“Great results can be achieved with small forces.”
“Know yourself and you will win all battles.”
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
“He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”
“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”
“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.”
“Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.”
“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.”
“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”
“To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
“When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.”
“Excessive rewards are a sign of desperation. Excessive punishments are a sign of exhaustion.”
“The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
“Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.”
“Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy’s fate in our hands.”
“It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.”
“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
“Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise; for the result is waste of time and general stagnation.”
“If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.”
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”
“Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.”
“Quickness is the essence of the war.”
“Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy’s purpose.”
“A leader leads by example, not by force.”
“One may know the condition of a whole army from the behavior of a single man.”
“You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.”
“Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.”
“If there is disturbance in the camp, the general’s authority is weak. „
“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
“Bravery without forethought causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull.”
“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.”
“The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.”
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
“If you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; whereas death is certain if you cling to your corner.”
“When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.”
“Plan for what it is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.”
“Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.”
“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”
“All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”
“Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.”
“Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”
“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”
“Disorder came from order, fear came from courage, weakness came from strength.”
“One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.”
“If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.”
“If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”
“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
“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.”
“You have to believe in yourself.”
