710 Quotes by Sun Tzu

故曰：知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必敗。

When the general is morally weak and his discipline not strict, when his instructions and guidance are not enlightened, when there are no consistent rules to guide the officers and men and when the formations are slovenly the army is in disorder.

Si no puedes ser fuerte, pero tampoco sabes ser débil, serás derrotado.

Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision; concealing courageunder a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy; masking strength with weakness is tobe effected by tactical dispositions.

Conservare la disciplina e la calma, attendere i primi segnali di disordine e chiasso nell'esercito nemico: in questo consiste l'arte dell'autocontrollo.

If you are strong, appear weak. But if you are weak, appear strong.

By altering his arrangements and changing his plans, the skillful general keeps the enemy without definite knowledge. By shifting his camp and taking circuitous routes, he prevents the enemy from anticipating his purpose. At the critical moment, the leader of an army acts like one who has climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder behind him.

When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for a long time it will dull your forces and blunt you edge...If you keep your armies out in the field for a long time, your supplies will be insufficient. Transportation of provisions itself consumes 20 times the amount transported.

The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally