The 48 Laws Of Power

The
great

LordDateMasamune

happened

to

passby

andwasinducedto

parficipate.

Fora

prize,

heofferedthe

gourd

that

hung

fromhisbelt.

Every~

one

laughed,

fornoonewantedtowinthis

cheap

item.

A

retainerofthe

host

finallyaccepted

the

gourd.

Whenthe

party

broke

up,

however,

andthe

generals

were

chatting

outsidethe
tent,

Masamune

brought

overhis

magnificent

horseand

gave

it

totheretainer.
“There,”

he

said,

“ahorsehascomeoutofthe

gourd.”

The

stunned

generalssuddenlyregretted

theirscornatMasamune’s

gift.

Interpretation

Masamuneunderstoodthe

following:Moneygives

its

possessor

the

ability

to

givepleasure

toothers.Themore

you

cando

this,

themore

you

attract

admiration.When
you

makeahorse

come

outofa

gourd,yougive

theul-

timate
demonstrationof
yourpower.

Image:

The River. To

protect

yourself

ortosavethe

resource,

you

damit

up.

Soon,however,

the waters become dank

and

pestilent. Only

the foulcst

forms of life can live in such

stagnant

waters;

nothing

train

els on

them,

all commerce

stops.Destroy

thedam.

When

waterflowsand

circulates,

it

gen

erates

abundance, wealth,

and

power

inever

larger

circles.The

River must flood

periodically

for

good things

to flourish.

Authority:

The

great

manwhoisamiserisa

great

fool,

andamanin

highplaces

canhavenovicesoharmfulasavarice.A

miserly

mancan

conquer

neitherlandsnor

lordships,

forhedoesnothavea

plentiful

supply

offriendswithwhomhe

may

work

hiswill.

‘Whoeverwantsto

havefriendsmustnotlovehis

possessions

but

must

acquire

friends

by

meansoffair

gifts;

forinthesame

way

thatthelodestone

subtly

draws

ironto

itself,

sothe

gold

andsilverthataman

gives

attractthehearts

ofmen.

(7712

Romance

oft/Le

Rose,

Guillaumedo

Lorris,

c.

1200-1238)

Itook

money

only

from

tlmse

whocould

rtflortl

itandwerewill~

mg

/0

go

inwithmein

.\'cIumm,«'

theyfancied

would

fimcv

others.

Tlmy

wanled

money

for

itsownxuke. 1

warzletl

ilfor

theluxu-

ries

t.1Itrl[)lEa2.9llr'o‘..s

It

would

a/"ford

ma

They

wereseldom:crmcr,-rned

withhumannature.

'I'izey

knew}mle~mm‘

carer}lrm‘-—ai7oi1Itheir

fellow

men.

Ifthey

had

beenkeener.311ltleIlI.~.’

of

humannature.

if

they

had

given

moretime

10

wrnparziorzship

with

their

/'ell0w.s'

andlossto

thechase

oft/it’.

almigIzI_v

dollar,

I/my

would»:‘Ihavehcvn

mch

vary

mm'k.s'.

“YH.i,ow

Km"

Wm.

18754970

LAW 40 345