The Art of War quotes

“Before any movement, the campaign is decided by deliberate assessment, not by courage in the field.”

“War is expensive in a way that compounds, and the commander who forgets this loses even when he wins battles.”

“This is the chapter of the book's most famous idea: the highest skill is not winning battles but winning without them.”

“Sun Tzu draws a sharp line between what is in your control and what is not.”

“The engine of the chapter is the pairing of the direct (zheng) and the indirect (qi) .”

“The ideal is to be without ascertainable shape: "O divine art of subtlety and secrecy!”

“March fifty li and you lose the leader of the first division; march thirty and two-thirds of the army arrives.”

“Mastery is not in the rules but in knowing when to break them.”

“After crossing a river, get far from it; let an invader cross before you strike, attacking him mid-passage when half his force is over.”

“Sun Tzu classifies the ground itself into six types, each with its own rule.”

“Dispersive ground is your own territory, where men think of home — do not fight there.”

“Fire, however, is not a tool of impulse; it demands preparation and timing.”