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05 Energy - The Art of War - Lao Tzu · The Philosophy Insights Collection

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  Chapter five Energy, Sansu said, the control of a large force is the
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  same principle as the control of a few men. It is merely a question
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  of dividing up their numbers. Fighting with a large army under your command is
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  no wise different from fighting with a small one. It is merely a question
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  of instituting signs and signals to ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt
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  of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken. This is affected by maneuvers direct and
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  indirect. That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against
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  an egg. This is affected by the science of weak points and strong In
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  all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect
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  methods will be needed in order to secure victory. In direct tactics efficiently applied
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  are inexhaustible, as heaven and earth, unending as the flow of rivers and
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  streams. Like the Sun and moon, they end, but to begin anew
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  Like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more. There are
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  not more than five musical notes, yet the combination of these five give rise
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  to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five
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  primary colors blue, yellow, red, white, and black, Yet in
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  combination they produce more hues than can ever be seen. There are not more
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  than five cardinal tastes sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter, yet
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  combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted. In battle,
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  there are not more than two methods of attack, the direct and the end
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  direct. Yet these two, in combination give rise to an endless series of
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  maneuvers. The direct and the end direct lead on to each other in turn.
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  It is like moving in a circle. You never come to an end.
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  Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination. The onset of troops is
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  like the rush of a torrent, which will even roll stones along in its
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  course. The quality of decision is like the well timed swoop of a falcon,
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  which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. Therefore, the good
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  fighter will be terrible in his onset and prompt in his decision. Energy may
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  be likened to the bending of a crossbow, decision to the releasing of a
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  trigger. Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder,
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  and yet no real disorder at all. Amid confusion and chaos. Your
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  array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat.
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  Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline. Simulated fear postulates courage. Simulated weakness postulates
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  strength. Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision,
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  concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy,
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  masking strength with weakness is to be affected by tactical dispositions. Thus, one
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  who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances according to
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  which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something that the enemy may snatch at
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  it. By holding out bates, he keeps him on the march. Then,
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  with a body of picked men, he lies and wait for him.
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  The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy and does not require two
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  more much from individuals, hence his ability to pick out the right men and
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  utilize combined energy. When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become,
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  as it were, like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the
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  nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to
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  move when on a slope, if four cornered, to come to a standstill,
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  but if round shaped, to go rolling down. Thus the energy developed
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  by good fighting men is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a
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  mountain thousands of feet in height. So much on the subject of energy,
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  end of Chapter five,