- 是故其兵不修而戒不求而得不約而親不令而信
- 禁祥去疑至死無所災
25. Thus, without waiting to be marshalled, the soldiers will be constantly on the qui vive;
Tu Mu says: 不待修整而自戒懼. Capt. Calthrop wrongly translates 不修 “without warnings.”
without waiting to be asked, they will do your will;
Literally, “without asking, you will get.” Chang Yü’s paraphrase is: 不求索而得情意.
without restrictions, they will be faithful;
Chang Yü says: 不約束而親上.
without giving orders, they can be trusted.
This last clause is very similar in sense to the one preceding, except that 親 indicates the soldiers’ attachment to their leader, and 信 the leader’s attitude towards them. I rather doubt if 信 can mean “they will have confidence in their leader,” as the commentary seems to indicate. That way, the sense is not nearly so good. On the other hand, it is just possible that here, as in VIII. § 8 and infra, § 55, 信 may = 申: “without orders, they will carry out [their leader’s plans].” The whole of this paragraph, of course, has reference to “desperate ground.”
26. Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts.
祥 is amplified by Ts‘ao Kung into 妖祥之言, and 疑 into 疑惑之計. Cf. the Ssŭ-ma Fa, ch. 3: 滅厲祥.
Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.
The superstitious, “bound in to saucy doubts and fears,” degenerate into cowards and “die many times before their deaths.” Tu Mu quotes Huang Shih-kung: 禁巫祝不得爲吏士卜問軍之吉凶恐亂軍士之心 “‘Spells and incantations should be strictly forbidden, and no officer allowed to inquire by divination into the fortunes of an army, for fear the soldier’s minds should be seriously perturbed.’ The meaning is,” he continues, “that if all doubts and scruples are dis-
