710 Quotes by Sun Tzu

Know the enemy and know yourself.

Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.

Like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.

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.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night...

If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.

No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.

If you are situated at a great distance from the enemy, and the strength of the two armies is equal, it is not easy to provoke a battle, and fighting will be to your disadvantage.