{"text": ""Robert Greene","}
{"text": ""Joost ElffersPREFACE","}
{"text": ""The feeling of having no power over people and events is generally","}
{"text": ""unbearable to us—when we feel helpless we feel miserable. No one","}
{"text": ""wants less power; everyone wants more. In the world today, however, it","}
{"text": ""is dangerous to seem too power hungry, to be overt with your power","}
{"text": ""moves. We have to seem fair and decent. So we need to be subtle—","}
{"text": ""congenial yet cunning, democratic yet devious.","}
{"text": ""This game of constant duplicity most resembles the power dynamic","}
{"text": ""that existed in the scheming world of the old aristocratic court.","}
{"text": ""Throughout history, a court has always formed itself around the person in","}
{"text": ""power—king, queen, emperor, leader. The courtiers who filled this court","}
{"text": ""were in an especially delicate position: They had to serve their masters,","}
{"text": ""but if they seemed to fawn, if they curried favor too obviously, the other","}
{"text": ""courtiers around them would notice and would act against them.","}
{"text": ""Attempts to win the master’s favor, then, had to be subtle. And even","}
{"text": ""skilled courtiers capable of such subtlety still had to protect themselves","}
{"text": ""from their fellow courtiers, who at all moments were scheming to push","}
{"text": ""them aside.","}
{"text": ""Meanwhile the court was supposed to represent the height of","}
{"text": ""civilization and refinement. Violent or overt power moves were frowned","}
{"text": ""upon; courtiers would work silently and secretly against any among them","}
{"text": ""who used force. This was the courtier’s dilemma: While appearing the","}
{"text": ""very paragon of elegance, they had to outwit and thwart their own","}
{"text": ""opponents in the subtlest of ways. The successful courtier learned over","}
{"text": ""time to make all of his moves indirect; if he stabbed an opponent in the","}
{"text": ""back, it was with a velvet glove on his hand and the sweetest of smiles","}
{"text": ""on his face. Instead of using coercion or outright treachery, the perfect","}
{"text": ""courtier got his way through seduction, charm, deception, and subtle","}
{"text": ""strategy, always planning several moves ahead. Life in the court was a","}
{"text": ""never-ending game that required constant vigilance and tactical thinking.","}
{"text": ""It was civilized war.","}
{"text": ""Today we face a peculiarly similar paradox to that of the courtier:","}
{"text": ""Everything must appear civilized, decent, democratic, and fair. But if we","}
{"text": ""play by those rules too strictly, if we take them too literally, we are","}
{"text": ""crushed by those around us who are not so foolish. As the great","}
{"text": ""Renaissance diplomat and courtier Niccolò Machiavelli wrote, “Anyman who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the","}
{"text": ""great number who are not good.” The court imagined itself the pinnacle","}
{"text": ""of refinement, but underneath its glittering surface a cauldron of dark","}
{"text": ""emotions—greed, envy, lust, hatred—boiled and simmered. Our world","}
{"text": ""today similarly imagines itself the pinnacle of fairness, yet the same ugly","}
{"text": ""emotions still stir within us, as they have forever. The game is the same.","}
{"text": ""Outwardly, you must seem to respect the niceties, but inwardly, unless","}
{"text": ""you are a fool, you learn quickly to be prudent, and to do as Napoleon","}
{"text": ""advised: Place your iron hand inside a velvet glove. If, like the courtier","}
{"text": ""of times gone by, you can master the arts of indirection, learning to","}
{"text": ""seduce, charm, deceive, and subtly outmaneuver your opponents, you","}
{"text": ""will attain the heights of power. You will be able to make people bend to","}
{"text": ""your will without their realizing what you have done. And if they do not","}
{"text": ""realize what you have done, they will neither resent nor resist you.","}
{"text": ""Courts are, unquestionably, the seats of politeness and good breeding;","}
{"text": ""were they not so, they would be the seats of slaughter and desolation.","}
{"text": ""Those who now smile upon and embrace, would affront and stab, each","}
{"text": ""other, if manners did not interpose….","}
{"text": ""LORD CHESTERFIELD, 1694-1773","}
{"text": ""To some people the notion of consciously playing power games—no","}
{"text": ""matter how indirect—seems evil, asocial, a relic of the past. They believe","}
{"text": ""they can opt out of the game by behaving in ways that have nothing to do","}
{"text": ""with power. You must beware of such people, for while they express","}
{"text": ""such opinions outwardly, they are often among the most adept players at","}
{"text": ""power. They utilize strategies that cleverly disguise the nature of the","}
{"text": ""manipulation involved. These types, for example, will often display their","}
{"text": ""weakness and lack of power as a kind of moral virtue. But true","}
{"text": ""powerlessness, without any motive of self-interest, would not publicize","}
{"text": ""its weakness to gain sympathy or respect. Making a show of one’s","}
{"text": ""weakness is actually a very effective strategy, subtle and deceptive, in the","}
{"text": ""game of power (see Law 22, the Surrender Tactic).","}
{"text": ""There is nothing very odd about lambs disliking birds of prey, but this is","}
{"text": ""no reason for holding it against large birds of prey that they carry off","}
{"text": ""lambs. And when the lambs whisper among themselves, “These birds","}
{"text": ""ofprey are evil, and does this not give us a right to say that whatever is","}
{"text": ""the opposite of a bird of prey must be good?” there is nothing","}
{"text": ""intrinsically wrong with such an argument—though the birds of prey will","}
{"text": ""look somewhat quizzically and say, “We have nothing against these good","}
{"text": ""lambs; in fact, we love them; nothing tastes better than a tender lamb.”FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, 1844-1900","}
{"text": ""Another strategy of the supposed nonplayer is to demand equality in","}
{"text": ""every area of life. Everyone must be treated alike, whatever their status","}
{"text": ""and strength. But if, to avoid the taint of power, you attempt to treat","}
{"text": ""everyone equally and fairly, you will confront the problem that some","}
{"text": ""people do certain things better than others. Treating everyone equally","}
{"text": ""means ignoring their differences, elevating the less skillful and","}
{"text": ""suppressing those who excel. Again, many of those who behave this way","}
{"text": ""are actually deploying another power strategy, redistributing people’s","}
{"text": ""rewards in a way that they determine.","}
{"text": ""Yet another way of avoiding the game would be perfect honesty and","}
{"text": ""straightforwardness, since one of the main techniques of those who seek","}
{"text": ""power is deceit and secrecy. But being perfectly honest will inevitably","}
{"text": ""hurt and insult a great many people, some of whom will choose to injure","}
{"text": ""you in return. No one will see your honest statement as completely","}
{"text": ""objective and free of some personal motivation. And they will be right:","}
{"text": ""In truth, the use of honesty is indeed a power strategy, intended to","}
{"text": ""convince people of one’s noble, good-hearted, selfless character. It is a","}
{"text": ""form of persuasion, even a subtle form of coercion.","}
{"text": ""Finally, those who claim to be nonplayers may affect an air of naïveté,","}
{"text": ""to protect them from the accusation that they are after power. Beware","}
{"text": ""again, however, for the appearance of naivete can be an effective means","}
{"text": ""of deceit (see Law 21, Seem Dumber Than Your Mark). And even","}
{"text": ""genuine naivete is not free of the snares of power. Children may be naive","}
{"text": ""in many ways, but they often act from an elemental need to gain control","}
{"text": ""over those around them. Children suffer greatly from feeling powerless","}
{"text": ""in the adult world, and they use any means available to get their way.","}
{"text": ""Genuinely innocent people may still be playing for power, and are often","}
{"text": ""horribly effective at the game, since they are not hindered by reflection.","}
{"text": ""Once again, those who make a show or display of innocence are the least","}
{"text": ""innocent of all.","}
{"text": ""The only means to gain one’s ends with people are force and cunning.","}
{"text": ""Love also. they say; but that is to wait for sunshine, and life needs every","}
{"text": ""moment.","}
{"text": ""JOHANN VON GOEIHE, 1749-1832","}
{"text": ""You can recognize these supposed nonplayers by the way they flaunt","}
{"text": ""their moral qualities, their piety, their exquisite sense of justice. But since","}
{"text": ""all of us hunger for power, and almost all of our actions are aimed at","}
{"text": ""gaining it, the nonplayers are merely throwing dust in our eyes,distracting us from their power plays with their air of moral superiority.","}
{"text": ""If you observe them closely, you will see in fact that they are often the","}
{"text": ""ones most skillful at indirect manipulation, even if some of them practice","}
{"text": ""it unconsciously. And they greatly resent any publicizing of the tactics","}
{"text": ""they use every day.","}
{"text": ""The arrow shot by the archer may or may not kill a single person. But","}
{"text": ""stratagems devised by a wise man can kill even babes in the womb.","}
{"text": ""KAUTILYA, INDIAN PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""If the world is like a giant scheming court and we are trapped inside it,","}
{"text": ""there is no use in trying to opt out of the game. That will only render you","}
{"text": ""powerless, and powerlessness will make you miserable. Instead of","}
{"text": ""struggling against the inevitable, instead of arguing and whining and","}
{"text": ""feeling guilty, it is far better to excel at power. In fact, the better you are","}
{"text": ""at dealing with power, the better friend, lover, husband, wife, and person","}
{"text": ""you become. By following the route of the perfect courtier (see Law 24)","}
{"text": ""you learn to make others feel better about themselves, becoming a source","}
{"text": ""of pleasure to them. They will grow dependent on your abilities and","}
{"text": ""desirous of your presence. By mastering the 48 laws in this book, you","}
{"text": ""spare others the pain that comes from bungling with power—by playing","}
{"text": ""with fire without knowing its properties. If the game of power is","}
{"text": ""inescapable, better to be an artist than a denier or a bungler.","}
{"text": ""Learning the game of power requires a certain way of looking at the","}
{"text": ""world, a shifting of perspective. It takes effort and years of practice, for","}
{"text": ""much of the game may not come naturally. Certain basic skills are","}
{"text": ""required, and once you master these skills you will be able to apply the","}
{"text": ""laws of power more easily.","}
{"text": ""The most important of these skills, and power’s crucial foundation, is","}
{"text": ""the ability to master your emotions. An emotional response to a situation","}
{"text": ""is the single greatest barrier to power, a mistake that will cost you a lot","}
{"text": ""more than any temporary satisfaction you might gain by expressing your","}
{"text": ""feelings. Emotions cloud reason, and if you cannot see the situation","}
{"text": ""clearly, you cannot prepare for and respond to it with any degree of","}
{"text": ""control.","}
{"text": ""Anger is the most destructive of emotional responses, for it clouds","}
{"text": ""your vision the most. It also has a ripple effect that invariably makes","}
{"text": ""situations less controllable and heightens your enemy’s resolve. If you","}
{"text": ""are trying to destroy an enemy who has hurt you, far better to keep him","}
{"text": ""off-guard by feigning friendliness than showing your anger.Love and affection are also potentially destructive, in that they blind","}
{"text": ""you to the often self-serving interests of those whom you least suspect of","}
{"text": ""playing a power game. You cannot repress anger or love, or avoid feeling","}
{"text": ""them, and you should not try. But you should be careful about how you","}
{"text": ""express them, and most important, they should never influence your","}
{"text": ""plans and strategies in any way.","}
{"text": ""Related to mastering your emotions is the ability to distance yourself","}
{"text": ""from the present moment and think objectively about the past and future.","}
{"text": ""Like Janus, the double-faced Roman deity and guardian of all gates and","}
{"text": ""doorways, you must be able to look in both directions at once, the better","}
{"text": ""to handle danger from wherever it comes. Such is the face you must","}
{"text": ""create for yourself-one face looking continuously to the future and the","}
{"text": ""other to the past.","}
{"text": ""I thought to myself with what means, with what deceptions, with how","}
{"text": ""many varied arts, with what industry a man sharpens his wits to deceive","}
{"text": ""another, and through these variations the world is made more beautiful.","}
{"text": ""FRANCESCO VETTORI, CONTEMPORARY AND FRIEND OF","}
{"text": ""MACHIAVELLI, EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""For the future, the motto is, “No days unalert.” Nothing should catch","}
{"text": ""you by surprise because you are constantly imagining problems before","}
{"text": ""they arise. Instead of spending your time dreaming of your plan’s happy","}
{"text": ""ending, you must work on calculating every possible permutation and","}
{"text": ""pitfall that might emerge in it. The further you see, the more steps ahead","}
{"text": ""you plan, the more powerful you become.","}
{"text": ""The other face of Janus looks constantly to the past—though not to","}
{"text": ""remember past hurts or bear grudges. That would only curb your power.","}
{"text": ""Half of the game is learning how to forget those events in the past that","}
{"text": ""eat away at you and cloud your reason. The real purpose of the","}
{"text": ""backward-glancing eye is to educate yourself constantly—you look at","}
{"text": ""the past to learn from those who came before you. (The many historical","}
{"text": ""examples in this book will greatly help that process.) Then, having","}
{"text": ""looked to the past, you look closer at hand, to your own actions and those","}
{"text": ""of your friends. This is the most vital school you can learn from, because","}
{"text": ""it comes from personal experience.","}
{"text": ""There are no principles; there are only events. There is no good and bad,","}
{"text": ""there are only circumstances. The superior man espouses events and","}
{"text": ""circumstances in order to guide them. If there were principles and fixed","}
{"text": ""laws, nations would not change them as we change our shirts and a man","}
{"text": ""can not be expected to be wiser than an entire nation.HONORÉ DE BALZAC, 1799-1850","}
{"text": ""You begin by examining the mistakes you have made in the past, the","}
{"text": ""ones that have most grievously held you back. You analyze them in","}
{"text": ""terms of the 48 laws of power, and you extract from them a lesson and an","}
{"text": ""oath: “I shall never repeat such a mistake; I shall never fall into such a","}
{"text": ""trap again.” If you can evaluate and observe yourself in this way, you can","}
{"text": ""learn to break the patterns of the past—an immensely valuable skill.","}
{"text": ""Power requires the ability to play with appearances. To this end you","}
{"text": ""must learn to wear many masks and keep a bag full of deceptive tricks.","}
{"text": ""Deception and masquerade should not be seen as ugly or immoral. All","}
{"text": ""human interaction requires deception on many levels, and in some ways","}
{"text": ""what separates humans from animals is our ability to lie and deceive. In","}
{"text": ""Greek myths, in India’s Mahabharata cycle, in the Middle Eastern epic of","}
{"text": ""Gilga mesh, it is the privilege of the gods to use deceptive arts; a great","}
{"text": ""man, Odysseus for instance, was judged by his ability to rival the","}
{"text": ""craftiness of the gods, stealing some of their divine power by matching","}
{"text": ""them in wits and deception. Deception is a developed art of civilization","}
{"text": ""and the most potent weapon in the game of power.","}
{"text": ""You cannot succeed at deception unless you take a somewhat","}
{"text": ""distanced approach to yourself—unless you can be many different","}
{"text": ""people, wearing the mask that the day and the moment require. With","}
{"text": ""such a flexible approach to all appearances, including your own, you lose","}
{"text": ""a lot of the inward heaviness that holds people down. Make your face as","}
{"text": ""malleable as the actor’s, work to conceal your intentions from others,","}
{"text": ""practice luring people into traps. Playing with appearances and mastering","}
{"text": ""arts of deception are among the aesthetic pleasures of life. They are also","}
{"text": ""key components in the acquisition of power.","}
{"text": ""If deception is the most potent weapon in your arsenal, then patience","}
{"text": ""in all things is your crucial shield. Patience will protect you from making","}
{"text": ""moronic blunders. Like mastering your emotions, patience is a skill—it","}
{"text": ""does not come naturally. But nothing about power is natural; power is","}
{"text": ""more godlike than anything in the natural world. And patience is the","}
{"text": ""supreme virtue of the gods, who have nothing but time. Everything good","}
{"text": ""will happen—the grass will grow again, if you give it time and see","}
{"text": ""several steps into the future. Impatience, on the other hand, only makes","}
{"text": ""you look weak. It is a principal impediment to power.","}
{"text": ""Power is essentially amoral and one of the most important skills to","}
{"text": ""acquire is the ability to see circumstances rather than good or evil. Power","}
{"text": ""is a game—this cannot be repeated too often—and in games you do not","}
{"text": ""judge your opponents by their intentions but by the effect of theiractions. You measure their strategy and their power by what you can see","}
{"text": ""and feel. How often are someone’s intentions made the issue only to","}
{"text": ""cloud and deceive! What does it matter if another player, your friend or","}
{"text": ""rival, intended good things and had only your interests at heart, if the","}
{"text": ""effects of his action lead to so much ruin and confusion? It is only","}
{"text": ""natural for people to cover up their actions with all kinds of","}
{"text": ""justifications, always assuming that they have acted out of goodness.","}
{"text": ""You must learn to inwardly laugh each time you hear this and never get","}
{"text": ""caught up in gauging someone’s intentions and actions through a set of","}
{"text": ""moral judgments that are really an excuse for the accumulation of power.","}
{"text": ""It is a game. Your opponent sits opposite you. Both of you behave as","}
{"text": ""gentlemen or ladies, observing the rules of the game and taking nothing","}
{"text": ""personally. You play with a strategy and you observe your opponent’s","}
{"text": ""moves with as much calmness as you can muster. In the end, you will","}
{"text": ""appreciate the politeness of those you are playing with more than their","}
{"text": ""good and sweet intentions. Train your eye to follow the results of their","}
{"text": ""moves, the outward circumstances, and do not be distracted by anything","}
{"text": ""else.","}
{"text": ""Half of your mastery of power comes from what you do not do, what","}
{"text": ""you do not allow yourself to get dragged into. For this skill you must","}
{"text": ""learn to judge all things by what they cost you. As Nietzsche wrote, “The","}
{"text": ""value of a thing sometimes lies not in what one attains with it, but in","}
{"text": ""what one pays for it—what it costs us.” Perhaps you will attain your","}
{"text": ""goal, and a worthy goal at that, but at what price? Apply this standard to","}
{"text": ""everything, including whether to collaborate with other people or come","}
{"text": ""to their aid. In the end, life is short, opportunities are few, and you have","}
{"text": ""only so much energy to draw on. And in this sense time is as important a","}
{"text": ""consideration as any other. Never waste valuable time, or mental peace","}
{"text": ""of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay.","}
{"text": ""Power is a social game. To learn and master it, you must develop the","}
{"text": ""ability to study and understand people. As the great seventeenth-century","}
{"text": ""thinker and courtier Baltasar Gracián wrote: “Many people spend time","}
{"text": ""studying the properties of animals or herbs; how much more important it","}
{"text": ""would be to study those of people, with whom we must live or die!” To","}
{"text": ""be a master player you must also be a master psychologist. You must","}
{"text": ""recognize motivations and see through the cloud of dust with which","}
{"text": ""people surround their actions. An understanding of people’s hidden","}
{"text": ""motives is the single greatest piece of knowledge you can have in","}
{"text": ""acquiring power. It opens up endless possibilities of deception,","}
{"text": ""seduction, and manipulation.People are of infinite complexity and you can spend a lifetime","}
{"text": ""watching them without ever fully understanding them. So it is all the","}
{"text": ""more important, then, to begin your education now. In doing so you must","}
{"text": ""also keep one principle in mind: Never discriminate as to whom you","}
{"text": ""study and whom you trust. Never trust anyone completely and study","}
{"text": ""everyone, including friends and loved ones.","}
{"text": ""Finally, you must learn always to take the indirect route to power.","}
{"text": ""Disguise your cunning. Like a billiard ball that caroms several times","}
{"text": ""before it hits its target, your moves must be planned and developed in the","}
{"text": ""least obvious way. By training yourself to be indirect, you can thrive in","}
{"text": ""the modern court, appearing the paragon of decency while being the","}
{"text": ""consummate manipulator.","}
{"text": ""Consider The 48 Laws of Power a kind of handbook on the arts of","}
{"text": ""indirection. The laws are based on the writings of men and women who","}
{"text": ""have studied and mastered the game of power. These writings span a","}
{"text": ""period of more than three thousand years and were created in","}
{"text": ""civilizations as disparate as ancient China and Renaissance Italy; yet they","}
{"text": ""share common threads and themes, together hinting at an essence of","}
{"text": ""power that has yet to be fully articulated. The 48 laws of power are the","}
{"text": ""distillation of this accumulated wisdom, gathered from the writings of","}
{"text": ""the most illustrious strategists (Sun-tzu, Clausewitz), statesmen","}
{"text": ""(Bismarck, Talleyrand), courtiers (Castiglione, Gracián), seducers","}
{"text": ""(Ninon de Lenclos, Casanova), and con artists (“Yellow Kid” Weil) in","}
{"text": ""history.","}
{"text": ""The laws have a simple premise: Certain actions almost always","}
{"text": ""increase one’s power (the observance of the law), while others decrease","}
{"text": ""it and even ruin us (the transgression of the law). These transgressions","}
{"text": ""and observances are illustrated by historical examples. The laws are","}
{"text": ""timeless and definitive.","}
{"text": ""The 48 Laws of Power can be used in several ways. By reading the","}
{"text": ""book straight through you can learn about power in general. Although","}
{"text": ""several of the laws may seem not to pertain directly to your life, in time","}
{"text": ""you will probably find that all of them have some application, and that in","}
{"text": ""fact they are interrelated. By getting an overview of the entire subject","}
{"text": ""you will best be able to evaluate your own past actions and gain a greater","}
{"text": ""degree of control over your immediate affairs. A thorough reading of the","}
{"text": ""book will inspire thinking and reevaluation long after you finish it.","}
{"text": ""The book has also been designed for browsing and for examining the","}
{"text": ""law that seems at that particular moment most pertinent to you. Say youare experiencing problems with a superior and cannot understand why","}
{"text": ""your efforts have not lead to more gratitude or a promotion. Several laws","}
{"text": ""specifically address the master-underling relationship, and you are","}
{"text": ""almost certainly transgressing one of them. By browsing the initial","}
{"text": ""paragraphs for the 48 laws in the table of contents, you can identify the","}
{"text": ""pertinent law.","}
{"text": ""Finally, the book can be browsed through and picked apart for","}
{"text": ""entertainment, for an enjoyable ride through the foibles and great deeds","}
{"text": ""of our predecessors in power. A warning, however, to those who use the","}
{"text": ""book for this purpose: It might be better to turn back. Power is endlessly","}
{"text": ""seductive and deceptive in its own way. It is a labyrinth—your mind","}
{"text": ""becomes consumed with solving its infinite problems, and you soon","}
{"text": ""realize how pleasantly lost you have become. In other words, it becomes","}
{"text": ""most amusing by taking it seriously. Do not be frivolous with such a","}
{"text": ""critical matter. The gods of power frown on the frivolous; they give","}
{"text": ""ultimate satisfaction only to those who study and reflect, and punish","}
{"text": ""those who skim the surfaces looking for a good time.","}
{"text": ""Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin","}
{"text": ""among the great number who are not good. Hence a prince who wants to","}
{"text": ""keep his authority must learn how not to be good, and use that","}
{"text": ""knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires.","}
{"text": ""THE PRINCE, Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527LAW 1","}
{"text": ""NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire","}
{"text": ""to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents","}
{"text": ""or you might accomplish the opposite—inspire fear and insecurity. Make","}
{"text": ""your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the","}
{"text": ""heights of power.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s finance minister in the first years of his","}
{"text": ""reign, was a generous man who loved lavish parties, pretty women, and","}
{"text": ""poetry. He also loved money, for he led an extravagant lifestyle. Fouquet","}
{"text": ""was clever and very much indispensable to the king, so when the prime","}
{"text": ""minister, Jules Mazarin, died, in 1661, the finance minister expected to","}
{"text": ""be named the successor. Instead, the king decided to abolish the position.","}
{"text": ""This and other signs made Fouquet suspect that he was falling out of","}
{"text": ""favor, and so he decided to ingratiate himself with the king by staging","}
{"text": ""the most spectacular party the world had ever seen. The party’s","}
{"text": ""ostensible purpose would be to commemorate the completion of","}
{"text": ""Fouquet’s château, Vaux-le-Vicomte, but its real function was to pay","}
{"text": ""tribute to the king, the guest of honor.","}
{"text": ""The most brilliant nobility of Europe and some of the greatest minds","}
{"text": ""of the time—La Fontaine, La Rochefoucauld, Madame de Sévigné","}
{"text": ""attended the party. Molière wrote a play for the occasion, in which he","}
{"text": ""himself was to perform at the evening’s conclusion. The party began","}
{"text": ""with a lavish seven-course dinner, featuring foods from the Orient never","}
{"text": ""before tasted in France, as well as new dishes created especially for thenight. The meal was accompanied with music commissioned by Fouquet","}
{"text": ""to honor the king.","}
{"text": ""After dinner there was a promenade through the château’s gardens.","}
{"text": ""The grounds and fountains of Vaux-le-Vicomte were to be the inspiration","}
{"text": ""for Versailles.","}
{"text": ""Fouquet personally accompanied the young king through the","}
{"text": ""geometrically aligned arrangements of shrubbery and flower beds.","}
{"text": ""Arriving at the gardens’ canals, they witnessed a fireworks display,","}
{"text": ""which was followed by the performance of Molière’s play. The party ran","}
{"text": ""well into the night and everyone agreed it was the most amazing affair","}
{"text": ""they had ever attended.","}
{"text": ""The next day, Fouquet was arrested by the king’s head musketeer,","}
{"text": ""D’Artagnan. Three months later he went on trial for stealing from the","}
{"text": ""country’s treasury. (Actually, most of the stealing he was accused of he","}
{"text": ""had done on the king’s behalf and with the king’s permission.) Fouquet","}
{"text": ""was found guilty and sent to the most isolated prison in France, high in","}
{"text": ""the Pyrenees Mountains, where he spent the last twenty years of his life","}
{"text": ""in solitary confinement.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Louis XIV, the Sun King, was a proud and arrogant man who wanted to","}
{"text": ""be the center of attention at all times; he could not countenance being","}
{"text": ""outdone in lavishness by anyone, and certainly not his finance minister.","}
{"text": ""To succeed Fouquet, Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a man famous","}
{"text": ""for his parsimony and for giving the dullest parties in Paris. Colbert","}
{"text": ""made sure that any money liberated from the treasury went straight into","}
{"text": ""Louis’s hands. With the money, Louis built a palace even more","}
{"text": ""magnificent than Fouquet’s—the glorious palace of Versailles. He used","}
{"text": ""the same architects, decorators, and garden designer. And at Versailles,","}
{"text": ""Louis hosted parties even more extravagant than the one that cost","}
{"text": ""Fouquet his freedom.","}
{"text": ""Let us examine the situation. The evening of the party, as Fouquet","}
{"text": ""presented spectacle on spectacle to Louis, each more magnificent than","}
{"text": ""the one before, he imagined the affair as demonstrating his loyalty and","}
{"text": ""devotion to the king. Not only did he think the party would put him back","}
{"text": ""in the king’s favor, he thought it would show his good taste, his","}
{"text": ""connections, and his popularity, making him indispensable to the king","}
{"text": ""and demonstrating that he would make an excellent prime minister.Instead, however, each new spectacle, each appreciative smile bestowed","}
{"text": ""by the guests on Fouquet, made it seem to Louis that his own friends and","}
{"text": ""subjects were more charmed by the finance minister than by the king","}
{"text": ""himself, and that Fouquet was actually flaunting his wealth and power.","}
{"text": ""Rather than flattering Louis XIV, Fouquet’s elaborate party offended the","}
{"text": ""king’s vanity. Louis would not admit this to anyone, of course—instead,","}
{"text": ""he found a convenient excuse to rid himself of a man who had","}
{"text": ""inadvertently made him feel insecure.","}
{"text": ""Such is the fate, in some form or other, of all those who unbalance the","}
{"text": ""master’s sense of self, poke holes in his vanity, or make him doubt his","}
{"text": ""pre-eminence.","}
{"text": ""When the evening began, Fouquet was at the top of the world.","}
{"text": ""By the time it had ended, he was at the bottom.","}
{"text": ""Voltaire, 1694-1778","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In the early 1600s, the Italian astronomer and mathematician Galileo","}
{"text": ""found himself in a precarious position. He depended on the generosity of","}
{"text": ""great rulers to support his research, and so, like all Renaissance","}
{"text": ""scientists, he would sometimes make gifts of his inventions and","}
{"text": ""discoveries to the leading patrons of the time. Once, for instance, he","}
{"text": ""presented a military compass he had invented to the Duke of Gonzaga.","}
{"text": ""Then he dedicated a book explaining the use of the compass to the","}
{"text": ""Medicis. Both rulers were grateful, and through them Galileo was able to","}
{"text": ""find more students to teach. No matter how great the discovery, however,","}
{"text": ""his patrons usually paid him with gifts, not cash. This made for a life of","}
{"text": ""constant insecurity and dependence. There must be an easier way, he","}
{"text": ""thought.","}
{"text": ""Galileo hit on a new strategy in 1610, when he discovered the moons","}
{"text": ""of Jupiter. Instead of dividing the discovery among his patrons—giving","}
{"text": ""one the telescope he had used, dedicating a book to another, and so on—","}
{"text": ""as he had done in the past, he decided to focus exclusively on the","}
{"text": ""Medicis. He chose the Medicis for one reason: Shortly after Cosimo I","}
{"text": ""had established the Medici dynasty, in 1540, he had made Jupiter, the","}
{"text": ""mightiest of the gods, the Medici symbol—a symbol of a power thatwent beyond politics and banking, one linked to ancient Rome and its","}
{"text": ""divinities.","}
{"text": ""Galileo turned his discovery of Jupiter’s moons into a cosmic event","}
{"text": ""honoring the Medicis’ greatness. Shortly after the discovery, he","}
{"text": ""announced that “the bright stars [the moons of Jupiter] offered","}
{"text": ""themselves in the heavens” to his telescope at the same time as Cosimo","}
{"text": ""II’s enthronement. He said that the number of the moons—four—","}
{"text": ""harmonized with the number of the Medicis (Cosimo II had three","}
{"text": ""brothers) and that the moons orbited Jupiter as these four sons revolved","}
{"text": ""around Cosimo I, the dynasty’s founder. More than coincidence, this","}
{"text": ""showed that the heavens themselves reflected the ascendancy of the","}
{"text": ""Medici family. After he dedicated the discovery to the Medicis, Galileo","}
{"text": ""commissioned an emblem representing Jupiter sitting on a cloud with the","}
{"text": ""four stars circling about him, and presented this to Cosimo II as a symbol","}
{"text": ""of his link to the stars.","}
{"text": ""In 1610 Cosimo II made Galileo his official court philosopher and","}
{"text": ""mathematician, with a full salary. For a scientist this was the coup of a","}
{"text": ""lifetime. The days of begging for patronage were over.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In one stroke, Galileo gained more with his new strategy than he had in","}
{"text": ""years of begging. The reason is simple: All masters want to appear more","}
{"text": ""brilliant than other people.","}
{"text": ""They do not care about science or empirical truth or the latest","}
{"text": ""invention ; they care about their name and their glory. Galileo gave the","}
{"text": ""Medicis infinitely more glory by linking their name with cosmic forces","}
{"text": ""than he had by making them the patrons of some new scientific gadget or","}
{"text": ""discovery.","}
{"text": ""Scientists are not spared the vagaries of court life and patronage. They","}
{"text": ""too must serve masters who hold the purse strings. And their great","}
{"text": ""intellectual powers can make the master feel insecure, as if he were only","}
{"text": ""there to supply the funds—an ugly, ignoble job. The producer of a great","}
{"text": ""work wants to feel he is more than just the provider of the financing. He","}
{"text": ""wants to appear creative and powerful, and also more important than the","}
{"text": ""work produced in his name. Instead of insecurity you must give him","}
{"text": ""glory. Galileo did not challenge the intellectual authority of the Medicis","}
{"text": ""with his discovery, or make them feel inferior in any way; by literally","}
{"text": ""aligning them with the stars, he made them shine brilliantly among thecourts of Italy. He did not outshine the master, he made the master","}
{"text": ""outshine all others.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Everyone has insecurities. When you show yourself in the world and","}
{"text": ""display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy,","}
{"text": ""and other manifestations of insecurity. This is to be expected. You cannot","}
{"text": ""spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others. With those","}
{"text": ""above you, however, you must take a different approach: When it comes","}
{"text": ""to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.","}
{"text": ""Do not fool yourself into thinking that life has changed much since the","}
{"text": ""days of Louis XIV and the Medicis. Those who attain high standing in","}
{"text": ""life are like kings and queens: They want to feel secure in their positions,","}
{"text": ""and superior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm. It is a","}
{"text": ""deadly but common misperception to believe that by displaying and","}
{"text": ""vaunting your gifts and talents, you are winning the master’s affection.","}
{"text": ""He may feign appreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace","}
{"text": ""you with someone less intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as","}
{"text": ""Louis XIV replaced the sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert. And","}
{"text": ""as with Louis, he will not admit the truth, but will find an excuse to rid","}
{"text": ""himself of your presence.","}
{"text": ""This Law involves two rules that you must realize. First, you can","}
{"text": ""inadvertently outshine a master simply by being yourself. There are","}
{"text": ""masters who are more insecure than others, monstrously insecure; you","}
{"text": ""may naturally outshine them by your charm and grace.","}
{"text": ""No one had more natural talents than Astorre Manfredi, prince of","}
{"text": ""Faenza. The most handsome of all the young princes of Italy, he","}
{"text": ""captivated his subjects with his generosity and open spirit.","}
{"text": ""In the year 1500, Cesare Borgia laid siege to Faenza. When the city","}
{"text": ""surrendered, the citizens expected the worst from the cruel Borgia, who,","}
{"text": ""however, decided to spare the town: He simply occupied its fortress,","}
{"text": ""executed none of its citizens, and allowed Prince Manfredi, eighteen at","}
{"text": ""the time, to remain with his court, in complete freedom.","}
{"text": ""A few weeks later, though, soldiers hauled Astorre Manfredi away to a","}
{"text": ""Roman prison. A year after that, his body was fished out of the River","}
{"text": ""Tiber, a stone tied around his neck. Borgia justified the horrible deedwith some sort of trumped-up charge of treason and conspiracy, but the","}
{"text": ""real problem was that he was notoriously vain and insecure. The young","}
{"text": ""man was outshining him without even trying. Given Manfredi’s natural","}
{"text": ""talents, the prince’s mere presence made Borgia seem less attractive and","}
{"text": ""charismatic. The lesson is simple: If you cannot help being charming and","}
{"text": ""superior, you must learn to avoid such monsters of vanity. Either that, or","}
{"text": ""find a way to mute your good qualities when in the company of a Cesare","}
{"text": ""Borgia.","}
{"text": ""Second, never imagine that because the master loves you, you can do","}
{"text": ""anything you want. Entire books could be written about favorites who","}
{"text": ""fell out of favor by taking their status for granted, for daring to outshine.","}
{"text": ""In late-sixteenth-century Japan, the favorite of Emperor Hideyoshi was a","}
{"text": ""man called Sen no Rikyu. The premier artist of the tea ceremony, which","}
{"text": ""had become an obsession with the nobility, he was one of Hideyoshi’s","}
{"text": ""most trusted advisers, had his own apartment in the palace, and was","}
{"text": ""honored throughout Japan. Yet in 1591, Hideyoshi had him arrested and","}
{"text": ""sentenced to death. Rikyu took his own life, instead. The cause for his","}
{"text": ""sudden change of fortune was discovered later: It seems that Rikyu,","}
{"text": ""former peasant and later court favorite, had had a wooden statue made of","}
{"text": ""himself wearing sandals (a sign of nobility) and posing loftily. He had","}
{"text": ""had this statue placed in the most important temple inside the palace","}
{"text": ""gates, in clear sight of the royalty who often would pass by. To","}
{"text": ""Hideyoshi this signified that Rikyu had no sense of limits. Presuming","}
{"text": ""that he had the same rights as those of the highest nobility, he had","}
{"text": ""forgotten that his position depended on the emperor, and had come to","}
{"text": ""believe that he had earned it on his own. This was an unforgivable","}
{"text": ""miscalculation of his own importance and he paid for it with his life.","}
{"text": ""Remember the following: Never take your position for granted and never","}
{"text": ""let any favors you receive go to your head.","}
{"text": ""Knowing the dangers of outshining your master, you can turn this Law","}
{"text": ""to your advantage. First you must flatter and puff up your master. Overt","}
{"text": ""flattery can be effective but has its limits; it is too direct and obvious,","}
{"text": ""and looks bad to other courtiers. Discreet flattery is much more","}
{"text": ""powerful. If you are more intelligent than your master, for example,","}
{"text": ""seem the opposite: Make him appear more intelligent than you. Act","}
{"text": ""naive. Make it seem that you need his expertise. Commit harmless","}
{"text": ""mistakes that will not hurt you in the long run but will give you the","}
{"text": ""chance to ask for his help. Masters adore such requests. A master who","}
{"text": ""cannot bestow on you the gifts of his experience may direct rancor and","}
{"text": ""ill will at you instead.If your ideas are more creative than your master’s, ascribe them to","}
{"text": ""him, in as public a manner as possible. Make it clear that your advice is","}
{"text": ""merely an echo of his advice.","}
{"text": ""If you surpass your master in wit, it is okay to play the role of the","}
{"text": ""court jester, but do not make him appear cold and surly by comparison.","}
{"text": ""Tone down your humor if necessary, and find ways to make him seem","}
{"text": ""the dispenser of amusement and good cheer. If you are naturally more","}
{"text": ""sociable and generous than your master, be careful not to be the cloud","}
{"text": ""that blocks his radiance from others. He must appear as the sun around","}
{"text": ""which everyone revolves, radiating power and brilliance, the center of","}
{"text": ""attention. If you are thrust into the position of entertaining him, a display","}
{"text": ""of your limited means may win you his sympathy. Any attempt to","}
{"text": ""impress him with your grace and generosity can prove fatal: Learn from","}
{"text": ""Fouquet or pay the price.","}
{"text": ""In all of these cases it is not a weakness to disguise your strengths if in","}
{"text": ""the end they lead to power. By letting others outshine you, you remain in","}
{"text": ""control, instead of being a victim of their insecurity. This will all come in","}
{"text": ""handy the day you decide to rise above your inferior status. If, like","}
{"text": ""Galileo, you can make your master shine even more in the eyes of others,","}
{"text": ""then you are a godsend and you will be instantly promoted.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Stars in the","}
{"text": ""Sky. There can be only","}
{"text": ""one sun at a time. Never","}
{"text": ""obscure the sunlight, or","}
{"text": ""rival the sun’s brilliance;","}
{"text": ""rather, fade into the sky and","}
{"text": ""find ways to heighten","}
{"text": ""the master star’s","}
{"text": ""intensity.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Avoid outshining the master. All superiority is odious, but the","}
{"text": ""superiority of a subject over his prince is not only stupid, it is fatal. This","}
{"text": ""is a lesson that the stars in the sky teach us—they may be related to the","}
{"text": ""sun, and just as brilliant, but they never appear in her company. (Baltasar","}
{"text": ""Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSALYou cannot worry about upsetting every person you come across, but","}
{"text": ""you must be selectively cruel. If your superior is a falling star, there is","}
{"text": ""nothing to fear from outshining him. Do not be merciful—your master","}
{"text": ""had no such scruples in his own cold-blooded climb to the top. Gauge his","}
{"text": ""strength. If he is weak, discreetly hasten his downfall: Outdo, outcharm,","}
{"text": ""outsmart him at key moments. If he is very weak and ready to fall, let","}
{"text": ""nature take its course. Do not risk outshining a feeble superior—it might","}
{"text": ""appear cruel or spiteful. But if your master is firm in his position, yet you","}
{"text": ""know yourself to be the more capable, bide your time and be patient. It is","}
{"text": ""the natural course of things that power eventually fades and weakens.","}
{"text": ""Your master will fall someday, and if you play it right, you will outlive","}
{"text": ""and someday outshine him.LAW 2","}
{"text": ""NEVER PUT TOO MUCH TRUST IN FRIENDS,","}
{"text": ""LEARN HOW TO USE ENEMIES","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Be wary of friends—they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily","}
{"text": ""aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a","}
{"text": ""former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has","}
{"text": ""more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from","}
{"text": ""enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In the mid-ninth century A.D., a young man named Michael III assumed","}
{"text": ""the throne of the Byzantine Empire. His mother, the Empress Theodora,","}
{"text": ""had been banished to a nunnery, and her lover, Theoctistus, had been","}
{"text": ""murdered ; at the head of the conspiracy to depose Theodora and","}
{"text": ""enthrone Michael had been Michael’s uncle, Bardas, a man of","}
{"text": ""intelligence and ambition. Michael was now a young, inexperienced","}
{"text": ""ruler, surrounded by in triguers, murderers, and profligates. In this time","}
{"text": ""of peril he needed someone he could trust as his councillor, and his","}
{"text": ""thoughts turned to Basilius, his best friend. Basilius had no experience","}
{"text": ""whatsoever in government and politics—in fact, he was the head of the","}
{"text": ""royal stables—but he had proven his love and gratitude time and again.","}
{"text": ""To have a good enemy, choose a friend: He knows where to strike.","}
{"text": ""DIANF DE POITIERS. 1499-1566. MISTRESS OF HENRI II OF","}
{"text": ""FRANCE","}
{"text": ""They had met a few years before, when Michael had been visiting the","}
{"text": ""stables just as a wild horse got loose. Basilius, a young groom frompeasant Macedonian stock, had saved Michael’s life. The groom’s","}
{"text": ""strength and courage had impressed Michael, who immediately raised","}
{"text": ""Basilius from the obscurity of being a horse trainer to the position of","}
{"text": ""head of the stables. He loaded his friend with gifts and favors and they","}
{"text": ""became inseparable. Basilius was sent to the finest school in Byzantium,","}
{"text": ""and the crude peasant became a cultured and sophisticated courtier.","}
{"text": ""Every time I bestow a vacant office I make a hundred discontented","}
{"text": ""persons and one ingrate.","}
{"text": ""Louis XIV, 1638-1715","}
{"text": ""Now Michael was emperor, and in need of someone loyal. Who could","}
{"text": ""he better trust with the post of chamberlain and chief councillor than a","}
{"text": ""young man who owed him everything?","}
{"text": ""Basilius could be trained for the job and Michael loved him like a","}
{"text": ""brother. Ignoring the advice of those who recommended the much more","}
{"text": ""qualified Bardas, Michael chose his friend.","}
{"text": ""Thus for my own part l have more than once been deceived by the person","}
{"text": ""I loved most and of whose love, above everyone else’s, I have been most","}
{"text": ""confident. So that I believe that u may be right to love and serve one","}
{"text": ""person above all others. according to merit and worth, but never to trust","}
{"text": ""so much in this tempting trap of friendship as to have cause to repent of","}
{"text": ""it later on.","}
{"text": ""BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE, 1478-1529","}
{"text": ""Basilius learned well and was soon advising the emperor on all","}
{"text": ""matters of state. The only problem seemed to be money—Basiiius never","}
{"text": ""had enough. Exposure to the splendor of Byzantine court life made him","}
{"text": ""avaricious for the perks of power. Michael doubled, then tripled his","}
{"text": ""salary, ennobled him, and married him off to his own mistress, Eudoxia","}
{"text": ""Ingerina. Keeping such a trusted friend and adviser satisfied was worth","}
{"text": ""any price. But more trouble was to come. Bardas was now head of the","}
{"text": ""army, and Basilius convinced Michael that the man was hopelessly","}
{"text": ""ambitious. Under the illusion that he could control his nephew, Bardas","}
{"text": ""had conspired to put him on the throne, and he could conspire again, this","}
{"text": ""time to get rid of Michael and assume the crown himself. Basilius poured","}
{"text": ""poison into Michael’s ear until the emperor agreed to have his uncle","}
{"text": ""murdered. During a great horse race, Basilius closed in on Bardas in the","}
{"text": ""crowd and stabbed him to death. Soon after, Basilius asked that he","}
{"text": ""replace Bardas as head of the army, where he could keep control of the","}
{"text": ""realm and quell rebellion. This was granted.Now Basilius’s power and wealth only grew, and a few years later","}
{"text": ""Michael, in financial straits from his own extravagance, asked him to pay","}
{"text": ""back some of the money he had borrowed over the years. To Michael’s","}
{"text": ""shock and astonishment, Basilius refused, with a look of such impudence","}
{"text": ""that the emperor suddenly realized his predicament: The former stable","}
{"text": ""boy had more money, more allies in the army and senate, and in the end","}
{"text": ""more power than the emperor himself. A few weeks later, after a night of","}
{"text": ""heavy drinking, Michael awoke to find himself surrounded by soldiers.","}
{"text": ""Basilius watched as they stabbed the emperor to death. Then, after","}
{"text": ""proclaiming himself emperor, he rode his horse through the streets of","}
{"text": ""Byzantium, brandishing the head of his former benefactor and best friend","}
{"text": ""at the end of a long pike.","}
{"text": ""THE SNAKE. THE FARMER. AND THE","}
{"text": ""HERON","}
{"text": ""A snake chased by hunters asked a farmer to save its life. To hide it from","}
{"text": ""its pursuers, the farmer squatted and let the snake crawl into his belly.","}
{"text": ""But when the danger had passed and the farmer asked the snake to come","}
{"text": ""out, the snake refused. It was warm and safe inside. On his way home,","}
{"text": ""the man saw a heron and went up to him and whispered what had","}
{"text": ""happened. The heron told him to squat and strain to eject the snake.","}
{"text": ""When the snake snuck its head out, the heron caught it, pulled it out, and","}
{"text": ""killed it. The farmer was worried that the snake’s poison might still be","}
{"text": ""inside him, and the heron told him that the cure for snake poison was to","}
{"text": ""cook and eat six white fowl. “You’re a white fowl,” said the farmer.","}
{"text": ""“You’ll do for a start.” He grabbed the heron, put it in a bag, and","}
{"text": ""carried it home, where he hung it up while he told his wife what had","}
{"text": ""happened. “I’m surprised at you, ” said the wife. “The bird does you a","}
{"text": ""kindness, rids you of the evil in your belly, saves your life in fact, yet you","}
{"text": ""catch it and talk of killing it. She immediately released the heron, and it","}
{"text": ""flew away. But on its way, it gouged out her eyes.","}
{"text": ""Moral: When you see water flowing uphill, it means that someone is","}
{"text": ""repaying a kindness.","}
{"text": ""AFRICAN FOLK TALE","}
{"text": ""InterpretationMichael III staked his future on the sense of gratitude he thought Basilius","}
{"text": ""must feel for him. Surely Basilius would serve him best; he owed the","}
{"text": ""emperor his wealth, his education, and his position. Then, once Basilius","}
{"text": ""was in power, anything he needed it was best to give to him,","}
{"text": ""strengthening the bonds between the two men. It was only on the fateful","}
{"text": ""day when the emperor saw that impudent smile on Basilius’s face that he","}
{"text": ""realized his deadly mistake.","}
{"text": ""He had created a monster. He had allowed a man to see power up","}
{"text": ""close—a man who then wanted more, who asked for anything and got it,","}
{"text": ""who felt encumbered by the charity he had received and simply did what","}
{"text": ""many people do in such a situation: They forget the favors they have","}
{"text": ""received and imagine they have earned their success by their own merits.","}
{"text": ""At Michael’s moment of realization, he could still have saved his own","}
{"text": ""life, but friendship and love blind every man to their interests. Nobody","}
{"text": ""believes a friend can betray. And Michael went on disbelieving until the","}
{"text": ""day his head ended up on a pike.","}
{"text": ""Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.","}
{"text": ""Voltaire, 1694-1778","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""For several centuries after the fall of the Han Dynasty (A.D. 222),","}
{"text": ""Chinese history followed the same pattern of violent and bloody coups,","}
{"text": ""one after the other. Army men would plot to kill a weak emperor, then","}
{"text": ""would replace him on the Dragon Throne with a strong general. The","}
{"text": ""general would start a new dynasty and crown himself emperor; to ensure","}
{"text": ""his own survival he would kill off his fellow generals. A few years later,","}
{"text": ""however, the pattern would resume: New generals would rise up and","}
{"text": ""assassinate him or his sons in their turn. To be emperor of China was to","}
{"text": ""be alone, surrounded by a pack of enemies—it was the least powerful,","}
{"text": ""least secure position in the realm.","}
{"text": ""In A.D. 959, General Chao K’uang-yin became Emperor Sung. He","}
{"text": ""knew the odds, the probability that within a year or two he would be","}
{"text": ""murdered ; how could he break the pattern? Soon after becoming","}
{"text": ""emperor, Sung ordered a banquet to celebrate the new dynasty, and","}
{"text": ""invited the most powerful commanders in the army. After they had drunk","}
{"text": ""much wine, he dismissed the guards and everybody else except thegenerals, who now feared he would murder them in one fell swoop.","}
{"text": ""Instead, he addressed them: “The whole day is spent in fear, and I am","}
{"text": ""unhappy both at the table and in my bed. For which one of you does not","}
{"text": ""dream of ascending the throne? I do not doubt your allegiance, but if by","}
{"text": ""some chance your subordinates, seeking wealth and position, were to","}
{"text": ""force the emperor’s yellow robe upon you in turn, how could you refuse","}
{"text": ""it?” Drunk and fearing for their lives, the generals proclaimed their","}
{"text": ""innocence and their loyalty. But Sung had other ideas: “The best way to","}
{"text": ""pass one’s days is in peaceful enjoyment of riches and honor. If you are","}
{"text": ""willing to give up your commands, I am ready to provide you with fine","}
{"text": ""estates and beautiful dwellings where you may take your pleasure with","}
{"text": ""singers and girls as your companions.”","}
{"text": ""The astonished generals realized that instead of a life of anxiety and","}
{"text": ""struggle Sung was offering them riches and security. The next day, all of","}
{"text": ""the generals tendered their resignations, and they retired as nobles to the","}
{"text": ""estates that Sung bestowed on them.","}
{"text": ""There are manv who think therefore that a wise prince ought, when he","}
{"text": ""has the chance, to foment astutely some enmity, so that by suppressing It","}
{"text": ""he will augment his greatness. Princes, and especially new ones, have","}
{"text": ""found more faith and more usefulness in those men, whom at the","}
{"text": ""beginning of their power they regarded with suspicion, than in those they","}
{"text": ""at first confided in. Pandolfo Petrucci, prince of Siena, governed his","}
{"text": ""state more bv those whom he suspected than by others.","}
{"text": ""Niccoi o MACHIAVELLI, 1469-1527","}
{"text": ""In one stroke, Sung turned a pack of “friendly” wolves, who would","}
{"text": ""likely have betrayed him, into a group of docile lambs, far from all","}
{"text": ""power.","}
{"text": ""Over the next few years Sung continued his campaign to secure his","}
{"text": ""rule. In A.D. 971, King Liu of the Southern Han finally surrendered to","}
{"text": ""him after years of rebellion. To Liu’s astonishment, Sung gave him a","}
{"text": ""rank in the imperial court and invited him to the palace to seal their","}
{"text": ""newfound friendship with wine. As King Liu took the glass that Sung","}
{"text": ""offered him, he hesitated, fearing it contained poison. “Your subject’s","}
{"text": ""crimes certainly merit death,” he cried out, “but I beg Your Majesty to","}
{"text": ""spare your subject’s life. Indeed I dare not drink this wine.” Emperor","}
{"text": ""Sung laughed, took the glass from Liu, and swallowed it himself. There","}
{"text": ""was no poison. From then on Liu became his most trusted and loyal","}
{"text": ""friend.At the time, China had splintered into many smaller kingdoms. When","}
{"text": ""Ch‘ien Shu, the king of one of these, was defeated, Sung’s ministers","}
{"text": ""advised the emperor to lock this rebel up. They presented documents","}
{"text": ""proving that he was still conspiring to kill Sung. When Ch’ien Shu came","}
{"text": ""to visit the emperor, however, instead of locking him up, Sung honored","}
{"text": ""him. He also gave him a package, which he told the former king to open","}
{"text": ""when he was halfway home. Ch’ien Shu opened the bundle on his return","}
{"text": ""journey and saw that it contained all the papers documenting his","}
{"text": ""conspiracy. He realized that Sung knew of his murderous plans, yet had","}
{"text": ""spared him nonetheless. This generosity won him over, and he too","}
{"text": ""became one of Sung’s most loyal vassals.","}
{"text": ""A brahman, a great expert in Veda who has become a great archer as","}
{"text": ""well, offers his services to his good friend, who is now the king. The","}
{"text": ""brahman cries out when he sees the king, “Recognize me, your friend!”","}
{"text": ""The king answers him with contempt and then explains: “Yes, we were","}
{"text": ""friends before, but our friendship was based on what power we had…. I","}
{"text": ""was friends with you, good brahman, because it served my purpose. No","}
{"text": ""pauper is friend to the rich, no fool to the wise, no coward to the brave.","}
{"text": ""An old friend—who needs him? It is two men of equal wealth and equal","}
{"text": ""birth who contract friendship and marriage, not a rich man and a","}
{"text": ""pauper…. An old friend—who needs him?","}
{"text": ""THE MAHABHARATA, C. THIRD CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""A Chinese proverb compares friends to the jaws and teeth of a dangerous","}
{"text": ""animal: If you are not careful, you will find them chewing you up.","}
{"text": ""Emperor Sung knew the jaws he was passing between when he assumed","}
{"text": ""the throne: His “friends” in the army would chew him up like meat, and","}
{"text": ""if he somehow survived, his “friends” in the government would have him","}
{"text": ""for supper. Emperor Sung would have no truck with “friends”—he","}
{"text": ""bribed his fellow generals with splendid estates and kept them far away.","}
{"text": ""This was a much better way to emasculate them than killing them, which","}
{"text": ""would only have led other generals to seek vengeance. And Sung would","}
{"text": ""have nothing to do with “friendly” ministers. More often than not, they","}
{"text": ""would end up drinking his famous cup of poisoned wine.","}
{"text": ""Instead of relying on friends, Sung used his enemies, one after the","}
{"text": ""other, transforming them into far more reliable subjects. While a friend","}
{"text": ""expects more and more favors, and seethes with jealousy, these formerenemies expected nothing and got everything. A man suddenly spared","}
{"text": ""the guillotine is a grateful man indeed, and will go to the ends of the","}
{"text": ""earth for the man who has pardoned him. In time, these former enemies","}
{"text": ""became Sung’s most trusted friends.","}
{"text": ""Pick up a bee from kindness, and learn the limitations of kindness.","}
{"text": ""SUFI PROVERB","}
{"text": ""And Sung was finally able to break the pattern of coups, violence, and","}
{"text": ""civil war—the Sung Dynasty ruled China for more than three hundred","}
{"text": ""years.","}
{"text": ""In a speech Abraham Lincoln delivered at the height of the Civil War,","}
{"text": ""he referred to the Southerners as fellow human beings who were in","}
{"text": ""error. An elderly lady chastised him for not calling them irreconcilable","}
{"text": ""enemies who must be destroyed. “Why, madam,” Lincoln replied,","}
{"text": ""“do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""It is natural to want to employ your friends when you find yourself in","}
{"text": ""times of need. The world is a harsh place, and your friends soften the","}
{"text": ""harshness. Besides, you know them. Why depend on a stranger when you","}
{"text": ""have a friend at hand?","}
{"text": ""Men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit, because gratitude","}
{"text": ""is a burden and revenge a pleasure.","}
{"text": ""TACITUS, c. A.D. 55-120","}
{"text": ""The problem is that you often do not know your friends as well as you","}
{"text": ""imagine. Friends often agree on things in order to avoid an argument.","}
{"text": ""They cover up their unpleasant qualities so as to not offend each other.","}
{"text": ""They laugh extra hard at each other’s jokes. Since honesty rarely","}
{"text": ""strengthens friendship, you may never know how a friend truly feels.","}
{"text": ""Friends will say that they love your poetry, adore your music, envy your","}
{"text": ""taste in clothes—maybe they mean it, often they do not.","}
{"text": ""When you decide to hire a friend, you gradually discover the qualities","}
{"text": ""he or she has kept hidden. Strangely enough, it is your act of kindness","}
{"text": ""that unbalances everything. People want to feel they deserve their good","}
{"text": ""fortune. The receipt of a favor can become oppressive: It means youhave been chosen because you are a friend, not necessarily because you","}
{"text": ""are deserving. There is almost a touch of condescension in the act of","}
{"text": ""hiring friends that secretly afflicts them. The injury will come out","}
{"text": ""slowly: A little more honesty, flashes of resentment and envy here and","}
{"text": ""there, and before you know it your friendship fades. The more favors and","}
{"text": ""gifts you supply to revive the friendship, the less gratitude you receive.","}
{"text": ""Ingratitude has a long and deep history. It has demonstrated its powers","}
{"text": ""for so many centuries, that it is truly amazing that people continue to","}
{"text": ""underestimate them. Better to be wary. If you never expect gratitude","}
{"text": ""from a friend, you will be pleasantly surprised when they do prove","}
{"text": ""grateful.","}
{"text": ""The problem with using or hiring friends is that it will inevitably limit","}
{"text": ""your power. The friend is rarely the one who is most able to help you;","}
{"text": ""and in the end, skill and competence are far more important than friendly","}
{"text": ""feelings. (Michael III had a man right under his nose who would have","}
{"text": ""steered him right and kept him alive: That man was Bardas.)","}
{"text": ""PROI LING BY OUR \\111","}
{"text": ""King Hiero chanced upon a time, speaking with one of his enemies, to be","}
{"text": ""told in a reproachful manner that he had stinking breath. Whereupon the","}
{"text": ""good king, being somewhat dismayed in himself, as soon as he returned","}
{"text": ""home chided his wife, “How does it happen that you never told me of this","}
{"text": ""problem?” The woman, being a simple, chaste. and harmless dame, said,","}
{"text": ""“Sir, l had thought all men breath had smelled so.” Thus it is plain that","}
{"text": ""faults that are evident to the senses, gross and corporal, or otherwise","}
{"text": ""notorious to the world, we know by our enemies sooner than by our","}
{"text": ""friends and familiars.","}
{"text": ""PLUTARCH, C. A.D. 46-120","}
{"text": ""All working situations require a kind of distance between people. You","}
{"text": ""are trying to work, not make friends; friendliness (real or false) only","}
{"text": ""obscures that fact. The key to power, then, is the ability to judge who is","}
{"text": ""best able to further your interests in all situations. Keep friends for","}
{"text": ""friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.","}
{"text": ""Your enemies, on the other hand, are an untapped gold mine that you","}
{"text": ""must learn to exploit. When Talleyrand, Napoleon’s foreign minister,","}
{"text": ""decided in 1807 that his boss was leading France to ruin, and the time","}
{"text": ""had come to turn against him, he understood the dangers of conspiring","}
{"text": ""against the emperor; he needed a partner, a confederate—what friend","}
{"text": ""could he trust in such a project? He chose Joseph Fouché, head of thesecret police, his most hated enemy, a man who had even tried to have","}
{"text": ""him assassinated. He knew that their former hatred would create an","}
{"text": ""opportunity for an emotional reconciliation. He knew that Fouché would","}
{"text": ""expect nothing from him, and in fact would work to prove that he was","}
{"text": ""worthy of Talleyrand’s choice; a person who has something to prove will","}
{"text": ""move mountains for you. Finally, he knew that his relationship with","}
{"text": ""Fouché would be based on mutual self-interest, and would not be","}
{"text": ""contaminated by personal feeling. The selection proved perfect; although","}
{"text": ""the conspirators did not succeed in toppling Napoleon, the union of such","}
{"text": ""powerful but unlikely partners generated much interest in the cause;","}
{"text": ""opposition to the emperor slowly began to spread. And from then on,","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand and Fouché had a fruitful working relationship. Whenever","}
{"text": ""you can, bury the hatchet with an enemy, and make a point of putting","}
{"text": ""him in your service.","}
{"text": ""As Lincoln said, you destroy an enemy when you make a friend of","}
{"text": ""him. In 1971, during the Vietnam War, Henry Kissinger was the target of","}
{"text": ""an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt, a conspiracy involving, among","}
{"text": ""others, the renowned antiwar activist priests the Berrigan brothers, four","}
{"text": ""more Catholic priests, and four nuns. In private, without informing the","}
{"text": ""Secret Service or the Justice Department, Kissinger arranged a Saturday-","}
{"text": ""morning meeting with three of the alleged kidnappers. Explaining to his","}
{"text": ""guests that he would have most American soldiers out of Vietnam by","}
{"text": ""mid-1972, he completely charmed them. They gave him some “Kidnap","}
{"text": ""Kissinger” buttons and one of them remained a friend of his for years,","}
{"text": ""visiting him on several occasions. This was not just a onetime ploy:","}
{"text": ""Kissinger made a policy of working with those who disagreed with him.","}
{"text": ""Colleagues commented that he seemed to get along better with his","}
{"text": ""enemies than with his friends.","}
{"text": ""Without enemies around us, we grow lazy. An enemy at our heels","}
{"text": ""sharpens our wits, keeping us focused and alert. It is sometimes better,","}
{"text": ""then, to use enemies as enemies rather than transforming them into","}
{"text": ""friends or allies.","}
{"text": ""Mao Tse-tung saw conflict as key in his approach to power. In 1937","}
{"text": ""the Japanese invaded China, interrupting the civil war between Mao’s","}
{"text": ""Communists and their enemy, the Nationalists.","}
{"text": ""Fearing that the Japanese would wipe them out, some Communist","}
{"text": ""leaders advocated leaving the Nationalists to fight the Japanese, and","}
{"text": ""using the time to recuperate. Mao disagreed: The Japanese could not","}
{"text": ""possibly defeat and occupy a vast country like China for long. Once they","}
{"text": ""left, the Communists would have grown rusty if they had been out ofcombat for several years, and would be ill prepared to reopen their","}
{"text": ""struggle with the Nationalists. To fight a formidable foe like the","}
{"text": ""Japanese, in fact, would be the perfect training for the Communists’","}
{"text": ""ragtag army. Mao’s plan was adopted, and it worked: By the time the","}
{"text": ""Japanese finally retreated, the Communists had gained the fighting","}
{"text": ""experience that helped them defeat the Nationalists.","}
{"text": ""Years later, a Japanese visitor tried to apologize to Mao for his","}
{"text": ""country’s invasion of China. Mao interrupted, “Should I not thank you","}
{"text": ""instead?” Without a worthy opponent, he explained, a man or group","}
{"text": ""cannot grow stronger.","}
{"text": ""Mao’s strategy of constant conflict has several key components. First,","}
{"text": ""be certain that in the long run you will emerge victorious. Never pick a","}
{"text": ""fight with someone you are not sure you can defeat, as Mao knew the","}
{"text": ""Japanese would be defeated in time. Second, if you have no apparent","}
{"text": ""enemies, you must sometimes set up a convenient target, even turning a","}
{"text": ""friend into an enemy. Mao used this tactic time and again in politics.","}
{"text": ""Third, use such enemies to define your cause more clearly to the public,","}
{"text": ""even framing it as a struggle of good against evil. Mao actually","}
{"text": ""encouraged China’s disagreements with the Soviet Union and the United","}
{"text": ""States; without clear-cut enemies, he believed, his people would lose any","}
{"text": ""sense of what Chinese Communism meant. A sharply defined enemy is a","}
{"text": ""far stronger argument for your side than all the words you could possibly","}
{"text": ""put together.","}
{"text": ""Never let the presence of enemies upset or distress you—you are far","}
{"text": ""better off with a declared opponent or two than not knowing where your","}
{"text": ""real enemies lie. The man of power welcomes conflict, using enemies to","}
{"text": ""enhance his reputation as a surefooted fighter who can be relied upon in","}
{"text": ""times of uncertainty.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Jaws of Ingratitude. Knowing what would happen if you put","}
{"text": ""a finger in the mouth of a lion, you would stay clear of it. With friends","}
{"text": ""you will have no such caution, and if you hire them, they will eat you","}
{"text": ""alive with ingratitude.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Know how to use enemies for your own profit. You must","}
{"text": ""learn to grab a sword not by its blade, which would cut you, but by the","}
{"text": ""handle, which allows you to defend yourself. The wise man profits more","}
{"text": ""from his enemies, than a fool from his friends. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-","}
{"text": ""1658)REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Although it is generally best not to mix work with friendship, there are","}
{"text": ""times when a friend can be used to greater effect than an enemy. A man","}
{"text": ""of power, for example, often has dirty work that has to be done, but for","}
{"text": ""the sake of appearances it is generally preferable to have other people do","}
{"text": ""it for him; friends often do this the best, since their affection for him","}
{"text": ""makes them willing to take chances. Also, if your plans go awry for","}
{"text": ""some reason, you can use a friend as a convenient scapegoat. This “fall","}
{"text": ""of the favorite” was a trick often used by kings and sovereigns: They","}
{"text": ""would let their closest friend at court take the fall for a mistake, since the","}
{"text": ""public would not believe that they would deliberately sacrifice a friend","}
{"text": ""for such a purpose. Of course, after you play that card, you have lost","}
{"text": ""your friend forever. It is best, then, to reserve the scapegoat role for","}
{"text": ""someone who is close to you but not too close.","}
{"text": ""Finally, the problem about working with friends is that it confuses the","}
{"text": ""boundaries and distances that working requires. But if both partners in","}
{"text": ""the arrangement understand the dangers involved, a friend often can be","}
{"text": ""employed to great effect. You must never let your guard down in such a","}
{"text": ""venture, however; always be on the lookout for any signs of emotional","}
{"text": ""disturbance such as envy and ingratitude. Nothing is stable in the realm","}
{"text": ""of power, and even the closest of friends can be transformed into the","}
{"text": ""worst of enemies.LAW 3","}
{"text": ""CONCEAL YOUR INTENTIONS","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose","}
{"text": ""behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot","}
