Art of War 4.2
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Tactical Dispositions 形篇
不可勝在己可勝在敵
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
That is, of course, by a mistake on his part. Capt. Calthrop has: “The causes of defeat come from within; victory is born in the enemy’s camp,” which, though certainly an improvement on his previous attempt, is still incorrect.
Character glossary
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 己jǐself, oneself; personal, private; 6th he
- 敵díenemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Art of War 4.1
- Art of War 4.3
- Art of War 4.5
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.