Sun Tzu Quotes - Page 10

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To capture the enemy's entire army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a regiment, a company, or a squad is better than to destroy them. For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the supreme of excellence. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.

Sun Tzu

War, Military, Army

Sun Tzu, Shang Yang (1997). “The Art of War”, p.25, Wordsworth Editions

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Of old the expert in battle would first make himself invincible and then wait for his enemy to expose his vulnerability.

Sun Tzu

Art, Waiting, Enemy

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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.

Sun Tzu

Art, Fate, Hands

The Art of War (6th century b.c.).

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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.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Men

Sun Tzu, General Press (2016). “The Art of War”, p.45, GENERAL PRESS

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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.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Weather

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The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

Sun Tzu

Art, Military, War

Lionel Giles', Sun Tzu (1910). “Sun Tzu's Art of War - Illustrated & Translated for Modern Readers”, p.7, SJ Creations Tokyo

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Unless you know the mountains and the forests, the defiles and impasses, the lay of the marshes and swamps, you cannot maneuver with an armed force. Unless you use local guides, you cannot get the advantages of the land.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Land

Sun Tzu (2005). “The Art of War”, p.121, Shambhala Publications

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Carefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Keep your army continually on the move, and devise unfathomable plans.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Moving

Lionel Giles', Sun Tzu (1910). “Sun Tzu's Art of War - Illustrated & Translated for Modern Readers”, p.32, SJ Creations Tokyo

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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.

Sun Tzu

Wise, War, Moving

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, translated by Chow-Hou Wee, (Chapter XIII), 2003.

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In a position of this sort, even though the enemy should offer us an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth, but rather to retreat, thus enticing the enemy in his turn; then, when part of his army has come out, we may deliver our attack with advantage.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Army

Sun Tzu (2012). “Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text”, p.136, Tuttle Publishing

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When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal.

Sun Tzu

Winning, Ignorant, Enemy

Sun Tzu, Shang Yang (1997). “The Art of War”, p.26, Wordsworth Editions

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A kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.

Sun Tzu

War, Vexation, Kingdoms

Victoria Charles, Sun Tzu (2015). “Art of War”, p.73, Parkstone International

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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.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Fighting

Sun Tzu (2010). “The Art of War”, p.34, FastPencil Inc

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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?

Sun Tzu

Wise, Art, Military

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If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

Sun Tzu

Military, War, Greatest Victory

Sun Tzu (2010). “The Art of War”, p.11, Cosimo, Inc.

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Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Army

Sun Tzu, General Press (2016). “The Art of War”, p.53, GENERAL PRESS

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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.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Army

James Clavell, Sun Tzu (2013). “The Art of War”, p.52, Hachette UK

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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.

Sun Tzu

Wise, Secret, Use

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In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace. The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence under no circumstances can it be neglected.

Sun Tzu

Strength, Art, Peace

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There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Yield

Sun Tzu (2017). “The Art Of War - The Oldest Military Treatise in the World”, p.55, Youcanprint

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Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise, for the result is waste of time and general stagnation.

Sun Tzu

War, Fate, Winning

Sun Tzu, Julius Caesar, Einhard, Niccolò Machiavelli, Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “Strategy Six Pack”, p.29, Lulu.com

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This does not mean that the enemy is to be allowed to escape. The object is to make him believe that there is a road to safety, and thus prevent his fighting with the courage of despair. After that, you may crush him.

Sun Tzu

Crush, War, Believe

Sun Tzu (2016). “The Art of War”, p.37, Xist Publishing

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The general must be the first in the toils and fatigues of the army. In the heat of summer he does not spread his parasol nor in the cold of winter don thick clothing. In dangerous places he must dismount and walk. He waits until the army's wells have been dug and only then drinks; until the army's food is cooked before he eats; until the army's fortifications have been completed, to shelter himself.

Sun Tzu

Summer, Art, War

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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?

Sun Tzu

Color, Circles, Two

Sun Tzu (2005). “The Art of War”, p.98, Shambhala Publications

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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.

Sun Tzu

Art, War, Self

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Born: 544 BC
Died: 496 BC
Occupation: Strategist
Cite this Page: Citation

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