Art Of War Quotes - Page 11

• A prudent man... must behave like those archers who, if they are skillful, when the target seems too distant, know the capabilities of their bow and aim a good deal higher than their objective, not in order to shoot so high but so that by aiming high they can reach the target.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  Art, War, Archer

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• If you only notice human proceedings, you may observe that all who attain great power and riches, make use of either force or fraud; and what they have acquired either by deceit or violence, in order to conceal the disgraceful methods of attainment, they endeavor to sanctify with the false title of honest gains.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  Art, War, Order

  Niccolo Machiavelli (2018). “History of Florence and the Affairs of Italy”, p.115, Ozymandias Press

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• Pretend to be weak, so your enemy may grow arrogant.

  Sun Tzu

  Enemy, Arrogant, May

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• Do not engage an enemy more powerful than you. And if it is unavoidable and you do have to engage, then make sure you engage it on your terms, not on your enemy's terms.

  Sun Tzu

  Art, Powerful, War

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• Agitate him and ascertain the pattern of his movement.

  Sun Tzu

  Art, War, Movement

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• Be where your enemy is not.

  Sun Tzu

  Art, War, Enemy

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• The arts of peace and the arts of war are like two wheels of a cart which, lacking one, will have difficulty in standing.

  Kuroda Nagamasa

  Art, War, Two

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• It is imperative to master the principles of the art of war and learn to be unmoved in mind even in the heat of the battle.

  Miyamoto Musashi

  Art, War, Mind

  Miyamoto Musashi, Musashi Miyamoto, Thomas F. Cleary (2005). “The Book of Five Rings”, p.26, Shambhala Publications

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• The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.

  Sun Tzu

  Leadership, Business, Responsibility

  "The Art of War". Book by Sun Tzu, Chapter V · Forces, 2003.

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• I am very interested in and that is what Sun Tzu in his ancient Chinese text calls The Art of War.

  Paul Virilio

  Art, War, Chinese

  Source: ctheory.net

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• I started to make a study of the art of war and revolution and, whilst abroad, underwent a course in military training. If there was to be guerrilla warfare, I wanted to be able to stand and fight with my people and to share the hazards of war with them.

  Nelson Mandela

  Art, Military, War

  Nelson Mandela (1973). “No Easy Walk to Freedom”, p.175, Heinemann

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• The world will continue to change dramatically, but fighting and war can destroy us utterly. What we need now are techniques of harmony, not those of contention. The Art of Peace is required, not the Art of War.

  Morihei Ueshiba

  Art, War, Fighting

  Morihei Ueshiba, John Stevens (2010). “The Art of Peace”, p.5, Shambhala Publications

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• I think maybe the destructive pleasure got turned into the destructive pleasure of war (something we see still in the images of US soldiers urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban soldiers). Something of the pleasure in destruction gets unleashed, and then becomes part of war effort rationalised first as revenge (or justice defined as revenge). But then it takes new forms, as we see now.

  Judith Butler

  Revenge, War, Thinking

  Interview With Cihan Aksan, Jon Bailes, www.counterpunch.org. October 11, 2013.

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• A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  Philosophical, Keeping Promises, Broken Promises

  Niccolo Machiavelli (1979). “The Portable Machiavelli”, p.95, Penguin

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• Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  Motivational, Philosophical, Goal

  Niccolo Machiavelli (2010). “The Prince”, p.106, FastPencil Inc

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• God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  God, Philosophical, Free Will

  Niccolo Machiavelli (2010). “The Prince”, p.106, FastPencil Inc

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• In France those absurd perversions of the art of war which covered themselves under the name of chivalry were more omnipotent than in any other country of Europe. The strength of the armies of Philip and John of Valois was composed of a fiery and undisciplined aristocracy which imagined itself to be the most efficient military force in the world, but which was in reality little removed from an armed mob.

  Charles William Chadwick Oman

  Country, Art, Military

  Charles Oman, Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman (1924). “A history of the art of war in the middle ages”

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• It was part of war; men died, more would die, that was past, and what mattered now was the business in hand; those who lived would get on with it. Whatever sorrow was felt, there was no point in talking or brooding about it, much less in making, for form's sake, a parade of it. Better and healthier to forget it, and look to tomorrow.The celebrated British stiff upper lip, the resolve to conceal emotion which is not only embarrassing and useless, but harmful, is just plain commons sense

  George MacDonald

  War, Men, Past

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• The art of war in its highest point of view is policy.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Art, War, Views

  Carl von Clausewitz, James John Graham (1873). “On War”, London, N. Trübner & Company

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• When everyone's focused on the conventional parts of war - doing infantry imbeds or chasing IEDs - you look at the thing that seems not that interesting to people, like the circumstances of logistics workers cooking the troops' food or cleaning their latrines.

  Sarah Stillman

  War, People, Interesting

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

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• A prince must not have any objective nor any thought, nor take up any art, other than the art of war and its ordering and discipline; because it is the only art that pertains to him who commands. And it is of such virtue that not only does it maintain those who were born princes, but many times makes men rise to that rank from private station.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  Art, War, Men

  The Prince ch. 14 (1532) (translation by Angelo M. Codevilla)

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• Don't flail against the world, use it. Flexibility is the operative principle in the art of war.

  Sun Tzu

  Art, War, Principles

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• I don't read a lot of inspirational books for life. But for writing, I think the two best books are The War of Art and William Zinsser's On Writing Well. I read a lot of classics.

  Donald Miller

  Art, War, Book

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• It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  Believe, Men, Hands

  "The Prince". Book by Niccolo Machiavelli, 1513.

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• Without doubt, ferocious and disordered men are much weaker than timid and ordered ones. For order chases fear from men and disorder lessens ferocity.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  Art, War, Men

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