Sun Tzu

“Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.”

“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”

“If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive;and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attachedto you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be unless.”

“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”

“One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other's military without battle is the most skillful.”

“If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.”

“licited from spirits; it cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any”

“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”

“Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.”

“The Art of War is self-explanatory”

“Order or disorder depends on organisation; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on dispositions.”

“Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”

“Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm”

“Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.”

“In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them”

“But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”

“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons”

“Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content.But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”

“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”

“If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame. But, if orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their oficers.”

“If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it.”

“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”

“It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.”

“If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”

“In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.”

“Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory.”

“Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.”

“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.”

“If you are near the enemy, make him believe you are far from him.If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are now”

“If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.”

“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”

“Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.”

“To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”

“When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteoousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders'.”

“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”

“Hence a commander who advances without any thought of winning personal fame and withdraws in spite of certain punishment, whose only concern is to protect his people and promote the interests of his ruler, is the nation's treasure. Because he fusses over his men as if they were infants, they will accompany him into the deepest valleys; because he fusses over his men as if they were his own beloved sons, they will die by his side. If he is generous with them and yet they do not do as he tells them, if he loves them and yet they do not obey his commands, if he is so undisciplined with them that he cannot bring them into proper order, they will be like spoiled children who can be put to no good use at all.”

“Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.”

“When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.”

“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight”

“The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.”

“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.”

“In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.”

“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combinationthey produce more hues than can ever been seen.There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations ofthem yield more flavours than can ever be tasted.”

“One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. ”

“What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.”

“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”

“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.”

“Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.”

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”