“Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.”

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

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

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

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

He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.

All warfare is based on deception.

In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

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