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

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

" Balk the enemy's power; force him to reveal himself. "

" If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril. "

" If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity. "

" The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand. "

" 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. "

" To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. "

" Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge. "

" The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution. "

" It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used. "

" Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory. "

" If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near. "

" The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. "

" Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared. "

" Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance. "

" If we know that our own men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the enemy is not open to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory. "

" There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited. "

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

" Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. "

" When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce. "

" The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. "

" Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations. "

" Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy. "

" 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. "

" Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. "

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

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

" A good commander is benevolent and unconcerned with fame. "

" The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. "

" Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack. "