#Click on a sentence 1 2 3 4 5 Chapter 29 Chapter 31 Back to index #

Ch. 30	Sentence 2
Beck	Where armies march, thorns and brambles grow. Whenever a great army is formed, scarcity and famine follow.
Blackney	For where armies have marched, There do briars spring up; Where great hosts are impressed, Years of hunger and evil ensue.
Bynner	An army's harvest is a waste of thorns, Conscription of a multitude of men Drains the next year dry.
Byrn	In the places where armies march, thorns and briars bloom and grow. After armies take to war, bad years must always follow.
Chan	Wherever armies are stationed, briers and thorns grow. Great wars are always followed by famines.
Cleary	Brambles grow where an army has been; there are always bad years after a war.
Crowley	Where armies are, are weeds. Bad harvests follow great hosts.
Hansen	Where you place a division, thorns and briars grow. In the wake of a great army inevitably lies years of calamities.
LaFargue	Where troops camp, thorns and brambles grow.
Legge	Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns spring up. In the sequence of great armies there are sure to be bad years.
Lindauer	Briars and thorns grow within the dwelling place of the army Behind a great military comes the seed for a faminous year.
LinYutan	Where armies are, thorns and brambles grow. The raising of a great host Is followed by a year of dearth.
Mabry	Wherever armies have camped Thistles and briars grow. In the wake of war Bad years are sure to follow.
McDonald	Where armies are, thorns and brambles can grow. The raising of a great host could be followed by a year of dearth.
Merel	Thorns and weeds grow wherever an army goes, And lean years follow a great war.
Mitchell	Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
Muller	Where the general has camped Thorns and brambles grow. In the wake of a great army Come years of famine.
Red Pine	where armies camp brambles grow
Ta-Kao	For the actions of arms will be well requited; where armies have been quartered brambles and thorns grow. Great wars are for certain followed by years of scarcity.
Walker	Weapons turn on their wielders. Battles are inevitably followed by famines.
Wieger	Wherever the troops stay the land produces only thorns, having been abandoned by the farm workers. Wherever a great army has passed, years of unhappiness (from famine and brigandage) follow.
World	Briars grow where armies have been and hard times are the legacy of a great war
Wu	Wherever armies are stationed, thorny bushes grow. After a great war, bad years invariably follow.

Ch. 30	Sentence 3
Beck	The skillful achieve their purposes and stop. They dare not rely on force.
Blackney	The good man's purpose once attained, He stops at that; He will not press for victory.
Bynner	A good general, daring to march, dares also to halt, Will never press his triumph beyond need.
Byrn	The skilful commander strikes a decisive blow then stops.
Chan	A good (general) achieves his purpose and stops, But dares not seek to dominate the world.
Cleary	Therefore the good are effective, that is all; they do not presume to grab power thereby:
Crowley	The good general strikes decisively, once and for all. He does not risk by overboldness.
Hansen	Skill bears fruit - period! Do not presume, in view of that, to choose coercion.
LaFargue	Excellence consists in: Being resolute, that is all not venturing to take control by force
Legge	A skilful (commander) strikes a decisive blow, and stops. He does not dare (by continuing his operations) to assert and complete his mastery.
Lindauer	Those who value Achieve results yet stop Are without venturing to strive to hold
LinYutan	Therefore a good general effects his purpose and stops. He dares not rely upon the strength of arms;
Mabry	A good leader accomplishes only what he has set out to do And is careful not to overestimate his ability.
McDonald	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.
Merel	A general is well advised To achieve nothing more than his orders: Not to take advantage of his victory.
Mitchell	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.
Muller	If you know what you are doing You will do what is necessary and stop there.
Red Pine	best to win then stop don't make use of force
Ta-Kao	He aims only at carrying out relief, and does not venture to force his power upon others.
Walker	Just do what needs to be done, and then stop. Attain your purpose, but don't pres your advantage.
Wieger	Therefore the good general is content to do only what he has to do, (the least possible; moral, rather than material repression). He stops as soon as possible, guarding himself from exploiting his force to the limit.
World	Conclude hostilities as soon as possible and do not continue to use excessive force after victory.
Wu	What you want is to protect efficiently your own state, But not to aim at self-aggrandizement.

