Line by Line - Verse 68, Line 1

He who in (Tao's) wars has skill
Assumes no martial port;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

A good soldier is not violent.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The great generals are not warlike
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

A true warrior never uses force
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Here's how John Lash sees this line in terms of the Tai Chi person.

It is the soldier who must pay for the conflict between peoples. To be violent only increases the chances that conflict will develop. Thus the Tai Chi person, trained in self-defence, does all that he can to avoid conflict by sustaining within him the qualities of non-violence and non-aggression.

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