Sun Tzu Art Quotations [Page 2]

Carefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Keep your army continually on the move, and devise unfathomable plans.

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

If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.

If, however, you are indulgent, but unable to make your authority felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your commands; and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder: then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children; they are useless for any practical purpose.

Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.

In your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise: which of the two generals has the most ability? on which side is Discipline most rigorously enforced? which army is stronger? on which side are the officers and men more highly trained? in which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

Factors in the art of warfare are: First, calculations; second, quantities; third, logistics; fourth, the balance of power; and fifth, the possibility of victory is based on the balance of power.

We cannot enter into alliance with neighbouring princes until we are acquainted with their designs. We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country - its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps. We shall be unable to turn natural advantages to account unless we make use of local guides.

The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.

Agitate him and ascertain the pattern of his movement.

Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never peril.

When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped to go rolling down.

Great results, can be achieved with small forces.

Know the enemy, know yourself; your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will then be total.

The value of time, that is of being a little ahead of your opponent, often provides greater advantage than superior numbers or greater resources.

Wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine

In war, practice dissimulation and you will succeed.

By altering his arrangements and changing his plans, the skillful general keeps the enemy without definite knowledge. By shifting his camp and taking circuitous routes, he prevents the enemy from anticipating his purpose. At the critical moment, the leader of an army acts like one who has climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder behind him.

Be where your enemy is not.

And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy... use the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.

Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

If this is long delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed.

When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or not he is in a position to fight, the result is ruin.

On the field of battle, the spoken word does not carry far enough; hence the institution of gongs and drums... banners and flags. Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point.

The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds.

When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.

Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.

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

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

An army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.

There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefitted.

The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.

It is the business of a general to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled.

Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity; (2) They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straight forwardness; (3) Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports; (4) Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of warfare; (5) If a secret piece of news is divulged by a spy before the time is ripe, he must be put to death together with the man to whom the secret was told.

There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds. By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.

It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.

In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.

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

When one treats people with benevolence, justice and righteousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders.

He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.

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.

One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.

Know yourself and you will win all battles. Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.

Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.

Swift as the wind. Quiet as the forest. Conquer like the fire. Steady as the mountain

With regard to precipitous heights, if you are beforehand with your adversary, you should occupy the raised and sunny spots, and there wait for him to come up.

When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is insubordination. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is collapse.

In the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.

With regard to narrow passes, if you can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the enemy.

The art of giving orders is not to try to rectify the minor blunders and not be swayed by petty doubts.

The essential factor of military success is speed, that is taking advantage of others' unpreparedness or lack of foresight, their failure to catch up, going by routes they do not expect, attacking where they are not on guard. This you cannot accomplish with hesitation.

Therefore 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.

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.

Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.

He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated.

When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be rout.

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

The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain.

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans, the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field, and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

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.

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.

The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.

Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards... 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. 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.

Of old the expert in battle would first make himself invincible and then wait for his enemy to expose his vulnerability.

In a position of this sort, even though the enemy should offer us an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth, but rather to retreat, thus enticing the enemy in his turn; then, when part of his army has come out, we may deliver our attack with advantage.

If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly array and on the point of marching to the attack, I should say: "Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will." Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.

Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.

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

It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one's readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but rather to make one's self invincible.

When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.

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...

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.

Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.

Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm

Should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.

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.

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.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night...