114 LAW 13
REVERSAL
Thislawshould
veryrarely
be
ignored,
butitdoessometimes
happen
that
itisbettertolet
your
enemies
destroy
themselves,
ifsucha
thing
is
possi-
ble,
thantomakethemsuffer
by
your
hand.In
warfare,
for
example,
a
goodgeneral
knowsthatifheattacksan
army
whenitis
cornered,
itssol-
dierswill
fight
much
more
fiercely.
Itissometimes
better,then,
toleave
theman
escape
route,
a
way
outAs
they
retreat,
they
wearthemselves
out,
andare
ultimately
moredemoralized
by
the
retreatthan
byany
defeat
he
might
inflictonthebattlefield.When
you
havesomeoneonthe
ropes,
then——-but
only
when
you
aresure
they
havenochanceof
recovery--you
might
letthem
hang
themselves.Letthembethe
agents
oftheirownde-
struction.Theresultwillbethe
same,
and
you
won‘t
feelhalfasbad.
Finally,
sometimes
bycrushing
an
enemy,you
embitterthemsomuch
that
theyspend
years
and
yearsplottingrevenge.
The
Treaty
ofVersailles
hadsuchaneffectontheGermans.Somewould
argue
thatinthe
long
run
itwouldbebettertoshowsome
leniency.
The
problem
is,
yourleniency
involvesanothern'sk—it
may
emboldenthe
enemy,
whichstillharborsa
"
grudge,
butnowhassomeroomto
operate.
Itisalmost
always
wiserto
crush
your
enemy.
If
they
plotrevengeyears
later,
donotlet
yourguard
down,
but
simply
crushthem