To perceive victory when it is known to all is not really skilful. Everyone calls victory in battle good, but it is not really good.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

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.

Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity.

When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or not he is in a position to fight, the result is ruin.

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

When you know both yourself as well as your competition, you are never in danger. To know yourself and not others, gives you half a chance of winning. Knowing neither yourself or your competition puts you in a position to lose.