Wisdom of the Heavens

Please note: This article is about the Rokugani text which listed the final words spoken by each Emperor. For other uses of the term, please see Wisdom of the Heavens (disambiguation).

Wisdom of the Heavens was the Rokugani text which listed the final words spoken by each Emperor, collected by the Seppun scribes at every Hantei's deathbed. It only could be read by the Imperial Scribe and the Emperor himself.

Non-confirmed Quotes

The original text was kept hidden within the original Imperial Palace. It was not known if the book survived the Fall of Otosan Uchi. Members of the Imperial families claimed the following quotations were false, forgeries created to undermine the Hantei Dynasty:

• “It is not important to fight best. It is important to fight last. That way, when you defeat your opponent, there are no others to take his place.” – Hantei I
• “Only get involved in the fights you know you can win.”
• “When possible, allow others to do your speaking for you – this way, you can accuse them of misunderstanding.”
• “Be a mother to the Empire – give it what it wants, and it will not look elsewhere for its needs. Treat it as a child, and protect it from its own desires, and it will flourish. Keep your thoughts and justifications to yourself: a child needs to know only what to do, and what not to do. Anything else confuses the issue, and explanations make you appear fallible.”
• “Always have a scapegoat.”
• “Think complex, talk of complex plots, but always use something simple.”
• “Do not devote time to the plan. Put all of your energy into contingencies. Something will always go wrong with the plan.”
• “Never kill a fanatic, or he becomes a martyr. A living man is easy to destroy; a dead man is unquestionable in the eyes of his followers.”
• “Know your enemy’s weakness, but do not use it. Allow others to know it, and let them perform your will.”
• “Knowledge is not power. Power is the ability to deny knowledge.”

References

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