At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you.

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

No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.

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.

In war, practice dissimulation and you will succeed.

In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.

Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.