Ch. 30	Sentence 4
Beck	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.
Blackney	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.
Bynner	What he must do he does but not for glory, What he must do he does but not for show, What he must do he does but not for self; He has done it because it had to be done, Not from a hot head.
Byrn	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.
Chan	He achieves his purpose but does not brag about it. He achieves his purpose but does not boast about it. He achieves his purpose but is not proud of it. He achieves his purpose but only as an unavoidable step. He achieves his purpose but does not aim to dominate.
Cleary	they are effective but not conceited, effective but not proud, effective but not arrogant. They are effective when they have to be, effective but not coercive.
Crowley	He strikes, but does not vaunt his victory. He strikes according to strict law of necessity, not from desire of victory.
Hansen	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.
LaFargue	being resolute, but not boastful being resolute, but not overbearing being resolute, but not arrogant being resolute, when you have no choice being resolute, but not forcing.
Legge	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.
Lindauer	Achieve results yet do not brag Achieve results yet do not boast Achieve results yet do not be arrogant Achieve results yet without being done Achieve results yet do not strive.
LinYutan	Effects his purpose and does not glory in it; Effects his purpose and does not boast of it; Effects his purpose and does not take pride in it; Effects his purpose as a regrettable necessity; Effects his purpose but does not love violence.
Mabry	He achieves his goal, but does not brag. He effects his purpose, but does not show off. He is resolute, but not arrogant. He does what he must, though he may have little choice. He gets results, but not by force.
McDonald	He fulfils his purpose and does hardly glory in things he has done; effects his purpose and doesn't 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?
Merel	Nor to glory, boast or pride himself; To do what is dictated by necessity, Not by choice.
Mitchell	-
Muller	Accomplish but don't boast Accomplish without show Accomplish without arrogance Accomplish without grabbing Accomplish without forcing.
Red Pine	win but don't be proud win but don't be vain win but don't be cruel win when you have no choice this is to win without force
Ta-Kao	When relief is done, he will not be assuming, He will not be boastful; he will not be proud; And he will think that he was obliged to do it. So it comes that relief is done without resorting to force.
Walker	Be resolute, but don't boast. Succeed, but don't crow. Accomplish, but don't overpower.
Wieger	He does as much as is required (to reestablish peace), not for his personal advantage and fame, but from necessity and with reluctance, without any intention of increasing his power.
World	Fulfill your purpose but never glory in inhumane acts. Fulfill your purpose but never boast of bloodletting. Fulfill your purpose but never take pride in killing. Fulfill your purpose but avoid violence
Wu	After you have attained your purpose, You must not parade your success, You must not boast of your ability, You must not feel proud, You must rather regret that you had not been able to prevent the war. You must never think of conquering others by force.

Ch. 30	Sentence 5
Beck	Things reach their prime and then decline. Violence is contrary to the Way. Whatever is contrary to the Way will soon perish.
Blackney	That things with age decline in strength, You well may say, suits not the Way; And not to suit the Way is early death.
Bynner	Let life ripen and then fall, Force is not the way at all: Deny the way of life and you are dead.
Byrn	The strong always weakened with time. This is not the way of the Tao. That which is not of the Tao will soon end.
Chan	(For) after things reach their prime, they begin to grow old, Which means being contrary to Tao. Whatever is contrary to Tao will soon perish.
Cleary	If you peak in strength, you then age; this, it is said, is unguided. The unguided soon come to an end.
Crowley	Things become strong and ripe, then age. This is discord with the Dao; and what is not at one with the Dao soon comes to an end.
Hansen	Natural kinds are robust - then they get old. This is called 'don't guide.' Practice 'don't guide' early!
LaFargue	Things are vigorous, then grow old and weak: A case of 'not-Tao.' Not-Tao, soon gone.
Legge	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.
Lindauer	Things reach the prime and then are old? Appropriately called not in accordance with tao What is not in accordance with tao comes to an early end.
LinYutan	(For) things age after reaching their prime. That (violence) would be against the Tao. And he who is against the Tao perishes young.
Mabry	Things that grow strong soon grow weak. This is not the Way of the Tao. Not following the Tao leads to an early end.
McDonald	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. What's against dao will hardly survive.
Merel	For even the strongest force will weaken with time, And then its violence will return, and kill it.
Mitchell	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	When things flourish they decline. This is called non-Tao The non-Tao is short-lived.
Red Pine	virility means old age this isn't the Tao what isn't the Tao ends early
Ta-Kao	When things come to the summit of their vigour, they begin to grow old. This is against Tao. What is against Tao will soon come to an end.
Walker	Overdoing things invites decay, and this is against Tao. Whatever is against Tao soon ceases to be.
Wieger	Any height of power is always followed by decadence. Making oneself is therefore contrary to the Principle (the source of duration). He who is lacking on this point, will not be long in coming to an end.
World	Fulfill your purpose by flowing within the oneness of Infinity. The use of force dissipates life. Force is not the way of peace and harmony. That which goes against peace and harmony is short lived
Wu	For to be over-developed is to hasten decay, And this is against Tao, And what is against Tao will soon cease to be.