Inspirational Quotes by Thomas Merton
“The enemy must not know where I intend to give battle. For if he does not know where I intend to give battle he must prepare in a great many places,. And when he prepares in a great many places, those I have to fight in any one place will be few. For if he prepares to the front his rear will be weak, and if to the rear, his front will be fragile. If he prepares to the left, his right will be vulnerable and if to the right, there will be few on his left. And when he prepares everywhere he will be weak everywhere. One who has few must prepare against the enemy; one who has many makes the enemy prepare against him. If one knows where and when a battle will be fought his troops can march a thousand li and meet on the field. But if one knows neither the battleground nor the day of battle, the left will be unable to aid the right, or the right, the left; the van to support the rear, or the rear, the van. How much more is this so when separate by several tens of li, or, indeed, by even a few!”
“No te sitúes río abajo. No camines en contra de las corriente, ni en contra del viento.”
“Todos os soldados cativos devem ser tratados com magnanimidade e ainceridade, para que possam vir a servir-nos.”
“Un ejército prefiere un terreno elevado y evita un terreno bajo, aprecia la luz y detesta la oscuridad.”
“Los terrenos bajos son húmedos, lo cual provoca enfermedades y dificulta el combate.”
“threw light upon the principles of war. It is obvious enough that Ssu-ma Ch`ien at least had no doubt about the reality of Sun Wu as”
“many words. "Sun Tzu's 13 Chapters and Wu Ch`i's Art of War are the two books that people commonly refer to on the subject of military matters. Both of them are widely distributed, so I will not discuss”
“L'invincibilité se trouve dans la défense, la possibilité de victoire dans l'attaque.”
topics: war
“اقتلاعك لشجرة ضعيفة لا يعني قوتك، وسماعك لقصف الرعد لا يعني أنك حاد السمع، ورؤيتك الشمس لا تعني أنك حاد النظر.”
“Ser violento al principio y terminar después temiendo a los propios soldados es el colmo de la ineptitud.”
“A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.”
“If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant”
“En asuntos militares, no es necesariamente más beneficioso ser superior en fuerzas, sólo evitar actuar con violencia innecesaria; es suficiente con consolidar tu poder, hacer estimaciones sobre el enemigo y conseguir reunir tropas; eso es todo.”
“1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. 2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected. 3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. 4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.”
“Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. (3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. (4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. (5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.”
“Cuando las órdenes son razonables, justas, sencillas, claras y consecuentes, existe una satisfacción recíproca entre el líder y el grupo.”
“War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.”
topics: war
“los que no son totalmente conscientes de las desventajas de servirse de las armas no pueden ser totalmente conscientes de las ventajas de utilizarlas.”
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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.