Hence it is not enough to put one’s trust in the tethering of horses,
方 is said here to be equivalent to 縛.
and the burying of chariot wheels in the ground.
These quaint devices to prevent one’s army from running away
recall the Athenian hero Sôphanes, who carried an anchor with him
at the battle of Plataea, by means of which he fastened himself
firmly to one spot. [See Herodotus, IX. 74.] It is not enough,
says Sun Tzŭ, to render flight impossible by such mechanical
means. You will not succeed unless your men have tenacity and
unity of purpose, and, above all, a spirit of sympathetic
co-operation. This is the lesson which can be learned from the
_shuai-jan_.