Sun Tzu and Philosophers
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The Art of War for Today
Sun Tzu was not the only smart man back in the days of antiquity. So how does his message compare to other revered figures of so long ago? Here are some back to back quotes so you can decide for yourself.
CHAPTER 1. LAYING PLANS
1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.
2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
We make war that we may live in peace. Aristotle
3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.
4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.
5,6. The MORAL LAW causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
Justice... is a kind of compact not to harm or be harmed. Epicurus
There is no such thing as justice in the abstract; it is merely a compact between men. Epicurus
7. HEAVEN signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.
God is day and night, winter and summer, war and peace, surfeit and hunger. Heraclitus
Nature is wont to hide herself. Heraclitus
8. EARTH comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.
Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist. Epicurus
It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls. Epicurus
9. The COMMANDER stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.
A man's character is his fate. Heraclitus
Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day.
Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character. Heraclitus
All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. Aristotle
Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others. Aristotle.
The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons. Aristotle
Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion. Aristotle
The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear. Socrates
Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created title by little, day by day.
Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character. Heraclitus
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. Confucius
10. By METHOD AND DISCIPLINE are to be understood the marshalling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.
The law is reason, free from passion. Aristotle
Moral habits, induced by public practices, are far quicker in making their way into men's private lives, than the failings and faults of individuals are in infecting the city at large. Plutarch
11. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
15. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: let such a one be dismissed!
16. While heeding the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.
It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world. Aristotle
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have laboured hard for. Socrates
Wise kings generally have wise counsellors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one. Diogenes
17. According as circumstances are favourable, one should modify one's plans.
18. All warfare is based on deception.
We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral. Epictetus
CHAPTER 2. WAGING WAR
7. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.
He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled. Aristotle
16. Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. Plutarch
CHAPTER 3. ATTACK BY STRATAGEM
3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.
If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires. Epicurus
18. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Let us carefully observe those good qualities wherein our enemies excel us; and endeavour to excel them, by avoiding what is faulty, and imitating what is excellent in them. Plutarch
CHAPTER 4. TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS
13. He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.
To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future. Plutarch
CHAPTER 5. ENERGY
10. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack: the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of manoeuvres.
To do the same thing over and over again is not only boredom: it is to be controlled by rather than to control what you do. Heraclitus
There is nothing permanent except change. Heraclitus
CHAPTER 6. WEAK POINTS AND STRONG
25. In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them; conceal your dispositions, and you will be safe from the prying of the subtlest spies, from the machinations of the wisest brains.
Misfortune seldom intrudes upon the wise man; his greatest and highest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of life. Epicurus
CHAPTER 7. MANEUVERING
12. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbours.
Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit. Aristotle
Friendship is essentially a partnership. Aristotle
Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship. Epicurus
CHAPTER 8. VARIATION IN TACTICS
3. There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must be not attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.
To find fault is easy; to do better may be difficult. Plutarch
CHAPTER 9. THE ARMY ON THE MARCH
34. When an army feeds its horses with grain and kills its cattle for food, and when the men do not hang their cooking-pots over the camp fires, showing that they will not return to their tents, you may know that they are determined to fight to the death.
Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist. Epicurus
CHAPTER 10. TERRAIN
24. The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.
He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature. Socrates
10.25. Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence. Aristotle
No one loves the man whom he fears. Aristotle
Where there is reverence there is fear, but there is not reverence everywhere that there is fear, because fear presumably has a wider extension than reverence. Socrates
32. The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.
Courage stands halfway between cowardice and rashness, one of which is a lack, the other an excess of courage. Plutarch.
You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. Epicurus
51. For it is the soldier's disposition to offer an obstinate resistance when surrounded, to fight hard when he cannot help himself, and to obey promptly when he has fallen into danger.
Nothing is harder to direct than a man in prosperity; nothing more easily managed that one is adversity. Plutarch
55. Hence he does not strive to ally himself with all and sundry, nor does he foster the power of other states. He carries out his own secret designs, keeping his antagonists in awe. Thus he is able to capture their cities and overthrow their kingdoms.
A friend to all is a friend to none. Aristotle
CHAPTER 12. THE ATTACK BY FIRE
CHAPTER 13. THE USE OF SPIES
4. Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is FOREKNOWLEDGE.
Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly. Plutarch
15. Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity.
Much learning does not teach understanding. Heraclitus
17. Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports.
Wise kings generally have wise counsellors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one. Diogenes
