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Enemy Quotes by Sun Tzu

188 Enemy quotes by Sun Tzu

All Enemy quotes Sun Tzu’s page

If our forces are ten to the enemy's one, the advice is to surround; if five to one, to attack. The sayings stress knowing both yourself and the opponent to avoid loss. They also praise winning without fighting, using strategy to turn the enemy's strength into your advantage.

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Defeat the enemies strategy.

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Pretend to be weak, so your enemy may grow arrogant.

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Know yourself and you will win all battles.

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If your enemy is superior, evade him

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Know thy self, know thy enemy.

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

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Be where your enemy is not.

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Attack the enemy's strategy.

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

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First learn to become invincible, then wait for your enemy's moment of vulnerability.

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“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

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Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.

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And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

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One need not destroy one's enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage.

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Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

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Wait by the river long enough and the body of your enemy will float by you.

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Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

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When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them.…

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Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance. Violent language and driving forward as if to…

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Should one ask: 'how do I cope with a well-ordered enemy host about to attack me?' I reply: seize something he cherishes…

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Should the enemy forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only…

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In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter…

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Against those skilled in attack, an enemy does not know where to defend; against the experts in defense, the enemy does not…

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With regard to narrow passes, if you can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the…

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The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed.…

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A clever general... avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return.…

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It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be…

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The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness…

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The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be…

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Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so,…

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When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak…

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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…

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If we know that our own men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the enemy is not open…

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Do not press an enemy at bay.

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If the enemy opens the door, you must race in.

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Keep their friends close and their enemies closer.

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If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.

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To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.

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Know the enemy and know yourself.

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Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.

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It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…

It is according to the shapes that I lay the plans for victory, but the multitude does not comprehend this. Although everyone can see…

Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.

“In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.”

“The PEOPLE being regarded as the essential part of the State, and FOOD as the people's heaven, is it not right that those in…

Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.

The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…

“So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.”

“You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.”

“Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make…

If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely…

“The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes…

In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.

“To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.”

They [spies] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.