
As quoted in Soul of the Samurai (2005) by Thomas Cleary, p. 28
Variant translation: If you have attained mastery of swordlessness, you will never be without a sword.
At the election count in 2017 at Sheffield Hallam, where he lost his seat in the House of Commons. https://news.sky.com/video/clegg-you-live-by-the-sword-you-die-by-the-sword-10909195 Sky News (9 June 2017)
2017
As quoted in Soul of the Samurai (2005) by Thomas Cleary, p. 28
Variant translation: If you have attained mastery of swordlessness, you will never be without a sword.
“I can't protect you without holding a sword. I can't embrace you while holding a sword.”
Source: Bleach, Volume 05
Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Water Book
Context: Knowing the Way of the long sword means we can wield with two fingers the sword that we usually carry. If we know the path of the sword well, we can wield it easily.
If you try to wield the long sword quickly you will mistake the Way. To wield the long sword well you must wield it calmly. If you try to wield it quickly, like a folding fan or a short sword, you will err by using "short sword chopping". You cannot cut a man with a long sword using this method.
Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Ground Book
50
Ki Sayings (2003)
Context: The purpose of ki-aikido is not self-defence; that is a mere by product. It is far more important to learn to control the mind and body. It is too late to try to calm the mind after you take up the sword. First you must calm the mind and then take up the sword. When you raise the sword up overhead, do not cut your ki. Continue to calm the mind by half, half, half and create a living calmness in that infinite reduction. When practicing cutting with the sword, you will find infinitely more value in cutting just five to ten times with ki fully extended, than you would in cutting a thousand time with mere physical strength.
“It's a sword, not a fairy wand, you know.”
Source: The Outcasts
A Hereditary Book on the Art of War (1632)
Context: A stroke of the sword that does not hit its target is the sword stroke of death; you reach over it to strike the winning blow. Your adversary's initiative having missed its mark, you turn the tables around and get the jump on your adversary.
As quoted in A Galaxy Not So Far Away : Writers and Artists on Twenty-five Years of Star Wars (2002) by Glenn Kenny, p. 99
The Garden of Forking Paths (1942), The Garden of Forking Paths