Art of War 9.43
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
故令之以文齊之以武是謂必取
Therefore soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline.
This is a certain road to victory.
Lionel Giles's notes
文 and 武, according to Ts‘ao Kung, are here equivalent to 仁 and 法 respectively. Compare our two uses of the word “civil.” 晏子 Yen Tzŭ [✝ B.C. 493] said of 司馬穰苴 Ssŭ-ma Jang-chü: 文能附衆武能威敵也 “His civil virtues endeared him to the people; his martial prowess kept his enemies in awe.” Cf. Wu Tzŭ, ch. 4 init.: 夫總文武者軍之將也兼剛柔者兵之事也 “The ideal commander unites culture with a warlike temper; the profession of arms requires a combination of hardness and tenderness.” Again I must find fault with Capt. Calthrop’s translation: “By humane treatment we obtain obedience; authority brings uniformity.”
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 令lìngcommand, decree, order; magistrate; to a
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 文wénculture, literature, writing
- 齊qíeven, uniform, of equal length
- 武wǔmilitary; martial, warlike
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 取qǔto take, to receive, to obtain; to selec
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 9.12
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 19
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 18
- Zhuangzi Horses' Hoofs
- Art of War 5.19
- Art of War 6.7
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.