The 48 Laws Of Power

I 76 LAW 23

early

seventeenth

century,

itwasnot

King

LouisXIIIwhodecided

things,

itwasthe

king’s

mother.Andsoheattachedhimselfto

her,

and

catapulted

through

theranks

of

the

courtiers,

allthe

way

tothe

top.

Itis

enough

tostrikeoil

once—your

wealthand

power

areassuredfor

alifetime.

Image:

TheArrow.Youcannothittwo

targets

withonearrow.If

yourthoughtsstray,you

miss

the

enemy’s

heart. Mindand

arrowmustbecomeone.

Only

with suchconcentrationof

mental and

physical

power

can

your

arrow

hitthe

target

and

pierce

the

heart.

Authority:

Prize

intensity

morethan

extensity.

Perfectionre»

sidesin

quality,

not

quantity.

Extent

aloneneverrisesabove

mediocrity,

anditisthemisfortuneofmenwithwide

general

intereststhatwhile

they

wouldliketohavetheir

finger

in

every

pie,they

haveoneinnone.

Intensitygives

eminence,

andrises

totheheroicinmatterssublime.

(Baltasar

Gracian,

1601-1658)

REVERSAI.

Thereare

dangers

in

concentration,

andmomentswhen

dispersion

isthe

proper

tacticalmove.

Fighting

theNationalistsforcontrolof

China,

Mao

Tse~tung

andtheCommunists

fought

a

protracted

waronseveral

fronts,

usingsabotage

andambushastheirmain

weapons.Dispersal

isoftensuit-

ablefortheweaker

side;

it

is,

in

fact,

a

crucial

principle

of

guerrilla

warfare.

When

fighting

a

strongerarmy,concentratingyour

forces

only

makes

you

an easier

ta.rget—better

to dissolve intothe

scenery

andfrustrate

your

enemy

withtheelusivenessof

yourpresence.

Tyingyourself

to

a

single

sourceof

power

hasone

preeminentdanger:

Ifthat

person

dies,leaves,

orfallsfrom

grace,you

suffer.Thisiswhat

hap-

pened

toCesare

Borgia,

whoderivedhis

power

fromhis

father,Pope

AlexanderVI.Itwasthe

pope

who

gave

Cesarearmiesto

fight

withand

warsto

wage

inhisname.Whenhe

suddenly

died

(perhaps

from

poison),