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121 " What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease. "
― Sun Tzu , The Art of War
122 " One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. "
123 " 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. "
124 " Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him. "
125 " Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack. "
126 " Ponder and deliberate before you make a move. "
127 " If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril. "
128 " Never venture, never win! "
129 " The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both. "
130 " It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy. "
131 " 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. "
132 " But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life. "
133 " Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will. "
134 " Disorder came from order, fear came from courage, weakness came from strength. "
135 " Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster "
136 " Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. "
137 " 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. "
138 " If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. "
139 " Conform to the enemy's tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive. "
140 " 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. "