Sun Tzu > Quotes

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself,
you will succumb in every battle”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Special Edition

“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”
― Sun Tzu

“All warfare is based on deception.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
― Sun Tzu

“A leader leads by example, not by force”
― Sun Tzu

“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
― Sun Tzu

“When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.”
― Sun Tzu

“know yourself and you will win all battles”
― Sun Tzu

“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.”
― Sun Tzu

“You have to believe in yourself. ”
― Sun Tzu

“Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1)
He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2) He
will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout
all its ranks. (4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take
the enemy unprepared. (5) He will win who has military capacity and
is not interfered with by the sovereign.”
― Sun Tzu

“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
― Sun Tzu

“Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent s fate.”
― Sun Tzu

“When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.”
― Sun Tzu

“When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteoousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders'.”
― Sun Tzu

“When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press
a desperate foe too hard.”
― Sun Tzu

“Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.”
― Sun Tzu

“To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the
opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
― Sun Tzu

“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.
”
― Sun Tzu

“Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. ”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. ”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
― Sun Tzu, Sun-Tzu: The Art of Warfare

“If quick, I survive.
If not quick, I am lost.
This is "death.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.”
― Sun Tzu

“Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision,
to the releasing of a trigger.”
― Sun Tzu

“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu

“If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame. But, if orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their oficers.”
― Sun Tzu

“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.”
― Sun Tzu

“Wheels of justice gind slow but grind fine”
― Sun Tzu

“What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“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.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“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.”
― Sun Tzu

“No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his
own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.
If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay
where you are.
Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded
by content.
But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again
into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”
― Sun Tzu

“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight”
― Sun Tzu

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

There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combination
they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of
them yield more flavours than can ever be tasted.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“The control of a large force is the same principle
as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up
their numbers.”
― Sun Tzu

“It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war
that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.”
― Sun Tzu

“If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War