Other conditions being equal, if one force is hurled against another ten times its size, the result will be the flight of the former.

The general must be the first in the toils and fatigues of the army. In the heat of summer he does not spread his parasol nor in the cold of winter don thick clothing. In dangerous places he must dismount and walk. He waits until the army's wells have been dug and only then drinks; until the army's food is cooked before he eats; until the army's fortifications have been completed, to shelter himself.

In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.

When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.

Like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.

Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never bewildered; once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss.

Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.