If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst.

Without harmony in the State, no military expedition can be undertaken; without harmony in the army, no battle array can be formed.

Those skilled at making the enemy move do so by creating a situation to which he must conform; they entice him with something he is certain to take, and with lures of ostensible profit they await him in strength.

Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.

When your opponent gives you an opening, be swift as a hare.

the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization.