Art of War 13.4
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Use Of Spies 用間篇
故明君賢將所以動而勝人成功出於衆者先知也
Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge .
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
That is, knowledge of the enemy’s dispositions, and what he means to do.
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 明míngbright, clear; to explain, to understand
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 賢xiánvirtuous, worthy; good, able
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 動dòngto move, to happen; movement, action
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 人rénman, person; people
- 成chéngto accomplish; to become; to complete, t
- 功gōngachievement, good work; merit; service
- 出chūto go out, to send out; stand; produce
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 衆zhòngmultitude, crowd; the public
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 先xiānfirst, former, previous
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 13.27
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Mencius 1A.7
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Art of War 10.5
- Zhuangzi Tien Tzŭ Fang
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.