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.
Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.
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.
Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move.
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.
The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain.
Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity.
The dance of battle is always played to the same impatient rhythm. What begins in a surge of violent motion is always reduced to the perfectly still.
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.
Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity; They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness; Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports; Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of warfare; If a secret piece of news is divulged by a spy before the time is ripe, he must be put to death together with the man to whom the secret was told.
Birds rising in flight is a sign that the enemy is lying in ambush; when the wild animals are startled and flee he is trying to take you unaware.
If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.
Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.
To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape.
Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never peril.
With regard to precipitous heights, if you are beforehand with your adversary, you should occupy the raised and sunny spots, and there wait for him to come up.
Quickness is the essence of the war.
If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him, but retreat and try to entice him away.
Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.
It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, defend against them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.
Invincibility depends on one's self; the enemy's vulnerability on him.
Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity.
The General who in advancing does not seek personal fame, and in withdrawing is not concerned with avoiding punishment, but whose only purpose is to protect the people and promote the best interests of his sovereign, is the precious jewel of the state.
When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.
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.
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