Line by Line - Verse 57, Lines 8-9

the more implements to add to their profit that the people have, the greater disorder is there in the state and clan;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The sharper men's weapons,
The more trouble in the land.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

When people have many sharp weapons
The country becomes more chaotic
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When a nation hoards weapons,
troubles arise from within
and from without.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Any country that constantly looks for wars to start and fight is a country in which the common people must learn to go without.

Look at the United States today. Of all the nations in the world, we are the most warlike. Our military-industrial complex is the largest by far in the world. While we pour trillions upon trillions of dollars into the war machine, our infrastructure is crumbling beneath our feet. More and more people go hungry each day and our once-vaunted educational system is falling behind most of the countries in the industrialized world.

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