Chapter 30

Index
Fine weapons are instruments of ill omen; all things may detest them. Therefore, one who possesses the Way does not dwell with them.
In peaceful times, the gentleman values the left; in times of war, he values the right.
Weapons are inauspicious instruments, not the tools of a gentleman. He uses them only when he has no choice, and values calm detachment above all.
Victory is not beautiful; those who find it beautiful delight in killing.
Those who delight in killing people cannot achieve their ambitions in the world.
In auspicious matters, the left is honored; in inauspicious matters, the right is honored.
The lieutenant general is stationed on the left, the senior general is stationed on the right. This is to say, it is treated according to funeral rites.
For the multitude of the slain, we mourn them with sorrow and weeping. When victorious in battle, we treat it with funeral rites.