"Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of business."

"The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him."

"Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him."

"When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened."

"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."