THIRTY ONE
Good weapons are instruments of fear; all creatures hate them.
Therefore, followers of Tao never use them.
The wise man prefers the left.
The man of war prefers the right.
Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not the wise man's tools.
He uses them only when he has no choice.
Peace and quiet are dear to his heart
And victory causes no rejoicing.
If you rejoice in victory, then you delight in killing:
If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself.
On happy occasions precedence is give to the left,
And on sad occasions to the right.
In the army the general stands on the left
The commanding officer stands on the right.
This means that war is conducted like a funeral.
When people are being killed,
They should be mourned in heartfelt sorrow.
That is why victory must be observed like a funeral.