30. 以治待亂以靜待譁此治心者也 Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:—this is the art of retaining self-possession. 31. 以近待遠以佚待勞以飽待飢此治力者也 To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait at ease The _T‘ung Tien_ has 逸 for 佚. The two characters are practically synonymous, but according to the commentary, the latter is the form always used in Sun Tzŭ. while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to be well-fed while the enemy is famished:—this is the art of husbanding one’s strength. 32. 無要正正之旗勿擊堂堂之陳此治變者也 To refrain from intercepting 邀 is the reading of the original text. But the 兵書要訣 quotes the passage with 要 _yao_^1 (also meaning “to intercept”), and this is supported by the _Pei T‘ang Shu Ch‘ao_ the _Yü Lan_, and Wang Hsi’s text. an enemy whose banners are in perfect order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in calm and confident array: For this translation of 堂堂, I can appeal to the authority of Tu Mu, who defines the phrase as 無懼. The other commentators mostly follow Ts‘ao Kung, who says 大, probably meaning “grand and imposing”. Li Ch‘üan, however, has 部分 “in subdivisions,” which is somewhat strange. —this is the art of studying circumstances. I have not attempted a uniform rendering of the four phrases 治氣, 治心, 治力 and 治變, though 治 really bears the same meaning in each case. It is to be taken, I think, not in the sense of “to govern” or “control,” but rather, as K‘ang Hsi defines it, = 簡習 “to examine and practise,” hence “look after,” “keep a watchful eye upon.” We may find an example of this use in the _Chou Li_, XVIII. fol. 46: 治其大禮. Sun Tzŭ has not told us to control or restrain the quality which he calls 氣, but only to observe the time at which it is strongest. As for 心, it is important to remember that in the present context it can only mean “presence of mind.” To speak of “controlling presence of mind” is absurd, and Capt. Calthrop’s “to have the heart under control” is hardly less so. The whole process recommended here is that of VI. § 2: 致人而不致於人. 33. 故用兵之法高陵勿向背邱勿逆 It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill. The _Yü Lan_ reads 倍 for 背. 34. 佯北勿從銳卒勿攻 Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen. 35. 餌兵勿食歸師勿遏 Do not swallow a bait offered by the enemy. Li Ch‘üan and Tu Mu, with extraordinary inability to see a metaphor, take these words quite literally of food and drink that have been poisoned by the enemy. Ch‘ên Hao and Chang Yü carefully point out that the saying has a wider application. The _T‘ung Tien_ reads 貪 “to covet” instead of 食. The similarity of the two characters sufficiently accounts for the mistake. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.