A person desirous of prosperity should always exert with
prudence, adopting his measures to time and place. He should also act with
an eye to destiny as capable of being regulated by mantras and sacrificial
rites; and to virtue, wealth, and pleasure. It is well-known that time and
place (if taken into consideration) always produce the greatest good. If
the foe is insignificant, he should not yet be despised, for he may soon
grow like a palmyra tree extending its roots or like a spark of fire in
the deep woods that may soon burst into an extensive conflagration. As a
little fire gradually fed with faggots soon becometh capable of consuming
even the biggest blocks, so the person who increaseth his power by making
alliances and friendships soon becometh capable of subjugating even the
most formidable foe. The hope thou givest unto thy foe should be long
deferred before it is fulfilled; and when the time cometh for its
fulfilment, invent some pretext for deferring it still. Let that pretext
be shown as founded upon some reason, and let that reason itself be made
to appear as founded on some other reason. Kings should, in the matter of
destroying their foes, ever resemble razors in every particular; unpitying
as these are sharp, hiding their intents as these are concealed in their
leathern cases, striking when the opportunity cometh as these are used on
proper occasions, sweeping off their foes with all their allies and
dependants as these shave the head or the chin without leaving a single
hair.
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