{"text": ""prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop","}
{"text": ""them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it","}
{"text": ""will be too late.PART I: USE DECOYED OBJECTS OF","}
{"text": ""DESIRE AND RED HERRINGS TO THROW","}
{"text": ""PEOPLE OFF THE SCENT","}
{"text": ""If at any point in the deception you practice people have the slightest","}
{"text": ""suspicionas to your intentions, all is lost. Do not give them the chance to","}
{"text": ""sense what you are up to: Throw them off the scent by dragging red","}
{"text": ""herrings across the path. Use false sincerity, send ambiguous signals, set","}
{"text": ""up misleading objects of desire. Unable to distinguish the genuine from","}
{"text": ""the false, they cannot pick out your real goal.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Over several weeks, Ninon de Lenclos, the most infamous courtesan of","}
{"text": ""seventeenth-century France, listened patiently as the Marquis de Sevigné","}
{"text": ""explained his struggles in pursuing a beautiful but difficult young","}
{"text": ""countess. Ninon was sixty-two at the time, and more than experienced in","}
{"text": ""matters of love; the marquis was a lad of twenty-two, handsome,","}
{"text": ""dashing, but hopelessly inexperienced in romance. At first Ninon was","}
{"text": ""amused to hear the marquis talk about his mistakes, but finally she had","}
{"text": ""had enough. Unable to bear ineptitude in any realm, least of all in","}
{"text": ""seducing a woman, she decided to take the young man under her wing.","}
{"text": ""First, he had to understand that this was war, and that the beautiful","}
{"text": ""countess was a citadel to which he had to lay siege as carefully as any","}
{"text": ""general. Every step had to be planned and executed with the utmost","}
{"text": ""attention to detail and nuance.","}
{"text": ""Instructing the marquis to start over, Ninon told him to approach the","}
{"text": ""countess with a bit of distance, an air of nonchalance. The next time the","}
{"text": ""two were alone together, she said, he would confide in the countess as","}
{"text": ""would a friend but not a potential lover. This was to throw her off the","}
{"text": ""scent. The countess was no longer to take his interest in her for granted","}
{"text": ""—perhaps he was only interested in friendship.Ninon planned ahead. Once the countess was confused, it would be","}
{"text": ""time to make her jealous. At the next encounter, at a major fête in Paris,","}
{"text": ""the marquis would show up with a beautiful young woman at his side.","}
{"text": ""This beautiful young woman had equally beautiful friends, so that","}
{"text": ""wherever the countess would now see the marquis, he would be","}
{"text": ""surrounded by the most stunning young women in Paris. Not only would","}
{"text": ""the countess be seething with jealousy, she would come to see the","}
{"text": ""marquis as someone who was desired by others. It was hard for Ninon to","}
{"text": ""make the marquis understand, but she patiently explained that a woman","}
{"text": ""who is interested in a man wants to see that other women are interested","}
{"text": ""in him, too. Not only does that give him instant value, it makes it all the","}
{"text": ""more satisfying to snatch him from their clutches.","}
{"text": ""Once the countess was jealous but intrigued, it would be time to","}
{"text": ""beguile her. On Ninon’s instructions, the marquis would fail to show up","}
{"text": ""at affairs where the countess expected to see him. Then, suddenly, he","}
{"text": ""would appear at salons he had never frequented before, but that the","}
{"text": ""countess attended often. She would be unable to predict his moves. All","}
{"text": ""of this would push her into the state of emotional confusion that is a","}
{"text": ""prerequisite for successful seduction.","}
{"text": ""These moves were executed, and took several weeks. Ninon","}
{"text": ""monitored the marquis’s progress: Through her network of spies, she","}
{"text": ""heard how the countess would laugh a little harder at his witticisms,","}
{"text": ""listen more closely to his stories. She heard that the countess was","}
{"text": ""suddenly asking questions about him. Her friends told her that at social","}
{"text": ""affairs the countess would often look up at the marquis, following his","}
{"text": ""steps. Ninon felt certain that the young woman was falling under his","}
{"text": ""spell. It was a matter of weeks now, maybe a month or two, but if all","}
{"text": ""went smoothly, the citadel would fall.","}
{"text": ""A few days later the marquis was at the countess’s home. They were","}
{"text": ""alone. Suddenly he was a different man: This time acting on his own","}
{"text": ""impulse, rather than following Ninon’s instructions, he took the","}
{"text": ""countess’s hands and told her he was in love with her. The young woman","}
{"text": ""seemed confused, a reaction he did not expect. She became polite, then","}
{"text": ""excused herself. For the rest of the evening she avoided his eyes, was not","}
{"text": ""there to say good-night to him. The next few times he visited he was told","}
{"text": ""she was not at home. When she finally admitted him again, the two felt","}
{"text": ""awkward and uncomfortable with each other. The spell was broken.","}
{"text": ""InterpretationNinon de Lenclos knew everything about the art of love. The greatest","}
{"text": ""writ ers, thinkers, and politicians of the time had been her lovers—men","}
{"text": ""like La Rochefoucauld, Molière, and Richelieu. Seduction was a game to","}
{"text": ""her, to be practiced with skill. As she got older, and her reputation grew,","}
{"text": ""the most important families in France would send their sons to her to be","}
{"text": ""instructed in matters of love.","}
{"text": ""Ninon knew that men and women are very different, but when it","}
{"text": ""comes to seduction they feel the same: Deep down inside, they often","}
{"text": ""sense when they are being seduced, but they give in because they enjoy","}
{"text": ""the feeling of being led along. It is a pleasure to let go, and to allow the","}
{"text": ""other person to detour you into a strange country. Everything in","}
{"text": ""seduction, however, depends on suggestion. You cannot announce your","}
{"text": ""intentions or reveal them directly in words. Instead you must throw your","}
{"text": ""targets off the scent. To surrender to your guidance they must be","}
{"text": ""appropriately confused. You have to scramble your signals—appear","}
{"text": ""interested in another man or woman (the decoy), then hint at being","}
{"text": ""interested in the target, then feign indifference, on and on. Such patterns","}
{"text": ""not only confuse, they excite.","}
{"text": ""Imagine this story from the countess’s perspective: After a few of the","}
{"text": ""marquis’s moves, she sensed the marquis was playing some sort of game,","}
{"text": ""but the game delighted her. She did not know where he was leading her,","}
{"text": ""but so much the better. His moves intrigued her, each of them keeping","}
{"text": ""her waiting for the next one—she even enjoyed her jealousy and","}
{"text": ""confusion, for sometimes any emotion is better than the boredom of","}
{"text": ""security. Perhaps the marquis had ulterior motives; most men do. But she","}
{"text": ""was willing to wait and see, and probably if she had been made to wait","}
{"text": ""long enough, what he was up to would not have mattered.","}
{"text": ""The moment the marquis uttered that fatal word “love,” however, all","}
{"text": ""was changed. This was no longer a game with moves, it was an artless","}
{"text": ""show of passion. His intention was revealed: He was seducing her. This","}
{"text": ""put everything he had done in a new light. All that before had been","}
{"text": ""charming now seemed ugly and conniving; the countess felt embarrassed","}
{"text": ""and used. A door closed that would never open again.","}
{"text": ""Do not be held a cheat, even though it is impossible to live today without","}
{"text": ""being one.","}
{"text": ""Let your greatest cunning lie in covering up what looks like cunning.","}
{"text": ""Ballasar Gracián, 1601-1658OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In 1850 the young Otto von Bismarck, then a thirty-five-year-old deputy","}
{"text": ""in the Prussian parliament, was at a turning point in his career. The issues","}
{"text": ""of the day were the unification of the many states (including Prussia) into","}
{"text": ""which Germany was then divided, and a war against Austria, the","}
{"text": ""powerful neighbor to the south that hoped to keep the Germans weak and","}
{"text": ""at odds, even threatening to intervene if they tried to unite. Prince","}
{"text": ""William, next in line to be Prussia’s king, was in favor of going to war,","}
{"text": ""and the parliament rallied to the cause, prepared to back any mobilization","}
{"text": ""of troops. The only ones to oppose war were the present king, Frederick","}
{"text": ""William IV, and his ministers, who preferred to appease the powerful","}
{"text": ""Austrians.","}
{"text": ""Throughout his career, Bismarck had been a loyal, even passionate","}
{"text": ""supporter of Prussian might and power. He dreamed of German","}
{"text": ""unification, of going to war against Austria and humiliating the country","}
{"text": ""that for so long had kept Germany divided. A former soldier, he saw","}
{"text": ""warfare as a glorious business.","}
{"text": ""This, after all, was the man who years later would say, “The great","}
{"text": ""questions of the time will be decided, not by speeches and resolutions,","}
{"text": ""but by iron and blood.”","}
{"text": ""Passionate patriot and lover of military glory, Bismarck nevertheless","}
{"text": ""gave a speech in parliament at the height of the war fever that astonished","}
{"text": ""all who heard it. “Woe unto the statesman,” he said, “who makes war","}
{"text": ""without a reason that will still be valid when the war is over! After the","}
{"text": ""war, you will all look differently at these questions. Will you then have","}
{"text": ""the courage to turn to the peasant contemplating the ashes of his farm, to","}
{"text": ""the man who has been crippled, to the father who has lost his children?”","}
{"text": ""Not only did Bismarck go on to talk of the madness of this war, but,","}
{"text": ""strangest of all, he praised Austria and defended her actions. This went","}
{"text": ""against everything he had stood for. The consequences were immediate.","}
{"text": ""Bismarck was against the war—what could this possibly mean? Other","}
{"text": ""deputies were confused, and several of them changed their votes.","}
{"text": ""Eventually the king and his ministers won out, and war was averted.","}
{"text": ""A few weeks after Bismarck’s infamous speech, the king, grateful that","}
{"text": ""he had spoken for peace, made him a cabinet minister. A few years later","}
{"text": ""he became the Prussian premier. In this role he eventually led his country","}
{"text": ""and a peace-loving king into a war against Austria, crushing the former","}
{"text": ""empire and establishing a mighty German state, with Prussia at its head.Interpretation","}
{"text": ""At the time of his speech in 1850, Bismarck made several calculations.","}
{"text": ""First, he sensed that the Prussian military, which had not kept pace with","}
{"text": ""other European armies, was unready for war—that Austria, in fact, might","}
{"text": ""very well win, a disastrous result for the future. Second, if the war were","}
{"text": ""lost and Bismarck had supported it, his career would be gravely","}
{"text": ""jeopardized. The king and his conservative ministers wanted peace;","}
{"text": ""Bismarck wanted power. The answer was to throw people off the scent","}
{"text": ""by supporting a cause he detested, saying things he would laugh at if said","}
{"text": ""by another. A whole country was fooled. It was because of Bismarck’s","}
{"text": ""speech that the king made him a minister, a position from which he","}
{"text": ""quickly rose to be prime minister, attaining the power to strengthen the","}
{"text": ""Prussian military and accomplish what he had wanted all along: the","}
{"text": ""humiliation of Austria and the unification of Germany under Prussia’s","}
{"text": ""leadership.","}
{"text": ""Bismarck was certainly one of the cleverest statesman who ever lived,","}
{"text": ""a master of strategy and deception. No one suspected what he was up to","}
{"text": ""in this case. Had he announced his real intentions, arguing that it was","}
{"text": ""better to wait now and fight later, he would not have won the argument,","}
{"text": ""since most Prussians wanted war at that moment and mistakenly believed","}
{"text": ""that their army was superior to the Austrians. Had he played up to the","}
{"text": ""king, asking to be made a minister in exchange for supporting peace, he","}
{"text": ""would not have succeeded either: The king would have distrusted his","}
{"text": ""ambition and doubted his sincerity.","}
{"text": ""By being completely insincere and sending misleading signals,","}
{"text": ""however, he deceived everyone, concealed his purpose, and attained","}
{"text": ""everything he wanted. Such is the power of hiding your intentions.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Most people are open books. They say what they feel, blurt out their","}
{"text": ""opinions at every opportunity, and constantly reveal their plans and","}
{"text": ""intentions. They do this for several reasons. First, it is easy and natural to","}
{"text": ""always want to talk about one’s feelings and plans for the future. It takes","}
{"text": ""effort to control your tongue and monitor what you reveal. Second, many","}
{"text": ""believe that by being honest and open they are winning people’s heartsand showing their good nature.They are greatly deluded. Honesty is","}
{"text": ""actually a blunt instrument, which bloodies more than it cuts. Your","}
{"text": ""honesty is likely to offend people; it is much more prudent to tailor your","}
{"text": ""words, telling people what they want to hear rather than the coarse and","}
{"text": ""ugly truth of what you feel or think. More important, by being","}
{"text": ""unabashedly open you make yourself so predictable and familiar that it is","}
{"text": ""almost impossible to respect or fear you, and power will not accrue to a","}
{"text": ""person who cannot inspire such emotions.","}
{"text": ""If you yearn for power, quickly lay honesty aside, and train yourself in","}
{"text": ""the art of concealing your intentions. Master the art and you will always","}
{"text": ""have the upper hand. Basic to an ability to conceal one’s intentions is a","}
{"text": ""simple truth about human nature: Our first instinct is to always trust","}
{"text": ""appearances. We cannot go around doubting the reality of what we see","}
{"text": ""and hear—constantly imagining that appearances concealed something","}
{"text": ""else would exhaust and terrify us. This fact makes it relatively easy to","}
{"text": ""conceal one’s intentions. Simply dangle an object you seem to desire, a","}
{"text": ""goal you seem to aim for, in front of people’s eyes and they will take the","}
{"text": ""appearance for reality. Once their eyes focus on the decoy, they will fail","}
{"text": ""to notice what you are really up to. In seduction, set up conflicting","}
{"text": ""signals, such as desire and indifference, and you not only throw them off","}
{"text": ""the scent, you inflame their desire to possess you.","}
{"text": ""A tactic that is often effective in setting up a red herring is to appear to","}
{"text": ""support an idea or cause that is actually contrary to your own sentiments.","}
{"text": ""(Bismarck used this to great effect in his speech in 1850.) Most people","}
{"text": ""will believe you have experienced a change of heart, since it is so","}
{"text": ""unusual to play so lightly with something as emotional as one’s opinions","}
{"text": ""and values. The same applies for any decoyed object of desire: Seem to","}
{"text": ""want something in which you are actually not at all interested and your","}
{"text": ""enemies will be thrown off the scent, making all kinds of errors in their","}
{"text": ""calculations.","}
{"text": ""During the War of the Spanish Succession in 1711, the Duke of","}
{"text": ""Marlborough, head of the English army, wanted to destroy a key French","}
{"text": ""fort, because it protected a vital thoroughfare into France. Yet he knew","}
{"text": ""that if he destroyed it, the French would realize what he wanted—to","}
{"text": ""advance down that road. Instead, then, he merely captured the fort, and","}
{"text": ""garrisoned it with some of his troops, making it appear as if he wanted it","}
{"text": ""for some purpose of his own. The French attacked the fort and the duke","}
{"text": ""let them recapture it. Once they had it back, though, they destroyed it,","}
{"text": ""figuring that the duke had wanted it for some important reason. Now thatthe fort was gone, the road was unprotected, and Marlborough could","}
{"text": ""easily march into France.","}
{"text": ""Use this tactic in the following manner: Hide your intentions not by","}
{"text": ""closing up (with the risk of appearing secretive, and making people","}
{"text": ""suspicious) but by talking endlessly about your desires and goals—just","}
{"text": ""not your real ones. You will kill three birds with one stone: You appear","}
{"text": ""friendly, open, and trusting; you conceal your intentions; and you send","}
{"text": ""your rivals on time-consuming wild-goose chases.","}
{"text": ""Another powerful tool in throwing people off the scent is false","}
{"text": ""sincerity. People easily mistake sincerity for honesty. Remember—their","}
{"text": ""first instinct is to trust appearances, and since they value honesty and","}
{"text": ""want to believe in the honesty of those around them, they will rarely","}
{"text": ""doubt you or see through your act. Seeming to believe what you say","}
{"text": ""gives your words great weight. This is how Iago deceived and destroyed","}
{"text": ""Othello: Given the depth of his emotions, the apparent sincerity of his","}
{"text": ""concerns about Desde mona’s supposed infidelity, how could Othello","}
{"text": ""distrust him? This is also how the great con artist Yellow Kid Weil pulled","}
{"text": ""the wool over suckers’ eyes: Seeming to believe so deeply in the","}
{"text": ""decoyed object he was dangling in front of them (a phony stock, a touted","}
{"text": ""racehorse), he made its reality hard to doubt. It is important, of course,","}
{"text": ""not to go too far in this area. Sincerity is a tricky tool: Appear","}
{"text": ""overpassionate and you raise suspicions. Be measured and believable or","}
{"text": ""your ruse will seem the put-on that it is.","}
{"text": ""To make your false sincerity an effective weapon in concealing your","}
{"text": ""intentions, espouse a belief in honesty and forthrightness as important","}
{"text": ""social values. Do this as publicly as possible. Emphasize your position","}
{"text": ""on this subject by occasionally divulging some heartfelt thought—though","}
{"text": ""only one that is actually meaningless or irrelevant, of course. Napoleon’s","}
{"text": ""minister Talleyrand was a master at taking people into his confidence by","}
{"text": ""revealing some apparent secret. This feigned confidence—a decoy—","}
{"text": ""would then elicit a real confidence on the other person’s part.","}
{"text": ""Remember: The best deceivers do everything they can to cloak their","}
{"text": ""roguish qualities. They cultivate an air of honesty in one area to disguise","}
{"text": ""their dishonesty in others. Honesty is merely another decoy in their","}
{"text": ""arsenal of weapons.PART II: USE SMOKE SCREENS TO","}
{"text": ""DISGUISE YOUR ACTIONS","}
{"text": ""Deception is always the best strategy, but the best deceptions require a","}
{"text": ""screen of smoke to distract people attention from your real purpose. The","}
{"text": ""bland exterior—like the unreadable poker face—is often the perfect","}
{"text": ""smoke screen, hiding your intentions behind the comfortable and","}
{"text": ""familiar. If you lead the sucker down a familiar path, he won’t catch on","}
{"text": ""when you lead him into a trap.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I","}
{"text": ""In 1910, a Mr. Sam Geezil of Chicago sold his warehouse business for","}
{"text": ""close to $1 million. He settled down to semiretirement and the managing","}
{"text": ""of his many properties, but deep inside he itched for the old days of deal-","}
{"text": ""making. One day a young man named Joseph Weil visited his office,","}
{"text": ""wanting to buy an apartment he had up for sale. Geezil explained the","}
{"text": ""terms: The price was $8,000, but he only required a down payment of","}
{"text": ""$2,000. Weil said he would sleep on it, but he came back the following","}
{"text": ""day and offered to pay the full $8,000 in cash, if Geezil could wait a","}
{"text": ""couple of days, until a deal Weil was working on came through. Even in","}
{"text": ""semiretirement, a clever businessman like Geezil was curious as to how","}
{"text": ""Weil would be able to come up with so much cash (roughly $150,000","}
{"text": ""today) so quickly. Weil seemed reluctant to say, and quickly changed the","}
{"text": ""subject, but Geezil was persistent. Finally, after assurances of","}
{"text": ""confidentiality, Weil told Geezil the following story.","}
{"text": ""THE KING OF ISRAEL IGNS WORSHIP OF","}
{"text": ""THE","}
{"text": ""Then Jehu assembled all the people, and said to them, “Ahab served","}
{"text": ""Ba‘al a little; but Jehu will serve him much more. Now therefore call to","}
{"text": ""me all the prophets of Ba’al, all his worshippers and all his priests; letnone be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Ba‘al; whoever is","}
{"text": ""missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy","}
{"text": ""the worshippers of Ba’al. And Jehu ordered, “Sanctify a solemn","}
{"text": ""assembly for Ba‘al. ”So they proclaimed it. And Jehu sent throughout all","}
{"text": ""Israel; and all the worshippers of Ba’al came, so that there was not a","}
{"text": ""man left who did not come. And they entered the house of Ba‘al, and the","}
{"text": ""house of Ba’al was filled from one end to the other…. Then Jehu went","}
{"text": ""into the house of Ba‘al … and he said to the worshippers of Ba’al,","}
{"text": ""“Search, and see that there is no servant of the LORD here among you,","}
{"text": ""but only the worshippers of Ba‘al.“Then he went in to offer sacrifices","}
{"text": ""and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside, and","}
{"text": ""said, ”The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to","}
{"text": ""escape shall forfeit his life.“ So as soon as he had made an end of","}
{"text": ""offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers,","}
{"text": ""”Go in and slay them; let not a man escape. ” So when they put them to","}
{"text": ""the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the","}
{"text": ""inner room of the house of Ba’al and they brought out the pillar that was","}
{"text": ""in the house of Ba‘al and burned it. And they demolished the pillar of","}
{"text": ""Ba’al and demolished the house of Ba‘al, and made it a latrine to this","}
{"text": ""day. Thus Jehu wiped out Ba’al from Israel.","}
{"text": ""OLD TESTAMENT, 2 KINGS 10:18-28","}
{"text": ""Weil’s uncle was the secretary to a coterie of multimillionaire","}
{"text": ""financiers. These wealthy gentlemen had purchased a hunting lodge in","}
{"text": ""Michigan ten years ago, at a cheap price. They had not used the lodge for","}
{"text": ""a few years, so they had decided to sell it and had asked Weil’s uncle to","}
{"text": ""get whatever he could for it. For reasons—good reasons—of his own, the","}
{"text": ""uncle had been nursing a grudge against the millionaires for years; this","}
{"text": ""was his chance to get back at them. He would sell the property for","}
{"text": ""$35,000 to a set up man (whom it was Weil’s job to find). The financiers","}
{"text": ""were too wealthy to worry about this low price. The set-up man would","}
{"text": ""then turn around and sell the property again for its real price, around","}
{"text": ""$155,000. The uncle, Weil, and the third man would split the profits from","}
{"text": ""this second sale. It was all legal and for a good cause—the uncle’s just","}
{"text": ""retribution.","}
{"text": ""Geezil had heard enough: He wanted to be the set-up buyer. Weil was","}
{"text": ""reluctant to involve him, but Geezil would not back down: The idea of a","}
{"text": ""large profit, plus a little adventure, had him champing at the bit. Weil","}
{"text": ""explained that Geezil would have to put up the $35,000 in cash to bring","}
{"text": ""the deal off. Geezil, a millionaire, said he could get the money with a","}
{"text": ""snap of his fingers. Weil finally relented and agreed to arrange a meetingbetween the uncle, Geezil, and the financiers, in the town of Galesburg,","}
{"text": ""Illinois.","}
{"text": ""On the train ride to Galesburg, Geezil met the uncle—an impressive","}
{"text": ""man, with whom he avidly discussed business. Weil also brought along a","}
{"text": ""companion, a somewhat paunchy man named George Gross. Weil","}
{"text": ""explained to Geezil that he himself was a boxing trainer, that Gross was","}
{"text": ""one of the promising prizefighters he trained, and that he had asked","}
{"text": ""Gross to come along to make sure the fighter stayed in shape. For a","}
{"text": ""promising fighter, Gross was unimpressive looking—he had gray hair","}
{"text": ""and a beer belly—but Geezil was so excited about the deal that he didn’t","}
{"text": ""really think about the man’s flabby appearance.","}
{"text": ""Once in Galesburg, Weil and his uncle went to fetch the financiers","}
{"text": ""while Geezil waited in a hotel room with Gross, who promptly put on his","}
{"text": ""boxing trunks. As Geezil half watched, Gross began to shadowbox.","}
{"text": ""Distracted as he was, Geezil ignored how badly the boxer wheezed after","}
{"text": ""a few minutes of exercise, although his style seemed real enough. An","}
{"text": ""hour later, Weil and his uncle reappeared with the financiers, an","}
{"text": ""impressive, intimidating group of men, all wearing fancy suits. The","}
{"text": ""meeting went well and the financiers agreed to sell the lodge to Geezil,","}
{"text": ""who had already had the $35,000 wired to a local bank.","}
{"text": ""This minor business now settled, the financiers sat back in their chairs","}
{"text": ""and began to banter about high finance, throwing out the name “J. P.","}
{"text": ""Morgan” as if they knew the man. Finally one of them noticed the boxer","}
{"text": ""in the corner of the room. Weil explained what he was doing there. The","}
{"text": ""financier countered that he too had a boxer in his entourage, whom he","}
{"text": ""named. Weil laughed brazenly and exclaimed that his man could easily","}
{"text": ""knock out their man. Conversation escalated into argument. In the heat","}
{"text": ""of passion, Weil challenged the men to a bet. The financiers eagerly","}
{"text": ""agreed and left to get their man ready for a fight the next day.","}
{"text": ""As soon as they had left, the uncle yelled at Weil, right in front of","}
{"text": ""Geezil; They did not have enough money to bet with, and once the","}
{"text": ""financiers discovered this, the uncle would be fired. Weil apologized for","}
{"text": ""getting him in this mess, but he had a plan: He knew the other boxer","}
{"text": ""well, and with a little bribe, they could fix the fight. But where would the","}
{"text": ""money come from for the bet? the uncle replied. Without it they were as","}
{"text": ""good as dead. Finally Geezil had heard enough. Unwilling to jeopardize","}
{"text": ""his deal with any ill will, he offered his own $35,000 cash for part of the","}
{"text": ""bet. Even if he lost that, he would wire for more money and still make a","}
{"text": ""profit on the sale of the lodge. The uncle and nephew thanked him. With","}
{"text": ""their own $15,000 and Geezil’s $35,000 they would manage to haveenough for the bet. That evening, as Geezil watched the two boxers","}
{"text": ""rehearse the fix in the hotel room, his mind reeled at the killing he was","}
{"text": ""going to make from both the boxing match and the sale of the lodge.","}
{"text": ""The fight took place in a gym the next day. Weil handled the cash,","}
{"text": ""which was placed for security in a locked box. Everything was","}
{"text": ""proceeding as planned in the hotel room. The financiers were looking","}
{"text": ""glum at how badly their fighter was doing, and Geezil was dreaming","}
{"text": ""about the easy money he was about to make. Then, suddenly, a wild","}
{"text": ""swing by the financier’s fighter hit Gross hard in the face, knocking him","}
{"text": ""down. When he hit the canvas, blood spurted from his mouth. He","}
{"text": ""coughed, then lay still. One of the financiers, a former doctor, checked","}
{"text": ""his pulse; he was dead. The millionaires panicked: Everyone had to get","}
{"text": ""out before the police arrived-they could all be charged with murder.","}
{"text": ""Terrified, Geezil hightailed it out of the gym and back to Chicago,","}
{"text": ""leaving behind his $35,000 which he was only too glad to forget, for it","}
{"text": ""seemed a small price to pay to avoid being implicated in a crime. He","}
{"text": ""never wanted to see Weil or any of the others again.","}
{"text": ""After Geezil scurried out, Gross stood up, under his own steam. The","}
{"text": ""blood that had spurted from his mouth came from a ball filled with","}
{"text": ""chicken blood and hot water that he had hidden in his cheek. The whole","}
{"text": ""affair had been masterminded by Weil, better known as “the Yellow","}
{"text": ""Kid,” one of the most creative con artists in history. Weil split the","}
{"text": ""$35,000 with the financiers and the boxers (all fellow con artists)—a","}
{"text": ""nice little profit for a few days’ work.","}
{"text": ""SN BROAD","}
{"text": ""This means to create a front that eventually becomes imbued with an","}
{"text": ""atmosphere or impression of familiarity, within which the strategist may","}
{"text": ""maneuver unseen while all eyes are trained to see obvious familiarities.","}
{"text": ""“THE THIRTY-SIX STRATEGIES.” QUOTED IN THF JAPANESE","}
{"text": ""ART OF WAR.","}
{"text": ""THOMAS CLEARY, 1991","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The Yellow Kid had staked out Geezil as the perfect sucker long before","}
{"text": ""he set up the con. He knew the boxing-match scam would be the perfect","}
{"text": ""ruse to separate Geezil from his money quickly and definitively. But he","}
{"text": ""also knew that if he had begun by trying to interest Geezil in the boxingmatch, he would have failed miserably. He had to conceal his intentions","}
{"text": ""and switch attention, create a smoke screen—in this case the sale of the","}
{"text": ""lodge.","}
{"text": ""On the train ride and in the hotel room Geezil’s mind had been","}
{"text": ""completely occupied with the pending deal, the easy money, the chance","}
{"text": ""to hobnob with wealthy men. He had failed to notice that Gross was out","}
{"text": ""of shape and middle-aged at best. Such is the distracting power of a","}
{"text": ""smoke screen. Engrossed in the business deal, Geezil’s attention was","}
{"text": ""easily diverted to the boxing match, but only at a point when it was","}
{"text": ""already too late for him to notice the details that would have given Gross","}
{"text": ""away. The match, after all, now depended on a bribe rather than on the","}
{"text": ""boxer’s physical condition. And Geezil was so distracted at the end by","}
{"text": ""the illusion of the boxer’s death that he completely forgot about his","}
{"text": ""money.","}
{"text": ""Learn from the Yellow Kid: The familiar, inconspicuous front is the","}
{"text": ""perfect smoke screen. Approach your mark with an idea that seems","}
{"text": ""ordinary enough—a business deal, financial intrigue. The sucker’s mind","}
{"text": ""is distracted, his suspicions allayed. That is when you gently guide him","}
{"text": ""onto the second path, the slippery slope down which he slides helplessly","}
{"text": ""into your trap.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II","}
{"text": ""In the mid-1920s, the powerful warlords of Ethiopia were coming to the","}
{"text": ""realization that a young man of the nobility named Haile Selassie, also","}
{"text": ""known as Ras Tafari, was outcompeting them all and nearing the point","}
{"text": ""where he could proclaim himself their leader, unifying the country for","}
{"text": ""the first time in decades. Most of his rivals could not understand how this","}
{"text": ""wispy, quiet, mild-mannered man had been able to take control. Yet in","}
{"text": ""1927, Selassie was able to summon the warlords, one at a time, to come","}
{"text": ""to Addis Ababa to declare their loyalty and recognize him as leader.","}
{"text": ""Some hurried, some hesitated, but only one, Dejazmach Balcha of","}
{"text": ""Sidamo, dared defy Selassie totally. A blustery man, Balcha was a great","}
{"text": ""warrior, and he considered the new leader weak and unworthy. He","}
{"text": ""pointedly stayed away from the capital. Finally Selassie, in his gentle but","}
{"text": ""stem way, commanded Balcha to come. The warlord decided to obey, but","}
{"text": ""in doing so he would turn the tables on this pretender to the Ethiopianthrone: He would come to Addis Ababa at his own speed, and with an","}
{"text": ""army of 10,000 men, a force large enough to defend himself, perhaps","}
{"text": ""even start a civil war. Stationing this formidable force in a valley three","}
{"text": ""miles from the capital, he waited, as a king would. Selassie would have","}
{"text": ""to come to him.","}
{"text": ""Selassie did indeed send emissaries, asking Balcha to attend an","}
{"text": ""afternoon banquet in his honor. But Balcha, no fool, knew history—he","}
{"text": ""knew that previous kings and lords of Ethiopia had used banquets as a","}
{"text": ""trap. Once he was there and full of drink, Selassie would have him","}
{"text": ""arrested or murdered. To signal his understanding of the situation, he","}
{"text": ""agreed to come to the banquet, but only if he could bring his personal","}
{"text": ""bodyguard—600 of his best soldiers, all armed and ready to defend him","}
{"text": ""and themselves. To Balcha’s surprise, Selassie answered with the utmost","}
{"text": ""politeness that he would be honored to play host to such warriors.","}
{"text": ""On the way to the banquet, Balcha warned his soldiers not to get drunk","}
{"text": ""and to be on their guard. When they arrived at the palace, Selassie was","}
{"text": ""his charming best. He deferred to Balcha, treated him as if he desperately","}
{"text": ""needed his approval and cooperation. But Balcha refused to be charmed,","}
{"text": ""and he warned Selassie that if he did not return to his camp by nightfall,","}
{"text": ""his army had orders to attack the capital. Selassie reacted as if hurt by his","}
{"text": ""mistrust. Over the meal, when it came time for the traditional singing of","}
{"text": ""songs in honor of Ethiopia’s leaders, he made a point of allowing only","}
{"text": ""songs honoring the warlord of Sidamo. It seemed to Balcha that Selassie","}
{"text": ""was scared, intimidated by this great warrior who could not be outwitted.","}
{"text": ""Sensing the change, Balcha believed that he would be the one to call the","}
{"text": ""shots in the days to come.","}
{"text": ""At the end of the afternoon, Balcha and his soldiers began their march","}
{"text": ""back to camp amidst cheers and gun salutes. Looking back to the capital","}
{"text": ""over his shoulder, he planned his strategy—how his own soldiers would","}
{"text": ""march through the capital in triumph within weeks, and Selassie would","}
{"text": ""be put in his place, his place being either prison or death. When Balcha","}
{"text": ""came in sight of his camp, however, he saw that something was terribly","}
{"text": ""wrong. Where before there had been colorful tents stretching as far as the","}
{"text": ""eye could see, now there was nothing, only smoke from doused fires.","}
{"text": ""What devil’s magic was this?","}
{"text": ""A witness told Balcha what had happened. During the banquet, a large","}
{"text": ""army, commanded by an ally of Selassie’s, had stolen up on Balcha’s","}
{"text": ""encampment by a side route he had not seen. This army had not come to","}
{"text": ""fight, however: Knowing that Balcha would have heard a noisy battle","}
{"text": ""and hurried back with his 600-man bodyguard, Selassie had armed hisown troops with baskets of gold and cash. They had surrounded Balcha’s","}
{"text": ""army and proceeded to purchase every last one of their weapons. Those","}
{"text": ""who refused were easily intimidated. Within a few hours, Balcha’s entire","}
{"text": ""force had been disarmed and scattered in all directions.","}
{"text": ""Realizing his danger, Balcha decided to march south with his 600","}
{"text": ""soldiers to regroup, but the same army that had disarmed his soldiers","}
{"text": ""blocked his way. The other way out was to march on the capital, but","}
{"text": ""Selassie had set a large army to defend it. Like a chess player, he had","}
{"text": ""predicted Balcha’s moves, and had checkmated him. For the first time in","}
{"text": ""his life, Balcha surrendered. To repent his sins of pride and ambition, he","}
{"text": ""agreed to enter a monastery.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Throughout Selassie’s long reign, no one could quite figure him out.","}
{"text": ""Ethiopians like their leaders fierce, but Selassie, who wore the front of a","}
{"text": ""gentle, peace-loving man, lasted longer than any of them. Never angry or","}
{"text": ""impatient, he lured his victims with sweet smiles, lulling them with","}
{"text": ""charm and obsequiousness before he attacked. In the case of Balcha,","}
{"text": ""Selassie played on the man’s wariness, his suspicion that the banquet was","}
{"text": ""a trap—which in fact it was, but not the one he expected. Selassie’s way","}
{"text": ""of allaying Balcha’s fears—letting him bring his bodyguard to the","}
{"text": ""banquet, giving him top billing there, making him feel in control—","}
{"text": ""created a thick smoke screen, concealing the real action three miles","}
{"text": ""away.","}
{"text": ""Remember: The paranoid and wary are often the easiest to deceive.","}
{"text": ""Win their trust in one area and you have a smoke screen that blinds their","}
{"text": ""view in another, letting you creep up and level them with a devastating","}
{"text": ""blow. A helpful or apparently honest gesture, or one that implies the","}
{"text": ""other person’s superiority—these are perfect diversionary devices.","}
{"text": ""Properly set up, the smoke screen is a weapon of great power. It","}
{"text": ""enabled the gentle Selassie to totally destroy his enemy, without firing a","}
{"text": ""single bullet.","}
{"text": ""Do not underestimate the power of Tafari. He creeps","}
{"text": ""like a mouse but he has jaws like a lion.","}
{"text": ""Bacha of Sidamo’s last worlds before entering the monasteryKEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""If you believe that deceivers are colorful folk who mislead with elaborate","}
{"text": ""lies and tall tales, you are greatly mistaken. The best deceivers utilize a","}
{"text": ""bland and inconspicuous front that calls no attention to themselves. They","}
{"text": ""know that extravagant words and gestures immediately raise suspicion.","}
{"text": ""Instead, they envelop their mark in the familiar, the banal, the harmless.","}
{"text": ""In Yellow Kid Weil’s dealings with Sam Geezil, the familiar was a","}
{"text": ""business deal. In the Ethiopian case, it was Selassie’s misleading","}
{"text": ""obsequiousness—exactly what Balcha would have expected from a","}
{"text": ""weaker warlord.","}
{"text": ""Once you have lulled your suckers’ attention with the familiar, they","}
{"text": ""will not notice the deception being perpetrated behind their backs. This","}
{"text": ""derives from a simple truth: people can only focus on one thing at a time.","}
{"text": ""It is really too difficult for them to imagine that the bland and harmless","}
{"text": ""person they are dealing with is simultaneously setting up something else.","}
{"text": ""The grayer and more uniform the smoke in your smoke screen, the better","}
{"text": ""it conceals your intentions. In the decoy and red herring devices","}
{"text": ""discussed in Part I, you actively distract people; in the smoke screen, you","}
{"text": ""lull your victims, drawing them into your web. Because it is so hypnotic,","}
{"text": ""this is often the best way of concealing your intentions.","}
{"text": ""The simplest form of smoke screen is facial expression. Behind a","}
{"text": ""bland, unreadable exterior, all sorts of mayhem can be planned, without","}
{"text": ""detection. This is a weapon that the most powerful men in history have","}
{"text": ""learned to perfect. It was said that no one could read Franklin D.","}
{"text": ""Roosevelt’s face. Baron James Rothschild made a lifelong practice of","}
{"text": ""disguising his real thoughts behind bland smiles and nondescript looks.","}
{"text": ""Stendhal wrote of Talleyrand, “Never was a face less of a barometer.”","}
{"text": ""Henry Kissinger would bore his opponents around the negotiating table","}
{"text": ""to tears with his monotonous voice, his blank look, his endless","}
{"text": ""recitations of details; then, as their eyes glazed over, he would suddenly","}
{"text": ""hit them with a list of bold terms. Caught off-guard, they would be easily","}
{"text": ""intimidated. As one poker manual explains it, “While playing his hand,","}
{"text": ""the good player is seldom an actor. Instead he practices a bland behavior","}
{"text": ""that minimizes readable patterns, frustrates and confuses opponents,","}
{"text": ""permits greater concentration.”","}
{"text": ""An adaptable concept, the smoke screen can be practiced on a number","}
{"text": ""of levels, all playing on the psychological principles of distraction and","}
{"text": ""misdirection. One of the most effective smoke screens is the noblegesture. People want to believe apparently noble gestures are genuine,","}
{"text": ""for the belief is pleasant. They rarely notice how deceptive these gestures","}
{"text": ""can be.","}
{"text": ""The art dealer Joseph Duveen was once confronted with a terrible","}
{"text": ""problem. The millionaires who had paid so dearly for Duveen’s paintings","}
{"text": ""were running out of wall space, and with inheritance taxes getting ever","}
{"text": ""higher, it seemed unlikely that they would keep buying. The solution was","}
{"text": ""the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which Duveen helped","}
{"text": ""create in 1937 by getting Andrew Mellon to donate his collection to it.","}
{"text": ""The National Gallery was the perfect front for Duveen. In one gesture,","}
{"text": ""his clients avoided taxes, cleared wall space for new purchases, and","}
{"text": ""reduced the number of paintings on the market, maintaining the upward","}
{"text": ""pressure on their prices. All this while the donors created the appearance","}
{"text": ""of being public benefactors.","}
{"text": ""Another effective smoke screen is the pattern, the establishment of a","}
{"text": ""series of actions that seduce the victim into believing you will continue","}
{"text": ""in the same way. The pattern plays on the psychology of anticipation:","}
{"text": ""Our behavior conforms to patterns, or so we like to think.","}
{"text": ""In 1878 the American robber baron Jay Gould created a company that","}
{"text": ""began to threaten the monopoly of the telegraph company Western","}
{"text": ""Union. The directors of Western Union decided to buy Gould’s company","}
{"text": ""up— they had to spend a hefty sum, but they figured they had managed","}
{"text": ""to rid themselves of an irritating competitor. A few months later, though,","}
{"text": ""Gould was it at again, complaining he had been treated unfairly. He","}
{"text": ""started up a second company to compete with Western Union and its new","}
{"text": ""acquisition. The same thing happened again: Western Union bought him","}
{"text": ""out to shut him up. Soon the pattern began for the third time, but now","}
{"text": ""Gould went for the jugular: He suddenly staged a bloody takeover","}
{"text": ""struggle and managed to gain complete control of Western Union. He","}
{"text": ""had established a pattern that had tricked the company’s directors into","}
{"text": ""thinking his goal was to be bought out at a handsome rate. Once they","}
{"text": ""paid him off, they relaxed and failed to notice that he was actually","}
{"text": ""playing for higher stakes. The pattern is powerful in that it deceives the","}
{"text": ""other person into expecting the opposite of what you are really doing.","}
{"text": ""Another psychological weakness on which to construct a smoke","}
{"text": ""screen is the tendency to mistake appearances for reality—the feeling","}
{"text": ""that if someone seems to belong to your group, their belonging must be","}
{"text": ""real. This habit makes the seamless blend a very effective front. The trick","}
{"text": ""is simple: You simply blend in with those around you. The better you","}
{"text": ""blend, the less suspicious you become. During the Cold War of the 1950sand ’60s, as is now notorious, a slew of British civil servants passed","}
{"text": ""secrets to the Soviets. They went undetected for years because they were","}
{"text": ""apparently decent chaps, had gone to all the right schools, and fit the old-","}
{"text": ""boy network perfectly. Blending in is the perfect smoke screen for","}
{"text": ""spying. The better you do it, the better you can conceal your intentions.","}
{"text": ""Remember: It takes patience and humility to dull your brilliant colors,","}
{"text": ""to put on the mask of the inconspicuous. Do not despair at having to","}
{"text": ""wear such a bland mask—it is often your unreadability that draws people","}
{"text": ""to you and makes you appear a person of power.","}
{"text": ""Image: A Sheep’s Skin.","}
{"text": ""A sheep never marauds,","}
{"text": ""a sheep never deceives,","}
{"text": ""a sheep is magnificently","}
{"text": ""dumb and docile. With a","}
{"text": ""sheepskin on his back,","}
{"text": ""a fox can pass right","}
{"text": ""into the chicken coop.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Have you ever heard of a skillful general, who intends to","}
{"text": ""surprise a citadel, announcing his plan to his enemy? Conceal your","}
{"text": ""purpose and hide your progress; do not disclose the extent of your","}
{"text": ""designs until they cannot be opposed, until the combat is over. Win the","}
{"text": ""victory before you declare the war. In a word, imitate those warlike","}
{"text": ""people whose designs are not known except by the ravaged country","}
{"text": ""through which they have passed. (Ninon de Lenclos, 1623-1706)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""No smoke screen, red herring, false sincerity, or any other diversionary","}
{"text": ""device will succeed in concealing your intentions if you already have an","}
{"text": ""established reputation for deception. And as you get older and achieve","}
{"text": ""success, it often becomes increasingly difficult to disguise your cunning.","}
{"text": ""Everyone knows you practice deception; persist in playing naive and you","}
{"text": ""run the risk of seeming the rankest hypocrite, which will severely limit","}
{"text": ""your room to maneuver. In such cases it is better to own up, to appear the","}
{"text": ""honest rogue, or, better, the repentant rogue. Not only will you beadmired for your frankness, but, most wonderful and strange of all, you","}
{"text": ""will be able to continue your stratagems.","}
{"text": ""As P. T. Barnum, the nineteenth-century king of humbuggery, grew","}
{"text": ""older, he learned to embrace his reputation as a grand deceiver. At one","}
{"text": ""point he organized a buffalo hunt in New Jersey, complete with Indians","}
{"text": ""and a few imported buffalo. He publicized the hunt as genuine, but it","}
{"text": ""came off as so completely fake that the crowd, instead of getting angry","}
{"text": ""and asking for their money back, was greatly amused. They knew","}
{"text": ""Barnum pulled tricks all the time; that was the secret of his success, and","}
{"text": ""they loved him for it. Learning a lesson from this affair, Barnum stopped","}
{"text": ""concealing all of his devices, even revealing his deceptions in a tell-all","}
{"text": ""autobiography. As Kierkegaard wrote, “The world wants to be","}
{"text": ""deceived.”","}
{"text": ""Finally, although it is wiser to divert attention from your purposes by","}
{"text": ""presenting a bland, familiar exterior, there are times when the colorful,","}
{"text": ""conspicuous gesture is the right diversionary tactic. The great charlatan","}
{"text": ""mountebanks of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe used humor","}
{"text": ""and entertainment to deceive their audiences. Dazzled by a great show,","}
{"text": ""the public would not notice the charlatans’ real intentions. Thus the star","}
{"text": ""charlatan himself would appear in town in a night-black coach drawn by","}
{"text": ""black horses. Clowns, tightrope walkers, and star entertainers would","}
{"text": ""accompany him, pulling people in to his demonstrations of elixirs and","}
{"text": ""quack potions. The charlatan made entertainment seem like the business","}
{"text": ""of the day; the business of the day was actually the sale of the elixirs and","}
{"text": ""quack potions.","}
{"text": ""Spectacle and entertainment, clearly, are excellent devices to conceal","}
{"text": ""your intentions, but they cannot be used indefinitely. The public grows","}
{"text": ""tired and suspicious, and eventually catches on to the trick. And indeed","}
{"text": ""the charlatans had to move quickly from town to town, before word","}
{"text": ""spread that the potions were useless and the entertainment a trick.","}
{"text": ""Powerful people with bland exteriors, on the other hand—the","}
{"text": ""Talleyrands, the Rothschilds, the Selassies—can practice their deceptions","}
{"text": ""in the same place throughout their lifetimes. Their act never wears thin,","}
{"text": ""and rarely causes suspicion. The colorful smoke screen should be used","}
{"text": ""cautiously, then, and only when the occasion is right.LAW 4","}
{"text": ""ALWAYS SAY LESS THAN NECESSARY","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the","}
{"text": ""more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying","}
{"text": ""something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended,","}
{"text": ""and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less.","}
{"text": ""The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Gnaeus Marcius, also known as Coriolanus, was a great military hero of","}
{"text": ""ancient Rome. In the first half of the fifth century B.C. he won many","}
{"text": ""important battles, saving the city from calamity time and time again.","}
{"text": ""Because he spent most of his time on the battlefield, few Romans knew","}
{"text": ""him personally, making him something of a legendary figure.","}
{"text": ""In 454 B.C., Coriolanus decided it was time to exploit his reputation","}
{"text": ""and enter politics. He stood for election to the high rank of consul.","}
{"text": ""Candidates for this position traditionally made a public address early in","}
{"text": ""the race, and when Coriolanus came before the people, he began by","}
{"text": ""displaying the dozens of scars he had accumulated over seventeen years","}
{"text": ""of fighting for Rome. Few in the crowd really heard the lengthy speech","}
{"text": ""that followed; those scars, proof of his valor and patriotism, moved the","}
{"text": ""people to tears. Coriolanus’s election seemed certain.","}
{"text": ""When the polling day arrived, however, Coriolanus made an entry into","}
{"text": ""the forum escorted by the entire senate and by the city’s patricians, the","}
{"text": ""aristocracy. The common people who saw this were disturbed by such a","}
{"text": ""blustering show of confidence on election day.And then Coriolanus spoke again, mostly addressing the wealthy","}
{"text": ""citizens who had accompanied him. His words were arrogant and","}
{"text": ""insolent. Claiming certain victory in the vote, he boasted of his","}
{"text": ""battlefield exploits, made sour jokes that appealed only to the patricians,","}
{"text": ""voiced angry accusations against his opponents, and speculated on the","}
{"text": ""riches he would bring to Rome. This time the people listened: They had","}
{"text": ""not realized that this legendary soldier was also a common braggart.","}
{"text": ""Down on his luck, [the screenwriter] Michael Arlen went to New York in","}
{"text": ""1944. To drown his sorrows he paid a visit to the famous restaurant","}
{"text": ""“21.” In the lobby, he ran into Sam Goldwyn, who offered the somewhat","}
{"text": ""impractical advice that he should buy racehorses. At the bar Arlen met","}
{"text": ""Louis B. Mayer, an old acquaintance, who asked him what were his plans","}
{"text": ""for the future. “I was just talking to Sam Goldwyn …” began Arlen.","}
{"text": ""“How much did he offer you? ”interrupted Mayer. “Not enough,” he","}
{"text": ""replied evasively. “Would you take fifteen thousand for thirty weeks?”","}
{"text": ""asked Mayer. No hesitation this time. “Yes,” said Arlen.","}
{"text": ""THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES, CLIFTON","}
{"text": ""FADIMAN, ED., 1985","}
{"text": ""News of Coriolanus’s second speech spread quickly through Rome,","}
{"text": ""and the people turned out in great numbers to make sure he was not","}
{"text": ""elected. Defeated, Coriolanus returned to the battlefield, bitter and","}
{"text": ""vowing revenge on the common folk who had voted against him. Some","}
{"text": ""weeks later a large shipment of grain arrived in Rome. The senate was","}
{"text": ""ready to distribute this food to the people, for free, but just as they were","}
{"text": ""preparing to vote on the question Coriolanus appeared on the scene and","}
{"text": ""took the senate floor. The distribution, he argued, would have a harmful","}
{"text": ""effect on the city as a whole. Several senators appeared won over, and","}
{"text": ""the vote on the distribution fell into doubt. Coriolanus did not stop there:","}
{"text": ""He went on to condemn the concept of democracy itself. He advocated","}
{"text": ""getting rid of the people’s representatives—the tribunes—and turning","}
{"text": ""over the governing of the city to the patricians.","}
{"text": ""One oft-told tale about Kissinger… involved a report that Winston Lord","}
{"text": ""had worked on for days. After giving it to Kissinger, he got it back with","}
{"text": ""the notation, “Is this the best you can do?” Lord rewrote and polished","}
{"text": ""and finally resubmitted it; back it came with the same curt question.","}
{"text": ""After redrafting it one more time—and once again getting the same","}
{"text": ""question from Kissinger-Lord snapped, “Damn it, yes, it’s the best I can","}
{"text": ""do. ” To which Kissinger replied: “Fine, then I guess I’ll read it this","}
{"text": ""time. ”KISSINGER. WALTER ISAACSON, 1992","}
{"text": ""When word of Coriolanus’s latest speech reached the people, their","}
{"text": ""anger knew no bounds. The tribunes were sent to the senate to demand","}
{"text": ""that Coriolanus appear before them. He refused. Riots broke out all over","}
{"text": ""the city. The senate, fearing the people’s wrath, finally voted in favor of","}
{"text": ""the grain distribution. The tribunes were appeased, but the people still","}
{"text": ""demanded that Coriolanus speak to them and apologize. If he repented,","}
{"text": ""and agreed to keep his opinions to himself, he would be allowed to return","}
{"text": ""to the battlefield.","}
{"text": ""Coriolanus did appear one last time before the people, who listened to","}
{"text": ""him in rapt silence. He started slowly and softly, but as the speech went","}
{"text": ""on, he became more and more blunt. Yet again he hurled insults! His","}
{"text": ""tone was arrogant, his expression disdainful. The more he spoke, the","}
{"text": ""angrier the people became. Finally they shouted him down and silenced","}
{"text": ""him.","}
{"text": ""The tribunes conferred, condemned Coriolanus to death, and ordered","}
{"text": ""the magistrates to take him at once to the top of the Tarpeian rock and","}
{"text": ""throw him over. The delighted crowd seconded the decision. The","}
{"text": ""patricians, however, managed to intervene, and the sentence was","}
{"text": ""commuted to a lifelong banishment. When the people found out that","}
{"text": ""Rome’s great military hero would never return to the city, they celebrated","}
{"text": ""in the streets. In fact no one had ever seen such a celebration, not even","}
{"text": ""after the defeat of a foreign enemy.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Before his entrance into politics, the name of Coriolanus evoked awe.","}
{"text": ""His battlefield accomplishments showed him as a man of great","}
{"text": ""bravery. Since the citizens knew little about him, all kinds of legends","}
{"text": ""became attached to his name. The moment he appeared before the","}
{"text": ""Roman citizens, however, and spoke his mind, all that grandeur and","}
{"text": ""mystery vanished. He bragged and blustered like a common soldier. He","}
{"text": ""insulted and slandered people, as if he felt threatened and insecure.","}
{"text": ""Suddenly he was not at all what the people had imagined. The","}
{"text": ""discrepancy between the legend and the reality proved immensely","}
{"text": ""disappointing to those who wanted to believe in their hero. The more","}
{"text": ""Coriolanus said, the less powerful he appeared—a person who cannot","}
{"text": ""control his words shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy","}
{"text": ""of respect.The King [Louis XIV] maintains the most impenetrable secrecy about","}
{"text": ""affairs of State. The ministers attend council meetings, but he confides","}
{"text": ""his plans to them only when he has reflected at length upon them and has","}
{"text": ""come to a definite decision. I wish you might see the King. His","}
{"text": ""expression is inscrutable; his eyes like those of a fox. He never discusses","}
{"text": ""State affairs except with his ministers in Council. When he speaks to","}
{"text": ""courtiers he refers only to their respective prerogatives or duties. Even","}
{"text": ""the most frivolous of his utterances has the air of being the","}
{"text": ""pronouncement of an oracle.","}
{"text": ""PRIMI VISCONTI, QUOTED IN LOUIS XIV, LOUIS BERTRAND,","}
{"text": ""1928","}
{"text": ""Had Coriolanus said less, the people would never have had cause to be","}
{"text": ""offended by him, would never have known his true feelings. He would","}
{"text": ""have maintained his powerful aura, would certainly have been elected","}
{"text": ""consul, and would have been able to accomplish his antidemocratic","}
{"text": ""goals. But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains","}
{"text": ""constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild","}
{"text": ""and cause you grief. Power cannot accrue to those who squander their","}
{"text": ""treasure of words.","}
{"text": ""Oysters open completely when the moon is full; and when the crab sees","}
{"text": ""one","}
{"text": ""it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it and the oyster cannot close","}
{"text": ""again so that it serves the crab for meat. Such is the fate of him who","}
{"text": ""opens","}
{"text": ""his mouth too much and thereby puts himself at the mercy of the listener.","}
{"text": ""Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In the court of Louis XIV, nobles and ministers would spend days and","}
{"text": ""nights debating issues of state. They would confer, argue, make and","}
{"text": ""break alliances, and argue again, until finally the critical moment arrived:","}
{"text": ""Two of them would be chosen to represent the different sides to Louis","}
{"text": ""himself, who would decide what should be done. After these persons","}
{"text": ""were chosen, everyone would argue some more: How should the issuesbe phrased? What would appeal to Louis, what would annoy him? At","}
{"text": ""what time of day should the representatives approach him, and in what","}
{"text": ""part of the Versailles palace? What expression should they have on their","}
{"text": ""faces?","}
{"text": ""Finally, after all this was settled, the fateful moment would finally","}
{"text": ""arrive. The two men would approach Louis—always a delicate matter—","}
{"text": ""and when they finally had his ear, they would talk about the issue at","}
{"text": ""hand, spelling out the options in detail.","}
{"text": ""Louis would listen in silence, a most enigmatic look on his face.","}
{"text": ""Finally, when each had finished his presentation and had asked for the","}
{"text": ""king’s opinion, he would look at them both and say, “I shall see.” Then","}
{"text": ""he would walk away.","}
{"text": ""The ministers and courtiers would never hear another word on this","}
{"text": ""subject from the king—they would simply see the result, weeks later,","}
{"text": ""when he would come to a decision and act. He would never bother to","}
{"text": ""consult them on the matter again.","}
{"text": ""Undutiful words of a subject do often take deeper root than the memory","}
{"text": ""of ill deeds…. The late Earl of Essex told Queen Elizabeth that her","}
{"text": ""conditions were as crooked as her carcass; but it cost him his head,","}
{"text": ""which his insurrection had not cost him but for that speech.","}
{"text": ""SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 1554-1618","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Louis XIV was a man of very few words. His most famous remark is","}
{"text": ""“L‘état, c’est moi” (“I am the state”); nothing could be more pithy yet","}
{"text": ""more eloquent. His infamous “I shall see” was one of several extremely","}
{"text": ""short phrases that he would apply to all manner of requests.","}
{"text": ""Louis was not always this way; as a young man he was known for","}
{"text": ""talking at length, delighting in his own eloquence. His later taciturnity","}
{"text": ""was self-imposed, an act, a mask he used to keep everybody below him","}
{"text": ""off-balance. No one knew exactly where he stood, or could predict his","}
{"text": ""reactions. No one could try to deceive him by saying what they thought","}
{"text": ""he wanted to hear, because no one knew what he wanted to hear. As they","}
{"text": ""talked on and on to the silent Louis, they revealed more and more about","}
{"text": ""themselves, information he would later use against them to great effect.","}
{"text": ""In the end, Louis’s silence kept those around him terrified and under","}
{"text": ""his thumb. It was one of the foundations of his power. As Saint-Simon","}
{"text": ""wrote, “No one knew as well as he how to sell his words, his smile, evenhis glances. Everything in him was valuable because he created","}
{"text": ""differences, and his majesty was enhanced by the sparseness of his","}
{"text": ""words.”","}
{"text": ""It is even more damaging for a minister to say foolish things than to do","}
{"text": ""them.","}
{"text": ""Cardinal de Retz, 1613-1679","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Power is in many ways a game of appearances, and when you say less","}
{"text": ""than necessary, you inevitably appear greater and more powerful than","}
{"text": ""you are. Your silence will make other people uncomfortable. Humans are","}
{"text": ""machines of interpretation and explanation; they have to know what you","}
{"text": ""are thinking. When you carefully control what you reveal, they cannot","}
{"text": ""pierce your intentions or your meaning.","}
{"text": ""Your short answers and silences will put them on the defensive, and","}
{"text": ""they will jump in, nervously filling the silence with all kinds of","}
{"text": ""comments that will reveal valuable information about them and their","}
{"text": ""weaknesses. They will leave a meeting with you feeling as if they had","}
{"text": ""been robbed, and they will go home and ponder your every word. This","}
{"text": ""extra attention to your brief comments will only add to your power.","}
{"text": ""Saying less than necessary is not for kings and statesmen only. In most","}
{"text": ""areas of life, the less you say, the more profound and mysterious you","}
{"text": ""appear. As a young man, the artist Andy Warhol had the revelation that it","}
{"text": ""was generally impossible to get people to do what you wanted them to","}
{"text": ""do by talking to them. They would turn against you, subvert your wishes,","}
{"text": ""disobey you out of sheer perversity. He once told a friend, “I learned that","}
{"text": ""you actually have more power when you shut up.”","}
{"text": ""In his later life Warhol employed this strategy with great success. His","}
{"text": ""interviews were exercises in oracular speech: He would say something","}
{"text": ""vague and ambiguous, and the interviewer would twist in circles trying","}
{"text": ""to figure it out, imagining there was something profound behind his often","}
{"text": ""meaningless phrases. Warhol rarely talked about his work; he let others","}
{"text": ""do the interpreting. He claimed to have learned this technique from that","}
{"text": ""master of enigma Marcel Duchamp, another twentieth-century artist who","}
{"text": ""realized early on that the less he said about his work, the more peopletalked about it. And the more they talked, the more valuable his work","}
{"text": ""became.","}
{"text": ""By saying less than necessary you create the appearance of meaning","}
{"text": ""and power. Also, the less you say, the less risk you run of saying","}
{"text": ""something foolish, even dangerous. In 1825 a new czar, Nicholas I,","}
{"text": ""ascended the throne of Russia. A rebellion immediately broke out, led by","}
{"text": ""liberals demanding that the country modernize—that its industries and","}
{"text": ""civil structures catch up with the rest of Europe. Brutally crushing this","}
{"text": ""rebellion (the Decembrist Uprising), Nicholas I sentenced one of its","}
{"text": ""leaders, Kondraty Ryleyev, to death. On the day of the execution","}
{"text": ""Ryleyev stood on the gallows, the noose around his neck. The trapdoor","}
{"text": ""opened—but as Ryleyev dangled, the rope broke, dashing him to the","}
{"text": ""ground. At the time, events like this were considered signs of providence","}
{"text": ""or heavenly will, and a man saved from execution this way was usually","}
{"text": ""pardoned. As Ryleyev got to his feet, bruised and dirtied but believing","}
{"text": ""his neck had been saved, he called out to the crowd, “You see, in Russia","}
{"text": ""they don’t know how to do anything properly, not even how to make","}
{"text": ""rope!”","}
{"text": ""A messenger immediately went to the Winter Palace with news of the","}
{"text": ""failed hanging. Vexed by this disappointing turnabout, Nicholas I","}
{"text": ""nevertheless began to sign the pardon. But then: “Did Ryleyev say","}
{"text": ""anything after this miracle?” the czar asked the messenger. “Sire,” the","}
{"text": ""messenger replied, “he said that in Russia they don’t even know how to","}
{"text": ""make rope.”","}
{"text": ""“In that case,” said the Czar, “let us prove the contrary,” and he tore up","}
{"text": ""the pardon. The next day Ryleyev was hanged again. This time the rope","}
{"text": ""did not break.","}
{"text": ""Learn the lesson: Once the words are out, you cannot take them back.","}
{"text": ""Keep them under control. Be particularly careful with sarcasm: The","}
{"text": ""momentary satisfaction you gain with your biting words will be","}
{"text": ""outweighed by the price you pay.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Oracle at Delphi.","}
{"text": ""When visitors consulted the","}
{"text": ""Oracle, the priestess would utter","}
{"text": ""a few enigmatic words that seemed","}
{"text": ""full of meaning and import. No one","}
{"text": ""disobeyed the words of the Oracle—","}
{"text": ""they held power over life and death.Authority: Never start moving your own lips and teeth before the","}
{"text": ""subordinates do. The longer I keep quiet, the sooner others move their","}
{"text": ""lips and teeth. As they move their lips and teeth, I can thereby","}
{"text": ""understand their real intentions…. If the sovereign is not mysterious, the","}
{"text": ""ministers will find opportunity to take and take. (Han-fei-tzu, Chinese","}
{"text": ""philosopher, third century B.C.)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""There are times when it is unwise to be silent. Silence can arouse","}
{"text": ""suspicion and even insecurity, especially in your superiors; a vague or","}
{"text": ""ambiguous comment can open you up to interpretations you had not","}
{"text": ""bargained for. Silence and saying less than necessary must be practiced","}
{"text": ""with caution, then, and in the right situations. It is occasionally wiser to","}
{"text": ""imitate the court jester, who plays the fool but knows he is smarter than","}
{"text": ""the king. He talks and talks and entertains, and no one suspects that he is","}
{"text": ""more than just a fool.","}
{"text": ""Also, words can sometimes act as a kind of smoke screen for any","}
{"text": ""deception you might practice. By bending your listener’s ear with talk,","}
{"text": ""you can distract and mesmerize them; the more you talk, in fact, the less","}
{"text": ""suspicious of you they become. The verbose are not perceived as sly and","}
{"text": ""manipulative but as helpless and unsophisticated. This is the reverse of","}
{"text": ""the silent policy employed by the powerful: By talking more, and making","}
{"text": ""yourself appear weaker and less intelligent than your mark, you can","}
{"text": ""practice deception with greater ease.LAW 5","}
{"text": ""SO MUCH DEPENDS ON REPUTATION—","}
{"text": ""GUARD IT WITH YOUR LIFE","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you","}
{"text": ""can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and","}
{"text": ""will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always","}
{"text": ""be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen.","}
{"text": ""Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own","}
{"text": ""reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I","}
{"text": ""During China’s War of the Three Kingdoms (A.D. 207-265), the great","}
{"text": ""general Chuko Liang, leading the forces of the Shu Kingdom, dispatched","}
{"text": ""his vast army to a distant camp while he rested in a small town with a","}
{"text": ""handful of soldiers. Suddenly sentinels hurried in with the alarming news","}
{"text": ""that an enemy force of over 150,000 troops under Sima Yi was","}
{"text": ""approaching. With only a hundred men to defend him, Chuko Liang’s","}
{"text": ""situation was hopeless. The enemy would finally capture this renowned","}
{"text": ""leader.","}
{"text": ""Without lamenting his fate, or wasting time trying to figure out how he","}
{"text": ""had been caught, Liang ordered his troops to take down their flags, throw","}
{"text": ""open the city gates, and hide. He himself then took a seat on the most","}
{"text": ""visible part of the city’s wall, wearing a Taoist robe. He lit some incense,","}
{"text": ""strummed his lute, and began to chant. Minutes later he could see the","}
{"text": ""vast enemy army approaching, an endless phalanx of soldiers. Pretending","}
{"text": ""not to notice them, he continued to sing and play the lute.Soon the army stood at the town gates. At its head was Sima Yi, who","}
{"text": ""instantly recognized the man on the wall.","}
{"text": ""Even so, as his soldiers itched to enter the unguarded town through its","}
{"text": ""open gates, Sima Yi hesitated, held them back, and studied Liang on the","}
{"text": ""wall. Then, he ordered an immediate and speedy retreat.","}
{"text": ""THE ANIMALS STRICKEN WITH THE","}
{"text": ""PLAGUE","}
{"text": ""A frightful epidemic sent To earth by Heaven intent to vent Its fury on a","}
{"text": ""sinful world, to call It by its rightful name, the pestilence, That Acheron-","}
{"text": ""filling vial of virulence Had fallen on every animal. Not all were dead,","}
{"text": ""but all lay near to dying, And none was any longer trying To find new","}
{"text": ""fuel to feed life’s flickering fires. No foods excited their desires; No more","}
{"text": ""did wolves and foxes rove In search of harmless, helpless prey; And dove","}
{"text": ""would not consort with dove, For love and joy had flown away. The Lion","}
{"text": ""assumed the chair to say: “Dear friends, I doubt not it’s for heaven’s","}
{"text": ""high ends That on us sinners woe must fall. Let him of us who’s sinned","}
{"text": ""the most Fall victim to the avenging heavenly host, And may he win","}
{"text": ""salvation for us all; For history teaches us that in these crises We must","}
{"text": ""make sacrifices. Undeceived and stern-eyed, let’s inspect Our","}
{"text": ""conscience. As I recollect, To put my greedy appetite to sleep, I’ve","}
{"text": ""banqueted on many a sheep Who’d injured me in no respect, And even in","}
{"text": ""my time been known to try Shepherd pie. If need be, then. I’ll die. Yet I","}
{"text": ""suspect That others also ought to own their sins. It’s only fair thnt all","}
{"text": ""should do their best To single out the guiltiest.” “Sire, you’re too good a","}
{"text": ""king,“the Fox begins; ”Such scruples are too delicate. My word, To eat","}
{"text": ""sheep, that profane and vulgar herd. That’s sin? Nay. Sire, enough for","}
{"text": ""such a crew To be devoured by such as you; While of the shepherds we","}
{"text": ""may say That they deserved the worst they got. Theirs being the lot that","}
{"text": ""over us beasts plot A flimsy dream-begotten sway.” Thus spake the Fox,","}
