Quotes About Deception

Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.

He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.

If your opponent is of choleric temper,  seek to irritate him.  Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm

mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy

Be where your enemy is not.

The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.

Those skilled at making the enemy move do so by creating a situation to which he must conform; they entice him with something he is certain to take, and with lures of ostensible profit they await him in strength.

Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.

Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory;  show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.

The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.

The Art of War is self-explanatory

The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points;

To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.

O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible, and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

Supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

All warfare is based on deception.

Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it.

When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away...

In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them