Top 25 Sun Tzu Quotes

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

Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy‘s resistance without fighting.

Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.

Victory usually goes to the army who has better trained officers and men.

To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

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 doubled agents are recruited and used.

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

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

When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.

Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

A good commander is benevolent and unconcerned with fame.

Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.

To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

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.

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

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.

For 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.

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.

If your opponent is of choleric temper, irritate him.

The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution.

The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Quickness is the essence of the war.

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.