{"text": ""and toady cheers rose high, While none dared cast too cold an eye On","}
{"text": ""Tiger‘s, Bear’s, and other eminences Most unpardonable offences Each,","}
{"text": ""of never mind what currish breed, Was really a saint, they all agreed.","}
{"text": ""Then came the Ass, to say: ”I do recall How once I crossed an abbey-","}
{"text": ""mead Where hunger, grass in plenty, and withal, I have no doubt, some","}
{"text": ""imp of greed. Assailed me, and I shaved a tongue’s-breadth wide Where","}
{"text": ""frankly I’d no right to any grass.”All forthwith fell full cry upon the Ass:","}
{"text": ""A Wolf of some book-learning testified That that curst beast must suffer","}
{"text": ""their despite, That gallskinned author of their piteous plight. Theyjudged him fit for nought but gallows-bait: How vile, another’s grass to","}
{"text": ""sequestrate! His death alone could expiate A crime so heinous, as full","}
{"text": ""well he learns. The court, as you’re of great or poor estate, Will paint","}
{"text": ""you either white or black by turns.","}
{"text": ""THE BEST FABLES OF LA FONTAINE, JEAN DE LA FONTAINE,","}
{"text": ""1621-1695","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Chuko Liang was commonly known as the “Sleeping Dragon.” His","}
{"text": ""exploits in the War of the Three Kingdoms were legendary. Once a man","}
{"text": ""claiming to be a disaffected enemy lieutenant came to his camp, offering","}
{"text": ""help and information. Liang instantly recognized the situation as a setup;","}
{"text": ""this man was a false deserter, and should be beheaded. At the last","}
{"text": ""minute, though, as the ax was about to fall, Liang stopped the execution","}
{"text": ""and offered to spare the man’s life if he agreed to become a double agent.","}
{"text": ""Grateful and terrified, the man agreed, and began supplying false","}
{"text": ""information to the enemy. Liang won battle after battle.","}
{"text": ""On another occasion Liang stole a military seal and created false","}
{"text": ""documents dispatching his enemy’s troops to distant locations. Once the","}
{"text": ""troops had dispersed, he was able to capture three cities, so that he","}
{"text": ""controlled an entire corridor of the enemy’s kingdom. He also once","}
{"text": ""tricked the enemy into believing one of its best generals was a traitor,","}
{"text": ""forcing the man to escape and join forces with Liang. The Sleeping","}
{"text": ""Dragon carefully cultivated his reputation of being the cleverest man in","}
{"text": ""China, one who always had a trick up his sleeve. As powerful as any","}
{"text": ""weapon, this reputation struck fear into his enemy.","}
{"text": ""Sima Yi had fought against Chuko Liang dozens of times and knew","}
{"text": ""him well. When he came on the empty city, with Liang praying on the","}
{"text": ""wall, he was stunned. The Taoist robes, the chanting, the incense—this","}
{"text": ""had to be a game of intimidation. The man was obviously taunting him,","}
{"text": ""daring him to walk into a trap. The game was so obvious that for one","}
{"text": ""moment it crossed Yi’s mind that Liang actually was alone, and","}
{"text": ""desperate. But so great was his fear of Liang that he dared not risk","}
{"text": ""finding out. Such is the power of reputation. It can put a vast army on the","}
{"text": ""defensive, even force them into retreat, without a single arrow being","}
{"text": ""fired.","}
{"text": ""For, as Cicero says, even those who argue against fame still want the","}
{"text": ""books theywrite against it to bear their name in the title and hope to become","}
{"text": ""famous for","}
{"text": ""despising it. Everything else is subject to barter: we will let our friends","}
{"text": ""have","}
{"text": ""our goods and our lives if need be; but a case of sharing our fame and","}
{"text": ""making someone else the gift of our reputation is hardly to be found.","}
{"text": ""Montaigne, 1533-1592","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II","}
{"text": ""In 1841 the young P. T. Barnum, trying to establish his reputation as","}
{"text": ""America’s premier showman, decided to purchase the American","}
{"text": ""Museum in Manhattan and turn it into a collection of curiosities that","}
{"text": ""would secure his fame. The problem was that he had no money. The","}
{"text": ""museum’s asking price was $15,000, but Barnum was able to put","}
{"text": ""together a proposal that appealed to the institution’s owners even though","}
{"text": ""it replaced cash up front with dozens of guarantees and references. The","}
{"text": ""owners came to a verbal agreement with Barnum, but at the last minute,","}
{"text": ""the principal partner changed his mind, and the museum and its","}
{"text": ""collection were sold to the directors of Peale’s Museum. Barnum was","}
{"text": ""infuriated, but the partner explained that business was business—the","}
{"text": ""museum had been sold to Peale’s because Peale’s had a reputation and","}
{"text": ""Barnum had none.","}
{"text": ""Barnum immediately decided that if he had no reputation to bank on,","}
{"text": ""his only recourse was to ruin the reputation of Peale’s. Accordingly he","}
{"text": ""launched a letter-writing campaign in the newspapers, calling the owners","}
{"text": ""a bunch of “broken-down bank directors” who had no idea how to run a","}
{"text": ""museum or entertain people. He warned the public against buying","}
{"text": ""Peale’s stock, since the business’s purchase of another museum would","}
{"text": ""invariably spread its resources thin. The campaign was effective, the","}
{"text": ""stock plummeted, and with no more confidence in Peale’s track record","}
{"text": ""and reputation, the owners of the American Museum reneged on their","}
{"text": ""deal and sold the whole thing to Barnum.","}
{"text": ""It took years for Peale’s to recover, and they never forgot what","}
{"text": ""Barnum had done. Mr. Peale himself decided to attack Barnum by","}
{"text": ""building a reputation for “high-brow entertainment,” promoting his","}
{"text": ""museum’s programs as more scientific than those of his vulgarcompetitor. Mesmerism (hypnotism) was one of Peale’s “scientific”","}
{"text": ""attractions, and for a while it drew big crowds and was quite successful.","}
{"text": ""To fight back, Barnum decided to attack Peale’s reputation yet again.","}
{"text": ""Barnum organized a rival mesmeric performance in which he himself","}
{"text": ""apparently put a little girl into a trance. Once she seemed to have fallen","}
{"text": ""deeply under, he tried to hypnotize members of the audience—but no","}
{"text": ""matter how hard he tried, none of the spectators fell under his spell, and","}
{"text": ""many of them began to laugh. A frustrated Barnum finally announced","}
{"text": ""that to prove the little girl’s trance was real, he would cut off one of her","}
{"text": ""fingers without her noticing. But as he sharpened the knife, the little","}
{"text": ""girl’s eyes popped open and she ran away, to the audience’s delight. He","}
{"text": ""repeated this and other parodies for several weeks. Soon no one could","}
{"text": ""take Peale’s show seriously, and attendance went way down. Within a","}
{"text": ""few weeks, the show closed. Over the next few years Barnum established","}
{"text": ""a reputation for audacity and consummate showmanship that lasted his","}
{"text": ""whole life. Peale’s reputation, on the other hand, never recovered.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Barnum used two different tactics to ruin Peale’s reputation. The first","}
{"text": ""was simple: He sowed doubts about the museum’s stability and solvency.","}
{"text": ""Doubt is a powerful weapon: Once you let it out of the bag with","}
{"text": ""insidious rumors, your opponents are in a horrible dilemma. On the one","}
{"text": ""hand they can deny the rumors, even prove that you have slandered","}
{"text": ""them. But a layer of suspicion will remain: Why are they defending","}
{"text": ""themselves so desperately? Maybe the rumor has some truth to it? If, on","}
{"text": ""the other hand, they take the high road and ignore you, the doubts,","}
{"text": ""unrefuted, will be even stronger. If done correctly, the sowing of rumors","}
{"text": ""can so infuriate and unsettle your rivals that in defending themselves","}
{"text": ""they will make numerous mistakes. This is the perfect weapon for those","}
{"text": ""who have no reputation of their own to work from.","}
{"text": ""Once Barnum did have a reputation of his own, he used the second,","}
{"text": ""gentler tactic, the fake hypnotism demonstration: He ridiculed his rivals’","}
{"text": ""reputation. This too was extremely successful. Once you have a solid","}
{"text": ""base of respect, ridiculing your opponent both puts him on the defensive","}
{"text": ""and draws more attention to you, enhancing your own reputation.","}
{"text": ""Outright slander and insult are too strong at this point; they are ugly, and","}
{"text": ""may hurt you more than help you. But gentle barbs and mockery suggest","}
{"text": ""that you have a strong enough sense of your own worth to enjoy a goodlaugh at your rival’s expense. A humorous front can make you out as a","}
{"text": ""harmless entertainer while poking holes in the reputation of your rival.","}
{"text": ""It is easier to cope with a bad conscience than with a bad reputation.","}
{"text": ""Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The people around us, even our closest friends, will always to some","}
{"text": ""extent remain mysterious and unfathomable. Their characters have secret","}
{"text": ""recesses that they never reveal. The unknowableness of other people","}
{"text": ""could prove disturbing if we thought about it long enough, since it would","}
{"text": ""make it impossible for us really to judge other people. So we prefer to","}
{"text": ""ignore this fact, and to judge people on their appearances, on what is","}
{"text": ""most visible to our eyes—clothes, gestures, words, actions. In the social","}
{"text": ""realm, appearances are the barometer of almost all of our judgments, and","}
{"text": ""you must never be mis led into believing otherwise. One false slip, one","}
{"text": ""awkward or sudden change in your appearance, can prove disastrous.","}
{"text": ""This is the reason for the supreme importance of making and","}
{"text": ""maintaining a reputation that is of your own creation.","}
{"text": ""That reputation will protect you in the dangerous game of","}
{"text": ""appearances, distracting the probing eyes of others from knowing what","}
{"text": ""you are really like, and giving you a degree of control over how the","}
{"text": ""world judges you—a powerful position to be in. Reputation has a power","}
{"text": ""like magic: With one stroke of its wand, it can double your strength. It","}
{"text": ""can also send people scurrying away from you. Whether the exact same","}
{"text": ""deeds appear brilliant or dreadful can depend entirely on the reputation","}
{"text": ""of the doer.","}
{"text": ""In the ancient Chinese court of the Wei kingdom there was a man","}
{"text": ""named Mi Tzu-hsia who had a reputation for supreme civility and","}
{"text": ""graciousness. He became the ruler’s favorite. It was a law in Wei that","}
{"text": ""“whoever rides secretly in the ruler’s coach shall have his feet cut off,”","}
{"text": ""but when Mi Tzu-hsia’s mother fell ill, he used the royal coach to visit","}
{"text": ""her, pretending that the ruler had given him permission. When the ruler","}
{"text": ""found out, he said, “How dutiful is Mi Tzu-hsia! For his mother’s sake","}
{"text": ""he even forgot that he was committing a crime making him liable to lose","}
{"text": ""his feet!”Another time the two of them took a stroll in an orchard. Mi Tzu-hsia","}
{"text": ""began eating a peach that he could not finish, and he gave the ruler the","}
{"text": ""other half to eat. The ruler remarked, “You love me so much that you","}
{"text": ""would even forget your own saliva taste and let me eat the rest of the","}
{"text": ""peach!”","}
{"text": ""Later, however, envious fellow courtiers, spreading word that Mi Tzu-","}
{"text": ""hsia was actually devious and arrogant, succeeded in damaging his","}
{"text": ""reputation; the ruler came to see his actions in a new light. “This fellow","}
{"text": ""once rode in my coach under pretense of my order,” he told the courtiers","}
{"text": ""angrily, “and another time he gave me a half-eaten peach.” For the same","}
{"text": ""actions that had charmed the ruler when he was the favorite, Mi Tzu-hsia","}
{"text": ""now had to suffer the penalties. The fate of his feet depended solely on","}
{"text": ""the strength of his reputation.","}
{"text": ""In the beginning, you must work to establish a reputation for one","}
{"text": ""outstanding quality, whether generosity or honesty or cunning. This","}
{"text": ""quality sets you apart and gets other people to talk about you. You then","}
{"text": ""make your reputation known to as many people as possible (subtly,","}
{"text": ""though; take care to build slowly, and with a firm foundation), and watch","}
{"text": ""as it spreads like wildfire.","}
{"text": ""A solid reputation increases your presence and exaggerates your","}
{"text": ""strengths without your having to spend much energy. It can also create an","}
{"text": ""aura around you that will instill respect, even fear. In the fighting in the","}
{"text": ""North African desert during World War II, the German general Erwin","}
{"text": ""Rommel had a reputation for cunning and for deceptive maneuvering","}
{"text": ""that struck terror into everyone who faced him. Even when his forces","}
{"text": ""were depleted, and when British tanks outnumbered his by five to one,","}
{"text": ""entire cities would be evacuated at the news of his approach.","}
{"text": ""As they say, your reputation inevitably precedes you, and if it inspires","}
{"text": ""respect, a lot of your work is done for you before you arrive on the","}
{"text": ""scene, or utter a single word.","}
{"text": ""Your success seems destined by your past triumphs. Much of the","}
{"text": ""success of Henry Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy rested on his reputation","}
{"text": ""for ironing out differences; no one wanted to be seen as so unreasonable","}
{"text": ""that Kissinger could not sway him. A peace treaty seemed a fait","}
{"text": ""accompli as soon as Kissinger’s name became involved in the","}
{"text": ""negotiations.","}
{"text": ""Make your reputation simple and base it on one sterling quality. This","}
{"text": ""single quality—efficiency, say, or seductiveness—becomes a kind of","}
{"text": ""calling card that announces your presence and places others under a","}
{"text": ""spell. A reputation for honesty will allow you to practice all manner ofdeception. Casanova used his reputation as a great seducer to pave the","}
{"text": ""way for his future conquests; women who had heard of his powers","}
{"text": ""became immensely curious, and wanted to discover for themselves what","}
{"text": ""had made him so romantically successful.","}
{"text": ""Perhaps you have already stained your reputation, so that you are","}
{"text": ""prevented from establishing a new one. In such cases it is wise to","}
{"text": ""associate with someone whose image counteracts your own, using their","}
{"text": ""good name to whitewash and elevate yours. It is hard, for example, to","}
{"text": ""erase a reputation for dishonesty by yourself; but a paragon of honesty","}
{"text": ""can help. When P. T. Barnum wanted to clean up a reputation for","}
{"text": ""promoting vulgar entertainment, he brought the singer Jenny Lind over","}
{"text": ""from Europe. She had a stellar, high-class reputation, and the American","}
{"text": ""tour Barnum sponsored for her greatly enhanced his own image.","}
{"text": ""Similarly the great robber barons of nineteenth-century America were","}
{"text": ""long unable to rid themselves of a reputation for cruelty and mean-","}
{"text": ""spiritedness. Only when they began collecting art, so that the names of","}
{"text": ""Morgan and Frick became permanently associated with those of da Vinci","}
{"text": ""and Rembrandt, were they able to soften their unpleasant image.","}
{"text": ""Reputation is a treasure to be carefully collected and hoarded.","}
{"text": ""Especially when you are first establishing it, you must protect it strictly,","}
{"text": ""anticipating all attacks on it. Once it is solid, do not let yourself get angry","}
{"text": ""or defensive at the slanderous comments of your enemies—that reveals","}
{"text": ""insecurity, not confidence in your reputation. Take the high road instead,","}
{"text": ""and never appear desperate in your self-defense. On the other hand, an","}
{"text": ""attack on another man’s reputation is a potent weapon, particularly when","}
{"text": ""you have less power than he does. He has much more to lose in such a","}
{"text": ""battle, and your own thus-far-small reputation gives him a small target","}
{"text": ""when he tries to return your fire. Barnum used such campaigns to great","}
{"text": ""effect in his early career. But this tactic must be practiced with skill; you","}
{"text": ""must not seem to engage in petty vengeance. If you do not break your","}
{"text": ""enemy’s reputation cleverly, you will inadvertently ruin your own.","}
{"text": ""Thomas Edison, considered the inventor who harnessed electricity,","}
{"text": ""believed that a workable system would have to be based on direct current","}
{"text": ""(DC). When the Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla appeared to have","}
{"text": ""succeeded in creating a system based on alternating current (AC), Edison","}
{"text": ""was furious. He determined to ruin Tesla’s reputation, by making the","}
{"text": ""public believe that the AC system was inherently unsafe, and Tesla","}
{"text": ""irresponsible in promoting it.","}
{"text": ""To this end he captured all kinds of household pets and electrocuted","}
{"text": ""them to death with an AC current. When this wasn’t enough, in 1890 hegot New York State prison authorities to organize the world’s first","}
{"text": ""execution by electrocution, using an AC current. But Edison’s","}
{"text": ""electrocution experiments had all been with small creatures; the charge","}
{"text": ""was too weak, and the man was only half killed. In perhaps the country’s","}
{"text": ""cruelest state-authorized execution, the procedure had to be repeated. It","}
{"text": ""was an awful spectacle.","}
{"text": ""Although, in the long run, it is Edison’s name that has survived, at the","}
{"text": ""time his campaign damaged his own reputation more than Tesla’s. He","}
{"text": ""backed off. The lesson is simple—never go too far in attacks like these,","}
{"text": ""for that will draw more attention to your own vengefulness than to the","}
{"text": ""person you are slandering. When your own reputation is solid, use","}
{"text": ""subtler tactics, such as satire and ridicule, to weaken your opponent","}
{"text": ""while making you out as a charming rogue. The mighty lion toys with","}
{"text": ""the mouse that crosses his path—any other reaction would mar his","}
{"text": ""fearsome reputation.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""A Mine Full of","}
{"text": ""Diamonds and Rubies.","}
{"text": ""You dug for it, you found it,","}
{"text": ""and your wealth is now assured.","}
{"text": ""Guard it with your life. Robbers and thieves","}
{"text": ""will appear from all sides. Never take your wealth","}
{"text": ""for granted, and constantly renew it—time","}
{"text": ""will diminish the jewels’ luster,","}
{"text": ""and bury them from sight.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Therefore I should wish our courtier to bolster up his inherent","}
{"text": ""worth with skill and cunning, and ensure that whenever he has to go","}
{"text": ""where he is a stranger, he is preceded by a good reputation…. For the","}
{"text": ""fame which appears to rest on the opinions of many fosters a certain","}
{"text": ""unshakable belief in a man’s worth which is then easily strengthened in","}
{"text": ""minds already thus disposed and prepared. (Baldassare Castiglione,","}
{"text": ""1478-1529)","}
{"text": ""REVERSALThere is no possible Reversal. Reputation is critical; there are no","}
{"text": ""exceptions to this law. Perhaps, not caring what others think of you, you","}
{"text": ""gain a reputation for insolence and arrogance, but that can be a valuable","}
{"text": ""image in itself—Oscar Wilde used it to great advantage. Since we must","}
{"text": ""live in society and must depend on the opinions of others, there is","}
{"text": ""nothing to be gained by neglecting your reputation. By not caring how","}
{"text": ""you are perceived, you let others decide this for you. Be the master of","}
{"text": ""your fate, and also of your reputation.LAW 6","}
{"text": ""COURT ATTENTION AT ALL COST","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for","}
{"text": ""nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in","}
{"text": ""oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet","}
{"text": ""of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the","}
{"text": ""bland and timid masses.PART I: SURROUND YOUR NAME WITH","}
{"text": ""THE SENSATIONAL AND SCANDALOUS","}
{"text": ""Draw attention to yourself by creating an unforgettable, even","}
{"text": ""controversial image. Court scandal. Do anything to make yourself seem","}
{"text": ""larger than life and shine more brightly than those around you. Make no","}
{"text": ""distinction between kinds of attention—notoriety of any sort will bring","}
{"text": ""you power. Better to be slandered and attacked than ignored.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""P. T. Barnum, America’s premier nineteenth-century showman, started","}
{"text": ""his career as an assistant to the owner of a circus, Aaron Turner. In 1836","}
{"text": ""the circus stopped in Annapolis, Maryland, for a series of performances.","}
{"text": ""On the morning of opening day, Barnum took a stroll through town,","}
{"text": ""wearing a new black suit. People started to follow him. Someone in the","}
{"text": ""gathering crowd shouted out that he was the Reverend Ephraim K.","}
{"text": ""Avery, infamous as a man acquitted of the charge of murder but still","}
{"text": ""believed guilty by most Americans. The angry mob tore off Barnum’s","}
{"text": ""suit and was ready to lynch him. After desperate appeals, Barnum finally","}
{"text": ""convinced them to follow him to the circus, where he could verify his","}
{"text": ""identity.","}
{"text": ""THE WASP AND THE PRINCE","}
{"text": ""A wasp named Pin Tail was long in quest of some deed that would make","}
{"text": ""him forever famous. So one day he entered the kirrg’s palace and stung","}
{"text": ""the little prince, who was in bed. The prince awoke with loud cries. The","}
{"text": ""king and his courtiers rushed in to see what had happened. The prince","}
{"text": ""was yelling as the wasp stung him again and again. The courtiers tried","}
{"text": ""to catch the wasp, and each in turn was stung. The whole royal","}
{"text": ""household rushed in, the news soon spread, and people flocked to the","}
{"text": ""palace. The city was in an uproar, all business suspended. Said the waspto itself, before it expired from its efforts, “A name without fame is like","}
{"text": ""fire without flame. There is nothing like attracting notice at any cost.”","}
{"text": ""INDIAN FABLE","}
{"text": ""Once there, old Turner confirmed that this was all a practical joke—he","}
{"text": ""himself had spread the rumor that Barnum was Avery. The crowd","}
{"text": ""dispersed, but Barnum, who had nearly been killed, was not amused. He","}
{"text": ""wanted to know what could have induced his boss to play such a trick.","}
{"text": ""“My dear Mr. Barnum,” Turner replied, “it was all for our good.","}
{"text": ""Remember, all we need to ensure success is notoriety.” And indeed","}
{"text": ""everyone in town was talking about the joke, and the circus was packed","}
{"text": ""that night and every night it stayed in Annapolis. Barnum had learned a","}
{"text": ""lesson he would never forget.","}
{"text": ""Barnum’s first big venture of his own was the American Museum—a","}
{"text": ""collection of curiosities, located in New York. One day a beggar","}
{"text": ""approached Barnum in the street. Instead of giving him money, Barnum","}
{"text": ""decided to employ him. Taking him back to the museum, he gave the","}
{"text": ""man five bricks and told him to make a slow circuit of several blocks. At","}
{"text": ""certain points he was to lay down a brick on the sidewalk, always","}
{"text": ""keeping one brick in hand. On the return journey he was to replace each","}
{"text": ""brick on the street with the one he held. Meanwhile he was to remain","}
{"text": ""serious of countenance and to answer no questions. Once back at the","}
{"text": ""museum, he was to enter, walk around inside, then leave through the","}
{"text": ""back door and make the same bricklaying circuit again.","}
{"text": ""On the man’s first walk through the streets, several hundred people","}
{"text": ""watched his mysterious movements. By his fourth circuit, onlookers","}
{"text": ""swarmed around him, debating what he was doing. Every time he","}
{"text": ""entered the museum he was followed by people who bought tickets to","}
{"text": ""keep watching him. Many of them were distracted by the museum’s","}
{"text": ""collections, and stayed inside. By the end of the first day, the brick man","}
{"text": ""had drawn over a thousand people into the museum. A few days later the","}
{"text": ""police ordered him to cease and desist from his walks—the crowds were","}
{"text": ""blocking traffic. The bricklaying stopped but thousands of New Yorkers","}
{"text": ""had entered the museum, and many of those had become P. T. Barnum","}
{"text": ""converts.","}
{"text": ""Even when I’m railed at, I get my quota of renown.","}
{"text": ""PIETRO ARETINO, 1492-1556","}
{"text": ""Barnum would put a band of musicians on a balcony overlooking the","}
{"text": ""street, beneath a huge banner proclaiming FREE MUSIC FOR THEMILLIONS. What generosity, New Yorkers thought, and they flocked to","}
{"text": ""hear the free concerts. But Barnum took pains to hire the worst","}
{"text": ""musicians he could find, and soon after the band struck up, people would","}
{"text": ""hurry to buy tickets to the museum, where they would be out of earshot","}
{"text": ""of the band’s noise, and of the booing of the crowd.","}
{"text": ""THE COURT ARTIST","}
{"text": ""A work that was voluntarily presented to a prince was bound to seem in","}
{"text": ""some way special. The artist himself might also try to attract the","}
{"text": ""attention of the court through his behaviour. In Vasari’s judgment","}
{"text": ""Sodoma was “well known both for his personal eccentricities and for his","}
{"text": ""reputation as a good painter.” Because Pope Leo X “found pleasure in","}
{"text": ""such strange, hare-brained individuals,” he made Sodoma a knight,","}
{"text": ""causing the artist to go completely out of his mind. Van Mander found it","}
{"text": ""odd that the products of Cornelis Ketel’s experiments in mouth and foot","}
{"text": ""painting were bought by notable persons “because of their oddity,” yet","}
{"text": ""Ketel was only adding a variation to similar experiments by Titian, Ugo","}
{"text": ""da Carpi and Palma Giovane, who, according to Boschini painted with","}
{"text": ""their fingers “because they wished to imitate the method used by the","}
{"text": ""Supreme Creator. ” Van Mander reports that Gossaert attracted the","}
{"text": ""attention of Emperor Charles V by wearing a fantastic paper costume. In","}
{"text": ""doing so he was adopting the tactics used by Dinocrates, who, in order","}
{"text": ""to gain access to Alexander the Great, is said to have appeared disguised","}
{"text": ""as the naked Hercules when the monarch was sitting in judgment.","}
{"text": ""THE COURT ARTIST, MARTIN WARNKE, 1993","}
{"text": ""One of the first oddities Barnum toured around the country was Joice","}
{"text": ""Heth, a woman he claimed was 161 years old, and whom he advertised","}
{"text": ""as a slave who had once been George Washington’s nurse. After several","}
{"text": ""months the crowds began to dwindle, so Barnum sent an anonymous","}
{"text": ""letter to the papers, claiming that Heth was a clever fraud. “Joice Heth,”","}
{"text": ""he wrote, “is not a human being but an automaton, made up of","}
{"text": ""whalebone, india-rubber, and numberless springs.” Those who had not","}
{"text": ""bothered to see her before were immediately curious, and those who had","}
{"text": ""already seen her paid to see her again, to find out whether the rumor that","}
{"text": ""she was a robot was true.","}
{"text": ""In 1842, Barnum purchased the carcass of what was purported to be a","}
{"text": ""mermaid. This creature resembled a monkey with the body of a fish, but","}
{"text": ""the head and body were perfectly joined—it was truly a wonder. Aftersome research Barnum discovered that the creature had been expertly put","}
{"text": ""together in Japan, where the hoax had caused quite a stir.","}
{"text": ""He nevertheless planted articles in newspapers around the country","}
{"text": ""claiming the capture of a mermaid in the Fiji Islands. He also sent the","}
{"text": ""papers woodcut prints of paintings showing mermaids. By the time he","}
{"text": ""showed the specimen in his museum, a national debate had been sparked","}
{"text": ""over the existence of these mythical creatures. A few months before","}
{"text": ""Barnum’s campaign, no one had cared or even known about mermaids;","}
{"text": ""now everyone was talking about them as if they were real. Crowds","}
{"text": ""flocked in record numbers to see the Fiji Mermaid, and to hear debates","}
{"text": ""on the subject.","}
{"text": ""A few years later, Barnum toured Europe with General Tom Thumb, a","}
{"text": ""five-year-old dwarf from Connecticut whom Barnum claimed was an","}
{"text": ""eleven-year-old English boy, and whom he had trained to do many","}
{"text": ""remarkable acts. During this tour Barnum’s name attracted such attention","}
{"text": ""that Queen Victoria, that paragon of sobriety, requested a private","}
{"text": ""audience with him and his talented dwarf at Buckingham Palace. The","}
{"text": ""English press may have ridiculed Barnum, but Victoria was royally","}
{"text": ""entertained by him, and respected him ever after.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Barnum understood the fundamental truth about attracting attention:","}
{"text": ""Once people’s eyes are on you, you have a special legitimacy. For","}
{"text": ""Barnum, creating interest meant creating a crowd; as he later wrote,","}
{"text": ""“Every crowd has a silver lining.” And crowds tend to act in conjunction.","}
{"text": ""If one person stops to see your beggarman laying bricks in the street,","}
{"text": ""more will do the same. They will gather like dust bunnies. Then, given a","}
{"text": ""gentle push, they will enter your museum or watch your show. To create","}
{"text": ""a crowd you have to do something different and odd. Any kind of","}
{"text": ""curiosity will serve the purpose, for crowds are magnetically attracted by","}
{"text": ""the unusual and inexplicable. And once you have their attention, never","}
{"text": ""let it go. If it veers toward other people, it does so at your expense.","}
{"text": ""Barnum would ruthlessly suck attention from his competitors, knowing","}
{"text": ""what a valuable commodity it is.","}
{"text": ""At the beginning of your rise to the top, then, spend all your energy on","}
{"text": ""attracting attention. Most important: The quality of the attention is","}
{"text": ""irrelevant. No matter how badly his shows were reviewed, or how","}
{"text": ""slanderously personal were the attacks on his hoaxes, Barnum wouldnever complain. If a newspaper critic reviled him particularly badly, in","}
{"text": ""fact, he made sure to invite the man to an opening and to give him the","}
{"text": ""best seat in the house. He would even write anonymous attacks on his","}
{"text": ""own work, just to keep his name in the papers. From Barnum’s vantage,","}
{"text": ""attention—whether negative or positive—was the main ingredient of his","}
{"text": ""success. The worst fate in the world for a man who yearns fame, glory,","}
{"text": ""and, of course, power is to be ignored.","}
{"text": ""If the courtier happens to engage in arms in some public spectacle","}
{"text": ""such as jousting … he will ensure that the horse he has is beautifully","}
{"text": ""caparisoned, that he himself is suitably attired, with appropriate","}
{"text": ""mottoes and ingenious devices to attract the eyes of the onlookers","}
{"text": ""in his direction as surely as the lodestone attracts iron.","}
{"text": ""Baldassare Castighone, 1478-1529","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Burning more brightly than those around you is a skill that no one is born","}
{"text": ""with. You have to learn to attract attention, “as surely as the lodestone","}
{"text": ""attracts iron.” At the start of your career, you must attach your name and","}
{"text": ""reputation to a quality, an image, that sets you apart from other people.","}
{"text": ""This image can be something like a characteristic style of dress, or a","}
{"text": ""personality quirk that amuses people and gets talked about. Once the","}
{"text": ""image is established, you have an appearance, a place in the sky for your","}
{"text": ""star.","}
{"text": ""It is a common mistake to imagine that this peculiar appearance of","}
{"text": ""yours should not be controversial, that to be attacked is somehow bad.","}
{"text": ""Nothing could be further from the truth. To avoid being a flash in the","}
{"text": ""pan, and having your notoriety eclipsed by another, you must not","}
{"text": ""discriminate between different types of attention; in the end, every kind","}
{"text": ""will work in your favor. Barnum, we have seen, welcomed personal","}
{"text": ""attacks and felt no need to defend himself. He deliberately courted the","}
{"text": ""image of being a humbug.","}
{"text": ""The court of Louis XIV contained many talented writers, artists, great","}
{"text": ""beauties, and men and women of impeccable virtue, but no one was more","}
{"text": ""talked about than the singular Duc de Lauzun. The duke was short,","}
{"text": ""almost dwarfish, and he was prone to the most insolent kinds of behavior","}
{"text": ""—he slept with the king’s mistress, and openly insulted not only othercourtiers but the king himself. Louis, however, was so beguiled by the","}
{"text": ""duke’s eccentricities that he could not bear his absences from the court. It","}
{"text": ""was simple: The strangeness of the duke’s character attracted attention.","}
{"text": ""Once people were enthralled by him, they wanted him around at any","}
{"text": ""cost.","}
{"text": ""Society craves larger-than-life figures, people who stand above the","}
{"text": ""general mediocrity. Never be afraid, then, of the qualities that set you","}
{"text": ""apart and draw attention to you. Court controversy, even scandal. It is","}
{"text": ""better to be attacked, even slandered, than ignored. All professions are","}
{"text": ""ruled by this law, and all professionals must have a bit of the showman","}
{"text": ""about them.","}
{"text": ""The great scientist Thomas Edison knew that to raise money he had to","}
{"text": ""remain in the public eye at any cost. Almost as important as the","}
{"text": ""inventions themselves was how he presented them to the public and","}
{"text": ""courted attention.","}
{"text": ""Edison would design visually dazzling experiments to display his","}
{"text": ""discoveries with electricity. He would talk of future inventions that","}
{"text": ""seemed fantastic at the time—robots, and machines that could","}
{"text": ""photograph thought—and that he had no intention of wasting his energy","}
{"text": ""on, but that made the public talk about him. He did everything he could","}
{"text": ""to make sure that he received more attention than his great rival Nikola","}
{"text": ""Tesla, who may actually have been more brilliant than he was but whose","}
{"text": ""name was far less known. In 1915, it was rumored that Edison and Tesla","}
{"text": ""would be joint recipients of that year’s Nobel Prize in physics. The prize","}
{"text": ""was eventually given to a pair of English physicists; only later was it","}
{"text": ""discovered that the prize committee had actually approached Edison, but","}
{"text": ""he had turned them down, refusing to share the prize with Tesla. By that","}
{"text": ""time his fame was more secure than Tesla’s, and he thought it better to","}
{"text": ""refuse the honor than to allow his rival the attention that would have","}
{"text": ""come even from sharing the prize.","}
{"text": ""If you find yourself in a lowly position that offers little opportunity for","}
{"text": ""you to draw attention, an effective trick is to attack the most visible,","}
{"text": ""most famous, most powerful person you can find. When Pietro Aretino, a","}
{"text": ""young Roman servant boy of the early sixteenth century, wanted to get","}
{"text": ""attention as a writer of verses, he decided to publish a series of satirical","}
{"text": ""poems ridiculing the pope and his affection for a pet elephant. The attack","}
{"text": ""put Aretino in the public eye immediately. A slanderous attack on a","}
{"text": ""person in a position of power would have a similar effect. Remember,","}
{"text": ""however, to use such tactics sparingly after you have the public’s","}
{"text": ""attention, when the act can wear thin.Once in the limelight you must constantly renew it by adapting and","}
{"text": ""varying your method of courting attention. If you don’t, the public will","}
{"text": ""grow tired, will take you for granted, and will move on to a newer star.","}
{"text": ""The game requires constant vigilance and creativity. Pablo Picasso never","}
{"text": ""allowed himself to fade into the background; if his name became too","}
{"text": ""attached to a particular style, he would deliberately upset the public with","}
{"text": ""a new series of paintings that went against all expectations. Better to","}
{"text": ""create something ugly and disturbing, he believed, than to let viewers","}
{"text": ""grow too familiar with his work. Understand: People feel superior to the","}
{"text": ""person whose actions they can predict. If you show them who is in","}
{"text": ""control by playing against their expectations, you both gain their respect","}
{"text": ""and tighten your hold on their fleeting attention.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Limelight. The","}
{"text": ""actor who steps into this bril","}
{"text": ""liant light attains a heightened","}
{"text": ""presence. All eyes are on him. There","}
{"text": ""is room for only one actor at a time in","}
{"text": ""the limelight’s narrow beam; do what","}
{"text": ""ever it takes to make yourself its focus.","}
{"text": ""Make your gestures so large, amus","}
{"text": ""ing, and scandalous that the","}
{"text": ""light stays on you while the","}
{"text": ""other actors are left in","}
{"text": ""the shadows.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Be ostentatious and be seen…. What is not seen is as though","}
{"text": ""it did not exist…. It was light that first caused all creation to shine forth.","}
{"text": ""Display fills up many blanks, covers up deficiencies, and gives","}
{"text": ""everything a second life, especially when it is backed by genuine merit.","}
{"text": ""(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)PART II: CREATE AN AIR OF MYSTERY","}
{"text": ""In a world growing increasingly banal and familiar, what seems","}
{"text": ""enigmatic instantly draws attention. Never make it too clear what you are","}
{"text": ""doing or about to do. Do not show all your cards. An air of mystery","}
{"text": ""heightens your presence; it also creates anticipation—everyone will be","}
{"text": ""watching you to see what happens next. Use mystery to beguile, seduce,","}
{"text": ""even frighten.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Beginning in 1905, rumors started to spread throughout Paris of a young","}
{"text": ""Oriental girl who danced in a private home, wrapped in veils that she","}
{"text": ""gradually discarded. A local journalist who had seen her dancing","}
{"text": ""reported that “a woman from the Far East had come to Europe laden with","}
{"text": ""perfume and jewels, to introduce some of the richness of the Oriental","}
{"text": ""colour and life into the satiated society of European cities.” Soon","}
{"text": ""everyone knew the dancer’s name: Mata Hari.","}
{"text": ""Early that year, in the winter, small and select audiences would gather","}
{"text": ""in a salon filled with Indian statues and other relics while an orchestra","}
{"text": ""played music inspired by Hindu and Javanese melodies. After keeping","}
{"text": ""the audience waiting and wondering, Mata Hari would suddenly appear,","}
{"text": ""in a startling costume: a white cotton brassiere covered with Indian-type","}
{"text": ""jewels; jeweled bands at the waist supporting a sarong that revealed as","}
{"text": ""much as it concealed; bracelets up the arms. Then Mata Hari would","}
{"text": ""dance, in a style no one in France had seen before, her whole body","}
{"text": ""swaying as if she were in a trance. She told her excited and curious","}
{"text": ""audience that her dances told stories from Indian mythology and","}
{"text": ""Javanese folktales. Soon the cream of Paris, and ambassadors from far-","}
{"text": ""off lands, were competing for invitations to the salon, where it was","}
{"text": ""rumored that Mata Hari was actually performing sacred dances in the","}
{"text": ""nude.The public wanted to know more about her. She told journalists that","}
{"text": ""she was actually Dutch in origin, but had grown up on the island of Java.","}
{"text": ""She would also talk about time spent in India, how she had learned","}
{"text": ""sacred Hindu dances there, and how Indian women “can shoot straight,","}
{"text": ""ride horseback, and are capable of doing logarithms and talk","}
{"text": ""philosophy.” By the summer of 1905, although few Parisians had","}
{"text": ""actually seen Mata Hari dance, her name was on everyone’s lips.","}
{"text": ""As Mata Hari gave more interviews, the story of her origins kept","}
{"text": ""changing: She had grown up in India, her grandmother was the daughter","}
{"text": ""of a Javanese princess, she had lived on the island of Sumatra where she","}
{"text": ""had spent her time “horseback riding, gun in hand, and risking her life.”","}
{"text": ""No one knew anything certain about her, but journalists did not mind","}
{"text": ""these changes in her biography. They compared her to an Indian goddess,","}
{"text": ""a creature from the pages of Baudelaire—whatever their imagination","}
{"text": ""wanted to see in this mysterious woman from the East.","}
{"text": ""In August of 1905, Mata Hari performed for the first time in public.","}
{"text": ""Crowds thronging to see her on opening night caused a riot. She had now","}
{"text": ""become a cult figure, spawning many imitations. One reviewer wrote,","}
{"text": ""“Mata Hari personifies all the poetry of India, its mysticism, its","}
{"text": ""voluptuousness, its hypnotizing charm.” Another noted, “If India","}
{"text": ""possesses such unexpected treasures, then all Frenchmen will emigrate to","}
{"text": ""the shores of the Ganges.”","}
{"text": ""Soon the fame of Mata Hari and her sacred Indian dances spread","}
{"text": ""beyond Paris. She was invited to Berlin, Vienna, Milan. Over the next","}
{"text": ""few years she performed throughout Europe, mixed with the highest","}
{"text": ""social circles, and earned an income that gave her an independence rarely","}
{"text": ""enjoyed by a woman of the period. Then, near the end of World War I,","}
{"text": ""she was arrested in France, tried, convicted, and finally executed as a","}
{"text": ""German spy. Only during the trial did the truth come out: Mata Hari was","}
{"text": ""not from Java or India, had not grown up in the Orient, did not have a","}
{"text": ""drop of Eastern blood in her body. Her real name was Margaretha Zelle,","}
{"text": ""and she came from the stolid northern province of Friesland, Holland.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""When Margaretha Zelle arrived in Paris, in 1904, she had half a franc in","}
{"text": ""her pocket. She was one of the thousands of beautiful young girls who","}
{"text": ""flocked to Paris every year, taking work as artists’ models, nightclub","}
{"text": ""dancers, or vaudeville performers at the Folies Bergère. After a few yearsthey would inevitably be replaced by younger girls, and would often end","}
{"text": ""up on the streets, turning to prostitution, or else returning to the town","}
{"text": ""they came from, older and chastened.","}
{"text": ""Zelle had higher ambitions. She had no dance experience and had","}
{"text": ""never performed in the theater, but as a young girl she had traveled with","}
{"text": ""her family and had witnessed local dances in Java and Sumatra. Zelle","}
{"text": ""clearly understood that what was important in her act was not the dance","}
{"text": ""itself, or even her face or figure, but her ability to create an air of","}
{"text": ""mystery about herself. The mystery she created lay not just in her","}
{"text": ""dancing, or her costumes, or the stories she would tell, or her endless lies","}
{"text": ""about her origins; it lay in an atmosphere enveloping everything she did.","}
{"text": ""There was nothing you could say for sure about her—she was always","}
{"text": ""changing, always surprising her audience with new costumes, new","}
{"text": ""dances, new stories. This air of mystery left the public always wanting to","}
{"text": ""know more, always wondering about her next move. Mata Hari was no","}
{"text": ""more beautiful than many of the other young girls who came to Paris,","}
{"text": ""and she was not a particularly good dancer. What separated her from the","}
{"text": ""mass, what attracted and held the public’s attention and made her famous","}
{"text": ""and wealthy, was her mystery. People are enthralled by mystery; because","}
{"text": ""it invites constant interpretation, they never tire of it. The mysterious","}
{"text": ""cannot be grasped. And what cannot be seized and consumed creates","}
{"text": ""power.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""In the past, the world was filled with the terrifying and unknowable—","}
{"text": ""diseases, disasters, capricious despots, the mystery of death itself. What","}
{"text": ""we could not understand we reimagined as myths and spirits. Over the","}
{"text": ""centuries, though, we have managed, through science and reason, to","}
{"text": ""illuminate the darkness; what was mysterious and forbidding has grown","}
{"text": ""familiar and comfortable. Yet this light has a price: in a world that is ever","}
{"text": ""more banal, that has had its mystery and myth squeezed out of it, we","}
{"text": ""secretly crave enigmas, people or things that cannot be instantly","}
{"text": ""interpreted, seized, and consumed.","}
{"text": ""That is the power of the mysterious: It invites layers of interpretation,","}
{"text": ""excites our imagination, seduces us into believing that it conceals","}
{"text": ""something marvelous. The world has become so familiar and itsinhabitants so predictable that what wraps itself in mystery will almost","}
{"text": ""always draw the limelight to it and make us watch it.","}
{"text": ""Do not imagine that to create an air of mystery you have to be grand","}
{"text": ""and awe-inspiring. Mystery that is woven into your day-to-day","}
{"text": ""demeanor, and is subtle, has that much more power to fascinate and","}
{"text": ""attract attention. Remember: Most people are upfront, can be read like an","}
{"text": ""open book, take little care to control their words or image, and are","}
{"text": ""hopelessly predictable. By simply holding back, keeping silent,","}
{"text": ""occasionally uttering ambiguous phrases, deliberately appearing","}
{"text": ""inconsistent, and acting odd in the subtlest of ways, you will emanate an","}
{"text": ""aura of mystery. The people around you will then magnify that aura by","}
{"text": ""constantly trying to interpret you.","}
{"text": ""Both artists and con artists understand the vital link between being","}
{"text": ""mysterious and attracting interest. Count Victor Lustig, the aristocrat of","}
{"text": ""swindlers, played the game to perfection. He was always doing things","}
{"text": ""that were different, or seemed to make no sense. He would show up at","}
{"text": ""the best hotels in a limo driven by a Japanese chauffeur; no one had ever","}
{"text": ""seen a Japanese chauffeur before, so this seemed exotic and strange.","}
{"text": ""Lustig would dress in the most expensive clothing, but always with","}
{"text": ""something—a medal, a flower, an armband—out of place, at least in","}
{"text": ""conventional terms. This was seen not as tasteless but as odd and","}
{"text": ""intriguing. In hotels he would be seen receiving telegrams at all hours,","}
{"text": ""one after the other, brought to him by his Japanese chauffeur—telegrams","}
{"text": ""he would tear up with utter nonchalance. (In fact they were fakes,","}
{"text": ""completely blank.) He would sit alone in the dining room, reading a large","}
{"text": ""and impressive-looking book, smiling at people yet remaining aloof.","}
{"text": ""Within a few days, of course, the entire hotel would be abuzz with","}
{"text": ""interest in this strange man.","}
{"text": ""All this attention allowed Lustig to lure suckers in with ease. They","}
{"text": ""would beg for his confidence and his company. Everyone wanted to be","}
{"text": ""seen with this mysterious aristocrat. And in the presence of this","}
{"text": ""distracting enigma, they wouldn’t even notice that they were being","}
{"text": ""robbed blind.","}
{"text": ""An air of mystery can make the mediocre appear intelligent and","}
{"text": ""profound. It made Mata Hari, a woman of average appearance and","}
{"text": ""intelligence, seem like a goddess, and her dancing divinely inspired. An","}
{"text": ""air of mystery about an artist makes his or her artwork immediately more","}
{"text": ""intriguing, a trick Marcel Duchamp played to great effect. It is all very","}
{"text": ""easy to do—say little about your work, tease and titillate with alluring,even contradictory comments, then stand back and let others try to make","}
{"text": ""sense of it all.","}
{"text": ""Mysterious people put others in a kind of inferior position—that of","}
{"text": ""trying to figure them out. To degrees that they can control, they also","}
{"text": ""elicit the fear surrounding anything uncertain or unknown. All great","}
{"text": ""leaders know that an aura of mystery draws attention to them and creates","}
{"text": ""an intimidating presence. Mao Tse-tung, for example, cleverly cultivated","}
{"text": ""an enigmatic image; he had no worries about seeming inconsistent or","}
{"text": ""contradicting himself—the very contradictoriness of his actions and","}
{"text": ""words meant that he always had the upper hand. No one, not even his","}
{"text": ""own wife, ever felt they understood him, and he therefore seemed larger","}
{"text": ""than life. This also meant that the public paid constant attention to him,","}
{"text": ""ever anxious to witness his next move.","}
{"text": ""If your social position prevents you from completely wrapping your","}
{"text": ""actions in mystery, you must at least learn to make yourself less obvious.","}
{"text": ""Every now and then, act in a way that does not mesh with other people’s","}
{"text": ""perception of you. This way you keep those around you on the defensive,","}
{"text": ""eliciting the kind of attention that makes you powerful. Done right, the","}
{"text": ""creation of enigma can also draw the kind of attention that strikes terror","}
{"text": ""into your enemy.","}
{"text": ""During the Second Punic War (219-202 B.C.), the great Carthaginian","}
{"text": ""general Hannibal was wreaking havoc in his march on Rome. Hannibal","}
{"text": ""was known for his cleverness and duplicity.","}
{"text": ""Under his leadership Carthage’s army, though smaller than those of","}
{"text": ""the Romans, had constantly outmaneuvered them. On one occasion,","}
{"text": ""though, Hannibal’s scouts made a horrible blunder, leading his troops","}
{"text": ""into a marshy terrain with the sea at their back. The Roman army","}
{"text": ""blocked the mountain passes that led inland, and its general, Fabius, was","}
{"text": ""ecstatic—at last he had Hannibal trapped. Posting his best sentries on the","}
{"text": ""passes, he worked on a plan to destroy Hannibal’s forces. But in the","}
{"text": ""middle of the night, the sentries looked down to see a mysterious sight:","}
{"text": ""A huge procession of lights was heading up the mountain. Thousands","}
{"text": ""and thousands of lights. If this was Hannibal’s army, it had suddenly","}
{"text": ""grown a hundredfold.","}
{"text": ""The sentries argued heatedly about what this could mean:","}
{"text": ""Reinforcements from the sea? Troops that had been hidden in the area?","}
{"text": ""Ghosts? No explanation made sense.","}
{"text": ""As they watched, fires broke out all over the mountain, and a horrible","}
{"text": ""noise drifted up to them from below, like the blowing of a million horns.Demons, they thought. The sentries, the bravest and most sensible in the","}
{"text": ""Roman army, fled their posts in a panic.","}
{"text": ""By the next day, Hannibal had escaped from the marshland. What was","}
{"text": ""his trick? Had he really conjured up demons? Actually what he had done","}
{"text": ""was order bundles of twigs to be fastened to the horns of the thousands","}
{"text": ""of oxen that traveled with his troops as beasts of burden. The twigs were","}
{"text": ""then lit, giving the impression of the torches of a vast army heading up","}
{"text": ""the mountain. When the flames burned down to the oxen’s skin, they","}
{"text": ""stampeded in all directions, bellowing like mad and setting fires all over","}
{"text": ""the mountainside. The key to this device’s success was not the torches,","}
{"text": ""the fires, or the noises in themselves, however, but the fact that Hannibal","}
{"text": ""had created a puzzle that captivated the sentries’ attention and gradually","}
{"text": ""terrified them. From the mountaintop there was no way to explain this","}
{"text": ""bizarre sight. If the sentries could have explained it they would have","}
{"text": ""stayed at their posts.","}
{"text": ""If you find yourself trapped, cornered, and on the defensive in some","}
{"text": ""situation, try a simple experiment: Do something that cannot be easily","}
{"text": ""explained or interpreted. Choose a simple action, but carry it out in a","}
{"text": ""way that unsettles your opponent, a way with many possible","}
{"text": ""interpretations, making your intentions obscure. Don’t just be","}
{"text": ""unpredictable (although this tactic too can be successful—see Law 17);","}
{"text": ""like Hannibal, create a scene that cannot be read. There will seem to be","}
{"text": ""no method to your madness, no rhyme or reason, no single explanation.","}
{"text": ""If you do this right, you will inspire fear and trembling and the sentries","}
{"text": ""will abandon their posts. Call it the “feigned madness of Hamlet” tactic,","}
{"text": ""for Hamlet uses it to great effect in Shakespeare’s play, frightening his","}
{"text": ""stepfather Claudius through the mystery of his behavior. The mysterious","}
{"text": ""makes your forces seem larger, your power more terrifying.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Dance of","}
{"text": ""the Veils—the veils","}
{"text": ""envelop the dancer.","}
{"text": ""What they reveal","}
{"text": ""causes excitement.","}
{"text": ""What they conceal","}
{"text": ""heightens interest. The","}
{"text": ""essence of mystery.Authority: If you do not declare yourself immediately, you arouse","}
{"text": ""expectation…. Mix a little mystery with everything, and the very","}
{"text": ""mystery stirs up veneration. And when you explain, be not too","}
{"text": ""explicit…. In this manner you imitate the Divine way when you cause","}
{"text": ""men to wonder and watch. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""In the beginning of your rise to the top, you must attract attention at all","}
{"text": ""cost, but as you rise higher you must constantly adapt. Never wear the","}
{"text": ""public out with the same tactic. An air of mystery works wonders for","}
{"text": ""those who need to develop an aura of power and get themselves noticed,","}
{"text": ""but it must seem measured and under control. Mata Hari went too far","}
{"text": ""with her fabrications; although the accusation that she was a spy was","}
{"text": ""false, at the time it was a reasonable presumption because all her lies","}
{"text": ""made her seem suspicious and nefarious. Do not let your air of mystery","}
{"text": ""be slowly transformed into a reputation for deceit. The mystery you","}
{"text": ""create must seem a game, playful and unthreatening. Recognize when it","}
{"text": ""goes too far, and pull back.","}
{"text": ""There are times when the need for attention must be deferred, and","}
{"text": ""when scandal and notoriety are the last things you want to create. The","}
{"text": ""attention you attract must never offend or challenge the reputation of","}
{"text": ""those above you—not, at any rate, if they are secure. You will seem not","}
{"text": ""only paltry but desperate by comparison. There is an art to knowing","}
{"text": ""when to draw notice and when to withdraw.","}
{"text": ""Lola Montez was one of the great practitioners of the art of attracting","}
{"text": ""attention. She managed to rise from a middle-class Irish background to","}
{"text": ""being the lover of Franz Liszt and then the mistress and political adviser","}
{"text": ""of King Ludwig of Bavaria. In her later years, though, she lost her sense","}
{"text": ""of proportion.","}
{"text": ""In London in 1850 there was to be a performance of Shakespeare’s","}
{"text": ""Macbeth featuring the greatest actor of the time, Charles John Kean.","}
{"text": ""Everyone of consequence in English society was to be there; it was","}
{"text": ""rumored that even Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were to make apublic appearance. The custom of the period demanded that everyone be","}
{"text": ""seated before the queen arrived. So the audience got there a little early,","}
{"text": ""and when the queen entered her royal box, they observed the convention","}
{"text": ""of standing up and applauding her. The royal couple waited, then bowed.","}
{"text": ""Everyone sat down and the lights were dimmed. Then, suddenly, all eyes","}
{"text": ""turned to a box opposite Queen Victoria’s: A woman appeared from the","}
{"text": ""shadows, taking her seat later than the queen. It was Lola Montez. She","}
{"text": ""wore a diamond tiara on her dark hair and a long fur coat over her","}
{"text": ""shoulders. People whispered in amazement as the ermine cloak was","}
{"text": ""dropped to reveal a low-necked gown of crimson velvet. By turning their","}
{"text": ""heads, the audience could see that the royal couple deliberately avoided","}
{"text": ""looking at Lola’s box. They followed Victoria’s example, and for the rest","}
{"text": ""of the evening Lola Montez was ignored. After that evening no one in","}
{"text": ""fashionable society dared to be seen with her. All her magnetic powers","}
{"text": ""were reversed. People would flee her sight. Her future in England was","}
{"text": ""finished.","}
{"text": ""Never appear overly greedy for attention, then, for it signals","}
{"text": ""insecurity, and insecurity drives power away. Understand that there are","}
{"text": ""times when it is not in your interest to be the center of attention. When in","}
{"text": ""the presence of a king or queen, for instance, or the equivalent thereof,","}
{"text": ""bow and retreat to the shadows; never compete.LAW 7","}
{"text": ""GET OTHERS TO DO THE WORK FOR YOU,","}
{"text": ""BUT ALWAYS TAKE THE CREDIT","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your","}
{"text": ""own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and","}
{"text": ""energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end","}
{"text": ""your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do","}
{"text": ""yourself what others can do for you.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION AND OBSERVANCE OF","}
{"text": ""THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In 1883 a young Serbian scientist named Nikola Tesla was working for","}
{"text": ""the European division of the Continental Edison Company. He was a","}
{"text": ""brilliant inventor, and Charles Batchelor, a plant manager and a personal","}
{"text": ""friend of Thomas Edison, persuaded him he should seek his fortune in","}
{"text": ""America, giving him a letter of introduction to Edison himself. So began","}
{"text": ""a life of woe and tribulation that lasted until Tesla’s death.","}
{"text": ""IIII TORTOISE THE LELP AND THE HIPPOPOI","}
{"text": ""\\1]","}
{"text": ""One day the tortoise met the elephant, who trumpeted, “Out of my way,","}
{"text": ""you weakling—I might step on you!” The tortoise was not afraid and","}
{"text": ""stayed where he was, so the elephant stepped on him, but could not crush","}
{"text": ""him. “Do not boast, Mr. Elephant, I am as strong as you are!” said the","}
{"text": ""tortoise, but the elephant just laughed. So the tortoise asked him to cometo his hill the next morning. The next day, before sunrise, the tortoise ran","}
{"text": ""down the hill to the river, where he met the hippopotamus, who was just","}
{"text": ""on his way back into the water after his nocturnal feeding. “Mr Hippo!","}
{"text": ""Shall we have a tug-of-war? I bet I’m as strong as you are!” said the","}
{"text": ""tortoise. The hippopotamus laughed at this ridiculous idea, but agreed.","}
{"text": ""The tortoise produced a long rope and told the hippo to hold it in his","}
{"text": ""mouth until the tortoise shouted “Hey!” Then the tortoise ran back up","}
{"text": ""the hill where he found the elephant, who was getting impatient. He gave","}
{"text": ""the elephant the other end of the rope and said, “When I say ‘Hey!’ pull,","}
{"text": ""and you’ll.see which of us is the strongest. ”Then he ran halfway back","}
{"text": ""down the hill, to a place where he couldn’t be seen, and shouted, “Hey!”","}
{"text": ""The elephant and the hippopotamus pulled and pulled, but neither could","}
{"text": ""budge the other-they were of equal strength. They both agreed that the","}
{"text": ""tortoise was as strong as they were. Never do what others can do for you.","}
{"text": ""The tortoise let others do the work for him while he got the credit.","}
{"text": ""ZAIREAN FABLE","}
{"text": ""When Tesla met Edison in New York, the famous inventor hired him","}
{"text": ""on the spot. Tesla worked eighteen-hour days, finding ways to improve","}
{"text": ""the primitive Edison dynamos. Finally he offered to redesign them","}
{"text": ""completely. To Edison this seemed a monumental task that could last","}
{"text": ""years without paying off, but he told Tesla, “There’s fifty thousand","}
{"text": ""dollars in it for you—if you can do it.” Tesla labored day and night on","}
{"text": ""the project and after only a year he produced a greatly improved version","}
{"text": ""of the dynamo, complete with automatic controls. He went to Edison to","}
{"text": ""break the good news and receive his $50,000. Edison was pleased with","}
{"text": ""the improvement, for which he and his company would take credit, but","}
{"text": ""when it came to the issue of the money he told the young Serb, “Tesla,","}
{"text": ""you don’t understand our American humor!,” and offered a small raise","}
{"text": ""instead.","}
{"text": ""Tesla’s obsession was to create an alternating-current system (AC) of","}
{"text": ""electricity. Edison believed in the direct-current system (DC), and not","}
{"text": ""only refused to support Tesla’s research but later did all he could to","}
{"text": ""sabotage him. Tesla turned to the great Pittsburgh magnate George","}
{"text": ""Westinghouse, who had started his own electricity company.","}
{"text": ""Westinghouse completely funded Tesla’s research and offered him a","}
{"text": ""generous royalty agreement on future profits. The AC system Tesla","}
{"text": ""developed is still the standard today—but after patents were filed in his","}
{"text": ""name, other scientists came forward to take credit for the invention,","}
{"text": ""claiming that they had laid the groundwork for him. His name was lost inthe shuffle, and the public came to associate the invention with","}
{"text": ""Westinghouse himself.","}
{"text": ""A year later, Westinghouse was caught in a takeover bid from J.","}
{"text": ""Pierpont Morgan, who made him rescind the generous royalty contract","}
{"text": ""he had signed with Tesla. Westinghouse explained to the scientist that his","}
{"text": ""company would not survive if it had to pay him his full royalties; he","}
{"text": ""persuaded Tesla to accept a buyout of his patents for $216,000—a large","}
{"text": ""sum, no doubt, but far less than the $12 million they were worth at the","}
{"text": ""time. The financiers had divested Tesla of the riches, the patents, and","}
{"text": ""essentially the credit for the greatest invention of his career.","}
{"text": ""The name of Guglielmo Marconi is forever linked with the invention","}
{"text": ""of radio. But few know that in producing his invention—he broadcast a","}
{"text": ""signal across the English Channel in 1899—Marconi made use of a","}
{"text": ""patent Tesla had filed in 1897, and that his work depended on Tesla’s","}
{"text": ""research. Once again Tesla received no money and no credit. Tesla","}
{"text": ""invented an induction motor as well as the AC power system, and he is","}
{"text": ""the real “father of radio.” Yet none of these discoveries bear his name.","}
{"text": ""As an old man, he lived in poverty.","}
{"text": ""In 1917, during his later impoverished years, Tesla was told he was to","}
{"text": ""receive the Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical","}
{"text": ""Engineers. He turned the medal down. “You propose,” he said, “to honor","}
{"text": ""me with a medal which I could pin upon my coat and strut for a vain","}
{"text": ""hour before the members of your Institute. You would decorate my body","}
{"text": ""and continue to let starve, for failure to supply recognition, my mind and","}
{"text": ""its creative products, which have supplied the foundation upon which the","}
{"text": ""major portion of your Institute exists.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Many harbor the illusion that science, dealing with facts as it does, is","}
{"text": ""beyond the petty rivalries that trouble the rest of the world. Nikola Tesla","}
{"text": ""was one of those. He believed science had nothing to do with politics,","}
{"text": ""and claimed not to care for fame and riches. As he grew older, though,","}
{"text": ""this ruined his scientific work. Not associated with any particular","}
{"text": ""discovery, he could attract no investors to his many ideas. While he","}
{"text": ""pondered great inventions for the future, others stole the patents he had","}
{"text": ""already developed and got the glory for themselves.","}
{"text": ""He wanted to do everything on his own, but merely exhausted and","}
{"text": ""impoverished himself in the process.Edison was Tesla’s polar opposite. He wasn’t actually much of a","}
{"text": ""scientific thinker or inventor; he once said that he had no need to be a","}
{"text": ""mathematician because he could always hire one. That was Edison’s","}
{"text": ""main method. He was really a businessman and publicist, spotting the","}
{"text": ""trends and the opportunities that were out there, then hiring the best in","}
{"text": ""the field to do the work for him. If he had to he would steal from his","}
{"text": ""competitors. Yet his name is much better known than Tesla’s, and is","}
{"text": ""associated with more inventions.","}
{"text": ""To be sure, if the hunter relies on the security of the carriage, utilizes the","}
{"text": ""legs of the six horses, and makes Wang Liang hold their reins, then he","}
{"text": ""will not tire himself and will find it easy to overtake swift animals. Now","}
{"text": ""supposing he discarded the advantage of the carriage, gave up the useful","}
{"text": ""legs of the horses and the skill of Wang Liang, and alighted to run after","}
{"text": ""the animals, then even though his legs were as quick as Lou Chi’s, he","}
{"text": ""would not be in time to overtake the animals. In fact, if good horses and","}
{"text": ""strong carriages are taken into use, then mere bond-men and","}
{"text": ""bondwomen will be good enough to catch the animals.","}
{"text": ""HAN-FEI-TZU, CHINESE PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""The lesson is twofold: First, the credit for an invention or creation is as","}
{"text": ""important, if not more important, than the invention itself. You must","}
{"text": ""secure the credit for yourself and keep others from stealing it away, or","}
{"text": ""from piggy-backing on your hard work. To accomplish this you must","}
{"text": ""always be vigilant and ruthless, keeping your creation quiet until you can","}
{"text": ""be sure there are no vultures circling overhead. Second, learn to take","}
{"text": ""advantage of other people’s work to further your own cause. Time is","}
{"text": ""precious and life is short. If you try to do it all on your own, you run","}
{"text": ""yourself ragged, waste energy, and burn yourself out. It is far better to","}
{"text": ""conserve your forces, pounce on the work others have done, and find a","}
{"text": ""way to make it your own.","}
{"text": ""Everybody steals in commerce and industry.","}
{"text": ""I’ve stolen a lot myself.","}
{"text": ""But I know how to steal.","}
{"text": ""Thomas Edison, 1847-1931","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWERThe world of power has the dynamics of the jungle: There are those who","}
{"text": ""live by hunting and killing, and there are also vast numbers of creatures","}
{"text": ""(hyenas, vultures) who live off the hunting of others. These latter, less","}
{"text": ""imaginative types are often incapable of doing the work that is essential","}
{"text": ""for the creation of power. They understand early on, though, that if they","}
{"text": ""wait long enough, they can always find another animal to do the work for","}
{"text": ""them. Do not be naive: At this very moment, while you are slaving away","}
{"text": ""on some project, there are vultures circling above trying to figure out a","}
{"text": ""way to survive and even thrive off your creativity. It is useless to","}
{"text": ""complain about this, or to wear yourself ragged with bitterness, as Tesla","}
{"text": ""did. Better to protect yourself and join the game. Once you have","}
{"text": ""established a power base, become a vulture yourself, and save yourself a","}
{"text": ""lot of time and energy.","}
{"text": ""A hen who had lost her sight, and was accustomed to scratching up the","}
{"text": ""earth in search of food, although blind, still continued to scratch away","}
{"text": ""most diligently. Of what use was it to the industriuus fool? Another","}
{"text": ""sharp-sighted hen who spared her tender feet never moved from her side,","}
{"text": ""and enjoyed, without scratching, the fruit of the other’s labor. For as","}
{"text": ""often as the blind hen scratched up a barley-corn, her watchful","}
{"text": ""companion devoured it.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, GOITCHOLD LESSING, 1729-1781","}
{"text": ""Of the two poles of this game, one can be illustrated by the example of","}
{"text": ""the explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Balboa had an obsession—the","}
{"text": ""discovery of El Dorado, a legendary city of vast riches.","}
{"text": ""Early in the sixteenth century, after countless hardships and brushes","}
{"text": ""with death, he found evidence of a great and wealthy empire to the south","}
{"text": ""of Mexico, in present-day Peru. By conquering this empire, the Incan,","}
{"text": ""and seizing its gold, he would make himself the next Cortés. The","}
{"text": ""problem was that even as he made this discovery, word of it spread","}
{"text": ""among hundreds of other conquistadors. He did not understand that half","}
{"text": ""the game was keeping it quiet, and carefully watching those around him.","}
{"text": ""A few years after he discovered the location of the Incan empire, a","}
{"text": ""soldier in his own army, Francisco Pizarro, helped to get him beheaded","}
{"text": ""for treason. Pizarro went on to take what Balboa had spent so many years","}
{"text": ""trying to find.","}
{"text": ""The other pole is that of the artist Peter Paul Rubens, who, late in his","}
{"text": ""career, found himself deluged with requests for paintings. He created a","}
{"text": ""system: In his large studio he employed dozens of outstanding painters,one specializing in robes, another in backgrounds, and so on. He created","}
{"text": ""a vast production line in which a large number of canvases would be","}
{"text": ""worked on at the same time. When an important client visited the studio,","}
{"text": ""Rubens would shoo his hired painters out for the day. While the client","}
{"text": ""watched from a balcony, Rubens would work at an incredible pace, with","}
{"text": ""unbelievable energy. The client would leave in awe of this prodigious","}
{"text": ""man, who could paint so many masterpieces in so short a time.","}
{"text": ""This is the essence of the Law: Learn to get others to do the work for","}
{"text": ""you while you take the credit, and you appear to be of godlike strength","}
{"text": ""and power. If you think it important to do all the work yourself, you will","}
{"text": ""never get far, and you will suffer the fate of the Balboas and Teslas of the","}
{"text": ""world. Find people with the skills and creativity you lack. Either hire","}
{"text": ""them, while putting your own name on top of theirs, or find a way to take","}
