weapons to enforce their will.
Using force always leads to unseen troubles.

In the places where armies march,
thorns and briars bloom and grow.
After armies take to war,
bad years must always follow.
The skillful commander
strikes a decisive blow then stops.
When victory is won over the enemy through war
it is not a thing of great pride.
When the battle is over,
arrogance is the new enemy.
War can result when no other alternative is given,
so the one who overcomes an enemy should not dominate them.
The strong always weakened with time.

This is not the way of the Tao.
That which is not of the Tao will soon end.

merel

Violence

Powerful men are well advised not to use violence,
For violence has a habit of returning;
Thorns and weeds grow wherever an army goes,
And lean years follow a great war.

A general is well advised
To acheive nothing more than his orders,
No matter how strong his army;
To carry out his orders
But not glory, boast or be proud;
To do what is dictated by necessity,
But not by bloodlust;
For even the fiercest force will weaken with time,
And then its violence will return, and kill it.

merel2

Violence
Powerful men are well advised not to use violence,
For violence has a habit of returning;
Thorns and weeds grow wherever an army goes,
And lean years follow a great war.
A general is well advised
To achieve nothing more than his orders:
Not to take advantage of his victory.
Nor to glory, boast or pride himself;
To do what is dictated by necessity,
But not by choice.
For even the strongest force will weaken with time,
And then its violence will return, and kill it.

mitchell

Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
doesn't try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.

The Master does his job
and then stops.
He understands that the universe
is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
he doesn't need others' approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.

muller

If you used the Tao as a principle for ruling
You would not dominate the people by military force.

What goes around comes around.

Where the general has camped
Thorns and brambles grow.
In the wake of a great army
Come years of famine.
If you know what you are doing
You will do what is necessary and stop there.

Accomplish but don't boast
Accomplish without show
Accomplish without arrogance
Accomplish without grabbing
Accomplish without forcing.

When things flourish they decline.

This is called non-Tao
The non-Tao is short-lived.

rosenthal

A CAVEAT AGAINST VIOLENCE
When leading by the way of the Tao,
abominate the use of force,
for it causes resistance, and loss of strength,
showing the Tao has not been followed well.
Achieve results but not through violence,
for it is against the natural way,
and damages both others' and one's own true self.

The harvest is destroyed in the wake of a great war,
and weeds grow in the fields in the wake of the army.

The wise leader achieves results,
but does not glory in them;
is not proud of his victories,
and does not boast of them.
He knows that boasting is not the natural way,
and that he who goes against that way,
will fail in his endeavours.