Top 350 Sun Tzu Quotes (2025 Update)
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201. “Victory is the main object in war.”

— Sun Tzu

202. “O divine art of subtlety and secrecy!”

— Sun Tzu

203. “Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.”

— Sun Tzu

204. “If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

— Sun Tzu

205. “The value of time, that is of being a little ahead of your opponent, often provides greater advantage than superior numbers or greater resources.”

— Sun Tzu

206. “In war, practice dissimulation and you will succeed.”

— Sun Tzu

207. “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

208. “Apparent confusion is a product of good order; apparent cowardice, of courage; apparent weakness, of strength.”

— Sun Tzu

209. “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”

— Sun Tzu

210. “Attack where he is unprepared; sally forth when he does not expect you.”

— Sun Tzu

211. “When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is insubordination. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is collapse.”

— Sun Tzu

212. “The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands.”

— Sun Tzu

213. “Winning Strategists are certain of triumph before seeking a challenge. Losing Strategists are certain to challenge before seeking a triumph.”

— Sun Tzu

214. “When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely march, majestic as the forest; in raiding and plundering, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains. As unfathomable as the clouds, move like a thunderbolt.”

— Sun Tzu

215. “If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is death.”

— Sun Tzu

216. “There is an intelligent way to eat a live frog – I just don’t know what it is.”

— Sun Tzu

217. “When you shoot a bow and arrow, you aim at the clouds, not because you expect to hit them, but so that you may reach the distant target on the ground.”

— Sun Tzu

218. “If this is long delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed.”

— Sun Tzu

219. “Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army’s ability to move.”

— Sun Tzu

220. “In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them.”

— Sun Tzu

221. “When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.”

— Sun Tzu

222. “The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.”

— Sun Tzu

223. “Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.”

— Sun Tzu

224. “Those who excel in war first cultivate their own humanity and and maintain their laws and institutions. By these means they make their governments invincible.”

— Sun Tzu

225. “Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.”

— Sun Tzu

226. “Weigh the situation, then move.”

— Sun Tzu

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

— Sun Tzu

228. “When I have won a victory I do not repeat my tactics but respond to circumstances in an infinite variety of ways.”

— Sun Tzu

229. “If the enemy opens the door, you must race in.”

— Sun Tzu

230. “With regard to ground of this nature, be before the enemy in occupying the raised and sunny spots, and carefully guard your line of supplies. Then you will be able to fight with advantage.”

— Sun Tzu

231. “Should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.”

— Sun Tzu

232. “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

233. “Defeat the enemy’s strategy.”

— Sun Tzu

234. “To capture an enemies army is better than to destroy it.”

— Sun Tzu

235. “And therefore only the enlightened sovereign and the worthy general who are able to use the most intelligent people as agents are certain to achieve great things.”

— Sun Tzu

236. “Set the troops to their tasks without imparting your designs.”

— Sun Tzu

237. “If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler’s bidding.”

— Sun Tzu

238. “Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy.”

— Sun Tzu

239. “Without local guides, your enemy employs the land as a weapon against you.”

— Sun Tzu

240. “There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever be seen.”

— Sun Tzu

241. “Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.”

— Sun Tzu

242. “Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.”

— Sun Tzu

243. “Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.”

— Sun Tzu

244. “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

245. “He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them.”

— Sun Tzu

246. “Use humility to make the enemy haughty. Tire them by flight. Cause division among them. When they are unprepared, attack and make your move when they do not expect it.”

— Sun Tzu

247. “Generally in war the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this.”

— Sun Tzu

248. “It is sufficient to estimate the enemy situation correctly and to concentrate your strength to capture him. There is no more to it than this. He who lacks foresight and underestimates his enemy will surely be captured by him.”

— Sun Tzu

249. “Perfection in war lies in so sapping your opponents will that he surrenders without fighting.”

— Sun Tzu

250. “Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety.”

— Sun Tzu