第二十九章

将欲取天下而为之，吾见其不得已。天下神器，不可为也，不可执也。为者败之，执者失之。是以圣人无为，故无败，故无失。夫物或行或随；或觑或吹；或强或羸；或载或隳。是以圣人去甚、去奢、去泰。

Chapter 29

I am not convinced that one can govern by force. Citizens of the state are sacred, and can't be forced and controlled. Otherwise, it would doom to fail and lose control. Hence, sages will follow nature, and would not fail and lose anything. People make decisions to follow or walk along, to relax or exert, to be strong or weak, to take easy or take risk. Hence, sages will rule out those policies that are too extreme, too wasteful or too biased. 

第三十章

以道佐人主者，不以兵强天下，其事好还。师之所处，荆棘生焉。大军之后，必有凶年。善有果而已，不敢以取强。果而勿矜，果而勿伐，果而勿骄，果而不得已，果而勿强。物壮则老，是谓不道，不道早已。

Chapter 30

Assisting a ruler with Tao, and force shouldn’t be used to overpower. Otherwise it would be adversely rewarded. The places army conquered are often abandoned, and famine often occurs after their withdrawal. An excellent commander would end the fighting once the goals are achieved. He would be cautious to show off strength. When the goals are accomplished, one should not behave arrogant and boastful. The goal of a war is the last resort, one should not flaunt their power intentionally. Deteriorations often follow the peak of power. This is not in consistency with Tao, and would lead to premature demise.

第三十一章

夫兵者，不祥之器，物或恶之，故有道者不处。君子居则贵左，用兵则贵右。兵者不祥之器，非君子之器，不得已而用之，恬淡为上，胜而不美，而美之者，是乐杀人。夫乐杀人者，则不可得志于天下矣。吉事尚左，凶事尚右。偏将军居左，上将军居右。言以丧礼处之。杀人之众，以悲哀莅之，战胜以丧礼处之。

Chapter 31

Weapons are inauspicious, loathed by society, and Taoists won't touch them. Gentlemen prefer to stay at left, whereas generals tend to stay at right. Weapons are inauspicious, that gentlemen shouldn't use unless being forced to, and peace is supreme after all. Winning shouldn't encourage celebration, as celebration leads to more killing. The man who enjoys killing can't win acceptance among all people. Auspicious items are decided by the left, and inauspicious items are by the right. In a war, the deputy general sits at left, and the general sits at right. This means war should be handled like an inauspicious funeral. One should go to fight with grief, and victories should be handled like funerals.