“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.”

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.

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

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

The opportunity to defeat the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.

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.