--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A wise general makes a point of foraging…" description: "\"A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy.\" — Sun Tzu" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/sun-tzu-283_enemy_a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging_1630639.jpg" --- # A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy. ![“A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy.” quote by Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/sun-tzu-283_enemy_a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging_1630639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/sun-tzu-283_enemy_a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging_1630639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/sun-tzu-283_enemy_a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging_1630639.jpg) > “A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy.” [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A wise leader studies the enemy to gain advantage. **In simple terms:** Study opponents to win. Key Takeaway Gather intelligence on rivals. Themes strategy knowledge leadership Mood strategic analytical Type military philosophical When to use this quote - business competition - political campaigns - sports matches Key Concepts Military tactics psychology Questions to Reflect On - What balance between study and action? - How do you avoid overanalyzing? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on enemy can cause paranoia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Foraging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foraging/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [“15. Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/15-hence-a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging-on-the-enemy-one/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/hence-a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging-on-the-enemy/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“Some tasks are fit for lions, he said, but foraging is best left for goats and dogs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-tasks-are-fit-for-lions-he-said-but-foraging-is-best-left-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And I think no matter what, how much rejection that I have had I've still always been like all right, well that's all right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-monaghan/and-i-think-no-matter-what-how-much-rejection-that-i-have-had-i-ve/) [Michelle Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-monaghan/) > [All of the people who work in the kitchen with me go out into the forests and on to the beach. It's a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-redzepi/all-of-the-people-who-work-in-the-kitchen-with-me-go-out-into-the/) [Rene Redzepi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-redzepi/) > [If one bird foraging in a flock on the ground suddenly takes off, all other birds will take off immediately after, before they even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/if-one-bird-foraging-in-a-flock-on-the-ground-suddenly-takes-off-all/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“Hunter-gathers, by nature, store information for use, understanding that there may be a time when information is scarce.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jud-h-copeland-brian-c-o-connor-jodi-l-kearns/hunter-gathers-by-nature-store-information-for-use-understanding-that/) Jud H. Copeland Brian C. O'Connor Jodi L. Kearns > [Think Oman, and you think desert. But what we found was mile after mile of barren, spiky rubble, cliffs of jutting sharp rocks, unrelieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-bruce/think-oman-and-you-think-desert-but-what-we-found-was-mile-after-mile/) [Fiona Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-bruce/) > [As I got older I became a kind of sub cultural junkie, foraging around in music, street fashion and eventually art, politics and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kunzru/as-i-got-older-i-became-a-kind-of-sub-cultural-junkie-foraging-around/) [Hari Kunzru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kunzru/) > [“When you can’t block people’s access to food and shelter, and you can’t stop them from leaving, how can you control them? The ubiquitous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/when-you-can-t-block-people-s-access-to-food-and-shelter-and-you-can/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) > [I am a stranger to half measures. With life I am on the attack, restlessly ferreting out each pleasure, foraging for answers, wringing from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marita-golden/i-am-a-stranger-to-half-measures-with-life-i-am-on-the-attack/) [Marita Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marita-golden/) > [Marriage probably originated as a straightforward food-for-sex deal among foraging primates. Compatibility was not a big issue, nor, of course, was there any tension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/marriage-probably-originated-as-a-straightforward-food-for-sex-deal/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [“A bird foraging for food in the swamps and marshes sinks rapidly if it doesn't move. It has to keep pulling its feet out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milorad-pavi/a-bird-foraging-for-food-in-the-swamps-and-marshes-sinks-rapidly-if/) [Milorad Pavić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milorad-pavi/) > [In most cases, the best strategy for a job interview is to be fairly honest, because the worst thing that can happen is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-most-cases-the-best-strategy-for-a-job-interview-is-to-be-fairly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you want to go foraging into the wilds of Canada without proper gear, you deserve what you get, even if that happens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/if-you-want-to-go-foraging-into-the-wilds-of-canada-without-proper/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) ## 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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [It is according to the shapes that I lay the plans for victory, but the multitude does not comprehend this. Although everyone can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-according-to-the-shapes-that-i-lay-the-plans-for-victory-but/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/in-a-similar-way-the-art-of-war-pinpoints-anger-and-greed-as/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-people-being-regarded-as-the-essential-part-of-the-state-and-food/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/therefore-the-good-fighter-will-be-terrible-in-his-onset-and-prompt/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“So long as victory can be attained,  stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/so-long-as-victory-can-be-attained-stupid-haste-is-preferable-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/you-can-ensure-the-safety-of-your-defense-if-you-only-hold-positions/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/hence-when-able-to-attack-we-must-seem-unable-when-using-our-forces/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/if-we-do-not-wish-to-fight-we-can-prevent-the-enemy-from-engaging-us/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-general-who-wins-a-battle-makes-many-calculations-in-his-temple/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/in-all-fighting-the-direct-method-may-be-used-for-joining-battle-but/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/to-begin-by-bluster-but-afterwards-to-take-fright-at-the-enemy-s/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [ They \[spies\] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/they-spies-cannot-be-properly-managed-without-benevolence-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) [Explore all 685 Sun Tzu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) A.K. Hasan > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sun Tzu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging-of-the-enemy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging-of-the-enemy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/sun-tzu-283_enemy_a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging_1630639.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/sun-tzu-283_enemy_a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging_1630639.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/sun-tzu-283_enemy_a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging_1630639.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy.” — Sun Tzu", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sun Tzu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A wise general makes a point...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging-of-the-enemy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/a-wise-general-makes-a-point-of-foraging-of-the-enemy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```