{"text": ""their work and make it your own. Their creativity thus becomes yours,","}
{"text": ""and you seem a genius to the world.","}
{"text": ""There is another application of this law that does not require the","}
{"text": ""parasitic use of your contemporaries’ labor: Use the past, a vast","}
{"text": ""storehouse of knowledge and wisdom. Isaac Newton called this","}
{"text": ""“standing on the shoulders of giants.” He meant that in making his","}
{"text": ""discoveries he had built on the achievements of others. A great part of","}
{"text": ""his aura of genius, he knew, was attributable to his shrewd ability to","}
{"text": ""make the most of the insights of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance","}
{"text": ""scientists. Shakespeare borrowed plots, characterizations, and even","}
{"text": ""dialogue from Plutarch, among other writers, for he knew that nobody","}
{"text": ""surpassed Plutarch in the writing of subtle psychology and witty quotes.","}
{"text": ""How many later writers have in their turn borrowed from—plagiarized—","}
{"text": ""Shakespeare ?","}
{"text": ""We all know how few of today’s politicians write their own speeches.","}
{"text": ""Their own words would not win them a single vote; their eloquence and","}
{"text": ""wit, whatever there is of it, they owe to a speech writer. Other people do","}
{"text": ""the work, they take the credit. The upside of this is that it is a kind of","}
{"text": ""power that is available to everyone. Learn to use the knowledge of the","}
{"text": ""past and you will look like a genius, even when you are really just a","}
{"text": ""clever borrower.","}
{"text": ""Writers who have delved into human nature, ancient masters of","}
{"text": ""strategy, historians of human stupidity and folly, kings and queens who","}
{"text": ""have learned the hard way how to handle the burdens of power—their","}
{"text": ""knowledge is gathering dust, waiting for you to come and stand on their","}
{"text": ""shoulders. Their wit can be your wit, their skill can be your skill, and","}
{"text": ""they will never come around to tell people how unoriginal you really are.You can slog through life, making endless mistakes, wasting time and","}
{"text": ""energy trying to do things from your own experience. Or you can use the","}
{"text": ""armies of the past. As Bismarck once said, “Fools say that they learn by","}
{"text": ""experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.”","}
{"text": ""Image: The Vulture. Of all the creatures in","}
{"text": ""the jungle, he has it the easiest. The","}
{"text": ""hard work of others becomes his work;","}
{"text": ""their failure to survive becomes his","}
{"text": ""nourishment. Keep an eye on","}
{"text": ""the Vulture—while you are","}
{"text": ""hard at work, he is cir","}
{"text": ""cling above. Do not","}
{"text": ""fight him, join","}
{"text": ""him.","}
{"text": ""Authority: There is much to be known, life is short, and life is not life","}
{"text": ""without knowledge. It is therefore an excellent device to acquire","}
{"text": ""knowledge from everybody. Thus, by the sweat of another’s brow, you","}
{"text": ""win the reputation of being an oracle. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""There are times when taking the credit for work that others have done is","}
{"text": ""not the wise course: If your power is not firmly enough established, you","}
{"text": ""will seem to be pushing people out of the limelight. To be a brilliant ex","}
{"text": ""ploiter of talent your position must be unshakable, or you will be accused","}
{"text": ""of deception.","}
{"text": ""Be sure you know when letting other people share the credit serves","}
{"text": ""your purpose. It is especially important to not be greedy when you have a","}
{"text": ""master above you. President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to the","}
{"text": ""People’s Republic of China was originally his idea, but it might never","}
{"text": ""have come off but for the deft diplomacy of Henry Kissinger. Nor would","}
{"text": ""it have been as successful without Kissinger’s skills. Still, when the time","}
{"text": ""came to take credit, Kissinger adroitly let Nixon take the lion’s share.","}
{"text": ""Knowing that the truth would come out later, he was careful not tojeopardize his standing in the short term by hogging the limelight.","}
{"text": ""Kissinger played the game expertly: He took credit for the work of those","}
{"text": ""below him while graciously giving credit for his own labors to those","}
{"text": ""above. That is the way to play the game.LAW 8","}
{"text": ""MAKE OTHER PEOPLE COME TO YOU—USE","}
{"text": ""BAIT IF NECESSARY","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is","}
{"text": ""always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own","}
{"text": ""plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains—then attack. You","}
{"text": ""hold the cards.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""At the Congress of Vienna in 1814, the major powers of Europe gathered","}
{"text": ""to carve up the remains of Napoleon’s fallen Empire. The city was full of","}
{"text": ""gaiety and the balls were the most splendid in memory. Hovering over","}
{"text": ""the proceedings, however, was the shadow of Napoleon himself. Instead","}
{"text": ""of being executed or exiled far away, he had been sent to the island of","}
{"text": ""Elba, not far from the coast of Italy.","}
{"text": ""Even imprisoned on an island, a man as bold and creative as Napoleon","}
{"text": ""Bonaparte made everyone nervous. The Austrians plotted to kill him on","}
{"text": ""Elba, but decided it was too risky. Alexander I, Russia’s temperamental","}
{"text": ""czar, heightened the anxiety by throwing a fit during the congress when a","}
{"text": ""part of Poland was denied him: “Beware, I shall loose the monster!” he","}
{"text": ""threatened. Everyone knew he meant Napoleon. Of all the statesmen","}
{"text": ""gathered in Vienna, only Talleyrand, Napoleon’s former foreign minister,","}
{"text": ""seemed calm and unconcerned. It was as if he knew something the others","}
{"text": ""did not.","}
{"text": ""Meanwhile, on the island of Elba, Napoleon’s life was a mockery of","}
{"text": ""his previous glory. As Elba’s “king,” he had been allowed to form a court—there was a cook, a wardrobe mistress, an official pianist, and a","}
{"text": ""handful of courtiers. All this was designed to humiliate Napoleon, and it","}
{"text": ""seemed to work.","}
{"text": ""That winter, however, there occurred a series of events so strange and","}
{"text": ""dramatic they might have been scripted in a play. Elba was surrounded","}
{"text": ""by British ships, their cannons covering all possible exit points. Yet","}
{"text": ""somehow, in broad daylight on 26 February 1815, a ship with nine","}
{"text": ""hundred men on board picked up Napoleon and put to sea. The English","}
{"text": ""gave chase but the ship got away. This almost impossible escape","}
{"text": ""astonished the public throughout Europe, and terrified the statesmen at","}
{"text": ""the Congress of Vienna.","}
{"text": ""Although it would have been safer to leave Europe, Napoleon not only","}
{"text": ""chose to return to France, he raised the odds by marching on Paris with a","}
{"text": ""tiny army, in hopes of recapturing the throne. His strategy worked—","}
{"text": ""people of all classes threw themselves at his feet. An army under","}
{"text": ""Marshal Ney sped from Paris to arrest him, but when the soldiers saw","}
{"text": ""their beloved former leader, they changed sides. Napoleon was declared","}
{"text": ""emperor again. Volunteers swelled the ranks of his new army. Delirium","}
{"text": ""swept the country. In Paris, crowds went wild. The king who had","}
{"text": ""replaced Napoleon fled the country.","}
{"text": ""For the next hundred days, Napoleon ruled France. Soon, however, the","}
{"text": ""giddiness subsided. France was bankrupt, its resources nearly exhausted,","}
{"text": ""and there was little Napoleon could do about this. At the Battle of","}
{"text": ""Waterloo, in June of that year, he was finally defeated for good. This","}
{"text": ""time his enemies had learned their lesson: They exiled him to the barren","}
{"text": ""island of Saint Helena, off the west coast of Africa. There he had no","}
{"text": ""more hope of escape.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Only years later did the facts of Napoleon’s dramatic escape from Elba","}
{"text": ""come to light. Before he decided to attempt this bold move, visitors to","}
{"text": ""his court had told him that he was more popular in France than ever, and","}
{"text": ""that the country would embrace him again. One of these visitors was","}
{"text": ""Austria’s General Roller, who convinced Napoleon that if he escaped,","}
{"text": ""the European powers, England included, would welcome him back into","}
{"text": ""power. Napoleon was tipped off that the English would let him go, and","}
{"text": ""indeed his escape occurred in the middle of the afternoon, in full view of","}
{"text": ""English spyglasses.What Napoleon did not know was that there was a man behind it all,","}
{"text": ""pulling the strings, and that this man was his former minister, Talleyrand.","}
{"text": ""And Talleyrand was doing all this not to bring back the glory days but to","}
{"text": ""crush Napoleon once and for all. Considering the emperor’s ambition","}
{"text": ""unsettling to Europe’s stability, he had turned against him long ago.","}
{"text": ""When Napoleon was exiled to Elba, Talleyrand had protested. Napoleon","}
{"text": ""should be sent farther away, he argued, or Europe would never have","}
{"text": ""peace. But no one listened.","}
{"text": ""Instead of pushing his opinion, Talleyrand bided his time. Working","}
{"text": ""quietly, he eventually won over Castlereagh and Metternich, the foreign","}
{"text": ""ministers of England and Austria.","}
{"text": ""Together these men baited Napoleon into escaping. Even Koller’s","}
{"text": ""visit, to whisper the promise of glory in the exile’s ear, was part of the","}
{"text": ""plan. Like a master cardplayer, Talleyrand figured everything out in","}
{"text": ""advance. He knew Napoleon would fall into the trap he had set. He also","}
{"text": ""foresaw that Napoleon would lead the country into a war, which, given","}
{"text": ""France’s weakened condition, could only last a few months. One","}
{"text": ""diplomat in Vienna, who understood that Talleyrand was behind it all,","}
{"text": ""said, “He has set the house ablaze in order to save it from the plague.”","}
{"text": ""When I have laid bait for deer,","}
{"text": ""I don’t shoot at the first doe that comes to sniff,","}
{"text": ""but wait until the whole herd has gathered round.","}
{"text": ""Otto von Bismarck, 1815-1898","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""How many times has this scenario played itself out in history: An","}
{"text": ""aggressive leader initiates a series of bold moves that begin by bringing","}
{"text": ""him much power. Slowly, however, his power reaches a peak, and soon","}
{"text": ""everything turns against him. His numerous enemies band together;","}
{"text": ""trying to maintain his power, he exhausts himself going in this direction","}
{"text": ""and that, and inevitably he collapses. The reason for this pattern is that","}
{"text": ""the aggressive person is rarely in full control. He cannot see more than a","}
{"text": ""couple of moves ahead, cannot see the consequences of this bold move","}
{"text": ""or that one. Because he is constantly being forced to react to the moves","}
{"text": ""of his ever-growing host of enemies, and to the unforeseen consequences","}
{"text": ""of his own rash actions, his aggressive energy is turned against him.In the realm of power, you must ask yourself, what is the point of","}
{"text": ""chasing here and there, trying to solve problems and defeat my enemies,","}
{"text": ""if I never feel in control? Why am I always having to react to events","}
{"text": ""instead of directing them? The answer is simple: Your idea of power is","}
{"text": ""wrong. You have mistaken aggressive action for effective action. And","}
{"text": ""most often the most effective action is to stay back, keep calm, and let","}
{"text": ""others be frustrated by the traps you lay for them, playing for long-term","}
{"text": ""power rather than quick victory.","}
{"text": ""Remember: The essence of power is the ability to keep the initiative,","}
{"text": ""to get others to react to your moves, to keep your opponent and those","}
{"text": ""around you on the defensive. When you make other people come to you,","}
{"text": ""you suddenly become the one controlling the situation. And the one who","}
{"text": ""has control has power. Two things must happen to place you in this","}
{"text": ""position: You yourself must learn to master your emotions, and never to","}
{"text": ""be influenced by anger; meanwhile, however, you must play on people’s","}
{"text": ""natural tendency to react angrily when pushed and baited. In the long","}
{"text": ""run, the ability to make others come to you is a weapon far more","}
{"text": ""powerful than any tool of aggression.","}
{"text": ""Study how Talleyrand, the master of the art, performed this delicate","}
{"text": ""trick. First, he overcame the urge to try to convince his fellow statesmen","}
{"text": ""that they needed to banish Napoleon far away. It is only natural to want","}
{"text": ""to persuade people by pleading your case, imposing your will with","}
{"text": ""words. But this often turns against you. Few of Talleyrand’s","}
{"text": ""contemporaries believed Napoleon was still a threat, so that if he had","}
{"text": ""spent a lot of energy trying to convince them, he would only have made","}
{"text": ""himself look foolish. Instead, he held his tongue and his emotions in","}
{"text": ""check. Most important of all, he laid Napoleon a sweet and irresistible","}
{"text": ""trap. He knew the man’s weakness, his impetuosity, his need for glory","}
{"text": ""and the love of the masses, and he played all this to perfection. When","}
{"text": ""Napoleon went for the bait, there was no danger that he might succeed","}
{"text": ""and turn the tables on Talleyrand, who better than anyone knew France’s","}
{"text": ""depleted state. And even had Napoleon been able to overcome these","}
{"text": ""difficulties, the likelihood of his success would have been greater were","}
{"text": ""he able to choose his time and place of action. By setting the proper trap,","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand took the time and place into his own hands.","}
{"text": ""All of us have only so much energy, and there is a moment when our","}
{"text": ""energies are at their peak. When you make the other person come to you,","}
{"text": ""he wears himself out, wasting his energy on the trip. In the year 1905,","}
{"text": ""Russia and Japan were at war. The Japanese had only recently begun to","}
{"text": ""modernize their warships, so that the Russians had a stronger navy, butby spreading false information the Japanese marshal Togo Heihachiro","}
{"text": ""baited the Russians into leaving their docks in the Baltic Sea, making","}
{"text": ""them believe they could wipe out the Japanese fleet in one swift attack.","}
{"text": ""The Russian fleet could not reach Japan by the quickest route—through","}
{"text": ""the Strait of Gibraltar and then the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean—","}
{"text": ""because these were controlled by the British, and Japan was an ally of","}
{"text": ""Great Britain. They had to go around the Cape of Good Hope, at the","}
{"text": ""southern tip of Africa, adding over more than six thousand miles to the","}
{"text": ""voyage. Once the fleet passed the Cape, the Japanese spread another","}
{"text": ""false story: They were sailing to launch a counterattack. So the Russians","}
{"text": ""made the entire journey to Japan on combat alert. By the time they","}
{"text": ""arrived, their seamen were tense, exhausted, and overworked, while the","}
{"text": ""Japanese had been waiting at their ease. Despite the odds and their lack","}
{"text": ""of experience in modern naval warfare, the Japanese crushed the","}
{"text": ""Russians.","}
{"text": ""One added benefit of making the opponent come to you, as the","}
{"text": ""Japanese discovered with the Russians, is that it forces him to operate in","}
{"text": ""your territory. Being on hostile ground will make him nervous and often","}
{"text": ""he will rush his actions and make mistakes. For negotiations or meetings,","}
{"text": ""it is always wise to lure others into your territory, or the territory of your","}
{"text": ""choice. You have your bearings, while they see nothing familiar and are","}
{"text": ""subtly placed on the defensive.","}
{"text": ""Manipulation is a dangerous game. Once someone suspects he is being","}
{"text": ""manipulated, it becomes harder and harder to control him. But when you","}
{"text": ""make your opponent come to you, you create the illusion that he is","}
{"text": ""controlling the situation. He does not feel the strings that pull him, just as","}
{"text": ""Napoleon imagined that he himself was the master of his daring escape","}
{"text": ""and return to power.","}
{"text": ""Everything depends on the sweetness of your bait. If your trap is","}
{"text": ""attractive enough, the turbulence of your enemies’ emotions and desires","}
{"text": ""will blind them to reality. The greedier they become, the more they can","}
{"text": ""be led around.","}
{"text": ""The great nineteenth-century robber baron Daniel Drew was a master","}
{"text": ""at playing the stock market. When he wanted a particular stock to be","}
{"text": ""bought or sold, driving prices up or down, he rarely resorted to the direct","}
{"text": ""approach. One of his tricks was to hurry through an exclusive club near","}
{"text": ""Wall Street, obviously on his way to the stock exchange, and to pull out","}
{"text": ""his customary red bandanna to wipe his perspiring brow. A slip of paper","}
{"text": ""would fall from this bandanna that he would pretend not to notice. The","}
{"text": ""club’s members were always trying to foresee Drew’s moves, and theywould pounce on the paper, which invariably seemed to contain an inside","}
{"text": ""tip on a stock. Word would spread, and members would buy or sell the","}
{"text": ""stock in droves, playing perfectly into Drew’s hands.","}
{"text": ""If you can get other people to dig their own graves, why sweat","}
{"text": ""yourself? Pickpockets work this to perfection. The key to picking a","}
{"text": ""pocket is knowing which pocket contains the wallet. Experienced","}
{"text": ""pickpockets often ply their trade in train stations and other places where","}
{"text": ""there is a clearly marked sign reading BEWARE OF PICKPOCKETS.","}
{"text": ""Passersby seeing the sign invariably feel for their wallet to make sure it","}
{"text": ""is still there. For the watching pickpockets, this is like shooting fish in a","}
{"text": ""barrel. Pickpockets have even been known to place their own BEWARE","}
{"text": ""OF PICKPOCKETS signs to ensure their success.","}
{"text": ""When you are making people come to you, it is sometimes better to let","}
{"text": ""them know you are forcing their hand. You give up deception for overt","}
{"text": ""manipulation. The psychological ramifications are profound: The person","}
{"text": ""who makes others come to him appears powerful, and demands respect.","}
{"text": ""Filippo Brunelleschi, the great Renaissance artist and architect, was a","}
{"text": ""great practitioner of the art of making others come to him as a sign of his","}
{"text": ""power. On one occasion he had been engaged to repair the dome of the","}
{"text": ""Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence. The commission was","}
{"text": ""important and prestigious. But when the city officials hired a second","}
{"text": ""man, Lorenzo Ghiberti, to work with Brunelleschi, the great artist","}
{"text": ""brooded in secret. He knew that Ghiberti had gotten the job through his","}
{"text": ""connections, and that he would do none of the work and get half the","}
{"text": ""credit. At a critical moment of the construction, then, Brunelleschi","}
{"text": ""suddenly developed a mysterious illness. He had to stop work, but","}
{"text": ""pointed out to city officials that they had hired Ghiberti, who should","}
{"text": ""have been able to continue the work on his own. Soon it became clear","}
{"text": ""that Ghiberti was useless and the officials came begging to Brunelleschi.","}
{"text": ""He ignored them, insisting that Ghiberti should finish the project, until","}
{"text": ""finally they realized the problem: They fired Ghiberti.","}
{"text": ""By some miracle, Brunelleschi recovered within days. He did not have","}
{"text": ""to throw a tantrum or make a fool of himself; he simply practiced the art","}
{"text": ""of “making others come to you.”","}
{"text": ""If on one occasion you make it a point of dignity that others must","}
{"text": ""come to you and you succeed, they will continue to do so even after you","}
{"text": ""stop trying.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Honeyed","}
{"text": ""Bear Trap. The bear hunter","}
{"text": ""does not chase his prey; a bearthat knows it is hunted is nearly","}
{"text": ""impossible to catch and is fero","}
{"text": ""cious if cornered. Instead, the","}
{"text": ""hunter lays traps baited with","}
{"text": ""honey. He does not exhaust","}
{"text": ""himself and risk his life in","}
{"text": ""pursuit. He baits, then waits.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Good warriors make others come to them, and do not go to","}
{"text": ""others. This is the principle of emptiness and fullness of others and self.","}
{"text": ""When you induce opponents to come to you, then their force is always","}
{"text": ""empty; as long as you do not go to them, your force is always full.","}
{"text": ""Attacking emptiness with fullness is like throwing stones on eggs.","}
{"text": ""(Zhang Yu, eleventh-century commentator on The Art of War)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Although it is generally the wiser policy to make others exhaust","}
{"text": ""themselves chasing you, there are opposite cases where striking suddenly","}
{"text": ""and aggressively at the enemy so demoralizes him that his energies sink.","}
{"text": ""Instead of making others come to you, you go to them, force the issue,","}
{"text": ""take the lead. Fast attack can be an awesome weapon, for it forces the","}
{"text": ""other person to react without the time to think or plan. With no time to","}
{"text": ""think, people make errors of judgment, and are thrown on the defensive.","}
{"text": ""This tactic is the obverse of waiting and baiting, but it serves the same","}
{"text": ""function: You make your enemy respond on your terms.","}
{"text": ""Men like Cesare Borgia and Napoleon used the element of speed to","}
{"text": ""intimidate and control. A rapid and unforeseen move is terrifying and","}
{"text": ""demoralizing. You must choose your tactics depending on the situation.","}
{"text": ""If you have time on your side, and know that you and your enemies are","}
{"text": ""at least at equal strength, then deplete their strength by making them","}
{"text": ""come to you. If time is against you—your enemies are weaker, and","}
{"text": ""waiting will only give them the chance to recover—give them no suchchance. Strike quickly and they have nowhere to go. As the boxer Joe","}
{"text": ""Louis put it, “He can run, but he can’t hide.”LAW 9","}
{"text": ""WIN THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NEVER","}
{"text": ""THROUGH ARGUMENT","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is","}
{"text": ""really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is","}
{"text": ""stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is","}
{"text": ""much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your","}
{"text": ""actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In 131 B.C., the Roman consul Publius Crassus Dives Mucianus, laying","}
{"text": ""siege to the Greek town of Pergamus, found himself in need of a","}
{"text": ""battering ram to force through the town’s walls. He had seen a couple of","}
{"text": ""hefty ship’s masts in a shipyard in Athens a few days before, and he","}
{"text": ""ordered that the larger of these be sent to him immediately. The military","}
{"text": ""engineer in Athens who received the order felt certain that the consul","}
{"text": ""really wanted the smaller of the masts. He argued endlessly with the","}
{"text": ""soldiers who delivered the request: The smaller mast, he told them, was","}
{"text": ""much better suited to the task. And indeed it would be easier to transport.","}
{"text": ""The soldiers warned the engineer that their master was not a man to","}
{"text": ""argue with, but he insisted that the smaller mast would be the only one","}
{"text": ""that would work with a machine that he was constructing to go with it.","}
{"text": ""He drew diagram after diagram, and went so far as to say that he was the","}
{"text": ""expert and they had no clue what they were talking about. The soldiers","}
{"text": ""knew their leader and at last convinced the engineer that it would be","}
{"text": ""better to swallow his expertise and obey.After they left, though, the engineer thought about it some more. What","}
{"text": ""was the point, he asked himself, in obeying an order that would lead to","}
{"text": ""failure? And so he sent the smaller mast, confident that the consul would","}
{"text": ""see how much more effective it was and reward him justly.","}
{"text": ""When the smaller mast arrived, Mucianus asked his soldiers for an","}
{"text": ""explanation. They described to him how the engineer had argued","}
{"text": ""endlessly for the smaller mast, but had finally promised to send the","}
{"text": ""larger one. Mucianus went into a rage. He could not concentrate on the","}
{"text": ""siege, or consider the importance of breaching the walls before the town","}
{"text": ""received reinforcements. All he could think about was the impudent","}
{"text": ""engineer, whom he ordered to be brought to him immediately.","}
{"text": ""Arriving a few days later, the engineer gladly explained to the consul,","}
{"text": ""one more time, the reasons for the smaller mast. He went on and on,","}
{"text": ""using the same arguments he had made with the soldiers. He said it was","}
{"text": ""wise to listen to experts in these matters, and if the attack was only tried","}
{"text": ""with the battering ram he had sent, the consul would not regret it.","}
{"text": ""Mucianus let him finish, then had him stripped naked before the soldiers","}
{"text": ""and flogged and scourged with rods until he died.","}
{"text": ""THE SULTAN AND THE VIZIER","}
{"text": ""A vizier had served his master for some thirty years and was known and","}
{"text": ""admired for his loyalty, truthfulness, and devotion to God. His honesty,","}
{"text": ""however, had made him many enemies in the court, who spread stories of","}
{"text": ""his duplicity and perfidy. They worked on the sultan day in and day out","}
{"text": ""until he too came to distrust the innocent vizier and finally ordered the","}
{"text": ""man who had served him so well to be put to death. In this realm, those","}
{"text": ""condemned to death were tied up and thrown into the pen where the","}
{"text": ""sultan kept his fiercest hunting dogs. The dogs would promptly tear the","}
{"text": ""victim to pieces. Before being thrown to the dogs, however, the vizier","}
{"text": ""asked for one last request. “I would like ten days’ respite,” he said, “so","}
{"text": ""that I can pay my debts, collect any money due to me, return items that","}
{"text": ""people have put in my care, and share out my goods among the members","}
{"text": ""of my family and my children and appoint a guardian for them.” After","}
{"text": ""receiving a guarantee that the vizier would not try to escape, the sultan","}
{"text": ""granted this request. The vizier hurried home, collected one hundred","}
{"text": ""gold pieces, then paid a visit to the huntsman who looked after the","}
{"text": ""sultan’s dogs. He offered this man the one hundred gold pieces and said,","}
{"text": ""“Let me look after the dogs for ten days.” The huntsman agreed, and for","}
{"text": ""the next ten days the vizier cared for the beasts with great attention,grooming them well and feeding them handsomely. By the end of the ten","}
{"text": ""days they were eating out of his hand.","}
{"text": ""On the eleventh day the vizier was called before the sultan, the charges","}
{"text": ""were repeated, and the sultan watched as the vizier was tied up and","}
{"text": ""thrown to the dogs. Yet when the beasts saw him, they ran up to him with","}
{"text": ""wagging tails. They nibbled affectionately at his shoulders and began","}
{"text": ""playing with him. The sultan and the other witnesses were amazed, and","}
{"text": ""the sultan asked the vizier why the dogs had spared his life. The vizier","}
{"text": ""replied, “I have looked after these dogs for ten days. The sultan has seen","}
{"text": ""the result for himself. I have looked after you for thirty years, and what is","}
{"text": ""the result? I am condemned to death on the strength of accusations","}
{"text": ""brought by my enemies. ”The sultan blushed with shame. He not only","}
{"text": ""pardoned the vizier but gave him a fine set of clothes and handed over to","}
{"text": ""him the men who had slandered his reputation. The noble vizier set them","}
{"text": ""free and continued to treat them with kindness.","}
{"text": ""THE SUBTLE RUSE: THE BOOK OF ARABIC WISDOM AND","}
{"text": ""GUILE, THIRTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The engineer, whose name has not been recorded by history, had spent","}
{"text": ""his life designing masts and pillars, and was respected as the finest","}
{"text": ""engineer in a city that had excelled in the science. He knew that he was","}
{"text": ""right. A smaller ram would allow more speed and carry more force.","}
{"text": ""Larger is not necessarily better. Of course the consul would see his logic,","}
{"text": ""and would eventually understand that science is neutral and reason","}
{"text": ""superior. How could the consul possibly persist in his ignorance if the","}
{"text": ""engineer showed him detailed diagrams and explained the theories","}
{"text": ""behind his advice?","}
{"text": ""The military engineer was the quintessence of the Arguer, a type found","}
{"text": ""everywhere among us. The Arguer does not understand that words are","}
{"text": ""never neutral, and that by arguing with a superior he impugns the","}
{"text": ""intelligence of one more powerful than he. He also has no awareness of","}
{"text": ""the person he is dealing with. Since each man believes that he is right,","}
{"text": ""and words will rarely convince him otherwise, the arguer’s reasoning","}
{"text": ""falls on deaf ears. When cornered, he only argues more, digging his own","}
{"text": ""grave. Once he has made the other person feel insecure and inferior in","}
{"text": ""his beliefs, the eloquence of Socrates could not save the situation.It is not simply a question of avoiding an argument with those who","}
{"text": ""stand above you. We all believe we are masters in the realm of opinions","}
{"text": ""and reasoning. You must be careful, then: Learn to demonstrate the","}
{"text": ""correctness of your ideas indirectly.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In 1502, in Florence, Italy, an enormous block of marble stood in the","}
{"text": ""works department of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore. It had once","}
{"text": ""been a magnificent piece of raw stone, but an unskillful sculptor had","}
{"text": ""mistakenly bored a hole through it where there should have been a","}
{"text": ""figure’s legs, generally mutilating it. Piero Soderini, Florence’s mayor,","}
{"text": ""had contemplated trying to save the block by commissioning Leonardo","}
{"text": ""da Vinci to work on it, or some other master, but had given up, since","}
{"text": ""everyone agreed that the stone had been ruined. So, despite the money","}
{"text": ""that had been wasted on it, it gathered dust in the dark halls of the","}
{"text": ""church.","}
{"text": ""This was where things stood until some Florentine friends of the great","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo decided to write to the artist, then living in Rome. He","}
{"text": ""alone, they said, could do something with the marble, which was still","}
{"text": ""magnificent raw material. Michelangelo traveled to Florence, examined","}
{"text": ""the stone, and came to the conclusion that he could in fact carve a fine","}
{"text": ""figure from it, by adapting the pose to the way the rock had been","}
{"text": ""mutilated. Soderini argued that this was a waste of time—nobody could","}
{"text": ""salvage such a disaster—but he finally agreed to let the artist work on it.","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo decided he would depict a young David, sling in hand.","}
{"text": ""Weeks later, as Michelangelo was putting the final touches on the","}
{"text": ""statue, Soderini entered the studio. Fancying himself a bit of a","}
{"text": ""connoisseur, he studied the huge work, and told Michelangelo that while","}
{"text": ""he thought it was magnificent, the nose, he judged, was too big.","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo realized that Soderini was standing in a place right under","}
{"text": ""the giant figure and did not have the proper perspective. Without a word,","}
{"text": ""he gestured for Soderini to follow him up the scaffolding. Reaching the","}
{"text": ""nose, he picked up his chisel, as well as a bit of marble dust that lay on","}
{"text": ""the planks. With Soderini just a few feet below him on the scaffolding,","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo started to tap lightly with the chisel, letting the bits of dust","}
{"text": ""he had gathered in his hand to fall little by little. He actually did nothingto change the nose, but gave every appearance of working on it. After a","}
{"text": ""few minutes of this charade he stood aside: “Look at it now.” “I like it","}
{"text": ""better,” replied Soderini, “you’ve made it come alive.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo knew that by changing the shape of the nose he might ruin","}
{"text": ""the entire sculpture. Yet Soderini was a patron who prided himself on his","}
{"text": ""aesthetic judgment. To offend such a man by arguing would not only","}
{"text": ""gain Michelangelo nothing, it would put future commissions in jeopardy.","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo was too clever to argue. His solution was to change","}
{"text": ""Soderini’s perspective (literally bringing him closer to the nose) without","}
{"text": ""making him realize that this was the cause of his misperception.","}
{"text": ""Fortunately for posterity, Michelangelo found a way to keep the","}
{"text": ""perfection of the statue intact while at the same time making Soderini","}
{"text": ""believe he had improved it. Such is the double power of winning through","}
{"text": ""actions rather than argument: No one is offended, and your point is","}
{"text": ""proven.","}
{"text": ""THE WORKS OF AMASIS","}
{"text": ""When Apries had been deposed in the way I have described, Amasis","}
{"text": ""came to the throne. He belonged to the district of Sais and was a native","}
{"text": ""of the town called Siuph. At first the Egyptians were inclined to be","}
{"text": ""contemptuous, and did not think much of him because of his humble and","}
{"text": ""undistinguished origin; but later on he cleverly brought them to heel,","}
{"text": ""without having recourse to harsh measures. Amongst his innumerable","}
{"text": ""treasures, he had a gold footbath, which he and his guests used on","}
{"text": ""occasion to wash their feet in. This he broke up, and with the material","}
{"text": ""had a statue made to one of the gods, which he then set up in what he","}
{"text": ""thought the most suitable spot in the city. The Egyptians constantly","}
{"text": ""coming upon the statue, treated it with profound reverence, and as soon","}
{"text": ""as Amasis heard of the effect it had upon them, he called a meeting and","}
{"text": ""revealed the fact that the deeply revered statue was once a footbath,","}
{"text": ""which they washed their feet and pissed and vomited in. He went on to","}
{"text": ""say that his own case was much the same, in that once he had been only","}
{"text": ""an ordinary person and was now their king; so that just as they had","}
{"text": ""come to revere the transformed footbath, so they had better pay honor","}
{"text": ""and respect to him, too. In this way the Egyptians were persuaded to","}
{"text": ""accept him as their master.THE HISTORIES. HERODOTUS. FIFTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""In the realm of power you must learn to judge your moves by their long-","}
{"text": ""term effects on other people. The problem in trying to prove a point or","}
{"text": ""gain a victory through argument is that in the end you can never be","}
{"text": ""certain how it affects the people you’re arguing with: They may appear","}
{"text": ""to agree with you politely, but inside they may resent you. Or perhaps","}
{"text": ""something you said inadvertently even offended them—words have that","}
{"text": ""insidious ability to be interpreted according to the other person’s mood","}
{"text": ""and insecurities. Even the best argument has no solid foundation, for we","}
{"text": ""have all come to distrust the slippery nature of words. And days after","}
{"text": ""agreeing with someone, we often revert to our old opinion out of sheer","}
{"text": ""habit.","}
{"text": ""Understand this: Words are a dime a dozen. Everyone knows that in","}
{"text": ""the heat of an argument, we will all say anything to support our cause.","}
{"text": ""We will quote the Bible, refer to unverifiable statistics. Who can be","}
{"text": ""persuaded by bags of air like that? Action and demonstration are much","}
{"text": ""more powerful and meaningful. They are there, before our eyes, for us to","}
{"text": ""see—“Yes, now the statue’s nose does look just right.” There are no","}
{"text": ""offensive words, no possibility of misinterpretation. No one can argue","}
{"text": ""with a demonstrated proof. As Baltasar Gracián remarks, “The truth is","}
{"text": ""generally seen, rarely heard.”","}
{"text": ""Sir Christopher Wren was England’s version of the Renaissance man.","}
{"text": ""He had mastered the sciences of mathematics, astronomy, physics, and","}
{"text": ""physiology. Yet during his extremely long career as England’s most","}
{"text": ""celebrated architect he was often told by his patrons to make impractical","}
{"text": ""changes in his designs. Never once did he argue or offend. He had other","}
{"text": ""ways of proving his point.","}
{"text": ""In 1688 Wren designed a magnificent town hall for the city of","}
{"text": ""Westminster. The mayor, however, was not satisfied; in fact he was","}
{"text": ""nervous. He told Wren he was afraid the second floor was not secure,","}
{"text": ""and that it could all come crashing down on his office on the first floor.","}
{"text": ""He demanded that Wren add two stone columns for extra support. Wren,","}
{"text": ""the consummate engineer, knew that these columns would serve nopurpose, and that the mayor’s fears were baseless. But build them he did,","}
{"text": ""and the mayor was grateful. It was only years later that workmen on a","}
{"text": ""high scaffold saw that the columns stopped just short of the ceiling.","}
{"text": ""They were dummies. But both men got what they wanted: The mayor","}
{"text": ""could relax, and Wren knew posterity would understand that his original","}
{"text": ""design worked and the columns were unnecessary.","}
{"text": ""The power of demonstrating your idea is that your opponents do not","}
{"text": ""get defensive, and are therefore more open to persuasion. Making them","}
{"text": ""literally and physically feel your meaning is infinitely more powerful","}
{"text": ""than argument.","}
{"text": ""A heckler once interrupted Nikita Khrushchev in the middle of a","}
{"text": ""speech in which he was denouncing the crimes of Stalin. “You were a","}
{"text": ""colleague of Stalin’s,” the heckler yelled, “why didn’t you stop him","}
{"text": ""then?” Khrushschev apparently could not see the heckler and barked out,","}
{"text": ""“Who said that?” No hand went up. No one moved a muscle. After a few","}
{"text": ""seconds of tense silence, Khrushchev finally said in a quiet voice, “Now","}
{"text": ""you know why I didn’t stop him.” Instead of just arguing that anyone","}
{"text": ""facing Stalin was afraid, knowing that the slightest sign of rebellion","}
{"text": ""would mean certain death, he had made them feel what it was like to face","}
{"text": ""Stalin—had made them feel the paranoia, the fear of speaking up, the","}
{"text": ""terror of confronting the leader, in this case Khrushchev. The","}
{"text": ""demonstration was visceral and no more argument was necessary.","}
{"text": ""The most powerful persuasion goes beyond action into symbol. The","}
{"text": ""power of a symbol—a flag, a mythic story, a monument to some","}
{"text": ""emotional event—is that everyone understands you without anything","}
{"text": ""being said. In 1975, when Henry Kissinger was engaged in some","}
{"text": ""frustrating negotiations with the Israelis over the return of part of the","}
{"text": ""Sinai desert that they had seized in the 1967 war, he suddenly broke off a","}
{"text": ""tense meeting and decided to do some sight-seeing. He paid a visit to the","}
{"text": ""ruins of the ancient fortress of Masada, known to all Israelis as the place","}
{"text": ""where seven hundred Jewish warriors committed mass suicide in A.D. 73","}
{"text": ""rather than give in to the Roman troops besieging them. The Israelis","}
{"text": ""instantly understood the message of Kissinger’s visit: He was indirectly","}
{"text": ""accusing them of courting mass suicide. Although the visit did not by","}
{"text": ""itself change their minds, it made them think far more seriously than any","}
{"text": ""direct warning would have. Symbols like this one carry great emotional","}
{"text": ""significance.","}
{"text": ""When aiming for power, or trying to conserve it, always look for the","}
{"text": ""indirect route. And also choose your battles carefully. If it does not","}
{"text": ""matter in the long run whether the other person agrees with you—or iftime and their own experience will make them understand what you","}
{"text": ""mean—then it is best not even to bother with a demonstration. Save your","}
{"text": ""energy and walk away.","}
{"text": ""GOD AND ABRAUIM","}
{"text": ""The Most High God had promised that He would not take Abraham’s","}
{"text": ""soul unless the man wanted to die and asked Him to do so. When","}
{"text": ""Abraham’s life was drawing to a close, and God determined to seize him,","}
{"text": ""He sent an angel in the guise of a decrepit old man who was almost","}
{"text": ""entirely incapacitated. The old man stopped outside Abraham door and","}
{"text": ""said to him, “Oh Abraham, I would like something to eat.” Abraham was","}
{"text": ""amazed to hear him say this. “Die, exclaimed Abraham.”It would be","}
{"text": ""better for you than to go on living in that condition.”","}
{"text": ""Abraham always kept food ready at his home for passing guests. So he","}
{"text": ""gave the old man a bowl containing broth and meat with bread crumbs.","}
{"text": ""The old man sat down to eat. He swallowed laboriously, with great","}
{"text": ""effort, and once when he took some food it dropped from his hand,","}
{"text": ""scattering on the ground. “Oh Abraham, ” he said, “help me to eat.”","}
{"text": ""Abraham took the food in his hand and lifted it to the old man’s lips. But","}
{"text": ""it slid down his beard and over his chest. “What is your age, old man?”","}
{"text": ""asked Abraham. The old man mentioned a number of years slightly","}
{"text": ""greater than Abraham’s old age. Then Abraham exclaimed: “Oh Lord","}
{"text": ""Our God, take me unto You before I reach this man’s age and sink into","}
{"text": ""the same condition as he is in now. ” No sooner had Abraham spoken","}
{"text": ""those words than God took possession of his soul.","}
{"text": ""THE SUBTLE RUSE: THE BOOK OF ARABIC WISDOM AND","}
{"text": ""GUILE, THIRTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""Image: The Seesaw. Up and down and up and down go the arguers,","}
{"text": ""getting nowhere fast. Get off the seesaw and show them your meaning","}
{"text": ""without kick ing or pushing. Leave them at the top and let gravity bring","}
{"text": ""them gently to the ground.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Never argue. In society nothing must be discussed; give only","}
{"text": ""results. (Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881)REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Verbal argument has one vital use in the realm of power: To distract and","}
{"text": ""cover your tracks when you are practicing deception or are caught in a","}
{"text": ""lie. In such cases it is to your advantage to argue with all the conviction","}
{"text": ""you can muster. Draw the other person into an argument to distract them","}
{"text": ""from your deceptive move. When caught in a lie, the more emotional and","}
{"text": ""certain you appear, the less likely it seems that you are lying.","}
{"text": ""This technique has saved the hide of many a con artist. Once Count","}
{"text": ""Victor Lustig, swindler par excellence, had sold dozens of suckers","}
{"text": ""around the country a phony box with which he claimed to be able to","}
{"text": ""copy money. Discovering their mistake, the suckers generally chose not","}
{"text": ""to go the police, rather than risk the embarrassment of publicity. But one","}
{"text": ""Sheriff Richards, of Remsen County, Oklahoma, was not the kind of man","}
{"text": ""to accept being conned out of $10,000, and one morning he tracked","}
{"text": ""Lustig down to a hotel in Chicago.","}
{"text": ""Lustig heard a knock on the door. When he opened it he was looking","}
{"text": ""down the barrel of a gun. “What seems to be the problem?” he calmly","}
{"text": ""asked. “You son of a bitch,” yelled the sheriff, “I’m going to kill you.","}
{"text": ""You conned me with that damn box of yours!” Lustig feigned confusion.","}
{"text": ""“You mean it’s not working?” he asked. “You know it’s not working,”","}
{"text": ""replied the sheriff. “But that’s impossible,” said Lustig. “There’s no way","}
{"text": ""it couldn’t be working. Did you operate it properly?” “I did exactly what","}
{"text": ""you told me to do,” said the sheriff. “No, you must have done something","}
{"text": ""wrong,” said Lustig. The argument went in circles. The barrel of the gun","}
{"text": ""was gently lowered.","}
{"text": ""Lustig next went to phase two in the argument tactic: He poured out a","}
{"text": ""whole bunch of technical gobbledygook about the box’s operation,","}
{"text": ""completely beguiling the sheriff, who now appeared less sure of himself","}
{"text": ""and argued less forcefully. “Look,” said Lustig, “I’ll give you your","}
{"text": ""money back right now. I’ll also give you written instructions on how to","}
{"text": ""work the machine and I’ll come out to Oklahoma to make sure it’s","}
{"text": ""working properly. There’s no way you can lose on that.” The sheriff","}
{"text": ""reluctantly agreed. To satisfy him totally, Lustig took out a hundred one-","}
{"text": ""hundred-dollar bills and gave them to him, telling him to relax and have","}
{"text": ""a fun weekend in Chicago. Calmer and a little confused, the sheriff","}
{"text": ""finally left. Over the next few days Lustig checked the paper every","}
{"text": ""morning. He finally found what he was looking for: A short article","}
{"text": ""reporting Sheriff Richards’s arrest, trial, and conviction for passingcounterfeit notes. Lustig had won the argument; the sheriff never","}
{"text": ""bothered him again.LAW 10","}
{"text": ""INFECTION: AVOID THE UNHAPPY AND","}
{"text": ""UNLUCKY","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""You can die from someone else’s misery—emotional states are as","}
{"text": ""infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man","}
{"text": ""but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate","}
{"text": ""sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you.","}
{"text": ""Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1818, Marie Gilbert came to Paris in the","}
{"text": ""1840s to make her fortune as a dancer and performer. Taking the name","}
{"text": ""Lola Montez (her mother was of distant Spanish descent), she claimed to","}
{"text": ""be a flamenco dancer from Spain. By 1845 her career was languishing,","}
{"text": ""and to survive she became a courtesan—quickly one of the more","}
{"text": ""successful in Paris.","}
{"text": ""Only one man could salvage Lola’s dancing career: Alexandre","}
{"text": ""Dujarier, owner of the newspaper with the largest circulation in France,","}
{"text": ""and also the newspaper’s drama critic. She decided to woo and conquer","}
{"text": ""him. Investigating his habits, she discovered that he went riding every","}
{"text": ""morning. An excellent horsewoman herself, she rode out one morning","}
{"text": ""and “accidentally” ran into him. Soon they were riding together every","}
{"text": ""day. A few weeks later Lola moved into his apartment.","}
{"text": ""For a while the two were happy together. With Dujarier’s help, Lola","}
{"text": ""began to revive her dancing career. Despite the risk to his social","}
{"text": ""standing, Dujarier told friends he would marry her in the spring. (Lolahad never told him that she had eloped at age nineteen with an","}
{"text": ""Englishman, and was still legally married.) Although Dujarier was","}
{"text": ""deeply in love, his life started to slide downhill.","}
{"text": ""His fortunes in business changed and influential friends began to avoid","}
{"text": ""him. One night Dujarier was invited to a party, attended by some of the","}
{"text": ""wealthiest young men in Paris. Lola wanted to go too but he would not","}
{"text": ""allow it. They had their first quarrel, and Dujarier attended the party by","}
{"text": ""himself. There, hopelessly drunk, he insulted an influential drama critic,","}
{"text": ""Jean-Baptiste Rosemond de Beauvallon, perhaps because of something","}
{"text": ""the critic had said about Lola. The following morning Beauvallon","}
{"text": ""challenged him to a duel. Beauvallon was one of the best pistol shots in","}
{"text": ""France. Dujarier tried to apologize, but the duel took place, and he was","}
{"text": ""shot and killed. Thus ended the life of one of the most promising young","}
{"text": ""men of Paris society. Devastated, Lola left Paris.","}
{"text": ""In 1846 Lola Montez found herself in Munich, where she decided to","}
{"text": ""woo and conquer King Ludwig of Bavaria. The best way to Ludwig, she","}
{"text": ""discovered, was through his aide-de-camp, Count Otto von Rechberg, a","}
{"text": ""man with a fondness for pretty girls. One day when the count was","}
{"text": ""breakfasting at an outdoor café, Lola rode by on her horse, was","}
{"text": ""“accidentally” thrown from the saddle, and landed at Rechberg’s feet.","}
{"text": ""The count rushed to help her and was enchanted. He promised to","}
{"text": ""introduce her to Ludwig.","}
{"text": ""Rechberg arranged an audience with the king for Lola, but when she","}
{"text": ""arrived in the anteroom, she could hear the king saying he was too busy","}
{"text": ""to meet a favor-seeking stranger. Lola pushed aside the sentries and","}
{"text": ""entered his room anyway. In the process, the front of her dress somehow","}
{"text": ""got torn (perhaps by her, perhaps by one of the sentries), and to the","}
{"text": ""astonishment of all, most especially the king, her bare breasts were","}
{"text": ""brazenly exposed. Lola was granted her audience with Ludwig. Fifty-","}
{"text": ""five hours later she made her debut on the Bavarian stage; the reviews","}
{"text": ""were terrible, but that did not stop Ludwig from arranging more","}
{"text": ""performances.","}
{"text": ""AND THE","}
{"text": ""A nut found itself carried by a crow to the top of a tall campanile, and by","}
{"text": ""falling into a crevice succeeded in escaping its dread fate. It then","}
{"text": ""besought the wall to shelter it, by appealing to it by the grace of God,","}
{"text": ""and praising its height, and the beauty and noble tone of us bells.","}
{"text": ""“Alas,” it went on, “as I have not been able to drop beneath the greenbranches of my old Father and to lie in the fallow earth covered by his","}
{"text": ""fallen leaves, do you, at least, not abandon me. When I found myself in","}
{"text": ""the beak of the cruel crow I made a vow, that if I escaped I would end my","}
{"text": ""life in a little hole. ”","}
{"text": ""At these words, the wall, moved with compassion, was content to shelter","}
{"text": ""the nut in the spot where it had fallen. Within a short time, the nut burst","}
{"text": ""open: Its roots reached in between the crevices of the stones and began","}
{"text": ""to push them apart; its shoots pressed up toward the sky. They soon rose","}
{"text": ""above the building, and as the twisted roots grew thicker they began to","}
{"text": ""thrust the walls apart and force the ancient stones from their old places.","}
{"text": ""Then the wall, too late and in vain, bewailed the cause of its destruction,","}
{"text": ""and in short time it fell in ruin.","}
{"text": ""LEONARDO DA VINCI. 1452-1519","}
{"text": ""Ludwig was, in his own words, “bewitched” by Lola. He started to","}
{"text": ""appear in public with her on his arm, and then he bought and furnished","}
{"text": ""an apartment for her on one of Munich’s most fashionable boulevards.","}
{"text": ""Although he had been known as a miser, and was not given to flights of","}
{"text": ""fancy, he started to shower Lola with gifts and to write poetry for her.","}
{"text": ""Now his favored mistress, she catapulted to fame and fortune overnight.","}
{"text": ""Lola began to lose her sense of proportion. One day when she was out","}
{"text": ""riding, an elderly man rode ahead of her, a bit too slowly for her liking.","}
{"text": ""Unable to pass him, she began to slash him with her riding crop. On","}
{"text": ""another occasion she took her dog, unleashed, out for a stroll. The dog","}
{"text": ""attacked a passerby, but instead of helping the man get the dog away, she","}
{"text": ""whipped him with the leash. Incidents like this infuriated the stolid","}
{"text": ""citizens of Bavaria, but Ludwig stood by Lola and even had her","}
{"text": ""naturalized as a Bavarian citizen. The king’s entourage tried to wake him","}
{"text": ""to the dangers of the affair, but those who criticized Lola were","}
{"text": ""summarily fired.","}
{"text": ""In his own time Simon Thomas was a great doctor. I remember that I","}
{"text": ""happened to meet him one day at the home of a rich old consumptive: He","}
{"text": ""told his patient when discussing ways to cure him that one means was to","}
{"text": ""provide occasions for me to enjoy his company: He could then fix his","}
{"text": ""eyes on the freshness of my countenance and his thoughts on the","}
{"text": ""overflowing cheerfulness and vigor of my young manhood; by filling all","}
{"text": ""his senses with the flower of my youth his condition might improve. He","}
{"text": ""forgot to add that mine might get worse.","}
{"text": ""MONTAIGNE, 1533-1592While Bavarians who had loved their king now outwardly disre","}
{"text": ""spected him, Lola was made a countess, had a new palace built for","}
{"text": ""herself, and began to dabble in politics, advising Ludwig on policy. She","}
{"text": ""was the most powerful force in the kingdom. Her influence in the king’s","}
{"text": ""cabinet continued to grow, and she treated the other ministers with","}
{"text": ""disdain. As a result, riots broke out throughout the realm. A once","}
{"text": ""peaceful land was virtually in the grip of civil war, and students","}
{"text": ""everywhere were chanting, “Raus mit Lola!”","}
{"text": ""Many things are said to be infectious. Sleepiness can be infectious, and","}
{"text": ""yawning as well. In large-scale strategy when the enemy is agitated and","}
{"text": ""shows an inclination to rush, do not mind in the least. Make a show of","}
{"text": ""complete calmness, and the enemy will be taken by this and will become","}
{"text": ""relaxed. You infect their spirit. You can infect them with a carefree,","}
{"text": ""drunklike spirit, with boredom, or even weakness.","}
{"text": ""A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, MIYAMOTO MUSASHI,","}
{"text": ""SEVENTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""By February of 1848, Ludwig was finally unable to withstand the","}
{"text": ""pressure. With great sadness he ordered Lola to leave Bavaria","}
{"text": ""immediately. She left, but not until she was paid off. For the next five","}
{"text": ""weeks the Bavarians’ wrath was turned against their formerly beloved","}
{"text": ""king. In March of that year he was forced to abdicate.","}
{"text": ""Lola Montez moved to England. More than anything she needed","}
{"text": ""respectability, and despite being married (she still had not arranged a","}
{"text": ""divorce from the Englishman she had wed years before), she set her","}
{"text": ""sights on George Trafford Heald, a promising young army officer who","}
{"text": ""was the son of an influential barrister. Although he was ten years","}
{"text": ""younger than Lola, and could have chosen a wife among the prettiest and","}
{"text": ""wealthiest young girls of English society, Heald fell under her spell.","}
{"text": ""They were married in 1849. Soon arrested on the charge of bigamy, she","}
{"text": ""skipped bail, and she and Heald made their way to Spain. They quarreled","}
{"text": ""horribly and on one occasion Lola slashed him with a knife. Finally, she","}
{"text": ""drove him away. Returning to England, he found he had lost his position","}
{"text": ""in the army. Ostracized from English society, he moved to Portugal,","}
{"text": ""where he lived in poverty. After a few months his short life ended in a","}
{"text": ""boating accident.","}
{"text": ""A few years later the man who published Lola Montez’s","}
{"text": ""autobiography went bankrupt.In 1853 Lola moved to California, where she met and married a man","}
{"text": ""named Pat Hull. Their relationship was as stormy as all the others, and","}
{"text": ""she left Hull for another man. He took to drink and fell into a deep","}
{"text": ""depression that lasted until he died, four years later, still a relatively","}
{"text": ""young man.","}
{"text": ""At the age of forty-one, Lola gave away her clothes and finery and","}
{"text": ""turned to God. She toured America, lecturing on religious topics, dressed","}
{"text": ""in white and wearing a halolike white headgear. She died two years later,","}
{"text": ""in 1861.","}
{"text": ""Regard no foolish man as cultured, though you may reckom a gifted man","}
{"text": ""as wise; and esteem no ignorant abstainer a true ascetic. Do not consort","}
{"text": ""with fools, especially those who consider themselves wise. And be not","}
{"text": ""self-satisfied with your own ignorance. Let your intercourse be only with","}
{"text": ""men of good repute: for it is by such assot iation that men themselves","}
{"text": ""attain to good repute. Do you not observe how sesame-oil is mingled","}
{"text": ""with roses or violets and how, when it has been for some time in","}
{"text": ""association with roses or violets, it ceases to he sesame-oil and is called","}
{"text": ""oil of roses or oil of violets?","}
{"text": ""A MIRROR FOR PRINCES. KAI KAUS IBN ISKANDAR.","}
{"text": ""ELEVENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Lola Montez attracted men with her wiles, but her power over them went","}
{"text": ""beyond the sexual. It was through the force of her character that she kept","}
{"text": ""her lovers enthralled. Men were sucked into the maelstrom she churned","}
{"text": ""up around her. They felt confused, upset, but the strength of the emotions","}
{"text": ""she stirred also made them feel more alive.","}
{"text": ""As is often the case with infection, the problems would only arise over","}
{"text": ""time. Lola’s inherent instability would begin to get under her lovers’","}
{"text": ""skin. They would find themselves drawn into her problems, but their","}
{"text": ""emotional attachment to her would make them want to help her. This was","}
{"text": ""the crucial point of the disease—for Lola Montez could not be helped.","}
{"text": ""Her problems were too deep. Once the lover identified with them, he was","}
{"text": ""lost. He would find himself embroiled in quarrels. The infection would","}
{"text": ""spread to his family and friends, or, in the case of Ludwig, to an entire","}
{"text": ""nation. The only solution would be to cut her off, or suffer an eventual","}
{"text": ""collapse.The infecting-character type is not restricted to women; it has nothing","}
{"text": ""to do with gender. It stems from an inward instability that radiates","}
{"text": ""outward, drawing disaster upon itself. There is almost a desire to destroy","}
{"text": ""and unsettle. You could spend a lifetime studying the pathology of","}
{"text": ""infecting characters, but don’t waste your time—just learn the lesson.","}
{"text": ""When you suspect you are in the presence of an infector, don’t argue,","}
{"text": ""don’t try to help, don’t pass the person on to your friends, or you will","}
{"text": ""become enmeshed. Flee the infector’s presence or suffer the","}
{"text": ""consequences.","}
{"text": ""Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much….","}
{"text": ""I do not know the man I should avoid so soon as that spare Cassius….","}
{"text": ""Such men as he be never at heart’s ease whiles they behold a greater","}
{"text": ""than themselves, and therefore are they very dangerous.","}
{"text": ""Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare. 1564-1616","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Those misfortunates among us who have been brought down by","}
{"text": ""circumstances beyond their control deserve all the help and sympathy we","}
{"text": ""can give them. But there are others who are not born to misfortune or","}
{"text": ""unhappiness, but who draw it upon themselves by their destructive","}
{"text": ""actions and unsettling effect on others. It would be a great thing if we","}
{"text": ""could raise them up, change their patterns, but more often than not it is","}
{"text": ""their patterns that end up getting inside and changing us. The reason is","}
{"text": ""simple—humans are extremely susceptible to the moods, emotions, and","}
{"text": ""even the ways of thinking of those with whom they spend their time.","}
{"text": ""The incurably unhappy and unstable have a particularly strong","}
{"text": ""infecting power because their characters and emotions are so intense.","}
{"text": ""They often present themselves as victims, making it difficult, at first, to","}
{"text": ""see their miseries as self-inflicted. Before you realize the real nature of","}
{"text": ""their problems you have been infected by them.","}
{"text": ""Understand this: In the game of power, the people you associate with","}
{"text": ""are critical. The risk of associating with infectors is that you will waste","}
{"text": ""valuable time and energy trying to free yourself. Through a kind of guilt","}
{"text": ""by association, you will also suffer in the eyes of others. Never","}
{"text": ""underestimate the dangers of infection.There are many kinds of infector to be aware of, but one of the most","}
{"text": ""insidious is the sufferer from chronic dissatisfaction. Cassius, the Roman","}
{"text": ""conspirator against Julius Caesar, had the discontent that comes from","}
{"text": ""deep envy. He simply could not endure the presence of anyone of greater","}
{"text": ""talent. Probably because Caesar sensed the man’s interminable sourness,","}
{"text": ""he passed him up for the position of first praetorship, and gave the","}
{"text": ""position to Brutus instead. Cassius brooded and brooded, his hatred for","}
{"text": ""Caesar becoming patliological. Brutus himself, a devoted republican,","}
{"text": ""disliked Caesar’s dictatorship; had he had the patience to wait, he would","}
{"text": ""have become the first man in Rome after Caesar’s death, and could have","}
{"text": ""undone the evil that the leader had wrought. But Cassius infected him","}
{"text": ""with his own rancor, bending his ear daily with tales of Caesar’s evil. He","}
{"text": ""finally won Brutus over to the conspiracy. It was the beginning of a great","}
{"text": ""tragedy. How many misfortunes could have been avoided had Brutus","}
{"text": ""learned to fear the power of infection.","}
{"text": ""There is only one solution to infection: quarantine. But by the time","}
{"text": ""you recognize the problem it is often too late. A Lola Montez","}
{"text": ""overwhelms you with her forceful personality. Cassius intrigues you with","}
{"text": ""his confiding nature and the depth of his feelings. How can you protect","}
{"text": ""yourself against such insidious viruses? The answer lies in judging","}
{"text": ""people on the effects they have on the world and not on the reasons they","}
{"text": ""give for their prob-Image: A Virus. Unseen, it lems. Infectors can be","}
{"text": ""recognized by the misfortune they draw on them-enters your pores","}
{"text": ""without selves, their turbulent past, their long line of broken","}
{"text": ""relationships, their un-warning, spreading silently and stable careers, and","}
{"text": ""the very force of their character, which sweeps you up slowly. Before","}
{"text": ""you are aware of and makes you lose your reason. Be forewarned by","}
{"text": ""these signs of an infec the infection, it is deep inside you. tor; learn to see","}
{"text": ""the discontent in their eye. Most important of all, do not take pity. Do not","}
{"text": ""enmesh yourself in trying to help. The infector will remain unchanged,","}
{"text": ""but you will be unhinged.","}
{"text": ""The other side of infection is equally valid, and perhaps more readily","}
{"text": ""understood: There are people who attract happiness to themselves by","}
{"text": ""their good cheer, natural buoyancy, and intelligence. They are a source of","}
{"text": ""pleasure, and you must associate with them to share in the prosperity","}
{"text": ""they draw upon themselves.","}
{"text": ""This applies to more than good cheer and success: All positive","}
{"text": ""qualities can infect us. Talleyrand had many strange and intimidating","}
{"text": ""traits, but most agreed that he surpassed all Frenchmen in graciousness,","}
{"text": ""aristocratic charm, and wit. Indeed he came from one of the oldest noblefamilies in the country, and despite his belief in democracy and the","}
{"text": ""French Republic, he retained his courtly manners. His contemporary","}
{"text": ""Napoleon was in many ways the opposite—a peasant from Corsica,","}
{"text": ""taciturn and ungracious, even violent.","}
{"text": ""There was no one Napoleon admired more than Talleyrand. He envied","}
{"text": ""his minister’s way with people, his wit and his ability to charm women,","}
{"text": ""and as best he could, he kept Talleyrand around him, hoping to soak up","}
{"text": ""the culture he lacked. There is no doubt that Napoleon changed as his","}
{"text": ""rule continued. Many of the rough edges were smoothed by his constant","}
{"text": ""association with Talleyrand.","}
{"text": ""Use the positive side of this emotional osmosis to advantage. If, for","}
{"text": ""example, you are miserly by nature, you will never go beyond a certain","}
{"text": ""limit; only generous souls attain greatness. Associate with the generous,","}
{"text": ""then, and they will infect you, opening up everything that is tight and","}
{"text": ""restricted in you. If you are gloomy, gravitate to the cheerful. If you are","}
{"text": ""prone to isolation, force yourself to befriend the gregarious. Never","}
{"text": ""associate with those who share your defects—they will reinforce","}
{"text": ""everything that holds you back. Only create associations with positive","}
{"text": ""affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all","}
{"text": ""the therapy in the world.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Recognize the fortunate so that you may choose their","}
{"text": ""company, and the unfortunate so that you may avoid them. Misfortune is","}
{"text": ""usually the crime of folly, and among those who suffer from it there is no","}
{"text": ""malady more contagious: Never open your door to the least of","}
{"text": ""misfortunes, for, if you do, many others will follow in its train…. Do not","}
{"text": ""die of another’s misery. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""This law admits of no reversal. Its application is universal. There is","}
{"text": ""nothing to be gained by associating with those who infect you with their","}
{"text": ""misery; there is only power and good fortune to be obtained by","}
{"text": ""associating with the fortunate. Ignore this law at your peril.LAW 11","}
{"text": ""LEARN TO KEEP PEOPLE DEPENDENT ON","}
{"text": ""YOU","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted.","}
{"text": ""The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people","}
{"text": ""depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing","}
{"text": ""to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Sometime in the Middle Ages, a mercenary soldier (a condottiere),","}
{"text": ""whose name has not been recorded, saved the town of Siena from a","}
{"text": ""foreign aggressor. How could the good citizens of Siena reward him? No","}
{"text": ""amount of money or honor could possibly compare in value to the","}
{"text": ""preservation of a city’s liberty. The citizens thought of making the","}
{"text": ""mercenary the lord of the city, but even that, they decided, wasn’t","}
{"text": ""recompense enough. At last one of them stood before the assembly","}
{"text": ""called to debate this matter and said, “Let us kill him and then worship","}
{"text": ""him as our patron saint.” And so they did.","}
{"text": ""The Count of Carmagnola was one of the bravest and most successful","}
{"text": ""of all the condottieri. In 1442, late in his life, he was in the employ of the","}
{"text": ""city of Venice, which was in the midst of a long war with Florence. The","}
{"text": ""count was suddenly recalled to Venice. A favorite of the people, he was","}
{"text": ""received there with all kinds of honor and splendor. That evening he was","}
{"text": ""to dine with the doge himself, in the doge’s palace. On the way into the","}
{"text": ""palace, however, he noticed that the guard was leading him in a different","}
{"text": ""direction from usual. Crossing the famous Bridge of Sighs, he suddenlyrealized where they were taking him—to the dungeon. He was convicted","}
{"text": ""on a trumped-up charge and the next day in the Piazza San Marco, before","}
{"text": ""a horrified crowd who could not understand how his fate had changed so","}
{"text": ""drastically, he was beheaded.","}
{"text": ""THE TWO HORSES","}
{"text": ""Two horses were carrying two loads. The front Horse went well, but the","}
{"text": ""rear Horse was lazy. The men began to pile the rear Horse’s load on the","}
{"text": ""front Horse; when they had transferred it all, the rear Horse found it","}
{"text": ""easy going, and he said to the front Horse: “Toil and sraeat! The more","}
{"text": ""you try, the more you have to suffer.” When they reached the tavern, the","}
{"text": ""owner said; “Why should I fodder two horses when I carry all on one? I","}
{"text": ""had better give the one all the food it wants, and cut the throat of the","}
{"text": ""other; at least I shall have the hide.” And so he did.","}
{"text": ""FABLES. LEO TOLSIOY, 1828-1910","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Many of the great condottieri of Renaissance Italy suffered the same fate","}
{"text": ""as the patron saint of Siena and the Count of Carmagnola: They won","}
{"text": ""battle after battle for their employers only to find themselves banished,","}
{"text": ""imprisoned, or executed. The problem was not ingratitude; it was that","}
{"text": ""there were so many other condottieri as able and valiant as they were.","}
{"text": ""They were replaceable. Nothing was lost by killing them. Meanwhile,","}
{"text": ""the older among them had grown powerful themselves, and wanted more","}
{"text": ""and more money for their services. How much better, then, to do away","}
{"text": ""with them and hire a younger, cheaper mercenary. That was the fate of","}
{"text": ""the Count of Carmagnola, who had started to act impudently and","}
{"text": ""independently. He had taken his power for granted without making sure","}
{"text": ""that he was truly indispensable.","}
{"text": ""Such is the fate (to a less violent degree, one hopes) of those who do","}
{"text": ""not make others dependent on them. Sooner or later someone comes","}
{"text": ""along who can do the job as well as they can—someone younger, fresher,","}
{"text": ""less expensive, less threatening.","}
{"text": ""Be the only one who can do what you do, and make the fate of those","}
{"text": ""who hire you so entwined with yours that they cannot possibly get rid of","}
{"text": ""you. Otherwise you will someday be forced to cross your own Bridge of","}
{"text": ""Sighs.OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""When Otto von Bismarck became a deputy in the Prussian parliament in","}
{"text": ""1847, he was thirty-two years old and without an ally or friend. Looking","}
{"text": ""around him, he decided that the side to ally himself with was not the","}
{"text": ""parliament’s liberals or conservatives, not any particular minister, and","}
{"text": ""certainly not the people. It was with the king, Frederick William IV. This","}
{"text": ""was an odd choice to say the least, for Frederick was at a low point of his","}
{"text": ""power. A weak, indecisive man, he consistently gave in to the liberals in","}
{"text": ""parliament; in fact he was spineless, and stood for much that Bismarck","}
