If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.

Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.

They [spies] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.

If this is long delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed.

For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death.

Whoever is the first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy will be fresh for the fight... Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy... By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or by inflicting damage, he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near.