30. Using Arms with Restraint
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
以道佐人主者，不以兵强天下。
English translation
One who assists a ruler by following the Way does not use arms to dominate all under heaven.
Counsel aligned with the Way limits coercion and protects ordinary life. Military power may compel temporary submission, but it should not become the normal means of rule.
Original Chinese text
其事好还。
English translation
Such actions readily bring consequences back upon themselves.
This refers to using armed force for domination. Violence breeds resistance, retaliation, and continuing conflict, often returning upon the one who began it.
Original Chinese text
师之所处，荆棘生焉。
English translation
Where armies have encamped, thorns and brambles grow.
War harms more than those caught in battle. It disrupts farming and daily order, leaving neglected land and damaged livelihoods behind.
Original Chinese text
大军之后，必有凶年。
English translation
After a great army passes, years of hardship are sure to follow.
Large wars consume people and resources and ruin production. Their costs persist after the fighting ends and are borne by ordinary communities.
Original Chinese text
善有果而已，不敢以取强。
English translation
One who handles force well stops once the necessary result is achieved and does not use it to assert dominance.
Even when force cannot be avoided, it should remain limited to what the situation requires. A temporary success is no warrant for expansion or supremacy.
Original Chinese text
果而勿矜，果而勿伐，果而勿骄。
English translation
Achieve the result without self-importance, achieve it without boasting, and achieve it without pride.
Restraint remains necessary after an action succeeds. Claiming credit, boasting, and pride can turn a limited result into fresh hostility.
Original Chinese text
果而不得已，果而勿强。
English translation
Achieve the result only because it could not be avoided; achieve it without pressing force any further.
A necessary success should not be glorified as a triumph of violence. Remembering that force was a last resort makes it possible to stop when the aim is met.
Original Chinese text
物壮则老，是谓不道，不道早已。
English translation
When something reaches extreme strength, it begins to age. This is called going against the Way; what goes against the Way comes to an early end.
Relentless pursuit of strength passes beyond proper measure and hastens decline. What advances only by force, ignoring the rhythm of things, cannot last.