{"text": ""disliked, personally and politically. Yet Bismarck courted Frederick night","}
{"text": ""and day. When other deputies attacked the king for his many inept","}
{"text": ""moves, only Bismarck stood by him.","}
{"text": ""THE CAT THAT WALKED BY HIMSELF","}
{"text": ""Then the Woman laughed and set the Cat a bowl of the warm white milk","}
{"text": ""and said, “0 Cat, you are as clever as a man, but remember that your","}
{"text": ""bargain was not made with the Man or the Dog, and I do not know what","}
{"text": ""they will do when they come home.” “What is that to me?” said the Cat.","}
{"text": ""“If I have my place in the Cave by the fire and my warm white milk three","}
{"text": ""times a day, I do not care what the Man or the Dog can do.” … And","}
{"text": ""from that day to this, Best Beloved, three proper Men out of five will","}
{"text": ""always throw things at a Cat whenever they meet him, and all proper","}
{"text": ""Dogs will chase him up a tree. But the Cat keeps his side of the bargain","}
{"text": ""too. He will kill mice, and he will be kind to Babies when he is in the","}
{"text": ""house, just as long as they do not pull his tail too hard. But when he has","}
{"text": ""done that, and between times, and when the moon gets up and the night","}
{"text": ""comes, he is the Cat that walks by himself, and all places are alike to","}
{"text": ""him. Then he goes out to the Wet Wild Woods or up the Wet Wild Trees or","}
{"text": ""on the Wet Wild Roofs, waving his wild tail and walking by his wild lone.","}
{"text": ""JUST SO STORIES, RUDYARD KIPLING, 1865-1936","}
{"text": ""Finally, it all paid off: In 1851 Bismarck was made a minister in the","}
{"text": ""king’s cabinet. Now he went to work. Time and again he forced the","}
{"text": ""king’s hand, getting him to build up the military, to stand up to the","}
{"text": ""liberals, to do exactly as Bismarck wished. He worked on Frederick’s","}
{"text": ""insecurity about his manliness, challenging him to be firm and to rulewith pride. And he slowly restored the king’s powers until the monarchy","}
{"text": ""was once again the most powerful force in Prussia.","}
{"text": ""When Frederick died, in 1861, his brother William assumed the","}
{"text": ""throne. William disliked Bismarck intensely and had no intention of","}
{"text": ""keeping him around. But he also inherited the same situation his brother","}
{"text": ""had: enemies galore, who wanted to nibble his power away. He actually","}
{"text": ""considered abdicating, feeling he lacked the strength to deal with this","}
{"text": ""dangerous and precarious position. But Bismarck insinuated himself","}
{"text": ""once again. He stood by the new king, gave him strength, and urged him","}
{"text": ""into firm and decisive action. The king grew dependent on Bismarck’s","}
{"text": ""strong-arm tactics to keep his enemies at bay, and despite his antipathy","}
{"text": ""toward the man, he soon made him his prime minister. The two quarreled","}
{"text": ""often over policy—Bismarck was much more conservative—but the king","}
{"text": ""understood his own dependency. Whenever the prime minister","}
{"text": ""threatened to resign, the king gave in to him, time after time. It was in","}
{"text": ""fact Bismarck who set state policy.","}
{"text": ""Years later, Bismarck’s actions as Prussia’s prime minister led the","}
{"text": ""various German states to be united into one country. Now Bismarck","}
{"text": ""finagled the king into letting himself be crowned emperor of Germany.","}
{"text": ""Yet it was really Bismarck who had reached the heights of power. As","}
{"text": ""right-hand man to the emperor, and as imperial chancellor and knighted","}
{"text": ""prince, he pulled all the levers.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Most young and ambitious politicians looking out on the political","}
{"text": ""landscape of 1840s Germany would have tried to build a power base","}
{"text": ""among those with the most power. Bismarck saw different. Joining","}
{"text": ""forces with the powerful can be foolish: They will swallow you up, just","}
{"text": ""as the doge of Venice swallowed up the Count of Carmagnola. No one","}
{"text": ""will come to depend on you if they are already strong. If you are","}
{"text": ""ambitious, it is much wiser to seek out weak rulers or masters with","}
{"text": ""whom you can create a relationship of dependency. You become their","}
{"text": ""strength, their intelligence, their spine. What power you hold! If they got","}
{"text": ""rid of you the whole edifice would collapse.","}
{"text": ""Necessity rules the world. People rarely act unless compelled to. If","}
{"text": ""you create no need for yourself, then you will be done away with at first","}
{"text": ""opportunity. If, on the other hand, you understand the Laws of Power and","}
{"text": ""make others depend on you for their welfare, if you can counteract theirweakness with your own “iron and blood,” in Bismarck’s phrase, then","}
{"text": ""you will survive your masters as Bismarck did. You will have all the","}
{"text": ""benefits of power without the thorns that come from being a master.","}
{"text": ""Thus a wise prince will think of ways to keep his citizens of every sort","}
{"text": ""and under every circumstance dependent on the state and on him;","}
{"text": ""and then they will always be trustworthy.","}
{"text": ""Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527","}
{"text": ""THE I I.M-IRI I AND THE AND","}
{"text": ""An extravagant young Vine, vainly ambitious of independence, and fond","}
{"text": ""of rambling at large, despised the alliance of a slately elm that grew","}
{"text": ""near, and courted her embraces. Having risen to some small height","}
{"text": ""without any kind of support, she shot forth her flimsy branches to a very","}
{"text": ""uncommon and superfluous length; calling on her neighbour to take","}
{"text": ""notice how little she wanted his assistance. “Poor infatuated shrub,”","}
{"text": ""replied the elm, “how inconsistent is thy conduct! Wouldst thou be truly","}
{"text": ""independent, thou shouldst carefully apply those juices to the","}
{"text": ""enlargement of thy stem. which thou lavishest in vain upon unnecessary","}
{"text": ""foliage. I shortly shall behold thee grovelling on the ground; yet","}
{"text": ""countenanced, indeed, by many of the human race, who, intoxicated with","}
{"text": ""vanity, have despised economy; and who, to support for a moment their","}
{"text": ""empty boast of independence, have exhausted the very source of it in","}
{"text": ""frivolous expenses.”","}
{"text": ""FABLES, ROBERT DODSLFY, 1703-1764","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The ultimate power is the power to get people to do as you wish. When","}
{"text": ""you can do this without having to force people or hurt them, when they","}
{"text": ""willingly grant you what you desire, then your power is untouchable.","}
{"text": ""The best way to achieve this position is to create a relationship of","}
{"text": ""dependence. The master requires your services; he is weak, or unable to","}
{"text": ""function without you; you have enmeshed yourself in his work so deeply","}
{"text": ""that doing away with you would bring him great difficulty, or at least","}
{"text": ""would mean valuable time lost in training another to replace you. Once","}
{"text": ""such a relationship is established you have the upper hand, the leverageto make the master do as you wish. It is the classic case of the man","}
{"text": ""behind the throne, the servant of the king who actually controls the king.","}
{"text": ""Bismarck did not have to bully either Frederick or William into doing his","}
{"text": ""bidding. He simply made it clear that unless he got what he wanted he","}
{"text": ""would walk away, leaving the king to twist in the wind. Both kings soon","}
{"text": ""danced to Bismarck’s tune.","}
{"text": ""Do not be one of the many who mistakenly believe that the ultimate","}
{"text": ""form of power is independence. Power involves a relationship between","}
{"text": ""people; you will always need others as allies, pawns, or even as weak","}
{"text": ""masters who serve as your front. The completely independent man would","}
{"text": ""live in a cabin in the woods—he would have the freedom to come and go","}
{"text": ""as he pleased, but he would have no power. The best you can hope for is","}
{"text": ""that others will grow so dependent on you that you enjoy a kind of","}
{"text": ""reverse independence: Their need for you frees you.","}
{"text": ""Louis XI (1423-1483), the great Spider King of France, had a","}
{"text": ""weakness for astrology. He kept a court astrologer whom he admired,","}
{"text": ""until one day the man predicted that a lady of the court would die within","}
{"text": ""eight days. When the prophecy came true, Louis was terrified, thinking","}
{"text": ""that either the man had murdered the woman to prove his accuracy or","}
{"text": ""that he was so versed in his science that his powers threatened Louis","}
{"text": ""himself. In either case he had to be killed.","}
{"text": ""One evening Louis summoned the astrologer to his room, high in the","}
{"text": ""castle. Before the man arrived, the king told his servants that when he","}
{"text": ""gave the signal they were to pick the astrologer up, carry him to the","}
{"text": ""window, and hurl him to the ground, hundreds of feet below.","}
{"text": ""The astrologer soon arrived, but before giving the signal, Louis","}
{"text": ""decided to ask him one last question: “You claim to understand astrology","}
{"text": ""and to know the fate of others, so tell me what your fate will be and how","}
{"text": ""long you have to live.”","}
{"text": ""“I shall die just three days before Your Majesty,” the astrologer","}
{"text": ""replied. The king’s signal was never given. The man’s life was spared.","}
{"text": ""The Spider King not only protected his astrologer for as long as he was","}
{"text": ""alive, he lavished him with gifts and had him tended by the finest court","}
{"text": ""doctors.","}
{"text": ""The astrologer survived Louis by several years, disproving his power","}
{"text": ""of prophecy but proving his mastery of power.","}
{"text": ""This is the model: Make others dependent on you. To get rid of you","}
{"text": ""might spell disaster, even death, and your master dares not tempt fate by","}
{"text": ""finding out. There are many ways to obtain such a position. Foremostamong them is to possess a talent and creative skill that simply cannot be","}
{"text": ""replaced.","}
{"text": ""During the Renaissance, the major obstacle to a painter’s success was","}
{"text": ""finding the right patron. Michelangelo did this better than anyone else:","}
{"text": ""His patron was Pope Julius II. But he and the pope quarreled over the","}
{"text": ""building of the pope’s marble tomb, and Michelangelo left Rome in","}
{"text": ""disgust. To the amazement of those in the pope’s circle, not only did the","}
{"text": ""pope not fire him, he sought him out and in his own haughty way begged","}
{"text": ""the artist to stay. Michelangelo, he knew, could find another patron, but","}
{"text": ""he could never find another Michelangelo.","}
{"text": ""You do not have to have the talent of a Michelangelo; you do have to","}
{"text": ""have a skill that sets you apart from the crowd. You should create a","}
{"text": ""situation in which you can always latch on to another master or patron","}
{"text": ""but your master cannot easily ,find another servant with your particular","}
{"text": ""talent. And if, in reality, you are not actually indispensable, you must","}
{"text": ""find a way to make it look as if you are. Having the appearance of","}
{"text": ""specialized knowledge and skill gives you leeway in your ability to","}
{"text": ""deceive those above you into thinking they cannot do without you. Real","}
{"text": ""dependence on your master’s part, however, leaves him more vulnerable","}
{"text": ""to you than the faked variety, and it is always within your power to make","}
{"text": ""your skill indispensable.","}
{"text": ""This is what is meant by the intertwining of fates: Like creeping ivy,","}
{"text": ""you have wrapped yourself around the source of power, so that it would","}
{"text": ""cause great trauma to cut you away. And you do not necessarily have to","}
{"text": ""entwine yourself around the master; another person will do, as long as he","}
{"text": ""or she too is indispensable in the chain.","}
{"text": ""One day Harry Cohn, president of Columbia Pictures, was visited in","}
{"text": ""his office by a gloomy group of his executives. It was 1951, when the","}
{"text": ""witch-hunt against Communists in Hollywood, carried on by the U.S.","}
{"text": ""Congress’s House Un-American Activities Committee, was at its height.","}
{"text": ""The executives had bad news: One of their employees, the screenwriter","}
{"text": ""John Howard Lawson, had been singled out as a Communist. They had","}
{"text": ""to get rid of him right away or suffer the wrath of the committee.","}
{"text": ""Harry Cohn was no bleeding-heart liberal; in fact, he had always been","}
{"text": ""a die-hard Republican.","}
{"text": ""His favorite politician was Benito Mussolini, whom he had once","}
{"text": ""visited, and whose framed photo hung on his wall. If there was someone","}
{"text": ""he hated Cohn would call him a “Communist bastard.” But to the","}
{"text": ""executives’ amazement Cohn told them he would not fire Lawson. He","}
{"text": ""did not keep the screenwriter on because he was a good writer—therewere many good writers in Hollywood. He kept him because of a chain","}
{"text": ""of dependence: Lawson was Humphrey Bogart’s writer and Bogart was","}
{"text": ""Columbia’s star. If Cohn messed with Lawson he would ruin an","}
{"text": ""immensely profitable relationship. That was worth more than the terrible","}
{"text": ""publicity brought to him by his defiance of the committee.","}
{"text": ""Henry Kissinger managed to survive the many bloodlettings that went","}
{"text": ""on in the Nixon White House not because he was the best diplomat","}
{"text": ""Nixon could find—there were other fine negotiators—and not because","}
{"text": ""the two men got along so well: They did not. Nor did they share their","}
{"text": ""beliefs and politics. Kissinger survived because he entrenched himself in","}
{"text": ""so many areas of the political structure that to do away with him would","}
{"text": ""lead to chaos. Michelangelo’s power was intensive, depending on one","}
{"text": ""skill, his ability as an artist; Kissinger’s was extensive. He got himself","}
{"text": ""involved in so many aspects and departments of the administration that","}
{"text": ""his involvement became a card in his hand. It also made him many allies.","}
{"text": ""If you can arrange such a position for yourself, getting rid of you","}
{"text": ""becomes dangerous—all sorts of interdependencies will unravel. Still,","}
{"text": ""the intensive form of power provides more freedom than the extensive,","}
{"text": ""because those who have it depend on no particular master, or particular","}
{"text": ""position of power, for their security.","}
{"text": ""To make others dependent on you, one route to take is the secret-","}
{"text": ""intelligence tactic. By knowing other people’s secrets, by holding","}
{"text": ""information that they wouldn’t want broadcast, you seal your fate with","}
{"text": ""theirs. You are untouchable. Ministers of secret police have held this","}
{"text": ""position throughout the ages: They can make or break a king, or, as in","}
{"text": ""the case of J. Edgar Hoover, a president. But the role is so full of","}
{"text": ""insecurities and paranoia that the power it provides almost cancels itself","}
{"text": ""out. You cannot rest at ease, and what good is power if it brings you no","}
{"text": ""peace?","}
{"text": ""One last warning: Do not imagine that your master’s dependence on","}
{"text": ""you will make him love you. In fact, he may resent and fear you. But, as","}
{"text": ""Machiavelli said, it is better to be feared than loved. Fear you can","}
{"text": ""control; love, never. Depending on an emotion as subtle and changeable","}
{"text": ""as love or friendship will only make you insecure. Better to have others","}
{"text": ""depend on you out of fear of the consequences of losing you than out of","}
{"text": ""love of your company.","}
{"text": ""Image: Vines with Many Thorns. Below, the roots grow deep","}
{"text": ""and wide. Above, the vines push through bushes, entwine themselves","}
{"text": ""around trees and poles and window ledges. To get rid of them","}
{"text": ""would cost such toil and blood, it is easier to let them climb.Authority: Make people depend on you. More is to be gained from such","}
{"text": ""dependence than courtesy. He who has slaked his thirst, immediately","}
{"text": ""turns his back on the well, no longer needing it. When dependence","}
{"text": ""disappears, so does civility and decency, and then respect. The first","}
{"text": ""lesson which experience should teach you is to keep hope alive but never","}
{"text": ""satisfied, keeping even a royal patron ever in need of you. (Baltasar","}
{"text": ""Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The weakness of making others depend on you is that you are in some","}
{"text": ""measure dependent on them. But trying to move beyond that point means","}
{"text": ""getting rid of those above you—it means standing alone, depending on","}
{"text": ""no one. Such is the monopolistic drive of a J. P. Morgan or a John D.","}
{"text": ""Rockefeller—to drive out all competition, to be in complete control. If","}
{"text": ""you can corner the market, so much the better.","}
{"text": ""No such independence comes without a price. You are forced to","}
{"text": ""isolate yourself. Monopolies often turn inward and destroy themselves","}
{"text": ""from the internal pressure. They also stir up powerful resentment,","}
{"text": ""making their enemies bond together to fight them. The drive for","}
{"text": ""complete control is often ruinous and fruitless. Interdependence remains","}
{"text": ""the law, independence a rare and often fatal exception. Better to place","}
{"text": ""yourself in a position of mutual dependence, then, and to follow this","}
{"text": ""critical law rather than look for its reversal. You will not have the","}
{"text": ""unbearable pressure of being on top, and the master above you will in","}
{"text": ""essence be your slave, for he will depend on you.LAW 12","}
{"text": ""USE SELECTIVE HONESTY AND","}
{"text": ""GENEROSITY TO DISARM YOUR VICTIM","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones.","}
{"text": ""Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard","}
{"text": ""of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a","}
{"text": ""hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A","}
{"text": ""timely gift—a Trojan horse—will serve the same purpose.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Sometime in 1926, a tall, dapperly dressed man paid a visit to Al","}
{"text": ""Capone, the most feared gangster of his time. Speaking with an elegant","}
{"text": ""Continental accent, the man introduced himself as Count Victor Lustig.","}
{"text": ""He promised that if Capone gave him $50,000 he could double it.","}
{"text": ""Capone had more than enough funds to cover the “investment,” but he","}
{"text": ""wasn’t in the habit of entrusting large sums to total strangers. He looked","}
{"text": ""the count over: Something about the man was different—his classy style,","}
{"text": ""his manner—and so Capone decided to play along. He counted out the","}
{"text": ""bills personally and handed them to Lustig. “Okay, Count,” said Capone.","}
{"text": ""“Double it in sixty days like you said.” Lustig left with the money, put it","}
{"text": ""in a safe-deposit box in Chicago, then headed to New York, where he","}
{"text": ""had several other money-making schemes in progress.","}
{"text": ""The $50,000 remained in the bank box untouched. Lustig made no","}
{"text": ""effort to double it. Two months later he returned to Chicago, took the","}
{"text": ""money from the box, and paid Capone another visit. He looked at the","}
{"text": ""gangster’s stony-faced bodyguards, smiled apologetically, and said,“Please accept my profound regrets, Mr. Capone. I’m sorry to report that","}
{"text": ""the plan failed… I failed.”","}
{"text": ""Capone slowly stood up. He glowered at Lustig, debating which part","}
{"text": ""of the river to throw him in. But the count reached into his coat pocket,","}
{"text": ""withdrew the $50,000, and placed it on the desk. “Here, sir, is your","}
{"text": ""money, to the penny. Again, my sincere apologies. This is most","}
{"text": ""embarrassing. Things didn’t work out the way I thought they would. I","}
{"text": ""would have loved to have doubled your money for you and for myself—","}
{"text": ""Lord knows I need it—but the plan just didn’t materialize.”","}
{"text": ""Capone sagged back into his chair, confused. “I know you’re a con","}
{"text": ""man, Count,” said Capone. “I knew it the moment you walked in here. I","}
{"text": ""expected either one hundred thousand dollars or nothing. But this…","}
{"text": ""getting my money back … well.” “Again my apologies, Mr. Capone,”","}
{"text": ""said Lustig, as he picked up his hat and began to leave. “My God! You’re","}
{"text": ""honest!” yelled Capone. “If you’re on the spot, here’s five to help you","}
{"text": ""along.” He counted out five one-thousand-dollar bills out of the $50,000.","}
{"text": ""The count seemed stunned, bowed deeply, mumbled his thanks, and left,","}
{"text": ""taking the money.","}
{"text": ""The $5,000 was what Lustig had been after all along.","}
{"text": ""FRANCESCO BORRI. COURTIER","}
{"text": ""CHARLATAN","}
{"text": ""Francesco Giuseppe Borri of Milan, whose death in 1695 fell just within","}
{"text": ""the seventeenth century … was a forerunner of that special type of","}
{"text": ""charlatanical adventurer, the courtier or “cavalier” impostor…. His real","}
{"text": ""period of glory began after he moved to Amsterdam. There he assumed","}
{"text": ""the title of Medico Universale, maintained a great retinue, and drove","}
{"text": ""about in a coach with six horses…. Patients streamed to him, and some","}
{"text": ""invalids had themselves carried in sedan chairs all the way from Paris to","}
{"text": ""his place in Amsterdam. Borri took no payment for his consultations: He","}
{"text": ""distributed great sums among the poor and was never known to receive","}
{"text": ""any money through the post or bills of exchange. As he continued to live","}
{"text": ""with such splendor, nevertheless, it was presumed that he possessed the","}
{"text": ""philosophers’ stone. Suddenly this benefactor disappeared from","}
{"text": ""Amsterdam. Then it was discovered that he had taken with him money","}
{"text": ""and diamonds that had been placed in his charge.","}
{"text": ""THE POWER OF THE CHARLATAN, GRETE DE FRANCESCO, 1939Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Count Victor Lustig, a man who spoke several languages and prided","}
{"text": ""himself on his refinement and culture, was one of the great con artists of","}
{"text": ""modem times. He was known for his audacity, his fearlessness, and, most","}
{"text": ""important, his knowledge of human psychology. He could size up a man","}
{"text": ""in minutes, discovering his weaknesses, and he had radar for suckers.","}
{"text": ""Lustig knew that most men build up defenses against crooks and other","}
{"text": ""troublemakers. The con artist’s job is to bring those defenses down.","}
{"text": ""One sure way to do this is through an act of apparent sincerity and","}
{"text": ""honesty. Who will distrust a person literally caught in the act of being","}
{"text": ""honest? Lustig used selective honesty many times, but with Capone he","}
{"text": ""went a step further. No normal con man would have dared such a con; he","}
{"text": ""would have chosen his suckers for their meekness, for that look about","}
{"text": ""them that says they will take their medicine without complaint. Con","}
{"text": ""Capone and you would spend the rest of your life (whatever remained of","}
{"text": ""it) afraid. But Lustig understood that a man like Capone spends his life","}
{"text": ""mistrusting others. No one around him is honest or generous, and being","}
{"text": ""so much in the company of wolves is exhausting, even depressing. A","}
{"text": ""man like Capone yearns to be the recipient of an honest or generous","}
{"text": ""gesture, to feel that not everyone has an angle or is out to rob him.","}
{"text": ""Lustig’s act of selective honesty disarmed Capone because it was so","}
{"text": ""unexpected. A con artist loves conflicting emotions like these, since the","}
{"text": ""person caught up in them is so easily distracted and deceived.","}
{"text": ""Do not shy away from practicing this law on the Capones of the world.","}
{"text": ""With a well-timed gesture of honesty or generosity, you will have the","}
{"text": ""most brutal and cynical beast in the kingdom eating out of your hand.","}
{"text": ""Everything turns gray when I don’t have at least one mark on the","}
{"text": ""horizon.","}
{"text": ""Life then seems empty and depressing. I cannot understand honest men.","}
{"text": ""They lead desperate lives, full of boredom.","}
{"text": ""Count Victor Lustig, 1890-1947","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The essence of deception is distraction. Distracting the people you want","}
{"text": ""to deceive gives you the time and space to do something they won’tnotice. An act of kindness, generosity, or honesty is often the most","}
{"text": ""powerful form of distraction because it disarms other people’s","}
{"text": ""suspicions. It turns them into children, eagerly lapping up any kind of","}
{"text": ""affectionate gesture.","}
{"text": ""In ancient China this was called “giving before you take”—the giving","}
{"text": ""makes it hard for the other person to notice the taking. It is a device with","}
{"text": ""infinite practical uses. Brazenly taking something from someone is","}
{"text": ""dangerous, even for the powerful. The victim will plot revenge. It is also","}
{"text": ""dangerous simply to ask for what you need, no matter how politely:","}
{"text": ""Unless the other person sees some gain for themselves, they may come","}
{"text": ""to resent your neediness. Learn to give before you take. It softens the","}
{"text": ""ground, takes the bite out of a future request, or simply creates a","}
{"text": ""distraction. And the giving can take many forms: an actual gift, a","}
{"text": ""generous act, a kind favor, an “honest” admission—whatever it takes.","}
{"text": ""Selective honesty is best employed on your first encounter with","}
{"text": ""someone. We are all creatures of habit, and our first impressions last a","}
{"text": ""long time. If someone believes you are honest at the start of your","}
{"text": ""relationship it takes a lot to convince them otherwise. This gives you","}
{"text": ""room to maneuver.","}
{"text": ""Jay Gould, like Al Capone, was a man who distrusted everyone. By","}
{"text": ""the time he was thirty-three he was already a multimillionaire, mostly","}
{"text": ""through deception and strong-arming. In the late 1860s, Gould invested","}
{"text": ""heavily in the Erie Railroad, then discovered that the market had been","}
{"text": ""flooded with a vast amount of phony stock certificates for the company.","}
{"text": ""He stood to lose a fortune and to suffer a lot of embarrassment.","}
{"text": ""In the midst of this crisis, a man named Lord John Gordon-Gordon","}
{"text": ""offered to help. Gordon-Gordon, a Scottish lord, had apparently made a","}
{"text": ""small fortune investing in railroads.","}
{"text": ""By hiring some handwriting experts Gordon-Gordon was able to prove","}
{"text": ""to Gould that the culprits for the phony stock certificates were actually","}
{"text": ""several top executives with the Erie Railroad itself. Gould was grateful.","}
{"text": ""Gordon-Gordon then proposed that he and Gould join forces to buy up a","}
{"text": ""controlling interest in Erie. Gould agreed. For a while the venture","}
{"text": ""appeared to prosper. The two men were now good friends, and every","}
{"text": ""time Gordon-Gordon came to Gould asking for money to buy more","}
{"text": ""stock, Gould gave it to him. In 1873, however, Gordon-Gordon suddenly","}
{"text": ""dumped all of his stock, making a fortune but drastically lowering the","}
{"text": ""value of Gould’s own holdings. Then he disappeared from sight.","}
{"text": ""Upon investigation, Gould found out that Gordon-Gordon’s real name","}
{"text": ""was John Crowningsfield, and that he was the bastard son of a merchantseaman and a London barmaid. There had been many clues before then","}
{"text": ""that Gordon-Gordon was a con man, but his initial act of honesty and","}
{"text": ""support had so blinded Gould that it took the loss of millions for him to","}
{"text": ""see through the scheme.","}
{"text": ""A single act of honesty is often not enough. What is required is a","}
{"text": ""reputation for honesty, built on a series of acts—but these can be quite","}
{"text": ""inconsequential. Once this reputation is established, as with first","}
{"text": ""impressions, it is hard to shake.","}
{"text": ""In ancient China, Duke Wu of Chêng decided it was time to take over","}
{"text": ""the increasingly powerful kingdom of Hu. Telling no one of his plan, he","}
{"text": ""married his daughter to Hu’s ruler. He then called a council and asked his","}
{"text": ""ministers, “I am considering a military campaign. Which country should","}
{"text": ""we invade?” As he had expected, one of his ministers replied, “Hu","}
{"text": ""should be invaded.” The duke seemed angry, and said, “Hu is a sister","}
{"text": ""state now. Why do you suggest invading her?” He had the minister","}
{"text": ""executed for his impolitic remark. The ruler of Hu heard about this, and","}
{"text": ""considering other tokens ofWu’s honesty and the marriage with his","}
{"text": ""daughter, he took no precautions to defend himself from Cheng. A few","}
{"text": ""weeks later, Chêng forces swept through Hu and took the country, never","}
{"text": ""to relinquish it.","}
{"text": ""Honesty is one of the best ways to disarm the wary, but it is not the","}
{"text": ""only one. Any kind of noble, apparently selfless act will serve. Perhaps","}
{"text": ""the best such act, though, is one of generosity. Few people can resist a","}
{"text": ""gift, even from the most hardened enemy, which is why it is often the","}
{"text": ""perfect way to disarm people. A gift brings out the child in us, instantly","}
{"text": ""lowering our defenses. Although we often view other people’s actions in","}
{"text": ""the most cynical light, we rarely see the Machiavellian element of a gift,","}
{"text": ""which quite often hides ulterior motives. A gift is the perfect object in","}
{"text": ""which to hide a deceptive move.","}
{"text": ""Over three thousand years ago the ancient Greeks traveled across the","}
{"text": ""sea to recapture the beautiful Helen, stolen away from them by Paris, and","}
{"text": ""to destroy Paris’s city, Troy. The siege lasted ten years, many heroes","}
{"text": ""died, yet neither side had come close to victory. One day, the prophet","}
{"text": ""Calchas assembled the Greeks.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Trojan Horse. Your guile is hidden inside a magnificent gift","}
{"text": ""that proves irresistible to your opponent. The walls open. Once inside,","}
{"text": ""wreak havoc.","}
{"text": ""“Stop battering away at these walls!” he told them. “You must find","}
{"text": ""some other way, some ruse. We cannot take Troy by force alone. Wemust find some cunning stratagem.” The cunning Greek leader Odysseus","}
{"text": ""then came up with the idea of building a giant wooden horse, hiding","}
{"text": ""soldiers inside it, then offering it to the Trojans as a gift. Neoptolemus,","}
{"text": ""son of Achilles, was disgusted with this idea; it was unmanly. Better for","}
{"text": ""thousands to die on the battlefield than to gain victory so deceitfully. But","}
{"text": ""the soldiers, faced with a choice between another ten years of manliness,","}
{"text": ""honor, and death, on the one hand and a quick victory on the other, chose","}
{"text": ""the horse, which was promptly built. The trick was successful and Troy","}
{"text": ""fell. One gift did more for the Greek cause than ten years of fighting.","}
{"text": ""Selective kindness should also be part of your arsenal of deception.","}
{"text": ""For years the ancient Romans had besieged the city of the Faliscans,","}
{"text": ""always unsuccessfully. One day, however, when the Roman general","}
{"text": ""Camillus was encamped outside the city, he suddenly saw a man leading","}
{"text": ""some children toward him. The man was a Faliscan teacher, and the","}
{"text": ""children, it turned out, were the sons and daughters of the noblest and","}
{"text": ""wealthiest citizens of the town. On the pretense of taking these children","}
{"text": ""out for a walk, he had led them straight to the Romans, offering them as","}
{"text": ""hostages in hopes of ingratiating himself with Camillus, the city’s enemy.","}
{"text": ""Camillus did not take the children hostage. He stripped the teacher,","}
{"text": ""tied his hands behind his back, gave each child a rod, and let them whip","}
{"text": ""him all the way back to the city. The gesture had an immediate effect on","}
{"text": ""the Faliscans. Had Camillus used the children as hostages, some in the","}
{"text": ""city would have voted to surrender. And even if the Faliscans had gone","}
{"text": ""on fighting, their resistance would have been halfhearted. Camillus’s","}
{"text": ""refusal to take advantage of the situation broke down the Faliscans’","}
{"text": ""resistance, and they surrendered. The general had calculated correctly.","}
{"text": ""And in any case he had had nothing to lose: He knew that the hostage","}
{"text": ""ploy would not have ended the war, at least not right away. By turning","}
{"text": ""the situation around, he earned his enemy’s trust and respect, disarming","}
{"text": ""them. Selective kindness will often break down even the most stubborn","}
{"text": ""foe: Aiming right for the heart, it corrodes the will to fight back.","}
{"text": ""Remember: By playing on people’s emotions, calculated acts of","}
{"text": ""kindness can turn a Capone into a gullible child. As with any emotional","}
{"text": ""approach, the tactic must be practiced with caution: If people see through","}
{"text": ""it, their disappointed feelings of gratitude and warmth will become the","}
{"text": ""most violent hatred and distrust. Unless you can make the gesture seem","}
{"text": ""sincere and heartfelt, do not play with fire.","}
{"text": ""Authority: When Duke Hsien of Chin was about to raid Yü, he presented","}
{"text": ""to them a jade and a team of horses. When Earl Chih was about to raid","}
{"text": ""Ch’ou-yu, he presented to them grand chariots. Hence the saying: “Whenyou are about to take, you should give.” (Han-fei-tzu, Chinese","}
{"text": ""philosopher, third century B.C.)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""When you have a history of deceit behind you, no amount of honesty,","}
{"text": ""generosity, or kindness will fool people. In fact it will only call attention","}
{"text": ""to itself. Once people have come to see you as deceitful, to act honest all","}
{"text": ""of a sudden is simply suspicious. In these cases it is better to play the","}
{"text": ""rogue.","}
{"text": ""Count Lustig, pulling the biggest con of his career, was about to sell","}
{"text": ""the Eiffel Tower to an unsuspecting industrialist who believed the","}
{"text": ""government was auctioning it off for scrap metal. The industrialist was","}
{"text": ""prepared to hand over a huge sum of money to Lustig, who had","}
{"text": ""successfully impersonated a government official. At the last minute,","}
{"text": ""however, the mark was suspicious. Something about Lustig bothered","}
{"text": ""him. At the meeting in which he was to hand over the money, Lustig","}
{"text": ""sensed his sudden distrust.","}
{"text": ""Leaning over to the industrialist, Lustig explained, in a low whisper,","}
{"text": ""how low his salary was, how difficult his finances were, on and on. After","}
{"text": ""a few minutes of this, the industrialist realized that Lustig was asking for","}
{"text": ""a bribe. For the first time he relaxed. Now he knew he could trust Lustig:","}
{"text": ""Since all government officials were dishonest, Lustig had to be real. The","}
{"text": ""man forked over the money. By acting dishonest, Lustig seemed the real","}
{"text": ""McCoy. In this case selective honesty would have had the opposite","}
{"text": ""effect.","}
{"text": ""As the French diplomat Talleyrand grew older, his reputation as a","}
{"text": ""master liar and deceiver spread. At the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815),","}
{"text": ""he would spin fabulous stories and make impossible remarks to people","}
{"text": ""who knew he had to be lying. His dishonesty had no purpose except to","}
{"text": ""cloak the moments when he really was deceiving them. One day, for","}
{"text": ""example, among friends, Talleyrand said with apparent sincerity, “In","}
{"text": ""business one ought to show one’s hand.” No one who heard him could","}
{"text": ""believe their ears: A man who never once in his life had shown his cards","}
{"text": ""was telling other people to show theirs. Tactics like this made it","}
{"text": ""impossible to distinguish Talleyrand’s real deceptions from his fake ones.By embracing his reputation for dishonesty, he preserved his ability to","}
{"text": ""deceive.","}
{"text": ""Nothing in the realm of power is set in stone. Overt deceptiveness will","}
{"text": ""sometimes cover your tracks, even making you admired for the honesty","}
{"text": ""of your dishonesty.LAW 13","}
{"text": ""WHEN ASKING FOR HELP, APPEAL TO","}
{"text": ""PEOPLE’S SELF-INTEREST, NEVER TO THEIR","}
{"text": ""MERCY OR GRATITUDE","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of","}
{"text": ""your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you.","}
{"text": ""Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him,","}
{"text": ""that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will","}
{"text": ""respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for","}
{"text": ""himself.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In the early fourteenth century, a young man named Castruccio","}
{"text": ""Castracani rose from the rank of common soldier to become lord of the","}
{"text": ""great city of Lucca, Italy. One of the most powerful families in the city,","}
{"text": ""the Poggios, had been instrumental in his climb (which succeeded","}
{"text": ""through treachery and bloodshed), but after he came to power, they came","}
{"text": ""to feel he had forgotten them. His ambition outweighed any gratitude he","}
{"text": ""felt. In 1325, while Castruccio was away fighting Lucca’s main rival,","}
{"text": ""Florence, the Poggios conspired with other noble families in the city to","}
{"text": ""rid themselves of this troublesome and ambitious prince.","}
{"text": ""THE PEASANT AND THE APPLE-TREE","}
{"text": ""A peasant had in his garden an apple-tree, which bore no fruit, but only","}
{"text": ""served as a perch for the sparrows and grasshoppers. He resolved to cutit down, and, taking his ax in hand, made a bold stroke at its roots. The","}
{"text": ""grasshoppers and sparrows entreated him not to cut down the tree that","}
{"text": ""sheltered them, but to spare it, and they would sing to him and lighten his","}
{"text": ""labors. He paid no attention to their request, but gave the tree a second","}
{"text": ""and a third blow with his ax. When he reached the hollow of the tree, he","}
{"text": ""found a hive full of honey. Having tasted the honeycomb, he threw down","}
{"text": ""his ax, and, looking on the tree as isacred, took great care of it. Self-","}
{"text": ""interest alone moves some men.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""Mounting an insurrection, the plotters attacked and murdered the","}
{"text": ""governor whom Castruccio had left behind to rule the city. Riots broke","}
{"text": ""out, and the Castruccio supporters and the Poggio supporters were poised","}
{"text": ""to do battle. At the height of the tension, however, Stefano di Poggio, the","}
{"text": ""oldest member of the family, intervened, and made both sides lay down","}
{"text": ""their arms.","}
{"text": ""A peaceful man, Stefano had not taken part in the conspiracy. He had","}
{"text": ""told his family it would end in a useless bloodbath. Now he insisted he","}
{"text": ""should intercede on the family’s behalf and persuade Castruccio to listen","}
{"text": ""to their complaints and satisfy their demands. Stefano was the oldest and","}
{"text": ""wisest member of the clan, and his family agreed to put their trust in his","}
{"text": ""diplomacy rather than in their weapons.","}
{"text": ""When news of the rebellion reached Castruccio, he hurried back to","}
{"text": ""Lucca. By the time he arrived, however, the fighting had ceased, through","}
{"text": ""Stefano’s agency, and he was surprised by the city’s calm and peace.","}
{"text": ""Stefano di Poggio had imagined that Castruccio would be grateful to him","}
{"text": ""for his part in quelling the rebellion, so he paid the prince a visit. He","}
{"text": ""explained how he had brought peace, then begged for Castruccio’s","}
{"text": ""mercy. He said that the rebels in his family were young and impetuous,","}
{"text": ""hungry for power yet inexperienced; he recalled his family’s past","}
{"text": ""generosity to Castruccio. For all these reasons, he said, the great prince","}
{"text": ""should pardon the Poggios and listen to their complaints. This, he said,","}
{"text": ""was the only just thing to do, since the family had willingly laid down","}
{"text": ""their arms and had always supported him.","}
{"text": ""Castruccio listened patiently. He seemed not the slightest bit angry or","}
{"text": ""resentful. Instead, he told Stefano to rest assured that justice would","}
{"text": ""prevail, and he asked him to bring his entire family to the palace to talk","}
{"text": ""over their grievances and come to an agreement. As they took leave of","}
{"text": ""one another, Castruccio said he thanked God for the chance he had been","}
{"text": ""given to show his clemency and kindness. That evening the entire Poggiofamily came to the palace. Castruccio immediately had them imprisoned","}
{"text": ""and a few days later all were executed, including Stefano.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Stefano di Poggio is the embodiment of all those who believe that the","}
{"text": ""justice and nobility of their cause will prevail. Certainly appeals to","}
{"text": ""justice and gratitude have occasionally succeeded in the past, but more","}
{"text": ""often than not they have had dire consequences, especially in dealings","}
{"text": ""with the Castruc cios of the world. Stefano knew that the prince had risen","}
{"text": ""to power through treachery and ruthlessness. This was a man, after all,","}
{"text": ""who had put a close and devoted friend to death. When Castruccio was","}
{"text": ""told that it had been a terrible wrong to kill such an old friend, he replied","}
{"text": ""that he had executed not an old friend but a new enemy.","}
{"text": ""A man like Castruccio knows only force and self-interest. When the","}
{"text": ""rebellion began, to end it and place oneself at his mercy was the most","}
{"text": ""dangerous possible move. Even once Stefano di Poggio had made that","}
{"text": ""fatal mistake, however, he still had options: He could have offered","}
{"text": ""money to Castruccio, could have made promises for the future, could","}
{"text": ""have pointed out what the Poggios could still contribute to Castruccio’s","}
{"text": ""power—their influence with the most influential families of Rome, for","}
{"text": ""example, and the great marriage they could have brokered.","}
{"text": ""Instead Stefano brought up the past, and debts that carried no","}
{"text": ""obligation. Not only is a man not obliged to be grateful, gratitude is often","}
{"text": ""a terrible burden that he gladly discards. And in this case Castruccio rid","}
{"text": ""himself of his obligations to the Poggios by eliminating the Poggios.","}
{"text": ""Most men are so thoroughly subjective that nothing really interests them","}
{"text": ""but themselves. They always think of their own case as soon as ever any","}
{"text": ""remark is made, and their whole attention is engrossed and absorbed by","}
{"text": ""the merest chance reference to anything which affects them personally,","}
{"text": ""be it never so remote.","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAWIn 433 B.C., just before the Peloponnesian War, the island of Corcyra","}
{"text": ""(later called Corfu) and the Greek city-state of Corinth stood on the brink","}
{"text": ""of conflict. Both parties sent ambassadors to Athens to try to win over","}
{"text": ""the Athenians to their side. The stakes were high, since whoever had","}
{"text": ""Athens on his side was sure to win. And whoever won the war would","}
{"text": ""certainly give the defeated side no mercy.","}
{"text": ""Corcyra spoke first. Its ambassador began by admitting that the island","}
{"text": ""had never helped Athens before, and in fact had allied itself with","}
{"text": ""Athens’s enemies. There were no ties of friendship or gratitude between","}
{"text": ""Corcyra and Athens. Yes, the ambassador admitted, he had come to","}
{"text": ""Athens now out of fear and concern for Corcyra’s safety. The only thing","}
{"text": ""he could offer was an alliance of mutual interests. Corcyra had a navy","}
{"text": ""only surpassed in size and strength by Athens’s own; an alliance between","}
{"text": ""the two states would create a formidable force, one that could intimidate","}
{"text": ""the rival state of Sparta. That, unfortunately, was all Corcyra had to offer.","}
{"text": ""The representative from Corinth then gave a brilliant, passionate","}
{"text": ""speech, in sharp contrast to the dry, colorless approach of the Corcyran.","}
{"text": ""He talked of everything Corinth had done for Athens in the past. He","}
{"text": ""asked how it would look to Athens’s other allies if the city put an","}
{"text": ""agreement with a former enemy over one with a present friend, one that","}
{"text": ""had served Athens’s interest loyally: Perhaps those allies would break","}
{"text": ""their agreements with Athens if they saw that their loyalty was not","}
{"text": ""valued. He referred to Hellenic law, and the need to repay Corinth for all","}
{"text": ""its good deeds. He finally went on to list the many services Corinth had","}
{"text": ""performed for Athens, and the importance of showing gratitude to one’s","}
{"text": ""friends.","}
{"text": ""After the speech, the Athenians debated the issue in an assembly. On","}
{"text": ""the second round, they voted overwhelmingly to ally with Corcyra and","}
{"text": ""drop Corinth.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""History has remembered the Athenians nobly, but they were the","}
{"text": ""preeminent realists of classical Greece. With them, all the rhetoric, all","}
{"text": ""the emotional appeals in the world, could not match a good pragmatic","}
{"text": ""argument, especially one that added to their power.","}
{"text": ""What the Corinthian ambassador did not realize was that his","}
{"text": ""references to Corinth’s past generosity to Athens only irritated the","}
{"text": ""Athenians, subtly asking them to feel guilty and putting them underobligation. The Athenians couldn’t care less about past favors and","}
{"text": ""friendly feelings. At the same time, they knew that if their other allies","}
{"text": ""thought them ungrateful for abandoning Corinth, these city-states would","}
{"text": ""still be unlikely to break their ties to Athens, the preeminent power in","}
{"text": ""Greece. Athens ruled its empire by force, and would simply compel any","}
{"text": ""rebellious ally to return to the fold.","}
{"text": ""When people choose between talk about the past and talk about the","}
{"text": ""future, a pragmatic person will always opt for the future and forget the","}
{"text": ""past. As the Corcyrans realized, it is always best to speak pragmatically","}
{"text": ""to a pragmatic person. And in the end, most people are in fact pragmatic","}
{"text": ""—they will rarely act against their own self-interest.","}
{"text": ""It has always been a rule that the weak should be subject to the strong;","}
{"text": ""and besides, we consider that we are worthy of our power. Up till the","}
{"text": ""present moment you, too, used to think that we were; but now, after","}
{"text": ""calculating your own interest, you are beginning to talk in terms of right","}
{"text": ""and wrong. Considerations of this kind have never yet turned people","}
{"text": ""aside","}
{"text": ""from the opportunities of aggrandizement offered by superior strength.","}
{"text": ""Athenian representative to Sparta,","}
{"text": ""quoted in The Peloponnesian War, Thucydides, c. 465-395 B.C.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""In your quest for power, you will constantly find yourself in the position","}
{"text": ""of asking for help from those more powerful than you. There is an art to","}
{"text": ""asking for help, an art that depends on your ability to understand the","}
{"text": ""person you are dealing with, and to not confuse your needs with theirs.","}
{"text": ""Most people never succeed at this, because they are completely","}
{"text": ""trapped in their own wants and desires. They start from the assumption","}
{"text": ""that the people they are appealing to have a selfless interest in helping","}
{"text": ""them. They talk as if their needs mattered to these people—who probably","}
{"text": ""couldn’t care less. Sometimes they refer to larger issues: a great cause, or","}
{"text": ""grand emotions such as love and gratitude. They go for the big picture","}
{"text": ""when simple, everyday realities would have much more appeal. What","}
{"text": ""they do not realize is that even the most powerful person is locked inside","}
{"text": ""needs of his own, and that if you make no appeal to his self-interest, he","}
{"text": ""merely sees you as desperate or, at best, a waste of time.In the sixteenth century, Portuguese missionaries tried for years to","}
{"text": ""convert the people of Japan to Catholicism, while at the same time","}
{"text": ""Portugal had a monopoly on trade between Japan and Europe. Although","}
{"text": ""the missionaries did have some success, they never got far among the","}
{"text": ""ruling elite; by the beginning of the seventeenth century, in fact, their","}
{"text": ""proselytizing had completely antagonized the Japanese emperor Ieyasu.","}
{"text": ""When the Dutch began to arrive in Japan in great numbers, Ieyasu was","}
{"text": ""much relieved. He needed Europeans for their know-how in guns and","}
{"text": ""navigation, and here at last were Europeans who cared nothing for","}
{"text": ""spreading religion—the Dutch wanted only to trade. Ieyasu swiftly","}
{"text": ""moved to evict the Portuguese. From then on, he would only deal with","}
{"text": ""the practical-minded Dutch.","}
{"text": ""Japan and Holland were vastly different cultures, but each shared a","}
{"text": ""timeless and universal concern: self-interest. Every person you deal with","}
{"text": ""is like another culture, an alien land with a past that has nothing to do","}
{"text": ""with yours. Yet you can bypass the differences between you and him by","}
{"text": ""appealing to his self-interest. Do not be subtle: You have valuable","}
{"text": ""knowledge to share, you will fill his coffers with gold, you will make","}
{"text": ""him live longer and happier. This is a language that all of us speak and","}
{"text": ""understand.","}
{"text": ""A key step in the process is to understand the other person’s","}
{"text": ""psychology. Is he vain? Is he concerned about his reputation or his social","}
{"text": ""standing? Does he have enemies you could help him vanquish? Is he","}
{"text": ""simply motivated by money and power?","}
{"text": ""When the Mongols invaded China in the twelfth century, they","}
{"text": ""threatened to obliterate a culture that had thrived for over two thousand","}
{"text": ""years. Their leader, Genghis Khan, saw nothing in China but a country","}
{"text": ""that lacked pasturing for his horses, and he decided to destroy the place,","}
{"text": ""leveling all its cities, for “it would be better to exterminate the Chinese","}
{"text": ""and let the grass grow.” It was not a soldier, a general, or a king who","}
{"text": ""saved the Chinese from devastation, but a man named Yelu Ch‘u-Ts’ai.","}
{"text": ""A foreigner himself, Ch‘u-Ts’ai had come to appreciate the superiority of","}
{"text": ""Chinese culture. He managed to make himself a trusted adviser to","}
{"text": ""Genghis Khan, and persuaded him that he would reap riches out of the","}
{"text": ""place if, instead of destroying it, he simply taxed everyone who lived","}
{"text": ""there. Khan saw the wisdom in this and did as Ch‘u-Ts’ai advised.","}
{"text": ""When Khan took the city of Kaifeng, after a long siege, and decided to","}
{"text": ""massacre its inhabitants (as he had in other cities that had resisted him),","}
{"text": ""Ch‘u-Ts’ai told him that the finest craftsmen and engineers in China had","}
{"text": ""fled to Kaifeng, and it would be better to put them to use. Kaifeng wasspared. Never before had Genghis Khan shown such mercy, but then it","}
{"text": ""really wasn’t mercy that saved Kaifeng. Ch‘u-Ts’ai knew Khan well. He","}
{"text": ""was a barbaric peasant who cared nothing for culture, or indeed for","}
{"text": ""anything other than warfare and practical results. Ch‘u-Ts’ai chose to","}
{"text": ""appeal to the only emotion that would work on such a man: greed.","}
{"text": ""Self-interest is the lever that will move people. Once you make them","}
{"text": ""see how you can in some way meet their needs or advance their cause,","}
{"text": ""their resistance to your requests for help will magically fall away. At","}
{"text": ""each step on the way to acquiring power, you must train yourself to think","}
{"text": ""your way inside the other person’s mind, to see their needs and interests,","}
{"text": ""to get rid of the screen of your own feelings that obscure the truth.","}
{"text": ""Master this art and there will be no limits to what you can accomplish.","}
{"text": ""Image: A Cord that","}
{"text": ""Binds. The cord of","}
{"text": ""mercy and grati","}
{"text": ""tude is threadbare,","}
{"text": ""and will break at","}
{"text": ""the first shock.","}
{"text": ""Do not throw","}
{"text": ""such a lifeline.","}
{"text": ""The cord of","}
{"text": ""mutual self-inter","}
{"text": ""est is woven of","}
{"text": ""many fibers and","}
{"text": ""cannot easily be","}
{"text": ""severed. It will serve","}
{"text": ""you well for years.","}
{"text": ""Authority: The shortest and best way to make your fortune is to let","}
{"text": ""people see clearly that it is in their interests to promote yours. (Jean de","}
{"text": ""La Bruyère, 1645-1696)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Some people will see an appeal to their self-interest as ugly and ignoble.","}
{"text": ""They actually prefer to be able to exercise charity, mercy, and justice,which are their ways of feeling superior to you: When you beg them for","}
{"text": ""help, you emphasize their power and position. They are strong enough to","}
{"text": ""need nothing from you except the chance to feel superior. This is the","}
{"text": ""wine that intoxicates them. They are dying to fund your project, to","}
{"text": ""introduce you to powerful people—provided, of course, that all this is","}
{"text": ""done in public, and for a good cause (usually the more public, the better).","}
{"text": ""Not everyone, then, can be approached through cynical self-interest.","}
{"text": ""Some people will be put off by it, because they don’t want to seem to be","}
{"text": ""motivated by such things. They need opportunities to display their good","}
{"text": ""heart.","}
{"text": ""Do not be shy. Give them that opportunity. It’s not as if you are","}
{"text": ""conning them by asking for help—it is really their pleasure to give, and","}
{"text": ""to be seen giving. You must distinguish the differences among powerful","}
{"text": ""people and figure out what makes them tick. When they ooze greed, do","}
{"text": ""not appeal to their charity. When they want to look charitable and noble,","}
{"text": ""do not appeal to their greed.LAW 14","}
{"text": ""POSE AS A FRIEND, WORK AS A SPY","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable","}
{"text": ""information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy","}
{"text": ""yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect","}
{"text": ""questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There","}
{"text": ""is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Joseph Duveen was undoubtedly the greatest art dealer of his time—","}
{"text": ""from 1904 to 1940 he almost single-handedly monopolized America’s","}
{"text": ""millionaire art-collecting market. But one prize plum eluded him: the","}
{"text": ""industrialist Andrew Mellon. Before he died, Duveen was determined to","}
{"text": ""make Mellon a client.","}
{"text": ""Duveen’s friends said this was an impossible dream. Mellon was a","}
{"text": ""stiff, taciturn man. The stories he had heard about the congenial,","}
{"text": ""talkative Duveen rubbed him the wrong way—he had made it clear he","}
{"text": ""had no desire to meet the man. Yet Duveen told his doubting friends,","}
{"text": ""“Not only will Mellon buy from me but he will buy only from me.” For","}
{"text": ""several years he tracked his prey, learning the man’s habits, tastes,","}
{"text": ""phobias. To do this, he secretly put several of Mellon’s staff on his own","}
{"text": ""payroll, worming valuable information out of them. By the time he","}
{"text": ""moved into action, he knew Mellon about as well as Mellon’s wife did.","}
{"text": ""In 1921 Mellon was visiting London, and staying in a palatial suite on","}
{"text": ""the third floor of Claridge’s Hotel. Duveen booked himself into the suite","}
{"text": ""just below Mellon’s, on the second floor. He had arranged for his valet to","}
{"text": ""befriend Mellon’s valet, and on the fateful day he had chosen to make hismove, Mellon’s valet told Duveen’s valet, who told Duveen, that he had","}
{"text": ""just helped Mellon on with his overcoat, and that the industrialist was","}
{"text": ""making his way down the corridor to ring for the lift.","}
{"text": ""Duveen’s valet hurriedly helped Duveen with his own overcoat.","}
{"text": ""Seconds later, Duveen entered the lift, and lo and behold, there was","}
{"text": ""Mellon. “How do you do, Mr. Mellon?” said Duveen, introducing","}
{"text": ""himself. “I am on my way to the National Gallery to look at some","}
{"text": ""pictures.” How uncanny—that was precisely where Mellon was headed.","}
{"text": ""And so Duveen was able to accompany his prey to the one location that","}
{"text": ""would ensure his success. He knew Mellon’s taste inside and out, and","}
{"text": ""while the two men wandered through the museum, he dazzled the","}
{"text": ""magnate with his knowledge. Once again quite uncannily, they seemed to","}
{"text": ""have remarkably similar tastes.","}
{"text": ""Mellon was pleasantly surprised: This was not the Duveen he had","}
{"text": ""expected. The man was charming and agreeable, and clearly had","}
{"text": ""exquisite taste. When they returned to New York, Mellon visited","}
{"text": ""Duveen’s exclusive gallery and fell in love with the collection.","}
{"text": ""Everything, surprisingly enough, seemed to be precisely the kind of work","}
{"text": ""he wanted to collect. For the rest of his life he was Duveen’s best and","}
{"text": ""most generous client.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""A man as ambitious and competitive as Joseph Duveen left nothing to","}
{"text": ""chance. What’s the point of winging it, of just hoping you may be able to","}
{"text": ""charm this or that client? It’s like shooting ducks blindfolded. Arm","}
{"text": ""yourself with a little knowledge and your aim improves.","}
{"text": ""Mellon was the most spectacular of Duveen’s catches, but he spied on","}
{"text": ""many a millionaire. By secretly putting members of his clients’","}
{"text": ""household staffs on his own payroll, he would gain constant access to","}
{"text": ""valuable information about their masters’ comings and goings, changes","}
{"text": ""in taste, and other such tidbits of information that would put him a step","}
{"text": ""ahead. A rival of Duveen’s who wanted to make Henry Frick a client","}
{"text": ""noticed that whenever he visited this wealthy New Yorker, Duveen was","}
{"text": ""there before him, as if he had a sixth sense. To other dealers Duveen","}
{"text": ""seemed to be everywhere, and to know everything before they did. His","}
{"text": ""powers discouraged and disheartened them, until many simply gave up","}
{"text": ""going after the wealthy clients who could make a dealer rich.Such is the power of artful spying: It makes you seem all-powerful,","}
{"text": ""clairvoyant. Your knowledge of your mark can also make you seem","}
{"text": ""charming, so well can you anticipate his desires. No one sees the source","}
{"text": ""of your power, and what they cannot see they cannot fight.","}
{"text": ""Rulers see through spies, as cows through smell, Brahmins through","}
{"text": ""scriptures and the rest of the people through their normal eyes.","}
{"text": ""Kautilya, Indian philosopher third century B. C.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""In the realm of power, your goal is a degree of control over future events.","}
{"text": ""Part of the problem you face, then, is that people won’t tell you all their","}
{"text": ""thoughts, emotions, and plans. Controlling what they say, they often keep","}
{"text": ""the most critical parts of their character hidden—their weaknesses,","}
{"text": ""ulterior motives, obsessions. The result is that you cannot predict their","}
{"text": ""moves, and are constantly in the dark. The trick is to find a way to probe","}
{"text": ""them, to find out their secrets and hidden intentions, without letting them","}
{"text": ""know what you are up to.","}
{"text": ""This is not as difficult as you might think. A friendly front will let you","}
{"text": ""secretly gather information on friends and enemies alike. Let others","}
{"text": ""consult the horoscope, or read tarot cards: You have more concrete","}
{"text": ""means of seeing into the future.","}
{"text": ""The most common way of spying is to use other people, as Duveen","}
{"text": ""did. The method is simple, powerful, but risky: You will certainly gather","}
{"text": ""information, but you have little control over the people who are doing","}
{"text": ""the work. Perhaps they will ineptly reveal your spying, or even secretly","}
{"text": ""turn against you. It is far better to be the spy yourself, to pose as a friend","}
{"text": ""while secretly gathering information.","}
{"text": ""The French politician Talleyrand was one of the greatest practitioners","}
{"text": ""of this art. He had an uncanny ability to worm secrets out of people in","}
{"text": ""polite conversation. A contemporary of his, Baron de Vitrolles, wrote,","}
{"text": ""“Wit and grace marked his conversation. He possessed the art of","}
{"text": ""concealing his thoughts or his malice beneath a transparent veil of","}
{"text": ""insinuations, words that imply something more than they express. Only","}
{"text": ""when necessary did he inject his own personality.” The key here is","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand’s ability to suppress himself in the conversation, to makeothers talk endlessly about themselves and inadvertently reveal their","}
{"text": ""intentions and plans.","}
{"text": ""Throughout Talleyrand’s life, people said he was a superb conversa","}
{"text": ""tionalist—yet he actually said very little. He never talked about his own","}
{"text": ""ideas; he got others to reveal theirs. He would organize friendly games of","}
{"text": ""charades for foreign diplomats, social gatherings where, however, he","}
{"text": ""would carefully weigh their words, cajole confidences out of them, and","}
{"text": ""gather information invaluable to his work as France’s foreign minister.","}
{"text": ""At the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) he did his spying in other ways:","}
{"text": ""He would blurt out what seemed to be a secret (actually something he","}
{"text": ""had made up), then watch his listeners’ reactions. He might tell a","}
{"text": ""gathering of diplomats, for instance, that a reliable source had revealed","}
{"text": ""to him that the czar of Russia was planning to arrest his top general for","}
{"text": ""treason. By watching the diplomats’ reactions to this made-up story, he","}
{"text": ""would know which ones were most excited by the weakening of the","}
{"text": ""Russian army—perhaps their goverments had designs on Russia? As","}
{"text": ""Baron von Stetten said, “Monsieur Talleyrand fires a pistol into the air to","}
{"text": ""see who will jump out the window.”","}
{"text": ""If you have reason to suspect that a person is telling you a lie, look as","}
{"text": ""though you believed every word he said. This will give him courage to go","}
{"text": ""on; he will become more vehement in his assertions, and in the end","}
{"text": ""betray himself. Again, if you perceive that a person is trying to conceal","}
{"text": ""something from you, but with only partial success, look as though you","}
{"text": ""did not believe him. The opposition on your part will provoke him into","}
{"text": ""leading out his reserve of truth and bringing the whole force of it to bear","}
{"text": ""upon your incredulity.","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""During social gatherings and innocuous encounters, pay attention.","}
{"text": ""This is when people’s guards are down. By suppressing your own","}
{"text": ""personality, you can make them reveal things. The brilliance of the","}
{"text": ""maneuver is that they will mistake your interest in them for friendship,","}
{"text": ""so that you not only learn, you make allies.","}
{"text": ""Nevertheless, you should practice this tactic with caution and care. If","}
{"text": ""people begin to suspect you are worming secrets out of them under the","}
{"text": ""cover of conversation, they will strictly avoid you. Emphasize friendly","}
{"text": ""chatter, not valuable information. Your search for gems of information","}
{"text": ""cannot be too obvious, or your probing questions will reveal more about","}
{"text": ""yourself and your intentions than about the information you hope to find.A trick to try in spying comes from La Rochefoucauld, who wrote,","}
{"text": ""“Sincerity is found in very few men, and is often the cleverest of ruses—","}
{"text": ""one is sincere in order to draw out the confidence and secrets of the","}
{"text": ""other.” By pretending to bare your heart to another person, in other","}
{"text": ""words, you make them more likely to reveal their own secrets. Give them","}
{"text": ""a false confession and they will give you a real one. Another trick was","}
{"text": ""identified by the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who suggested","}
{"text": ""vehemently contradicting people you’re in conversation with as a way of","}
{"text": ""irritating them, stirring them up so that they lose some of the control over","}
{"text": ""their words. In their emotional reaction they will reveal all kinds of","}
{"text": ""truths about themselves, truths you can later use against them.","}
{"text": ""Another method of indirect spying is to test people, to lay little traps","}
{"text": ""that make them reveal things about themselves. Chosroes II, a","}
{"text": ""notoriously clever seventh-century king of the Persians, had many ways","}
{"text": ""of seeing through his subjects without raising suspicion. If he noticed,","}
{"text": ""for instance, that two of his courtiers had become particularly friendly,","}
{"text": ""he would call one of them aside and say he had information that the other","}
{"text": ""was a traitor, and would soon be killed. The king would tell the courtier","}
{"text": ""he trusted him more than anyone, and that he must keep this information","}
{"text": ""secret. Then he would watch the two men carefully. If he saw that the","}
{"text": ""second courtier had not changed in his behavior toward the king, he","}
{"text": ""would conclude that the first courtier had kept the secret, and he would","}
{"text": ""quickly promote the man, later taking him aside to confess, “I meant to","}
{"text": ""kill your friend because of certain information that had reached me, but,","}
{"text": ""when I investigated the matter, I found it was untrue.” If, on the other","}
{"text": ""hand, the second courtier started to avoid the king, acting aloof and","}
{"text": ""tense, Chosroes would know that the secret had been revealed. He would","}
{"text": ""ban the second courtier from his court, letting him know that the whole","}
{"text": ""business had only been a test, but that even though the man had done","}
{"text": ""nothing wrong, he could no longer trust him. The first courtier, however,","}
{"text": ""had revealed a secret, and him Chosroes would ban from his entire","}
{"text": ""kingdom.","}
{"text": ""It may seem an odd form of spying that reveals not empirical","}
{"text": ""information but a person’s character. Often, however, it is the best way of","}
{"text": ""solving problems before they arise.","}
{"text": ""By tempting people into certain acts, you learn about their loyalty,","}
{"text": ""their honesty, and so on. And this kind of knowledge is often the most","}
{"text": ""valuable of all: Armed with it, you can predict their actions in the future.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Third Eye ofthe Spy. In the land of","}
{"text": ""the two-eyed, the third eye","}
{"text": ""gives you the omniscience","}
{"text": ""of a god. You see further than","}
{"text": ""others, and you see deeper","}
{"text": ""into them. Nobody is","}
{"text": ""safe from the eye","}
{"text": ""but you.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Now, the reason a brilliant sovereign and a wise general","}
{"text": ""conquer the enemy whenever they move, and their achievements surpass","}
{"text": ""those of ordinary men, is their foreknowledge of the enemy situation.","}
{"text": ""This “foreknowledge” cannot be elicited from spirits, nor from gods, nor","}
{"text": ""by analogy with past events, nor by astrologic calculations. It must be","}
{"text": ""obtained from men who know the enemy situation—from spies. (Sun-","}
{"text": ""tzu, The Art of War, fourth century B.C.)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Information is critical to power, but just as you spy on other people, you","}
{"text": ""must be prepared for them to spy on you. One of the most potent","}
{"text": ""weapons in the battle for information, then, is giving out false","}
{"text": ""information. As Winston Churchill said, “Truth is so precious that she","}
{"text": ""should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” You must surround","}
{"text": ""yourself with such a bodyguard, so that your truth cannot be penetrated.","}
{"text": ""By planting the information of your choice, you control the game.","}
{"text": ""In 1944 the Nazis’ rocket-bomb attacks on London suddenly","}
{"text": ""escalated. Over two thousand V-1 flying bombs fell on the city, killing","}
{"text": ""more than five thousand people and wounding many more. Somehow,","}
{"text": ""however, the Germans consistently missed their targets. Bombs that were","}
{"text": ""intended for Tower Bridge, or Piccadilly, would fall well short of the","}
{"text": ""city, landing in the less populated suburbs. This was because, in fixing","}
{"text": ""their targets, the Germans relied on secret agents they had planted in","}
{"text": ""England. They did not know that these agents had been discovered, andthat in their place, English-controlled agents were feeding them subtly","}
{"text": ""deceptive information.","}
{"text": ""The bombs would hit farther and farther from their targets every time","}
{"text": ""they fell. By the end of the campaign they were landing on cows in the","}
{"text": ""country. By feeding people wrong information, then, you gain a potent","}
{"text": ""advantage. While spying gives you a third eye, disinformation puts out","}
{"text": ""one of your enemy’s eyes. A cyclops, he always misses his target.LAW 15","}
{"text": ""CRUSH YOUR ENEMY TOTALLY","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be","}
{"text": ""crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If","}
{"text": ""one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will","}
{"text": ""eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through","}
{"text": ""total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush","}
{"text": ""him, not only in body but in spirit.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""No rivalry between leaders is more celebrated in Chinese history than the","}
{"text": ""struggle between Hsiang Yu and Liu Pang. These two generals began","}
{"text": ""their careers as friends, fighting on the same side. Hsiang Yu came from","}
{"text": ""the nobility; large and powerful, given to bouts of violence and temper, a","}
{"text": ""bit dull witted, he was yet a mighty warrior who always fought at the","}
{"text": ""head of his troops. Liu Pang came from peasant stock. He had never","}
{"text": ""been much of a soldier, and preferred women and wine to fighting; in","}
{"text": ""fact, he was something of a scoundrel. But he was wily, and he had the","}
{"text": ""ability to recognize the best strategists, keep them as his advisers, and","}
{"text": ""listen to their advice. He had risen in the army through these strengths.","}
{"text": ""The remnants of an enemy can become active like those of a disease or","}
{"text": ""fire. Hence, these should be exterminated completely…. One should","}
{"text": ""never ignore an enemy, knowing him to be weak. He becomes dangerous","}
