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Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of business.

Sun Tzu

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Sun Tzu
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Kingdom of Qi
Sun Wu
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More quotes by Sun Tzu

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Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.
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One whose troops repeatedly congregate in small groups here and there, whispering together, has lost the masses. One who frequently grants rewards is in deep distress. One who frequently imposes punishments is in great difficulty. One who is at first excessively brutal and then fears the masses is the pinnacle of stupidity.
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Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move.
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Someone unfamiliar with the mountains and forests cannot advance [the team]. One who does not employ local guides cannot gain the advantage.
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However desperate the situation and circumstances, don't despair. When there is everything to fear, be unafraid. When surrounded by dangers, fear none of them. When without resources, depend on resourcefulness. When surprised, take the enemy by surprise.
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Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning by noonday it has begun to flag and in the evening, his mind is only on returning to camp.
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When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is insubordination. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is collapse.
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If not in the interests of the state, do not act. If you cannot succeed, do not use troops. If you are not in danger, do not fight.
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If I wish to engage, then the enemy, for all his high ramparts and deep moat, cannot avoid engagement I attack that which he is obliged to rescue.
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Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.
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Thus, though I have heard of successful military operations that were clumsy but swift, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.
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A battle avoided cannot be lost.
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So there are five ways of knowing who will win. Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are victorious. Those who discern when to use many or few troops are victorious. Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same desire are victorious.
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When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
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When you shoot a bow and arrow, you aim at the clouds, not because you expect to hit them, but so that you may reach the distant target on the ground.
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The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points and his forces being thus distributed in many directions, the numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately few.
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An army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.
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A warrior who is prepared to fight must also be prepared to die.
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Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never bewildered once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss.
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Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot.
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