The Art of War, traditionally attributed to Sun Tzu (tr. Lionel Giles, 1910)

Sun Tzu · c. 500–430 BCE

Sun Tzu did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this book, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The book prints chapter headings its extracted text does not preserve, so the claims below are in the book's order but not grouped. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
Warfare is based on deception

Their wordsAll warfare is based on deception.
Our reading
No country has ever benefited from prolonged warfare

Their wordsThere is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
Our reading
The highest excellence in war is breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting, not winning every battle

Their wordsHence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
Our reading
Someone who knows both the enemy and themselves need not fear the result of a hundred battles

Their wordsIf you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
Our reading
In war, as with water, there are no constant conditions

Their wordsTherefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.
Our reading
A destroyed kingdom can never be restored, and the dead cannot be brought back to life

Their wordsBut a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.
Our reading
Spies are a most important element in war because an army's ability to move depends on them

Their wordsSpies are a most important element in war, because on them depends an army’s ability to move.

Related books

Tao Teh King, traditionally ascribed to Laozi Laozi · c. 450–250 BCE 4 claims worded alike
The Sayings of Mencius, as compiled by his disciples Mencius · c. 400–301 BCE 3 claims worded alike
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution Peter Kropotkin · c. 1890–1902 1 claim worded alike · both about war
Pedagogy of the Oppressed Paulo Freire · c. 1968 1 claim worded alike
Man's Search for Meaning Viktor Frankl · c. 1946–1992 1 claim worded alike
The Dhammapada, as preserved in the Pali canon Gautama Buddha · c. 500–401 BCE 1 claim worded alike

Found from what the books talk about: claims worded alike in the archive's hourly pass, and subjects both are filed under. It is not a judgement that they agree — related books often argue the opposite. All books

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The other pieces are the ones whose claims are worded most like this one's. That measures language, not agreement: they may argue the opposite.