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Sun Tzu -
The Art of War
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When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.
Sun Tzu
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all.
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Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The quality of a decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.
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If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him, but retreat and try to entice him away.
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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.
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He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
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Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.
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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.
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In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
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He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
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The one who figures on victory at headquarters before even doing battle is the one who has the most strategic factors on his side.
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What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.
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Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle.... They conquer by strategy.
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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.
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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.
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When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be rout.
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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.
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So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.
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Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.
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The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.
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It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.
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Quote of the day
Remember I'm an artist. And you know what that means in a court of law. Next worst to an actress
Joyce Cary
Sun Tzu
Born:
543 BC
Died:
495 BC
(aged 48)
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