“When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.”

—  Sun Tzu

Source: The Art of War, Chapter V · Forces

Original

积水之激,至于漂石者,势也。鸷鸟之疾,至于毁折者,节也。

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update July 24, 2025. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its …" by Sun Tzu?
Sun Tzu photo
Sun Tzu 68
ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosophe… -543–-495 BC

Related quotes

Ann Coulter photo
Jerry Stiller photo

“In the ancient days when gods played their own games, and had their own celebrations, tossing lightning bolts between mountaintops, hurling great boulders — Festivus came out of that.”

Jerry Stiller (1927) American comedian

Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us (2005)
Context: In the ancient days when gods played their own games, and had their own celebrations, tossing lightning bolts between mountaintops, hurling great boulders — Festivus came out of that. It's a holiday that celebrates being alive at a time when it was hard to be alive.
There was no Christ yet, no Yahweh, no Buddha. There were great ruins and raw nature. But there was a kindling spark of hope among men. They celebrated that great thunderous storms hadn't enveloped them in the past year, that landslides hadn't destroyed them. They made wishes that their crops would grow in the fields, that they'd have food the next year and the wild animals wouldn't attack and eat them.
There's something pure about Festivus, something primal, raw in the hearts of humans.

“The time seems simpler than today, but mostly because the past always seems simpler when its wars are done.”

Roger Kahn (1927–2020) American baseball writer

Source: The Boys Of Summer, Chapter 2, Ceremonies of Innocence, p. 104

Jack Johnson (musician) photo

“You're breaking your mind
By killing the time that kills you
But you can't blame the time
When its only in your mind”

Jack Johnson (musician) (1975) American musician

Sexy Plexi.
Song lyrics, Brushfire Fairytales (2001)

Daniel Handler photo
Friedrich Nietzsche photo

“Success soon palls. The joyous time is, when the breeze first strikes your sails, and the waters rustle under your bows.”

Charles Buxton (1823–1871) English brewer, philanthropist, writer and politician

Source: Notes of Thought (1883), p. 91

Bryant Gumbel photo

“This comes at a time when Republicans are looking to gut the Clean Water Act and also the Safe Drinking Water Act. What are our options? Are we now forced to boil water because bottled water is not an economically feasible option for a lot of people?”

Bryant Gumbel (1948) American sportscaster

To Natural Resources Defense Council lawyer Erik Olson, June 1, 1995 Today. Real Video http://www.mediaresearch.org/rm/projects/99/gumbel7/segment1.ram

Related topics