Master Sun said:
Of old,
The Skilful Warrior
First ensured
His own
Invulnerability;
Then he waited for
The enemy’s
Vulnerability.
Invulnerability rests
With self;
Vulnerability,
With the enemy.
The Skilful Warrior
Can achieve
His own
Invulnerability;
But he can never bring about
The enemy’s
Vulnerability.
Invulnerability is
Defence;
Vulnerability is
Attack.
Defence implies
Lack;
Attack implies
Abundance.
A Skilful Defender
Hides beneath
The Ninefold Earth;
A Skilful Attacker
Moves above
The Ninefold Heaven.
Thus they achieve
Protection
And victory
Intact.
To foresee
The ordinary victory
Of the common man
Is no true skill.
To lift autumn fur
Is no
Strength;
To see sun and moon
Is no
Perception;
To hear thunder
Is no
Quickness of hearing.
The Skilful Warrior of old
Won
Easy victories.
The victories
Of the Skilful Warrior
Are not
Extraordinary victories;
They bring
Neither fame for wisdom
Nor merit for valour.
His victories
Are
Flawless;
His victory is
Flawless
Because it is
He vanquishes
An already defeated enemy.
The Skilful Warrior
Takes his stand
On invulnerable ground;
He lets slip no chance
Of defeating the enemy.
The victorious army
Is victorious first
And seeks battle later;
The defeated army
Does battle first
And seeks victory later.
The Skilful Strategist
Cultivates
The Way
And preserves
The law;
Thus he is master
Of victory and defeat.
In War,
There are Five Steps:
Measurement,
Estimation,
Calculation,
Comparison,
Victory.
Measurement;
Measurement determines
Estimation;
Estimation determines
Calculation;
Calculation determines
Comparison;
Comparison determines
Victory.
A victorious army
Is like a pound weight
In the scale against
A grain;
A defeated army
Is like a grain
In the scale against
A pound weight.
A victorious army
Is like
Pent-up water
Crashing
A thousand fathoms
Into a gorge.