Use of Spies and Foreknowledge

From The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Knowledge of the enemy cannot come from spirits or analogy — only from human intelligence. The use of spies is the most essential matter for the army.
Chapter 13 (The Use of Spies), verses 4-6

'Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.' Cannot be elicited from spirits, gods, or by deductive calculation. A strong methodological statement against superstition.

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Chapter 13, verses 7-13

Five classes of spies: local, inward, converted, doomed, and surviving. When all five are at work, none can discover the secret system — 'the divine manipulation of the threads.'

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