The sight of men whispering together
諄諄 is well explained by Tu Mu as 乏氣聲促 “speaking with bated breath.”
in small knots
The Shuo Wên rather strangely defines 翕 by the word 起, but the Êrh Ya says 合 “to join” or “contract,” which is undoubtedly its primary meaning. Chang Yü is right, then, in explaining it here by the word 聚. The other commentators are very much at sea: Ts‘ao Kung says 失志貌, Tu Yu 不眞, Tu Mu 顚倒失次貌, Chia Lin 不安貌, Mei Yao-ch‘ên 曠職事, Wang Hsi 患其上.
or speaking in subdued tones
入入 is said to be the same as 如如.
points to disaffection amongst the rank and file.
失衆 is equivalent to 失其衆心, the subject of course being “the general,” understood. In the original text, which seems to be followed by several commentators, the whole passage stands thus: 諄諄翕翕徐與人言者失衆也. Here it would be the general who is talking to his men, not the men amongst themselves. For 翕, which is the chief stumbling-block in the way of this reading, the T‘u Shu gives the very plausible emendation 𧬈 (also read hsi, and defined by K‘ang Hsi as 疾言 “to speak fast”). But this is unnecessary if we keep to the standard text.
36. 屢賞者窘也數罰者困也
Too frequent rewards signify that the enemy is at the end of his resources;