- 凡軍之所欲擊城之所欲攻人之所欲殺必先知其守將左右謁者門者舍人之姓名令吾間必索知之
news leaking any further. If it had already been repeated to others, this object would not be gained. Either way, Sun Tzŭ lays himself open to the charge of inhumanity, though Tu Mu tries to defend him by saying that the man deserves to be put to death, for the spy would certainly not have told the secret unless the other had been at pains to worm it out of him. The T‘ung Tien and Yü Lan have the reading . . . 先聞其間者與, etc., which, while not affecting the sense, strikes me as being better than that of the standard text. The T'u Shu has . . . 聞與所告者, which I suppose would mean: “the man who heard the secret and the man who told it to him.”
20. Whether the object be to crush an army, to storm a city, or to assassinate an individual, it is always necessary to begin by finding out the names of the attendants,
左右 is a comprehensive term for those who wait on others, servants and retainers generally. Capt. Calthrop is hardly happy in rendering it “right—hand men.”
the aides-de-camp,
謁者, literally “visitors,” is equivalent, as Tu Yu says, to 主告事者 "those whose duty it is to keep the general supplied with information,” which naturally necessitates frequent interviews with him. Chang Yü goes too far afield for an explanation in saying that they are 典賓客之將 “the leaders of mercenary troops”.
the door-keepers and sentries
閽吏 and 守舍之人
of the general in command.
守將, according to Chang Yü, is simply 守官任職之將 “a general on active service.” Capt. Calthrop is wrong, I think, in making 守將 directly dependent on 姓名 (. . . “the names of the general in charge,” etc.).
Our spies must be commissioned to ascertain these.
As the first step, no doubt, towards finding out if any of these important functionaries can be won over by bribery. Capt. Calthrop blunders badly with: “Then set the Spies to watch them.”
