If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is death.

Know thy self, know thy enemy.

When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.

Apparent confusion is a product of good order; apparent cowardice, of courage; apparent weakness, of strength.

When you shoot a bow and arrow, you aim at the clouds, not because you expect to hit them, but so that you may reach the distant target on the ground.

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.

Without harmony in the State, no military expedition can be undertaken; without harmony in the army, no battle array can be formed.