He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
All warfare is based on deception.
Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
The secret of getting successful work out of your trained men lies in one nutshell—in the clearness of the instructions they receive.
He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
There is a proper season for making attacks with fire, and special days for starting a conflagration.
The proper season is when the weather is very dry; the special days are those when the moon is in the constellations of the Sieve, the Wall, the Wing or the Cross-bar; for these four are all days of rising wind.
If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.
Your surviving spy must be a man of keen intellect, though in outward appearance a fool; of shabby exterior, but with a will of iron. He must be active, robust, endowed with physical strength and courage; thoroughly accustomed to all sorts of dirty work, able to endure hunger and cold, and to put up with shame and ignominy.
If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.
