Six Secret Teachings, Dragon Teaching — On the General六韜 論將
1The five qualities of a general and his ten faults
武王問太公曰：「論將之道奈何？」太公曰：「將有五材十過。」武王曰：「敢問其目？」太公曰：「所謂五材者：勇、智、仁、信、忠也。勇則不可犯，智則不可亂，仁則愛人，信則不欺，忠則無二心。所謂十過者：有勇而輕死者，有急而心速者，有貪而好利者，有仁而不忍人者，有智而心怯者，有信而喜信人者，有廉潔而不愛人者，有智而心緩者，有剛毅而自用者，有懦而喜任人者。勇而輕死者，可暴也；急而心速者，可久也；貪而好利者，可遺也；仁而不忍人者，可勞也；智而心怯者，可窘也；信而喜信人者，可誑也；廉潔而不愛人者，可侮也；智而心緩者，可襲也；剛毅而自用者，可事也；懦而喜任人者，可欺也。故兵者，國之大事，存亡之道，命在於將。將者，國之輔，先王之所重也。故置將不可不察也。故曰：『兵不兩勝，亦不兩敗。』兵出踰境，期不十日，不有亡國，必有破軍殺將。」武王曰：「善哉！」
King Wu asked Taigong, "What is the way of judging a general?" Taigong said, "A general has five qualities and ten faults." King Wu said, "May I ask the list of them?" Taigong said, "The five qualities are courage, wisdom, benevolence, good faith, and loyalty. If he is brave he cannot be violated, if wise he cannot be thrown into confusion, if benevolent he loves his men, if faithful he does not deceive, if loyal he has no second heart. The ten faults are these. There is the man who is brave and thinks lightly of death. There is the man who is hasty and quick in heart. There is the man who is greedy and fond of gain. There is the man who is benevolent and cannot bring himself to hurt others. There is the man who is wise and yet timid in heart. There is the man who is faithful and too ready to trust others. There is the man who is clean and honest and yet does not love his men. There is the man who is wise and yet slow in heart. There is the man who is hard and firm and will have only his own way. There is the man who is soft and likes to leave things to others. The brave man who thinks lightly of death can be driven upon fiercely. The hasty man who is quick in heart can be worn out by delay. The greedy man who is fond of gain can be bought off with gifts. The benevolent man who cannot bring himself to hurt others can be worn down with toil. The wise man who is timid in heart can be pushed into a corner. The faithful man who trusts others readily can be deceived. The clean man who does not love his men can be treated with contempt. The wise man who is slow in heart can be fallen upon. The hard man who will have his own way can be worked upon with affairs. The soft man who leaves things to others can be cheated. So arms are the great affair of a state and the road of its survival or its ruin, and the life of it lies with the general. The general is the prop of the state, and the former kings held him heavy, so in setting up a general one cannot but look closely. Therefore it is said, 'Two armies do not both win, nor do they both lose.' When the army has gone out and crossed the border, within ten days, if a state has not fallen then surely an army has been broken and a general killed." King Wu said, "Good."