Quotes About Patience

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

Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.

Wheels of justice gind slow but grind fine

He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

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

It is the unemotional, reserved, calm, detached warrior who wins, not the hothead seeking vengeance and not the ambitious seeker of fortune.

Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.

No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.

At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden,  until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you.

Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.

When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream.  It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack.

When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardour will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

I have heard that in war haste can be folly, but have never seen delay that was wise.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.

Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen.

The victorious army is victorious first and seeks battle later; the defeated army seeks battle first and seeks victory later.

A sovereign should never launch an army out of anger, a leader should never start a war out of wrath

Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity.

passivity means waiting for an opportunity

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2)