The 48 Laws Of Power

teredwindowshe

exploded

with

rage,ready

to

impale

onhisswordthe

foolwhohadminedthe
lantern,

upsetting

itsnatural

grace

and

destroying

thewhole
purpose

ofLordSakafsvisit.

WhenYorinobucalmed

down,however,

herememberedthathehad

originally

bought

twoofthe

lanterns,

andthatthesecondwasinhis

garden

ontheislandofKishu.At
greatexpense,

hehiredawhaleboatandthe

finestrowershecould
find,

ordering

them

to

bring

thelanterntohim

withintwo

days—a

difficultfeatatbest,

Butthesailors

rowed

day

and

night,

andwiththeluckofa

good

wind

they

arrived

just

intime.To‘[011-

nobu’s

delight,

thisstonelanternwasmore

magnificent

thanthe

first,

forit

hadstooduntouchedfor
twentyyears

inabamboo

thicket,

acquiring

2-1

brilliant

antiqueappearance

andadelicate

covering

ofmoss.

WhenLord

Sakai
arrived,

laterthat

same

day,

hewasawed

by

the

lantern,

whichwas

more

magnificent

thanhehad

imag1'ned———so

graceful

andatonewiththe

elements.

Fortunately

hehadnoideawhattimeandeffortithadcostYori-

nobutocreatethissublimeeffect.

interpretation

ToSenno

Rikyu,

the

sudden

appearance

of

somethingnaturally,

almost

accidentallygraceful

wasthe

height

of

beauty.

This

beauty

camewithout

warning

andseemedeffortless.Nature

created

such

thingsby

itsownlaws

and
processes,

butmenhadtocreatetheireffects

through

laborandcon-

trivance.
Andwhen

they

showedtheeffortof

producing

the

effect,

thee£

feetwas

spoiled.

The

gate

camefromtoofar

away,

the

cutting

ofthelemon

lookedcontrived.

Youwilloftenhavetousetricksand

ingenuity

tocreate

your

effects-—

thecushionsinthe
snow,

themen

rowing

all

night——butyour

audience

mustnever
suspect

the

workorthe

thinking

thathas

gone

into

them.Na-

turedoesnotreveal
its
tricks,
andwhatimitatesnature

byappearing

effort-

less

approximates

nature’s

power.

OBSERVANCEOFTHELAWH

The
greatescape

artist

Harry

Houdinionceadvertisedhisactas“Thelm~

possible

Possible."Andindeedthosewhowitnessedhisdramatic

escapes

feltthatwhathedid

onstage

contradictedcommonsenseideasofhuman

capacity.

One

evening

in

1904,

anaudience

of

4,000

Londonersfilledatheater

towatchHoudini
accept

a

challenge:

to

escape

froma.

pair

ofmanacles

billedasthe
strongest

everinvented.

They

containedsixsetsoflocksand

ninetumblersineach
cuff;
a

Birmingham

makerhad

spent

five

years

con-

structing

them.

Experts

whoexaminedthemsaid

they

hadneverseen

any-

thing

so

intricate,

andthis

intricacy

was

thought

tomakethem

impossible

to
escape.

Thecrowdwatched the

experts

securethemanaclesonHoudini’s

wrists.Thenthe
escape

artistenteredablackcabineton

stage.

Theminutes

swallowsoverwillow

trees.WhenMrimmum-,

sawthe

fimshed

work

hewasas

m-*erjr>y(’(I

at

theartist‘:skillarIre

had

previously

been

annoyed

atthe

(eppun

emmesshe

was

makingof

the.s'crm:n.r.

CHA—Nc-Yu:

l‘il1‘JAPANLSl"l"l’A

CEREMUN

'

A.L.S.-\I)l.l£H. 1962

'|Ill‘.\\Ill>4l‘l,l.‘£(.

'~1~\!é'i'l:R

Tlzerewasonce

at

wrestling

rmzslerwho

wasvmwdin 360

feirlts

andholds.Hr‘.lookA

.s'peL‘iaIliking

toone

of

his

pupils,

Inwhomhr:

mug/ll

359

of

themover

(2

periml1,»/"time.

Some-

howhenever

gm

armmdtotheIns!triclc.

As

mrmtfn’

went

by

Ilut

young

man

Iiecalw

so

profirmrtt

intheallthat

hebeyletl

everyone

who

zlumdIn

fare

himinI121!

ring.

Hewasso

proud

vfhirprowess

thatone

sin):

hr

buaszerl

before

tiresuliszlzthatheczmlri

readilywhip

his

rnaszer,

wereitnotour

of

rn.s']7t'(‘tfor

his

age

am!

gratitllzlefur

his

tutelage.

Thesultan

became

iI1€{’P1.S'(‘(.ftIlthisirrcven

sureandorderedan

immediate:mezlchwith

the

royal

czmrtin

urtendmzce.

/1!the

gang

Illa

youth

lmrged

forward

with:1

lustyyell.only

tobe

confront;-,d

withthe

unfamiliar

3510111

)‘t*1'nI.