Art of War 4.4
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Tactical Dispositions 形篇
故曰勝可知而不可爲
Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Capt. Calthrop translates: “The conditions necessary for victory may be present, but they cannot always be obtained,” which is more or less unintelligible.
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 6.21
- Art of War 4.17
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi Self-Conceit
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.