Sun Tzu Quotes about War - Page 2

Be where your enemy is not.

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

Do not engage an enemy more powerful than you. And if it is unavoidable and you do have to engage, then make sure you engage it on your terms, not on your enemy's terms.

If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.

Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.

These are the six ways of courting defeat - neglect to estimate the enemy's strength; want of authority; defective training; unjustifiable anger; nonobservance of discipline; failure to use picked men.

All war is based on deception.

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.

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.

If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.

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

Those who would wage war, should first eliminate all domestic enemies before proceeding to attack the external foe.

Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.

If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.

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

Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.

When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.

The nature of war is constant change.

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 honour, which is sensitive to shame; over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.

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

When I have won a victory I do not repeat my tactics but respond to circumstances in an infinite variety of ways.

Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

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

If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight.