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Sun Tzu Quotes

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Famous Sun Tzu Quotes

“Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.”

KnowsMayArtWarSpiritFightingWinningForceWaitingEnemyKnow HowFiveMilitaryVictoryEssentialsCapacityArmyPreparedHandleSuperiorsInferiorsSovereignArt Of WarAnimatedStrategistUnpreparedWar StrategyStratagem
Book:The Art Of War - The Oldest Military Treatise in the World
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“These are the six ways of courting defeat - neglect to estimate the enemy's strength; want of authority; defective training; unjustifiable anger; nonobservance of discipline; failure to use picked men.”

MenWayWantArtWarUseEnemyDisciplineAuthoritySixTrainingDefeatNeglectArt Of WarDefective
Book:Art of War, Plain English Edition: One of the Greatest Strategy Books in the History of the World, Now in an Easy to Read Version
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“Whoever is the first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy will be fresh for the fight... Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy... By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or by inflicting damage, he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near.”

FirstsArtWarFightingCausesEnemyImpossibleFieldsApproachDrawsAdvantageCleverDamageArt Of WarAccord
Book:Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text
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“When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce. If the enemy's troops march up angrily and remain facing ours for a long time without either joining battle or removing demands, the situation is one that requires great vigilance and circumspection. To begin by bluster, but afterward to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.”

IfsLongArtWarShowsWishNumbersSituationEnemyBattleDemandLong TimeMouthsSupremeMarchComplimentTroopsArt Of WarJoiningFrightVigilanceMy WishTruceCircumspectionBluster
Author:Sun Tzu
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“By altering his arrangements and changing his plans, the skillful general keeps the enemy without definite knowledge. By shifting his camp and taking circuitous routes, he prevents the enemy from anticipating his purpose. At the critical moment, the leader of an army acts like one who has climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder behind him.”

ArtWarMomentsPurposeBehindsLeaderEnemyPlansArmyCriticalHeightKicksCampsArrangementsDefiniteRoutesLaddersShiftingArt Of WarSkillfulCritical Moments
Book:The Art of War
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“There is nothing more difficult than tactical maneuvering. The difficult consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain. Thus, to take a long and circuitous route after enticing the enemy out of the way, and though starting after him to contrive to reach the goal before him, shows knowledge of the artifice of deviation.”

WayLongArtWarShowsDifficultGoalEnemyGainsDirectStartingMisfortunesRoutesArt Of WarArtificeTacticalDeviationDeviousEnticing
Book:Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text
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“Now an army is exposed to six several calamities, not arising from natural causes, 1 but from faults for which the general is responsible. These are: (1) Flight; (2) insubordination; (3) collapse; (4) ruin; (5) disorganisation; (6) rout.”

ArtWarCausesNaturalSixArmyResponsibleFaultsFlightRuinsExposedCollapseArt Of WarCalamityInsubordination
Book:Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text
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“In a position of this sort, even though the enemy should offer us an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth, but rather to retreat, thus enticing the enemy in his turn; then, when part of his army has come out, we may deliver our attack with advantage.”

ShouldMayArtWarTurnsEnemyPositionOffersAdvantageArmyAttractiveRetreatArt Of WarBaitEnticingAdvisable
Book:Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text
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“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.”

GivingArtWarFiveHeardProduceColorTasteNotesMusicalPrimariesCombinationMelodyYieldFlavorArt Of WarCardinalsHueMusical NotesPrimary Colors
Book:The Art Of War - The Oldest Military Treatise in the World
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