Zhuge Liang Quotes

Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win.

Opportunistic relationships can hardly be kept constant. The acquaintance of honorable people, even at a distance, does not add flowers in times of warmth and does not change its leaves in times of cold: it continues unfading through the four seasons, becomes increasingly stable as it passes through ease and danger.

Diperlukan waktu hanya sepuluh tahun untuk menanam dan memelihara sebatang pohon, tapi memerlukan waktu paling sedikit 100 tahun untuk membentuk sebuah karakter jiwa.

Conservative!” cried Little Guo, who disagreed with the wisdom that truth is rarely found in the loudest voice. “Will we be conservative until we die of a thousand cuts? For sure they have the larger army, but didn’t Zhuge Liang defeat a hundred thousand with a force of only three thousand?

Here is the tragedy of the thug. From all we know of his treatment of his own people, military and civilian, he is the perfect picture of the tyrant. His policy is not steady, but based on urgently felt desires of the moment. He has attacked on all sides. He has opportunistically killed communists. He has attacked Western interests. He has persecuted Kurds and Shiites, he has invaded Iran and Kuwait. It is all according to his momentary hopes and fears. There is no solid thing, no guiding principle other than tyrannical selfishness underlying his state. It is all false and rotten. And now he is surrounded and isolated. He is being used by Russia and China and yet, he is not really supported by them. As for his military prowess, he cannot hope to win any future war. In Zhuge Liang and Liu Ji's commentaries on Sun Tzu, eight kinds of decadence are listed for generals. "First is to be insatiably greedy." Look at Saddam's personal wealth, his many palaces, to see how closely he fits this description. "Second is to be jealous and envious of the wise and able." In Saddam's many purges the wise and able fell, leaving incompetent lackeys to run the army. "Third is to believe slanderers and make friends with the treacherous." His friendship treaty with Moscow and his belief in a Western conspiracy against the Arab world has landed him in a fatal fix. "Fourth is to assess others without assessing oneself." For Saddam, this is a psychological imperative. "Fifth is to be hesitant and indecisive." And what of his decisive recklessness? "Sixth is to be heavily addicted to wine and sex." Consider the behavior of Saddam's eldest son, Uday, who is known for rape as well as drunkenness. "Seventh is to be a malicious liar with a cowardly heart." Here we do not say that Saddam has a cowardly heart, but he lies all the same. "Eighth is to talk wildly, without courtesy." This was Saddam's trademark from the first.

The wise man before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win.

The wise man win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win.

Personnel: "Let me control personnel, and I will ultimately control policy. For the part of the machine that recruits and hires and fires and promotes people can soon control the entire shape of the institution, and of our foreign policy." — George F. Kennan, 1970 Personnel: "The skillful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man. For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death." — Du Mu [cf. Du Mu's commentary to Sunzi's The Art of War (《孙子集注》) Book 3: 黄石公曰：「善任人者，使智、使勇、使贪、使愚，智者乐立其功，勇者好行其志，贪者邀趋其利，愚者不顾其死。」, an annotation to Sunzi's original paragraph 「不知三军之权，而同三军之任，则军士疑矣。」] Personnel: "Hard though it is to know people, there are ways. First is to question them concerning right and wrong, to observe their ideas. Second is to exhaust all their arguments, to see how they change. Third is to consult with them about strategy, to see how perceptive they are. Fourth is to announce that there is trouble, to see how brave they are. Fifth is to get them drunk, to observe their nature. Sixth is to present them with the prospect of gain, to see how modest they are. Seventh is to give them a task to do within a specific time, to see how trustworthy they are." — Zhuge Liang [cf. 诸葛亮《将苑》：夫知人之性，莫难察焉。美恶既殊，情貌不一。有温良而为诈者，有外恭而内欺者，有外勇而内怯者，有尽力而不忠者。 然知人之道有七焉： 一曰，间之以是非，而观其志； 二曰，穷之以辞辩，而观其变； 三曰，咨之以计谋，而观其识； 四曰，告之以祸难，而观其勇； 五曰，醉之以酒，而观其性； 六曰，临之以利，而观其廉； 七曰，其之以事，而观其信。]