Line by Line - Verse 31, Line 8

victory (by force of arms) is to him undesirable.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

And victory no cause for rejoicing.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Victorious but without glory
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

and never celebrates a victory;
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

It is difficult for me to fathom how anyone could whoop it up over a victorious war or battle. Regardless of who "wins," almost all participants and bystanders lose. Some lose their lives. Others lose use of some aspects of their bodies. Some lose their minds and all those who survive lose a bit of their humanity.

War is a wound that can fester for a lifetime and, often, generations.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.