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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Cavalry General by Xenophon: general must be able to take in, deceive, decoy, delude his adversary
at every turn, as the particular occasion demands. In fact, there is
no instrument of war more cunning than chicanery;[6] which is not
surprising when one reflects that even little boys, when playing, "How
many (marbles) have I got in my hand?"[7] are able to take one another
in successfully. Out goes a clenched fist, but with such cunning that
he who holds a few is thought to hold several; or he may present
several and appear to be holding only a few. Is it likely that a grown
man, giving his whole mind to methods of chicanery, will fail of
similar inventiveness? Indeed, when one comes to consider what is
meant by advantages snatched in war, one will find, i think, that the
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