Talent And Genius Operate Outside The Rules,

[the Cause Of Inaction In War] ... Is The Imperfection Of Human Perception And Judgment Which Is More Pronounced In War Than Anywhere Else. We Hardly Know Accurately Our Own Situation At Any Particular Moment While The Enemy's, Which Is Concealed From Us, Must Be Deduced From Very Little Evidence.

It Is Paltry Philosophy If In The Old-fashioned Way One Lays Down Rules And Principles In Total Disregard Of Moral Values . As Soon As These Appear One Regards Them As Exceptions, Which Gives Them A Certain Scientific Status, And Thus Makes Them Into Rules. Or Again One May Appeal To Genius , Which Is Above All Rules; Which Amounts To Admitting That Rules Are Not Only Made For Idiots , But Are Idiotic In Themselves.

The More A Leader Is In The Habit Of Demanding From His Men, The Surer He Will Be That His Demands Will Be Answered.

The Invention Of Gunpowder And The Constant Improvement Of Firearms Are Enough In Themselves To Show That The Advance Of Civilization Has Done Nothing Practical To Alter Or Deflect The Impulse To Destroy The Enemy, Which Is Central To The Very Idea Of War.

The Enemy Of A Good Plan Is The Dream Of A Perfect Plan.