Sun Tzu Quotes and Quotation

Sun Tzu

Quotations taken from the book The Art of War, written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century BC.

• "What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease."

• "The more you read and learn, the less your adversary will know."

• "Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate."

• "The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities...It is best to win without fighting."

• "A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective."

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

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

• "All war is deception."

• "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."

• "Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

• "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."

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

• "It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used."

• "Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge."

• "O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands."

• "Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations."

• "Opportunities multiply as they are seized."

• "Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance."

• "Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move."

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

• "The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom."

• "The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand."

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

• "The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim."

• "The ultimate in disposing one's troops is to be without ascertainable shape. Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise lay plans against you."

• "There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare."

• "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."

• "Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy."

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

• "To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence."

• "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders ARE clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers."

• "A leader leads by example not by Force."