"The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds."
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Quote collection
Sun Tzu quotes (page 18 of 23)
450 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"There are five kinds of incendiary attack: The first is called setting fire to personnel; the second, to stores; the third, to transport vehicles and equipment; the fourth, to munitions; the fifth, to supply installations...In all cases an army must understand the changes induced by the five kinds of incendiary attack, and make use of logistical calculations to address them."
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"Know the enemy, know yourself; your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will then be total."
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"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."
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"The business of a general is to kick away the ladder behind soldiers when they have climbed up a height."
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"Fierce language and pretentious advances are signs that the enemy is about to retreat."
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"Keep their friends close and their enemies closer."
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"It is ten thousand times cheaper to pay the best spies lavishly than even a tiny army poorly."
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"One who has few must prepare against the enemy; one who has many makes the enemy prepare against him."
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"It is the business of a general to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled."
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"We may distinguish six kinds of terrain, to wit: (1) Accessible ground; (2) entangling ground; (3) temporising ground; (4) narrow passes; (5) precipitous heights; (6) positions at a great distance from the enemy."
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"If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are unaware that our own men are not in a condition to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory."
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"Rapidity is the essence of war."
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"When he pretends to flee, do not pursue."
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"If not in the interests of the state, do not act. If you cannot succeed, do not use troops. If you are not in danger, do not fight."
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"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."
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"The best general is the one who never fights."
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"To capture an enemies army is better than to destroy it."
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"Be the first to seize intersecting ground, that is ground which lies the intersections of borders or intersections of main thoroughfares of commerce and travel. Your occupation of it gives you access to all who border it and all who would covet it. On intersecting ground, if you establish alliances you are safe, if you lose alliances you are in peril."
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"Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy."
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