31. 以近待遠以佚待勞以飽待飢此治力者也

To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait at

ease

The _T‘ung Tien_ has 逸 for 佚. The two characters are practically

synonymous, but according to the commentary, the latter is the

form always used in Sun Tzŭ.

while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to be well-fed while the

enemy is famished:—this is the art of husbanding one’s strength.

Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War: The Oldest Military Treatise in the World · 第 202 / 458 题