Inspirational Quotes by Thomas Merton
“• إذا كنا - في خضم مشاكلنا - مستعدين لانتهاز أي فرصة قد تتاح لنا، فيمكننا أن نُخرج أنفسنا من مأزقنا.”
“To a surrounded enemy you must leave a way of escape. Show him there is a road to safety, and so create in his mind the idea that there is an alternative to death. Then strike.”
“El que se enfrenta al oponente durante varios años para luchar por la victoria en una batalla decisiva, pero que por su codicia y su anhelo de honores, permanece ignorante de la situación del oponente; está totalmente desprovisto de humanidad. Un hombre así no tiene nada de comandante, no es un apoyo para su soberano y no es el dueño de la victoria.”
“وتروي المخطوطات الصينية أن "سون أتزو وو" والمعروف اختصارا باسم "سون أتزو" كان مواطنا وجنديا في مملكة "تشي”
“El mayor mérito no consiste en ver la victoria cuando ya está clara para todo el mundo; la mayor de las victorias no es, en absoluto, la que es aclamada por todos sin excepción. No se quiere mucha fuerza levantar una pluma; no hay que tener una visión perfecta para ver el sol, ni un oído agudo para escuchar un trueno. Estar preparado para cualquier circunstancia es lo que garantiza una victoria segura, porque significa que estáis combatiendo contra un enemigo que ya está derrotado.”
“• عمل القائد هو أن يبقى هادئاً فيضمن السرية، وأن يكون مستقيماً وعادلاً، فيضمن استقرار النظام العام.”
“• الحاكم المستنير يضع خططه مقدماً، والقائد الناجح يرعى مصادره وجنوده (عن طريق الثواب والعقاب والمكافآت).”
“Do not press an enemy at bay. Wild beasts, when at bay, fight desperately. How much more is this true of men! If they know there is no alternative they will fight to the death.”
“El arte de la guerra se basa en el engaño. Por lo tanto, cuando es capaz de atacar, ha de aparentar incapacidad; cuando las tropas se mueven, aparentar inactividad.”
“The 'five variations' are the following: A road, although it may be the shortest, is not to be followed if one knows it is dangerous and there is the contingency of ambush. An army, although it may be attacked, is not to be attacked if it is in desperate circumstances and there is the possibility that the enemy will fight to the death. A city, although isolated and susceptible to attack, is not to be attacked if there is the probability that it is well stocked with provisions, defended by crack troops under command of a wise general, that its ministers are loyal and their plans unfathomable. Ground, although it may be contested, is not to be fought for if one knows that after getting it, it will be difficult to defend, or that he gains no advantage by obtaining it, but will probably be counter-attacked and suffer casualties. The orders of a sovereign, although they should be followed, are not to be followed if the general knows they contain the danger of harmful superintendence of affairs from the capital. These five contingencies must be managed as they arise and as circumstances dictate at the time, for they cannot be settled beforehand.”
“When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixes duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization.”
“Generally in war the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this. To capture the enemy's army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a battalion, a company or a five-man squad is better than to destroy them. For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy. Next best is to disrupt his alliances; do not allow your enemies to get together. The next best is to attack his army. If you cannot nip his plans in the bud, or disrupt his alliances when they are about to be consummated, sharpen your weapons to gain the victory.”
“Those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle. They capture his cities without assaulting them and overthrow his state without protracted operations. Your aim must be to take All-under-Heaven intact. Thus your troops are not worn out and your gains will be complete. This is the art of offensive strategy.”
“- لا تكرر التكتيك الذي فزت به سابقاً، ابتكر غيره او عدله بطريقة غير متوقعة.”
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Thomas Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding.
Interest in his work contributed to a rise in spiritual exploration beginning in the 1960s and 1970s in the US. Merton's letters and diaries, reveal the intensity with which their author focused on social justice issues, including the civil rights movement and proliferation of nuclear arms. He had prohibited their publication for 25 years after his death. Publication raised new interest in Merton's life.