And if we are able thus to attack an inferior force with a superior
one, our opponents will be in dire straits.
For 擊, the _T‘ung Tien_ and _Yü Lan_ have 敵. Tu Yu, followed by
the other commentators, arbitrarily defines 約 as 少而易勝 “few and
easy to conquer,” but only succeeds thereby in making the sentence
absolutely pointless. As for Capt. Calthrop’s translation: “In
superiority of numbers there is economy of strength,” its meaning
is probably known to himself alone. In justification of my own
rendering of 約, I would refer to _Lun Yü_ IV. 2 and VII. 25 (3).