Schaeffler, a family-owned firm that makes bearings, was almost felled by the loans it took on to take over Continental, a car-parts company three times its size.

This is what distinguishes Aristotle from Machiavelli and all those later thinkers who take their bearings from Machiavelli.

It is unnecessary to be anxious, for such bearings will take considerable misalignment because of the inherent flexibility.