If a victory be gained by a certain stratagem, do not repeat it. Vary the stratagem according to circumstances.
An army may be likened to water.
Water leaves dry the high places, and seeks the hollows. An army turns from strength and attacks emptiness.
The flow of water is regulated by the shape of the ground; victory is gained by acting in accordance with the state of the enemy.
The shape of water is indeterminate; likewise the spirit of war is not fixed.
The leader who changes his tactics in accordance with his adversary, and thereby controls the issue, may be called the God of war.
Among the five elements[1] there is no settled precedence; the four seasons come and go; the days are long and short; and the moon waxes and wanes. So in war there is no fixity.
- ↑ Wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
