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 the will is directed at an animate object that reacts.

To discover how much of our resources must be mobilized for war, we must first examine our political aim and that of the enemy. We must gauge the strength and situation of the opposite state. We must gauge the character and abilities of its government and people and do the same in regard to our own. Finally, we must evaluate the political sympathies of other states and the effect the war may have on them.

Timidity is the root of prudence in the majority of men.

Men are always more inclined to pitch their estimate of the enemy's strength too high than too low, such is human nature.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.