The 48 Laws Of Power

(Utkarsh JhaWsTmab) #1

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

again.
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