Chapter 31 - Weapons Forebode Trouble

Weapons and war as the matter,
Are the ultimate harbingers of evil and trauma,
Feared as such by humanity,
Thus discarded by the wise as a remedy.

The honourable and weapons thus sit with an invisible divide,
The honourable on the left whilst the weapons on the right.

Weapons with all the troubles they bring,
The honorable thus avoids as a means.
Used only as a last resort,
Tranquil options will first be bought.

Even in victory they will not revel,
As soon as they do, death will follow.

The joy and sorrow thus sit with an invisible divide,
The joy on the left whilst the sorrow on the right.
The same divide can be seen,
For civilians and the king.

Does not matter who loses or win,
At the end, sorrow it brings.
Let's treat war as a funeral,
Sit with reverence, form a ritual.

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。