Thought in Six Steps:
Tue Apr 26, 2005 02:43
These days are quiet, yet. I
suspect they shall remain so and so, for the week to come. Our
geography, the stars this last night, the light west wind: it's all
a forecast for an onslaught of... absolute stillness.
Locke shifted his weight, right leg
to left. The motion took but a moment; however it appeared he was
locked in space, moving one frame at a time. The dying light of the
day near past illuminated his obsidian hair, pulled back and synched
in a simple tail with a black silk ribbon. The tree - famously the
epicenter of Black Tower - loomed before him, becoming a mere
silhouette of its physical self against the rays of the setting sun.
The streaks of orange and red blared through the branches,
irradiating the earth in it's last moments of glory. A scorched head
- the freshest head - swayed lazily, causing the thin shaft it was
suspended from to bow at each pendulum arc. Locke noted that the
blaze had melted into itself, becoming a dull, aromatic purple.
It smelled like dusk.
He was but a boy, though his carriage
and stride made him look older, as did his confidence. His body was
fluid, it seemed vibrantly alive, always tricking the viewer into
sensing motion - glorious action - even while it was at perfect
rest. His skin was soft, pale - resiliant, nearly artificial in the
waning daylight. The unadorned black coat that hugged his body set
him as a Soldier, nothing more. Even so, his presence was such that
it made one suspect a greater essence - something akin to the
provacatively eerie green sky before a hurricane.
His face was oval, perfect, radiant.
Locke's features were simple; he gave no pretext at his outward
gorgeousness - nor made any true attempt to appear thusly - he
simply was. He was seemingly all smooth lines and polished edges,
cool, wispy, lithe. He flowed, like a cloudburst, or a waterfall.
His movement was not something of man; it was nature. He had a slim
nose, and a thin, gracious smile. His brow was always set - not in
an annoyed or challenging way - Locke appeared to be thoughtful all
the time, nothing more. The one thing that had angles on his person
was his left breast pocket - where he kept his pocket journal; where
he wrote down his thoughts, his day to day musings, his poetry, but
most importantly - his ongoing treatise on warfare.
Do I ever regret it?
You always regretted it.
I suppose so.
You know so.
Yes.
Do you ever dream, about it?
It's all I ever dream about.
Do you ever have nightmares?
All I ever have is nightmares.
You threw away your signet
ring, to escape your family's name, all the screaming, all their
hollow wishes for you.
I threw away their manufactured
ending to My story.
Is that to be your odyssey?
No - it's not yet begun.
How do you know?
That will never be my odyssey.
It never occurred to Locke that the
conversations he "had" with himself from an objective and
skeptical viewpoint outside himself were out of the ordinary; most
of his notes consisted of such things. All of his assesments and
reasonings were impartial and fierce - even regarding himself -
especially regarding himself. He sighed - one gray eye, one white,
both tired. The young boy had been up for several days straight,
studying, learning new weaves, observing Dedicated lessons that was
not yet allowed to partake of. Naturally, between these times he had
been reading voraciously - Locke would sooner die than go a day
without his texts.
Locke shook his head, the trademark
black tail swishing softly against the nape of his neck, the tops of
his shoulders. It was oddly quiet, for newly developed twilight. At
this time, most everyone was still at whatever they had been at.
Tonight, though - everything was still. Just like before - just like
he'd known it would be.
...in His shadow...
Locke froze, his body becoming taut,
rigid - the hairs on his arms stood on end; he could feel the icy
wave of apprehension those words brought on spreading through his
body. The only thing Locke feared in this world so far... was a
sentence. He chided himself scornfully, forcing composure onto his
mind again.
The lightly warmed purple gave over
to coolly personable blues, which faded to blacks twinged with
starlight, and intermittant clouds. The moon was pallid, a mere
shadow of its usual self. The tree broke the midnight hues in a
networked crisscrossing of black tendrils; the mismatched hunks of
sky, through the limbs, looked like a bizarre example of
emotionalist art, perhaps even stained glass.
When my signet ring hit the
floor...
I said, to my father, to my family
- "Though I may turn my back on the world, it may never turn
its back on me."
Locke stood, silent, contemplating
the sky. Will I ever live up to my Style?
One: Manifestos and Axioms - Which
One is Yours?
Fri Apr 29, 2005 17:22
"We've been over this particular
piece many times, Locke, but tell me, it has been months since we
last discussed it." The tutor across the ling dining room table
steepled his fingers and peered over them, one eye split by
reflected light on his monacle lens. He was an ungainly fellow, with
small, boyish shoulders and dirty blond hair that was eternally
slicked back, which emphasized the size of his skull. The tutor's
head - Jenyir was his name - Jenyir's head - was rather large all by
itself; the rounded, sleek polish of his blond hair did him no
favors. Locke leaned back in his chair, delicately placing a bit of
stray hair behind his ear.
"The core of functionalism, as
stated by the author of The Anomie so many years ago, is essentially
the social controls over man's core objectives unto himself; the
basis of our own downfalls being that we are unlike all other
animals, in that we desire more than to simply have our needs met -
we wish to live well above our means. This is the root of luxury -
to the author, luxury was the beginning of decay. To him, the state
- state being whatever government was in place, our kind of monarchy
or otherwise - should enforce a kind of sociological subterfuge to
curb individual ambitions up to a certain point, thusly enabling the
society to undergo a transformation into a kind of... core
oneness." Locke's light gray eyes narrowed; he hated discussing
flawed ideas, rather, he would be far more amicable to discussing
new ways of thinking, better ways of thinking.
