Sun Tzu incorporated in the "Art of War". According to Steven C. Combs in "Sun-zi and the "Art of War": The Rhetoric of Parsimony", warfare is "used as a metaphor for rhetoric, and that both are philosophically based arts." Combs writes "Warfare is analogous to persuasion, as a battle for hearts and minds." The application of "The Art of War" strategies throughout history is attributed to its philosophical rhetoric. Daoism is the central principle in the "Art of War". Combs compares ancient Daoist Chinese to traditional Aristotelian rhetoric, notably for the differences in persuasion. Daoist rhetoric in the art of war warfare
The Book of Taliesyn band's singer Rod Evans are very functional to the music and the marketing Deep Purple's record label was building up for the American hippie audience. Evans took inspiration for the fantasy-themed "Listen, Learn, Read On", which contains lyrical reference to the album's title, from the 14th-century Welsh manuscript Book of Taliesin, a collection of poems attributed to the 6th-century poet Taliesin. The title and cover art of the album were also inspired by the manuscript. Instead psychedelia and its rituals play a large part in the lyrics of "Shield". Simper thinks that Evans' lyrics are "far better than anything (...)