Line by Line - Verse 31, Line 15

his place, that is, is assigned to him as in the rites of mourning.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

This means that war is conducted like a funeral.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

We say that they are treated as if in a funeral
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When you win a war, you preside over a funeral.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Aside from all the jingoistic rhetoric that nations employ in times of war, armed conflict is a sign of the defeat of supreme virtue. While the modern media tries to sanitize the brutal ugliness of war, nothing genuinely can hide or mask the ruthlessness of it.

When bombs are dropped, missiles are fired or bullets fly, people die. Even more grotesque than soldiers falling in battle, most of the dead, injured and psychologically maimed are innocents caught in the crossfire.

We may not like to think about or focus on these truths, but they represent the realities of war, nonetheless.

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