Quote collection
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"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."
"Wait by the river long enough and the body of your enemy will float by you."
"Attack the enemy's strategy."
"A warrior who is prepared to fight must also be prepared to die."
"If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are."
"If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in."
"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."
"On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not. On facile ground, halt not. On contentious ground, attack not. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way. On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies. On serious ground, gather in plunder. In difficult ground, keep steadily on the march. On hemmed-in ground, resort to stratagem. On desperate ground, fight."
"Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will."
"There are routes not to be followed, armies not to be attacked, citadels not to be besieged, territory not to be fought over."
"Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress."
"Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to re-occupy is called entangling."
"What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge."
"Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated."
"Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient."
"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?"
"Invincibility is in oneself, and vulnerability is in the opponent. Invincibility is a matter of defense, vulnerability is a matter of attack. Therefore skillful warriors are able to be invincible, but they cannot cause opponents to be vulnerable. That is why it is said that victory is discerned and not manufactured."
"So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence."
"Know thy self, know thy enemy."
"The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality."