All battles are won before they start.
Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.
He who wishes to fight must first count the cost
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.
O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.