The 48 Laws Of Power

TRANSGRESSIONOFTHELAW

In 559
B.C.,

a

young

mannamed

Cyrus

gathered

animmense

army

from

the
scattered
tribesofPersiaandmarched

against

his

grandfatherAstyages,

king

oftheMedes.

He

defeated

Astyages

with

ease,

hadhimself

crowned

king

ofMedea

and

Persia,

and

began

to

forge

thePersian

Empire.Victory

followed
victory

in

quick

succession.

Cyrus

defeated

Croesus,

rulerof

Lydia,

then

conquered

theIonianislandsandothersmaller

kingdoms;

he

marchedon

Babylon

andcrushedit.Nowhewasknownas

Cyrus

the

Great,

King

oftheWorld.

After

capturing

therichesof

Babylon,Cyrus

sethis

sights

onthe

east,

onthehalf-barbarictribesofthe

Massagetai,

a.vastrealmonthe

Caspian

Sea.Afiercewarriorraceled

byQueenTomyris,

the

Massagetai

lackedthe

richesof

Babylon,

but

Cyrus

decidedtoattackthem

anyway,believing

himself

superhuman

and

incapable

ofdefeat.The

Massagetai

wouldfall

easily

tohisvast

armies,

making

his

empire

immense.

In 529

B.C.,then,

Cyrus

marched

tothewideriver

Araxes,

gateway

to

the

kingdom

ofthe

Massagetai.

Asheset

upcamp

onthewestern

bank,

he

receiveda

message

from

QueenTomyris:“King

ofthe

Medes,”

shetold

him,

“Iadvise

you

toabandonthis

enterprise,

for

you

cannotknowifinthe

enditwilldo

youanygood.

Rule

your

own

people,

and

try

to

bearthe

sight

ofme

ruling

mine.Butofcourse

you

willrefuse

my

advice,

asthelast

thing

you

wishforistolivein

peace.”Tomyris,

confidentofher

army’s

strength

andnot

wishing

to

delay

theinevitable

battle,

offeredtowithdraw

the

troops

onhersideofthe

river,

allowingCyrus

tocross

its

waters

safely

and

fight

her

army

ontheeastern

side,

ifthatwashisdesire.

Cyrusagreed,

butinsteadof

engaging

the

enemydirectly

hedecided

to

play

atrick.The

Massagetai

knew fewluxuries.Once

Cyrus

hadcrossed

theriverandmadehis

camp

ontheeastern

side,

hesetthetableforan

elaborate

banquet,

full

of

meat,delicacies,

and

strong

wine.Thenheleft

hisweakest

troops

inthe

camp

andwithdrewtherestofthe

army

to

the

river.A

largeMassagetai

detachmentsoonattackedthe

camp

andkilledall

ofthePersiansoldiersinafiercebattle.

Then,

overwhelmed

by

thefabu—

lousfeastthathadbeenleft

behind,

they

ateanddranktotheirhearts’con-

tent

Later,

inevitably,they

fell

asleep.

ThePersian

army

returnedtothe

camp

that

night,killing

many

ofthe

sleeping

soldiersand

capturing

the

rest.

Among

the

prisoners

wastheir

general,

a

youth

named

Spargapises,

sonof

QieenTomyris.

When

the

queen

learnedwhathad

happened,

shesenta

message

to

Cyrus,chiding

him

for

using

tricks

to

defeat

her

army.

“Nowlistento

me,”

she

wrote,

“andIwilladvise

you

for

your

own

good:

Give

me

back

my

son

andleave

my

country

with

your

forces

intact,

andbecontentwith

your

tri-

umph

over

athird

part

ofthe

Massagetai.

If

you

refuse,

Iswear

by

thesun

ourmasterto

giveyou

morebloodthan

you

can

drink,

forall

your

glut-

tony.

”

Cyrus

scoffedather:

He

wouldnotrelease

herson.Hewouldcrush

thesebarbarians.

The

queen’s

son,

seeing

hewouldnotbe

released,

couldnotstandthe

Vllll‘.\\l\(IlUltllll 3

(AHKICRIZI,

'/W0rrockerelx

f()l([,’ll{

ona

rlunghwp.

One

cuckcrclwarthe

stronger:

he

vunquirlzcd

theother

anddrawhim

from

the

dungheap.

Allthehem

gathered

aroundthecockerel,

and

began

tolaudhim.

Thecuzrkrtrelwanletl

his

strength

and

glory

tobeknowninthemaxi

wml.

He

flew

(m

(upof

the

bum,flapper!

his

wings.

andcrowedina

landmine:“Lookat

me,all

ofyou.

Iam(1

Vi(‘I(N‘l()l1.\‘cockcrcl.

Nuutherwcktzrelin

theworldhassuch

ryrenglh.

usI.

"

Thecockcrelhadnot

finished,

whenan

angle

killed

him,

seizedhim

inhisclaws,and

carriedhimtohismart.

XABILs,

Lt-,0Tm

srov,

1828 —l 9 lt)

LAW 47 411