Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.”
- Date
- c. 5th century BCE
- English wording
- Lionel Giles — Translator · from Classical Chinese
Meaning of “There is no instance of a country having…”
Long conflict consumes strength and resources, so duration itself becomes a strategic cost even before the outcome is decided.
Where does it come from?
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.
