31
FINE weapons of war augur evil.
Even things seem to hate
them.
Therefore, a man of Tao does not set his heart
upon
them.
In ordinary life, a gentleman regards the left side
as the
place of honour:
In war, the right side is the place of honour.
As weapons are instruments of evil,
They are not properly a
gentleman's instruments;
Only on necessity will he resort to
them.
For peace and quiet are dearest to his heart,
And to him even
a victory is no cause for rejoicing.
To rejoice over a victory is to rejoice over the slaughter
of
men!
Hence a man who rejoices over the slaughter of men
cannot
expect to thrive in the world of men.
On happy occasions the left side is preferred:
On sad occasions the
right side.
In the army, the Lieutenant Commander stands
on
the left,
While the Commander-in-Chief stands on the
right.
This means that war is treated on a par with a
funeral
service.
Because many people have been killed, it is
only right
that survivors should mourn for them.
Hence, even a
victory is a funeral.
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