|
Even if the ruler should commit evil or perverse deeds, the first, second or third time he does so, the
deities will refrain from punishing him. But if he carries out acts that are displeasing to the heavenly gods and other deities,
then they will at first cause prodigies and strange happenings to appear in the sky and on the earth in order to reprimand
him. And if he goes too far in his misdeeds, the heavenly gods and other benevolent deities will abandon and depart from his
state. Or, if the merit that the ruler has acquired by observing the precepts should be entirely exhausted, then when the
time comes his state may simply perish. Or, again, if his crimes and evil deeds pile up in excessive numbers, then his state
may be overthrown by a neighboring kingdom. And whether for good or evil, the people of the state will invariably share the
same fate as the ruler.
|
