"If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."
"Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and you know Earth, you may make your victory complete."
"The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable."
"To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."
"Quickness is the essence of the war."
"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight."
"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."
"The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim."
"All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved."
"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."
"To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence."
"When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce."
"The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected."
"A good commander is benevolent and unconcerned with fame."
"There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare."
"The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy."
"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."
"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."
"Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move."
"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."
