Art Of War Quotes: the Ultimate List
Art of war by Sun Tzu is a strategy and tactic book on military warfare that has stood the test of time and is one of the guiding books that i go to for directions, these are the collection of my personal fav quotes!
Hope you guys enjoy!
List Of Art of War Quotes:
1) “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
2) “Convince Your Enemies that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
3) “Opportunities multiply as they are seized”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
4) “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
5) “The Supreme Art of War is to subdue the enemy without fighting”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
6) “Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
7) “To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
8) “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
9) “Strategy without Tactics is the slowest route to victory.
Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
10) “The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Bonus:
“Our successes and failures in life can be traced to how well or how badly we deal with the inevitable conflicts that confront us in society.”
― Robert Greene, The 33 Strategies of War
11) “Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
12) “Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content.
But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
13) “Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
14) “Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
15) “Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
16) “If his forces are united, separate them.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
17) “Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
18) “But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
19) “who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
20) “Hence a commander who advances without any thought of winning personal fame and withdraws in spite of certain punishment, whose only concern is to protect his people and promote the interests of his ruler, is the nation’s treasure. Because he fusses over his men as if they were infants, they will accompany him into the deepest valleys; because he fusses over his men as if they were his own beloved sons, they will die by his side. If he is generous with them and yet they do not do as he tells them, if he loves them and yet they do not obey his commands, if he is so undisciplined with them that he cannot bring them into proper order, they will be like spoiled children who can be put to no good use at all.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Bonus:
“In a little while you will have forgotten everything; in a little while everything will have forgotten you.”
― Marcus Aurelius
FACT BREAK:
[Sun Tzu was born in a politically unstable era — the Spring-Autumn Period. At that time, China was not a unified land.]
Art of War Quote — Part 2:
21) “Disorder came from order, fear came from courage, weakness came from strength.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
22) “Those skilled at making the enemy move do so by creating a situation to which he must conform; they entice him with something he is certain to take, and with lures of ostensible profit they await him in strength.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
23) “When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
24) “He who advances without seeking fame,
Who retreats without escaping blame,
He whose one aim is to protect his people and serve his lord,
The man is a jewel of the Realm”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
25) “If there is a disturbance in the camp, the general’s authority is weak. ”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
26) “do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
27) “There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general:
(1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction;
(2) cowardice, which leads to capture;
(3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults;
(4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame;
(5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
28) “When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
29) “the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
30) “Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Bonus:
“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
― Seneca
31) “Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
32) “When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
33) “When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
34) “So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
35) “who wishes to fight must first count the cost”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
36) “Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
37) “One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. ”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
38) “The wise warrior avoids the battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
39) “He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
40) “The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Bonus:
“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind.”
― Marcus Aurelius
41) “It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
42) “Disorder came from order, fear came from courage, weakness came from strength.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
43) “Conform to the enemy’s tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
44) “Hence it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army’s ability to move.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
45) “Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
46) “Those who are able to adapt and change in accord with the enemy and achieve victory are called divine.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
47) “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
48) “Therefore, the skillful commander imposes his will on the enemy by making the enemy come to him instead of being brought to the enemy.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
49) “When you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack from the leeward.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
FACT BREAK:
[The Art of War was written by a Chinese general named Sun Tzu more than 2,500 years ago, possibly in the 6th Century BC.]
Art of War Quotes Part 3:
50) “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
51) “the wise leader’s plans, considerations of advantage and of disadvantage will be blended together.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
52) “Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
53) “Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
54)“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear 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.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
55) “If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected .”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
56) “Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
57) “The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Bonus War Strategy Quotes:
1) Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it.”
― Robert Greene, The 33 Strategies of War
2) “It is your own bad strategies, not the unfair opponent, that are to blame for your failures. You are responsible for the good and bad in your life.”
― Robert Greene, The 33 Strategies of War
3) “Every day you face battles — that is the reality for all creatures in their struggle to survive. But the greatest battle of all is with yourself — your weaknesses, your emotions, your lack of resolution in seeing things through to the end.”
― Robert Greene, The 33 Strategies of War
4) “When you have success, be extra wary. When you are angry, take no action. When you are fearful, know you are going to exaggerate the dangers you face. War demands the utmost in realism, seeing things as they are. The more you can limit or compensate for your emotional responses, the closer you will come to this ideal.”
― Robert Greene, The 33 Strategies of War
5) “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.”
― Albert Einstein
6) “ Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”
― Marcus Aurelius