¡Sé sutil! ¡sé sutil! y emplea a tus agentes para toda clase de
[Véase el § 9 del cap. VI.]
- Si un espía divulga una noticia secreta antes de que llegue el momento oportuno, debe ser condenado a muerte junto con el hombre al que se le reveló el secreto.
[Word for word, the translation here is: "If spy matters are heard before [our plans] are carried out," etc. Sun Tzŭ’s main point in this passage is: Whereas you kill the spy himself "as a punishment for letting out the secret," the object of killing the other man is only, as Ch’en Hao puts it, "to stop his mouth" and prevent news leaking any further. If it had already been repeated to others, this object would not be gained. Either way, Sun Tzŭ lays himself open to the charge of inhumanity, though Tu Mu tries to defend him by saying that the man deserves to be put to death, for the spy would certainly not have told the secret unless the other had been at pains to worm it out of him.]