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

"If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune."

"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."

"When you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack from the leeward."

"Do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat."

"Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength."

"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."

"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."

"You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended."

"If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them."

"Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground."

"Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

"A good commander is benevolent and unconcerned with fame."

"If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."

"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."

"These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand."

"Be where your enemy is not."

"One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other's military without battle is the most skillful."

"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."

"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."

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity."

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

"He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared."

"The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach."

"Great results, can be achieved with small forces."

"To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy."

"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."

"Know the enemy, know yourself and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles."

"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected ."

"It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two."

"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."

"All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved."

"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."

"Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster."

"He wins his battles by making no mistakes.Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated."

"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious."

"The supreme excellence is not to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles. The supreme excellence is to subdue the armies of your enemies without even having to fight them."

"When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce."

"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."

"To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

"If you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; where as death is certain if you cling to your corner."

"Be stern in the council-chamber, [Show no weakness, and insist on your plans being ratified by the sovereign.] so that you may control the situation."

"A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return."

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."

"Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat."

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

"If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near."

"The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent."

"Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt."

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