Quotes from Sun Tzu

Appear weak when you are strong.

The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.

Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

Engage in direct conflict only when necessary, and always with a clear plan for victory.

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will always be victorious.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

When the enemy is relaxed, make them anxious; when full, starve them; when settled, make them move.

Befriend your enemy’s friends and make them your allies.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

The wise warrior avoids the battlefield altogether by leveraging diplomacy and strategic alliances.

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

To know the enemy, you must become the enemy.

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him.

Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

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.

One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.

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 them where they are unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

Quotes from Sun Tzu part 2

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.

If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.

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

Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.

To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

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

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

When the enemy is in range, so are you.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.

There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

Opportunities are multiplied as they are seized.

Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.

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.

A wise ruler does not reward anyone twice for the same expense.

To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.

Rewards for merit alone, without reaching the whole army, only make the brave men few.

Patience is the best tactic in warfare.

Use your enemy’s confusion to your advantage.

Fast victory is sweeter than a protracted war.

The greatest general does not win battles with brawn but with brain.

Do not humiliate your enemy, but allow him a way out.

Build your strength before challenging your foe.

In chaotic times, fortune favors the strategic.

War should be the last resort, but if it is necessary, fight with all your might.

Good strategy is a hundred times more powerful than brute strength.

Being swift as the wind is not about speed, but about the right timing.