1. Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the

field and awaits the coming of the enemy,

will be fresh for the fight; whoever is

second in the field and has to hasten to

battle will arrive exhausted.

2. Therefore the clever combatant imposes

his will on the enemy, but does not allow

the enemy's will to be imposed on him.

3. By holding out advantages to him, he can

cause the enemy to approach of his own

accord; or, by inflicting damage, he can

make it impossible for the enemy to draw

near.

4. If the enemy is taking his ease, he can

harass him; if well supplied with food, he

can starve him out; if quietly encamped, he

can force him to move.

5. Appear at points which the enemy must

hasten to defend; march swiftly to places

where you are not expected.

6. An army may march great distances

without distress, if it marches through

country where the enemy is not.

7. You can be sure of succeeding in your

attacks if you only attack places which are

undefended.

You can ensure the safety of your defense

if you only hold positions that cannot be

attacked.

8. Hence that general is skillful in attack

whose opponent does not know what to

defend; and he is skillful in defense whose

opponent does not know what to attack.

9. O divine art of subtlety and secrecy!

Through you we learn to be invisible,

through you inaudible; and hence we can

hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

10. You may advance and be absolutely

irresistible, if you make for the enemy's

weak points; you may retire and be safe

from pursuit if your movements are more

rapid than those of the enemy.

11. If we wish to fight, the enemy can be

forced to an engagement even though he be

sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep

ditch.

All we need do is attack some other place

that he will be obliged to relieve.

12. If we do not wish to fight, we can

prevent the enemy from engaging us even

though the lines of our encampment be

merely traced out on the ground.

All we need do is to throw something odd

and unaccountable in his way.

13. By discovering the enemy's dispositions

and remaining invisible ourselves, we can

keep our forces concentrated, while the

enemy's must be divided.

14. We can form a single united body, while

the enemy must split up into fractions.

Hence there will be a whole pitted against

separate parts of a whole, which means that

we shall be many to the enemy's few.

15. And if we are able thus to attack an

inferior force with a superior one, our

opponents will be in dire straits.

16. The spot where we intend to fight must

not be made known; for then the enemy will

have to prepare against a possible attack

at several different points; and his forces

being thus distributed in many directions,

the numbers we shall have to face at any

given point will be proportionately few.

17. For should the enemy strengthen his

van, he will weaken his rear; should he

strengthen his rear, he will weaken his

van; should he strengthen his left, he will

weaken his right; should he strengthen his

right, he will weaken his left.

If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he

will everywhere be weak.

18. Numerical weakness comes from having to

prepare against possible attacks; numerical

strength, from compelling our adversary to

make these preparations against us.

19. Knowing the place and the time of the

coming battle, we may concentrate from the

greatest distances in order to fight.

20. But if neither time nor place be known,

then the left wing will be impotent to

succor the right, the right equally

impotent to succor the left, the van unable

to relieve the rear, or the rear to support

the van.

How much more so if the furthest portions

of the army are anything under a hundred LI

apart, and even the nearest are separated

by several LI!

21. Though according to my estimate the

soldiers of Yueh exceed our own in number,

that shall advantage them nothing in the

matter of victory.

I say then that victory can be achieved.

22. Though the enemy be stronger in

numbers, we may prevent him from fighting.

Scheme so as to discover his plans and the

likelihood of their success.

23. Rouse him, and learn the principle of

his activity or inactivity.

Force him to reveal himself, so as to find

out his vulnerable spots.

24. Carefully compare the opposing army

with your own, so that you may know where

strength is superabundant and where it is

deficient.

25. In making tactical dispositions, the

highest pitch you can attain is to conceal

them; conceal your dispositions, and you

will be safe from the prying of the

subtlest spies, from the machinations of

the wisest brains.

26. How victory may be produced for them

out of the enemy's own tactics--that is

what the multitude cannot comprehend.

27. All men can see the tactics whereby I

conquer, but what none can see is the

strategy out of which victory is evolved.

28. Do not repeat the tactics which have

gained you one victory, but let your

methods be regulated by the infinite

variety of circumstances.

29. Military tactics are like unto water;

for water in its natural course runs away

from high places and hastens downwards.

30. So in war, the way is to avoid what is

strong and to strike at what is weak.

31. Water shapes its course according to

the nature of the ground over which it

flows; the soldier works out his victory in

relation to the foe whom he is facing.

32. Therefore, just as water retains no

constant shape, so in warfare there are no

constant conditions.

33. He who can modify his tactics in

relation to his opponent and thereby

succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-

born captain.

34. The five elements (water, fire, wood,

metal, earth) are not always equally

predominant; the four seasons make way for

each other in turn.

There are short days and long; the moon has

its periods of waning and waxing.