Jenyir nodded, tapping his copy of
the notes they had worked on a week before. Most of Locke's work had
been circled in red; the young boy quirked an eyebrow. This seemed
to irritate Jenyir; he'd never had a student who thought he could
outsmart him, especially at fourteen. "All of your ideas are
impossible, Locke, the annotation is... condescending, and... I
daresay nearly angry. My boy, there will be, your entire life,
things you cannot improve upon. The work of masters long past is one
of those things." Jenyir shook his head, the lace at his wrists
rustling lightly as he moved his hand across the dark, burnished
wood of the table.
"Don't be so sure." Locke
stated simply. Jenyir made a disgusted face, but remained silent.
Locke had that effect on people - no matter how totally out of line
they might see him to be, a person he was speaking with always heard
him out. "If you examine the core of what drives people, you
can see that the very foundation of the maxim you've been throwing
at me for the past three weeks is invariably flawed. Consider this:
a oneness in society based on curbed human ambitions and desires,
brought on by pragmatic control? Five friends can't even decide on
where to eat lunch, sometimes, much less abandon the bigger Prime
inside them that makes them argue over where to eat. It's true, that
men come to their ends, sometimes, because of their desire for more,
better, faster, stronger - but it's also the saving grace of our
kind. Look at the Masters of legend - Hawkwing, for example. Why did
he forge a kingdom across our entire continent? For a better empire.
Why do men cook our food, instead of eating raw in the woods, like
savages? We like better. Why do we read, or listen to gossip? We
want to know more. Why do you have lace on your cuffs? You want to
look better. Why did you take this job? For the large stipend, so
you could live better." Locke shrugged. Jenyir stormed out,
slamming the heavy door behind him.
Locke remained seated in his high
backed mahogony chair, looking at his notes, across the dining room
table, dripping with red ink. Light streamed through the six windows
on the wall to his immediate left; the rays lay bars at intervals
across the carpet, across the table, the wall. It was an interesting
scene - like a picture of any room in the afternoon, but with
horizontal slashes emblazoned with rich color - or perhaps visa
versa; slashes muted, and deprived of the vitality the other
sections posessed. The semitransparent curtains shifted in the light
breeze, hinting at the beautiful day beyond the walls of the Lemain
mansion. How I long to go outside. Heavy footsteps and a bolt
being thrown, then the heavy click of a knob being turned... the
squeak of immeasureably heavy wood. And the infamous door behind
me opens again.
Locke's father stood behind the high
backed chair - he coudn't see his son, but he knew he was there.
Locke never moved, after one of his tutors left. His father had
decided it was either because he regretted it every time, or he
enjoyed revelling in another intellectual victory over someone three
times his own age. It was really neither. Locke saw the entire
affair, every time, as quite an exaggerated house of cards. The
philosoph would "educate" him, over so many days, building
that house. So careful, positioning everything just so, making it
very pretty. And lo - with a mere breath, it would fall. That was
the nature of false pretenses; they could become quite nice to look
at, if delivered in such a manner as to make one give them the time
of day... but in the end, all false things were weak at the
foundation; false things crumbled at naught but a small touch. The
house of cards fell - everytime.
"Another one, boy?" Locke's
father turned to face the doors he'd come in through, and leaned
against the high backed mahogany chair Locke was seated in. He
sighed, but smirked, too. He was a father hard up for tutors for his
son, but he was a father hard up because his son was a genius; he
was vexed and proud at the same time; if he was not in his early
fifties, one would say the constant affliction such a combination
imparted to him was "cuteness".
"Yes." Locke brought his
feet into the chair and turned, on his knees, to face his father's
back. He poked; his father turned, looking down at him. He was
smiling, but troubled.
"What over, this time?"
"Mindset, really. People who
don't believe they can improve on history irritate me, so I drove
him off." Locke shrugged, then rested his hands on the curve of
the highest part of the chair. He smiled as his father knuckled his
chin playfully, then turned to leave.
"Go out, Locke. You know you
want to. I shall send for someone... more able to handle you,
tomorrow morning." Master Lemain halted abruptly, and chuckled.
"I shall send for someone for the seventh time." Locke
smiled. "Tell me, boy, what were all these arguements
about?"
"Well, one was over proper role
of conscripted peasants in an army during an offensive campaign, one
was over tax law, the third was a mere battle of wits; I made him
cry, so he left. Fourth was... burn me... mmm... ah! Yes, the fourth
was over whether or not you could find duality of meaning in the
ancient texts when studying fire attack. That was an interesting
one. Fifth was simplicity. The man was far too flowery; he could
make a clothespin seem as though it was as multifaceted as the Game
of Houses. He was offended when I told him any idiot can make
everything complicated, but it takes a person of talent to maky
anything simple - and off he went. Sixth was..." Locke's father
interrupted him.
"Sixth was that lovely young
woman! She wanted to teach you poetry." He nodded.
"...was the woman who wanted to
teach me poetry, yes. She... was bad for my studying."
"How do you mean?"
"...I don't mean anything by
it." Locke cleared his throat. "And seventh was just now;
an arguement of man's psyche." He tossed his hair lightly,
irked at the thought of someone actually believing that hogwash.
