SUN TZU

"Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits."

"The greatest victory is that which requires no battle."

"When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise."

"Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive."

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

"Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions."

"Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat."

"Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm."

"If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is "death."

"If his forces are united, separate them."

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

"There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavours than can ever be tasted."

"To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill."

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

"If you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; where as death is certain if you cling to your corner."

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

"Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak."

"Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life."

"If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak."

"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."

"Disorder came from order, fear came from courage, weakness came from strength."

"When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy."