One who follows the Tao
does not rule with weapons.
What is forced
always meets resistance.

Where armies go,
thorns and brambles grow.
After a great war,
bad years follow.

The wise commander
strikes only when necessary,
then stops.
He does not seek control.
He does not boast.
He does not take pride.
He does not dominate.

He acts from necessity —
never from the desire to conquer.

When things grow strong,
they soon begin to wither.
This is not the way of the Tao.
What goes against the Tao
cannot last.