“Weapons are instruments of misfortune; all things hate them.”Lao Zi · Cartea despre Dao și Virtute · -400 · capitolul 31
Even a victory won by force is received with mourning, not celebration.
Lao Zi offers not absolute pacifism but a rule of attitude: the weapon runs against the Dao, which gives life, and whoever uses it eagerly aligns himself with misfortune. Even the victor in a war should receive it as a funeral, in mourning, not as a triumph to celebrate. A manager who lays people off with euphoria, in the name of efficiency, poisons the whole team that remains.
Why it matters The line is an antidote to the glorification of force, from war rhetoric to corporate talk of battle. Whoever wields power over others has no right to celebrate it.