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In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
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“In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.”

Sun Tzu

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

Meaning of “In war, then, let your great object be…”

The objective should govern the campaign; activity that continues without advancing the actual goal wastes resources and creates new vulnerabilities.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Art of War, Chapter II “Waging War,” section 19, Lionel Giles translation (1910), printed page 16 / scan leaf 72 in Giles’s original full edition on Wikisource, cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #17405. “In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns” is the chapter’s concluding strategic principle immediately before the statement about the commander and the people’s fate. It remains ancient battlefield/statecraft argument, not current military operational advice or a context-free productivity maxim.

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DecisionGoalsLeadershipShortTimeConflictFocus
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The only cure is to reconstitute the programme, and to attempt less.
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“The only cure is to reconstitute the programme, and to attempt less.”

Arnold Bennett · How to Live on 24 Hours a Day · 1908
Meaning & context

When a schedule becomes oppressive, Bennett recommends reducing the plan rather than allowing the plan itself to dominate the person it was meant to help.

Source details

How to Live on 24 Hours a Day, “Dangers to Avoid.” Bennett is warning against becoming enslaved to an over-ambitious personal programme; “attempt less” is adjustment advice, not a general rejection of ambition.

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There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
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“There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.”

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

Long conflict consumes strength and resources, so duration itself becomes a strategic cost even before the outcome is decided.

Source details

The Art of War, Chapter II “Waging War,” section 6, Lionel Giles translation (1910), printed page 12 / scan leaf 68 in Giles’s original full edition on Wikisource, cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #17405. “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare” closes the opening argument about weapons, strength, treasure and state resources being exhausted by a protracted campaign. It remains ancient military-strategy argument in translation, not a generic business, relationship or current geopolitical rule.

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All warfare is based on deception.
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“All warfare is based on deception.”

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

Strategy depends partly on managing what an opponent believes about intentions, strength, timing, and position rather than revealing every fact directly.

Source details

The Art of War, Chapter I 'Laying Plans,' section 18, Lionel Giles translation (1910), original scan leaf 62. 'All warfare is based on deception' begins Giles's section 18 before the examples of seeming unable, inactive, near or far. This remains translation-mediated ancient military strategy, not generic business, relationship or current operational advice.

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You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.
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“You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.”

Arnold Bennett · How to Live on 24 Hours a Day · 1908
Meaning & context

A failed plan need not govern the remainder of the day; Bennett frames each hour as another practical opportunity to restart deliberate action.

Source details

How to Live on 24 Hours a Day, discussion of beginning a programme of self-directed use of spare time. The sentence is practical encouragement within Bennett’s period self-improvement argument.

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