quote · Legacy record
If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive;and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attachedto you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be unless.
If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive;and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attachedto you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be unless.
Approximate author period: c. 544 BC · ancient
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Sun Tzu
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 544 BC · ancient
Approximate author-period anchor from documented birth year -544; activity date not established; Wikidata Q37151, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37151 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided quotation collection
Supplied reference C; CSV row 95449; supplied attribution, independently unverified
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
