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["For spies" is of course the meaning, though it would spoil the

effect of this curiously elaborate exordium if spies were

actually mentioned at this point.]

is the height of inhumanity.

[Sun Tzŭ's agreement is certainly ingenious. He begins by

adverting to the frightful misery and vast expenditure of blood

and treasure which war always brings in its train. Now, unless

you are kept informed of the enemy's condition, and are ready to

strike at the right moment, a war may drag on for years. The only

way to get this information is to employ spies, and it is

impossible to obtain trustworthy spies unless they are properly

paid for their services. But it is surely false economy to grudge

a comparatively trifling amount for this purpose, when every day

that the war lasts eats up an incalculably greater sum. This

grievous burden falls on the shoulders of the poor, and hence Sun

Tzŭ concludes that to neglect the use of spies is nothing less

than a crime against humanity.]