The quotations of

Sun Tzu

6th century BCE Chinese general and military strategist

544–496 BC

26 quotes, most often on War & Peace, Enemies and Leadership.

There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter IIIn context
- War & Peace
In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter IIIn context
- Motivation & Goals
- War & Peace
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter IIIIn context
The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter IVIn context
- War & Peace
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter IVIn context
- Enemies
- War & Peace
O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy’s fate in our hands.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter VIIn context
- War & Peace
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter VIIIn context
- War & Peace
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter VIIIn context
- Enemies
- War & Peace
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.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter VIIIIn context
- War & Peace
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 Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter XIn context
- Leadership
Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy’s unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.
The Art of War (5th century BC), Chapter XIIn context
- War & Peace

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