---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If he is taking his ease, give him no…"
description: "\"“If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.”\" — Sun Tzu"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/sun-tzu-283_rest_if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-res_2896236.jpg"
---

#  If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces…

![“If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.” quote by Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/sun-tzu-283_rest_if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-res_2896236.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/sun-tzu-283_rest_if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-res_2896236.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/sun-tzu-283_rest_if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-res_2896236.jpg)

> ““If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.””

[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.

Advice to disrupt united forces by dividing them, preventing coordinated opposition.

**In simple terms:** Divide and conquer to weaken opponents.

Key Takeaway

Use division to neutralize threats.

Themes

strategy conflict division

Mood

strategic pragmatic

Type

didactic historical

When to use this quote

- business competition
- team dynamics
- negotiation

Key Concepts

military tactics political maneuvering

Questions to Reflect On

- When is division justified?
- How can unity be preserved without vulnerability?

A Different Perspective

Ethical concerns in manipulation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

## Related quotes

> [Many times people can access that being stage more fully and more easily if at first you are actually doing something. If you run,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/many-times-people-can-access-that-being-stage-more-fully-and-more/)

[Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/)

> [And yet without labour there were no ease, no rest, so much as conceivable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/and-yet-without-labour-there-were-no-ease-no-rest-so-much-as/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [My soul found ease and rest in the companionship of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/my-soul-found-ease-and-rest-in-the-companionship-of-books/)

[Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/)

> [Let ease and rest at times be given to the weary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/let-ease-and-rest-at-times-be-given-to-the-weary/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [“If his forces are united, separate them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/if-his-forces-are-united-separate-them/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [I talk about a Christianity that is enlightened enough to separate spirituality from the rest of life. Not just church and state, but knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/i-talk-about-a-christianity-that-is-enlightened-enough-to-separate/)

[Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/)

> [“Danger has a bracing effect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/danger-has-a-bracing-effect/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [“A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/a-clever-general-therefore-avoids-an-army-when-its-spirit-is-keen-but/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [To conquer the enemy without resorting to war is the most desirable. The highest form of generalship is to conquer the enemy by strategy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/to-conquer-the-enemy-without-resorting-to-war-is-the-most-desirable/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [Carefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Keep your army continually on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/carefully-study-the-well-being-of-your-men-and-do-not-overtax-them/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-expert-in-battle-seeks-his-victory-from-strategic-advantage-and/)

[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/)

> [“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/)

> [“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/)

> [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/)

## 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 Rest quotes

> [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/)

[Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/)

> [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [Eric Clapton's scales - when he comes off a high note and it's time for a refrain or a little bit of a rest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rea/eric-clapton-s-scales-when-he-comes-off-a-high-note-and-it-s-time-for/)

[Chris Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rea/)

> [“What if I believed that God Himself was the One who decreed I would be a quiet person? What if I believed that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-rajnus/what-if-i-believed-that-god-himself-was-the-one-who-decreed-i-would/)

Julie Rajnus

> [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/)

[Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/)

> [Smokers, like so many of us, are mavericks when they're healthy but parasites when they're not. They trash their bodies and then expect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/smokers-like-so-many-of-us-are-mavericks-when-they-re-healthy-but/)

[Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/)

> [I decided to start my channel because my followers on Instagram told me that they wanted to learn how I did the looks I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-mua/i-decided-to-start-my-channel-because-my-followers-on-instagram-told/)

[Manny MUA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-mua/)

> [You couldn't get me to go travel around and sit in a hotel room again. I have no interest in doing that. So everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-everly/you-couldn-t-get-me-to-go-travel-around-and-sit-in-a-hotel-room-again/)

[Phil Everly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-everly/)

> [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/)

[Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/)

> [And the rest is rust and stardust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-the-rest-is-rust-and-stardust/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [I focus on all the body's movements where you activate your core while you're working out the rest of your body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hill/i-focus-on-all-the-body-s-movements-where-you-activate-your-core/)

[Taylor Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hill/)

> [The same law takes place in a system, consisting of many bodies, as in one single body, with regard to their persevering in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/the-same-law-takes-place-in-a-system-consisting-of-many-bodies-as-in/)

[Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/)

> [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [When you rest deeply in the Unknown without trying to escape, your experience becomes very vast. As the experience of the Unknown deepens, your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/when-you-rest-deeply-in-the-unknown-without-trying-to-escape-your/)

[Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/)

> [“You get some rest. We'll talk later." "I'd rather not," I said nicely. "Rest is important," he insisted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obert-skye/you-get-some-rest-we-ll-talk-later-i-d-rather-not-i-said-nicely-rest/)

[Obert Skye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/obert-skye/)

Browse all 3,896 Rest quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sun Tzu"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-rest-if-his-forces-are-united/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Rest"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-rest-if-his-forces-are-united/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/sun-tzu-283_rest_if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-res_2896236.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/sun-tzu-283_rest_if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-res_2896236.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/sun-tzu-283_rest_if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-res_2896236.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.” — 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": "“If he is taking his ease,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-rest-if-his-forces-are-united/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/if-he-is-taking-his-ease-give-him-no-rest-if-his-forces-are-united/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
