The 48 Laws Of Power

dren,

allkindsof

complicatedfeelings

about

our

parents

center

around

gifts;

weseethe

giving

ofa asa

Sign

ofloveand

approval.

Andthat

emotionalelementnever
goesaway.

The

recipients

of

gifts,

financialor

otherwise,

are

suddenly

asvulnerableas

children,

especially

whenthe

comesfrom
someonein

authority.They

cannot

helpopeningup;

their

will

is

loosened,

asLouisloosenedthesoil.

Tosucceed

best,

the

gift

shouldcomeoutoftheblue.

It

shouldbere

markableforthefactthata likeithasneverbeen

given

before,

orfor

beingprecededby

acoldshoulderfromthe

giver.

Themoreoften

yougive

to

particularpeople,

the

blunter

this

weapon

becomes.If

they

don’ttake

yourgifts

for

granted,becoming

monstersof

ingratitude,they

willresent

what

appears

tobe

charity.

The

sudden,

unexpected,

onetime

gift

willnot

spoilyour

children;

itwill

keep

themunder

your

thumb.

ObservanceV

The

antique

dealer

Fushimiya,

wholivedinthe

city

of

Edo

(former

name

for

Tokyo)

intheseventeenth

century,

oncemadea

stop

ata

village

tea~

house.After
enjoying

a

cup

of

tea,

he

spent

severalminutes

scrutinizing

the

cup,

whichhe

eventuallypaid

forandtook

away

withhim.Alocal

artisan,

watching

this,

waiteduntil

Fushimiya

leftthe

shop,

then

approached

theold

womanwhoownedtheteahouseandaskedherwho

this

man

was.

Shetold

himitwas

japan’s

mostfamous

connoisseur,antique

dealertothelordof

Izurno.Theartisanranoutofthe

shop,

caughtup

with

Fushimiya,

and

begged

himtosellhimthe

cup,

whichmust

clearly

bevaluableif

Fushimiya

judged

itso.

Fushimiyalaughedheartily:

“It’s

just

an

ordinarycup

ofBizen

ware,”

he

explained,

“andit

is

notvaluableatall.ThereasonIwas

looking

atitwasthatthesteamseemedto

hang

aboutit

strangely

andIwonderedif

therewasn’taleaksomewhere.”

(Devotees

oftheTea

Ceremony

werein-

terestedin

any

oddoraccidental

beauty

in

nature.)

Sincetheartisanstill

seemed

soexcitedabout

it,

Fushimiyagave

himthe

cup

forfree.

Theartisantookthe

cup

around,

trying

tofind

an

expert

whowould

appraise

itata

highprice,

butsinceallofthem

recognized

itas

an

ordinary

teacup

he

got

nowhere.Soonhewas

neglecting

hisown

business,

thinking

only

of

the

cup

and

the

fortune

it

could

bring.Finally

hewenttoEdoto

talkto

Fushimiya

athis

shop.

Therethe

dealer,

realizing

thathehadinad~

vertently

causedthisman

pain

bymaking

himbelievethe

cup

had

great

worth,

paid

him 100

ryo(goldpieces)

forthe

cup

asakindness.The

cup

wasindeed

mediocre,

buthewantedtoridtheartisanofhis

obsession,

whilealso

allowing

himtofeelthathisefforthadnotbeenwasted.Thear-

tisan

thankedhimandwentonhis

way.

Soonword

spread

of

Fushimiya’spurchase

ofthe

teacup.Every

dealer

injapan

clamoredforhimtosell

it,

sincea

cup

hehad

bought

for 100

ryo

mustbeworthmuchmore.Hetriedto

explain

thecircumstancesinwhich

hehad

bought

the

cup,

butthedealerscould

not

bedissuaded.

Fushimiya

finally

relented

and

put

the

cupup

forsale.

During

the

auction,

two

buyerssimultaneously

bid 200

ryo

forthe

teacup,

andthen

began

to

fight

overwhohadbid first.Their

fighting

never

regret

that

you

omit,’

did 11

favor

to

I)ariu.s'theson

of

Hy,s\Irt.\'pes.

'’

"My[or/I,

"'

repliedSylosmz,

“do

not

give

my

gold

or

Silver.hutrecover

Sizmrzs

for

me.

my

nativei.s‘((Iml,

whit‘/1

now.s'inct'Oraetes

killed

my

brother

Poly

crates/ivinthehamiv

ofunc

0/our

serwmlsx

LetStmzosbe

yourgff!

to

me

-1211!In!noman

intheislandhekitlni

orenslaven‘.

"

Dariuswnsenledto

Syloxorz

is

request,

and

dispatched

a

form-

url/lurthecommand

of()tune.>‘,

one

0/r/te

seven,

withorderstodo

ex/eryrhtng

that

Sy/molt

hadaxkzui.

Tm:

HISIORIES.

l'lr.ll(!!)n’l‘(.'S.

rrwm

PFNTURY

ac.

Money

isnewr

spent

an

.\'oImtch

mlwmlage

us

when

you

havebeen

cheatedout

ofit;for

at

onestroke

you

have

pllrclm

rerl

prurlerlve.

Al{‘l'HL'lt

$(‘Il0PENllAl'F.R.

1788-1860

LAW 40 343