The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.

Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.

Don't flail against the world, use it. Flexibility is the operative principle in the art of war.

Those who would wage war, should first eliminate all domestic enemies before proceeding to attack the external foe.

To capture the enemy's entire army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a regiment, a company, or a squad is better than to destroy them. For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the supreme of excellence. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.

Quickness is the essence of the war.

It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.