"I'll tell you this much, father - the next man you bring into
the house, ask him this: 'Which of the great masters can you never
improve upon?' I will not study with any of the men who name
someone. Get me the man who laughs in your face at the implication
that potential is finite."
That was so long ago. Locke scribbled
absently on his notepad; the poem was good, but not great. Tearing
off the page, he crumpled it impersonally, and tossed it over his
shoulder. It was consumed in flames before it had reached the apex
of its arc. The ashes floated lazily, suspended in the air as if by
some unseen force. Locke went back to his pad, and stayed engrossed
in his prose for hours.
He had made his new home, under the
Traitor's Tree. An interesting choice, to be sure, but nobody ever
sat underneath it, which means nobody ever bothered him, and to
Locke, that was a blessing. His favorite woman, the poetry
instructor, had told him, when he'd become a teenager, that he would
have made an incredibly just and powerful king... and that it was a
shame he had been born destined to be a hermit. Truer words were
never spoken. For all this talent... I desire solitude over all
else. Unless... I find a cause worthy of what my abilities will
become. Then I'll have life.
He looked down at his pad; he smiled.
His hand, soft, angular, precise and simple, across the page: I
will live forever when I meet something that interests me.
Two: Find Your Own Words
Fri May 6, 2005 22:42
My name is Locke Lemain. The
following dissertaion on marshalling troops and generalship is
accredited to myself and venerable Teacher, who is no longer with
me.
The Authority of the Military Leadership
Military authority, directing the
armed forces, is the matter of the authoritative power of the
leading general.
If the general can hold the authority of the military and operate
its power, he oversees his subordinates with swiftness and control,
simplicity and just cause.
If the general loses his authority and cannot control the power, he
is like a great warship cast into a lake: he may seek the freedom of
the high sea, but he'll never get there.
Chasing Evils
There are five types of harm in
decadence among national armed forces. First is the formation of
factions that band together for character assassination, criticizing
an vilifying the wise and the good. Second is luxury in uniforms.
Third is confabulations about the supernatural.
Fourth is judgment based on private views, mobilizing groups for
personal reasons, rather than impersonal and austere organizations.
Fifth is making secret alliances with enemies, watching for where
the advantage may lie.
All people like this are treacherous; in an army, you cannot cast
them out - rather, play them against themselves and enjoy the
repercussions of their own game reversed. There is advantage in
these types, as well, for if you find one in your ranks and one the
ranks of the enemy; play them for each other, capture them both, and
you have a victory two times over.
Knowing People
Nothing is harder to see than the true essence of people. Though
good and bad are different, their conditions and appearances are not
always uniform. There are some people who are nice enough, yet they
would steal from a friend. Such people are common; desires are
desires, and you should not hate them. Some people are outwardly
respectful while inwardly making fools of everyone. These are the
ones who will secretly question, and yet still follow. They need
assurances, as such - but that is for later. Some people are brave
on the outside yet cowardly on the inside. By this token they are
usually remarkably good placed in administrative and clerical
duties. They will act haughty and annoyed at the position at first,
but will be secretly relieved and thusly work happily. Some people
do their best but are not loyal. These are the scariest; potential
with a potential to betray you. Secure them; keep them.
Hard though it may be to know people,
there are ways.
First is to question them concerning right and wrong, to observe
their ideas. A failure here is a testament to character.
Second is to exhaust all their arguments, to see how they change. A
failing here is a show of stubbornness.
Third is to consult with them about strategy, to see how perceptive
they are. A failure here is a window to short sightedness.
Fourth is to announce that there is trouble, to see how brave they
are. This shows hot-heatedness, level headedness, cowards, and
heroes, all at once.
Sixth is to present them with the prospect of gain, to see how
modest they are. The greedy and the loyal will be illuminated.
Seventh is to give them a task to do within a specific time, to see
how trustworthy they are. Failure means they are lazy.
Types of Generals
There are nine types of generals.
Those who guide with virtue, who treat all equally with courtesy,
who know when the troops are cold and hungry, and who notice when
they are weary and pained, are called humanistic generals.
Those who do not try to avoid any task, who are not influenced by
profit, who would die with honor before living in disgrace, are
called dutiful generals.
Those who are not arrogant because of their high status, who do not
make much of their victories, who are wise but can humble
themselves, who are strong but can be tolerant, are called courteous
generals.
Those whose extraordinary shifts are unfathomable, whose movements
and responses are multifaceted, who turn disaster into fortune and
seize victory from the jaws of danger, are called clever generals.
Those who give rich rewards for going ahead and have strict
penalties for retreating, whose rewards are given right away and
whose penalties are the same for all ranks, even the highest, are
called trustworthy generals.
Those who go on foot or on a warhorse, with the mettle to take on a
hundred men, who are skilled in the use of close-range weapons,
swords, and spears are called infantry generals.
Those who face the dizzying heights and cross the dangerous defiles,
who can shoot at a gallop as if in flight, who are in the vanguard
when advancing and in the rear guard when withdrawing, are called
cavalry generals.
Those who mettle makes the armies tremble and whose determination
makes light of powerful enemies, who are hesitant to engage in petty
fights while courageous in the midst of major battles, are called
fierce generals.
Those who consider themselves lacking when they see the wise, who go
along with good advice like following a current, who are magnanimous
yet able to be firm, who are uncomplicated yet have many strategies,
are called unbeatable generals.
