Master Sun on long wars

Patrick Moran has published a new translation of one of strategy's great books, which he titles Master Sun's Art of War. It's available as a ten-dollar paperback or a three-dollar PDF download at Lulu.com. I particularly liked this little riff:

When engaging in warfare, make victory the highest priority. If warfare goes on for a long time the troops will lose their edge.

If city walls are besieged, then one's energies will be entangled.

If one exposes one's army to danger for a long period of time, then the resources of the nation will eventually fall short....

Truly, I have heard of cases when armies suffered due to their inelegant haste,but not of armies long enduring through serendipity.

To which Mr. Moran adds a pungent note: "Things eventually go wrong." Blue skies! -- Dan Ford