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Peace Quotes by Sun Tzu

125 Peace quotes by Sun Tzu

All Peace quotes Sun Tzu’s page

Sun Tzu shows that numbers can decide a battle. He warns that anger and greed lead to loss. He says the best win is when the opponent gives up before any fighting starts. He also notes that using indirect tactics can secure victory when direct attacks fail.

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All war is deception.

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All war is based on deception.

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Victory is the main object in war.

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The Art of War is self-explanatory

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Quickness is the essence of the war.

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The true objective of war is peace.

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The nature of war is constant change.

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Rapidity is the essence of war.

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“These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.”

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

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Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot.

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

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All wars are won or lost before they are ever fought.

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“the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation”

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When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food.

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War is a matter of vital importance to the state.

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In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory.

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These are six ways of courting defeat, which must be carefully noted by the general who has attained a responsible post.

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It is imperative to contest all factions for complete victory, so the army is not garrisoned and the profit can be total.…

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The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities...It is best to win…

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In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.

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“One mark of a great soldier is that he fights on his own terms or fights not at all.”

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Generally in war the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this.

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

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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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“15. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who…

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The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either…

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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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“Employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence…

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Therefore, to estimate the enemy situation and to calculate distances and the degree of difficulty of the terrain so as to control…

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There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: By commanding the army to advance or to…

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When your weapons are dulled and ardour damped, your strength exhausted and treasure spent, neighboring rulers will take advantage of your distress…

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“Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. 21. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed…

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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…

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The general must be the first in the toils and fatigues of the army. In the heat of summer he does not…

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In your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:…

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“III. ATTACK BY STRATAGEM 1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take…

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The art of using troops is this: …When ten to the enemy's one, surround him; …When five times his strength, attack him;…

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More by Sun Tzu

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.