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12. There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general:

(1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction;

["Bravery without forethought," as Ts'ao Kung analyzes it, which

causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull.

Such an opponent, says Chang Yu, "must not be encountered with

brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain." Cf. Wu

Tzŭ, chap. IV. ad init.: "In estimating the character of a

general, men are wont to pay exclusive attention to his courage,

forgetting that courage is only one out of many qualities which a

general should possess. The merely brave man is prone to fight

recklessly; and he who fights recklessly, without any perception

of what is expedient, must be condemned." Ssu-ma Fa, too, makes

the incisive remark: "Simply going to one's death does not bring

about victory."]

(2) cowardice, which leads to capture;