{"text": ""in due course, like the spark of fire in a haystack.","}
{"text": ""KAUTILYA, INDIAN PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.In 208 B.C., the king of Ch‘u sent two massive armies to conquer the","}
{"text": ""powerful kingdom of Ch’in. One army went north, under the generalship","}
{"text": ""of Sung Yi, with Hsiang Yu second in command; the other, led by Liu","}
{"text": ""Pang, headed straight toward Ch’in. The target was the kingdom’s","}
{"text": ""splendid capital, Hsien-yang. And Hsiang Yu, ever violent and impatient,","}
{"text": ""could not stand the idea that Liu Pang would get to Hsien-yang first, and","}
{"text": ""perhaps would assume command of the entire army.","}
{"text": ""THE TRAP AT SINIGAGLIA","}
{"text": ""On the day Ramiro was executed, Cesare [Borgia] quit Cesena, leaving","}
{"text": ""the mutilated body on the town square, and marched south. Three days","}
{"text": ""later he arrived at Fano, where he received the envoys of the city of","}
{"text": ""Ancona, who assured him of their loyalty. A messenger from Vitellozzo","}
{"text": ""Vitelli announced that the little Adriatic port of Sinigaglia had","}
{"text": ""surrendered to the condottieri [mercenary soldiers]. Only the citadel, in","}
{"text": ""charge of the Genoese Andrea Doria, still held out, and Doria refused to","}
{"text": ""hand it over to anyone except Cesare himself. [Borgia] sent word that he","}
{"text": ""would arrive the next day, which was just what the condottieri wanted to","}
{"text": ""hear. Once he reached Sinigaglia. Cesare would be an easy prey, caught","}
{"text": ""between the citadel and their forces ringing the town…. The condottieri","}
{"text": ""were sure they had military superiority, believing that the departure of","}
{"text": ""the French troops had lef? Cesare with only a small force.","}
{"text": ""In fact, according to Machiavelli. [Borgia] had left Cesena with ten","}
{"text": ""thousand infantry-men and three thousand horse, taking pains to split up","}
{"text": ""his men so that they would march along parallel routes before","}
{"text": ""converging on Sinigaglia. The reason for such a large force was that he","}
{"text": ""knew, from a confession extracted from Ramiro de Lorca, what the","}
{"text": ""condottieri had up their sleeve. He therefore decided to turn their own","}
{"text": ""trap against them. This was the masterpiece of trickery that the historian","}
{"text": ""Paolo Giovio later called “the magnificent deceit. ” At dawn on","}
{"text": ""December 31 [1502], Cesare reached the outskirts of Sinigaglia…. Led","}
{"text": ""by Michelotto Corella, Cesare’s advance guard of two hundred lances","}
{"text": ""took up its position on the canal bridge…. This control of the bridge","}
{"text": ""effectively prevented the conspirators’ troops from withdrawing….","}
{"text": ""Cesare greeted the condottieri effusively and invited them to join him….","}
{"text": ""Michelotto had prepared the Palazzo Bernardino for Cesare’s use, and","}
{"text": ""the duke invited the condottieri inside…. Once indoors the men were","}
{"text": ""quietly arrested by guards who crept up from the rear…. [Cesare] gave","}
{"text": ""orders for an attack on Vitelli’s and Orsini’s soldiers in the outlyingareas…. That night, while their troops were being crushed, Michelotto","}
{"text": ""throttled Oliveretto and Vitelli in the Bernardino palace…. At one fell","}
{"text": ""swoop, [Borgia] had got rid of his former generals and worst enemies.","}
{"text": ""THE BORGIAS, IVAN CLOULAS, 1989","}
{"text": ""At one point on the northern front, Hsiang’s commander, Sung Yi,","}
{"text": ""hesitated in sending his troops into battle. Furious, Hsiang entered Sung","}
{"text": ""Yi’s tent, proclaimed him a traitor, cut off his head, and assumed sole","}
{"text": ""command of the army. Without waiting for orders, he left the northern","}
{"text": ""front and marched directly on Hsien-yang. He felt certain he was the","}
{"text": ""better soldier and general than Liu, but, to his utter astonishment, his","}
{"text": ""rival, leading a smaller, swifter army, managed to reach Hsien-yang first.","}
{"text": ""Hsiang had an adviser, Fan Tseng, who warned him, “This village","}
{"text": ""headman [Liu Pang] used to be greedy only for riches and women, but","}
{"text": ""since entering the capital he has not been led astray by wealth, wine, or","}
{"text": ""sex. That shows he is aiming high.”","}
{"text": ""Fan Tseng urged Hsiang to kill his rival before it was too late. He told","}
{"text": ""the general to invite the wily peasant to a banquet at their camp outside","}
{"text": ""Hsien-yang, and, in the midst of a celebratory sword dance, to have his","}
{"text": ""head cut off. The invitation was sent; Liu fell for the trap, and came to","}
{"text": ""the banquet. But Hsiang hesitated in ordering the sword dance, and by","}
{"text": ""the time he gave the signal, Liu had sensed a trap, and managed to","}
{"text": ""escape. “Bah!” cried Fan Tseng in disgust, seeing that Hsiang had","}
{"text": ""botched the plot. “One cannot plan with a simpleton. Liu Pang will steal","}
{"text": ""your empire yet and make us all his prisoners.”","}
{"text": ""Realizing his mistake, Hsiang hurriedly marched on Hsien-yang, this","}
{"text": ""time determined to hack off his rival’s head. Liu was never one to fight","}
{"text": ""when the odds were against him, and he abandoned the city. Hsiang","}
{"text": ""captured Hsien-yang, murdered the young prince of Ch’in, and burned","}
{"text": ""the city to the ground. Liu was now Hsiang’s bitter enemy, and he","}
{"text": ""pursued him for many months, finally cornering him in a walled city.","}
{"text": ""Lacking food, his army in disarray, Liu sued for peace.","}
{"text": ""Again Fan Tseng warned Hsiang, “Crush him now! If you let him go","}
{"text": ""again, you will be sorry later.” But Hsiang decided to be merciful. He","}
{"text": ""wanted to bring Liu back to Ch’u alive, and to force his former friend to","}
{"text": ""acknowledge him as master. But Fan proved right: Liu managed to use","}
{"text": ""the negotiations for his surrender as a distraction, and he escaped with a","}
{"text": ""small army. Hsiang, amazed that he had yet again let his rival slip away,","}
{"text": ""once more set out after Liu, this time with such ferocity that he seemed","}
{"text": ""to have lost his mind. At one point, having captured Liu’s father in battle,Hsiang stood the old man up during the fighting and yelled to Liu across","}
{"text": ""the line of troops, “Surrender now, or I shall boil your father alive!” Liu","}
{"text": ""calmly answered, “But we are sworn brothers. So my father is your","}
{"text": ""father also. If you insist on boiling your own father, send me a bowl of","}
{"text": ""the soup!” Hsiang backed down, and the struggle continued.","}
{"text": ""A few weeks later, in the thick of the hunt, Hsiang scattered his forces","}
{"text": ""unwisely, and in a surprise attack Liu was able to surround his main","}
{"text": ""garrison. For the first time the tables were turned. Now it was Hsiang","}
{"text": ""who sued for peace. Liu’s top adviser urged him to destroy Hsiang, crush","}
{"text": ""his army, show no mercy. “To let him go would be like rearing a tiger—it","}
{"text": ""will devour you later,” the adviser said. Liu agreed.","}
{"text": ""Making a false treaty, he lured Hsiang into relaxing his defense, then","}
{"text": ""slaughtered almost all of his army. Hsiang managed to escape. Alone and","}
{"text": ""on foot, knowing that Liu had put a bounty on his head, he came upon a","}
{"text": ""small group of his own retreating soldiers, and cried out, “I hear Liu","}
{"text": ""Pang has offered one thousand pieces of gold and a fief of ten thousand","}
{"text": ""families for my head. Let me do you a favor.” Then he slit his own throat","}
{"text": ""and died.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Hsiang Yu had proven his ruthlessness on many an occasion. He rarely","}
{"text": ""hesitated in doing away with a rival if it served his purposes. But with","}
{"text": ""Liu Pang he acted differently. He respected his rival, and did not want to","}
{"text": ""defeat him through deception; he wanted to prove his superiority on the","}
{"text": ""battlefield, even to force the clever Liu to surrender and to serve him.","}
{"text": ""Every time he had his rival in his hands, something made him hesitate—","}
{"text": ""a fatal sympathy with or respect for the man who, after all, had once","}
{"text": ""been a friend and comrade in arms. But the moment Hsiang made it clear","}
{"text": ""that he intended to do away with Liu, yet failed to accomplish it, he","}
{"text": ""sealed his own doom. Liu would not suffer the same hesitation once the","}
{"text": ""tables were turned.","}
{"text": ""This is the fate that faces all of us when we sympathize with our","}
{"text": ""enemies, when pity, or the hope of reconciliation, makes us pull back","}
{"text": ""from doing away with them. We only strengthen their fear and hatred of","}
{"text": ""us. We have beaten them, and they are humiliated; yet we nurture these","}
{"text": ""resentful vipers who will one day kill us. Power cannot be dealt with this","}
{"text": ""way. It must be exterminated, crushed, and denied the chance to return to","}
{"text": ""haunt us. This is all the truer with a former friend who has become anenemy. The law governing fatal antagonisms reads: Reconciliation is out","}
{"text": ""of the question. Only one side can win, and it must win totally.","}
{"text": ""Liu Pang learned this lesson well. After defeating Hsiang Yu, this son","}
{"text": ""of a farmer went on to become supreme commander of the armies of","}
{"text": ""Ch‘u. Crushing his next rival—the king of Ch’u, his own former leader","}
{"text": ""—he crowned himself emperor, defeated everyone in his path, and went","}
{"text": ""down in history as one of the greatest rulers of China, the immortal Han","}
{"text": ""Kao-tsu, founder of the Han Dynasty.","}
{"text": ""To have ultimate victory, you must be ruthless.","}
{"text": ""NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, 1769-1821","}
{"text": ""Those who seek to achieve things should show no mercy.","}
{"text": ""Kautilya, Indian philosopher third century B.C.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Wu Chao, born in A.D. 625, was the daughter of a duke, and as a","}
{"text": ""beautiful young woman of many charms, she was accordingly attached","}
{"text": ""to the harem of Emperor T’ai Tsung.","}
{"text": ""The imperial harem was a dangerous place, full of young concubines","}
{"text": ""vying to become the emperor’s favorite. Wu’s beauty and forceful","}
{"text": ""character quickly won her this battle, but, knowing that an emperor, like","}
{"text": ""other powerful men, is a creature of whim, and that she could easily be","}
{"text": ""replaced, she kept her eye on the future.","}
{"text": ""Wu managed to seduce the emperor’s dissolute son, Kao Tsung, on the","}
{"text": ""only possible occasion when she could find him alone: while he was","}
{"text": ""relieving himself at the royal urinal. Even so, when the emperor died and","}
{"text": ""Kao Tsung took over the throne, she still suffered the fate to which all","}
{"text": ""wives and concubines of a deceased emperor were bound by tradition","}
{"text": ""and law: Her head shaven, she entered a convent, for what was supposed","}
{"text": ""to be the rest of her life. For seven years Wu schemed to escape. By","}
{"text": ""communicating in secret with the new emperor, and by befriending his","}
{"text": ""wife, the empress, she managed to get a highly unusual royal edict","}
{"text": ""allowing her to return to the palace and to the royal harem. Once there,","}
{"text": ""she fawned on the empress, while still sleeping with the emperor. Theempress did not discourage this—she had yet to provide the emperor","}
{"text": ""with an heir, her position was vulnerable, and Wu was a valuable ally.","}
{"text": ""In 654 Wu Chao gave birth to a child. One day the empress came to","}
{"text": ""visit, and as soon as she had left, Wu smothered the newborn—her own","}
{"text": ""baby. When the murder was discovered, suspicion immediately fell on","}
{"text": ""the empress, who had been on the scene moments earlier, and whose","}
{"text": ""jealous nature was known by all. This was precisely Wu’s plan. Shortly","}
{"text": ""thereafter, the empress was charged with murder and executed. Wu Chao","}
{"text": ""was crowned empress in her place. Her new husband, addicted to his life","}
{"text": ""of pleasure, gladly gave up the reins of government to Wu Chao, who","}
{"text": ""was from then on known as Empress Wu.","}
{"text": ""Although now in a position of great power, Wu hardly felt secure.","}
{"text": ""There were enemies everywhere; she could not let down her guard for","}
{"text": ""one moment. Indeed, when she was forty-one, she began to fear that her","}
{"text": ""beautiful young niece was becoming the emperor’s favorite. She","}
{"text": ""poisoned the woman with a clay mixed into her food. In 675 her own","}
{"text": ""son, touted as the heir apparent, was poisoned as well. The next-eldest","}
{"text": ""son—illegitimate, but now the crown prince—was exiled a little later on","}
{"text": ""trumped-up charges. And when the emperor died, in 683, Wu managed","}
{"text": ""to have the son after that declared unfit for the throne. All this meant that","}
{"text": ""it was her youngest, most ineffectual son who finally became emperor. In","}
{"text": ""this way she continued to rule.","}
{"text": ""Over the next five years there were innumerable palace coups. All of","}
{"text": ""them failed, and all of the conspirators were executed. By 688 there was","}
{"text": ""no one left to challenge Wu. She proclaimed herself a divine descendant","}
{"text": ""of Buddha, and in 690 her wishes were finally granted: She was named","}
{"text": ""Holy and Divine “Emperor” of China.","}
{"text": ""Wu became emperor because there was literally nobody left from the","}
{"text": ""previous T’ang dynasty. And so she ruled unchallenged, for over a","}
{"text": ""decade of relative peace. In 705, at the age of eighty, she was forced to","}
{"text": ""abdicate.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""All who knew Empress Wu remarked on her energy and intelligence. At","}
{"text": ""the time, there was no glory available for an ambitious woman beyond a","}
{"text": ""few years in the imperial harem, then a lifetime walled up in a convent.","}
{"text": ""In Wu’s gradual but remarkable rise to the top, she was never naive. She","}
{"text": ""knew that any hesitation, any momentary weakness, would spell her end.If, every time she got rid of a rival a new one appeared, the solution was","}
{"text": ""simple: She had to crush them all or be killed herself. Other emperors","}
{"text": ""before her had followed the same path to the top, but Wu—who, as a","}
{"text": ""woman, had next to no chance to gain power—had to be more ruthless","}
{"text": ""still.","}
{"text": ""Empress Wu’s forty-year reign was one of the longest in Chinese","}
{"text": ""history. Although the story of her bloody rise to power is well known, in","}
{"text": ""China she is considered one of the period’s most able and effective","}
{"text": ""rulers.","}
{"text": ""A priest asked the dying Spanish statesman and general Ramón Maria","}
{"text": ""Narváez.","}
{"text": ""(1800-1868), “Does your Excellency forgive all your enemies ? ”I do not","}
{"text": ""have to forgive my enemies,” answered Narváez, ”I have had them all","}
{"text": ""shot. ”","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""It is no accident that the two stories illustrating this law come from","}
{"text": ""China: Chinese history abounds with examples of enemies who were left","}
{"text": ""alive and returned to haunt the lenient. “Crush the enemy” is a key","}
{"text": ""strategic tenet of Sun-tzu, the fourth-century-B.C. author of The Art of","}
{"text": ""War. The idea is simple: Your enemies wish you ill. There is nothing they","}
{"text": ""want more than to eliminate you. If, in your struggles with them, you","}
{"text": ""stop halfway or even three quarters of the way, out of mercy or hope of","}
{"text": ""reconciliation, you only make them more determined, more embittered,","}
{"text": ""and they will someday take revenge. They may act friendly for the time","}
{"text": ""being, but this is only because you have defeated them. They have no","}
{"text": ""choice but to bide their time.","}
{"text": ""The solution: Have no mercy. Crush your enemies as totally as they","}
{"text": ""would crush you. Ultimately the only peace and security you can hope","}
{"text": ""for from your enemies is their disappearance.","}
{"text": ""Mao Tse-tung, a devoted reader of Sun-tzu and of Chinese history","}
{"text": ""generally, knew the importance of this law. In 1934 the Communist","}
{"text": ""leader and some 75,000 poorly equipped soldiers fled into the desolate","}
{"text": ""mountains of western China to escape Chiang Kai-shek’s much larger","}
{"text": ""army, in what has since been called the Long March.Chiang was determined to eliminate every last Communist, and by a","}
{"text": ""few years later Mao had less than 10,000 soldiers left. By 1937, in fact,","}
{"text": ""when China was invaded by Japan, Chiang calculated that the","}
{"text": ""Communists were no longer a threat. He chose to give up the chase and","}
{"text": ""concentrate on the Japanese. Ten years later the Communists had","}
{"text": ""recovered enough to rout Chiang’s army. Chiang had forgotten the","}
{"text": ""ancient wisdom of crushing the enemy; Mao had not. Chiang was","}
{"text": ""pursued until he and his entire army fled to the island of Taiwan. Nothing","}
{"text": ""remains of his regime in mainland China to this day.","}
{"text": ""The wisdom behind “crushing the enemy” is as ancient as the Bible:","}
{"text": ""Its first practitioner may have been Moses, who learned it from God","}
{"text": ""Himself, when He parted the Red Sea for the Jews, then let the water","}
{"text": ""flow back over the pursuing Egyptians so that “not so much as one of","}
{"text": ""them remained.” When Moses returned from Mount Sinai with the Ten","}
{"text": ""Commandments and found his people worshipping the Golden Calf, he","}
{"text": ""had every last offender slaughtered. And just before he died, he told his","}
{"text": ""followers, finally about to enter the Promised Land, that when they had","}
{"text": ""defeated the tribes of Canaan they should “utterly destroy them… make","}
{"text": ""no covenant with them, and show no mercy to them.”","}
{"text": ""The goal of total victory is an axiom of modern warfare, and was","}
{"text": ""codified as such by Carl von Clausewitz, the premier philosopher of war.","}
{"text": ""Analyzing the campaigns of Napoleon, von Clausewitz wrote, “We do","}
{"text": ""claim that direct annihilation of the enemy’s forces must always be the","}
{"text": ""dominant consideration…. Once a major victory is achieved there must","}
{"text": ""be no talk of rest, of breathing space… but only of the pursuit, going for","}
{"text": ""the enemy again, seizing his capital, attacking his reserves and anything","}
{"text": ""else that might give his country aid and comfort.” The reason for this is","}
{"text": ""that after war come negotiation and the division of territory. If you have","}
{"text": ""only won a partial victory, you will inevitably lose in negotiation what","}
{"text": ""you have gained by war.","}
{"text": ""The solution is simple: Allow your enemies no options. Annihilate","}
{"text": ""them and their territory is yours to carve. The goal of power is to control","}
{"text": ""your enemies completely, to make them obey your will. You cannot","}
{"text": ""afford to go halfway. If they have no options, they will be forced to do","}
{"text": ""your bidding. This law has applications far beyond the battlefield.","}
{"text": ""Negotiation is the insidious viper that will eat away at your victory, so","}
{"text": ""give your enemies nothing to negotiate, no hope, no room to maneuver.","}
{"text": ""They are crushed and that is that.","}
{"text": ""Realize this: In your struggle for power you will stir up rivalries and","}
{"text": ""create enemies. There will be people you cannot win over, who willremain your enemies no matter what. But whatever wound you inflicted","}
{"text": ""on them, deliberately or not, do not take their hatred personally. Just","}
{"text": ""recognize that there is no possibility of peace between you, especially as","}
{"text": ""long as you stay in power. If you let them stick around, they will seek","}
{"text": ""revenge, as certainly as night follows day. To wait for them to show their","}
{"text": ""cards is just silly; as Empress Wu understood, by then it will be too late.","}
{"text": ""Be realistic: With an enemy like this around, you will never be secure.","}
{"text": ""Remember the lessons of history, and the wisdom of Moses and Mao:","}
{"text": ""Never go halfway.","}
{"text": ""It is not, of course, a question of murder, it is a question of","}
{"text": ""banishment. Sufficiently weakened and then exiled from your court","}
{"text": ""forever, your enemies are rendered harmless. They have no hope of","}
{"text": ""recovering, insinuating themselves and hurting you. And if they cannot","}
{"text": ""be banished, at least understand that they are plotting against you, and","}
{"text": ""pay no heed to whatever friendliness they feign. Your only weapon in","}
{"text": ""such a situation is your own wariness. If you cannot banish them","}
{"text": ""immediately, then plot for the best time to act.","}
{"text": ""Image: A Viper crushed beneath your foot but left alive, will rear up and","}
{"text": ""bite you with a double dose of venom. An enemy that is left around is","}
{"text": ""like a half-dead viper that you nurse back to health. Time makes the","}
{"text": ""venom grow stronger.","}
{"text": ""Authority: For it must be noted, that men must either be caressed or else","}
{"text": ""annihilated; they will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot","}
{"text": ""do so for great ones; the injury therefore that we do to a man must be","}
{"text": ""such that we need not fear his vengeance. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-","}
{"text": ""1527)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""This law should very rarely be ignored, but it does sometimes happen","}
{"text": ""that it is better to let your enemies destroy themselves, if such a thing is","}
{"text": ""possible, than to make them suffer by your hand. In warfare, for","}
{"text": ""example, a good general knows that if he attacks an army when it is","}
{"text": ""cornered, its soldiers will fight much more fiercely. It is sometimesbetter, then, to leave them an escape route, a way out. As they retreat,","}
{"text": ""they wear themselves out, and are ultimately more demoralized by the","}
{"text": ""retreat than by any defeat he might inflict on the battlefield. When you","}
{"text": ""have someone on the ropes, then—but only when you are sure they have","}
{"text": ""no chance of recovery—you might let them hang themselves. Let them","}
{"text": ""be the agents of their own destruction. The result will be the same, and","}
{"text": ""you won’t feel half as bad.","}
{"text": ""Finally, sometimes by crushing an enemy, you embitter them so much","}
{"text": ""that they spend years and years plotting revenge. The Treaty of Versailles","}
{"text": ""had such an effect on the Germans. Some would argue that in the long","}
{"text": ""run it would be better to show some leniency. The problem is, your","}
{"text": ""leniency involves another risk—it may embolden the enemy, which still","}
{"text": ""harbors a grudge, but now has some room to operate. It is almost always","}
{"text": ""wiser to crush your enemy. If they plot revenge years later, do not let","}
{"text": ""your guard down, but simply crush them again.LAW 16","}
{"text": ""USE ABSENCE TO INCREASE RESPECT AND","}
{"text": ""HONOR","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen","}
{"text": ""and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already","}
{"text": ""established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more","}
{"text": ""talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create","}
{"text": ""value through scarcity.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION AND OBSERVANCE OF","}
{"text": ""THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Sir Guillaume de Balaun was a troubadour who roamed the South of","}
{"text": ""France in the Middle Ages, going from castle to castle, reciting poetry,","}
{"text": ""and playing the perfect knight. At the castle of Javiac he met and fell in","}
{"text": ""love with the beautiful lady of the house, Madame Guillelma de Javiac.","}
{"text": ""He sang her his songs, recited his poetry, played chess with her, and little","}
{"text": ""by little she in turn fell in love with him. Guillaume had a friend, Sir","}
{"text": ""Pierre de Barjac, who traveled with him and who was also received at the","}
{"text": ""castle. And Pierre too fell in love with a lady in Javiac, the gracious but","}
{"text": ""temperamental Viernetta.","}
{"text": ""THE CAMEL AND THE FLOATING STICKS","}
{"text": ""The first man who saw a camel fled; The second ventured within","}
{"text": ""distance; The third dared slip a halter round its head. Familiarity in this","}
{"text": ""existence Makes all things tame, for what may seem Terrible or bizarre,when once our eyes Have had time to acclimatize, Becomes quite","}
{"text": ""commonplace. Since I’m on this theme, I’ve heard of sentinels posted by","}
{"text": ""the shore Who, spotting something far-away afloat, Couldn’t resist the","}
{"text": ""shout: “A sail! A sail! A mighty man-of-war!” Five minutes later it’s a","}
{"text": ""packet boat, And then a skiff, and then a bale, And finally some sticks","}
{"text": ""bobbing about. I know of plenty such To whom this story applies—","}
{"text": ""People whom distance magnifies, Who, close to, don’t amount to much.","}
{"text": ""SELECTED FABLES, JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695","}
{"text": ""Then one day Pierre and Viernetta had a violent quarrel. The lady","}
{"text": ""dismissed him, and he sought out his friend Guillaume to help heal the","}
{"text": ""breach and get him back in her good graces. Guillaume was about to","}
{"text": ""leave the castle for a while, but on his return, several weeks later, he","}
{"text": ""worked his magic, and Pierre and the lady were reconciled. Pierre felt","}
{"text": ""that his love had increased tenfold—that there was no stronger love, in","}
{"text": ""fact, than the love that follows reconciliation. The stronger and longer","}
{"text": ""the disagreement, he told Guillaume, the sweeter the feeling that comes","}
{"text": ""with peace and rapprochement.","}
{"text": ""As a troubadour, Sir Guillaume prided himself on experiencing all the","}
{"text": ""joys and sorrows of love. On hearing his friend’s talk, he too wanted","}
{"text": ""know the bliss of reconciliation after a quarrel. He therefore feigned","}
{"text": ""great anger with Lady Guillelma, stopped sending her love letters, and","}
{"text": ""abruptly left the castle and stayed away, even during the festivals and","}
{"text": ""hunts. This drove the young lady wild.","}
{"text": ""Guillelma sent messengers to Guillaume to find out what had","}
{"text": ""happened, but he turned the messengers away. He thought all this would","}
{"text": ""make her angry, forcing him to plead for reconciliation as Pierre had.","}
{"text": ""Instead, however, his absence had the opposite effect: It made Guillelma","}
{"text": ""love him all the more. Now the lady pursued her knight, sending","}
{"text": ""messengers and love notes of her own. This was almost unheard of—a","}
{"text": ""lady never pursued her troubadour. And Guillaume did not like it.","}
{"text": ""Guillelma’s forwardness made him feel she had lost some of her dignity.","}
{"text": ""Not only was he no longer sure of his plan, he was no longer sure of his","}
{"text": ""lady.","}
{"text": ""Finally, after several months of not hearing from Guillaume,","}
{"text": ""Guillelma gave up. She sent him no more messengers, and he began to","}
{"text": ""wonder—perhaps she was angry? Perhaps the plan had worked after all?","}
{"text": ""So much the better if she was. He would wait no more—it was time to","}
{"text": ""reconcile. So he put on his best robe, decked the horse in its fanciest","}
{"text": ""caparison, chose a magnificent helmet, and rode off to Javiac.On hearing that her beloved had returned, Guillelma rushed to see","}
{"text": ""him, knelt before him, dropped her veil to kiss him, and begged","}
{"text": ""forgiveness for whatever slight had caused his anger. Imagine his","}
{"text": ""confusion and despair—his plan had failed abysmally. She was not","}
{"text": ""angry, she had never been angry, she was only deeper in love, and he","}
{"text": ""would never experience the joy of reconciliation after a quarrel. Seeing","}
{"text": ""her now, and still desperate to taste that joy, he decided to try one more","}
{"text": ""time: He drove her away with harsh words and threatening gestures. She","}
{"text": ""left, this time vowing never to see him again.","}
{"text": ""The next morning the troubadour regretted what he had done. He rode","}
{"text": ""back to Javiac, but the lady would not receive him, and ordered her","}
{"text": ""servants to chase him away, across the drawbridge and over the hill.","}
{"text": ""Guillaume fled. Back in his chamber he collapsed and started to cry: He","}
{"text": ""had made a terrible mistake. Over the next year, unable to see his lady,","}
{"text": ""he experienced the absence, the terrible absence, that can only inflame","}
{"text": ""love. He wrote one of his most beautiful poems, “My song ascends for","}
{"text": ""mercy praying.” And he sent many letters to Guillelma, explaining what","}
{"text": ""he had done, and begging forgiveness.","}
{"text": ""After a great deal of this, Lady Guillelma, remembering his beautiful","}
{"text": ""songs, his handsome figure, and his skills in dancing and falconry, found","}
{"text": ""herself yearning to have him back. As penance for his cruelty, she","}
{"text": ""ordered him to remove the nail from the little finger of his right hand,","}
{"text": ""and to send it to her along with a poem describing his miseries.","}
{"text": ""He did as she asked. Finally Guillaume de Balaun was able to taste the","}
{"text": ""ultimate sensation—a reconciliation even surpassing that of his friend","}
{"text": ""Pierre.","}
{"text": ""IIII MROSON IIII. COCK","}
{"text": ""While serving under the Duke Ai of Lu, T‘ien Jao, resenting his obscure","}
{"text": ""position, said to his master, “I am going to wander far away like a snow","}
{"text": ""goose. ” “What do you mean by that?” inquired the Duke. “Do you see","}
{"text": ""the cock?” said T’ien Jao in reply. “Its crest is a symbol of civility; its","}
{"text": ""powerful talons suggest strength; its daring to fight any enemy denotes","}
{"text": ""courage; its instinct to invite others whenever food is obtained shows","}
{"text": ""benevolence; and, last but not least, its punctuality in keeping the time","}
{"text": ""through the night gives us an example of veracity. In spite. however, of","}
{"text": ""these five virtues, the cock is daily killed to fill a dish on your table.","}
{"text": ""Why? I’he reason is that it is found within our reach. On the other hand,","}
{"text": ""the snow goose traverses in one flight a thousand li. Resting in yourgarden, it preys on your fishes and turtles and pecks your millet. Though","}
{"text": ""devoid of any of the cock’s five virtues, yet you prize this bird for the","}
{"text": ""sake of its scarcity. This being so, I shall fly far like a snow goose.”","}
{"text": ""ANCIENT CHINESE PARABLES, YU HSIU SEN, ED., 1974","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Trying to discover the joys of reconciliation, Guillaume de Balaun","}
{"text": ""inadvertently experienced the truth of the law of absence and presence.","}
{"text": ""At the start of an affair, you need to heighten your presence in the eyes of","}
{"text": ""the other. If you absent yourself too early, you may be forgotten. But","}
{"text": ""once your lover’s emotions are engaged, and the feeling of love has","}
{"text": ""crystallized, absence inflames and excites. Giving no reason for your","}
{"text": ""absence excites even more: The other person assumes he or she is at","}
{"text": ""fault. While you are away, the lover’s imagination takes flight, and a","}
{"text": ""stimulated imagination cannot help but make love grow stronger.","}
{"text": ""Conversely, the more Guillelma pursued Guillaume, the less he loved her","}
{"text": ""—she had become too present, too accessible, leaving no room for his","}
{"text": ""imagination and fancy, so that his feelings were suffocating. When she","}
{"text": ""finally stopped sending messengers, he was able to breathe again, and to","}
{"text": ""return to his plan.","}
{"text": ""What withdraws, what becomes scarce, suddenly seems to deserve our","}
{"text": ""respect and honor. What stays too long, inundating us with its presence,","}
{"text": ""makes us disdain it. In the Middle Ages, ladies were constantly putting","}
{"text": ""their knights through trials of love, sending them on some long and","}
{"text": ""arduous quest—all to create a pattern of absence and presence. Indeed,","}
{"text": ""had Guillaume not left his lady in the first place, she might have been","}
{"text": ""forced to send him away, creating an absence of her own.","}
{"text": ""Absence diminishes minor passions and inflames great ones,","}
{"text": ""as the wind douses a candle and fans a fire.","}
{"text": ""La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""For many centuries the Assyrians ruled upper Asia with an iron fist. In","}
{"text": ""the eighth century B.C., however, the people of Medea (nownorthwestern Iran) revolted against them, and finally broke free. Now the","}
{"text": ""Medes had to establish a new government. Determined to avoid any form","}
{"text": ""of despotism, they refused to give ultimate power to any one man, or to","}
{"text": ""establish a monarchy. Without a leader, however, the country soon fell","}
{"text": ""into chaos, and fractured into small kingdoms, with village fighting","}
{"text": ""against village.","}
{"text": ""In one such village lived a man named Deioces, who began to make a","}
{"text": ""name for himself for fair dealing and the ability to settle disputes.","}
{"text": ""He did this so successfully, in fact, that soon any legal conflict in the","}
{"text": ""area was brought to him, and his power increased. Throughout the land,","}
{"text": ""the law had fallen into disrepute—the judges were corrupt, and no one","}
{"text": ""entrusted their cases to the courts any more, resorting to violence instead.","}
{"text": ""When news spread of Deioces’ wisdom, incorruptibility, and unshakable","}
{"text": ""impartiality, Medean villages far and wide turned to him to settle all","}
{"text": ""manner of cases. Soon he became the sole arbiter of justice in the land.","}
{"text": ""At the height of his power, Deioces suddenly decided he had had","}
{"text": ""enough. He would no longer sit in the chair of judgment, would hear no","}
{"text": ""more suits, settle no more disputes between brother and brother, village","}
{"text": ""and village. Complaining that he was spending so much time dealing","}
{"text": ""with other people’s problems that he had neglected his own affairs, he","}
{"text": ""retired. The country once again descended into chaos. With the sudden","}
{"text": ""withdrawal of a powerful arbiter like Deioces, crime increased, and","}
{"text": ""contempt for the law was never greater. The Medes held a meeting of all","}
{"text": ""the villages to decide how to get out of their predicament. “We cannot","}
{"text": ""continue to live in this country under these conditions,” said one tribal","}
{"text": ""leader. “Let us appoint one of our number to rule so that we can live","}
{"text": ""under orderly government, rather than losing our homes altogether in the","}
{"text": ""present chaos.”","}
{"text": ""And so, despite all that the Medes had suffered under the Assyrian","}
{"text": ""despotism, they decided to set up a monarchy and name a king. And the","}
{"text": ""man they most wanted to rule, of course, was the fair-minded Deioces.","}
{"text": ""He was hard to convince, for he wanted nothing more to do with the","}
{"text": ""villages’ in-fighting and bickering, but the Medes begged and pleaded—","}
{"text": ""without him the country had descended into a state of lawlessness.","}
{"text": ""Deioces finally agreed.","}
{"text": ""Yet he also imposed conditions. An enormous palace was to be","}
{"text": ""constructed for him, he was to be provided with bodyguards, and a","}
{"text": ""capital city was to be built from which he could rule. All of this was","}
{"text": ""done, and Deioces settled into his palace. In the center of the capital, the","}
{"text": ""palace was surrounded by walls, and completely inaccessible to ordinarypeople. Deioces then established the terms of his rule: Admission to his","}
{"text": ""presence was forbidden. Communication with the king was only possible","}
{"text": ""through messengers. No one in the royal court could see him more than","}
{"text": ""once a week, and then only by permission.","}
{"text": ""Deioces ruled for fifty-three years, extended the Medean empire, and","}
{"text": ""established the foundation for what would later be the Persian empire,","}
{"text": ""under his great-great-grandson Cyrus. During Deioces’ reign, the","}
{"text": ""people’s respect for him gradually turned into a form of worship: He was","}
{"text": ""not a mere mortal, they believed, but the son of a god.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Deioces was a man of great ambition. He determined early on that the","}
{"text": ""country needed a strong ruler, and that he was the man for the job.","}
{"text": ""In a land plagued with anarchy, the most powerful man is the judge","}
{"text": ""and arbiter. So Deioces began his career by making his reputation as a","}
{"text": ""man of impeccable fairness.","}
{"text": ""At the height of his power as a judge, however, Deioces realized the","}
{"text": ""truth of the law of absence and presence: By serving so many clients, he","}
{"text": ""had become too noticeable, too available, and had lost the respect he had","}
{"text": ""earlier enjoyed. People were taking his services for granted. The only","}
{"text": ""way to regain the veneration and power he wanted was to withdraw","}
{"text": ""completely, and let the Medes taste what life was like without him. As he","}
{"text": ""expected, they came begging for him to rule.","}
{"text": ""Once Deioces had discovered the truth of this law, he carried it to its","}
{"text": ""ultimate realization. In the palace his people had built for him, none","}
{"text": ""could see him except a few courtiers, and those only rarely. As","}
{"text": ""Herodotus wrote, “There was a risk that if they saw him habitually, it","}
{"text": ""might lead to jealousy and resentment, and plots would follow; but if","}
{"text": ""nobody saw him, the legend would grow that he was a being of a","}
{"text": ""different order from mere men.”","}
{"text": ""A man said to a Dervish: “Why do I not see you more often?” The","}
{"text": ""Dervish","}
{"text": ""replied, “Because the words ‘Why have you not been to see me?’ are","}
{"text": ""sweeter to my ear than the words ‘Why have you come again?”’","}
{"text": ""Mulla jami, quoted in ldries Shah’s Caravan of Dreams, 1968KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Everything in the world depends on absence and presence. A strong","}
{"text": ""presence will draw power and attention to you—you shine more brightly","}
{"text": ""than those around you. But a point is inevitably reached where too much","}
{"text": ""presence creates the opposite effect: The more you are seen and heard","}
{"text": ""from, the more your value degrades. You become a habit. No matter how","}
{"text": ""hard you try to be different, subtly, without your knowing why, people","}
{"text": ""respect you less and less. At the right moment you must learn to","}
{"text": ""withdraw yourself before they unconsciously push you away. It is a game","}
{"text": ""of hide-and-seek.","}
{"text": ""The truth of this law can most easily be appreciated in matters of love","}
{"text": ""and seduction. In the beginning stages of an affair, the lover’s absence","}
{"text": ""stimulates your imagination, forming a sort of aura around him or her.","}
{"text": ""But this aura fades when you know too much—when your imagination","}
{"text": ""no longer has room to roam. The loved one becomes a person like","}
{"text": ""anyone else, a person whose presence is taken for granted. This is why","}
{"text": ""the seventeenth-century French courtesan Ninon de Lenclos advised","}
{"text": ""constant feints at withdrawal from one’s lover. “Love never dies of","}
{"text": ""starvation,” she wrote, “but often of indigestion.”","}
{"text": ""The moment you allow yourself to be treated like anyone else, it is too","}
{"text": ""late—you are swallowed and digested. To prevent this you need to starve","}
{"text": ""the other person of your presence. Force their respect by threatening","}
{"text": ""them with the possibility that they will lose you for good; create a pattern","}
{"text": ""of presence and absence.","}
{"text": ""Once you die, everything about you will seem different. You will be","}
{"text": ""surrounded by an instant aura of respect. People will remember their","}
{"text": ""criticisms of you, their arguments with you, and will be filled with regret","}
{"text": ""and guilt. They are missing a presence that will never return. But you do","}
{"text": ""not have to wait until you die: By completely withdrawing for a while,","}
{"text": ""you create a kind of death before death. And when you come back, it will","}
{"text": ""be as if you had come back from the dead—an air of resurrection will","}
{"text": ""cling to you, and people will be relieved at your return. This is how","}
{"text": ""Deioces made himself king.","}
{"text": ""Napoleon was recognizing the law of absence and presence when he","}
{"text": ""said, “If I am often seen at the theater, people will cease to notice me.”","}
{"text": ""Today, in a world inundated with presence through the flood of images,","}
{"text": ""the game of withdrawal is all the more powerful. We rarely know when","}
{"text": ""to withdraw anymore, and nothing seems private, so we are awed byanyone who is able to disappear by choice. Novelists J. D. Salinger and","}
{"text": ""Thomas Pynchon have created cultlike followings by knowing when to","}
{"text": ""disappear.","}
{"text": ""Another, more everyday side of this law, but one that demonstrates its","}
{"text": ""truth even further, is the law of scarcity in the science of economics. By","}
{"text": ""withdrawing something from the market, you create instant value. In","}
{"text": ""seventeenth-century Holland, the upper classes wanted to make the tulip","}
{"text": ""more than just a beautiful flower—they wanted it to be a kind of status","}
{"text": ""symbol. Making the flower scarce, indeed almost impossible to obtain,","}
{"text": ""they sparked what was later called tulipomania. A single flower was now","}
{"text": ""worth more than its weight in gold. In our own century, similarly, the art","}
{"text": ""dealer Joseph Duveen insisted on making the paintings he sold as scarce","}
{"text": ""and rare as possible. To keep their prices elevated and their status high,","}
{"text": ""he bought up whole collections and stored them in his basement. The","}
{"text": ""paintings that he sold became more than just paintings—they were fetish","}
{"text": ""objects, their value increased by their rarity. “You can get all the pictures","}
{"text": ""you want at fifty thousand dollars apiece—that’s easy,” he once said.","}
{"text": ""“But to get pictures at a quarter of a million apiece—that wants doing!”","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Sun. It can only be","}
{"text": ""appreciated by its absence.","}
{"text": ""The longer the days of rain, the","}
{"text": ""more the sun is craved. But too many","}
{"text": ""hot days and the sun overwhelms.","}
{"text": ""Learn to keep yourself obscure and","}
{"text": ""make people demand your return.","}
{"text": ""Extend the law of scarcity to your own skills. Make what you are","}
{"text": ""offering the world rare and hard to find, and you instantly increase its","}
{"text": ""value.","}
{"text": ""There always comes a moment when those in power overstay their","}
{"text": ""welcome. We have grown tired of them, lost respect for them; we see","}
{"text": ""them as no different from the rest of mankind, which is to say that we see","}
{"text": ""them as rather worse, since we inevitably compare their current status in","}
{"text": ""our eyes to their former one. There is an art to knowing when to retire. If","}
{"text": ""it is done right, you regain the respect you had lost, and retain a part of","}
{"text": ""your power.","}
{"text": ""The greatest ruler of the sixteenth century was Charles V. King of","}
{"text": ""Spain, Hapsburg emperor, he governed an empire that at one point","}
{"text": ""included much of Europe and the New World. Yet at the height of hispower, in 1557, he retired to the monastery of Yuste. All of Europe was","}
{"text": ""captivated by his sudden withdrawal; people who had hated and feared","}
{"text": ""him suddenly called him great, and he came to be seen as a saint. In","}
{"text": ""more recent times, the film actress Greta Garbo was never more admired","}
{"text": ""than when she retired, in 1941. For some her absence came too soon—","}
{"text": ""she was in her mid-thirties—but she wisely preferred to leave on her own","}
{"text": ""terms, rather than waiting for her audience to grow tired of her.","}
{"text": ""Make yourself too available and the aura of power you have created","}
{"text": ""around yourself will wear away. Turn the game around: Make yourself","}
{"text": ""less accessible and you increase the value of your presence.","}
{"text": ""Authority:","}
{"text": ""Use absence to create","}
{"text": ""respect and esteem. If presence","}
{"text": ""diminishes fame, absence augments it.","}
{"text": ""A man who when absent is regarded as a","}
{"text": ""lion becomes when present something com","}
{"text": ""mon and ridiculous. Talents lose their luster","}
{"text": ""if we become too familiar with them, for the","}
{"text": ""outer shell of the mind is more readily seen","}
{"text": ""than its rich inner kernel. Even the outstand","}
{"text": ""ing genius makes use of retirement so that","}
{"text": ""men may honor him and so that the","}
{"text": ""yearning aroused by his absence","}
{"text": ""may cause him to be esteemed.","}
{"text": ""(Baltasar Gracián,","}
{"text": ""1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""This law only applies once a certain level of power has been attained.","}
{"text": ""The need to withdraw only comes after you have established your","}
{"text": ""presence; leave too early and you do not increase your respect, you are","}
{"text": ""simply forgotten. When you are first entering onto the world’s stage,","}
{"text": ""create an image that is recognizable, reproducible, and is seen","}
{"text": ""everywhere. Until that status is attained, absence is dangerous—instead","}
{"text": ""of fanning the flames, it will extinguish them.In love and seduction, similarly, absence is only effective once you","}
{"text": ""have surrounded the other with your image, been seen by him or her","}
{"text": ""everywhere. Everything must remind your lover of your presence, so that","}
{"text": ""when you do choose to be away, the lover will always be thinking of","}
{"text": ""you, will always be seeing you in his or her mind’s eye.","}
{"text": ""Remember: In the beginning, make yourself not scarce but","}
{"text": ""omnipresent. Only what is seen, appreciated, and loved will be missed in","}
{"text": ""its absence.LAW 17","}
{"text": ""KEEP OTHERS IN SUSPENDED TERROR:","}
{"text": ""CULTIVATE AN AIR OF UNPREDICTABILITY","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity","}
{"text": ""in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of","}
{"text": ""control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that","}
{"text": ""seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and","}
{"text": ""they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an","}
{"text": ""extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In May of 1972, chess champion Boris Spassky anxiously awaited his","}
{"text": ""rival Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik, Iceland. The two men had been","}
{"text": ""scheduled to meet for the World Championship of Chess, but Fischer had","}
{"text": ""not arrived on time and the match was on hold. Fischer had problems","}
{"text": ""with the size of the prize money, problems with the way the money was","}
{"text": ""to be distributed, problems with the logistics of holding the match in","}
{"text": ""Iceland. He might back out at any moment.","}
{"text": ""Spassky tried to be patient. His Russian bosses felt that Fischer was","}
{"text": ""humiliating him and told him to walk away, but Spassky wanted this","}
{"text": ""match. He knew he could destroy Fischer, and nothing was going to spoil","}
{"text": ""the greatest victory of his career. “So it seems that all our work may","}
{"text": ""come to nothing,” Spassky told a comrade. “But what can we do? It is","}
{"text": ""Bobby’s move. If he comes, we play. If he does not come, we do not","}
{"text": ""play. A man who is willing to commit suicide has the initiative.”Fischer finally arrived in Reykjavik, but the problems, and the threat","}
{"text": ""of cancellation, continued. He disliked the hall where the match was to","}
{"text": ""be fought, he criticized the lighting, he complained about the noise of the","}
{"text": ""cameras, he even hated the chairs in which he and Spassky were to sit.","}
{"text": ""Now the Soviet Union took the initiative and threatened to withdraw","}
{"text": ""their man.","}
{"text": ""The bluff apparently worked: After all the weeks of waiting, the","}
{"text": ""endless and infuriating negotiations, Fischer agreed to play. Everyone","}
{"text": ""was relieved, no one more than Spassky. But on the day of the official","}
{"text": ""introductions, Fischer arrived very late, and on the day when the “Match","}
{"text": ""of the Century” was to begin, he was late again. This time, however, the","}
{"text": ""consequences would be dire: If he showed up too late he would forfeit","}
{"text": ""the first game. What was going on? Was he playing some sort of mind","}
{"text": ""game? Or was Bobby Fischer perhaps afraid of Boris Spassky? It seemed","}
{"text": ""to the assembled grand masters, and to Spassky, that this young kid from","}
{"text": ""Brooklyn had a terrible case of the jitters. At 5:09 Fischer showed up,","}
{"text": ""exactly one minute before the match was to be canceled.","}
{"text": ""The first game of a chess tournament is critical, since it sets the tone","}
{"text": ""for the months to come. It is often a slow and quiet struggle, with the two","}
{"text": ""players preparing themselves for the war and trying to read each other’s","}
{"text": ""strategies. This game was different. Fischer made a terrible move early","}
{"text": ""on, perhaps the worst of his career, and when Spassky had him on the","}
{"text": ""ropes, he seemed to give up. Yet Spassky knew that Fischer never gave","}
{"text": ""up. Even when facing checkmate, he fought to the bitter end, wearing the","}
{"text": ""opponent down. This time, though, he seemed resigned. Then suddenly","}
{"text": ""he broke out a bold move that put the room in a buzz. The move shocked","}
{"text": ""Spassky, but he recovered and managed to win the game. But no one","}
{"text": ""could figure out what Fischer was up to. Had he lost deliberately? Or","}
{"text": ""was he rattled? Unsettled? Even, as some thought, insane?","}
{"text": ""After his defeat in the first game, Fischer complained all the more","}
{"text": ""loudly about the room, the cameras, and everything else. He also failed","}
{"text": ""to show up on time for the second game. This time the organizers had","}
{"text": ""had enough: He was given a forfeit. Now he was down two games to","}
{"text": ""none, a position from which no one had ever come back to win a chess","}
{"text": ""championship. Fischer was clearly unhinged. Yet in the third game, as all","}
{"text": ""those who witnessed it remember, he had a ferocious look in his eye, a","}
{"text": ""look that clearly bothered Spassky. And despite the hole he had dug for","}
{"text": ""himself, he seemed supremely confident. He did make what appeared to","}
{"text": ""be another blunder, as he had in the first game—but his cocky air made","}
{"text": ""Spassky smell a trap. Yet despite the Russian’s suspicions, he could notfigure out the trap, and before he knew it Fischer had checkmated him.","}
{"text": ""In fact Fischer’s unorthodox tactics had completely unnerved his","}
{"text": ""opponent. At the end of the game, Fischer leaped up and rushed out,","}
{"text": ""yelling to his confederates as he smashed a fist into his palm, “I’m","}
{"text": ""crushing him with brute force!”","}
{"text": ""In the next games Fischer pulled moves that no one had seen from him","}
{"text": ""before, moves that were not his style. Now Spassky started to make","}
{"text": ""blunders. After losing the sixth game, he started to cry. One grand master","}
{"text": ""said, “After this, Spassky’s got to ask himself if it’s safe to go back to","}
{"text": ""Russia.” After the eighth game Spassky decided he knew what was","}
{"text": ""happening: Bobby Fischer was hypnotizing him. He decided not to look","}
{"text": ""Fischer in the eye; he lost anyway.","}
{"text": ""After the fourteenth game he called a staff conference and announced,","}
{"text": ""“An attempt is being made to control my mind.” He wondered whether","}
{"text": ""the orange juice they drank at the chess table could have been drugged.","}
{"text": ""Maybe chemicals were being blown into the air. Finally Spassky went","}
{"text": ""public, accusing the Fischer team of putting something in the chairs that","}
{"text": ""was altering Spassky’s mind. The KGB went on alert: Boris Spassky was","}
{"text": ""embarrassing the Soviet Union!","}
{"text": ""The chairs were taken apart and X-rayed. A chemist found nothing","}
{"text": ""unusual in them. The only things anyone found anywhere, in fact, were","}
{"text": ""two dead flies in a lighting fixture. Spassky began to complain of","}
{"text": ""hallucinations. He tried to keep playing, but his mind was unraveling. He","}
{"text": ""could not go on. On September 2, he resigned. Although still relatively","}
{"text": ""young, he never recovered from this defeat.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In previous games between Fischer and Spassky, Fischer had not fared","}
{"text": ""well. Spassky had an uncanny ability to read his opponent’s strategy and","}
{"text": ""use it against him. Adaptable and patient, he would build attacks that","}
{"text": ""would defeat not in seven moves but in seventy. He defeated Fischer","}
{"text": ""every time they played because he saw much further ahead, and because","}
{"text": ""he was a brilliant psychologist who never lost control. One master said,","}
{"text": ""“He doesn’t just look for the best move. He looks for the move that will","}
{"text": ""disturb the man he is playing.”","}
{"text": ""Fischer, however, finally understood that this was one of the keys to","}
{"text": ""Spassky’s success: He played on your predictability, defeated you at your","}
{"text": ""own game. Everything Fischer did for the championship match was anattempt to put the initiative on his side and to keep Spassky off-balance.","}
{"text": ""Clearly the endless waiting had an effect on Spassky’s psyche. Most","}
{"text": ""powerful of all, though, were Fischer’s deliberate blunders and his","}
{"text": ""appearance of having no clear strategy. In fact, he was doing everything","}
{"text": ""he could to scramble his old patterns, even if it meant losing the first","}
{"text": ""match and forfeiting the second.","}
{"text": ""Spassky was known for his sangfroid and levelheadedness, but for the","}
{"text": ""first time in his life he could not figure out his opponent. He slowly","}
{"text": ""melted down, until at the end he was the one who seemed insane.","}
{"text": ""Chess contains the concentrated essence of life: First, because to win","}
{"text": ""you have to be supremely patient and farseeing; and second, because the","}
{"text": ""game is built on patterns, whole sequences of moves that have been","}
{"text": ""played before and will be played again, with slight alterations, in any one","}
{"text": ""match. Your opponent analyzes the patterns you are playing and uses","}
{"text": ""them to try to foresee your moves. Allowing him nothing predictable to","}
{"text": ""base his strategy on gives you a big advantage. In chess as in life, when","}
{"text": ""people cannot figure out what you are doing, they are kept in a state of","}
{"text": ""terror—waiting, uncertain, confused.","}
{"text": ""Life at court is a serious, melancholy game of chess, which requires us to","}
{"text": ""draw","}
{"text": ""up our pieces and batteries, form a plan, pursue it, parry that of our","}
{"text": ""adversary. Sometimes, however, it is better to take risks","}
{"text": ""and play the most capricious, unpredictable move.","}
{"text": ""Jean de La Bruyère, 1645-1696","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Nothing is more terrifying than the sudden and unpredictable. That is","}
{"text": ""why we are so frightened by earthquakes and tornadoes: We do not know","}
{"text": ""when they will strike. After one has occurred, we wait in terror for the","}
{"text": ""next one. To a lesser degree, this is the effect that unpredictable human","}
{"text": ""behavior has on us.","}
{"text": ""Animals behave in set patterns, which is why we are able to hunt and","}
{"text": ""kill them. Only man has the capacity to consciously alter his behavior, to","}
{"text": ""improvise and overcome the weight of routine and habit. Yet most men","}
{"text": ""do not realize this power. They prefer the comforts of routine, of giving","}
{"text": ""in to the animal nature that has them repeating the same compulsiveactions time and time again. They do this because it requires no effort,","}
{"text": ""and because they mistakenly believé that if they do not unsettle others,","}
{"text": ""they will be left alone. Understand: A person of power instills a kind of","}
{"text": ""fear by deliberately unsettling those around him to keep the initiative on","}
{"text": ""his side. You sometimes need to strike without warning, to make others","}
{"text": ""tremble when they least expect it. It is a device that the powerful have","}
{"text": ""used for centuries.","}
{"text": ""Filippo Maria, the last of the Visconti dukes of Milan in fifteenth-","}
{"text": ""century Italy, consciously did the opposite of what everyone expected of","}
{"text": ""him. For instance, he might suddenly shower a courtier with attention,","}
{"text": ""and then, once the man had come to expect a promotion to higher office,","}
{"text": ""would suddenly start treating him with the utmost disdain. Confused, the","}
{"text": ""man might leave the court, when the duke would suddenly recall him and","}
{"text": ""start treating him well again. Doubly confused, the courtier would","}
{"text": ""wonder whether his assumption that he would be promoted had become","}
{"text": ""obvious, and offensive, to the duke, and would start to behave as if he no","}
{"text": ""longer expected such honor. The duke would rebuke him for his lack of","}
{"text": ""ambition and would send him away.","}
{"text": ""The secret of dealing with Filippo was simple: Do not presume to","}
{"text": ""know what he wants. Do not try to guess what will please him. Never","}
{"text": ""inject your will; just surrender to his will. Then wait to see what happens.","}
{"text": ""Amidst the confusion and uncertainty he created, the duke ruled","}
{"text": ""supreme, unchallenged and at peace.","}
{"text": ""Unpredictability is most often the tactic of the master, but the","}
{"text": ""underdog too can use it to great effect. If you find yourself outnumbered","}
{"text": ""or cornered, throw in a series of unpredictable moves. Your enemies will","}
{"text": ""be so confused that they will pull back or make a tactical blunder.","}
{"text": ""In the spring of 1862, during the American Civil War, General","}
{"text": ""Stonewall Jackson and a force of 4,600 Confederate soldiers were","}
{"text": ""tormenting the larger Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley.","}
{"text": ""Meanwhile, not far away, General George Brinton McClellan, heading a","}
{"text": ""force of 90,000 Union soldiers, was marching south from Washington,","}
{"text": ""D.C., to lay siege to Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. As the","}
{"text": ""weeks of the campaign went by, Jackson repeatedly led his soldiers out","}
{"text": ""of the Shenandoah Valley, then back to it.","}
{"text": ""His movements made no sense. Was he preparing to help defend","}
{"text": ""Richmond? Was he marching on Washington, now that McClellan’s","}
{"text": ""absence had left it unprotected? Was he heading north to wreak havoc up","}
{"text": ""there? Why was his small force moving in circles?Jackson’s inexplicable moves made the Union generals delay the","}
{"text": ""march on Richmond as they waited to figure out what he was up to.","}
{"text": ""Meanwhile, the South was able to pour reinforcements into the town. A","}
{"text": ""battle that could have crushed the Confederacy turned into a stalemate.","}
{"text": ""Jackson used this tactic time and again when facing numerically superior","}
{"text": ""forces. “Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible,”","}
{"text": ""he said, “… such tactics will win every time and a small army may thus","}
{"text": ""destroy a large one.”","}
{"text": ""This law applies not only to war but to everyday situations. People are","}
{"text": ""always trying to read the motives behind your actions and to use your","}
{"text": ""predictability against you. Throw in a completely inexplicable move and","}
{"text": ""you put them on the defensive. Because they do not understand you, they","}
{"text": ""are unnerved, and in such a state you can easily intimidate them.","}
{"text": ""Pablo Picasso once remarked, “The best calculation is the absence of","}
{"text": ""calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others","}
{"text": ""generally figure that when you do something, it’s for an intelligent","}
{"text": ""reason. So it’s really foolish to plot out your movements too carefully in","}
{"text": ""advance. You’re better off acting capriciously.”","}
{"text": ""For a while, Picasso worked with the art dealer Paul Rosenberg. At","}
{"text": ""first he allowed him a fair amount of latitude in handling his paintings,","}
{"text": ""then one day, for no apparent reason, he told the man he would no longer","}
{"text": ""give him any work to sell. As Picasso explained, “Rosenberg would","}
{"text": ""spend the next forty-eight hours trying to figure out why. Was I reserving","}
{"text": ""things for some other dealer? I’d go on working and sleeping and","}
{"text": ""Rosenberg would spend his time figuring. In two days he’d come back,","}
{"text": ""nerves jangled, anxious, saying, ‘After all, dear friend, you wouldn’t turn","}
{"text": ""me down if I offered you this much [naming a substantially higher","}
{"text": ""figure] for those paintings rather than the price I’ve been accustomed to","}
{"text": ""paying you, would you?”’","}
{"text": ""Unpredictability is not only a weapon of terror: Scrambling your","}
{"text": ""patterns on a day-to-day basis will cause a stir around you and stimulate","}
{"text": ""interest. People will talk about you, ascribe motives and explanations","}
{"text": ""that have nothing to do with the truth, but that keep you constantly in","}
{"text": ""their minds. In the end, the more capricious you appear, the more respect","}
{"text": ""you will garner. Only the terminally subordinate act in a predictable","}
{"text": ""manner.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Cyclone. A","}
{"text": ""wind that cannot be fore","}
{"text": ""seen. Sudden shifts in","}
{"text": ""the barometer, inexplicable changes","}
{"text": ""in direction and","}
{"text": ""velocity. There is","}
{"text": ""no defense: A","}
{"text": ""cyclone sows","}
{"text": ""terror and","}
{"text": ""confusion.","}
{"text": ""Authority: The enlightened ruler is so mysterious that he seems to dwell","}
{"text": ""nowhere, so inexplicable that no one can seek him. He reposes in","}
{"text": ""nonaction above, and his ministers tremble below. (Han-fei-tzu, Chinese","}
{"text": ""philosopher, third century B.C.)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Sometimes predictability can work in your favor: By creating a pattern","}
{"text": ""for people to be familiar and comfortable with, you can lull them to","}
{"text": ""sleep. They have prepared everything according to their preconceived","}
{"text": ""notions about you. You can use this in several ways: First, it sets up a","}
{"text": ""smoke screen, a comfortable front behind which you can carry on","}
{"text": ""deceptive actions. Second, it allows you on rare occasions to do","}
{"text": ""something completely against the pattern, unsettling your opponent so","}
{"text": ""deeply he will fall to the ground without being pushed.","}
{"text": ""In 1974 Muhammad Ali and George Foreman were scheduled to fight","}
{"text": ""for the world heavyweight boxing championship. Everyone knew what","}
{"text": ""would happen: Big George Foreman would try to land a knockout punch","}
{"text": ""while Ali would dance around him, wearing him out. That was Ali’s way","}
{"text": ""of fighting, his pattern, and he had not changed it in more than ten years.","}
{"text": ""But in this case it seemed to give Foreman the advantage: He had a","}
{"text": ""devastating punch, and if he waited, sooner or later Ali would have to","}
{"text": ""come to him. Ali, the master strategist, had other plans: In press","}
{"text": ""conferences before the big fight, he said he was going to change his style","}
{"text": ""and punch it out with Foreman. No one, least of all Foreman, believedthis for a second. That plan would be suicide on Ali’s part; he was","}
{"text": ""playing the comedian, as usual. Then, before the fight, Ali’s trainer","}
{"text": ""loosened the ropes around the ring, something a trainer would do if his","}
{"text": ""boxer were intending to slug it out. But no one believed this ploy; it had","}
{"text": ""to be a setup.","}
{"text": ""To everyone’s amazement, Ali did exactly what he had said he would","}
{"text": ""do. As Foreman waited for him to dance around, Ali went right up to him","}
{"text": ""and slugged it out. He completely upset his opponent’s strategy. At a","}
{"text": ""loss, Foreman ended up wearing himself out, not by chasing Ali but by","}
{"text": ""throwing punches wildly, and taking more and more counterpunches.","}
{"text": ""Finally, Ali landed a dramatic right cross that knocked out Foreman. The","}
{"text": ""habit of assuming that a person’s behavior will fit its previous patterns is","}
{"text": ""so strong that not even Ali’s announcement of a strategy change was","}
{"text": ""enough to upset it. Foreman walked into a trap—the trap he had been","}
{"text": ""told to expect.","}
{"text": ""A warning: Unpredictability can work against you sometimes,","}
{"text": ""especially if you are in a subordinate position. There are times when it is","}
{"text": ""better to let people feel comfortable and settled around you than to","}
{"text": ""disturb them. Too much unpredictability will be seen as a sign of","}
{"text": ""indecisiveness, or even of some more serious psychic problem. Patterns","}
{"text": ""are powerful, and you can terrify people by disrupting them. Such power","}
{"text": ""should only be used judiciously.LAW 18","}
{"text": ""DO NOT BUILD FORTRESSES TO PROTECT","}
{"text": ""YOURSELF—ISOLATION IS DANGEROUS","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere—everyone has to","}
{"text": ""protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you","}
{"text": ""to more dangers than it Protects you from—it cuts you off from valuable","}
{"text": ""information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to","}
{"text": ""circulate among people, find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your","}
{"text": ""enemies by the crowd.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti, the first emperor of China (221-210 B.C.), was the","}
{"text": ""mightiest man of his day. His empire was vaster and more powerful than","}
{"text": ""that of Alexander the Great. He had conquered all of the kingdoms","}
{"text": ""surrounding his own kingdom of Ch’in and unified them into one","}
{"text": ""massive realm called China. But in the last years of his life, few, if","}
{"text": ""anyone, saw him.","}
{"text": ""The emperor lived in the most magnificent palace built to that date, in","}
{"text": ""the capital of Hsien-yang. The palace had 270 pavilions; all of these","}
{"text": ""were connected by secret underground passageways, allowing the","}
{"text": ""emperor to move through the palace without anyone seeing him. He slept","}
{"text": ""in a different room every night, and anyone who inadvertently laid eyes","}
{"text": ""on him was instantly beheaded. Only a handful of men knew his","}
{"text": ""whereabouts, and if they revealed it to anyone, they, too, were put to","}
{"text": ""death.The first emperor had grown so terrified of human contact that when","}
{"text": ""he had to leave the palace he traveled incognito, disguising himself","}
{"text": ""carefully. On one such trip through the provinces, he suddenly died. His","}
{"text": ""body was borne back to the capital in the emperor’s carriage, with a cart","}
{"text": ""packed with salted fish trailing behind it to cover up the smell of the","}
{"text": ""rotting corpse—no one was to know of his death. He died alone, far from","}
{"text": ""his wives, his family, his friends, and his courtiers, accompanied only by","}
{"text": ""a minister and a handful of eunuchs.","}
{"text": ""IIII MASQU I OI IIII. RI.DDI ATH","}
{"text": ""The “Red Death” had long devastated the country. No pestilence had","}
{"text": ""ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatur and its seal—the","}
{"text": ""redness and horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden","}
{"text": ""dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution…. And","}
{"text": ""the whole seizure, progress, and termination of the disease, were the","}
{"text": ""incidents of half an hour. But the Prince Prospero was happy and","}
{"text": ""dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half-depopulated, he","}
{"text": ""summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends","}
{"text": ""from among the knight, and dames of his court, and with these retired to","}
{"text": ""the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. This was an extensive","}
{"text": ""and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince’s own eccentric yet","}
{"text": ""august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of","}
{"text": ""iron. The courtier.s, having entered, brought furnaces and massy","}
{"text": ""hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of","}
{"text": ""ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from","}
{"text": ""within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the","}
{"text": ""courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take","}
{"text": ""care of itself In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. The","}
{"text": ""prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons,","}
{"text": ""there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were","}
{"text": ""musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were","}
{"text": ""within. Without was the “Red Death.” It was toward the close of the fifth","}
{"text": ""or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most","}
{"text": ""furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand","}
{"text": ""friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence. It was a","}
{"text": ""voluptuous scene, that masquerade…. … And the revel went whirlingly","}
{"text": ""on, until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the","}
{"text": ""clock…. And thus too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes","}
{"text": ""of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were manyindividuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the","}
{"text": ""presence of a masked fzgecre which had arrested the attention of no","}
{"text": ""single individual before…. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded","}
{"text": ""from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which","}
{"text": ""concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of","}
{"text": ""a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in","}
{"text": ""detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not","}
{"text": ""approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far","}
{"text": ""as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood","}
{"text": ""—and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was sprinkled","}
{"text": ""with the scarlet horror … … A throng of the revellers at once threw","}
{"text": ""themselves into the black apartment, and, seizing the mummer, whose tall","}
{"text": ""figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock,","}
{"text": ""gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave cerements and corpse-","}
{"text": ""like mask, which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by","}
{"text": ""any tangible form. And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red","}
{"text": ""Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the","}
{"text": ""revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the","}
{"text": ""despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out","}
{"text": ""with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And","}
{"text": ""Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over","}
