onciliation, by gift of wealth, and smooth
behaviour, thou must smite him when he walketh not aright. Thou shouldst
equally smile the heinous offender who liveth by the practice of virtue,
for the garb of virtue simply covereth his offences like black clouds
covering the mountains. Thou shouldst burn the house of that person whom
thou punishest with death. And thou shouldst never permit beggars and
atheists and thieves to dwell in thy kingdom. By a sudden sally or
pitched battle by poison or by corrupting his allies, by gift of wealth,
by any means in thy power, thou shouldst destroy thy foe. Thou mayest act
with the greatest cruelty. Thou shouldst make thy teeth sharp to give a
fatal bite. And thou should ever smite so effectually that thy foe may
not again raise his head. Thou shouldst ever stand in fear of even one
from whom there is no fear, not to speak of him from whom there is such.
For if the first be ever powerful he may destroy thee to the root (for
thy unpreparedness). Thou shouldst never trust the faithless, nor trust
too much those that are faithful, for if those in whom thou confidest
prove thy foes, thou art certain to be annihilated. After testing their
faithfulness thou shouldst employ spies in thy own kingdom and in the
kingdoms of others. Thy spies in foreign kingdoms should be apt deceivers
and persons in the garb of ascetics. Thy spies should be placed in
gardens, places of amusement, temples and other holy places, drinking
halls, streets, and with the (eighteen) tirthas (viz., the minister, the
chief priest, the heir-presumptive, the commander-in-chief, the
gate-keepers of the court, persons in the inner apartments, the jailor,
the chief surveyor, the head of the treasury, the general executant of
orders, the chief of the town police, the chief architect, the chief
justice, the president of the council, the chief of the punitive
department, the commander of the fort, the chief of the arsenal, the
chief of the frontier guards, and the keeper of the forests), and in
places of sacrifice, near wells, on mountains and in rivers, in forests,
and in all places where people congregate. In speech thou shouldst ever
be humble, but let thy heart be ever sharp as razor. And when thou art
engaged in doing even a very cruel and terrible act, thou shouldst talk
with smiles on thy lips. If desirous of prosperity, thou shouldst adopt
all arts--humility, oath, conciliation. Worshipping the feet of others by
lowering t