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He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
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“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”

Sun Tzu

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Source
The Art of War — Attack by Stratagem
Date
c. 5th century BCE
English wording
Lionel Giles — Translator · from Classical Chinese
Meaning

Meaning of “He will win who knows when to fight…”

Judgment includes restraint: choosing the wrong contest can be as damaging as fighting badly once the contest begins.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Art of War, Chapter III “Attack by Stratagem,” section 17, Lionel Giles translation (1910), printed page 24 / scan leaf 80 in the original Giles edition on Wikisource, cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #17405. “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight” is the first of five listed military essentials for victory; it remains battlefield-strategy judgment rather than a context-free maxim about every disagreement.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

AngerCalmDecisionDiscipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & ConsistencyFailureLeadershipLifeLife LessonsPatiencePeaceSelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentShortWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellRisk
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The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
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“The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.”

Sun Tzu · The Art of War — Tactical Dispositions · c. 5th century BCE
Meaning & context

Strong strategy begins by reducing one’s own avoidable vulnerabilities before depending on an opportunity created by the opponent.

Source details

The Art of War, Chapter IV 'Tactical Dispositions,' section 1, Lionel Giles translation (1910), original scan leaf 82. The sentence about good fighters first making themselves secure against defeat opens the chapter's tactical argument; it remains ancient military-strategy reasoning rather than a universal self-help rule.

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For of course rashness is the note of youth, prudence of old age.
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“For of course rashness is the note of youth, prudence of old age.”

Cicero · Cato on Old Age · 44 BCE
Voice: Dialogue speaker · Marcus Cato (Cato the Elder)
Meaning & context

The contrast assigns different characteristic strengths to stages of life, valuing experience for the restraint and judgment it can develop.

Source details

Cato on Old Age, Shuckburgh translation.

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If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same.
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“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same.”

Rudyard Kipling · If— · 1910
Meaning & context

Kipling’s speaker recommends maintaining steadiness toward both success and failure rather than allowing either outcome to determine one’s character or judgment.

Source details

“If—,” in Rewards and Fairies, Project Gutenberg #556. The poem presents a period ideal of masculine self-command through a sequence of conditional tests; the stored lines are literary and moral rhetoric, not a requirement to suppress normal emotion.

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What then remains but well our pow'r to use, And keep good-humour still whate'er we lose?
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“What then remains but well our pow'r to use, And keep good-humour still whate'er we lose?”

Alexander Pope · The Rape of the Lock · 1717
Voice: Fictional character · Clarissa
Meaning & context

Within Clarissa’s speech, the practical response to inevitable loss is to use one’s capacities well and preserve composure rather than trying to make change impossible.

Source details

The Rape of the Lock, Canto V, lines 29–30 in Pope’s 1717 revision; spoken by Clarissa. Her speech was added in 1717, so the inherited 1714 source year is corrected to 1717. Clarissa’s counsel is immediately followed by the poem’s return to comic battle, preserving the satirical frame.

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