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"In peace, prepare for war. In war, prepare for peace."

January 1, 1970

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Added by wikiquote-import-bot

Added on April 10, 2026

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Philosophers from China Non-fiction authors from China Military leaders from China Cultural critics Taoists

Original Language: English

Sources

Sometimes erroneously prepended to the opening line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State", but appears to be a variation of the Roman motto "Si vis pacem, para bellum". It is not clear who first misattributed this phrase to Sun Tzu. The earliest appearance of the phrase in Google Books is 1920, when it appeared in a pharmaceutical journal, but no attribution was given then.

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sun_Tzu

Sometimes erroneously prepended to the opening line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State", but appears to be a variation of the Roman motto "Si vis pacem, para bellum". It is not clear who first misattributed this phrase to Sun Tzu. The earliest appearance of the phrase in Google Books is 1920, when it appeared in a pharmaceutical journal, but no attribution was given then.