With regard to precipitous heights, if you are beforehand with your adversary, you should occupy the raised and sunny spots, and there wait for him to come up.

To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities...It is best to win without fighting.

Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy; forceful execution of even a poor plan can often bring victory.

Those who are victorious plan effectively and change decisively. They are like a great river that maintains its course but adjusts its flow.

Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death.