Sun Tzu Quotes

206 Sourced Quotes

When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.

Sun Tzu
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Sun Tzu
Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

Sun Tzu
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
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.

Sun Tzu
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.

Sun Tzu
To perceive victory when it is known to all is not really skilful... It does not take much strength to lift a hair, it does not take sharp eyes to see the sun and moon, it does not take sharp ears to hear the thunderclap.

Sun Tzu
In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack.. the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.

Sun Tzu
Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all.

Sun Tzu
Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.

Sun Tzu
The art of using troops is this:
When ten to the enemy's one, surround him;
When five times his strength, attack him;
If double his strength, divide him;
If equally matched you may engage him;
If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing;
And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him, for a small force is but booty for one more powerful.

Sun Tzu
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.

Sun Tzu
When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.

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

Sun Tzu
If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him, but retreat and try to entice him away.

Sun Tzu
Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.

Sun Tzu
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.

Sun Tzu
He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

Sun Tzu
Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.

Sun Tzu
The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally; but a power of estimating the adversary, of controlling the forces of victory, and of shrewdly calculating difficulties, dangers and distances, constitutes the test of a great general.

Sun Tzu
In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

Sun Tzu
He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

Sun Tzu
Without harmony in the State, no military expedition can be undertaken; without harmony in the army, no battle array can be formed.

Sun Tzu
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

Sun Tzu
The one who figures on victory at headquarters before even doing battle is the one who has the most strategic factors on his side.

Sun Tzu
What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

Sun Tzu
He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated.

Sun Tzu
Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle.... They conquer by strategy.

Sun Tzu
When the position is such that neither side will gain by making the first move, it is called temporising ground.

Sun Tzu
The military has no constant form, just as water has no constant shape - adapt as you face the enemy, without letting them know beforehand what you are going to do.

Sun Tzu