Art of War 9.18
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
敵近而靜者恃其險也
When the enemy is close at hand and remains quiet, he is relying on the natural strength of his position.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Here begin Sun Tzŭ’s remarks on the reading of signs, much of which is so good that it could almost be included in a modern manual like Gen. Baden-Powell’s “Aids to Scouting.”
Character glossary
- 敵díenemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist
- 近jìnto approach; near, close; intimate
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 靜jìngstill, quiet, motionless, gentle
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 恃shìto trust, to rely on; to presume
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 險xiǎnnarrow pass, strategic point
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 9.16
- Zhuangzi Lieh Tzŭ
- Art of War 1.19
- Mencius 7B.32
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.