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" 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. "

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" 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. "

" Victory usually goes to the army who has better trained officers and men. "

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

" Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death. "

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

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

" He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. "

" In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. "

" 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. "

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

" There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare. "

" 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. "

" Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster. "

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

" For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards. "

" 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. "

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

" If fighting is sure to result in victory, than you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding. "

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

" 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. "

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

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

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

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

" He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. "

" Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack. "

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

" It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results. "

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