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["Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one,"

says Ts'ao Kung, "the opposite state should be always present to

your mind."]

8. If our expectation of advantage be tempered in this way, we

may succeed in accomplishing the essential part of our schemes.

[Tu Mu says: "If we wish to wrest an advantage from the enemy, we

must not fix our minds on that alone, but allow for the

possibility of the enemy also doing some harm to us, and let this

enter as a factor into our calculations."]

9. If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are

always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves

from misfortune.