poor stick meaning in English

没有活力的人

But when he saw the french , and saw tihon , and learned that the attack would certainly take place that night , with the rapid transition from one view to another , characteristic of young people , he made up his mind that his general , for whom he had till that moment had the greatest respect , was a poor stick , and only a german , that denisov was a hero , and the esaul a hero , and tihon a hero , and that it would be shameful to leave them at a moment of difficulty
在到达树林边缘之前，彼佳原打算，他应当坚决服从命令，立即返回部队。但是，当他亲眼看见了法国人，又见到了吉洪，并听到当晚要对法军进行袭击，他以年轻人极易迅速改变观点的特点，改变了主意，他认为，他一直尊敬的那位将军是一个无能的德国人，而杰尼索夫才是英雄，哥萨克一等上尉是英雄，吉洪是英雄，在这困难时刻，离开他们是可耻的。