The 48 Laws Of Power

artsatanincredible
pace.

Their

society

was

in

constantflux.Andastheir

power
grew,

they

cameto

pose

athreattothedefense-minded

Spartans.

In4-31

B.C.,

thewarthathadbeen

brewing

betweenAthensand

Sparta

forso

longfinallyerupted.

Itlasted

twenty—sevenyears,

butafter

many

twistsof
fortune,
the

Spartan

warmachine

finallyemerged

victorious.The

Spartans

nowcommandedan

empire.

andthis

time

they

couldnot

stay

in

theirshell.If

theygaveup

what

they

had

gained,

thebeatenAthenians

would
regroup

andrise

against

them,

and the

long

warwouldhavebeen

fought

for

naught.

Afterthe

war,

Athenian

moneypoured

into

Sparta.

The

Spartans

had

beentrainedin
warfare,
not

politics

or

economics;

because

they

wereso

unaccustomedto
it,

wealthandits

accompanyingways

oflifeseducedand

overwhelmedthem.

Spartangovernors

weresenttorulewhathadbeen

Athenian
lands;

farfrom

home,

they

succumbedtotheworstformsofcor-

ruption.Sparta

haddefeated

Athens,

butthefluid

Athenian

way

of

life

was

slowly

breaking

downits

discipline

and

loosening

its

rigid

order.And

Athens,meanwhile,

was

adapting

to

losing

its

empire,managing

tothrive

asaculturalandeconomiccenter.

Confused

by

a

change

initsstatus

quo,Spartagrew

weaker and

weaker.Some

thirtyyears

after

defeating

Athens,

it

lostan

important

battle

withthe

city-state

ofThebes.Almost

overnight,

thisonce

mighty

nation

collapsed,

nevertorecover.

Interpretation

Intheevolutionof

species,

protective

armor

has

almost

alwaysspelled

dis-

aster.

Although

thereareafew

exceptions,

theshellmostoftenbecomesa

deadendfortheanimalencasedin

it;

itslowsthecreature

down,

making

it

hardfor

itto

forage

forfoodand

making

ita

target

for

fast~movingpreda-

tors.Animalsthattaketo

thesea

or

sky,

and

thatmove

swiftly

and

unpre

djctably,

are

infinitely

more

powerful

andsecure.

In

facing

aserious

problem~——controllingsuperiornumbers—Sparta

reactedlikeananimalthat

develops

ashellto

protect

itselffromtheenvi-

ronment.

But

like

a

turtle,

the

Spartans

sacrificed

mobility

for

safety.They

managed

to

preservestability

forthreehundred

years,

butatwhatcost?

They

hadnoculture

beyond

warfare,

noartstorelievethe

tension,

acon

stant

anxiety

aboutthestatus

quo.

Whiletheir

neighbors

tooktothe

sea,

learning

to

adapt

toaworldofconstant

motion,

the

Spartans

entombed

themselves

in

theirown

system.Victory

would

mean

newlandsto

govern,

which

they

didnot

want;

defeatwouldmean

the

endoftheir

military

ma

chine,

which

they

didnot

want,

either.

Only

stasisallowedthemtosurvive.

But

nothing

intheworldcanremainstable

forever,

andtheshellor

system

you

evolvefor

yourprotection

will

somedayproveyour

undoing.

Inthe

case

of

Sparta,

itwasnotthearmiesofAthensthatdefeated

it,

but

theAthenian

money.Money

flows

everywhere

ithasthe

opportunity

to

go;

itcannotbe

controlled,

ormadetofit

a

prescribedpattern.

Itisin-

herently

chaotic.Andinthe

longrun,

money

madeAthensthe

conqueror,

bt1rb(u'ou.s'ly

cu!

ov/“f‘hi,V

fangpmrlmz

ears‘.

Jowier

(’X])8CIL‘(I

null!‘

mg

letsthanto

givvup

the

ghost.

Asheadvmicmlin

years,

he

pcrceivezl

that

he

gairwzl

morethanhe

hadlost

by

hismama»

rinrgfnr,Ewing

natu-

rally

inclined

E(>fl'g,‘IJI

withoilmrs,hewould

often

havercmrnvd

/Itlmi’,withthis

part

dz'.s'figurcd

in(J/mmlrrd

plm'1'.\'.

A

qum‘r'clmrn:=

dogalways

hashasear.-c

lacermed.

The(ex:weleave

othersto

lay

hold

of

thebetter.Whenone

has

hm

one

point

tr)

dwfmzd,

itxlzoulclbe

prom-,m1forfearnf

accident.Ta/<<'

for

example’

_Mas!£'!Jowlcr,

who.

being

arrrwdwith

(1

.\‘])i/{edcollar,

and

having

aboutasmuch

cur

usa

bird.

(1

Wolf

wouldhe

puzzlwi

1:;

knowwhereto

tacklehim.

FABLES

JF,Al\'DELAF0\I'l‘AINI;.

I621 I695

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