Sun Tzu Quotes

Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.

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

Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

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

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

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.

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.

who wishes to fight must first count the cost

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

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'.

The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.

If your opponent is of choleric temper,   seek to irritate him.  Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull.  Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.

When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away...

If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst. [One may know the condition of a whole army from the behavior of a single man.]

When you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack from the leeward.

War is like a fire - if you do not put it out, it will burn itself out.

Understand both yourself and your enemy, and you shall always emerge victorious

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity

If you do not take opportunity   to   advance and reward   the   deserving,    your subordinates will not carry out your commands, and disaster will ensue.

mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy

If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.

When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.

If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak.

the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation

You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.

You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.

We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.

Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind.

There are not more than five primary colors  (blue, yellow,   red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION.

When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.

The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.

We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country -- its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.

Danger has a bracing effect.

To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.

Be stern in the council-chamber, [Show no weakness, and insist on your plans being ratified by the sovereign.] so that you may control the situation.

Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.

When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream.  It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack.

Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive,  knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.

If his forces are united, separate them.

who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits

do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat

These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

So long as victory can be attained,   stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.

A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return.

Know the enemy, know yourself and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles.

If quick, I survive.If not quick, I am lost.This is "death.