"The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself"
About this Quote
Control is the hidden weapon in Sun Tzu's line: he draws a bright border between what you can engineer and what you can only exploit. The first clause is almost modern risk management. "Secure ourselves against defeat" isn’t bravado; it’s systems thinking: supply lines, morale, terrain, discipline, intelligence. You don’t win by wishing, you win by making loss structurally difficult. The verb "lies in our own hands" is doing ethical work, too. It assigns responsibility. If you collapse, it’s not fate. It’s preparation you failed to build.
Then comes the colder insight: victory is, in a sense, volunteered. "Defeating the enemy" is "provided" by the enemy himself, meaning the decisive opening is usually a mistake, an overreach, a panic, a misread of the situation. You can’t force that on schedule; you can only be positioned to recognize it and convert it. The subtext is anti-heroic. Sun Tzu demotes the romantic fantasy of conquering through sheer will and elevates patience, restraint, and timing. It’s a philosophy of waiting without idling.
Context matters: in the Warring States world of shifting alliances and expensive campaigns, a general who chased glory could bankrupt a state. This sentence is a quiet rebuke to reckless commanders. Build an unbreakable posture, then let the opponent’s appetite, ego, or fatigue manufacture the moment you take.
Then comes the colder insight: victory is, in a sense, volunteered. "Defeating the enemy" is "provided" by the enemy himself, meaning the decisive opening is usually a mistake, an overreach, a panic, a misread of the situation. You can’t force that on schedule; you can only be positioned to recognize it and convert it. The subtext is anti-heroic. Sun Tzu demotes the romantic fantasy of conquering through sheer will and elevates patience, restraint, and timing. It’s a philosophy of waiting without idling.
Context matters: in the Warring States world of shifting alliances and expensive campaigns, a general who chased glory could bankrupt a state. This sentence is a quiet rebuke to reckless commanders. Build an unbreakable posture, then let the opponent’s appetite, ego, or fatigue manufacture the moment you take.
Quote Details
| Topic | Vision & Strategy |
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