Chapter 69

用兵有言：「吾不敢為主而為客；
不敢進寸而退尺。」
是謂行無行；
攘無臂；
扔無敵；
執無兵。
禍莫大於輕敵，輕敵幾喪吾寶。
故抗兵相若，哀者勝矣。

Among those who use troops there is a saying: “I dare not play the host, but play the guest;
I dare not go forward an inch, but fall back a foot.”
This is called marching without a column;
rolling up sleeves with no arms;
dragging forward with no enemy;
holding weapons with no weapons.
No disaster is greater than taking the enemy lightly; to take the enemy lightly is nearly to lose my treasures.
So when matched armies meet, the side that grieves will win.