9. 戰勝而天下曰善非善之善者也
Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, “Well done!”
True excellence being, as Tu Mu says: 陰謀潛運攻心伐謀勝敵之日曾不血刃 “To plan secretly, to move surreptitiously, to foil the enemy’s intentions and baulk his schemes, so that at last the day may be won without shedding a drop of blood.” Sun Tzŭ reserves his approbation for things that
“the world’s coarse thumb
And finger fail to plumb.”
10. 故舉秋毫不爲多力見日月不爲明目聞雷霆不爲聰耳
To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength;
秋毫 is explained as the fur of a hare, which is finest in autumn, when it begins to grow afresh. The phrase is a very common one in Chinese writers. Cf. Mencius, I. 1. vii. 10, and Chuang Tzŭ, 知北遊, et al.
to see sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.
Ho Shih gives as real instances of strength, sharp sight and quick hearing: 烏獲 Wu Huo, who could lift a tripod weighing 250 stone; 離朱 Li Chu, who at a distance of a hundred paces could see objects no bigger than a mustard seed; and 師曠 Shih K‘uang, a blind musician who could hear the footsteps of a mosquito.