# Who, if anyone, said "The first rule of war ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 16, 2006, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777 "2006-02-16T11:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/1 "2006-02-16T11:11:28Z")
… is to do that which your enemy least wants you to do."? I’ve Googled to no avail, so I suspect I might be either misquoting or perhaps even remembering something someone said to me IRL. But I haven’t read Sun Tzu or the like - is there something similar there? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/2 "2006-02-16T11:22:36Z")
I always attribute popular war quotes first to Sun Tsu, second to Patton. Of course I can’t cite anything that states where this is from, so I’ll just run along now… ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/3 "2006-02-16T11:33:54Z")
_The first rule of war is know thine enemy, and I know this: cold kills broccolli! It’s so simple! All I need to do is build a machine to control the global environment. Forecast for tomorrow: a few sprinkles of genius with a chance of doom._ Stewie Griffin. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/4 "2006-02-16T12:07:21Z")
I’ve found a few links via Google that quote the line worded like this: > [@](#): > > “Do not do what you would most like to do. Do what your adversary would least like you to do.” In those cases it’s attributed to Sun Tzu but I couldn’t find a link that was anywhere near authoratative. In 95% of the cases it’s another author quoting him within their work. I can’t say I feel 100% confident in it, it sounds like one of those quotes that got out there and without a source found itself linked to Sun Tzu without and reliable reason to do so. In any case, you’re not alone in knowing it, but perhaps someone else will come along with a more concrete cite. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/5 "2006-02-16T12:54:32Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I always attribute popular war quotes first to Sun Tsu, second to Patton. Just make sure you aren’t plagiarizing from [so-called Murphy’s laws of combat](http://www.megazone.org/Random/murphy.shtml) or [the 9 principles of war](http://planningskills.com/askdan/18.php) (neither which apply here except they tend to come up). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/6 "2006-02-16T12:58:43Z")
Isn’t the first rule of war: “Don’t talk about war”? Wait, no, that is something else. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/7 "2006-02-16T17:08:11Z")
Well, Sun Tzu does say: > [@](#): > > All warfare is based on deception. > > Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when > using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we > must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we > must make him believe we are near. > Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, > and crush him. > If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If > he is in superior strength, evade him. > If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to > irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. > If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. > Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are > not expected. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/8 "2006-02-16T23:36:54Z")
> [@Brain Wreck](#): > > Just make sure you aren’t plagiarizing from [so-called Murphy’s laws of combat](http://www.megazone.org/Random/murphy.shtml) or [the 9 principles of war](http://planningskills.com/askdan/18.php) (neither which apply here except they tend to come up). Or for that matter, the [213 Things Skippy Is No Longer Allowed to Do in the U.S. Army](http://www.skippyslist.com/skippylist.html). ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-anyone-said-the-first-rule-of-war/344777/9 "2006-02-17T01:21:06Z")
Isn’t it “Don’t get involved in a land war in Asia”?