tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Dec 31 05:15:32 2007

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Art of War Chp. 2 (section 1/3)

Agnieszka Solska ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol po'wI']

'ay' cha': Qojlu'
Chapter Two: Waging war


jatlh SunchI':

Sun Tzu said:

Qojlu'meH
wa'SaD HIvDuj lupoQlu',
wa'SaD ngaq Duj lupoQlu',
may'luch tuQbogh wa'bIp negh'e' poQlu',
wa'SaD qelI'qam [A] chuq lenglaHmeH negh, Soj poQlu'.
wo' qoDDaq wo' HurDaq je Huch natlhlu'meH,
qeSwI' 'oSwI' je luDIllu'meH,
Humbogh Hap, rItlh, latlh Doch je luje'lu'meH,
Duj may'luch je luleHlu'meH
Hoch jaj wa'SaD baS DeQ lupoQlu'.
wa'bIp QaS muvmoHlu'meH Huchvam natlhlu'.

Waging war requires
A thousand attack vehicles,
A thousand support vehicles,
A hundred thousand armor-clad troops,
And provisions to carry them a thousand miles.
The expenses at home and abroad,
The stipends for advisers and envoys,
Materials such as glue and paint,
The maintenance of vehicles and armor
Will amount to a thousand pieces of metal a day.
Such is the cost of raising a hundred thousand troops.

ghoblu'taHvIS yay 'oH ngoQ'e'.
nom yay chavbe'lu'chugh
vaj jejHa'choH nuH
'ej vaQHa'choH tIq [B].
veng DaHIvchugh
nupchoH HoSlIj.
nI'qu'chugh noH
yapHa'choH wo' jo.

In battle the goal is victory.
If victory is slow in coming
Weapons grow dull
And zeal flags.
If you attack a city
Your strength will decline.
If hostilities drag on
The country's resources will not suffice.

jejHa'choHpu'DI' nuHlIj,
vaQHa'choHpu'DI' tIqlIj,
nupchoHpu'DI' HoSlIj,
machchoHpu'DI' mIpIIj,
vaj vangchoH jaghpu'lI'
'ej bISotmo' 'eb lujon.
ngugh QIH botlaHbe' je valqu'wI' [C].

When your weapons have dulled,
When your zeal has flagged,
When your strength has declined,
And your wealth has diminished,
Your foes will move in
And take advantage of your adversity.
Then even the wisest will not be able to avert the damage.

moDmo' Dogh QojwI' net Qoy,
'ach lummmo' val QojwI' wej net legh. [D]

One hears of foolish haste in war,
But no one has yet seen a clever delay.

noH [E] nI'qu'mo' cheppu' pagh wo' [F].
QIH'e' qaSmoHbogh QI' lo' Sovchu'be'chugh vay'
potlh qaSmoHbogh QI' lo''e' SovlaHbe'. [G]

No country has benefited from a protracted war.
Without fully knowing the harm the use of arms brings
Those not fully knowing the harm the use of arms brings
Cannot know how to turn the use of arms to good account.

-------
[A] {wa'SaD qelI'qam} ? "a thousand miles":

In Chinese the distance mentioned is one thousand li, which amounts to 
310.70 miles or 500 kilometers or 250 kellicams approximately. I may be 
wrong but I don't think it is important to give accurate values of these (or 
other) measurements.

[B] {vaQHa'choH tIq}:

Literally, "The heart(s) become(s) un-vigorous." Numerous references to 
{tIq} in canon sources suggest that for Klingons too the heart is a symbol 
of passion, courage, or enthusiasm:

   {tIqDaq HoSna' tu'lu'}
   "Real power is in the heart."
   [TKW, p. 23]

   {tIqwIj Sa'angnIS}
   "I must show you my heart."
   {TKW, p. 203}

   {tIqlIj Da'angnIS.}
   "You must show your heart."
   [PK]

[C] {QIH botlaHbe' je valqu'wI'}:

The Klingon text says that one who is very, or really, clever will also be 
unable to prevent the damage.

[D] {moDmo' Dogh QojwI' net Qoy,
    'ach lummmo' val QojwI' wej net legh}:

Literally, one hears that a "war-wager" is silly because he hurries but that 
a "war-wager" is clever because he procrastinates has not yet been seen. 
Using {wej} seems to imply the perfective aspect even though grammar forbids 
us from putting the {-pu'} suffix on the second verb of the {'e'/net VERB} 
construction (TKD 6.2.5).

[E] {noH} ? "war":

The noun {noH} is used here because the reference is not to a concept or 
idea of war, i.e. {veS}, but to a specific war which may last a long time 
and which may bring damage.

[F] {wo'}:

I am hesitating between using {wo'} and {Sep}. After all, what is said here 
applies to any country regardless of its size and importance.

[G] {potlh qaSmoHbogh QI' lo''e' SovlaHbe'}:

Literally, "They/he cannot know the use of the military which creates 
something of consequence." The Klingon version retains the parallelism 
present in the original. Unfortunately, I was unable to come up with an 
English rendition which would retain the parallelism without distorting the 
meaning. For example, in

    Those not fully knowing the harm the use of arms brings
    Cannot know the benefits the use of arms brings.

the second line conveys the idea of lacking knowledge of *the benefits* 
brought about by using arms, not the idea of lacking knowledge of *the way 
of using arms* that will bring benefits.


'ISqu'

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