Variant: Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter IV · Disposition of the Army
“While men compete in war, there will be warriors. While there are warriors, there will be princes among warriors. Among the princes will be kings, and among the kings an emperor.”
Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 28
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David Gemmell 195
British author of heroic fantasy 1948–2006Related quotes
“It is not the trappings that make the prince, nor, indeed, the sword that makes the warrior.”
Source: The Chronicles of Prydain (1964–1968), Book I: The Book of Three (1964), Chapter 2
“There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors.”
“The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity.”
Source: The Revolt of the Angels (1914), Ch. XXXV
Context: With impassive gaze, Michael, prince of warriors, measured the extent of the disaster, and his keen intelligence penetrated its causes. The armies of the living God had taken the offensive, but by one of those fatalities in war which disconcert the plans of the greatest captains, the enemy had also taken the offensive, and the effect was evident.
New York Times magazine op-ed piece, May 2, 2004