Quotations by Sun Tzu
Quotations | Speeches | Poetry
Sun Tzu, Chinese General and author of The Art of War
Sun Tzu ("Master Sun") is an honorific title bestowed upon Su-n Wu (c. 544 BC - 496 BC), the author of The Art of War, an immensely influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy. He is also one of the earliest realists in international relations theory. (Source: Wikipedia)
Quotations
All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.
All war is based on deception.
All warfare 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.
Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?
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.
For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards.
For 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.
He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.
He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious.
Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.
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.
If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.
If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.
If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.
In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.
Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.
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.
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.
Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.
Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.
Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.
Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.
Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.
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.
Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution.
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.
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.
The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.
The skilful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.
There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.
Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.
To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.
You have to believe in yourself.
