“Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.”

Conform to the enemy’s tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive.

If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is “death.

Plan for what it is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.

Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

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.

The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight

If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.

To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.

Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.

Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.

He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.

Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm.

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteoousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders.