Sun Tzu Quotes

Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.

Factors in the art of warfare are: First, calculations; second, quantities; third, logistics; fourth, the balance of power; and fifth, the possibility of victory is based on the balance of power.

It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

So the principles of warfare are: Do not depend on the enemy not coming, but depend on our readiness against him. Do not depend on the enemy not attacking, but depend on our position that cannot be attacked.

If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it.

If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.

If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide.

Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.

Know the enemy and know yourself.

So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.

Winning isn't enough. The acme of all skill is to defeat your enemy before taking the field.

Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all.

If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.

Set the troops to their tasks without imparting your designs.

The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally; but a power of estimating the adversary, of controlling the forces of victory, and of shrewdly calculating difficulties, dangers and distances, constitutes the test of a great general.

When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.

To ... not prepare is the greatest of crimes; to be prepared beforehand for any contingency is the greatest of virtues.

The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment - that which they cannot anticipate.

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

Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory.

Don't flail against the world, use it. Flexibility is the operative principle in the art of war.

What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.

The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

This does not mean that the enemy is to be allowed to escape. The object is to make him believe that there is a road to safety, and thus prevent his fighting with the courage of despair. After that, you may crush him.

Bestow rewards without regard to rule, issue orders without regard to previous arrangements; and you will be able to handle a whole army as though you had to do with but a single man.

So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.

It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.

The skilful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.

In the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.

When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

It is sufficient to estimate the enemy situation correctly and to concentrate your strength to capture him. There is no more to it than this. He who lacks foresight and underestimates his enemy will surely be captured by him.

Without local guides, your enemy employs the land as a weapon against you.

Should one ask: 'how do I cope with a well-ordered enemy host about to attack me?' I reply: seize something he cherishes and he will conform to your desires.

When you know both yourself as well as your competition, you are never in danger. To know yourself and not others, gives you half a chance of winning. Knowing neither yourself or your competition puts you in a position to lose.

Ground which can be freely traversed by both sides is called accessible.

Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him

If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.

The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds.

When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely march, majestic as the forest; in raiding and plundering, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains. As unfathomable as the clouds, move like a thunderbolt.

Bestow rewards without respect to customary practice; publish orders without respect to precedent. Thus you may employ the entire army as you would one man.

All wars are won or lost before they are ever fought.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Whoever is the first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy will be fresh for the fight... Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy... By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or by inflicting damage, he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near.

The proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause people's substance to be drained away. When their substance is drained away, they will be afflicted by heavy exactions. With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and their incomes dissipated.