Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 7: 4 "Set out after him, but arrive before him; this is to master the crooked and the straight."

So, what if my theory is right? What if Master Sun was reading Greek texts as part of his daily study? Could it be? Might have he have had access to Aesop's Fables? The tortoise sets out after the hare but arrives first. Did Aesop know how to make the crooked straight?

How did the turtle get there first? By the rabbit's silly trickster self-confidence and lack of discipline. Hurry, hurry, scurry, scurry, the rabbit leaps and bounds forward, until it's time to rest. Steady, steady, step by step, the turtle keeps on keeping on. Victory.

If you look him up, you'll see that the possibly real Aesop possibly died a decade or two before the possibly real Master Sun was born. Consider their similarities. No one knows if Aesop lived, or if he did, if he wrote anything. Legends. Tales. Tradition. Who knows?

If he did live, the tradition tells us, he was very ugly, a slave, and very likely from Africa and therefore black. And, the tradition tells us he won his freedom, wealth, and power as adviser to kings through his genius. What a meritocratic tale!

If you haven't read Aesop's Fables, what a treat you're in for. Try to imagine it my way. Master Sun wakes up in the morning. Meditates, drinks his perfectly prepared tea, and reads Master Aesop's daily tale, meditating deeply. One could derive the Art of War from Aesop.

Let's discuss reading, meditating. One doesn't get to become the ultimate writer of War Theory without reading, meditating, internalizing, applying. Whatever it was he read, Master Sun was certainly a student before he was a teacher. That is the order of things. How do you study?

A mouse discovers a lion in agony, a thorn in its paw. Lions eat mice. At risk of life, the mouse pulls out the thorn. The lion remembers, and protects the mouse after. Trust is a tool of alliance, and part of the Art of War. Do you know when to take risk, to trust?

Fable by fable, if you read Aesop, you must become the turtle, the rabbit, the mouse, the lion, yourself. Metaphor. No, you will not, like one of the teenaged mutant ninja turtles, actually become super-powered. But I assure you, Aesop would 100% understand and adore them!

Aesop's mouse sets the crooked path straight. The enemy lion is, in the end, a friend. The enemy mouse, in the end, empowers himself by friendship. Crooked paths can absolutely be set straight. Country music, filled with such, gives us Bless The Broken Road by Rascal Flatts.

Let's go literal. You're on a straight road in the Nevada desert. A tank is following you, its gun pointing straight at you. Wouldn't you wish for a curve in the road? Or, the ability to veer off road and travel as securely as the tank can? A crooked road makes you safer!

Speaking of study, I have an image to share. Yesterday, when I was looking ahead in chapter 7, I discovered seven sections within the chapter. Seven in seven. Today's verse, 7: 4, completes the first. Not being me, you probably cannot imagine the thrill of the discovery!

I'm kind of embarrassed. I have a guy. He was a writer at the same time as William Shakespeare. His name was John Donne. He is absolutely an historical character, we know he lived, really. I consider his poetry even greater than his more famous contemporary.

He wrote one of the most amazing works of art in all of history, a sequence of seven sonnets called La Corona. I know, sonnets are not popular today. Such discipline. How can it be art? Such structure, too much structure. It must be artificial. Alas. I sigh and weep.

Do you know what a sonnet is? If not, please look it up. Please do NOT reject the form before you at least understand it. We must move on to La Corona, itself. Actually, right now...

luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne…

What I believe I've discovered is that Master Sun's chapter 7 is, in fact, a type of sonnet. Seven in seven. It has seven sections, as you'll see for yourself from my pictured list above, if you check it out. But, perhaps it's not Master Sun, but merely our translator. Then...

Then, honor to our translator. But I suspect he had his reasons, and that as opposed to creatively structuring the text, he merely attempted to follow Master Sun's genius. In any case, do you have an hour? Can you read chapter 7 as if my analysis into sections was right?

Let's conclude today's excursions by returning to the topic of study. When you read about crooked paths being made straight, who's the hero of that story? Are you, you yourself? If not, then Master Sun will sigh and let you go. You must be the hero of the story, personally.

When you read John Donne's 7-sonnet cycle of Jesus Christ's life and mission, you have to find your awe, your respect, your passion. If you're a Christian, you must find your inspiration. If you're not a Christian, you should let Donne inspire you anyway.

You don't need lacquered chariots to read Master Sun. You need the courage to look at true combat, in your own real life, and find the will to win. Chapter 7 will lead you there, if you let it.

158 verses completed, 264 to go.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21. You'll find the digital table of contents for this series, there. Please retweet each entry you enjoy.

CORRECTION: If you follow today's commentary, you'll see that I confused two of Aesop's fables: Androcles and the Lion with the Mouse and the Lion. Both are fabulously worthy tales. Check them out!