When the position is such that neither side will gain by making the first move, it is called temporising ground.

When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped to go rolling down.

If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide.

Those who excel in war first cultivate their own humanity and and maintain their laws and institutions. By these means they make their governments invincible.

When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.

the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

It is the business of a general to be quiet and thus ensure secrecy; upright and just, and thus maintain order.