not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not
the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
[Li Ch’uan cites the case of Fu Chien, prince of Ch’in, who in 383 A.D.
marched with a vast army against the Chin Emperor. When warned not to
despise an enemy who could command the services of such men as Hsieh An
and Huan Ch’ung, he boastfully replied: "I have the population of eight
provinces at my back, infantry and horsemen to the number of one
million; why, they could dam up the Yangtsze River itself by merely
throwing their whips into the stream. What danger have I to fear?"
Nevertheless, his forces were soon after disastrously routed at the Fei
River, and he was obliged to beat a hasty retreat.]
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every
battle.
[Chang Yu said: "Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive,
knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive." He adds:
"Attack is the secret of defence; defence is the planning of an
attack." It would be hard to find a better epitome of the
root-principle of war.]