Art of War 9.41
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
夫惟無慮而易敵者必擒於人
He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
The force of 夫惟 is not easy to appreciate. Ch‘én Hao says 殊無遠慮但輕敵者, thus referring 惟 to the second verb. He continues, quoting from the Tso Chuan: 蜂蠆有毒而况國乎則小敵亦不可輕 “If bees and scorpions carry poison, how much more will a hostile state! [僖公, XXII. 3.] Even a puny opponent, then, should not be treated with contempt.”
Character glossary
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 惟wéibut, however, nevertheless; only
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 慮lǜanxious, concerned, worried
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 易yìto change; to exchange, to trade; simple
- 敵díenemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 擒qínto arrest, to capture, to seize
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 人rénman, person; people
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.