Not Offending the Great

Of all the ways a man can guard himself, the first and greatest is this: do not mock the strength of those who have the power to act.

Conduct yourself without regard for the great, and the great will hand you a sorrow you can never put down.

If a man desires his own ruin, here is the method: ignore all counsel and commit an offense against those who can destroy at will.

When the powerless provoke the powerful, it is as if they beckoned Death with their own hand.

Those who have earned the wrath of a king whose fury burns — let them flee wherever they will. Nowhere on earth will they survive.

Caught in a blaze, a man may yet survive. But the man who wrongs the great will not — fire is more merciful than they are.

A life adorned in every way, a fortune reaching to the sky — what good are they when the truly worthy turn their anger on you?

When those who stand like mountains decide to diminish a man, even dynasties that seemed rooted forever in the earth will vanish — root and branch.

When those who hold high principles unleash their rage, even a king will snap in the middle of his reign and lose everything.

Let a man possess allies beyond counting, resources beyond measure — if those of surpassing greatness turn against him, he will not escape.