Sun Tzu Quotes

206 Sourced Quotes

The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.

Sun Tzu
Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you now Heaven and you know Earth, you may make your victory complete.

Sun Tzu
Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve.

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

Sun Tzu
Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans, the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field, and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

Sun Tzu
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
Should the enemy forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned.

Sun Tzu
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.

Sun Tzu
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.

Sun Tzu
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.

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
Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to re-occupy is called entangling.

Sun Tzu
It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.

Sun Tzu
Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle.... They conquer by 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
What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
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
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