Art of War 11.57
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Nine Situations 九地篇
犯之以事勿告以言犯之以利勿告以害
Confront your soldiers with the deed itself; never let them know your design.
When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Literally, “do not tell them words;” i.e. do not give your reasons for any order. Lord Mansfield once told a junior colleague to “give no reasons” for his decisions, and the maxim is even more applicable to a general than to a judge. Capt. Calthrop translates this sentence with beautiful simplicity: “Orders should direct the soldiers.” That is all.
Character glossary
- 犯fàncriminal; to violate, to commit a crime
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 勿wùmust not, do not; without, never
- 告gàoto tell, to inform, to announce; to accu
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 害hàito injure, to harm; to destroy, to kill
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Secret of Life
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Analects 14.23
- Art of War 8.10
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Analects 15.8
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.