Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 3:2 "Better take an army, a regiment, a detachment, a company, intact than destroy them."

Logic cascades. Just like water falling down over stones and curves in land, logic falls from one point to the next. Try to feel it. Army => regiment => detachment => company. Largest => large => smaller => small. Can you feel the logic cascading downward?

Whenever anything falls like that, think gravity. Think Earth. So, as a company is to Earth, an army is to Heaven. Downward to company. Upward to army, an entire army. Earth is down, or small. Heaven is up, or large. You have to play with these equivalencies in your mind.

All the generations of your family through time = large, Heaven. You fall in love and get married = small, Earth. The CEO of a great corporation = a lord of Heaven. The proverbial janitor = a minion of Earth. Heaven is up. Earth is down.

So, who's logic is this? Is it Master Sun? Or, could it be that it is John Minford's, our translator? I honestly am not sure. Much of it must come from Master Sun. But, honoring our translator is NOT a bad thing! Let's talk about that a little.

Translation is one of the most demanding arts in the world. You are doomed, as a translator, to get it wrong. It is not possible to carry thoughts from one language or time into another without poisoning the ideas with your own intent. The writer's intent is your mission.

Your own intent is the pollution, the poison.

When I select between translators, I always forgive them for their own intent. I never forgive them if I feel they're distorting the writer's intent. And I say again, Minford is better than all the others.

As a student, once I've honored my translator, I put him away. I pretend that he's a perfect conveyor of the writer's intent. So reading Minford's Sun Tzu, I'm just reading Sun Tzu...in modern, poetic English. It is Sun Tzu's counsel I seek. Minford gives it to me. Thank you!

Let's go again. When possible, do NOT destroy armies, regiments, detachments, or companies. Take them intact.

Intact.

That may be Master Sun's most important idea. Keep thing intact, when you can. Don't destroy. But take them! Intact...take them.

Give me a little room to explain. Heaven favors the righteous ruler. Heaven does not favor the evil ruler. I know, history is not my friend here, but like I said, give me a little room. Two rulers. One more righteous, one less. Heaven favors the more, and disfavors the less.

Favored by Heaven, when the good ruler takes territory from the bad ruler, he does a favor to the people. Heavenly favored conquest. If you would know the past, our history, you must contemplate that point. The winning lord wins, due to Heaven's blessing. The people benefit.

So, when the winning lord takes an army, regiment, detachment or company, they now enjoy superior Command and Discipline, upon the Earth, over which they do battle. The winning lord merely does, upon the Earth, what Heaven commands. This is The Way.

Democrats and the MSM lie, and they lie for evil purposes. No, not the rank and file, local Democrat who live next door to you. No. But those in power? AOC? Jussie Smollett? They lie for evil purposes. The will of Heaven does not favor them.

Master Sun's logic amazes me. There is an army of Democrats in MSM and in the world of celebrities. Perhaps we can take them intact. They have their regiments, detachments and companies. Perhaps we can take them all intact.

But let's let go of Heaven and focus on Earth. Who's your neighbor? Where does he or she stand on #MAGA or not MAGA? Does America need to be made great again...or not? This simple question is THE question.

Those of us who know the answer, we must envision taking their armies, regiments, detachments, and companies intact. Larger, large, smaller, small. All of them. Cascading logic. Master Sun can belong to us. But only if we take him intact.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21.

And also, be sure to purchase John Minford's translation, here:

amazon.com/Art-War-Pengui…