The general who wins the battle makes many calculations before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.
Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth.On Posturing
Even though you are competent,
appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective. I don't try to intimidate anybody before a fight. That's nonsense. I intimidate people by hitting them.
On Defence vs. Offence
Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack. My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children. Praise be to Allah!
On Aggression
The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution.
I think I'll take a bath in his blood.
On Whether Combat Has Intrinsic Value
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. I just want to do what I do best, and that's fight. I love it. ... I love to hit people. I love to.
On Efficiency
There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited. I was hoping he would get up so I could hit him again.On Lessons From History
The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of
defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. I'm a historian, and that freaks me out. On Self-Knowledge
If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a
hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win
one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself,
you will be imperiled in every single battle. [He] called me a ‘rapist’ and a ‘recluse.’ I’m not a recluse.
On Defining Victory
In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the
enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so
good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy
it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to
destroy them. When I fight someone, I want to break his will. I want to take his manhood. I want to rip out his heart and show it to him.
On Book-Learning
The more you read and learn, the less your adversary will know. When I was in prison, I was wrapped up in all those deep books. That Tolstoy crap - people shouldn't read that stuff.
On Self-Preservation
The art of war teaches us to rely not on the
likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking,
but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. You can't stay married in a situation where you are afraid to go to sleep in case your wife might cut your throat.
On Subtlety
Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. I just want to conquer people and their souls.
On Defining Talent
For to win one hundred victories in one hundred
battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting
is the acme of skill. My power is discombobulatingly devastating. I could feel his muscle tissues collapse under my force. It's ludicrous these mortals even attempt to enter my realm.
On Setting Goals
If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly array and
on the point of marching to the attack, I should say: "Begin by seizing
something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to
your will." My main objective is to be professional but to kill him.
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