{"text": ""all.","}
{"text": ""THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEAIH, EDGAR ALLAN POE, 1809-","}
{"text": ""1849","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Shih Huang Ti started off as the king of Ch’in, a fearless warrior of","}
{"text": ""unbridled ambition. Writers of the time described him as a man with “a","}
{"text": ""waspish nose, eyes like slits, the voice of a jackal, and the heart of a tiger","}
{"text": ""or wolf.” He could be merciful sometimes, but more often he","}
{"text": ""“swallowed men up without a scruple.” It was through trickery and","}
{"text": ""violence that he conquered the provinces surrounding his own and","}
{"text": ""created China, forging a single nation and culture out of many. He broke","}
{"text": ""up the feudal system, and to keep an eye on the many members of the","}
{"text": ""royal families that were scattered across the realm’s various kingdoms,","}
{"text": ""he moved 120,000 of them to the capital, where he housed the most","}
{"text": ""important courtiers in the vast palace of Hsien-yang. He consolidated themany walls on the borders and built them into the Great Wall of China.","}
{"text": ""He standardized the country’s laws, its written language, even the size of","}
{"text": ""its cartwheels.","}
{"text": ""As part of this process of unification, however, the first emperor","}
{"text": ""outlawed the writings and teachings of Confucius, the philosopher whose","}
{"text": ""ideas on the moral life had already become virtually a religion in Chinese","}
{"text": ""culture. On Shih Huang Ti’s order, thousands of books relating to","}
{"text": ""Confucius were burned, and anyone who quoted Confucius was to be","}
{"text": ""beheaded. This made many enemies for the emperor, and he grew","}
{"text": ""constantly afraid, even paranoid. The executions mounted. A","}
{"text": ""contemporary, the writer Han-fei-tzu, noted that “Ch’in has been","}
{"text": ""victorious for four generations, yet has lived in constant terror and","}
{"text": ""apprehension of destruction.”","}
{"text": ""As the emperor withdrew deeper and deeper into the palace to protect","}
{"text": ""himself, he slowly lost control of the realm. Eunuchs and ministers","}
{"text": ""enacted political policies without his approval or even his knowledge;","}
{"text": ""they also plotted against him. By the end, he was emperor in name only,","}
{"text": ""and was so isolated that barely anyone knew he had died. He had","}
{"text": ""probably been poisoned by the same scheming ministers who","}
{"text": ""encouraged his isolation.","}
{"text": ""That is what isolation brings: Retreat into a fortress and you lose","}
{"text": ""contact with the sources of your power. You lose your ear for what is","}
{"text": ""happening around you, as well as a sense of proportion. Instead of being","}
{"text": ""safer, you cut yourself off from the kind of knowledge on which your life","}
{"text": ""depends. Never enclose yourself so far from the streets that you cannot","}
{"text": ""hear what is happening around you, including the plots against you.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Louis XIV had the palace of Versailles built for him and his court in the","}
{"text": ""1660s, and it was like no other royal palace in the world. As in a beehive,","}
{"text": ""everything revolved around the royal person. He lived surrounded by the","}
{"text": ""nobility, who were allotted apartments nestled around his, their closeness","}
{"text": ""to him dependent on their rank. The king’s bedroom occupied the literal","}
{"text": ""center of the palace and was the focus of everyone’s attention. Every","}
{"text": ""morning the king was greeted in this room by a ritual known as the lever.At eight A.M., the king’s first valet, who slept at the foot of the royal","}
{"text": ""bed, would awaken His Majesty. Then pages would open the door and","}
{"text": ""admit those who had a function in the lever. The order of their entry was","}
{"text": ""precise: First came the king’s illegitimate sons and his grandchildren,","}
{"text": ""then the princes and princesses of the blood, and then his physician and","}
{"text": ""surgeon. There followed the grand officers of the wardrobe, the king’s","}
{"text": ""official reader, and those in charge of entertaining the king. Next would","}
{"text": ""arrive various government officials, in ascending order of rank. Last but","}
{"text": ""not least came those attending the lever by special invitation. By the end","}
{"text": ""of the ceremony, the room would be packed with well over a hundred","}
{"text": ""royal attendants and visitors.","}
{"text": ""The day was organized so that all the palace’s energy was directed at","}
{"text": ""and passed through the king. Louis was constantly attended by courtiers","}
{"text": ""and officials, all asking for his advice and judgment. To all their","}
{"text": ""questions he usually replied, “I shall see.”","}
{"text": ""As Saint-Simon noted, “If he turned to someone, asked him a","}
{"text": ""question, made an insignificant remark, the eyes of all present were","}
{"text": ""turned on this person. It was a distinction that was talked of and","}
{"text": ""increased prestige.” There was no possibility of privacy in the palace, not","}
{"text": ""even for the king—every room communicated with another, and every","}
{"text": ""hallway led to larger rooms where groups of nobles gathered constantly.","}
{"text": ""Everyone’s actions were interdependent, and nothing and no one passed","}
{"text": ""unnoticed: “The king not only saw to it that all the high nobility was","}
{"text": ""present at his court,” wrote Saint-Simon, “he demanded the same of the","}
{"text": ""minor nobility. At his lever and coucher, at his meals, in his gardens of","}
{"text": ""Versailles, he always looked about him, noticing everything. He was","}
{"text": ""offended if the most distinguished nobles did not live permanently at","}
{"text": ""court, and those who showed themselves never or hardly ever, incurred","}
{"text": ""his full displeasure. If one of these desired something, the king would","}
{"text": ""say proudly: ‘I do not know him,’ and the judgment was irrevocable.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Louis XIV came to power at the end of a terrible civil war, the Fronde. A","}
{"text": ""principal instigator of the war had been the nobility, which deeply","}
{"text": ""resented the growing power of the throne and yearned for the days of","}
{"text": ""feudalism, when the lords ruled their own fiefdoms and the king had","}
{"text": ""little authority over them. The nobles had lost the civil war, but they","}
{"text": ""remained a fractious, resentful lot.The construction of Versailles, then, was far more than the decadent","}
{"text": ""whim of a luxury-loving king. It served a crucial function: The king","}
{"text": ""could keep an eye and an ear on everyone and everything around him.","}
{"text": ""The once proud nobility was reduced to squabbling over the right to help","}
{"text": ""the king put on his robes in the morning. There was no possibility here of","}
{"text": ""privacy—no possibility of isolation. Louis XIV very early grasped the","}
{"text": ""truth that for a king to isolate himself is gravely dangerous. In his","}
{"text": ""absence, conspiracies will spring up like mushrooms after rain,","}
{"text": ""animosities will crystallize into factions, and rebellion will break out","}
{"text": ""before he has the time to react. To combat this, sociability and openness","}
{"text": ""must not only be encouraged, they must be formally organized and","}
{"text": ""channeled.","}
{"text": ""These conditions at Versailles lasted for Louis’s entire reign, some","}
{"text": ""fifty years of relative peace and tranquillity. Through it all, not a pin","}
{"text": ""dropped without Louis hearing it.","}
{"text": ""Solitude is dangerous to reason, without being favorable to virtue….","}
{"text": ""Remember that the solitary mortal is certainly luxurious,","}
{"text": ""probably superstitious, and possibly mad.","}
{"text": ""Dr. Samuel John son, 1709-1784","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Machiavelli makes the argument that in a strictly military sense a fortress","}
{"text": ""is invariably a mistake. It becomes a symbol of power’s isolation, and is","}
{"text": ""an easy target for its builders’ enemies. Designed to defend you,","}
{"text": ""fortresses actually cut you off from help and cut into your flexibility.","}
{"text": ""They may appear impregnable, but once you retire to one, everyone","}
{"text": ""knows where you are; and a siege does not have to succeed to turn your","}
{"text": ""fortress into a prison. With their small and confined spaces, fortresses are","}
{"text": ""also extremely vulnerable to the plague and contagious diseases. In a","}
{"text": ""strategic sense, the isolation of a fortress provides no protection, and","}
{"text": ""actually creates more problems than it solves.","}
{"text": ""Because humans are social creatures by nature, power depends on","}
{"text": ""social interaction and circulation. To make yourself powerful you must","}
{"text": ""place yourself at the center of things, as Louis XIV did at Versailles. All","}
{"text": ""activity should revolve around you, and you should be aware of","}
{"text": ""everything happening on the street, and of anyone who might behatching plots against you. The danger for most people comes when they","}
{"text": ""feel threatened. In such times they tend to retreat and close ranks, to find","}
{"text": ""security in a kind of fortress. In doing so, however, they come to rely for","}
{"text": ""information on a smaller and smaller circle, and lose perspective on","}
{"text": ""events around them. They lose maneuverability and become easy targets,","}
{"text": ""and their isolation makes them paranoid. As in warfare and most games","}
{"text": ""of strategy, isolation often precedes defeat and death.","}
{"text": ""In moments of uncertainty and danger, you need to fight this desire to","}
{"text": ""turn inward. Instead, make yourself more accessible, seek out old allies","}
{"text": ""and make new ones, force yourself into more and more different circles.","}
{"text": ""This has been the trick of powerful people for centuries.","}
{"text": ""The Roman statesman Cicero was born into the lower nobility, and","}
{"text": ""had little chance of power unless he managed to make a place for himself","}
{"text": ""among the aristocrats who controlled the city. He succeeded brilliantly,","}
{"text": ""identifying everyone with influence and figuring out how they were","}
{"text": ""connected to one another. He mingled everywhere, knew everyone, and","}
{"text": ""had such a vast network of connections that an enemy here could easily","}
{"text": ""be counterbalanced by an ally there.","}
{"text": ""The French statesman Talleyrand played the game the same way.","}
{"text": ""Although he came from one of the oldest aristocratic families in France,","}
{"text": ""he made a point of always staying in touch with what was happening in","}
{"text": ""the streets of Paris, allowing him to foresee trends and troubles. He even","}
{"text": ""got a certain pleasure out of mingling with shady criminal types, who","}
{"text": ""supplied him with valuable information. Every time there was a crisis, a","}
{"text": ""transition of power—the end of the Directory, the fall of Napoleon, the","}
{"text": ""abdication of Louis XVIII—he was able to survive and even thrive,","}
{"text": ""because he never closed himself up in a small circle but always forged","}
{"text": ""connections with the new order.","}
{"text": ""This law pertains to kings and queens, and to those of the highest","}
{"text": ""power: The moment you lose contact with your people, seeking security","}
{"text": ""in isolation, rebellion is brewing. Never imagine yourself so elevated that","}
{"text": ""you can afford to cut yourself off from even the lowest echelons. By","}
{"text": ""retreating to a fortress, you make yourself an easy target for your plotting","}
{"text": ""subjects, who view your isolation as an insult and a reason for rebellion.","}
{"text": ""Since humans are such social creatures, it follows that the social arts","}
{"text": ""that make us pleasant to be around can be practiced only by constant","}
{"text": ""exposure and circulation. The more you are in contact with others, the","}
{"text": ""more graceful and at ease you become. Isolation, on the other hand,","}
{"text": ""engenders an awkwardness in your gestures, and leads to further","}
{"text": ""isolation, as people start avoiding you.In 1545 Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici decided that to ensure the","}
{"text": ""immortality of his name he would commission frescoes for the main","}
{"text": ""chapel of the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. He had many great","}
{"text": ""painters to choose from, and in the end he picked Jacopo da Pontormo.","}
{"text": ""Getting on in years, Pontormo wanted to make these frescoes his chef","}
{"text": ""d’oeuvre and legacy. His first decision was to close the chapel off with","}
{"text": ""walls, partitions, and blinds. He wanted no one to witness the creation of","}
{"text": ""his masterpiece, or to steal his ideas. He would outdo Michelangelo","}
{"text": ""himself. When some young men broke into the chapel out of curiosity,","}
{"text": ""Jacopo sealed it off even further.","}
{"text": ""Pontormo filled the chapel’s ceiling with biblical scenes—the","}
{"text": ""Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark, on and on. At the top of the middle","}
{"text": ""wall he painted Christ in his majesty, raising the dead on Judgment Day.","}
{"text": ""The artist worked on the chapel for eleven years, rarely leaving it, since","}
{"text": ""he had developed a phobia for human contact and was afraid his ideas","}
{"text": ""would be stolen.","}
{"text": ""Pontormo died before completing the frescoes, and none of them has","}
{"text": ""survived. But the great Renaissance writer Vasari, a friend of Pontormo’s","}
{"text": ""who saw the frescoes shortly after the artist’s death, left a description of","}
{"text": ""what they looked like. There was a total lack of proportion. Scenes","}
{"text": ""bumped against scenes, figures in one story being juxtaposed with those","}
{"text": ""in another, in maddening numbers. Pontormo had become obsessed with","}
{"text": ""detail but had lost any sense of the overall composition. Vasari left off","}
{"text": ""his description of the frescoes by writing that if he continued, “I think I","}
{"text": ""would go mad and become entangled in this painting, just as I believe","}
{"text": ""that in the eleven years of time Jacopo spent on it, he entangled himself","}
{"text": ""and anyone else who saw it.” Instead of crowning Pontormo’s career, the","}
{"text": ""work became his undoing.","}
{"text": ""These frescoes were visual equivalents of the effects of isolation on","}
{"text": ""the human mind: a loss of proportion, an obsession with detail combined","}
{"text": ""with an inability to see the larger picture, a kind of extravagant ugliness","}
{"text": ""that no longer communicates. Clearly, isolation is as deadly for the","}
{"text": ""creative arts as for the social arts. Shakespeare is the most famous writer","}
{"text": ""in history because, as a dramatist for the popular stage, he opened","}
{"text": ""himself up to the masses, making his work accessible to people no matter","}
{"text": ""what their education and taste. Artists who hole themselves up in their","}
{"text": ""fortress lose a sense of proportion, their work communicating only to","}
{"text": ""their small circle. Such art remains cornered and powerless.","}
{"text": ""Finally, since power is a human creation, it is inevitably increased by","}
{"text": ""contact with other people. Instead of falling into the fortress mentality,view the world in the following manner: It is like a vast Versailles, with","}
{"text": ""every room communicating with another. You need to be permeable, able","}
{"text": ""to float in and out of different circles and mix with different types. That","}
{"text": ""kind of mobility and social contact will protect you from plotters, who","}
{"text": ""will be unable to keep secrets from you, and from your enemies, who","}
{"text": ""will be unable to isolate you from your allies. Always on the move, you","}
{"text": ""mix and mingle in the rooms of the palace, never sitting or settling in one","}
{"text": ""place. No hunter can fix his aim on such a swift-moving creature.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Fortress. High","}
{"text": ""up on the hill, the citadel be","}
{"text": ""comes a symbol of all that is","}
{"text": ""hateful in power and authority.","}
{"text": ""The citizens of the town betray","}
{"text": ""you to the first enemy that comes.","}
{"text": ""Cut off from communication and in","}
{"text": ""telligence, the citadel falls with ease.","}
{"text": ""Authority: A good and wise prince, desirous of maintaining that","}
{"text": ""character, and to avoid giving the opportunity to his sons to become","}
{"text": ""oppressive, will never build fortresses, so that they may place their","}
{"text": ""reliance upon the good will of their subjects, and not upon the strength of","}
{"text": ""citadels. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""It is hardly ever right and propitious to choose isolation. Without keeping","}
{"text": ""an ear on what is happening in the streets, you will be unable to protect","}
{"text": ""yourself. About the only thing that constant human contact cannot","}
{"text": ""facilitate is thought. The weight of society’s pressure to conform, and the","}
{"text": ""lack of distance from other people, can make it impossible to think","}
{"text": ""clearly about what is going on around you. As a temporary recourse,","}
{"text": ""then, isolation can help you to gain perspective. Many a serious thinker","}
{"text": ""has been produced in prisons, where we have nothing to do but think.Machiavelli could write The Prince only once he found himself in exile","}
{"text": ""and isolated on a farm far from the political intrigues of Florence.","}
{"text": ""The danger is, however, that this kind of isolation will sire all kinds of","}
{"text": ""strange and perverted ideas. You may gain perspective on the larger","}
{"text": ""picture, but you lose a sense of your own smallness and limitations.","}
{"text": ""Also, the more isolated you are, the harder it is to break out of your","}
{"text": ""isolation when you choose to—it sinks you deep into its quicksand","}
{"text": ""without your noticing. If you need time to think, then, choose isolation","}
{"text": ""only as a last resort, and only in small doses. Be careful to keep your","}
{"text": ""way back into society open.LAW 19","}
{"text": ""KNOW WHO YOU’RE DEALING WITH—DO","}
{"text": ""NOT OFFEND THE WRONG PERSON","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never","}
{"text": ""assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way.","}
{"text": ""Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of","}
{"text": ""their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose","}
{"text": ""your victims and opponents carefully, then—never of fend or deceive the","}
{"text": ""wrong person.","}
{"text": ""OPPONENTS, SUCKERS, AND VICTIMS: Preliminary Typology In","}
{"text": ""your rise to power you will come across many breeds of opponent,","}
{"text": ""sucker, and victim. The highest form of the art of power is the ability to","}
{"text": ""distinguish the wolves from the lambs, the foxes from the hares, the","}
{"text": ""hawks from the vultures. If you make this distinction well, you will","}
{"text": ""succeed without needing to coerce anyone too much. But if you deal","}
{"text": ""blindly with whomever crosses your path, you will have a life of","}
{"text": ""constant sorrow, if you even live that long. Being able to recognize types","}
{"text": ""of people, and to act accordingly, is critical. The following are the five","}
{"text": ""most dangerous and difficult types of mark in the jungle, as identified by","}
{"text": ""artists—con and otherwise—of the past.","}
{"text": ""When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to","}
{"text": ""one who is not a poet.","}
{"text": ""FROM A CH’AN BUDDHIST CLASSIC, QUOTED IN THUNDER IN","}
{"text": ""THE SKY, TRANSLATED BY THOMAS CLEARY, 1993","}
{"text": ""The Arrogant and Proud Man. Although he may initially disguise it, this","}
{"text": ""man’s touchy pride makes him very dangerous. Any perceived slight will","}
{"text": ""lead to a vengeance of overwhelming violence. You may say to yourself,","}
{"text": ""“But I only said such-and-such at a party, where everyone was drunk….”","}
{"text": ""It does not matter. There is no sanity behind his overreaction, so do notwaste time trying to figure him out. If at any point in your dealings with","}
{"text": ""a person you sense an oversensitive and overactive pride, flee. Whatever","}
{"text": ""you are hoping for from him isn’t worth it.","}
{"text": ""THE REVENCE OF LOPE. DE AGI IRRE","}
{"text": ""[Lope de] Aguirre’s character is amply illustrated in an anecdote from","}
{"text": ""the chronicle of Garcilaso de la Vega, who related that in 1548 Aguirre","}
{"text": ""was a member of a platoon of soldiers escorting Indian slaves from the","}
{"text": ""mines at Potosi [Bolivia] to a royal treasury depot. The Indians were","}
{"text": ""illegally burdened with great quantities of silver, and a local official","}
{"text": ""arrested Aguirre, sentencing him to receive two hundred lashes in lieu of","}
{"text": ""a fine for oppressing the Indians. “The soldier Aguirre, having received","}
{"text": ""a notification of the sentence, besought the alcalde that, instead of","}
{"text": ""flogging him, he would put him to death, for that he was a gentleman by","}
{"text": ""birth…. All this had no effect on the alcalde, who ordered the","}
{"text": ""executioner to bring a beast, and execute the sentence. The executioner","}
{"text": ""came to the prison, and put Aguirre on the heast…. The beast was driven","}
{"text": ""on, and he received the lashes.…”","}
{"text": ""When freed, Aguirre announced his intention of killing the official who","}
{"text": ""had sentenced him, the alcalde Esquivel. Esquivel’s term of office expired","}
{"text": ""and he fled to Lima. three hundred twenty leagues away, bitt within","}
{"text": ""fifteen days Aguirre had tracked him there. The frightened judge","}
{"text": ""journeyed to Quito, a trip of four hundred leagues, and in twenty days","}
{"text": ""Aguirre arrived. “When Esquivel heard of his presence, ” according to","}
{"text": ""Garcilaso, “he made another journey of five hundred leagues to Cuzco;","}
{"text": ""but in a few days Aguirre also arrived, having travelled on foot and","}
{"text": ""without shoes, saying that a whipped man has no business to ride a","}
{"text": ""horse, or to go where he would be seen by others. In this way, Aguirre","}
{"text": ""followed his judge for three years, and four months.” Wearying of the","}
{"text": ""pursuit, Esquivel remained at Cuzco, a city so sternly governed that he","}
{"text": ""felt he would be safe from Aguirre. He took a house near the cathedral","}
{"text": ""and never ventured outdoors without a sword and a dagger. “However,","}
{"text": ""on a certain Monday, at noon, Aguirre entered his house, and having","}
{"text": ""walked all over it, and having traversed a corridor, a saloon, a chamber,","}
{"text": ""and an inner chamber where the judge kept his books, he at last found","}
{"text": ""him asleep over one of his books, and stabbed him to death. The","}
{"text": ""murderer then went out, but when he came to the door of the house, he","}
{"text": ""found that he had forgotten his hat, and had the temerity to return and","}
{"text": ""fetch it, and then walked down the street.”THE GOLDEN DREAM: SEEKERS OF EL DORADO, WALKER","}
{"text": ""CHAPMAN, 1967","}
{"text": ""The Hopelessly Insecure Man. This man is related to the proud and","}
{"text": ""arrogant type, but is less violent and harder to spot. His ego is fragile, his","}
{"text": ""sense of self insecure, and if he feels himself deceived or attacked, the","}
{"text": ""hurt will simmer. He will attack you in bites that will take forever to get","}
{"text": ""big enough for you to notice. If you find you have deceived or harmed","}
{"text": ""such a man, disappear for a long time. Do not stay around him or he will","}
{"text": ""nibble you to death.","}
{"text": ""Mr. Suspicion. Another variant on the breeds above, this is a future Joe","}
{"text": ""Stalin. He sees what he wants to see—usually the worst—in other","}
{"text": ""people, and imagines that everyone is after him. Mr. Suspicion is in fact","}
{"text": ""the least dangerous of the three: Genuinely unbalanced, he is easy to","}
{"text": ""deceive, just as Stalin himself was constantly deceived. Play on his","}
{"text": ""suspicious nature to get him to turn against other people. But if you do","}
{"text": ""become the target of his suspicions, watch out.","}
{"text": ""The Serpent with a Long Memory. If hurt or deceived, this man will","}
{"text": ""show no anger on the surface; he will calculate and wait. Then, when he","}
{"text": ""is in a position to turn the tables, he will exact a revenge marked by a","}
{"text": ""cold-blooded shrewdness. Recognize this man by his calculation and","}
{"text": ""cunning in the different areas of his life. He is usually cold and","}
{"text": ""unaffectionate. Be doubly careful of this snake, and if you have","}
{"text": ""somehow injured him, either crush him completely or get him out of","}
{"text": ""your sight.","}
{"text": ""The Plain, Unassuming, and Often Unintelligent Man. Ah, your ears","}
{"text": ""prick up when you find such a tempting victim. But this man is a lot","}
{"text": ""harder to deceive than you imagine. Falling for a ruse often takes","}
{"text": ""intelligence and imagination—a sense of the possible rewards. The blunt","}
{"text": ""man will not take the bait because he does not recognize it. He is that","}
{"text": ""unaware. The danger with this man is not that he will harm you or seek","}
{"text": ""revenge, but merely that he will waste your time, energy, resources, and","}
{"text": ""even your sanity in trying to deceive him. Have a test ready for a mark—","}
{"text": ""a joke, a story. If his reaction is utterly literal, this is the type you are","}
{"text": ""dealing with. Continue at your own risk.TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Transgression I","}
{"text": ""In the early part of the thirteenth century, Muhammad, the shah of","}
{"text": ""Khwarezm, managed after many wars to forge a huge empire, extending","}
{"text": ""west to present-day Turkey and south to Afghanistan. The empire’s","}
{"text": ""center was the great Asian capital of Samarkand. The shah had a","}
{"text": ""powerful, well-trained army, and could mobilize 200,000 warriors within","}
{"text": ""days.","}
{"text": ""In 1219 Muhammad received an embassy from a new tribal leader to","}
{"text": ""the east, Genghis Khan. The embassy included all sorts of gifts to the","}
{"text": ""great Muhammad, representing the finest goods from Khan’s small but","}
{"text": ""growing Mongol empire. Genghis Khan wanted to reopen the Silk Route","}
{"text": ""to Europe, and offered to share it with Muhammad, while promising","}
{"text": ""peace between the two empires.","}
{"text": ""Muhammad did not know this upstart from the east, who, it seemed to","}
{"text": ""him, was extremely arrogant to try to talk as an equal to one so clearly","}
{"text": ""his superior. He ignored Khan’s offer. Khan tried again: This time he sent","}
{"text": ""a caravan of a hundred camels filled with the rarest articles he had","}
{"text": ""plundered from China. Before the caravan reached Muhammad,","}
{"text": ""however, Inalchik, the governor of a region bordering on Samarkand,","}
{"text": ""seized it for himself, and executed its leaders.","}
{"text": ""Genghis Khan was sure that this was a mistake—that Inalchik had","}
{"text": ""acted without Muhammad’s approval. He sent yet another mission to","}
{"text": ""Muhammad, reiterating his offer and asking that the governor be","}
{"text": ""punished. This time Muhammad himself had one of the ambassadors","}
{"text": ""beheaded, and sent the other two back with shaved heads—a horrifying","}
{"text": ""insult in the Mongol code of honor. Khan sent a message to the shah:","}
{"text": ""“You have chosen war. What will happen will happen, and what it is to","}
{"text": ""be we know not; only God knows.” Mobilizing his forces, in 1220 he","}
{"text": ""attacked Inalchik’s province, where he seized the capital, captured the","}
{"text": ""governor, and ordered him executed by having molten silver poured into","}
{"text": ""his eyes and ears.","}
{"text": ""Over the next year, Khan led a series of guerrilla-like campaigns","}
{"text": ""against the shah’s much larger army. His method was totally novel for","}
{"text": ""the time—his soldiers could move very fast on horseback, and had","}
{"text": ""mastered the art of firing with bow and arrow while mounted. The speed","}
{"text": ""and flexibility of his forces allowed him to deceive Muhammad as to hisintentions and the directions of his movements. Eventually he managed","}
{"text": ""first to surround Samarkand, then to seize it. Muhammad fled, and a year","}
{"text": ""later died, his vast empire broken and destroyed. Genghis Khan was sole","}
{"text": ""master of Samarkand, the Silk Route, and most of northern Asia.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Never assume that the person you are dealing with is weaker or less","}
{"text": ""important than you are. Some men are slow to take offense, which may","}
{"text": ""make you misjudge the thickness of their skin, and fail to worry about","}
{"text": ""insulting them. But should you offend their honor and their pride, they","}
{"text": ""will overwhelm you with a violence that seems sudden and extreme","}
{"text": ""given their slowness to anger. If you want to turn people down, it is best","}
{"text": ""to do so politely and respectfully, even if you feel their request is","}
{"text": ""impudent or their offer ridiculous. Never reject them with an insult until","}
{"text": ""you know them better; you may be dealing with a Genghis Khan.","}
{"text": ""THE CROW AND THE SHEEP","}
{"text": ""A troublesome Crow seated herself on the back of a Sheep. The Sheep,","}
{"text": ""much against his will, carried her backward and forward for a long time,","}
{"text": ""and at last said, “If you had treated a dog in this way, you would have","}
{"text": ""had your deserts from his sharp teeth.”To this the Crow replied, “I","}
{"text": ""despise the weak, and yield to the strong. I know whom I may bully, and","}
{"text": ""whom I must flatter; and thus I hope to prolong my life to a good old","}
{"text": ""age.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""Transgression II","}
{"text": ""In the late 1910s some of the best swindlers in America formed a con-","}
{"text": ""artist ring based in Denver, Colorado. In the winter months they would","}
{"text": ""spread across the southern states, plying their trade. In 1920 Joe Furey, a","}
{"text": ""leader of the ring, was working his way through Texas, making hundreds","}
{"text": ""of thousands of dollars with classic con games. In Fort Worth, he met a","}
{"text": ""sucker named J. Frank Norfleet, a cattleman who owned a large ranch.","}
{"text": ""Norfleet fell for the con. Convinced of the riches to come, he emptied his","}
{"text": ""bank account of $45,000 and handed it over to Furey and his","}
{"text": ""confederates. A few days later they gave him his “millions,” whichturned out to be a few good dollars wrapped around a packet of","}
{"text": ""newspaper clippings.","}
{"text": ""Furey and his men had worked such cons a hundred times before, and","}
{"text": ""the sucker was usually so embarrassed by his gullibility that he quietly","}
{"text": ""learned his lesson and accepted the loss. But Norfleet was not like other","}
{"text": ""suckers. He went to the police, who told him there was little they could","}
{"text": ""do. “Then I’ll go after those people myself,” Norfleet told the detectives.","}
{"text": ""“I’ll get them, too, if it takes the rest of my life.” His wife took over the","}
{"text": ""ranch as Norfleet scoured the country, looking for others who had been","}
{"text": ""fleeced in the same game. One such sucker came forward, and the two","}
{"text": ""men identified one of the con artists in San Francisco, and managed to","}
{"text": ""get him locked up. The man committed suicide rather than face a long","}
{"text": ""term in prison.","}
{"text": ""Norfleet kept going. He tracked down another of the con artists in","}
{"text": ""Montana, roped him like a calf, and dragged him through the muddy","}
{"text": ""streets to the town jail. He traveled not only across the country but to","}
{"text": ""England, Canada, and Mexico in search of Joe Furey, and also of Furey’s","}
{"text": ""right-hand man, W. B. Spencer. Finding Spencer in Montreal, Norfleet","}
{"text": ""chased him through the streets. Spencer escaped but the rancher stayed","}
{"text": ""on his trail and caught up with him in Salt Lake City. Preferring the","}
{"text": ""mercy of the law to Norfleet’s wrath, Spencer turned himself in.","}
{"text": ""Norfleet found Furey in Jacksonville, Florida, and personally hauled","}
{"text": ""him off to face justice in Texas. But he wouldn’t stop there: He","}
{"text": ""continued on to Denver, determined to break up the entire ring. Spending","}
{"text": ""not only large sums of money but another year of his life in the pursuit,","}
{"text": ""he managed to put all of the con ring’s leaders behind bars. Even some","}
{"text": ""he didn’t catch had grown so terrified of him that they too turned","}
{"text": ""themselves in.","}
{"text": ""After five years of hunting, Norfleet had single-handedly destroyed","}
{"text": ""the country’s largest confederation of con artists. The effort bankrupted","}
{"text": ""him and ruined his marriage, but he died a satisfied man.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Most men accept the humiliation of being conned with a sense of","}
{"text": ""resignation. They learn their lesson, recognizing that there is no such","}
{"text": ""thing as a free lunch, and that they have usually been brought down by","}
{"text": ""their own greed for easy money. Some, however, refuse to take theirmedicine. Instead of reflecting on their own gullibility and avarice, they","}
{"text": ""see themselves as totally innocent victims.","}
{"text": ""Men like this may seem to be crusaders for justice and honesty, but","}
{"text": ""they are actually immoderately insecure. Being fooled, being conned, has","}
{"text": ""activated their self-doubt, and they are desperate to repair the damage.","}
{"text": ""Were the mortgage on Norfleet’s ranch, the collapse of his marriage, and","}
{"text": ""the years of borrowing money and living in cheap hotels worth his","}
{"text": ""revenge over his embarrassment at being fleeced? To the Norfleets of the","}
{"text": ""world, overcoming their embarrassment is worth any price.","}
{"text": ""All people have insecurities, and often the best way to deceive a","}
{"text": ""sucker is to play upon his insecurities. But in the realm of power,","}
{"text": ""everything is a question of degree, and the person who is decidedly more","}
{"text": ""insecure than the average mortal presents great dangers. Be warned: If","}
{"text": ""you practice deception or trickery of any sort, study your mark well.","}
{"text": ""Some people’s insecurity and ego fragility cannot tolerate the slightest","}
{"text": ""offense. To see if you are dealing with such a type, test them first—","}
{"text": ""make, say, a mild joke at their expense. A confident person will laugh; an","}
{"text": ""overly insecure one will react as if personally insulted. If you suspect","}
{"text": ""you are dealing with this type, find another victim.","}
{"text": ""Transgression III","}
{"text": ""In the fifth century B.C., Ch‘ung-erh, the prince of Ch’in (in present-day","}
{"text": ""China), had been forced into exile. He lived modestly—even, sometimes,","}
{"text": ""in poverty—waiting for the time when he could return home and resume","}
{"text": ""his princely life. Once he was passing through the state of Cheng, where","}
{"text": ""the ruler, not knowing who he was, treated him rudely. The ruler’s","}
{"text": ""minister, Shu Chan, saw this and said, “This man is a worthy prince.","}
{"text": ""May Your Highness treat him with great courtesy and thereby place him","}
{"text": ""under an obligation!” But the ruler, able to see only the prince’s lowly","}
{"text": ""station, ignored this advice and insulted the prince again. Shu Chan again","}
{"text": ""warned his master, saying, “If Your Highness cannot treat Ch’ung-erh","}
{"text": ""with courtesy, you should put him to death, to avoid calamity in the","}
{"text": ""future.” The ruler only scoffed.","}
{"text": ""Years later, the prince was finally able to return home, his","}
{"text": ""circumstances greatly changed. He did not forget who had been kind to","}
{"text": ""him, and who had been insolent, during his years of poverty. Least of all","}
{"text": ""did he forget his treatment at the hands of the ruler of Cheng. At his first","}
{"text": ""opportunity he assembled a vast army and marched on Cheng, takingeight cities, destroying the kingdom, and sending the ruler into an exile","}
{"text": ""of his own. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""You can never be sure who you are dealing with. A man who is of little","}
{"text": ""importance and means today can be a person of power tomorrow. We","}
{"text": ""forget a lot in our lives, but we rarely forget an insult.","}
{"text": ""How was the ruler of Cheng to know that Prince Ch’ung-erh was an","}
{"text": ""ambitious, calculating, cunning type, a serpent with a long memory?","}
{"text": ""There was really no way for him to know, you may say—but since there","}
{"text": ""was no way, it would have been better not to tempt the fates by finding","}
{"text": ""out. There is nothing to be gained by insulting a person unnecessarily.","}
{"text": ""Swallow the impulse to offend, even if the other person seems weak. The","}
{"text": ""satisfaction is meager compared to the danger that someday he or she","}
{"text": ""will be in a position to hurt you.","}
{"text": ""Transgression IV","}
{"text": ""The year of 1920 had been a particularly bad one for American art","}
{"text": ""dealers. Big buyers—the robber-baron generation of the previous century","}
{"text": ""—were getting to an age where they were dying off like flies, and no","}
{"text": ""new millionaires had emerged to take their place. Things were so bad","}
{"text": ""that a number of the major dealers decided to pool their resources, an","}
{"text": ""unheard-of event, since art dealers usually get along like cats and dogs.","}
{"text": ""Joseph Duveen, art dealer to the richest tycoons of America, was","}
{"text": ""suffering more than the others that year, so he decided to go along with","}
{"text": ""this alliance. The group now consisted of the five biggest dealers in the","}
{"text": ""country. Looking around for a new client, they decided that their last best","}
{"text": ""hope was Henry Ford, then the wealthiest man in America. Ford had yet","}
{"text": ""to venture into the art market, and he was such a big target that it made","}
{"text": ""sense for them to work together.","}
{"text": ""The dealers decided to assemble a list, “The 100 Greatest Paintings in","}
{"text": ""the World” (all of which they happened to have in stock), and to offer the","}
{"text": ""lot of them to Ford. With one purchase he could make himself the","}
{"text": ""world’s greatest collector. The consortium worked for weeks to produce","}
{"text": ""a magnificent object: a three-volume set of books containing beautiful","}
{"text": ""reproductions of the paintings, as well as scholarly texts accompanying","}
{"text": ""each picture. Next they made a personal visit to Ford at his home in","}
{"text": ""Dearborn, Michigan. There they were surprised by the simplicity of his","}
{"text": ""house: Mr. Ford was obviously an extremely unaffected man.Ford received them in his study. Looking through the book, he","}
{"text": ""expressed astonishment and delight. The excited dealers began","}
{"text": ""imagining the millions of dollars that would shortly flow into their","}
{"text": ""coffers. Finally, however, Ford looked up from the book and said,","}
{"text": ""“Gentlemen, beautiful books like these, with beautiful colored pictures","}
{"text": ""like these, must cost an awful lot!” “But Mr. Ford!” exclaimed Duveen,","}
{"text": ""“we don’t expect you to buy these books. We got them up especially for","}
{"text": ""you, to show you the pictures. These books are a present to you.” Ford","}
{"text": ""seemed puzzled. “Gentlemen,” he said, “it is extremely nice of you, but I","}
{"text": ""really don’t see how I can accept a beautiful, expensive present like this","}
{"text": ""from strangers.” Duveen explained to Ford that the reproductions in the","}
{"text": ""books showed paintings they had hoped to sell to him. Ford finally","}
{"text": ""understood. “But gentlemen,” he exclaimed, “what would I want with","}
{"text": ""the original pictures when the ones right here in these books are so","}
{"text": ""beautiful?”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Joseph Duveen prided himself on studying his victims and clients in","}
{"text": ""advance, figuring out their weaknesses and the peculiarities of their","}
{"text": ""tastes before he ever met them. He was driven by desperation to drop this","}
{"text": ""tactic just once, in his assault on Henry Ford. It took him months to","}
{"text": ""recover from his misjudgment, both mentally and monetarily. Ford was","}
{"text": ""the unassuming plain-man type who just isn’t worth the bother. He was","}
{"text": ""the incarnation of those literal-minded folk who do not possess enough","}
{"text": ""imagination to be deceived. From then on, Duveen saved his energies for","}
{"text": ""the Mellons and Mor gans of the world—men crafty enough for him to","}
{"text": ""entrap in his snares.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The ability to measure people and to know who you’re dealing with is","}
{"text": ""the most important skill of all in gathering and conserving power.","}
{"text": ""Without it you are blind: Not only will you offend the wrong people, you","}
{"text": ""will choose the wrong types to work on, and will think you are flattering","}
{"text": ""people when you are actually insulting them. Before embarking on any","}
{"text": ""move, take the measure of your mark or potential opponent. Otherwiseyou will waste time and make mistakes. Study people’s weaknesses, the","}
{"text": ""chinks in their armor, their areas of both pride and insecurity. Know their","}
{"text": ""ins and outs before you even decide whether or not to deal with them.","}
{"text": ""Two final words of caution: First, in judging and measuring your","}
{"text": ""opponent, never rely on your instincts. You will make the greatest","}
{"text": ""mistakes of all if you rely on such inexact indicators. Nothing can","}
{"text": ""substitute for gathering concrete knowledge. Study and spy on your","}
{"text": ""opponent for however long it takes; this will pay off in the long run.","}
{"text": ""Second, never trust appearances. Anyone with a serpent’s heart can","}
{"text": ""use a show of kindness to cloak it; a person who is blustery on the","}
{"text": ""outside is often really a coward. Learn to see through appearances and","}
{"text": ""their contradictions. Never trust the version that people give of","}
{"text": ""themselves—it is utterly unreliable.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Hunter. He does not lay the same trap for a wolf as for a fox.","}
{"text": ""He does not set bait where no one will take it. He knows his prey","}
{"text": ""thoroughly, its habits and hideaways, and hunts accordingly.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Be convinced, that there are no persons so insignificant and","}
{"text": ""inconsiderable, but may, some time or other, have it in their power to be","}
{"text": ""of use to you; which they certainly will not, if you have once shown","}
{"text": ""them contempt. Wrongs are often forgiven, but contempt never is. Our","}
{"text": ""pride remembers it for ever. (Lord Chesterfield, 1694-1773)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""What possible good can come from ignorance about other people? Learn","}
{"text": ""to tell the lions from the lambs or pay the price. Obey this law to its","}
{"text": ""fullest extent; it has no reversal—do not bother looking for one.LAW 20","}
{"text": ""DO NOT COMMIT TO ANYONE","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side","}
{"text": ""or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become","}
{"text": ""the master of others—playing people against one another, making them","}
{"text": ""pursue you.","}
{"text": ""PART I: DO NOT COMMIT TO ANYONE, BUT BE COURTED","}
{"text": ""BY ALL","}
{"text": ""If you allow people to feel they possess you to any degree, you lose all","}
{"text": ""power over them. By not committing your affections, they will only try","}
{"text": ""harder to win you over. Stay aloof and you gain the power that comes","}
{"text": ""from their attention and frustrated desire. Play the Virgin Queen: Give","}
{"text": ""them hope but never satisfaction.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""When Queen Elizabeth I ascended the throne of England, in 1558, there","}
{"text": ""was much to-do about her finding a husband. The issue was debated in","}
{"text": ""Parliament, and was a main topic of conversation among Englishmen of","}
{"text": ""all classes; they often disagreed as to whom she should marry, but","}
{"text": ""everyone thought she should marry as soon as possible, for a queen must","}
{"text": ""have a king, and must bear heirs for the kingdom. The debates raged on","}
{"text": ""for years. Meanwhile the most handsome and eligible bachelors in the","}
{"text": ""realm—Sir Robert Dudley, the Earl of Essex, Sir Walter Raleigh—vied","}
{"text": ""for Elizabeth’s hand. She did not discourage them, but she seemed to be","}
{"text": ""in no hurry, and her hints as to which man might be her favorite often","}
{"text": ""contradicted each other. In 1566, Parliament sent a delegation to","}
{"text": ""Elizabeth urging her to marry before she was too old to bear children.She did not argue, nor did she discourage the delegation, but she","}
{"text": ""remained a virgin nonetheless.","}
{"text": ""The delicate game that Elizabeth played with her suitors slowly made","}
{"text": ""her the subject of innumerable sexual fantasies and the object of cultish","}
{"text": ""worship. The court physician, Simon Forman, used his diary to describe","}
{"text": ""his dreams of deflowering her. Painters represented her as Diana and","}
{"text": ""other goddesses. The poet Edmund Spenser and others wrote eulogies to","}
{"text": ""the Virgin Queen. She was referred to as “the world’s Empresse,” “that","}
{"text": ""virtuous Virgo” who rules the world and sets the stars in motion. In","}
{"text": ""conversation with her, her many male suitors would employ bold sexual","}
{"text": ""innuendo, a dare that Elizabeth did not discourage. She did all she could","}
{"text": ""to stir their interest and simultaneously keep them at bay.","}
{"text": ""Throughout Europe, kings and princes knew that a marriage with","}
{"text": ""Elizabeth would seal an alliance between England and any nation. The","}
{"text": ""king of Spain wooed her, as did the prince of Sweden and the archduke","}
{"text": ""of Austria. She politely refused them all.","}
{"text": ""The great diplomatic issue of Elizabeth’s day was posed by the revolt","}
{"text": ""of the Flemish and Dutch Lowlands, which were then possessions of","}
{"text": ""Spain. Should England break its alliance with Spain and choose France","}
{"text": ""as its main ally on the Continent, thereby encouraging Flemish and","}
{"text": ""Dutch independence ? By 1570 it had come to seem that an alliance with","}
{"text": ""France would be England’s wisest course. France had two eligible men","}
{"text": ""of noble blood, the dukes of Anjou and Alençon, brothers of the French","}
{"text": ""king. Would either of them marry Elizabeth? Both had advantages, and","}
{"text": ""Elizabeth kept the hopes of both alive. The issue simmered for years.","}
{"text": ""The duke of Anjou made several visits to England, kissed Elizabeth in","}
{"text": ""public, even called her by pet names; she appeared to requite his","}
{"text": ""affections. Meanwhile, as she flirted with the two brothers, a treaty was","}
{"text": ""signed that sealed peace between France and England. By 1582","}
{"text": ""Elizabeth felt she could break off the courtship. In the case of the duke of","}
{"text": ""Anjou in particular, she did so with great relief: For the sake of","}
{"text": ""diplomacy she had allowed herself to be courted by a man whose","}
{"text": ""presence she could not stand and whom she found physically repulsive.","}
{"text": ""Once peace between France and England was secure, she dropped the","}
{"text": ""unctuous duke as politely as she could.","}
{"text": ""By this time Elizabeth was too old to bear children. She was","}
{"text": ""accordingly able to live the rest of her life as she desired, and she died","}
{"text": ""the Virgin Queen. She left no direct heir, but ruled through a period of","}
{"text": ""incomparable peace and cultural fertility.Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Elizabeth had good reason not to marry: She had witnessed the mistakes","}
{"text": ""of Mary Queen of Scots, her cousin. Resisting the idea of being ruled by","}
{"text": ""a woman, the Scots expected Mary to marry and marry wisely. To wed a","}
{"text": ""foreigner would be unpopular; to favor any particular noble house would","}
{"text": ""open up terrible rivalries. In the end Mary chose Lord Darnley, a","}
{"text": ""Catholic. In doing so she incurred the wrath of Scotland’s Protestants,","}
{"text": ""and endless turmoil ensued.","}
{"text": ""Elizabeth knew that marriage can often lead to a female ruler’s","}
{"text": ""undoing: By marrying and committing to an alliance with one party or","}
{"text": ""nation, the queen becomes embroiled in conflicts that are not of her","}
{"text": ""choosing, conflicts which may eventually overwhelm her or lead her into","}
{"text": ""a futile war. Also, the husband becomes the de facto ruler, and often tries","}
{"text": ""to do away with his wife the queen, as Darnley tried to get rid of Mary.","}
{"text": ""Elizabeth learned the lesson well. She had two goals as a ruler: to avoid","}
{"text": ""marriage and to avoid war. She managed to combine these goals by","}
{"text": ""dangling the possibility of marriage in order to forge alliances. The","}
{"text": ""moment she committed to any single suitor would have been the moment","}
{"text": ""she lost her power. She had to emanate mystery and desirability, never","}
{"text": ""discouraging anyone’s hopes but never yielding.","}
{"text": ""Through this lifelong game of flirting and withdrawing, Elizabeth","}
{"text": ""dominated the country and every man who sought to conquer her. As the","}
{"text": ""center of attention, she was in control. Keeping her independence above","}
{"text": ""all, Elizabeth protected her power and made herself an object of worship.","}
{"text": ""I would rather be a beggar and single than a queen and married.","}
{"text": ""Queen Elizabeth I, 1533-1603","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Since power depends greatly on appearances, you must learn the tricks","}
{"text": ""that will enhance your image. Refusing to commit to a person or group is","}
{"text": ""one of these. When you hold yourself back, you incur not anger but a","}
{"text": ""kind of respect. You instantly seem powerful because you make yourself","}
{"text": ""ungraspable, rather than succumbing to the group, or to the relationship,","}
{"text": ""as most people do. This aura of power only grows with time: As your","}
{"text": ""reputation for independence grows, more and more people will come todesire you, wanting to be the one who gets you to commit. Desire is like","}
{"text": ""a virus: If we see that someone is desired by other people, we tend to","}
{"text": ""find this person desirable too.","}
{"text": ""The moment you commit, the magic is gone. You become like","}
{"text": ""everyone else. People will try all kinds of underhanded methods to get","}
{"text": ""you to commit. They will give you gifts, shower you with favors, all to","}
{"text": ""put you under obligation. Encourage the attention, stimulate their","}
{"text": ""interest, but do not commit at any cost. Accept the gifts and favors if you","}
{"text": ""so desire, but be careful to maintain your inner aloofness. You cannot","}
{"text": ""inadvertently allow yourself to feel obligated to anyone.","}
{"text": ""Remember, though: The goal is not to put people off, or to make it","}
{"text": ""seem that you are incapable of commitment. Like the Virgin Queen, you","}
{"text": ""need to stir the pot, excite interest, lure people with the possibility of","}
{"text": ""having you. You have to bend to their attention occasionally, then—but","}
{"text": ""never too far.","}
{"text": ""The Greek soldier and statesman Alcibiades played this game to","}
{"text": ""perfection. It was Alcibiades who inspired and led the massive Athenian","}
{"text": ""armada that invaded Sicily in 414 B.C. When envious Athenians back","}
{"text": ""home tried to bring him down by accusing him of trumped-up charges,","}
{"text": ""he defected to the enemy, the Spartans, instead of facing a trial back","}
{"text": ""home. Then, after the Athenians were defeated at Syracuse, he left Sparta","}
{"text": ""for Persia, even though the power of Sparta was now on the rise. Now,","}
{"text": ""however, both the Athenians and the Spartans courted Alcibiades","}
{"text": ""because of his influence with the Persians; and the Persians showered","}
{"text": ""him with honors because of his power over the Athenians and the","}
{"text": ""Spartans. He made promises to every side but committed to none, and in","}
{"text": ""the end he held all the cards.","}
{"text": ""If you aspire to power and influence, try the Alcibiades tactic: Put","}
{"text": ""yourself in the middle between competing powers. Lure one side with","}
{"text": ""the promise of your help; the other side, always wanting to outdo its","}
{"text": ""enemy, will pursue you as well. As each side vies for your attention, you","}
{"text": ""will immediately seem a person of great influence and desirability. More","}
{"text": ""power will accrue to you than if you had rashly committed to one side.","}
{"text": ""To perfect this tactic you need to keep yourself inwardly free from","}
{"text": ""emotional entanglements, and to view all those around you as pawns in","}
{"text": ""your rise to the top. You cannot let yourself become the lackey for any","}
{"text": ""cause.","}
{"text": ""In the midst of the 1968 U.S. presidential election, Henry Kissinger","}
{"text": ""made a phone call to Richard Nixon’s team. Kissinger had been allied","}
{"text": ""with Nelson Rockefeller, who had unsuccessfully sought the Republicannomina tion. Now Kissinger offered to supply the Nixon camp with","}
{"text": ""valuable inside information on the negotiations for peace in Vietnam that","}
{"text": ""were then going on in Paris. He had a man on the negotiating team","}
{"text": ""keeping him informed of the latest developments. The Nixon team gladly","}
{"text": ""accepted his offer.","}
{"text": ""At the same time, however, Kissinger also approached the Democratic","}
{"text": ""nominee, Hubert Humphrey, and offered his aid. The Humphrey people","}
{"text": ""asked him for inside information on Nixon and he supplied it. “Look,”","}
{"text": ""Kissinger told Humphrey’s people, “I’ve hated Nixon for years.” In fact","}
{"text": ""he had no interest in either side. What he really wanted was what he got:","}
{"text": ""the promise of a high-level cabinet post from both Nixon and Humphrey.","}
{"text": ""Whichever man won the election, Kissinger’s career was secure.","}
{"text": ""The winner, of course, was Nixon, and Kissinger duly went on to his","}
{"text": ""cabinet post. Even so, he was careful never to appear too much of a","}
{"text": ""Nixon man. When Nixon was reelected in 1972, men much more loyal to","}
{"text": ""him than Kissinger were fired. Kissinger was also the only Nixon high","}
{"text": ""official to survive Watergate and serve under the next president, Gerald","}
{"text": ""Ford. By maintaining a little distance he thrived in turbulent times.","}
{"text": ""Those who use this strategy often notice a strange phenomenon:","}
{"text": ""People who rush to the support of others tend to gain little respect in the","}
{"text": ""process, for their help is so easily obtained, while those who stand back","}
{"text": ""find themselves besieged with supplicants. Their aloofness is powerful,","}
{"text": ""and everyone wants them on their side.","}
{"text": ""When Picasso, after early years of poverty, had become the most","}
{"text": ""successful artist in the world, he did not commit himself to this dealer or","}
{"text": ""that dealer, although they now besieged him from all sides with attractive","}
{"text": ""offers and grand promises. Instead, he appeared to have no interest in","}
{"text": ""their services; this technique drove them wild, and as they fought over","}
{"text": ""him his prices only rose. When Henry Kissinger, as U.S. secretary of","}
{"text": ""state, wanted to reach detente with the Soviet Union, he made no","}
{"text": ""concessions or conciliatory gestures, but courted China instead. This","}
{"text": ""infuriated and also scared the Soviets—they were already politically","}
{"text": ""isolated and feared further isolation if the United States and China came","}
{"text": ""together. Kissinger’s move pushed them to the negotiating table. The","}
{"text": ""tactic has a parallel in seduction: When you want to seduce a woman,","}
{"text": ""Stendhal advises, court her sister first.","}
{"text": ""Stay aloof and people will come to you. It will become a challenge for","}
{"text": ""them to win your affections. As long as you imitate the wise Virgin","}
{"text": ""Queen and stimulate their hopes, you will remain a magnet of attention","}
{"text": ""and desire.Image:","}
{"text": ""The Virgin Queen.","}
{"text": ""The center of attention,","}
{"text": ""desire, and worship. Never","}
{"text": ""succumbing to one suitor or the","}
{"text": ""other, the Virgin Queen keeps","}
{"text": ""them all revolving around","}
{"text": ""her like planets, unable to","}
{"text": ""leave her orbit but never","}
{"text": ""getting any closer","}
{"text": ""to her.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Do not commit yourself to anybody or anything, for that is to","}
{"text": ""be a slave, a slave to every man…. Above all, keep yourself free of","}
{"text": ""commitments and obligations—they are the device of another to get you","}
{"text": ""into his power…. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)PART II: DO NOT COMMIT TO ANYONE-","}
{"text": ""STAY ABOVE THE FRAY","}
{"text": ""Do not let people drag you into their petty fights and squabbles. Seem","}
{"text": ""interested and supportive, but find a way to remain neutral; let others do","}
{"text": ""the fighting while you stand back, watch and wait. When the fighting","}
{"text": ""parties are good and tired they will be ripe for the picking. You can make","}
{"text": ""it a practice, in fact, to stir up quarrels between other people, and then","}
{"text": ""offer to mediate, gaining power as the go-between.","}
{"text": ""THE KITES, THE CROWS, AND THE FOX","}
{"text": ""The kites and the crows made an agreement among themselves that they","}
{"text": ""should go halves in everything obtained in the forest. One day they saw a","}
{"text": ""fox that had been wounded by hunters lying helpless under a tree, and","}
{"text": ""gathered round it. The crows said, “We will take the upper half of the","}
{"text": ""fox.” “Then we will take the lower half,” said the kites. The fox laughed","}
{"text": ""at this, and said, “I always thought the kites were superior in creation to","}
{"text": ""the crows; as such they must get the upper half of my body, of which my","}
{"text": ""head, with the brain and other delicate things in it, forms a portion. ”","}
{"text": ""“Oh, yes, that is right,” said the kites, “we will have that part of the","}
{"text": ""fox.” “Not at all,” said the crows, “we must have it, as already agreed.”","}
{"text": ""Then a war arose between the rival parties, and a great many fell on both","}
{"text": ""sides, and the remaining few escaped with difficulty. The fox continued","}
{"text": ""there for some days, leisurely feeding on the dead kites and crows, and","}
{"text": ""then left the place hale and hearty, observing, The weak benefit by the","}
{"text": ""quarrels of the mighty. ”","}
{"text": ""INDIAN FABLES","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In the late fifteenth century, the strongest city-states in Italy—Venice,","}
{"text": ""Florence, Rome, and Milan—found themselves constantly squabbling.Hovering above their struggles were the nations of France and Spain,","}
{"text": ""ready to grab whatever they could from the weakened Italian powers.","}
{"text": ""And trapped in the middle was the small state of Mantua, ruled by the","}
{"text": ""young Duke Gianfrancesco Gonzaga. Mantua was strategically located","}
{"text": ""in northern Italy, and it seemed only a matter of time before one of the","}
{"text": ""powers swallowed it up and it ceased to exist as an independent","}
{"text": ""kingdom.","}
{"text": ""Gonzaga was a fierce warrior and a skilled commander of troops, and","}
{"text": ""he became a kind of mercenary general for whatever side paid him best.","}
{"text": ""In the year 1490, he married Isabella d’Este, daughter of the ruler of","}
{"text": ""another small Italian duchy, Ferrara. Since he now spent most of his time","}
{"text": ""away from Mantua, it fell to Isabella to rule in his stead.","}
{"text": ""Isabella’s first true test as ruler came in 1498, when King Louis XII of","}
{"text": ""France was preparing armies to attack Milan. In their usual perfidious","}
{"text": ""fashion, the Italian states immediately looked for ways to profit from","}
{"text": ""Milan’s difficulties. Pope Alexander VI promised not to intervene,","}
{"text": ""thereby giving the French carte blanche. The Venetians signaled that they","}
{"text": ""would not help Milan, either—and in exchange for this, they hoped the","}
{"text": ""French would give them Mantua. The ruler of Milan, Lodovico Sforza,","}
{"text": ""suddenly found himself alone and abandoned. He turned to Isabella","}
{"text": ""d’Este, one of his closest friends (also rumored to be his lover), and","}
{"text": ""begged her to persuade Duke Gonzaga to come to his aid. Isabella tried,","}
{"text": ""but her husband balked, for he saw Sforza’s cause as hopeless. And so, in","}
{"text": ""1499, Louis swooped down on Milan and took it with ease.","}
{"text": ""Isabella now faced a dilemma: If she stayed loyal to Lodovico, the","}
{"text": ""French would now move against her. But if, instead, she allied herself","}
{"text": ""with France, she would make enemies elsewhere in Italy, compromising","}
{"text": ""Mantua once Louis eventually withdrew. And if she looked to Venice or","}
{"text": ""Rome for help, they would simply swallow up Mantua under the cloak of","}
{"text": ""coming to her aid. Yet she had to do something. The mighty king of","}
{"text": ""France was breathing down her neck: She decided to befriend him, as","}
{"text": ""she had befriended Lodovico Sforza before him—with alluring gifts,","}
{"text": ""witty, intelligent letters, and the possibility of her company, for Isabella","}
{"text": ""was famous as a woman of incomparable beauty and charm.","}
{"text": ""In 1500 Louis invited Isabella to a great party in Milan to celebrate his","}
{"text": ""victory. Leonardo da Vinci built an enormous mechanical lion for the","}
{"text": ""affair: When the lion opened its mouth, it spewed fresh lilies, the","}
{"text": ""symbols of French royalty. At the party Isabella wore one of her","}
{"text": ""celebrated dresses (she had by far the largest wardrobe of any of the","}
{"text": ""Italian princesses), and just as she had hoped, she charmed andcaptivated Louis, who ignored all the other ladies vying for his attention.","}
{"text": ""She soon became his constant companion, and in exchange for her","}
{"text": ""friendship he pledged to protect Mantua’s independence from Venice.","}
{"text": ""Men of great abilities are slow to act. for it is easier to avoid occasions","}
{"text": ""for committing yourself than to come well out of a commitment. Such","}
{"text": ""occasions test your judgment; it is safer to avoid them than to emerge","}
{"text": ""victorious from them. One obligation leads to a greater one, and you","}
{"text": ""come very near to the brink of disaster.","}
{"text": ""BALTASAR GRACIAN, 1601-1658","}
{"text": ""As one danger receded, however, another, more worrying one arose,","}
{"text": ""this time from the south, in the form of Cesare Borgia. Starting in 1500,","}
{"text": ""Borgia had marched steadily northward, gobbling up all the small","}
{"text": ""kingdoms in his path in the name of his father, Pope Alexander. Isabella","}
{"text": ""understood Cesare perfectly: He could be neither trusted nor in any way","}
{"text": ""offended. He had to be cajoled and kept at arm’s length. Isabella began","}
{"text": ""by sending him gifts—falcons, prize dogs, perfumes, and dozens of","}
{"text": ""masks, which she knew he always wore when he walked the streets of","}
{"text": ""Rome. She sent messengers with flattering greetings (although these","}
{"text": ""messengers also acted as her spies). At one point Cesare asked if he","}
{"text": ""could house some troops in Mantua; Isabella managed to dissuade him","}
{"text": ""politely, knowing full well that once the troops were quartered in the city,","}
{"text": ""they would never leave.","}
{"text": ""Even while Isabella was charming Cesare, she convinced everyone","}
{"text": ""around her to take care never to utter a harsh word about him, since he","}
{"text": ""had spies everywhere and would use the slightest pretext for invasion.","}
{"text": ""When Isabella had a child, she asked Cesare to be the godfather. She","}
{"text": ""even dangled in front of him the possibility of a marriage between her","}
{"text": ""family and his. Somehow it all worked, for although elsewhere he seized","}
{"text": ""everything in his path, he spared Mantua.","}
{"text": ""In 1503 Cesare’s father, Alexander, died, and a few years later the new","}
{"text": ""pope, Julius II, went to war to drive the French troops from Italy. When","}
{"text": ""the ruler of Ferrara—Alfonso, Isabella’s brother—sided with the French,","}
{"text": ""Julius decided to attack and humble him. Once again Isabella found","}
{"text": ""herself in the middle: the pope on one side, the French and her brother on","}
{"text": ""the other. She dared not ally herself with either, but to offend either","}
{"text": ""would be equally disastrous. Again she played the double game at which","}
{"text": ""she had become so expert. On the one hand she got her husband Gonzaga","}
{"text": ""to fight for the pope, knowing he would not fight very hard. On the other","}
{"text": ""she let French troops pass through Mantua to come to Ferrara’s aid.While she publicly complained that the French had “invaded” her","}
{"text": ""territory, she privately supplied them with valuable information. To make","}
{"text": ""the invasion plausible to Julius, she even had the French pretend to","}
{"text": ""plunder Mantua. It worked once again: The pope left Mantua alone.","}
{"text": ""In 1513, after a lengthy siege, Julius defeated Ferrara, and the French","}
{"text": ""troops withdrew. Worn out by the effort, the pope died a few months","}
{"text": ""later. With his death, the nightmarish cycle of battles and petty squabbles","}
{"text": ""began to repeat itself.","}
{"text": ""A great deal changed in Italy during Isabella’s reign: Popes came and","}
{"text": ""went, Cesare Borgia rose and then fell, Venice lost its empire, Milan was","}
{"text": ""invaded, Florence fell into decline, and Rome was sacked by the","}
{"text": ""Hapsburg Emperor Charles V Through all this, tiny Mantua not only","}
{"text": ""survived but thrived, its court the envy of Italy. Its wealth and","}
{"text": ""sovereignty would remain intact for a century after Isabella’s death, in","}
{"text": ""1539.","}
{"text": ""THE EAGLE AND THE SOW","}
{"text": ""An eagle built a nest on a tree, and hatched out some eaglets. And a wild","}
{"text": ""sow brought her litter under the tree. The eagle used to fly off after her","}
{"text": ""prey, and bring it back to her young. And the sow rooted around the tree","}
{"text": ""and hunted in the woods, and when night came she would bring her","}
{"text": ""young something to eat.","}
{"text": ""And the eagle and the sow lived in neighborly fashion. And a grimalkin","}
{"text": ""laid her plans to destroy the eaglets and the little sucking pigs. She went","}
{"text": ""to the eagle, and said: “Eagle, you had better not fly very far away.","}
{"text": ""Beware of the sow; she is planning an evil design. She is going to","}
{"text": ""undermine the roots of the tree. You see she is rooting all the time.”","}
{"text": ""Then the grimalkin went to the sow and said: “Sow, you have not a good","}
{"text": ""neighbor. Last evening I heard the eagle saying to her eaglets: ‘My dear","}
{"text": ""little eaglets, I am going to treat you to a nice little pig. Just as soon as","}
{"text": ""the sow is gone, I will bring you a little young sucking pig.”’","}
{"text": ""From that time the eagle ceased to fly out after prey, and the sow did not","}
{"text": ""go any more into the forest. The eaglets and the young pigs perished of","}
{"text": ""starvation, and grimalkin feasted on them.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, LEO TOLSTOY, 1828-1910","}
{"text": ""InterpretationIsabella d’Este understood Italy’s political situation with amazing clarity:","}
{"text": ""Once you took the side of any of the forces in the field, you were","}
{"text": ""doomed. The powerful would take you over, the weak would wear you","}
{"text": ""down. Any new alliance would lead to a new enemy, and as this cycle","}
{"text": ""stirred up more conflict, other forces would be dragged in, until you","}
{"text": ""could no longer extricate yourself. Eventually you would collapse from","}
{"text": ""exhaustion.","}
{"text": ""Isabella steered her kingdom on the only course that would bring her","}
{"text": ""safely through. She would not allow herself to lose her head through","}
{"text": ""loyalty to a duke or a king. Nor would she try to stop the conflict that","}
{"text": ""raged around her—that would only drag her into it. And in any case the","}
{"text": ""conflict was to her advantage. If the various parties were fighting to the","}
{"text": ""death, and exhausting themselves in the process, they were in no position","}
{"text": ""to gobble up Mantua. The source of Isabella’s power was her clever","}
{"text": ""ability to seem interested in the affairs and interests of each side, while","}
{"text": ""actually committing to no one but herself and her kingdom.","}
{"text": ""Once you step into a fight that is not of your own choosing, you lose","}
{"text": ""all initiative. The combatants’ interests become your interests; you","}
{"text": ""become their tool. Learn to control yourself, to restrain your natural","}
{"text": ""tendency to take sides and join the fight. Be friendly and charming to","}
{"text": ""each of the combatants, then step back as they collide. With every battle","}
{"text": ""they grow weaker, while you grow stronger with every battle you avoid.","}
{"text": ""When the snipe and the mussel struggle, the fisherman gets the benefit.","}
{"text": ""Ancient Chinese saying","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""To succeed in the game of power, you have to master your emotions. But","}
{"text": ""even if you succeed in gaining such self-control, you can never control","}
{"text": ""the temperamental dispositions of those around you. And this presents a","}
{"text": ""great danger. Most people operate in a whirlpool of emotions, constantly","}
{"text": ""reacting, churning up squabbles and conflicts. Your self-control and","}
{"text": ""autonomy will only bother and infuriate them. They will try to draw you","}
{"text": ""into the whirlpool, begging you to take sides in their endless battles, or to","}
{"text": ""make peace for them. If you succumb to their emotional entreaties, little","}
{"text": ""by little you will find your mind and time occupied by their problems.Do not allow whatever compassion and pity you possess to suck you in.","}
{"text": ""You can never win in this game; the conflicts can only multiply.","}
{"text": ""On the other hand, you cannot completely stand aside, for that would","}
{"text": ""cause needless offense. To play the game properly, you must seem","}
{"text": ""interested in other people’s problems, even sometimes appear to take","}
{"text": ""their side. But while you make outward gestures of support, you must","}
{"text": ""maintain your inner energy and sanity by keeping your emotions","}
{"text": ""disengaged. No matter how hard people try to pull you in, never let your","}
{"text": ""interest in their affairs and petty squabbles go beyond the surface. Give","}
{"text": ""them gifts, listen with a sympathetic look, even occasionally play the","}
{"text": ""charmer—but inwardly keep both the friendly kings and the perfidious","}
{"text": ""Borgias at arm’s length. By refusing to commit and thus maintaining","}
{"text": ""your autonomy you retain the initiative: Your moves stay matters of your","}
{"text": ""own choosing, not defensive reactions to the push-and-pull of those","}
{"text": ""around you.","}
{"text": ""THE PRICE OF","}
{"text": ""While a poor woman stood in the market place selling cheeses, a cat","}
{"text": ""came along and carried off a cheese. A dog saw the pilferer and tried to","}
{"text": ""take the cheese away from him. The cat stood up to the dog. So they","}
{"text": ""pitched into each other. The dog barked and snapped; the cat spat and","}