Capacities of Commanders
The capacities of commanders are not the same; some are greater,
some are lesser. One who spies out treachery and disaster, who wins
the allegiance of others, is the leader of ten men. One who rises
early in the morning and retires late at night, and whose words are
discreet yet perceptive, is the leader of a hundred men. One who is
direct yet circumspect, who is brave and can fight, is the leader of
a thousand men. One of martial bearing and fierceness of heart, who
knows the hardships of others and spares people from hunger and
cold, is the leader of ten thousand men.
One who associates with the wise and promotes the able, who is
careful of how he spends each day, who is sincere, trustworthy, and
simple and kind, and who is guarded in times of order as well as
times of disturbance, is the leader of a hundred thousand men. One
whose humanitarian care extends to all under his command, whose
trustworthiness and justice win the allegiance of neighboring
nations, who understands the signs of the sky above, the patterns of
the earth below, and the affairs of humanity in between, and who
regards all people as his family, is a world-class leader, one who
cannot be opposed.
Decadence in Generals
There are seven kinds of major flaws in generalship.
First is to be insatiably greedy. Greed brings about stupid quarrels
over stupid things; this is truer than anything on earth.
Second is to be jealous and envious of the wise and able. Rather
than listening to intelligent council, they become angry with it,
ignore it, and become ensnared.
Third is to believe slanders and make friends with the treacherous.
"The wrong crowd" is still "the wrong crowd" in
an army.
Fourth is to assess others without assessing oneself. Know thyself,
first and foremost - other people come after.
Fifth is to be hesitant and indecisive. Initiative is the key to
victories - with hesitation, you will always lose.
Sixth is to be a malicious liar with a cowardly heart. A man can run
from his own tail but for so long, before tripping over it and
toppling the house of cards he has so carefully constructed.
Seventh is to talk wildly, without courtesy. Anger within the ranks
breeds insubordination; soldiers who loathe their leaders will not
fight - rather, they will desert.
Loyalty in Generals
“Weapons are instruments of ill omen”; generalship is a
dangerous job. Therefore if one is inflexible there will be
breakdowns, and when the job is important there will be danger of a
clean snap. This is why a good general does not rely or presume on
strength or power; rather, there is reliance on guile and tact -
strategy and cunning.
Skills of Generals
There are five skills and four desires involved in generalship.
The five skills are:
1. Skill in knowing the disposition and power of enemies.
2. Skill in knowing the ways to advance and withdraw.
3. Skill in knowing how empty or how full countries are.
4. Skill in knowing nature’s timing and human affairs.
5. And skill in knowing the features of terrain.
The four desires are:
1. Desire for the extraordinary and unexpected in strategy.
2. Desire for thoroughness in security.
3. Desire for calm among the masses.
4. And desire for unity of hearts and minds.
Arrogance in Generals
Generals should not be arrogant, for if they are arrogant they will
become discourteous, and if they are discourteous people will become
alienated from them. When people are alienated, they become
rebellious.
A general should not be stingy, for if they are stingy they will not
reward the trustworthy, and if they do not reward the trustworthy,
the soldiers will not be dedicated; this being so, the armed forces
are ineffective, and if the armed forces are ineffective, the nation
is empty. When the nation is empty, its opponents are full - the
nation will be attacked, and it will lose.
Military Preparedness
Military preparedness is the greatest task of the nation. A small
mistake can make a huge difference. Therefore when a nation is in
trouble, the ruler and ministers urgently work on strategy,
selecting the wise and assessing the able to delegate responsibility
to them. If you count on safety and do not think of danger, you
won't last the day.
Traditions say, "Without preparation, military operation are
unfeasible."
"Preparedness against the unexpected is a way of good
government."
"Even bees have venom - how much the more do nations. If you
are unprepared, even if there are many of you, mere numbers cannot
be counted on."
A classic document says, "Only when we do our tasks are we
prepared; when we are prepared, there is no trouble."
Therefore the action of the military forces must have preparation.
Training
Soldiers without training cannot stand up to one out of a hundred
opponents, yet they are sent out against a hundred each. This is why
Teacher said, "To send people to war without teaching them is
called abandoning them." Therefore soldiers must be taught with
out fail. First train them in conduct and duty, teach them to be
loyal and trustworthy, instruct them in rules and penalties, awe
them with rewards and punishments. When people know enough to follow
along, then train them in maneuvers. One person can teach ten, ten
people can teach a hundred, a hundred people can teach a thousand, a
thousand can teach ten thousand; so and so, whereby training the
entire force.
Loyal Hearts
Those who would be military leaders must have loyal hearts, eyes and
ears, claws and fangs. Therefore good generals always have
intelligent and learned associates for their advisors, thoughtful
and careful associates for their eyes and ears, brave and formidable
associates for their claws and fangs.
Careful Watching
The loss of an army is always caused by underestimating an opponent
and thus bringing on disaster. Therefore an army goes out in an
orderly manner. If order is lost, that bodes ill.
There are fifteen avenues of order:
1. Thoughtfulness, using spies for intelligence.
2. Organization, gathering news and watching carefully.
3. Courage, not being disturbed by the number of the enemy.
4. Modesty, thinking of justice and duty when seeing the opportunity
for gain.
5. Impartiality, being egalitarian in matters of rewards and
punishments.
6. Forbearance, being able to bear humiliation.
7. Magnanimity, being able to accept the masses.
8. Trustworthiness, so that there can be serious cooperation.
9. Respect, honoring the wise and able.
10. Clarity of mind, not listening to slander.
11. Reason, not forgetting past experience.
12. Human kindness, taking care of the soldiers.
13. Loyalty, devoting oneself to the task at hand.
14. Moderation, knowing to stop when you have enough of anything.
15. Planning, assessing yourself first, and then assessing others.
Formation of Opportunity
To overcome the intelligent by folly is contrary to the natural
order of things; to overcome the foolish by intelligence is in
accord with the natural order. To overcome the intelligent by
intelligence, however, is a matter of opportunity.
There are three avenues of opportunity: events, trends, and
conditions. When opportunities occur through events but you are
unable to respond, you are not smart. When opportunities become
active through a trend and yet you cannot make plans, you are not
wise. When opportunities emerge through conditions but you cannot
act on them, you are not bold.
Discerning Bases
If you attack evils based on social trends, no one can rival you in
dignity. If you settle victory based on the power of the people, no
one can rival you in achievement.
If you can accurately discern these bases of action, and add dignity
and faith to them, you can take on the most formidable opponent and
prevail over the most valiant adversary.
Victory and Defeat
When the wise and talented are in the higher positions and
undesirables are in low positions, the armed forces are happy. When
the soldiers are scared, if they talk to each other of valiant
combat, look to each otherand press on, these are signs of certain
victory.
When the armies have been shaken up several times, if the soldiers
become lazy, insubordinate, untrustworthy, and unruly, if they scare
each other with talk about the enemy, make hints to each other of
disaster, or confuse each other with weird talk, these are signs of
certain defeat.
Using Authority
People’s lives depend on generals, as do success and failure,
calamity and fortune, so if the rulers do not give them the power to
reward and punish, this is like gluing someone's eyes shut and
asking him to distinguish colors.
If rewards are up to powerful civilians and punishments do not come
from the generals, people will seek personal profit - then who will
have any interest in fighting? Even with superlative strategy and
performance, self-defense would be impossible under these
circumstances.
Therefore Teacher said, "When a general is in the field, there
are some orders he doesn't accept from the civilian ruler." It
is also said, "In the army, you hear the orders of the
generals, you don't hear about command from the emperor."
Grieving for the Dead
Good general of ancient times took care of their people as one might
take care of a beloved child. When there was difficulty they would
face it first themselves, and when something was achieved they would
defer to others. They would console the wounded and mourn the dead.
They would sacrifice themselves to feed the hungry and remove their
own garments to clothe the cold. They honored the wise and provided
for their living; they rewarded and encouraged the brave. If
generals can be like this, they can take over anywhere they go.
Responsiveness
When you plan for difficulty in times of ease, when you do the great
while it is still small, when you use rewards first and penalties
later, this is refinement in use of the military.
When the troops are already on the battlefield, the cavalries are
charging each other, the catapults have been set in position, and
the infantries meet at close range, if you can use awesome
authoritativeness to convey a sense of trust such that opponents
surrender, this is ability in use of the military.
If you plunge into a half of arrows and rocks, facing off in a
contest for victory, with winning and losing distinct, if your
adversary is wounded but you die, this is inferiority in use of the
military.
Taking Opportunities
The art of certain victory, the mode of harmonizing with charges, is
a matter of opportunity. Who but the perspicacious can deal with it?
And of all avenues of seeing opportunity, none is greater than the
unexpected.
Assessing Abilities
Those who employed warriors skillfully in ancient times assessed
their abilities in order to calculate the prospects of victory or
defeat:
Who has the wise ruler?
Who has the more intelligent generals?
Who has the more able officers?
Whose food supplies are most abundant?
Whose soldiers are better trained?
Whose legions are more orderly?
Whose warhorses are swifter?
Whose formation and situation are more dangerous?
Whose clients and allies are smarter?
Whose neighbors are more frightened?
Whose has more food and money?
Whose citizenry is calmer?
When consider matters along these lines, structural strengths and
weaknesses can be determined.
Facilitating Battle
A scorpion will sting because it has poison; a soldier can be brave
when he can rely on his equipment. Therefore when their weapons are
sharp and their armor is strong, people will readily do battle. If
armor is not strong, it is the same as baring one's shoulders. if a
bow cannot shoot far, it is the same as a close-range weapon. If a
shot cannot hit the mark, it is the same as having no weapon. If a
scout is not careful, it is the same as having no eyes. If a general
is not brave in battle, it is the same as having no military
leadership.
Striking Power
Skilled warriors of ancient times first found out the condition of
their enemies and then made plans to deal with them. There is no
doubt of success when you strike enemies under the following
conditions:
Their fighting forces are stale.
Their supplies are exhausted.
Their populace is full of sorrow and bitterness.
Many people are physically ill.
They do not plan ahead.
Their equipment is in disrepair.
Their soldiers are not trained.
Reinforcement does not show up.
Night falls when they still have a long way to go.
Their soldiers are worn out.
Their generals are contemptuous and their officers are
inconsiderate.
They neglect to make preparations.
They do not form battle lines as they advance.
When they do form battle lines, they are not stable.
They are disorderly when they travel over rough terrain.
There is discord between commanders and soldiers.
They become arrogant when they win a battle.
There is disorder in the ranks when they move their battle lines.
The soldiers are tired and prone to upset.
The army is supplied, but the people do not eat.
