Art of War 12.18
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Attack By Fire 火攻篇
主不可以怒而興師將不可以愠而致戰
No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Again compare Lao Tzŭ, ch. 68: 善戰者不怒. Chang Yü says that 愠 is a weaker word than 怒, and is therefore applied to the general as opposed to the sovereign. The T‘ung Tien and Yü Lan read 軍 for 師, and the latter 合 for 致.
Character glossary
- 主zhǔto own; to host; master; host; lord
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 怒nùanger, passion, rage
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 興xìngto thrive, to prosper, to flourish
- 師shīteacher, professional, master
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 愠yùnangry, indignant; resentful, sulking
- 致zhìto send; to present, to deliver; to caus
- 戰zhànwar, fighting, battle
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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