Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.

Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted.

Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of business.

All warfare is based on deception. If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight and if not: split and re-evaluate.

A kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.

The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.

Perfection in war lies in so sapping your opponents will that he surrenders without fighting.