Auspicious weapons are tools of misfortune.
Things may not all despise such tools,
but a master of the Way stays clear of them.
The noble-minded treasure the left when home
and the right when taking up weapons of war.
Weapons are tools of misfortune,
not tools of the noble-minded.
When there’s no other way,
they take up weapons with tranquil calm,
finding no glory in victory.
To find glory in victory
is to savor killing people,
and if you savor killing people
you’ll never guide all beneath heaven.
We honor the left in celebrations
and honor the right in lamentations,
so captains stand on the left
and generals on the right.
But use them both as if conducting a funeral:
when so many people are being killed
it should be done with tears and mourning.
And victory too should be conducted like a funeral.
– Tao To Ching, 31
One translation point: "left" refers to the prefered seat of honor at a dinner. Under normal circumstances, the ruler would be seated, and thus honor, the left. But war is not a normal circumstance, it forces the Ruler to disrupt the ordinary pattern of Way.
The Useless Tree 
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