and otherwise afflicting it by disease,
starvation, and want of drink. A person in want never approacheth (from
love) one in affluence; and when one's purpose hath been accomplished,
one hath no need to approach him whom he had hitherto looked to for its
accomplishment. Therefore, when thou doest anything never do it
completely, but ever leave something to be desired for by others (whose
services thou mayest need). One who is desirous of prosperity should with
diligence seek allies and means, and carefully conduct his wars. His
exertions in these respects should always be guided by prudence. A
prudent king should ever act in such a way that friends and foes may
never know his motive before the commencement of his acts. Let them know
all when the act hath been commenced or ended, and as long as danger doth
not come, so long only shall thou act as if thou art afraid. But when it
hath overtaken thee, thou must grapple with it courageously. He who
trusteth in a foe who hath been brought under subjection by force,
summoneth his own death as a crab by her act of conception. Thou shouldst
always reckon the future act as already arrived (and concert measures for
meeting it), else, from want of calmness caused by haste, thou mayest
overlook an important point in meeting it when it is before thee. 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
destroy