Art of War 12.19
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Attack By Fire 火攻篇
合於利而動不合於利而止
If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
This is repeated from XI. § 17. Here I feel convinced that it is an interpolation, for it is evident that § 20 ought to follow immediately on § 18. For 動, the T‘ung Tien and Yü Lan have 用. Capt. Calthrop invents a sentence which he inserts before this one: “Do not make war unless victory may be gained thereby.” While he was about it, he might have credited Sun Tzŭ with something slightly less inane.
Character glossary
- 合héto combine, to join, to unite; to gather
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 動dòngto move, to happen; movement, action
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 止zhǐto stop, to halt; to detain; to desist
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 11.17
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Analects 4.12
- Art of War 8.8
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.