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Chinese text
古之善为士者不武，善战者不怒，善胜敌者不争，善用仁者为下。
是谓不争之德，是以用人之力，是谓配天古之极。
Translation
The one who excels at commanding an army does not display warlike fervor.
The one who excels at fighting does not become angry.
The one who excels at conquering does not engage in battle.
The one who excels at employing people places themselves below them.
This is called the virtue of not contending.
This is called using the strength of others.
This is called harmonizing with the heavens.
Such was the great wisdom of the ancients.
Annotations
D: The word 士 (commonly, a scholar) means here 'a commander, leader of the military'.
Alternatively E, according to Ou-yeou-thsing: In antiquity, the word 士 designated those who fought on chariots.
Tsiao-hong: Warriors are those who fight with the utmost ferocity. Lao-tseu cites them here figuratively to show that the person who cultivates the Tao should not contend, that is, they should humbly yield to others. — In the first three sentences, Lao-tseu cites warriors who fight only out of necessity and take care not to stray from the Tao.
C: The one who excels at being 士 (E according to the interpreter Ou-yeou-thsing: soldier who fights on a chariot), or commander (according to D), values virtue and does not value warlike courage.
E: The one who excels at fighting places calm and tranquility of mind first; they do not give in to anger. Lao-tseu uses these two comparisons to serve as a transition to what follows.
E: (The king) who excels at conquering the enemy cultivates the Tao in the temple of ancestors and in the palace hall, and then the enemies submit of their own accord. As for those who raise armies, who mobilize the people, who deploy all their cunning in battle and can barely subjugate them, these are warriors of the lowest order.
E: The one who employs people and does not place themselves below them cannot make use of their strength. As for the one who knows how to employ people, once they place themselves below them, the whole empire is filled with joy and loves to serve them.
B: They rid themselves of the feelings of pride that make a man seem larger in their own eyes; they show humility and modesty, and then all people love to obey and be employed by them.
E: This responds to the previous passage: 'The one who excels at conquering the enemy'.
E: This responds to the previous passage: 'The one who excels at employing people'.
Ibidem: The person whose virtue is that of not contending makes no use of weapons or war chariots, and the empire submits to them.
The one who knows how to use the strength of people does not tire themselves by showing brilliance and discernment, and the whole empire is well governed.
E: By their virtue, the Sage harmonizes with the heavens. This was the sublime path of high antiquity.
