Funny, I Googled the quote to findbthe origin, and that's where I got Tsun Tzu..,
Possibly ol' "St." Nic had read Sun Tzu ......
Both Sun Tzu and Niccolo Machiavelli wrote books title "The Art of War." Except Machiavelli's was titled
"Arte della Guerra," since he wrote in Italian. I have no idea what the title reads in Chinese and anyway my keyboard doesn't have Chinese symbols. There often seems to be some confusion between the two despite the two having been separated by many many years and many many miles.
I've heard many quotes I know one said attributed to the other.
Sun Tzu was primarily concerned with warfare and actually engaged in it and was remarkably resourceful and intelligent in how he went about his profession.
Machiavelli was a very different sole. Aside from his political writings he wrote history ("
Florentine Histories" is still available) and wrote some rather gaudy humor ("
Mandragola" or "
The Mandrake Root"). His political works seem outwardly very cynical and, well, "evil" until one grasps his true peurpose and place the works in the real context of Italian history. While not so involved in war or the study thereof as Sun Tzu he did fight in two wars, one in which he was on the winning side and the other the losing side; he also lost a son in war.
For those interested in how to fight a war, Sun Tzu will be a better choice, for those interested in war as a study of european history up to early 16th century, Machiavelli's your man.