Each man moves on his own - some go ahead, some lag behind.
When opponents have the following qualities, however, withdraw and
avoid them:
Superiors are considerate and subordinates are obedient.
Rewards are sure and punishments certain.
The forces are set out in an orderly fashion.
They give responsibility to the wise and employ the able.
The army is courteous and mannerly.
Their armor is strong and their weapons keen.
They have plenty of supplies and equipment.
Their government and education are substantial.
They are on good terms with all of their neighbors.
They are backed by great nations.
Psychological Configurations
Some generals are brave and think lightly of death. Some are hasty
and impulsive. Some are greedy and materialistic. Some are humane
but lack endurance. Some are intelligent but timid. Some are
intelligent but easygoing at heart
Those who are brave and think lightly of death are vulnerable to
assault. Those who are hasty and impulsive are vulnerable to delay.
Those who are greedy and materialistic are vulnerable to loss. Those
who are humane but lack endurance are vulnerable to fatigue. Those
who are intelligent but timid are vulnerable to pressure. Those who
are intelligent but easygoing are vulnerable to sudden attack
Orderly Troops
In military operations, order leads to victory. If rewards and
penalties are unclear, if rules and regulations are unreliable, and
if signals are not followed, even if you have an army of a million
strong it is of no practical benefit.
An orderly army is one that is mannerly and dignified, one that
cannot be withstood when it advances and cannot be pursued when it
withdraws. Its movements are regulated and directed; this gives it
security and presents no danger. The troops can be massed but not
scattered, can be deployed but not worn out.
Inspiring Soldiers
Honor them with titles, present them with goods, and soldiers
willingly come join you. Treat them courteously, inspire them with
speeches, and soldiers willingly die. Give them nourishment and rest
so that they do not become weary, make the code of rules uniform,
and soldiers willingly obey. Lead them into battle personally, and
soldiers will be brave. Record even a little good, reward even a
little merit, and soldiers will be encouraged.
Self-exertion
Sages follow the rules of heaven; the wise obey the laws of earth;
the intelligent follow precedent. Harm comes to the arrogant;
calamity visits the proud. Few people trust those who talk too much;
few people feel indebted to the self-serving. Rewarding the unworthy
causes alienation; punishing the innocent causes resentment. Those
whose appreciation or anger are unpredictable perish.
Harmonizing People
Harmonizing people is essential in military operations. When people
are in harmony, they will fight on their own initiative, without
exhortation. If the officers and the soldiers are suspicious of one
another, them warriors will not join up. If no heed is paid to the
strategies of loyal, the small-minded people will backbite. When the
sprouts of hypocrisy arise, even if you have the wisdom of the great
warrior-kings of old, you will not be able to prevail over an
ordinary man, much less a whole group of them. Therefore tradition
says, “A military operation is like fire; if it is not
stopped, it burns itself out.”
The Condition of a General
According to the code of generalship, generals do not say they are
thirsty before the soldiers have drawn from the well; generals do
not say they are hungry before the soldiers' food is cooked;
generals do not say they are cold before the soldiers' fire are
kindled; generals do not say they are hot before the soldiers'
canopies are drawn. Generals do not use fans in summer, do not wear
leather (or fur) in winter, do not use umbrella in the rain. They do
as everyone does.
Order and Disorder
When a nation is perilous and disordered, and the people are not
secure in their homes, this is because the ruler has made the
mistake of neglecting to find wise people
When the wise are disaffected, a nation is in peril; when the wise
are employed, a nation is secure. When offices are chosen for
persons, there is disorder; when persons are chosen for offices,
there is order.
Observant Government
An observant and perceptive government is one that looks at subtle
phenomena and listens to small voices. When phenomena are subtle
they are not seen, and when voices are small they are not heard;
therefore an enlightened leader looks closely at the subtle and
listens for the importance of the small voice.
This harmonizes the outside with the inside, and harmonizes the
inside with the outside; so the Way of government involves the
effort to see and hear much.
Thus when you are alert to what the people in the lower echelons
have to say, and take it into consideration, so that your plan
include the rank and file, then all people are your eyes and a
multitude of voices helps your ears. This is the reason for the
classic saying, "A sage has no constant mind - the people are
the sage' mind."
Rulers and Ministers
For rulers, generosity to subordinates is benevolence; for
ministers, service of the government is duty. No one should serve
the government with duplicity; ministers should not be given dubious
policies.
When both superiors and subordinates are given to courtesy, then the
people are easy to employ. When superiors and subordinates are in
harmony, then the Way of rulers and ministers is fulfilled: rulers
employ their ministers courteously, while ministers work for the
rulers loyally; rulers plan the government policies, while ministers
plan their implantation.
Knowledgeable Rule
Rulers are considered knowledgeable according to how much they have
seen, and are considered capable according to how much they have
heard.
Everyone knows the saying that an intelligent ruler is constant
through the day and night, discharging the affairs of office by day
and attending to personal matters at night. Yet there may be
grievances that do not get a hearing, and there may be loyal people
promoting good who are not trusted.
If grievances are not heard, the best cannot be straightened. If
promotion of good is not accepted, the loyal are not trusted and the
treacherous enter with their schemes.
This is the meaning of the proverb in the ancient "Classic of
Documents": "Heaven sees through the seeing of my people,
heaven hears through the hearing of my people."
