Most of these excerpts are taken from Lionel Giles’s 1910 translation of the text. The order that they appear here mirror the order in which they appear in that text.

The art of war is of vital importance to the State. 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.

1.18 All warfare is based on deception.

2.6 There is no instance of a country benefiting from prolonged warfare.

2.16 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.

2.19 In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

3.11 Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.

3.17 Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
(5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

3.18 Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

4.2 …the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

4.13 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.

4.15 (For this point I prefer Thomas Cleary’s 1991 translation)…a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.

6.2 …the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.

6.9 (For this point I also prefer Thomas Cleary’s 1991 translation) Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.

6.22 Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting. Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of their success.

6.27 All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

7.17 Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest.

7.18 In raiding and plundering be like fire, in immovability like a mountain.

7.19 Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

11.18 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.”

11.58 Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety.

11.59 For it is precisely when a force has fallen into harm’s way that is capable of striking a blow for victory.