Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the
victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain
in ignorance of the enemy’s condition simply because one grudges
the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honours and emoluments,
“For spies” is of course the meaning, though it would spoil the
effect of this curiously elaborate exordium if spies were actually
mentioned at this point.
is the height of inhumanity.
Sun Tzŭ’s argument is certainly ingenious. He begins by adverting
to the frightful misery and vast expenditure of blood and treasure
which war always brings in its train. Now, unless you are kept
informed of the enemy’s condition, and are ready to strike at the
right moment, a war may drag on for years. The only way to get
this information is to employ spies, and it is impossible to
obtain trustworthy spies unless they are properly paid for their
services. But it is surely false economy to grudge a comparatively
trifling amount for this purpose, when every day that the war
lasts eats up an incalculably greater sum. This grievous burden
falls on the shoulders of the poor, and hence Sun Tzŭ concludes
that to neglect the use of spies is nothing less than a crime
against humanity.