The Art Of War In Its Highest

Savage Peoples Are Ruled By Passion, Civilized Peoples By The Mind. The Difference Lies Not In The Respective Natures Of Savagery And Civilization, But In Their Attendant Circumstances, Institutions, And So Forth. The Difference, Therefore, Does Not Operate In Every Sense, But It Does In Most Of Them. Even The Most Civilized Peoples, In Short, Can Be Fired With Passionate Hatred For Each Other.

The Majority Of People Are Timid By Nature, And That Is Why They Constantly Exaggerate Danger. All Influences On The Military Leader, Therefore, Combine To Give Him A False Impression Of His Opponent's Strength, And From This Arises A New Source Of Indecision.

There Are Cases In Which The Greatest Daring Is The Greatest Wisdom.

[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.

In War Everything Is Simple, But It's The Simple Things That Are Difficult.