The Long March

Let your rapidity be that of the wind,

[The simile is doubly appropriate, because the wind is not only swift but, as Mei Yao-ch`en points out, "invisible and leaves no tracks."] your compactness that of the forest.

[Meng Shih comes nearer to the mark in his note: "When slowly marching, order and ranks must be preserved"--so as to guard against surprise attacks. But natural forest do not grow in rows, whereas they do generally possess the quality of density or co mpactness.]

Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War'