The Conqueror is always a lover of peace: he would prefer to take over our country unopposed.

Close combat, man to man, is plainly to be regarded as the real basis of combat.

Given the same amount of intelligence, timidity will do a thousand times more damage than audacity

If you entrench yourself behind strong fortifications, you compel the enemy seek a solution elsewhere.

There is only one decisive victory: the last.

Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat an enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds; it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that the mistakes which come from kindness are the very worst.

We must, therefore, be confident that the general measures we have adopted will produce the results we expect. most important in this connection is the trust which we must have in our lieutenants. consequently, it is important to choose men on whom we can rely and to put aside all other considerations. if we have made appropriate preparations, taking into account all possible misfortunes, so that we shall not be lost immediately if they occur, we must boldly advance into the shadows of uncertainty.