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There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.
Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat.
Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity.
Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.
the four seasons make way for each other in turn.
In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.
Chang Yu says: “Presence of mind is the general’s most important asset. It is the quality which enables him to discipline disorder and to inspire courage into the panic-stricken.”
The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
Wu Tzu, chap. IV. ad init.: “In estimating the character of a general, men are wont to pay exclusive attention to his courage, forgetting that courage is only one out of many qualities which a general should possess. The merely brave man is prone to fight recklessly; and he who fights recklessly, without any perception of what is expedient, must be condemned.”
Too frequent rewards signify that the enemy is at the end of his resources; [Because, when an army is hard pressed, as Tu Mu says, there is always a fear of mutiny, and lavish rewards are given to keep the men in good temper.] too many punishments betray a condition of dire distress. [Because in such case discipline becomes relaxed, and unwonted severity is necessary to keep the men to their duty.]
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not. On facile ground, halt not. On contentious ground, attack not.
But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; [The Wu State was destined to be a melancholy example of this saying.] nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.
