凡治众如治寡，分数是也；斗众如斗寡，形名是也；三军之众，可使必受敌而无败者，奇正是也；兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虚实是也。

Sun Tzu

The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.

Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.

To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy’s attack and remain unshaken⁠—this is effected by maneuvers direct and indirect.

That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg⁠—this is effected by the science of weak points and strong.

凡战者，以正合，以奇胜。故善出奇者，无穷如天地，不竭如江河。终而复始，日月是也；死而复生，四时是也。声不过五，五声之变，不可胜听也；色不过五，五色之变，不可胜观也；味不过五，五味之变，不可胜尝也；战势不过奇正，奇正之变，不可胜穷也。奇正相生，如循环之无端，孰能穷之？

Sun Tzu

In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.

Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.

There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.

There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.

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 maneuvers.

The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It is like moving in a circle⁠—you never come to an end. Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination?

激水之疾，至于漂石者，势也；鸷鸟之疾，至于毁折者，节也。是故善战者，其势险，其节短。势如彍弩，节如发机。

Sun Tzu

The swift flow of water can carry away boulders by relying on momentum; fierce birds strike swiftly and capture prey by relying on timing. Therefore, a skilled general creates a battlefield as perilous as a sheer cliff and attacks with the speed of a released arrow. A precarious situation is like a fully drawn bow, ready to strike; a rapid offensive is like pulling the trigger of a crossbow, unleashed in an instant.

纷纷纭纭，斗乱而不可乱也；浑浑沌沌，形圆而不可败也。

Sun Tzu

In the chaos of the battlefield, the army must remain disciplined and orderly. In uncertain and obscure situations, deployments must be meticulous to avoid being defeated by the enemy.

乱生于治，怯生于勇，弱生于强。治乱，数也；勇怯，势也；强弱，形也。

Sun Tzu

Even a well-trained army may fall into chaos; even the bravest soldiers may feel fear; even the strongest force may become weak. Whether an army is disciplined or disordered depends on its organization and structure; whether soldiers are courageous or fearful depends on the battlefield situation; whether an army is strong or weak depends on its overall strength.

故善动敌者，形之，敌必从之；予之，敌必取之。以利动之，以卒待之。

Sun Tzu

Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something, that the enemy may snatch at it.

By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march; then with a body of picked men he lies in wait for him.

故善战者，求之于势，不责于人，故能择人而任势。任势者，其战人也，如转木石。木石之性，安则静，危则动，方则止，圆则行。故善战人之势，如转圆石于千仞之山者，势也。

Sun Tzu

The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy.

When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down.

Thus the energy developed by good fighting men is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height. So much on the subject of energy.