Top 466 Quotes & Sayings by Sun Tzu - Page 5

The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.

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

What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.

The art of giving orders is not to try to rectify the minor blunders and not be swayed by petty doubts.

One who has few must prepare against the enemy; one who has many makes the enemy prepare against him.

Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

Act after having made assessments. The one who first knows the measure of far and near wins - this is the rule of armed struggle.

Order or disorder depends on organisation and direction; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on tactical dispositions.

Use humility to make the enemy haughty. Tire them by flight. Cause division among them. When they are unprepared, attack and make your move when they do not expect it.

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

He who is not sage and wise, humane and just, cannot use secret agent.s. And he who is not delicate and subtle cannot get the truth out of them.

Unless you know the mountains and the forests, the defiles and impasses, the lay of the marshes and swamps, you cannot maneuver with an armed force. Unless you use local guides, you cannot get the advantages of the land.

Birds rising in flight is a sign that the enemy is lying in ambush; when the wild animals are startled and flee he is trying to take you unaware.

There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.

A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

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

In a position of this sort, even though the enemy should offer us an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth, but rather to retreat, thus enticing the enemy in his turn; then, when part of his army has come out, we may deliver our attack with advantage.

When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal.

Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to re-occupy is called entangling.

All warfare is based on deception. If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight and if not: split and re-evaluate.

Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.

It is ten thousand times cheaper to pay the best spies lavishly than even a tiny army poorly.

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.

Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same desire are victorious.

Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.

When your weapons are dulled and ardour damped, your strength exhausted and treasure spent, neighboring rulers will take advantage of your distress to act. And even though you have wise counsellors, none will be able to lay good plans for the future. Thus, while we have heard of blundering swiftness in war, we have not yet seen a clever operation that was prolonged.

It is through the dispositions of an army that its condition may be discovered. Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory,; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.

It is the business of a general to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled.

The business of a general is to kick away the ladder behind soldiers when they have climbed up a height.

In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack.. the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.

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.

Who can determine where one ends and the other begins?

Invincibility is in oneself, and vulnerability is in the opponent. Invincibility is a matter of defense, vulnerability is a matter of attack. Therefore skillful warriors are able to be invincible, but they cannot cause opponents to be vulnerable. That is why it is said that victory is discerned and not manufactured.

Fierce language and pretentious advances are signs that the enemy is about to retreat.

Know the enemy, know yourself; your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will then be total.

In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace. The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence under no circumstances can it be neglected.

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

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

It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one's readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but rather to make one's self invincible.

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

The art of using troops is this: ......When ten to the enemy's one, surround him; ......When five times his strength, attack him; ......If double his strength, divide him; ......If equally matched you may engage him; ......If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing; ......And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him, ..........for a small force is but booty for one more powerful.

Defeat the enemies strategy.

It is imperative to contest all factions for complete victory, so the army is not garrisoned and the profit can be total. This is the law of strategic siege.

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.

In the tumult and uproar, the battle seems chaotic, but there is no disorder, the troops appear to be milling about in circles but cannot be defeated.

O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

One who sets the entire army in motion to chase an advantage will not attain it.

Like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.

If not in the interests of the state, do not act. If you cannot succeed, do not use troops. If you are not in danger, do not fight.

Set the troops to their tasks without imparting your designs.

If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive; and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be unless.

Keep their friends close and their enemies closer.

If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are unaware that our own men are not in a condition to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory.

In your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise: which of the two generals has the most ability? on which side is Discipline most rigorously enforced? which army is stronger? on which side are the officers and men more highly trained? in which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans, the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field, and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is death.

If this is long delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed.

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.

There are only five notes in the musical scale, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be heard. There are only five basic colors, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be seen. There are only five basic flavors, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be tasted. There are only two kinds of charge in battle, the unorthodox surprise attack and the orthodox direct attack, but variations of the unorthodox and the orthodox are endless. The unorthodox and the orthodox give rise to each other, like a beginningless circle-who could exhaust them?

The best general is the one who never fights.