Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult.

I shall proceed from the simple to the complex. But in war more than in any other subject we must begin by looking at the nature of the whole; for here more than elsewhere the part and the whole must always be thought of together.

Beauty cannot be defined by abscissas and ordinates; neither are circles and ellipses created by their geometrical formulas.

By 'intelligence' we mean every sort of information about the enemy and his country - the basis, in short, of our own plans and operations.

Knowledge in war is very simple, being concerned with so few subjects, and only with their final results at that. But this does not make its application easy.

[...] to introduce into the philosophy of war itself a principle of moderation would be an absurdity

In war everything is simple, but it's the simple things that are difficult.