The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be
taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine
the conditions obtaining in the field.
The old text of the _T‘ung Tien_ has 故經之以五校之計, etc. Later
editors have inserted 事 after 五, and 以 before 計. The former
correction is perhaps superfluous, but the latter seems necessary
in order to make sense, and is supported by the accepted reading
in § 12, where the same words recur. I am inclined to think,
however, that the whole sentence from 校 to 情 is an interpolation
and has no business here at all. If it be retained, Wang Hsi must
be right in saying that 計 denotes the “seven considerations” in
§ 13. 情 are the circumstances or conditions likely to bring about
victory or defeat. The antecedent of the first 之 is 兵者; of the
second, 五. 校 contains the idea of “comparison with the enemy,”
which cannot well be brought out here, but will appear in § 12.
Altogether, difficult though it is, the passage is not so
hopelessly corrupt as to justify Capt. Calthrop in burking it
entirely.