Tao Teh Ching Chapter 30

以道佐人主者，不以兵强天下。其事好远。师之所处，荆棘生焉。大军之后，必有凶年。
善有果而已，不以取强。果而勿矜，果而勿伐，果而勿骄。果而不得已，果而勿强。
物壮则老，是谓不道，不道早已

Translation
For those who advise the lord of people with the principle of Tao, they do not use military force to conquer the world. The characteristic of war is such that it often returns the effects (you inflicted upon your enemy). Where the troops station, there are thorns of insurgency; after a great war, the country is doomed to suffer from a time of depression.
A master of war knows how to stop once a result is achieved and does not force all the way. Once the result had been achieved, he is not boastful or proud. He achieves the results only because of necessity and won’t be forceful.
When things reach strong maturity it starts to get old and this doesn’t coincide with the TAO. Those not in accordance with the Tao die prematurely.

Comments
In this chapter, Lao Tzu starts his opinion toward military actions. Lao Tzu is against war, but not because of the reasons people normally have nowadays. The reason is because that it 不道, or not in accordance with the Tao. He also has this prediction, 不道早已, that those who exercise war to the utmost degree will die soon. We have seen this so many times in history. Take the Roman Empire, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Hitler for example. One thing common for these is that they have absolute supremacy to their enemies, and yet one after the other they fail. I believe they had not been following Lao Tzu’s advise. Needless to say that this rule still applies today.
远 should be a corruption from 还..