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[Ts'ao Kung's note is: "We can merely obstruct the enemy's road

or divide his army, but not sweep away all his accumulated

stores." Water can do useful service, but it lacks the terrible

destructive power of fire. This is the reason, Chang Yu

concludes, why the former is dismissed in a couple of sentences,

whereas the attack by fire is discussed in detail. Wu Tzŭ (ch. 4)

speaks thus of the two elements: "If an army is encamped on

low-lying marshy ground, from which the water cannot run off, and

where the rainfall is heavy, it may be submerged by a flood. If

an army is encamped in wild marsh lands thickly overgrown with

weeds and brambles, and visited by frequent gales, it may be

exterminated by fire."]

15. Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and

succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of

enterprise; for the result is waste of time and general

stagnation.