Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
As water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions.
Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity.
The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution.
What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.
To maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.
Probe him and learn where his strength is abundant and where deficient.
Attack where he is unprepared; sally forth when he does not expect you.
Of all rewards none [is] more liberal than those given to secret agents.
The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands
The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Ground which can be freely traversed by both sides is called accessible.
Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.
There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.
If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.
Victory usually goes to the army who has better trained officers and men.
Without local guides, your enemy employs the land as a weapon against you.
There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefitted.
Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.
Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.
So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.
Wait by the river long enough and the body of your enemy will float by you.
I will be able to forecast which side will be victorious and which defeated.
If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.
Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to re-occupy is called entangling.
If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.
Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.
Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.
Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never peril.
One defends when his strength is inadequate, he attacks when it is abundant.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle
Unless you enter the tiger's lair, you cannot get hold of the tiger's cub's.
Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.
The peak efficiency of knowledge and strategy is to make conflict unnecessary.
There is an intelligent way to eat a live frog - I just don't know what it is.
He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy.
If you follow the enemy's shifts and changes, you can always find a way to win.
He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.
Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
One who sets the entire army in motion to chase an advantage will not attain it.
Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.
Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuvering for advantageous positions.
Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence.
When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food.
One need not destroy one's enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage.
He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.