ABSTRACT
The army is an inauspicious instrument, warfare a contrary Virtue. Only when it is absolutely unavoidable should they be employed. You cannot, because the state is large and the populace numerous, exhaust all your sharpness in expeditions and attacks, fighting and exterminating without end until finally being defeated and perishing when regret will be useless. Yet, the army is like fire: if you don't eventually extinguish it, you will suffer the misfortune of burning yourself. If you constantly pursue the martial and exhaust the army, disaster will come in an instant. A principle from the Ssu-ma Fa states: "Even though a state may be vast, those who love warfare will inevitably perish."
