Sun Tzu

Balk the enemy's power force him to reveal himself.

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.

A good commander is benevolent and unconcerned with fame.

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.

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

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.

In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.

There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.

The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

Secret operations are essential in war upon them the army relies to make its every move.

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.

Quickness is the essence of the war.

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

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.

The supreme excellence is not to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles. The supreme excellence is to subdue the armies of your enemies without even having to fight them.

Every battle is won before it is fought.