Sun Tzu Quotes
Page 7 of 8

601. “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

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

— Sun Tzu

603. “Of old the expert in battle would first make himself invincible and then wait for his enemy to expose his vulnerability.”

— Sun Tzu

604. “Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuvering for advantageous positions.”

— Sun Tzu

605. “At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you.”

— Sun Tzu

606. “Factors in the art of warfare are: First, calculations; second, quantities; third, logistics; fourth, the balance of power; and fifth, the possibility of victory is based on the balance of power.”

— Sun Tzu

607. “Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted.”

— Sun Tzu

608. “Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.”

— Sun Tzu

609. “No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.”

— Sun Tzu

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

— Sun Tzu

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

— Sun Tzu

612. “When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal.”

— Sun Tzu

613. “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.”

— Sun Tzu

614. “So it is that good warriors take their stance on ground where they cannot lose, and do not overlook conditions that make an opponent prone to defeat.”

— Sun Tzu

615. “When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization.”

— Sun Tzu

616. “It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus double agents are recruited and used.”

— Sun Tzu

617. “Appraise war in terms of the fundamental factors. The first of these factors is moral influence.”

— Sun Tzu

618. “In the tumult and uproar, the battle seems chaotic, but there is no disorder, the troops appear to be milling about in circles but cannot be defeated.”

— Sun Tzu

619. “Other conditions being equal, if one force is hurled against another ten times its size, the result will be the flight of the former.”

— Sun Tzu

620. “Defeat the enemies strategy.”

— Sun Tzu

621. “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

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

— Sun Tzu

623. “There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefitted.”

— Sun Tzu

624. “Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy’s condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity.”

— Sun Tzu

625. “Winning isn’t enough. The acme of all skill is to defeat your enemy before taking the field.”

— Sun Tzu

626. “In a position of this sort, even though the enemy should offer us an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth, but rather to retreat, thus enticing the enemy in his turn; then, when part of his army has come out, we may deliver our attack with advantage.”

— Sun Tzu

627. “When the position is such that neither side will gain by making the first move, it is called temporising ground.”

— Sun Tzu

628. “For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards.”

— Sun Tzu

629. “Should one ask: ‘how do I cope with a well-ordered enemy host about to attack me?’ I reply: seize something he cherishes and he will conform to your desires.”

— Sun Tzu

630. “The good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.”

— Sun Tzu

631. “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

632. “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

633. “If I wish to engage, then the enemy, for all his high ramparts and deep moat, cannot avoid engagement; I attack that which he is obliged to rescue.”

— Sun Tzu

634. “If their forces are substantial, prepare for them; if their forces are strong, avoid them.”

— Sun Tzu

635. “Of all those in the army close to the commander, none is more intimate than the secret agent.”

— Sun Tzu

636. “It is according to the shapes that I lay the plans for victory, but the multitude does not comprehend this. Although everyone can see the outward aspects, none understands the way in which I have created victory.”

— Sun Tzu

637. “With regard to narrow passes, if you can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the enemy.”

— Sun Tzu

638. “It is imperative to contest all factions for complete victory, so the army is not garrisoned and the profit can be total. This is the law of strategic siege.”

— Sun Tzu

639. “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.”

— Sun Tzu

640. “Ground which can be freely traversed by both sides is called accessible.”

— Sun Tzu

641. “The sovereign must have full knowledge of the activities of the five sorts of agents. This knowledge must come from the double agents, and therefore it is mandatory that they be treated with the utmost liberality.”

— Sun Tzu

642. “If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are unaware that our own men are not in a condition to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory.”

— Sun Tzu

643. “Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.”

— Sun Tzu

644. “Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot.”

— Sun Tzu

645. “One who speaks deferentially but increases his preparations will advance. One who speaks belligerently and advances hastily will retreat.”

— Sun Tzu

646. “When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food.”

— Sun Tzu

647. “When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or not he is in a position to fight, the result is ruin.”

— Sun Tzu

648. “Bestow rewards without regard to rule, issue orders without regard to previous arrangements; and you will be able to handle a whole army as though you had to do with but a single man.”

— Sun Tzu

649. “Now a soldier’s spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is only on returning to camp.”

— Sun Tzu

650. “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.”

— Sun Tzu