Best Sun Tzu Quotes Art Of War To Enlighten You [ecis2023]

It’s time to return on one of our regular posts about Sun Tzu quotes, best for the leaders and those who aspire to be leaders. This is a number one post in the Ideas series about great quotes from Sun Tzu. The best advice for readers: these are not just leadership tips by an old general who lived thousands of years ago. These are examples from real life and most probably still work today.

Sun TzuArt Of War Quotes

Sun Tzu Art Of War Quotes

You are reading: Best Sun Tzu Quotes Art Of War To Enlighten You [ecis2023]

Inspirational Sun Tzu Quotes about Power and Life

“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

“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.” – Sun Tzu

“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.” – Sun Tzu

“Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of the trigger.” – Sun Tzu

“Sweat more during peace: bleed less during war.” – Sun Tzu

“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” – Sun Tzu

“Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength.” – Sun Tzu

“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” – Sun Tzu

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” – Sun Tzu

“Let your plans be dark and as impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” – Sun Tzu

“If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.” – Sun Tzu

“Do not engage an enemy more powerful than you. And if it is unavoidable and you do have to engage, then make sure you engage it on your terms, not on your enemy’s terms.” – Sun Tzu

“If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.” – Sun Tzu

“Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.” – Sun Tzu

The general who wins the battle makesmany calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.” – Sun Tzu

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzu

Related read:

“Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.” – Sun Tzu

“There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.” – Sun Tzu

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” – Sun Tzu

“The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.” – Sun Tzu

“It is more important to out-think your enemy than to outfight him” – Sun Tzu

“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.” – Sun Tzu

“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” – Sun Tzu

Read more: Best Quotes Life Lessons To Motivate You

Motivational Sun Tzu Quotes

“Do not press an enemy at bay.” – Sun Tzu

“The skillful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.” – Sun Tzu

“For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards.” – Sun Tzu

“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.” – Sun Tzu

“When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.” – Sun Tzu

“Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm.” – Sun Tzu

“The peak efficiency of knowledge and strategy is to make conflict unnecessary.” – Sun Tzu

“He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.” – Sun Tzu

“You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.” – Sun Tzu

“You have to believe in yourself.” – Sun Tzu

“The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.” – Sun Tzu

“When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.” – Sun Tzu

“Who wishes to fight must first count the cost” – Sun Tzu

“If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.” – Sun Tzu

“One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.” – Sun Tzu

“The art of giving orders is not to try to rectify the minor blunders and not to be swayed by petty doubts.” – Sun Tzu

“The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” – Sun Tzu

“If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”― Sun Tzu

“Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and sternness.”― Sun Tzu

“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“If the enemy knows not where he will be attacked, he must prepare in every quarter, and so be everywhere weak.”― Sun Tzu

“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

“Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”― Sun Tzu

“Using order to deal with the disorderly, using calm to deal with the clamorous, is mastering the heart.”― Sun Tzu

“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 victorious army is victorious first and seeks battle later; the defeated army seeks battle first and seeks victory later.”― Sun Tzu

“If words of command are not clear and distinct if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.”― Sun Tzu

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection 60 Best When Life Gives You Lemons Quotes to help you relax.

Famous Sun Tzu Quotes

“He wins his battles by making no mistakes.”― Sun Tzu

“It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.” – Sun Tzu

“The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.” – Sun Tzu

“All wars are won or lost before they are ever fought.” – Sun Tzu

“Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy’s purpose.” – Sun Tzu

“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.” – Sun Tzu

“Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.” – Sun Tzu

“Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.” – Sun Tzu

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.” – Sun Tzu

“When your opponent gives you an opening, be swift as a hare.” – Sun Tzu

“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent.” – Sun Tzu

“The height of strategy is to attack your opponent’s strategy.” – Sun Tzu

“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.” – Sun Tzu

“When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.” – Sun Tzu

“Know yourself and you will win all battles.” – Sun Tzu

“Those who win every battle are not really skillful—those who render others’ armies helpless without fighting are the best of all.”― Sun Tzu

“If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.”― Sun Tzu

“Every animal with blood in its veins and horns on its head will fight when it is attacked.”― Sun Tzu

“Know the enemy, know yourself and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles.”― Sun Tzu

“Those skilled in warfare move the enemy, and are not moved by the enemy.”― Sun Tzu

“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.” – Sun Tzu

“A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy.” – Sun Tzu

“” The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.” – Sun Tzu

“All war is deception.” – Sun Tzu