ems to me to denote that instinct of SELF RESTRAINT which keeps
the bird from swooping on its quarry until the right moment,
together with the power of judging when the right moment has
arrived. The analogous quality in soldiers is the highly
important one of being able to reserve their fire until the very
instant at which it will be most effective. When the "Victory"
went into action at Trafalgar at hardly more than drifting pace,
she was for several minutes exposed to a storm of shot and shell
before replying with a single gun. Nelson coolly waited until he
was within close range, when the broadside he brought to bear
worked fearful havoc on the enemy's nearest ships.]

14. Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his
onset, and prompt in his decision.

[The word "decision" would have reference to the measurement
of distance mentioned above, letting the enemy get near before
striking. But I cannot help thinking that Sun Tzu meant to use
the word in a figurative sense comparable to our own idiom "short
and sharp." Cf. Wang Hsi's note, which after describing the
falcon's mode of attack, proceeds: "This is just how the
'psychological moment' should be seized in war."]

15. Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow;
decision, to the releasing of a trigger.

[None of the commentators seem to grasp the real point of
the simile of energy and the force stored up in the bent cross-
bow until released by the finger on the trigger.]

16. Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be
seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion
and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be
proof against defeat.

[Mei Yao-ch`en says: "The subdivisions of the army having
been previously fixed, and the various signals agreed upon, the
separating and joining, the dispersing and collecting which will
take place in the course of a battle, may give the appearance of
disorder when no real disorder is possible. Your formation may
be without head or tail, your dispositions all topsy-turvy, and
yet a rout of your forces quite out of the question."]

17. Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline,
simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates
strength.

[In order to make the translation intelligible, it is
necessary to tone down the sharply paradoxical form of the
original. Ts`ao Kung throws out a hint