"Those who would wage war, should first eliminate all domestic enemies before proceeding to attack the external foe."
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Quote collection
Sun Tzu quotes (page 8 of 23)
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"There are only five notes in the musical scale, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be heard. There are only five basic colors, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be seen. There are only five basic flavors, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be tasted. There are only two kinds of charge in battle, the unorthodox surprise attack and the orthodox direct attack, but variations of the unorthodox and the orthodox are endless. The unorthodox and the orthodox give rise to each other, like a beginningless circle-who could exhaust them?"
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"Against those skilled in attack, an enemy does not know where to defend; against the experts in defense, the enemy does not know where to attack."
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"Quickness is the essence of the war."
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"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."
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"If you follow the enemy's shifts and changes, you can always find a way to win."
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"Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across."
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"All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved."
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"He who wishes to fight must first count the cost"
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"To Subdue an enemy without fighting is the greatest of skills"
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"You cannot know if you will be successful or not. You can only prepare for battle and it must be done with all of your heart and with all of your consciousness. In that manner, you will have an edge."
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"Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve."
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"What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease."
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"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."
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"In the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune."
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"He who is not sage and wise, humane and just, cannot use secret agent.s. And he who is not delicate and subtle cannot get the truth out of them."
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"It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on."
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"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."
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"A sovereign of high character and intelligence must be able to know the right man, should place the responsibility on him, and expect results."
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"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."
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