Not Knowing
Confucius said that an enlightened ruler does not worry about people
not knowing him, he worries about not knowing people. He worries not
about outsiders not knowing insiders, but about insiders not knowing
outsiders. He worries not about subordinates not knowing superiors,
but about superiors not knowing subordinates. He worries not about
the lower classes not knowing the upper classes, but about the upper
classes not knowing the lower classes.
Adjudication
When rulers adjudicate criminal cases and execute punishments, they
worry that they may be unclear. The innocent may be punished while
the guilty may be released. The powerful may arrogate to themselves
alone the right to speak, while the powerless may have their rights
infringed upon by those who bear grudges against them. Honesty may
be distorted; those who are wronged may not get a chance to express
themselves. The trustworthy may be suspected; the loyal may be
attacked. These are all perversions, problems causing disaster and
violence, aberrations causing calamity and chaos.
Disturbance and Security
It is said that when official are severe in everything, no one knows
where it will end. If they feed off the people so severely that
people are hungry and impoverished, this produces disturbances and
rebellion.
Encourage people in productive work, don't deprive them of their
time. Lighten their taxes, don't exhaust their resources. In this
way the country is made wealthy and families secure.
Appointments
The official policy of making appointments should be to promote the
upright and place them over the crooked. Governing a country is like
governing the body,. The way to govern the body is to nurture the
spirit; the way to govern a country is to promote the wise. Life is
sought by nurturing the spirit; stability is sought by promoting the
wise.
So public servants are to a nation as pillars are to a house; the
pillars should not be slender; public servants should not be weak.
When the pillars are slender the house collapses; when the public
servants are weak the nation crumbles. Therefore the way to govern a
nation is to promote the upright over the crooked; then the nation
is secure.
Pillars of State
For strong pillars you need straight trees; for wise public servants
you need upright people. Straight trees are found in remote forests;
upright people come from the humble masses. Therefore when rulers
are going to make appointments they need to look in obscure places.
Sometimes there are disenfranchised people with something of value
in them; sometimes there are people with extraordinary talent who go
unrecognized. Sometimes there are paragons of virtue who are not
promoted by their hometown; sometimes there are people who live in
obscurity on purpose.
Sometimes there are people who are dutiful and righteous for purely
philosophical or religious reasons. Sometimes there are loyal people
who are straightforward with rulers but are slandered by cliques.
Ancient kings are known to have hired unknowns and nobodies, finding
in them the human qualities whereby they were able to bring peace.
Evaluation and Dismissal
The official policy of evaluation and dismissal should be to promote
the good and dismiss the bad. An enlightened leadership is aware of
good and bad throughout the realm. not daring to overlook even minor
officials and commoners, employing the wise and good, and dismissing
the greedy and weak-minded.
With enlightened leadership and good citizens, projects get
accomplished, the nation is orderly, and the wise gather like rain;
this is the way to promote the good and dismiss the bad, setting
forth what is acceptable and what is blameworthy. Therefore a policy
of evaluation and dismissal means effort to know what hurts the
people.
What Hurts the People
There are five things that hurt the people:
1. There are local officials who use public office for personal
benefit, taking improper advantage of their authority, holding
weapons in one hand and people's livelihood in the other, corrupting
their offices, and bleeding the people.
2. There are cases where serious offenses are given light penalties;
there is inequality before the law, and the innocents are subjected
to punishment, even execution. Sometimes serious crimes are
pardoned, the strong are supported, and the weak are oppressed.
Harsh penalties are applied, unjustly torturing people to get at
facts.
3. Sometimes there are officials who condone crime and vice,
punishing those who protest against this, cutting off the avenue of
appeal and hiding the truth, plundering and ruining lives, unjust
and arbitrary.
4. Sometimes there are senior officials who repeatedly change
department heads so as to monopolize the government administration,
favoring their friends and relatives while treating those they
dislike with unjust harshness, oppressive in their actions,
prejudiced and unruly. They also use taxation to reap profit,
enriching themselves and their families by exactions and fraud.
5. Sometimes local officials extensively tailor awards and fines,
welfare projects, and general expenditures, arbitrarily determining
prices and measures, with the result that people lose their jobs.
These five things are harmful to the people, and anyone who does any
of these should be dismissed from the office.
Military Actions
"Weapon are instruments of ill omen, to be used only when it is
unavoidable." The proper course of military action is to
establish strategy first, and then carry it out. Monitor the
environment, observe the minds of the masses, practice the use of
military equipment, clarity the principles of reward and punishment,
watch the schemes of enemies, note the perils of the roads,
distinguish safe and dangerous places, find out the conditions of
the parties involves, and recognize when to proceed and when to
withdraw. Follow the timing of opportunities, set up preparations
for defense, strengthen your striking power, improve the abilities
of your soldiers, map out decisive strategies, and consider life and
death issues. Only after doing appointing military leaders and
extending the power to capture enemies. This is the overall scheme
of things in military matters.
Rewards and Penalties
A policy of rewards and penalties means rewarding the good and
penalizing wrongdoers. Rewarding the good is to promote achievement;
penalizing wrongdoers is to prevent treachery.
It is imperative that rewards and punishments be fair and impartial.
When they know r -
The quill snapped. Locke quirked an
eyebrow.
He sighed.
Three: Tidbits of Yourself
Sat May 7, 2005 14:07
"Why do you have such a disdain
for those committees, Locke?" His father looked out the window,
watching his colleagues go, insulted and angered by his barely
teenaged son. Ten, all told. He was the eleventh.
