Top 350 Sun Tzu Quotes (2025 Update)
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51. “You cannot know if you will be successful or not. You can only prepare for battle and it must be done with all of your heart and with all of your consciousness. In that manner, you will have an edge.”

— Sun Tzu

52. “What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.”

— Sun Tzu

53. “Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.”

— Sun Tzu

54. “Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance. Violent language and driving forward as if to the attack are signs that he will retreat.”

— Sun Tzu

55. “Sweat more during peace: bleed less during war.”

— Sun Tzu

56. “The line between disorder and order lies in logistics...”

— Sun Tzu

57. “The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.”

— Sun Tzu

58. “Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him.”

— Sun Tzu

59. “Until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.”

— Sun Tzu

60. “He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”

— Sun Tzu

61. “Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.”

— Sun Tzu

62. “One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.”

— Sun Tzu

63. “If an enemy has alliances, the problem is grave and the enemy’s position strong; if he has no alliances, the problem is minor and the enemy’s position weak.”

— Sun Tzu

64. “To Subdue an enemy without fighting is the greatest of skills.”

— Sun Tzu

65. “What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.”

— Sun Tzu

66. “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

67. “These are the six ways of courting defeat – neglect to estimate the enemy’s strength; want of authority; defective training; unjustifiable anger; nonobservance of discipline; failure to use picked men...”

— Sun Tzu

68. “Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.”

— Sun Tzu

69. “The wise warrior avoids the battle.”

— Sun Tzu

70. “So the principles of warfare are: Do not depend on the enemy not coming, but depend on our readiness against him. Do not depend on the enemy not attacking, but depend on our position that cannot be attacked.”

— Sun Tzu

71. “Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.”

— Sun Tzu

72. “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.”

— Sun Tzu

73. “Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same desire are victorious.”

— Sun Tzu

74. “There are routes not to be followed, armies not to be attacked, citadels not to be besieged, territory not to be fought over.”

— Sun Tzu

75. “The skilful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.”

— Sun Tzu

76. “Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.”

— Sun Tzu

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

— Sun Tzu

78. “In warfare, first lay plans which will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not begin with stratagem but rely on brute strength alone, victory will no longer be assured.”

— Sun Tzu

79. “There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.”

— Sun Tzu

80. “If, however, you are indulgent, but unable to make your authority felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your commands; and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder: then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children; they are useless for any practical purpose.”

— Sun Tzu

81. “So there are five ways of knowing who will win. Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are victorious. Those who discern when to use many or few troops are victorious. Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same desire are victorious.”

— Sun Tzu

82. “Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.”

— Sun Tzu

83. “In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.”

— Sun Tzu

84. “Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress.”

— Sun Tzu

85. “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

86. “Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends, hit him where he does not expect you.”

— Sun Tzu

87. “Without harmony in the State, no military expedition can be undertaken; without harmony in the army, no battle array can be formed.”

— Sun Tzu

88. “Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”

— Sun Tzu

89. “If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need to do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way.”

— Sun Tzu

90. “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

91. “It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one’s readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but rather to make one’s self invincible.”

— Sun Tzu

92. “Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.”

— Sun Tzu

93. “Unless you know the mountains and the forests, the defiles and impasses, the lay of the marshes and swamps, you cannot maneuver with an armed force. Unless you use local guides, you cannot get the advantages of the land.”

— Sun Tzu

94. “A sovereign of high character and intelligence must be able to know the right man, should place the responsibility on him, and expect results.”

— Sun Tzu

95. “The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.”

— Sun Tzu

96. “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

97. “If there is disturbance in the camp, the general’s authority is weak. If the banners and flags are shifted about, sedition is afoot. If the officers are angry, it means that the men are weary.”

— Sun Tzu

98. “Those skilled in attack move as from above the nine-fold heavens. Thus they are capable both of protecting themselves and of gaining complete victory.”

— Sun Tzu

99. “Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.”

— Sun Tzu

100. “Thus, though I have heard of successful military operations that were clumsy but swift, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.”

— Sun Tzu