Know the enemy, know yourself; your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will then be total.

When the thunderclap comes, there is no time to cover the ears.

Agitate him and ascertain the pattern of his movement.

Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.

If I wish to engage, then the enemy, for all his high ramparts and deep moat, cannot avoid engagement; I attack that which he is obliged to rescue.

There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

It is through the dispositions of an army that its condition may be discovered. Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory,; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.