Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.

Wait by the river long enough and the body of your enemy will float by you.

In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close.

If a general shows confidence in his men but always insists on his orders being obeyed, the gain will be mutual.

It is more important to outhink your enemy, than to outfight him

If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.

When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce. If the enemy's troops march up angrily and remain facing ours for a long time without either joining battle or removing demands, the situation is one that requires great vigilance and circumspection. To begin by bluster, but afterward to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.