The 48 Laws Of Power

selvesisolatedontheboard‘

They

arelike

applesfalling

into

your

lap,

easily

seduced,

andableto

catapultyou

into

poweryourself.

Finally,

thereason

you

strikeatthe

shepherd

isbecausesuchanac-

tionwilldjsheartenthe

sheepbeyondany

rationalmeasure.WhenHet-

nandoCortesandFranciscoPizarroledtheir
tiny

forces

against

theAztec

andIncan

empires,they

didnotmake

themistakeof

fighting

onseveral

fronts,
norwere

they

intimidated

by

thenumbers

arrayedagainst

them;

theycaptured

the

kings,

Moctezumaand

Atahualpa.

Vast

empires

fell

intotheirhands.Withtheleader
gone

thecenterof

gravity

is

gone;

there

is

nothing

torevolvearoundand

everything

falls

apart.

Aimatthe

lead-

ers,

bring

them

down,

and

lookfortheendless

opportunities

intheconfu-

sionthatwillensue.

Image:

A Flock ofFatted

Sheep.

Do not waste

precious

time

trying

tosteala

sheep

or

two;

do

notrisk lifeand limb

bysetting upon

the

dogs

that

guard

theflock.Aimatthe

shepherd.

Lure him

away

and the

dogs

will

follow.Strikehimdownandtheflockwill

scatter—you

can

pick

themoffone

by

one.

Authority:

If

you

draw a

bow,

draw the

strongest.

If

you

usean

arrow,

usethe

long~

est.Toshoota

rider,

firstshoothishorse.

To Catch a

gang

of

bandits,

first

capture

its leader.

just

as a

country

has

its

border,

sothe

killing

ofmenhasitslimits.If

the

cnemy‘s

attackcanbe

stopped

[with

a

blow tothe

head],

why

have

any

moredead

and wounded than

necessary?

(Chinese

poet

Tu

Fu,

Tangdynasty,eighthcentury)

LAW 42 365