The Art Of War Quotes

“Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve. Officers and men alike will put forth their uttermost strength. Soldiers in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in the heart of a hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard. Thus, without waiting to be marshaled, the soldiers will be constantly on the alert, and without waiting to be asked, they will do your will; without restrictions, they will be faithful; without giving orders, they can be trusted.
Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts.
Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength. Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision; concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy; masking strength with weakness is to be effected by tactical dispositions. Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something, that the enemy may snatch at it.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Keep your friends close, your enemies even closer”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Know the enemy,
Know yourself,
And victory
Is never in doubt,
Not in a hundred battles.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“It is not the best thing to win every battle one is engaged in; the best thing is to win without planning to win. This is perfect victory.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Disaster, by definition, is failing to capitalize on your achievements despite victory in battle and seizure of the spoils. As the phrase goes, 'He who hesitates is lost.' Hence the saying, 'The brilliant rulers thinks it through, while good commanders refine the plan.'

When nought's to gain, move not.
Over things of little worth, fight not.
Save in direst need, war not.

A ruler cannot call up armies in a rage nor can his commanders start a war over a slight. They move only if it is to their advantage. They bide their time, if it is not. A person in a rage can be restored to good humor, and someone mortally offended can be restored to affability. By contrast, a kingdom, once destroyed, cannot be restored, nor can the dead be brought back to life. Thus the brilliant ruler approaches battle with due prudence, and good commanders are ever on their guard. This is the way to secure the ruling house and keep the army intact.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Yemle ve kandır, kargaşa çıkart ve ele geçir, dirençliyse ona göre hazırlan, güçlüyse ondan sakın, sinirliyse onu kızdır, tevazu göster ki gerçek sanıp mağrurlaşsın, dinleniyosa rahatsız et, aralarında birlik varsa ayır, ona hazırlanma fırsatı vermeden saldır, beklemediği anda ortaya çık.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical. No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“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.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“You will not succeed unless your men have tenacity and unity of purpose, and above all, a spirit of sympathetic cooperation.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“The art of giving orders is not to try to rectify the minor blunders and not to be swayed by petty doubts. Vacillation and fussiness are the surest means of sapping confidence of an army.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Do not interfere with an army that is returning home because a man whose heart is set on returning home will fight to the death against any attempt to bar his way, and is therefore too dangerous an opponent to be tackled.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Humanity and justice are the principles on which to govern a state, but not an army; opportunism and flexibility, on the other hand, are military rather than civic virtues.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the
combinations of these five give rise to more melodies
than can ever be heard.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

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

“When you surround an army, leave an outlet free.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Taking a state whole is superior. Destroying it is inferior to this.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped.

(...)

when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

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

“How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's own tactics - that is what the multitude cannot comprehend.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Nered se rađa iz reda, kukavičluk se rađa iz hrabrosti, slabost se rađa iz snage.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“Military tactics are like unto water, for water, in its natural course, runs away from high places, and hastens downwards. 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 in which he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare, there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent, and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a Heaven-born Captain.

The Five Elements: Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, Earth, are not always equally predominant. The Four Seasons make way for each other in turn. There are short days, and long. The Moon has its periods of waning, and waxing.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War

“There are Five Dangerous Faults which may affect a general:
Recklessness, which leads to destruction.
Cowardice, which leads to capture.
A Hasty Temper, which can be provoked by insults.
A Delicacy of Honor, which is sensitive to shame.
Oversolicitude for His Men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.

These are the Five Besetting Sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war. When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these Five Dangerous Faults. Let them be a subject of meditation.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art Of War