Here again, Sun Tzŭ does not mean that the general is to be careless of the welfare of his troops. All he wishes to emphasise is the danger of sacrificing any important military advantage to the immediate comfort of his men. This is a shortsighted policy, because in the long run the troops will suffer more from the defeat, or, at best, the prolongation of the war, which will be the consequence. A mistaken feeling of pity will often induce a general to relieve a beleaguered city, or to reinforce a hard-pressed detachment, contrary to his military instincts. It is now generally admitted that our repeated efforts to relieve Ladysmith in the South African War were so many strategical blunders which defeated their own purpose. And in the end, relief came through the very man who started out with the distinct resolve no longer to subordinate the interests of the whole to sentiment in favour of a part. An old soldier of one of our generals who failed most conspicuously in this war, tried once, I remember, to defend him to me on the ground that he was always “so good to his men.” By this plea, had he but known it, he was only condemning him out of Sun Tzŭ’s mouth. 13. 凡此五者將之過也用兵之災也 These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war. 14. 覆軍殺將必以五危不可不察也 When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these five dangerous faults. Let them be a subject of meditation. IX. 行軍篇 THE ARMY ON THE MARCH. The contents of this interesting chapter are better indicated in § 1 than by this heading. 1. 孫子曰凡處軍相敵絶山依谷 Sun Tzŭ said: We come now to the question of encamping the army, and observing signs of the enemy. The discussion of 處軍, as Chang Yü points out, extends from here down to 伏姦之所藏處也 (§§ 1–17), and 相敵 from that point down to 必謹察之 (§§ 18–39). The rest of the chapter consists of a few desultory remarks, chiefly on the subject of discipline. Pass quickly over mountains, For this use of 絶, cf. _infra_. § 3. See also 荀子, ch. 1. fol. 2 (standard edition of 1876): 絶江河; _Shih Chi_, ch. 27 _ad init._: 後六星絶漢. and keep in the neighbourhood of valleys.