Sun Tzu Quotes

206 Sourced Quotes

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

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

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
There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.

Sun Tzu
War is a matter of vital importance to the state; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.

Sun Tzu
The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.

Sun Tzu
These are six ways of courting defeat, which must be carefully noted by the general who has attained a responsible post.

Sun Tzu
Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.

Sun Tzu
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.

Sun Tzu
He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

Sun Tzu
What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.

Sun Tzu
He must be able to mystify his officers and men by false reports and appearances, and thus keep them in total ignorance.

Sun Tzu
Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.

Sun Tzu
The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points; and his forces being thus distributed in many directions, the numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately few.

Sun Tzu
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
If you are situated at a great distance from the enemy, and the strength of the two armies is equal, it is not easy to provoke a battle, and fighting will be to your disadvantage.

Sun Tzu
From a position of this sort, if the enemy is unprepared, you may sally forth and defeat him. But if the enemy is prepared for your coming, and you fail to defeat him, then, return being impossible, disaster will ensue.

Sun Tzu
When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped to go rolling down.

Sun Tzu
Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.

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

Sun Tzu
Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.

Sun Tzu
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.

Sun Tzu
Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence.

Sun Tzu
Unless you enter the tiger's lair, you cannot get hold of the tiger's cub's.

Sun Tzu
If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide.

Sun Tzu
If a general shows confidence in his men but always insists on his orders being obeyed, the gain will be mutual.

Sun Tzu
One whose troops repeatedly congregate in small groups here and there, whispering together, has lost the masses. One who frequently grants rewards is in deep distress. One who frequently imposes punishments is in great difficulty. One who is at first excessively brutal and then fears the masses is the pinnacle of stupidity.

Sun Tzu
In warfare, there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent will succeed and win.

Sun Tzu
To plan secretly, to move surreptitiously, to foil the enemy's intentions and balk his schemes, so that at last the day may be won without shedding a drop of blood.

Sun Tzu