"When a committee convenes, the
man who is asked to do the most and contribute the most has thr
least to say; his workload is thought to bias his viewpoint on the
issues at hand - whereby negating his ability to speak without being
hounded by the very board he's supporting. No speech is really
considered, in a committee - just the speaker." Locke didn't
look up from his book - his eyes followed the text as he spoke.
"I'm not sure I follow you,
son...?"
"Reasons need judgement, to
weigh them. Judgement is not made of lamb's wool - you know, so soft
it can be pulled and twisted and contorted, offering no resitance
and accepting any shape you force upon it, until you've tied it in a
knot and flipped it into a pretzel. You, the biggest contributor to
the group, over the past year, could tell them why you're suitable
for the new position as mayor better than anyone could, but you're
the one with talent; therefore you can't say anything. You need
'supporters' - middlemen. You see, in their world, the shortest way
to get from point A to point B is not a straight line. It's A to C
to B - and the more points in between A and B, the shorter."
"...Locke..."
"Such is the psychological
makeup of a pretzel." Locke kept reading, and said nothing
further on the matter.
Nobody had ever seen Locke lose his
temper. His mannerisms were immaculately polite, if a tad
overcurious; it was the same in a drawing room, in his study, at a
party, in the forest, in his house, another man's house, or kissing
his favorite blonde girl: cool, tactful, considering, and faintly
patronizing. Most people admired his sense of humor - he was, they
said, a young man who could laugh at himself, in spite of all his
great talents. Behind the humor, though, was a guile that was no
laughing matter.
"Why on earth didn't you lie,
just a little? Had a girl like that asked if I liked to play jacks
I'da sworn I played since I was four years old!" Harold smiled,
his large cheeks dimpling deeper than one would think physically
possible.
"It didn't occur to me."
Locke frowned, his gray eyes shimmering, pools of storm, embedded in
his face.
"I tell ya what, Locke, you're a
genius in some new-fangled way, but in some cases, yer just a
dimwit!" Harold clapped him on the shoulder; Locke smirked.
"Possibly."
Locke ghosted through the anterroom
lightly, with an energy in his unhurried movement that didn't seem a
part of this world; he was not walking too fast or too slow, nor was
he fidgety, in his energy. He simply seemed... almost more alive
than the butler who accompanied him into the sitting room, where
Anja and her parents awaited him. Anja's mother had said that he
would seem terribly out of place in her home - she was quite
surprised to find that her home seemed terribly out of place, now
that he was inside it.
"You must be Locke! Oh, Anja
can't stop talking about you. Please, please, sit." The mother
was cordial enough; Anja's father remained silent.
Hours passed, so did dinner. It was
only then, as Locke was gathering his things - pulling on his cloak
for the ride back home - that Anja's father piped up.
"Boy, not once did you inquire
as to what we thought of you." He was gruff, with a swirly
mustache, one that make his square face seem even more square,
somehow. Deep set eyes that burned like dying embers regarded Locke,
as he furrowed his brow.
"Begging your pardon - I never
thought to ask."
Locke took his leave without another
word.
"Locke, do you understand the
root of a quest for self respect?"
"That the seeker will never have
any."
"And... you realize, what you're
doing now, a journey to find self contempt...?"
"I'll never achieve it."
"Do you remember when you
started working here, kid?" Stephen sassed, knuckling Locke's
head.
"I do. I was eleven."
"You were on those steps, over
there - you'd disappeared from home again - and you needed money for
food. You asked me for a job. I asked if you could spell cat."
"And I asked if you could spell
anthropomorphology."
It never occurred to Locke that
stealing Poettre's invariably stalwart secretary could possibly be a
breach of formalities, here in the Black Tower. All he knew was that
he'd left a note near the lessons board about wanting a stones
partner - and the man was the only one who'd come to see what was
about. His name was Syril - and, over the discourse of several
games, Locke discovered that he had been an accountant of some kind,
many years ago, when he was still "spry". Locke noted
silently that Syril was still quite spry, though not in the initial
meaning of the term. His wit was sharp; he was plainly logical -
quite an opponent for stones, especially with their modified set of
rules.
"I never thought I would
encounter a teenager that could beat me in a battle of wits."
Syril nodded, his old, nearly sagely face creasing in a nearly
imperceptible smile.
"I never thought I would
encounter an aged ex-accountant that I didn't find boring."
Locke reset the board. "And besides, you've beaten me once of
of three - much better than most anyone else."
Syril regarded the board a moment
before making his move. "True. Did you ever keep a count of how
many you won in a row?"
"My father did." Locke
moved without hesitation.
Silence followed; six moves later,
each had cornered the other. "You never did tell me what the
record was, Boy." Syril furrowed his brow, staring at the
stalemate on the board in front of him. The white stones were his;
they were encircled on the left - the black were Locke's, and they
were encircled on the right. They'd tied.
"I didn't think of it. My
apologies." Locke made his final move, the one that synched the
trap. Syril's pieces were split, by that switch; two moves later the
game was over. "I won one hundred and forty eight games
consecutively."
"Who finally beat you?"
Syril reset the board.
"Nobody. I left for the Black
Tower." Locke smirked. "Thanks to you, though, I now have
a destroyed winning streak."
"I'll beat you this time,
too." Syril nodded.
"Bloody accountant." Locke
made his move, grinning happily.