Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity
Know yourself and you will win all battles
To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.
The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.
There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.
Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.
Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.
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.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.
When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.
One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.
Who wishes to fight must first count the cost
If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.
If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.
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
Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.
You have to believe in yourself.
One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.
Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.
