Quotes · Quote card
Quotation from The Art of War by Sun Tzu
“Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”
The Art of War, Ch. III.2 (Attack by Stratagem), trans. Lionel Giles (1910)
The book's highest ideal, following the advice to take the enemy's country whole and intact.
Citation: "Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting" — Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Ch. III.2 (Attack by Stratagem), trans. Lionel Giles (1910). (id the-art-of-war-q4)
Portrait: 吴司马孙武, Unknown author, Public domain.
