Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.

You can prevent your opponent from defeating you through defense, but you cannot defeat him without taking the offensive.

The essential factor of military success is speed, that is taking advantage of others' unpreparedness or lack of foresight, their failure to catch up, going by routes they do not expect, attacking where they are not on guard. This you cannot accomplish with hesitation.

Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.

So the principles of warfare are: Do not depend on the enemy not coming, but depend on our readiness against him. Do not depend on the enemy not attacking, but depend on our position that cannot be attacked.

All wars are won or lost before they are ever fought.

So it is that good warriors take their stance on ground where they cannot lose, and do not overlook conditions that make an opponent prone to defeat.