The 48 Laws Of Power

violence,

lowering

themtothe

guards’

level.

Overobeying

the

guards,

how»

ever,
madethem
ridiculous,

yetthey

couldnot

rightlypunish

the

prison»

ers,

whohad

only

donewhat

they

asked.

Poweris

always

influx—sincethe

game

is

by

nature

fluid,

andanarena

ofconstant

struggle,

thosewith

power

almost

always

findthemselveseven-

tually

onthedownward

swing.

If

you

find

yourselftemporarily

weakened,

thesurrendertacticis

perfect

for

raisingyourselfupagain»-itdisguisesyour

ambition;

itteaches

youpatience

and

self—control,key

skillsinthe

game;

andit

putsyou

inthebest

possibleposition

for

takingadvantage

of

yourup-

pressofs

suddenslide.If

you

run

away

or

fight

back,

inthe

long

run

you

cannot

win.If

you

surrender,

you

will

almost

alwaysemerge

victorious.

Image:

AnOak

Tree.The oak

that

resists the

wind loses its

branches one

by

one,

and

with

nothing

left to

protect

it,

thetrunkfi-

nally

snaps.

The oak that

bendslives

long-

er,

itstrunk

grow-

ing

wider,

its roots

deeper

andmoretenacious.

Authority:

Yehaveheardthatithathbeen

said,

An

eye

foran

eye

andatoothforatooth:ButI

say

unto

you,

That

ye

resistnotevil:but

whosoevershallsmitetheeon

thyright

cheek,

turntohimtheother

also.Andif

any

manwillsuetheeatthe

law,

andtake

awaythy

coat,

let

themhave

thy

cloak

also.

Andwhosoever

shall

compel

theeto

go

a

mile,

go

withhimtwain.

(JesusChrist,

in Matthew

5:38-41)

LAW

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