【正文】 end。 whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. 2. Therefore the clever batant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy39。 concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy。 yet these two in bination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers. 11. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It is like moving in a circleyou never e to an end. Who can exhaust the possibilities of their bination? 12. The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones along in its course. 13. The quality of decision is like the welltimed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. 14. Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision. 15. Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow。s weight placed in the scale against a single grain. 20. The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pentup waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep. V. ENERGY 1. Sun Tzu said: The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers. 2. Fighting with a large army under your mand is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals. 3. To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy39。 Estimation of quantity to Measurement。 secondly, Estimation of quantity。 on the other, a victory that is plete. 8. To see victory only when it is within the ken of the mon herd is not the acme of excellence. 9. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, Well done! 10. To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength。s minds. 15. (3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers. 16. But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to e from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army, and flinging victory away. 17. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. (3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. (4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. (5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign. 18. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. [To Chinese text |To Top] IV. TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS 1. Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. 2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. 3. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. 4. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. 5. Security against defeat implies defensive tactics。 if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him. 10. Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force. 11. Now the general is the bulwark of the State。s one, to surround him。 and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more. 5. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that onethird of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege. 6. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy39。s forces。 supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy39。s own strength. 19. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns. 20. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people39。s provisions is equivalent to twenty of one39。s weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. 3. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain. 4. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue. 5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. 6. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. 7. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. 8. The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supplywagons loaded more than twice. 9. Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs. 10. Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished. 11. On the other hand, the prox