Sun Tzu

"All warfare is based on deception"

"Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated"

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting"

"Victory is determined by the side that has the advantage in terrain"

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

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity"

"The general who wins a hundred battles is not supreme; supreme is the general who takes the enemy's city without firing a shot"

"When the enemy is at ease, be ready; when well-supplied, starve them; when at peace, harass them"

"Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and clamour amongst the enemy"

"Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain"

"The supreme commander of forces must understand the psychology of the enemy"

"To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill"

"Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat"

"All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved"

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles"

"The key to victory is in understanding the terrain and the weather"

"A wise general ensures his supplies are secure before engaging in battle"

"The army that arrives first at the field of battle will rest and await the enemy in comfort"

"Confusion and fighting spirits in the midst of the host are always beginnings of victory"

"Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger"

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

"The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not attacking, but on our own readiness to receive him"

"Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack"

"A commander of an army should know the five constant virtues: righteousness, wisdom, benevolence, honour, and strictness"

"Those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without any fighting; they take the enemy's cities without assaulting them"

"The expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by the enemy"

"Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh and ready"

"Method and discipline are your true friends; neglect them and you will surely be defeated"

"Water shapes its course based on the ground over which it flows"

"It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying"