and he keeps his eye on the arrow’s line of approach toward the target, never allowing his gaze to wander; once he sees the arrowhead touching his finger he releases the shaft (1). This style of shooting is deemed excellent among them, yet it is difficult, causes little damage, and the archer cannot deliver a forceful shot. Nor may he sit at an angle; rather, he must sit cross-legged, so that his shaft is short and his shot lacks penetration. It is, therefore, suited to nearby and finely-detailed targets.

Section

As for sighting from without, it has three modes:

First mode: the archer places the arrow outside the bow, looks at the mark with both eyes, relies chiefly on the left eye, and then slips (2) the arrow swiftly onto the bowstring.

Second mode: he sets the arrowhead outside the bow in line with the mark, looks with his left eye alone and depends on it, places his right eye behind the bow’s grip (3) so that it sees nothing of the mark, relying on the left eye for correction, while the fingers of his left hand remain locked on the centre of the mark.

Third mode: he redirects (4) the light of both eyes into a single eye,