{"text": ""scratched, but they could bring the battle to no decision.","}
{"text": ""“Let’s go to the fox and have him referee the matter, ” the cat finally","}
{"text": ""suggested. “Agreed, ” said the dog. So they went to the fox. The fox","}
{"text": ""listened to their arguments with a judicious air.","}
{"text": ""“Foolish animals,” he chided them, “why carry on like that? If both of","}
{"text": ""you are willing, I’ll divide the cheese in two and you’ll both be satisfied.","}
{"text": ""”","}
{"text": ""“Agreed, ” said the cat and the dog.","}
{"text": ""So the fox took out his knife and cut the cheese in two, but, instead of","}
{"text": ""cutting it lengthwise, he cut it in the width. “My half is smaller!”","}
{"text": ""protested the dog.","}
{"text": ""The fox looked judiciously through his spectacles at the dog’s share.","}
{"text": ""“You’re right, quite right!” he decided.","}
{"text": ""So he went and bit off a piece of the cat’s share.","}
{"text": ""“That will make it even!” he said.","}
{"text": ""When the cat saw what the fox did she began to yowl:","}
{"text": ""“Just look! My part’s smaller now!”The fox again put on his spectacles and looked judiciously at the cat’s","}
{"text": ""share.","}
{"text": ""“Right you are!” said the fox. “Just a moment, and I’ll make it right.”","}
{"text": ""And he went and bit off a piece from the dog’s cheese This went on so","}
{"text": ""long, with the fox nibbling first at the dog’s and then at the cat’s share.","}
{"text": ""that he finally ate up the whole cheese before their eyes.","}
{"text": ""A TREASURY OF JEWISH FOLKLORE, NATHAN AUSUBEL, ED.,","}
{"text": ""1948","}
{"text": ""Slowness to pick up your weapons can be a weapon itself, especially if","}
{"text": ""you let other people exhaust themselves fighting, then take advantage of","}
{"text": ""their exhaustion. In ancient China, the kingdom of Chin once invaded the","}
{"text": ""kingdom of Hsing. Huan, the ruler of a nearby province, thought he","}
{"text": ""should rush to Hsing’s defense, but his adviser counseled him to wait:","}
{"text": ""“Hsing is not yet going to ruin,” he said, “and Chin is not yet exhausted.","}
{"text": ""If Chin is not exhausted, [we] cannot become very influential. Moreover,","}
{"text": ""the merit of supporting a state in danger is not as great as the virtue of","}
{"text": ""reviving a ruined one.” The adviser’s argument won the day, and as he","}
{"text": ""had predicted, Huan later had the glory both of rescuing Hsing from the","}
{"text": ""brink of destruction and then of conquering an exhausted Chin. He","}
{"text": ""stayed out of the fighting until the forces engaged in it had worn each","}
{"text": ""other down, at which point it was safe for him to intervene.","}
{"text": ""That is what holding back from the fray allows you: time to position","}
{"text": ""yourself to take advantage of the situation once one side starts to lose.","}
{"text": ""You can also take the game a step further, by promising your support to","}
{"text": ""both sides in a conflict while maneuvering so that the one to come out","}
{"text": ""ahead in the struggle is you. This was what Castruccio Castracani, ruler","}
{"text": ""of the Italian town of Lucca in the fourteenth century, did when he had","}
{"text": ""designs on the town of Pistoia. A siege would have been expensive,","}
{"text": ""costing both lives and money, but Castruccio knew that Pistoia contained","}
{"text": ""two rival factions, the Blacks and the Whites, which hated one another.","}
{"text": ""He negotiated with the Blacks, promising to help them against the","}
{"text": ""Whites; then, without their knowledge, he promised the Whites he would","}
{"text": ""help them against the Blacks. And Castruccio kept his promises—he sent","}
{"text": ""an army to a Black-controlled gate to the city, which the sentries of","}
{"text": ""course welcomed in. Meanwhile another of his armies entered through a","}
{"text": ""White-controlled gate. The two armies united in the middle, occupied the","}
{"text": ""town, killed the leaders of both factions, ended the internal war, and took","}
{"text": ""Pistoia for Castruccio.","}
{"text": ""Preserving your autonomy gives you options when people come to","}
{"text": ""blows—you can play the mediator, broker the peace, while reallysecuring your own interests. You can pledge support to one side and the","}
{"text": ""other may have to court you with a higher bid. Or, like Castruccio, you","}
{"text": ""can appear to take both sides, then play the antagonists against each","}
{"text": ""other.","}
{"text": ""Oftentimes when a conflict breaks out, you are tempted to side with","}
{"text": ""the stronger party, or the one that offers you apparent advantages in an","}
{"text": ""alliance. This is risky business. First, it is often difficult to foresee which","}
{"text": ""side will prevail in the long run. But even if you guess right and ally","}
{"text": ""yourself with the stronger party, you may find yourself swallowed up and","}
{"text": ""lost, or conveniently forgotten, when they become victors. Side with the","}
{"text": ""weaker, on the other hand, and you are doomed. But play a waiting game","}
{"text": ""and you cannot lose.","}
{"text": ""In France’s July Revolution of 1830, after three days of riots, the","}
{"text": ""statesman Talleyrand, now elderly, sat by his Paris window, listening to","}
{"text": ""the pealing bells that signaled the riots were over. Turning to an assistant,","}
{"text": ""he said, “Ah, the bells! We’re winning.” “Who’s ‘we,’ mon prince?” the","}
{"text": ""assistant asked. Gesturing for the man to keep quiet, Talleyrand replied,","}
{"text": ""“Not a word! I’ll tell you who we are tomorrow.” He well knew that only","}
{"text": ""fools rush into a situation—that by committing too quickly you lose your","}
{"text": ""maneuverability. People also respect you less: Perhaps tomorrow, they","}
{"text": ""think, you will commit to another, different cause, since you gave","}
{"text": ""yourself so easily to this one. Good fortune is a fickle god and will often","}
{"text": ""pass from one side to the other. Commitment to one side deprives you of","}
{"text": ""the advantage of time and the luxury of waiting. Let others fall in love","}
{"text": ""with this group or that; for your part don’t rush in, don’t lose your head.","}
{"text": ""Finally, there are occasions when it is wisest to drop all pretence of","}
{"text": ""appearing supportive and instead to trumpet your independence and self-","}
{"text": ""reliance. The aristocratic pose of independence is particularly important","}
{"text": ""for those who need to gain respect. George Washington recognized this","}
{"text": ""in his work to establish the young American republic on firm ground. As","}
{"text": ""president, Washington avoided the temptation of making an alliance with","}
{"text": ""France or England, despite the pressure on him to do so. He wanted the","}
{"text": ""country to earn the world’s respect through its independence. Although a","}
{"text": ""treaty with France might have helped in the short term, in the long run he","}
{"text": ""knew it would be more effective to establish the nation’s autonomy.","}
{"text": ""Europe would have to see the United States as an equal power.","}
{"text": ""Remember: You have only so much energy and so much time. Every","}
{"text": ""moment wasted on the affairs of others subtracts from your strength. You","}
{"text": ""may be afraid that people will condemn you as heartless, but in the end,","}
{"text": ""maintaining your independence and self-reliance will gain you morerespect and place you in a position of power from which you can choose","}
{"text": ""to help others on your own initiative.","}
{"text": ""Image: A Thicket of Shrubs. In the forest, one shrub latches on to","}
{"text": ""another, entangling its neighbor with its thorns, the thicket slowly","}
{"text": ""extending its impenetrable domain. Only what keeps its distance and","}
{"text": ""stands apart can grow and rise above the thicket.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Regard it as more courageous not to become involved in an","}
{"text": ""engagement than to win in battle, and where there is already one","}
{"text": ""interfering fool, take care that there shall not be two. (Baltasar Gracian,","}
{"text": ""1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Both parts of this law will turn against you if you take it too far. The","}
{"text": ""game proposed here is delicate and difficult. If you play too many parties","}
{"text": ""against one another, they will see through the maneuver and will gang up","}
{"text": ""on you. If you keep your growing number of suitors waiting too long,","}
{"text": ""you will inspire not desire but distrust. People will start to lose interest.","}
{"text": ""Eventually you may find it worthwhile to commit to one side—if only","}
{"text": ""for appearances’ sake, to prove you are capable of attachment.","}
{"text": ""Even then, however, the key will be to maintain your inner","}
{"text": ""independence—to keep yourself from getting emotionally involved.","}
{"text": ""Preserve the unspoken option of being able to leave at any moment and","}
{"text": ""reclaim your freedom if the side you are allied with starts to collapse.","}
{"text": ""The friends you made while you were being courted will give you plenty","}
{"text": ""of places to go once you jump ship.LAW 21","}
{"text": ""PLAY A SUCKER TO CATCH A SUCKER—","}
{"text": ""SEEM DUMBER THAN YOUR MARK","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""No one likes feeling stupider than the next person. The trick, then, is to","}
{"text": ""make your victims feel smart—and not just smart, but smarter than you","}
{"text": ""are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have","}
{"text": ""ulterior motives.","}
{"text": ""In the winter of 1872, the U.S. financier Asbury Harpending was visiting","}
{"text": ""London when he received a cable: A diamond mine had been discovered","}
{"text": ""in the American West. The cable came from a reliable source—William","}
{"text": ""Ralston, owner of the Bank of California—but Harpending nevertheless","}
{"text": ""took it as a practical joke, probably inspired by the recent discovery of","}
{"text": ""huge diamond mines in South Africa. True, when reports had first come","}
{"text": ""in of gold being discovered in the western United States, everyone had","}
{"text": ""been skeptical, and those had turned out to be true. But a diamond mine","}
{"text": ""in the West! Harpending showed the cable to his fellow financier Baron","}
{"text": ""Rothschild (one of the richest men in the world), saying it must be a","}
{"text": ""joke. The baron, however, replied, “Don’t be too sure about that.","}
{"text": ""America is a very large country. It has furnished the world with many","}
{"text": ""surprises already. Perhaps it has others in store.” Harpending promptly","}
{"text": ""took the first ship back to the States.","}
{"text": ""Now, there is nothing of which a man is prouder than of interlecutal","}
{"text": ""ability, for it is this that gives him his commanding place in the animal","}
{"text": ""world. It is an exceedingly rash thing to ter anyone see that you are","}
{"text": ""decidedly superior to him in this respect, and to let other people see it","}
{"text": ""too…. hence, white rank and riches may always reckon upon deferential","}
{"text": ""treatment in society, that is something which intellectual ability can","}
{"text": ""never expect To be ignorea is the greatest favour shown to it; and if","}
{"text": ""people notice it at all, it is because they regard it us a piece of","}
{"text": ""imperinence, or else as something to which its possessor has nolegitimate right, and upon which he dares to pride himself; and in","}
{"text": ""retaliation and revenge for his conduct, people secretly try and humiliare","}
{"text": ""him in some other way; unit if they wait to ao this, it is only for a futing","}
{"text": ""opporunity. A man may be as humble as possible in his demeanour and","}
{"text": ""yet hardly ever get people to overlook his crime in standing intellectually","}
{"text": ""above them. In the Garden of Roses, Sadi makes the remark: “You","}
{"text": ""should know that foolish people are a hundredfold more averse to","}
{"text": ""meeting the wise than the wise are indisposed for the company of the","}
{"text": ""foolish. ”","}
{"text": ""On the other hand, it is a real recommendation to be stupid. For just as","}
{"text": ""warmth is agreeable to the body, so it does the mind good to feel its","}
{"text": ""superiority; and a man will seek company likely to give him this feeling,","}
{"text": ""as instinctively as he will approach the fireplace or walk in the sun if he","}
{"text": ""wants to get warm. But this means that he will be disliked on account of","}
{"text": ""his superiority; and if a man is to be liked, he must really be inferior in","}
{"text": ""point of intellect.","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""When Harpending reached San Francisco, there was an excitement in","}
{"text": ""the air recalling the Gold Rush days of the late 1840s. Two crusty","}
{"text": ""prospectors named Philip Arnold and John Slack had been the ones to","}
{"text": ""find the diamond mine. They had not divulged its location, in Wyoming,","}
{"text": ""but had led a highly respected mining expert to it several weeks back,","}
{"text": ""taking a circular route so he could not guess his whereabouts. Once","}
{"text": ""there, the expert had watched as the miners dug up diamonds. Back in","}
{"text": ""San Francisco the expert had taken the gems to various jewelers, one of","}
{"text": ""whom had estimated their worth at $1.5 million.","}
{"text": ""Harpending and Ralston now asked Arnold and Slack to accompany","}
{"text": ""them back to New York, where the jeweler Charles Tiffany would verify","}
{"text": ""the original estimates. The prospectors responded uneasily—they","}
{"text": ""smelled a trap: How could they trust these city slickers? What if Tiffany","}
{"text": ""and the financiers managed to steal the whole mine out from under","}
{"text": ""them? Ralston tried to allay their fears by giving them $100,000 and","}
{"text": ""placing another $300,000 in escrow for them. If the deal went through,","}
{"text": ""they would be paid an additional $300,000. The miners agreed.","}
{"text": ""The little group traveled to New York, where a meeting was held at","}
{"text": ""the mansion of Samuel L. Barlow. The cream of the city’s aristocracy","}
{"text": ""was in attendance—General George Brinton McClellan, commander of","}
{"text": ""the Union forces in the Civil War; General Benjamin Butler; Horace","}
{"text": ""Greeley, editor of the newspaper the New York Tribune; Harpending;Ralston; and Tiffany. Only Slack and Arnold were missing—as tourists","}
{"text": ""in the city, they had decided to go sight-seeing.","}
{"text": ""When Tiffany announced that the gems were real and worth a fortune,","}
{"text": ""the financiers could barely control their excitement. They wired","}
{"text": ""Rothschild and other tycoons to tell them about the diamond mine and","}
{"text": ""inviting them to share in the investment. At the same time, they also told","}
{"text": ""the prospectors that they wanted one more test: They insisted that a","}
{"text": ""mining expert of their choosing accompany Slack and Arnold to the site","}
{"text": ""to verify its wealth. The prospectors reluctantly agreed. In the meantime,","}
{"text": ""they said, they had to return to San Francisco. The jewels that Tiffany","}
{"text": ""had examined they left with Harpending for safekeeping.","}
{"text": ""Several weeks later, a man named Louis Janin, the best mining expert","}
{"text": ""in the country, met the prospectors in San Francisco. Janin was a born","}
{"text": ""skeptic who was determined to make sure that the mine was not a fraud.","}
{"text": ""Accompanying Janin were Harpending, and several other interested","}
{"text": ""financiers. As with the previous expert, the prospectors led the team","}
{"text": ""through a complex series of canyons, completely confusing them as to","}
{"text": ""their whereabouts. Arriving at the site, the financiers watched in","}
{"text": ""amazement as Janin dug the area up, leveling anthills, turning over","}
{"text": ""boulders, and finding emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and most of all","}
{"text": ""diamonds. The dig lasted eight days, and by the end, Janin was","}
{"text": ""convinced: He told the investors that they now possessed the richest field","}
{"text": ""in mining history. “With a hundred men and proper machinery,” he told","}
{"text": ""them, “I would guarantee to send out one million dollars in diamonds","}
{"text": ""every thirty days.”","}
{"text": ""Returning to San Francisco a few days later, Ralston, Harpending, and","}
{"text": ""company acted fast to form a $10 million corporation of private","}
{"text": ""investors. First, however, they had to get rid of Arnold and Slack. That","}
{"text": ""meant hiding their excitement—they certainly did not want to reveal the","}
{"text": ""field’s real value. So they played possum. Who knows if Janin is right,","}
{"text": ""they told the prospectors, the mine may not be as rich as we think. This","}
{"text": ""just made the prospectors angry. Trying a different tactic, the financiers","}
{"text": ""told the two men that if they insisted on having shares in the mine, they","}
{"text": ""would end up being fleeced by the unscrupulous tycoons and investors","}
{"text": ""who would run the corporation ; better, they said, to take the $700,000","}
{"text": ""already offered—an enormous sum at the time—and put their greed","}
{"text": ""aside. This the prospectors seemed to understand, and they finally agreed","}
{"text": ""to take the money, in return signing the rights to the site over to the","}
{"text": ""financiers, and leaving maps to it.News of the mine spread like wildfire. Prospectors fanned out across","}
{"text": ""Wyoming. Meanwhile Harpending and group began spending the","}
{"text": ""millions they had collected from their investors, buying equipment,","}
{"text": ""hiring the best men in the business, and furnishing luxurious offices in","}
{"text": ""New York and San Francisco.","}
{"text": ""A few weeks later, on their first trip back to the site, they learned the","}
{"text": ""hard truth: Not a single diamond or ruby was to be found. It was all a","}
{"text": ""fake. They were ruined. Harpending had unwittingly lured the richest","}
{"text": ""men in the world into the biggest scam of the century.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Arnold and Slack pulled off their stupendous con not by using a fake","}
{"text": ""engineer or bribing Tiffany: All of the experts had been real. All of them","}
{"text": ""honestly believed in the existence of the mine and in the value of the","}
{"text": ""gems. What had fooled them all was nothing else than Arnold and Slack","}
{"text": ""themselves. The two men seemed to be such rubes, such hayseeds, so","}
{"text": ""naive, that no one for an instant had believed them capable of an","}
{"text": ""audacious scam. The prospectors had simply observed the law of","}
{"text": ""appearing more stupid than the mark—the deceiver’s First","}
{"text": ""Commandment.","}
{"text": ""The logistics of the con were quite simple. Months before Arnold and","}
{"text": ""Slack announced the “discovery” of the diamond mine, they traveled to","}
{"text": ""Europe, where they purchased some real gems for around $12,000 (part","}
{"text": ""of the money they had saved from their days as gold miners). They then","}
{"text": ""salted the “mine” with these gems, which the first expert dug up and","}
{"text": ""brought to San Francisco. The jewelers who had appraised these stones,","}
{"text": ""including Tiffany himself, had gotten caught up in the fever and had","}
{"text": ""grossly overestimated their value. Then Ralston gave the prospectors","}
{"text": ""$100,000 as security, and immediately after their trip to New York they","}
{"text": ""simply went to Amsterdam, where they bought sacks of uncut gems,","}
{"text": ""before returning to San Francisco. The second time they salted the mine,","}
{"text": ""there were many more jewels to be found.","}
{"text": ""The effectiveness of the scheme, however, rested not on tricks like","}
{"text": ""these but on the fact that Arnold and Slack played their parts to","}
{"text": ""perfection. On their trip to New York, where they mingled with","}
{"text": ""millionaires and tycoons, they played up their clodhopper image,wearing pants and coats a size or two too small and acting incredulous at","}
{"text": ""everything they saw in the big city. No one believed that these country","}
{"text": ""simpletons could possibly be conning the most devious, unscrupulous","}
{"text": ""financiers of the time. And once Harpending, Ralston, and even","}
{"text": ""Rothschild accepted the mine’s existence, anyone who doubted it was","}
{"text": ""questioning the intelligence of the world’s most successful businessmen.","}
{"text": ""In the end, Harpending’s reputation was ruined and he never","}
{"text": ""recovered; Rothschild learned his lesson and never fell for another con;","}
{"text": ""Slack took his money and disappeared from view, never to be found.","}
{"text": ""Arnold simply went home to Kentucky. After all, his sale of his mining","}
{"text": ""rights had been legitimate; the buyers had taken the best advice, and if","}
{"text": ""the mine had run out of diamonds, that was their problem. Arnold used","}
{"text": ""the money to greatly enlarge his farm and open up a bank of his own.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The feeling that someone else is more intelligent than we are is almost","}
{"text": ""intolerable. We usually try to justify it in different ways: “He only has","}
{"text": ""book knowledge, whereas I have real knowledge.” “Her parents paid for","}
{"text": ""her to get a good education. If my parents had had as much money, if I","}
{"text": ""had been as privileged….” “He’s not as smart as he thinks.” Last but not","}
{"text": ""least: “She may know her narrow little field better than I do, but beyond","}
{"text": ""that she’s really not smart at all. Even Einstein was a boob outside","}
{"text": ""physics.”","}
{"text": ""Given how important the idea of intelligence is to most people’s","}
{"text": ""vanity, it is critical never inadvertently to insult or impugn a person’s","}
{"text": ""brain power. That is an unforgivable sin. But if you can make this iron","}
{"text": ""rule work for you, it opens up all sorts of avenues of deception.","}
{"text": ""Subliminally reassure people that they are more intelligent than you are,","}
{"text": ""or even that you are a bit of a moron, and you can run rings around them.","}
{"text": ""The feeling of intellectual superiority you give them will disarm their","}
{"text": ""suspicion-muscles.","}
{"text": ""In 1865 the Prussian councillor Otto von Bismarck wanted Austria to","}
{"text": ""sign a certain treaty. The treaty was totally in the interests of Prussia and","}
{"text": ""against the interests of Austria, and Bismarck would have to strategize to","}
{"text": ""get the Austrians to agree to it. But the Austrian negotiator, Count","}
{"text": ""Blome, was an avid cardplayer. His particular game was quinze, and heoften said that he could judge a man’s character by the way he played","}
{"text": ""quinze. Bismarck knew of this saying of Blome’s.","}
{"text": ""The night before the negotiations were to begin, Bismarck innocently","}
{"text": ""engaged Blome in a game of quinze. The Prussian would later write,","}
{"text": ""“That was the very last time I ever played quinze. I played so recklessly","}
{"text": ""that everyone was astonished. I lost several thousand talers [the currency","}
{"text": ""of the time], but I succeeded in fooling [Blome], for he believed me to be","}
{"text": ""more venturesome than I am and I gave way.” Besides appearing","}
{"text": ""reckless, Bismarck also played the witless fool, saying ridiculous things","}
{"text": ""and bumbling about with a surplus of nervous energy.","}
{"text": ""All this made Blome feel he had gathered valuable information. He","}
{"text": ""knew that Bismarck was aggressive—the Prussian already had that","}
{"text": ""reputation, and the way he played had confirmed it. And aggressive men,","}
{"text": ""Blome knew, can be foolish and rash. Accordingly, when the time came","}
{"text": ""to sign the treaty, Blome thought he had the advantage. A heedless fool","}
{"text": ""like Bismarck, he thought, is incapable of cold-blooded calculation and","}
{"text": ""deception, so he only glanced at the treaty before signing it—he failed to","}
{"text": ""read the fine print. As soon as the ink was dry, a joyous Bismarck","}
{"text": ""exclaimed in his face, “Well, I could never have believed that I should","}
{"text": ""find an Austrian diplomat willing to sign that document!”","}
{"text": ""The Chinese have a phrase, “Masquerading as a swine to kill the","}
{"text": ""tiger.” This refers to an ancient hunting technique in which the hunter","}
{"text": ""clothes himself in the hide and snout of a pig, and mimics its grunting.","}
{"text": ""The mighty tiger thinks a pig is coming his way, and lets it get close,","}
{"text": ""savoring the prospect of an easy meal. But it is the hunter who has the","}
{"text": ""last laugh.","}
{"text": ""Masquerading as a swine works wonders on those who, like tigers, are","}
{"text": ""arrogant and overconfident: The easier they think it is to prey on you, the","}
{"text": ""more easily you can turn the tables. This trick is also useful if you are","}
{"text": ""ambitious yet find yourself low in the hierarchy: Appearing less","}
{"text": ""intelligent than you are, even a bit of a fool, is the perfect disguise. Look","}
{"text": ""like a harmless pig and no one will believe you harbor dangerous","}
{"text": ""ambitions. They may even promote you since you seem so likable, and","}
{"text": ""subservient. Claudius before he became emperor of Rome, and the prince","}
{"text": ""of France who later became Louis XIII, used this tactic when those","}
{"text": ""above them suspected they might have designs on the throne. By playing","}
{"text": ""the fool as young men, they were left alone. When the time came for","}
{"text": ""them to strike, and to act with vigor and decisiveness, they caught","}
{"text": ""everyone off-guard.Intelligence is the obvious quality to downplay, but why stop there?","}
{"text": ""Taste and sophistication rank close to intelligence on the vanity scale;","}
{"text": ""make people feel they are more sophisticated than you are and their","}
{"text": ""guard will come down. As Arnold and Slack knew, an air of complete","}
{"text": ""naivete can work wonders. Those fancy financiers were laughing at them","}
{"text": ""behind their backs, but who laughed loudest in the end? In general, then,","}
{"text": ""always make people believe they are smarter and more sophisticated than","}
{"text": ""you are. They will keep you around because you make them feel better","}
{"text": ""about themselves, and the longer you are around, the more opportunities","}
{"text": ""you will have to deceive them.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Opossum. In playing","}
{"text": ""dead, the opossum plays stupid.","}
{"text": ""Many a predator has therefore left it","}
{"text": ""alone. Who could believe that such an","}
{"text": ""ugly, unintelligent, nervous little creature","}
{"text": ""could be capable of such deception?","}
{"text": ""Authority: Know how to make use of stupidity: The wisest man plays","}
{"text": ""this card at times. There are occasions when the highest wisdom consists","}
{"text": ""in appearing not to know—you must not be ignorant but capable of","}
{"text": ""playing it. It is not much good being wise among fools and sane among","}
{"text": ""lunatics. He who poses as a fool is not a fool. The best way to be well","}
{"text": ""received by all is to clothe yourself in the skin of the dumbest of brutes.","}
{"text": ""(Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""To reveal the true nature of your intelligence rarely pays; you should get","}
{"text": ""in the habit of downplaying it at all times. If people inadvertently learn","}
{"text": ""the truth—that you are actually much smarter than you look—they will","}
{"text": ""admire you more for being discreet than for making your brilliance show.","}
{"text": ""At the start of your climb to the top, of course, you cannot play too","}
{"text": ""stupid: You may want to let your bosses know, in a subtle way, that youare smarter than the competition around you. As you climb the ladder,","}
{"text": ""however, you should to some degree try to dampen your brilliance.","}
{"text": ""There is, however, one situation where it pays to do the opposite—","}
{"text": ""when you can cover up a deception with a show of intelligence. In","}
{"text": ""matters of smarts as in most things, appearances are what count. If you","}
{"text": ""seem to have authority and knowledge, people will believe what you say.","}
{"text": ""This can be very useful in getting you out of a scrape.","}
{"text": ""The art dealer Joseph Duveen was once attending a soiree at the New","}
{"text": ""York home of a tycoon to whom he had recently sold a Dürer painting","}
{"text": ""for a high price. Among the guests was a young French art critic who","}
{"text": ""seemed extremely knowledgeable and confident. Wanting to impress this","}
{"text": ""man, the tycoon’s daughter showed him the Dürer, which had not yet","}
{"text": ""been hung. The critic studied it for a time, then finally said, “You know, I","}
{"text": ""don’t think this Dürer is right.” He followed the young woman as she","}
{"text": ""hurried to tell her father what he had said, and listened as the magnate,","}
{"text": ""deeply unsettled, turned to Duveen for reassurance. Duveen just laughed.","}
{"text": ""“How very amusing,” he said. “Do you realize, young man, that at least","}
{"text": ""twenty other art experts here and in Europe have been taken in too, and","}
{"text": ""have said that painting isn’t genuine? And now you’ve made the same","}
{"text": ""mistake.” His confident tone and air of authority intimidated the","}
{"text": ""Frenchman, who apologized for his mistake.","}
{"text": ""Duveen knew that the art market was flooded with fakes, and that","}
{"text": ""many paintings had been falsely ascribed to old masters. He tried his best","}
{"text": ""to distinguish the real from the fake, but in his zeal to sell he often","}
{"text": ""overplayed a work’s authenticity. What mattered to him was that the","}
{"text": ""buyer believed he had bought a Dürer, and that Duveen himself","}
{"text": ""convinced everyone of his “expertness” through his air of irreproachable","}
{"text": ""authority. Thus, it is important to be able to play the professor when","}
{"text": ""necessary and never impose such an attitude for its own sake.LAW 22","}
{"text": ""USE THE SURRENDER TACTIC: TRANSFORM","}
{"text": ""WEAKNESS INTO POWER","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender","}
{"text": ""instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate","}
{"text": ""your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the","}
{"text": ""satisfaction of fighting and defeating you—surrender first. By turning","}
{"text": ""the other cheek you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of","}
{"text": ""power.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""The island of Melos is strategically situated in the heart of the","}
{"text": ""Mediterranean. In classical times, the city of Athens dominated the sea","}
{"text": ""and coastal areas around Greece, but Sparta, in the Peloponnese, had","}
{"text": ""been Melos’s original colonizer. During the Peloponnesian War, then, the","}
{"text": ""Melians refused to ally themselves with Athens and remained loyal to","}
{"text": ""Mother Sparta. In 416 B.C. the Athenians sent an expedition against","}
{"text": ""Melos. Before launching an all-out attack, however, they dispatched a","}
{"text": ""delegation to persuade the Melians to surrender and become an ally","}
{"text": ""rather than suffer devastation and defeat.","}
{"text": ""THE CHESTNUT AND THE FIG TREE","}
{"text": ""A man who had climbed upon a certain fig tree, was bending the boughs","}
{"text": ""toward him and plucking the ripe fruit, which he then put into his mouth","}
{"text": ""to destroy and gnaw with his hard teeth. The chestnut, seeing this, tossed","}
{"text": ""its long branches and with tumultuous rustle exclaimed: “Oh Fig! Howmuch less protected by nature you are than I. See how my sweet offspring","}
{"text": ""are set in close array; first clothed in soft wrappers over which is the","}
{"text": ""hard but softly lined husk. And not content with this much care, nature","}
{"text": ""has also given us these sharp and close-set spines, so that the hand of","}
{"text": ""man cannot hurt us.” Then the fig tree began to laugh, and after the","}
{"text": ""laughter it said: “You know well that man is of such ingenuity that he","}
{"text": ""will bereave even you of your children. But in your case he will do it by","}
{"text": ""means of rods and stones; and when they are felled he will trample them","}
{"text": ""with his feet or hit them with stones, so that your offspring will emerge","}
{"text": ""from their armor crushed and maimed; while I am touched carefully by","}
{"text": ""his hands, and never, like you, with rouglxness”","}
{"text": ""LEONARDO DAVINCI, 1452-1519","}
{"text": ""“You know as well as we do,” the delegates said, “that the standard of","}
{"text": ""justice depends on the equality of power to compel, and that in fact the","}
{"text": ""strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they","}
{"text": ""have to accept.” When the Melians responded that this denied the notion","}
{"text": ""of fair play, the Athenians said that those in power determined what was","}
{"text": ""fair and what was not. The Melians argued that this authority belonged to","}
{"text": ""the gods, not to mortals. “Our opinion of the gods and our knowledge of","}
{"text": ""men,” replied a member of the Athenian delegation, “lead us to conclude","}
{"text": ""that it is a general and necessary law of nature to rule whatever one can.”","}
{"text": ""The Melians would not budge. Sparta, they insisted, would come to","}
{"text": ""their defense. The Athenians countered that the Spartans were a","}
{"text": ""conservative, practical people, and would not help Melos because they","}
{"text": ""had nothing to gain and a lot to lose by doing so.","}
{"text": ""Finally the Melians began to talk of honor and the principle of","}
{"text": ""resisting brute force. “Do not be led astray by a false sense of honor,”","}
{"text": ""said the Athenians. “Honor often brings men to ruin when they are faced","}
{"text": ""with an obvious danger that somehow affects their pride. There is","}
{"text": ""nothing disgraceful in giving way to the greatest city in Hellas when she","}
{"text": ""is offering you such reasonable terms.” The debate ended. The Melians","}
{"text": ""discussed the issue among themselves, and decided to trust in the aid of","}
{"text": ""the Spartans, the will of the gods, and the rightness of their cause. They","}
{"text": ""politely declined the Athenians’ offer.","}
{"text": ""A few days later the Athenians invaded Melos. The Melians fought","}
{"text": ""nobly, even without the Spartans, who did not come to their rescue. It","}
{"text": ""took several attempts before the Athenians could surround and besiege","}
{"text": ""their main city, but the Melians finally surrendered. The Athenians","}
{"text": ""wasted no time—they put to death all the men of military age that they","}
{"text": ""could capture, they sold the women and children as slaves, and theyrepopulated the island with their own colonists. Only a handful of","}
{"text": ""Melians survived.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The Athenians were one of the most eminently practical people in","}
{"text": ""history, and they made the most practical argument they could with the","}
{"text": ""Melians: When you are weaker, there is nothing to be gained by fighting","}
{"text": ""a useless fight. No one comes to help the weak—by doing so they would","}
{"text": ""only put themselves in jeopardy. The weak are alone and must submit.","}
{"text": ""Fighting gives you nothing to gain but martyrdom, and in the process a","}
{"text": ""lot of people who do not believe in your cause will die.","}
{"text": ""Weakness is no sin, and can even become a strength if you learn how","}
{"text": ""to play it right. Had the Melians surrendered in the first place, they","}
{"text": ""would have been able to sabotage the Athenians in subtle ways, or might","}
{"text": ""have gotten what they could have out of the alliance and then left it when","}
{"text": ""the Athenians themselves were weakened, as in fact happened several","}
{"text": ""years later. Fortunes change and the mighty are often brought down.","}
{"text": ""Surrender conceals great power: Lulling the enemy into complacency, it","}
{"text": ""gives you time to recoup, time to undermine, time for revenge. Never","}
{"text": ""sacrifice that time in exchange for honor in a battle that you cannot win.","}
{"text": ""Voltaire was living in exile in London at a time when anti-French","}
{"text": ""sentiment was at its highest. One day walking through the streets. he","}
{"text": ""found himself surrounded by an angry crowd. “Hang him. Hang the","}
{"text": ""Frenchman,”they yelled. Voltaire calmly addressed the mob with the","}
{"text": ""following words: “Men of England’ You wish to kill me because I am a","}
{"text": ""Frenchman. Am I not punished enough in not being born an","}
{"text": ""Englishman?” The crowd cheered his thoughtfill words, and escorted","}
{"text": ""him safely back to his lodgings.","}
{"text": ""THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES. CLIFTON","}
{"text": ""FADIMAN, ED., 1985","}
{"text": ""Weak people never give way when they ought to.","}
{"text": ""Cardinal de Retz, 1613-1679","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAWSometime in the 1920s the German writer Bertolt Brecht became a","}
{"text": ""convert to the cause of Communism. From then on his plays, essays, and","}
{"text": ""poems reflected his revolutionary fervor, and he generally tried to make","}
{"text": ""his ideological statements as clear as possible. When Hitler came to","}
{"text": ""power in Germany, Brecht and his Communist colleagues became","}
{"text": ""marked men. He had many friends in the United States—Americans who","}
{"text": ""sympathized with his beliefs, as well as fellow German intellectuals who","}
{"text": ""had fled Hitler. In 1941, accordingly, Brecht emigrated to the United","}
{"text": ""States, and chose to settle in Los Angeles, where he hoped to make a","}
{"text": ""living in the film business.","}
{"text": ""Over the next few years Brecht wrote screenplays with a pointedly an","}
{"text": ""ticapitalist slant. He had little success in Hollywood, so in 1947, the war","}
{"text": ""having ended, he decided to return to Europe. That same year, however,","}
{"text": ""the U.S. Congress’s House Un-American Activities Committee began its","}
{"text": ""investigation into supposed Communist infiltration in Hollywood. It","}
{"text": ""began to gather information on Brecht, who had so openly espoused","}
{"text": ""Marxism, and on September 19, 1947, only a month before he had","}
{"text": ""planned to leave the United States, he received a subpoena to appear","}
{"text": ""before the committee. In addition to Brecht, a number of other writers,","}
{"text": ""producers, and directors were summoned to appear as well, and this","}
{"text": ""group came to be known as the Hollywood 19.","}
{"text": ""Before going to Washington, the Hollywood 19 met to decide on a","}
{"text": ""plan of action. Their approach would be confrontational. Instead of","}
{"text": ""answering questions about their membership, or lack of it, in the","}
{"text": ""Communist Party, they would read prepared statements that would","}
{"text": ""challenge the authority of the committee and argue that its activities were","}
{"text": ""unconstitutional. Even if this strategy meant imprisonment, it would gain","}
{"text": ""publicity for their cause.","}
{"text": ""Brecht disagreed. What good was it, he asked, to play the martyr and","}
{"text": ""gain a little public sympathy if in the process they lost the ability to stage","}
{"text": ""their plays and sell their scripts for years to come? He felt certain they","}
{"text": ""were all more intelligent than the members of the committee. Why lower","}
{"text": ""themselves to the level of their opponents by arguing with them? Why","}
{"text": ""not outfox the committee by appearing to surrender to it while subtly","}
{"text": ""mocking it? The Hollywood 19 listened to Brecht politely, but decided to","}
{"text": ""stick to their plan, leaving Brecht to go his own way.","}
{"text": ""The committee finally summoned Brecht on October 30. They","}
{"text": ""expected him to do what others among the Hollywood 19 who had","}
{"text": ""testified before him had done: Argue, refuse to answer questions,","}
{"text": ""challenge the committee’s right to hold its hearing, even yell and hurlinsults. Much to their surprise, however, Brecht was the very picture of","}
{"text": ""congeniality. He wore a suit (something he rarely did), smoked a cigar","}
{"text": ""(he had heard that the committee chairman was a passionate cigar","}
{"text": ""smoker), answered their questions politely, and generally deferred to","}
{"text": ""their authority.","}
{"text": ""Unlike the other witnesses, Brecht answered the question of whether","}
{"text": ""he belonged to the Communist Party: He was not a member, he said,","}
{"text": ""which happened to be the truth. One committee member asked him, “Is it","}
{"text": ""true you have written a number of revolutionary plays?” Brecht had","}
{"text": ""written many plays with overt Communist messages, but he responded,","}
{"text": ""“I have written a number of poems and songs and plays in the fight","}
{"text": ""against Hitler and, of course, they can be considered, therefore, as","}
{"text": ""revolutionary because I, of course, was for the overthrow of that","}
{"text": ""government.” This statement went unchallenged.","}
{"text": ""Brecht’s English was more than adequate, but he used an interpreter","}
{"text": ""throughout his testimony, a tactic that allowed him to play subtle games","}
{"text": ""with language. When committee members found Communist leanings in","}
{"text": ""lines from English editions of his poems, he would repeat the lines in","}
{"text": ""German for the interpreter, who would then retranslate them; and","}
{"text": ""somehow they would come out innocuous. At one point a committee","}
{"text": ""member read one of Brecht’s revolutionary poems out loud in English,","}
{"text": ""and asked him if he had written it. “No,” he responded, “I wrote a","}
{"text": ""German poem, which is very different from this.” The author’s elusive","}
{"text": ""answers baffled the committee members, but his politeness and the way","}
{"text": ""he yielded to their authority made it impossible for them to get angry","}
{"text": ""with him.","}
{"text": ""After only an hour of questioning, the committee members had had","}
{"text": ""enough. “Thank you very much,” said the chairman, “You are a good","}
{"text": ""example to the [other] witnesses.” Not only did they free him, they","}
{"text": ""offered to help him if he had any trouble with immigration officials who","}
{"text": ""might detain him for their own reasons. The following day, Brecht left","}
{"text": ""the United States, never to return.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The Hollywood 19’s confrontational approach won them a lot of","}
{"text": ""sympathy, and years later they gained a kind of vindication in public","}
{"text": ""opinion. But they were also blacklisted, and lost valuable years of","}
{"text": ""profitable working time. Brecht, on the other hand, expressed his disgustat the committee more indirectly. It was not that he changed his beliefs or","}
{"text": ""compromised his values; instead, during his short testimony, he kept the","}
{"text": ""upper hand by appearing to yield while all the time running circles","}
{"text": ""around the committee with vague responses, outright lies that went","}
{"text": ""unchallenged because they were wrapped in enigmas, and word games.","}
{"text": ""In the end he kept the freedom to continue his revolutionary writing (as","}
{"text": ""opposed to suffering imprisonment or detainment in the United States),","}
{"text": ""even while subtly mocking the committee and its authority with his","}
{"text": ""pseudo-obedience.","}
{"text": ""Keep in mind the following: People trying to make a show of their","}
{"text": ""authority are easily deceived by the surrender tactic. Your outward sign","}
{"text": ""of submission makes them feel important; satisfied that you respect","}
{"text": ""them, they become easier targets for a later counterattack, or for the kind","}
{"text": ""of indirect ridicule used by Brecht. Measuring your power over time,","}
{"text": ""never sacrifice long-term maneuverability for the short-lived glories of","}
{"text": ""martyrdom.","}
{"text": ""When the great lord passes, the wise peasant bows deeply and silently","}
{"text": ""farts.","}
{"text": ""Ethiophan proverb","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""What gets us into trouble in the realm of power is often our own","}
{"text": ""overreaction to the moves of our enemies and rivals. That overreaction","}
{"text": ""creates problems we would have avoided had we been more reasonable.","}
{"text": ""It also has an endless rebound effect, for the enemy then overreacts as","}
{"text": ""well, much as the Athenians did to the Melians. It is always our first","}
{"text": ""instinct to react, to meet aggression with some other kind of aggression.","}
{"text": ""But the next time someone pushes you and you find yourself starting to","}
{"text": ""react, try this: Do not resist or fight back, but yield, turn the other cheek,","}
{"text": ""bend. You will find that this often neutralizes their behavior—they","}
{"text": ""expected, even wanted you to react with force and so they are caught off-","}
{"text": ""guard and confounded by your lack of resistance. By yielding, you in","}
{"text": ""fact control the situation, because your surrender is part of a larger plan","}
{"text": ""to lull them into believing they have defeated you.","}
{"text": ""This is the essence of the surrender tactic: Inwardly you stay firm, but","}
{"text": ""outwardly you bend. Deprived of a reason to get angry, your opponentswill often be bewildered instead. And they are unlikely to react with","}
{"text": ""more violence, which would demand a reaction from you. Instead you","}
{"text": ""are allowed the time and space to plot the countermoves that will bring","}
{"text": ""them down. In the battle of the intelligent against the brutal and the","}
{"text": ""aggressive, the surrender tactic is the supreme weapon. It does require","}
{"text": ""self-control: Those who genuinely surrender give up their freedom, and","}
{"text": ""may be crushed by the humiliation of their defeat. You have to remember","}
{"text": ""that you only appear to surrender, like the animal that plays dead to save","}
{"text": ""its hide.","}
{"text": ""We have seen that it can be better to surrender than to fight; faced with","}
{"text": ""a more powerful opponent and a sure defeat, it is often also better to","}
{"text": ""surrender than to run away. Running away may save you for the time","}
{"text": ""being, but the aggressor will eventually catch up with you. If you","}
{"text": ""surrender instead, you have an opportunity to coil around your enemy","}
{"text": ""and strike with your fangs from close up.","}
{"text": ""In 473 B.C., in ancient China, King Goujian of Yue suffered a horrible","}
{"text": ""defeat from the ruler of Wu in the battle of Fujiao. Goujian wanted to","}
{"text": ""flee, but he had an adviser who told him to surrender and to place","}
{"text": ""himself in the service of the ruler of Wu, from which position he could","}
{"text": ""study the man and plot his revenge. Deciding to follow this advice,","}
{"text": ""Goujian gave the ruler all of his riches, and went to work in his","}
{"text": ""conqueror’s stables as the lowest servant. For three years he humbled","}
{"text": ""himself before the ruler, who then, finally satisfied of his loyalty,","}
{"text": ""allowed him to return home. Inwardly, however, Goujian had spent those","}
{"text": ""three years gathering information and plotting revenge. When a terrible","}
{"text": ""drought struck Wu, and the kingdom was weakened by inner turmoil, he","}
{"text": ""raised an army, invaded, and won with ease. That is the power behind","}
{"text": ""surrender: It gives you the time and the flexibility to plot a devastating","}
{"text": ""counterblow. Had Goujian run away, he would have lost this chance.","}
{"text": ""When foreign trade began to threaten Japanese independence in the","}
{"text": ""mid-nineteenth century, the Japanese debated how to defeat the","}
{"text": ""foreigners. One minister, Hotta Masayoshi, wrote a memorandum in","}
{"text": ""1857 that influenced Japanese policy for years to come: “I am therefore","}
{"text": ""convinced that our policy should be to conclude friendly alliances, to","}
{"text": ""send ships to foreign countries everywhere and conduct trade, to copy","}
{"text": ""the foreigners where they are at their best and so repair our own","}
{"text": ""shortcomings, to foster our national strength and complete our","}
{"text": ""armaments, and so gradually subject the foreigners to our influence until","}
{"text": ""in the end all the countries of the world know the blessings of perfect","}
{"text": ""tranquillity and our hegemony is acknowledged throughout the globe.”This is a brilliant application of the Law: Use surrender to gain access to","}
{"text": ""your enemy. Learn his ways, insinuate yourself with him slowly,","}
{"text": ""outwardly conform to his customs, but inwardly maintain your own","}
{"text": ""culture. Eventually you will emerge victorious, for while he considers","}
{"text": ""you weak and inferior, and takes no precautions against you, you are","}
{"text": ""using the time to catch up and surpass him. This soft, permeable form of","}
{"text": ""invasion is often the best, for the enemy has nothing to react against,","}
{"text": ""prepare for, or resist. And had Japan resisted Western influence by force,","}
{"text": ""it might well have suffered a devastating invasion that would have","}
{"text": ""permanently altered its culture.","}
{"text": ""Surrender can also offer a way of mocking your enemies, of turning","}
{"text": ""their power against them, as it did for Brecht. Milan Kundera’s novel","}
{"text": ""The Joke, based on the author’s experiences in a penal camp in","}
{"text": ""Czechoslovakia, tells the story of how the prison guards organized a","}
{"text": ""relay race, guards against prisoners. For the guards this was a chance to","}
{"text": ""show off their physical superiority. The prisoners knew they were","}
{"text": ""expected to lose, so they went out of their way to oblige—miming","}
{"text": ""exaggerated exertion while barely moving, running a few yards and","}
{"text": ""collapsing, limping, jogging ever so slowly while the guards raced ahead","}
{"text": ""at full speed. Both by joining the race and by losing it, they had obliged","}
{"text": ""the guards obediently; but their “overobedience” had mocked the event","}
{"text": ""to the point of ruining it. Overobedience—surrender—was here a way to","}
{"text": ""demonstrate superiority in a reverse manner. Resistance would have","}
{"text": ""engaged the prisoners in the cycle of violence, lowering them to the","}
{"text": ""guards’ level. Overobeying the guards, however, made them ridiculous,","}
{"text": ""yet they could not rightly punish the prisoners, who had only done what","}
{"text": ""they asked.","}
{"text": ""Power is always in flux—since the game is by nature fluid, and an","}
{"text": ""arena of constant struggle, those with power almost always find","}
{"text": ""themselves eventually on the downward swing. If you find yourself","}
{"text": ""temporarily weakened, the surrender tactic is perfect for raising yourself","}
{"text": ""up again—it disguises your ambition; it teaches you patience and self-","}
{"text": ""control, key skills in the game; and it puts you in the best possible","}
{"text": ""position for taking advantage of your oppressor’s sudden slide. If you","}
{"text": ""run away or fight back, in the long run you cannot win. If you surrender,","}
{"text": ""you will almost always emerge victorious.","}
{"text": ""Image: An Oak","}
{"text": ""Tree. The oak","}
{"text": ""that resists the","}
{"text": ""wind loses itsbranches one","}
{"text": ""by one, and","}
{"text": ""with nothing","}
{"text": ""left to protect","}
{"text": ""it, the trunk fi","}
{"text": ""nally snaps.","}
{"text": ""The oak that","}
{"text": ""bends lives long","}
{"text": ""er, its trunk grow","}
{"text": ""ing wider, its roots","}
{"text": ""deeper and more tenacious.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye and a","}
{"text": ""tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but","}
{"text": ""whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.","}
{"text": ""And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let them","}
{"text": ""have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go","}
{"text": ""with him twain. (Jesus Christ, in Matthew 5:38-41)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The point of surrendering is to save your hide for a later date when you","}
{"text": ""can reassert yourself. It is precisely to avoid martyrdom that one","}
{"text": ""surrenders, but there are times when the enemy will not relent, and","}
{"text": ""martyrdom seems the only way out. Furthermore, if you are willing to","}
{"text": ""die, others may gain power and inspiration from your example.","}
{"text": ""Yet martyrdom, surrender’s reversal, is a messy, inexact tactic, and is","}
{"text": ""as violent as the aggression it combats. For every famous martyr there","}
{"text": ""are thousands more who have inspired neither a religion nor a rebellion,","}
{"text": ""so that if martyrdom does sometimes grant a certain power, it does so","}
{"text": ""unpredictably. More important, you will not be around to enjoy that","}
{"text": ""power, such as it is. And there is finally something selfish and arrogantabout martyrs, as if they felt their followers were less important than","}
{"text": ""their own glory.","}
{"text": ""When power deserts you, it is best to ignore this Law’s reversal. Leave","}
{"text": ""martyrdom alone: The pendulum will swing back your way eventually,","}
{"text": ""and you should stay alive to see it.LAW 23","}
{"text": ""CONCENTRATE YOUR FORCES","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their","}
{"text": ""strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it","}
{"text": ""deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another—intensity","}
{"text": ""defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to","}
{"text": ""elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk","}
{"text": ""for a long time to come.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In China in the early sixth century B.C., the kingdom of Wu began a war","}
{"text": ""with the neighboring northern provinces of the Middle Kingdom. Wu","}
{"text": ""was a growing power, but it lacked the great history and civilization of","}
{"text": ""the Middle Kingdom, for centuries the center of Chinese culture. By","}
{"text": ""defeating the Middle Kingdom, the king of Wu would instantly raise his","}
{"text": ""status.","}
{"text": ""The war began with great fanfare and several victories, but it soon","}
{"text": ""bogged down. A victory on one front would leave the Wu armies","}
{"text": ""vulnerable on another. The king’s chief minister and adviser, Wu Tzu-","}
{"text": ""hsiu, warned him that the barbarous state of Yueh, to the south, was","}
{"text": ""beginning to notice the kingdom of Wu’s problems and had designs to","}
{"text": ""invade. The king only laughed at such worries—one more big victory","}
{"text": ""and the great Middle Kingdom would be his.","}
{"text": ""THE GOOSE AND THE HOUSEA goose who was plucking grass upon a common thought herself","}
{"text": ""affronted by a horse who fed near her; and, in hissing accents, thus","}
{"text": ""addressed him: “I am certainly a more noble and perfect animal than","}
{"text": ""you, for the whole range and extent of your faculties is confined to one","}
{"text": ""element. I can walk upon the ground as well as you; I have, besides,","}
{"text": ""wings, with which I can raise myself in the air; and when I please, I can","}
{"text": ""sport on ponds and lakes, and refresh myself in the cool waters. I enjoy","}
{"text": ""the different powers of a bird, a fish, and a quadruped.”","}
{"text": ""The horse, snorting somewhat disdainfully, replied: “It is true you","}
{"text": ""inhabit three elements, but you make no very distinguished figure in any","}
{"text": ""one of them. You fly, indeed; but your flight is so heavy and clumsy, that","}
{"text": ""you have no right to put yourself on a level with the lark or the swallow.","}
{"text": ""You can swim on the surface of the waters, but you cannot live in them as","}
{"text": ""fishes do; you cannot find your food in that element, nor glide smoothly","}
{"text": ""along the bottom of the waves. And when you walk, or rather waddle,","}
{"text": ""upon the ground, with your broad feet and your long neck stretched out,","}
{"text": ""hissing at everyone who passes by, you bring upon yourself the derision","}
{"text": ""of all beholders. I confess that I am only formed to move upon the","}
{"text": ""ground; but how graceful is my make! How well turned mv lunbs! How","}
{"text": ""highly finished my whole body! How great my strength! How astonishing","}
{"text": ""my speed! I had much rather be confined to one element, and be admired","}
{"text": ""in that, than be a goose in all!”","}
{"text": ""FABLES FROM BOCCAACCIO AND CHAUCER. DR. JOHN AIKIN,","}
{"text": ""1747-1822","}
{"text": ""In the year 490, Wu Tzu-hsiu sent his son away to safety in the","}
{"text": ""kingdom of Ch’i. In doing so he sent the king a signal that he","}
{"text": ""disapproved of the war, and that he believed the king’s selfish ambition","}
{"text": ""was leading Wu to ruin. The king, sensing betrayal, lashed out at his","}
{"text": ""minister, accusing him of a lack of loyalty and, in a fit of anger, ordered","}
{"text": ""him to kill himself. Wu Tzu-hsiu obeyed his king, but before he plunged","}
{"text": ""the knife into his chest, he cried, “Tear out my eyes, oh King, and fix","}
{"text": ""them on the gate of Wu, so that I may see the triumphant entry of Yueh.”","}
{"text": ""As Wu Tzu-hsiu had predicted, within a few years a Yueh army passed","}
{"text": ""beneath the gate of Wu. As the barbarians surrounded the palace, the","}
{"text": ""king remembered his minister’s last words—and felt the dead man’s","}
{"text": ""disembodied eyes watching his disgrace. Unable to bear his shame, the","}
{"text": ""king killed himself, “covering his face so that he would not have to meet","}
{"text": ""the reproachful gaze of his minister in the next world.”Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The story of Wu is a paradigm of all the empires that have come to ruin","}
{"text": ""by overreaching. Drunk with success and sick with ambition, such","}
{"text": ""empires expand to grotesque proportions and meet a ruin that is total.","}
{"text": ""This is what happened to ancient Athens, which lusted for the faraway","}
{"text": ""island of Sicily and ended up losing its empire. The Romans stretched","}
{"text": ""the boundaries of their empire to encompass vast territories; in doing so","}
{"text": ""they increased their vulnerability, and the chances of invasion from yet","}
{"text": ""another barbarian tribe. Their useless expansion led their empire into","}
{"text": ""oblivion.","}
{"text": ""For the Chinese, the fate of the kingdom of Wu serves as an elemental","}
{"text": ""lesson on what happens when you dissipate your forces on several fronts,","}
{"text": ""losing sight of distant dangers for the sake of present gain. “If you are","}
{"text": ""not in danger,” says Sun-tzu, “do not fight.” It is almost a physical law:","}
{"text": ""What is bloated beyond its proportions inevitably collapses. The mind","}
{"text": ""must not wander from goal to goal, or be distracted by success from its","}
{"text": ""sense of purpose and proportion. What is concentrated, coherent, and","}
{"text": ""connected to its past has power. What is dissipated, divided, and","}
{"text": ""distended rots and falls to the ground. The bigger it bloats, the harder it","}
{"text": ""falls.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""The Rothschild banking family had humble beginnings in the Jewish","}
{"text": ""ghetto of Frankfurt, Germany. The city’s harsh laws made it impossible","}
{"text": ""for Jews to mingle outside the ghetto, but the Jews had turned this into a","}
{"text": ""virtue—it made them self-reliant, and zealous to preserve their culture at","}
{"text": ""all costs. Mayer Amschel, the first of the Rothschilds to accumulate","}
{"text": ""wealth by lending money, in the late eighteenth century, well understood","}
{"text": ""the power that comes from this kind of concentration and cohesion.","}
{"text": ""First, Mayer Amschel allied himself with one family, the powerful","}
{"text": ""princes of Thurn und Taxis. Instead of spreading his services out, he","}
{"text": ""made himself these princes’ primary banker. Second, he entrusted none","}
{"text": ""of his business to outsiders, using only his children and close relatives.","}
{"text": ""The more unified and tight-knit the family, the more powerful it would","}
{"text": ""become. Soon Mayer Amschel’s five sons were running the business.And when Mayer Amschel lay dying, in 1812, he refused to name a","}
{"text": ""principal heir, instead setting up all of his sons to continue the family","}
{"text": ""tradition, so that they would stay united and would resist the dangers of","}
{"text": ""diffusion and of infiltration by outsiders.","}
{"text": ""Beware of dissipating your powers: strive constantly to concentrate","}
{"text": ""them. Genius thinks it can do whatever it sees others doing, but it is sure","}
{"text": ""to repent of every ill-judged outlay.","}
{"text": ""JOHANN VON GOETHE, 1749-1832","}
{"text": ""Once Mayer Amschel’s sons controlled the family business, they","}
{"text": ""decided that the key to wealth on a larger scale was to secure a foothold","}
{"text": ""in the finances of Europe as a whole, rather than being tied to any one","}
{"text": ""country or prince. Of the five brothers, Nathan had already opened up","}
{"text": ""shop in London. In 1813 James moved to Paris. Amschel remained in","}
{"text": ""Frankfurt, Salomon established himself in Vienna, and Karl, the","}
{"text": ""youngest son, went to Naples. With each sphere of influence covered,","}
{"text": ""they could tighten their hold on Europe’s financial markets.","}
{"text": ""This widespread network, of course, opened the Rothschilds to the","}
{"text": ""very danger of which their father had warned them: diffusion, division,","}
{"text": ""dissension. They avoided this danger, and established themselves as the","}
{"text": ""most powerful force in European finance and politics, by once again","}
{"text": ""resorting to the strategy of the ghetto—excluding outsiders,","}
{"text": ""concentrating their forces. The Rothschilds established the fastest courier","}
{"text": ""system in Europe, allowing them to get news of events before all their","}
{"text": ""competitors. They held a virtual monopoly on information. And their","}
{"text": ""internal communications and correspondence were written in Frankfurt","}
{"text": ""Yiddish, and in a code that only the brothers could decipher. There was","}
{"text": ""no point in stealing this information—no one could understand it. “Even","}
{"text": ""the shewdest bankers cannot find their way through the Rothschild","}
{"text": ""maze,” admitted a financier who had tried to infiltrate the clan.","}
{"text": ""In 1824 James Rothschild decided it was time to get married. This","}
{"text": ""presented a problem for the Rothschilds, since it meant incorporating an","}
{"text": ""outsider into the Rothschild clan, an outsider who could betray its","}
{"text": ""secrets. James therefore decided to marry within the family, and chose","}
{"text": ""the daughter of his brother Salomon. The brothers were ecstatic—this","}
{"text": ""was the perfect solution to their marriage problems. James’s choice now","}
{"text": ""became the family policy: Two years later, Nathan married off his","}
{"text": ""daughter to Salomon’s son. In the years to come, the five brothers","}
{"text": ""arranged eighteen matches among their children, sixteen of these being","}
{"text": ""contracted between first cousins.“We are like the mechanism of a watch: Each part is essential,” said","}
{"text": ""brother Salomon. As in a watch, every part of the business moved in","}
{"text": ""concert with every other, and the inner workings were invisible to the","}
{"text": ""world, which only saw the movement of the hands. While other rich and","}
{"text": ""powerful families suffered irrecoverable downturns during the tumultous","}
{"text": ""first half of the nineteenth century, the tight-knit Rothschilds managed","}
{"text": ""not only to preserve but to expand their unprecedented wealth.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The Rothschilds were born in strange times. They came from a place that","}
{"text": ""had not changed in centuries, but lived in an age that gave birth to the","}
{"text": ""Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and an endless series of","}
{"text": ""upheavals. The Rothchilds kept the past alive, resisted the patterns of","}
{"text": ""dispersion of their era and for this are emblematic of the law of","}
{"text": ""concentra tion.","}
{"text": ""No one represents this better than James Rothschild, the son who","}
{"text": ""established himself in Paris. In his lifetime James witnessed the defeat of","}
{"text": ""Napoleon, the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, the bourgeois","}
{"text": ""monarchy of Orleans, the return to a republic, and finally the","}
{"text": ""enthronement of Napoleon III. French styles and fashions changed at a","}
{"text": ""relentless pace during all this turmoil. Without appearing to be a relic of","}
{"text": ""the past, James steered his family as if the ghetto lived on within them.","}
{"text": ""He kept alive his clan’s inner cohesion and strength. Only through such","}
{"text": ""an anchoring in the past was the family able to thrive amidst such chaos.","}
{"text": ""Concentration was the foundation of the Rothschilds’ power, wealth, and","}
{"text": ""stability.","}
{"text": ""The best strategy is always to be very strony first in general, then","}
{"text": ""at the decisive point…. There is no higher and simpler law of strategy","}
{"text": ""than that of keeping one’s forces concentrated…. In short the","}
{"text": ""first principle is: act with the utmost concentration.","}
{"text": ""On War, Carl von Clausewitz, 1780-1831","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWERThe world is plagued by greater and greater division—within countries,","}
{"text": ""political groups, families, even individuals. We are all in a state of total","}
{"text": ""distraction and diffusion, hardly able to keep our minds in one direction","}
{"text": ""before we are pulled in a thousand others. The modern world’s level of","}
{"text": ""conflict is higher than ever, and we have internalized it in our own lives.","}
{"text": ""The solution is a form of retreat inside ourselves, to the past, to more","}
{"text": ""concentrated forms of thought and action. As Schopenhauer wrote,","}
{"text": ""“Intellect is a magnitude of intensity, not a magnitude of extensity.”","}
{"text": ""Napoleon knew the value of concentrating your forces at the enemy’s","}
{"text": ""weakest spot— it was the secret of his success on the battlefield. But his","}
{"text": ""willpower and his mind were equally modeled on this notion. Single-","}
{"text": ""mindedness of purpose, total concentration on the goal, and the use of","}
{"text": ""these qualities against people less focused, people in a state of distraction","}
{"text": ""—such an arrow will find its mark every time and overwhelm the enemy.","}
{"text": ""Casanova attributed his success in life to his ability to concentrate on a","}
{"text": ""single goal and push at it until it yielded. It was his ability to give","}
{"text": ""himself over completely to the women he desired that made him so","}
{"text": ""intensely seductive. For the weeks or months that one of these women","}
{"text": ""lived in his orbit, he thought of no one else. When he was imprisoned in","}
{"text": ""the treacherous “leads” of the doge’s palace in Venice, a prison from","}
{"text": ""which no one had ever escaped, he concentrated his mind on the single","}
{"text": ""goal of escape, day after day. A change of cells, which meant that","}
{"text": ""months of digging had all been for naught, did not discourage him; he","}
{"text": ""persisted and eventually escaped. “I have always believed,” he later","}
{"text": ""wrote, “that when a man gets it into his head to do something, and when","}
{"text": ""he exclusively occupies himself in that design, he must succeed,","}
{"text": ""whatever the difficulties. That man will become Grand Vizier or Pope.”","}
{"text": ""Concentrate on a single goal, a single task, and beat it into submission.","}
{"text": ""In the world of power you will constantly need help from other people,","}
{"text": ""usually those more powerful than you. The fool flits from one person to","}
{"text": ""another, believing that he will survive by spreading himself out. It is a","}
{"text": ""corollary of the law of concentration, however, that much energy is","}
{"text": ""saved, and more power is attained, by affixing yourself to a single,","}
{"text": ""appropriate source of power. The scientist Nikola Tesla ruined himself","}
{"text": ""by believing that he somehow maintained his independence by not","}
{"text": ""having to serve a single master. He even turned down J. P. Morgan, who","}
{"text": ""offered him a rich contract. In the end, Tesla’s “independence” meant","}
{"text": ""that he could depend on no single patron, but was always having to toady","}
{"text": ""up to a dozen of them. Later in his life he realized his mistake.All the great Renaissance painters and writers wrestled with this","}
{"text": ""problem, none more so than the sixteenth-century writer Pietro Aretino.","}
{"text": ""Throughout his life Aretino suffered the indignities of having to please","}
{"text": ""this prince and that. At last, he had had enough, and decided to woo","}
{"text": ""Charles V, promising the emperor the services of his powerful pen. He","}
{"text": ""finally discovered the freedom that came from attachment to a single","}
{"text": ""source of power. Michelangelo found this freedom with Pope Julius II,","}
{"text": ""Galileo with the Medicis. In the end, the single patron appreciates your","}
{"text": ""loyalty and becomes dependent on your services; in the long run the","}
{"text": ""master serves the slave.","}
{"text": ""Finally, power itself always exists in concentrated forms. In any","}
{"text": ""organization it is inevitable for a small group to hold the strings. And","}
{"text": ""often it is not those with the titles. In the game of power, only the fool","}
{"text": ""flails about without fixing his target. You must find out who controls the","}
{"text": ""operations, who is the real director behind the scenes. As Richelieu","}
{"text": ""discovered at the beginning of his rise to the top of the French political","}
{"text": ""scene during the early seventeenth century, it was not King Louis XIII","}
{"text": ""who decided things, it was the king’s mother. And so he attached himself","}
{"text": ""to her, and catapulted through the ranks of the courtiers, all the way to","}
{"text": ""the top.","}
{"text": ""It is enough to strike oil once—your wealth and power are assured for","}
{"text": ""a lifetime.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Arrow. You cannot hit two targets","}
{"text": ""with one arrow. If your thoughts stray, you","}
{"text": ""miss the enemy’s heart. Mind and","}
{"text": ""arrow must become one. Only","}
{"text": ""with such concentration of","}
{"text": ""mental and physical","}
{"text": ""power can your arrow","}
{"text": ""hit the target and","}
{"text": ""pierce the","}
{"text": ""heart.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Prize intensity more than extensity. Perfection resides in","}
{"text": ""quality, not quantity. Extent alone never rises above mediocrity, and it is","}
{"text": ""the misfortune of men with wide general interests that while they would","}
{"text": ""like to have their finger in every pie, they have one in none. Intensitygives eminence, and rises to the heroic in matters sublime. (Baltasar","}
{"text": ""Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""There are dangers in concentration, and moments when dispersion is the","}
{"text": ""proper tactical move. Fighting the Nationalists for control of China, Mao","}
{"text": ""Tse-tung and the Communists fought a protracted war on several fronts,","}
{"text": ""using sabotage and ambush as their main weapons. Dispersal is often","}
{"text": ""suitable for the weaker side; it is, in fact, a crucial principle of guerrilla","}
{"text": ""warfare. When fighting a stronger army, concentrating your forces only","}
{"text": ""makes you an easier target—better to dissolve into the scenery and","}
{"text": ""frustrate your enemy with the elusiveness of your presence.","}
{"text": ""Tying yourself to a single source of power has one preeminent danger:","}
{"text": ""If that person dies, leaves, or falls from grace, you suffer. This is what","}
{"text": ""happened to Cesare Borgia, who derived his power from his father, Pope","}
{"text": ""Alexander VI. It was the pope who gave Cesare armies to fight with and","}
{"text": ""wars to wage in his name. When he suddenly died (perhaps from","}
{"text": ""poison), Cesare was as good as dead. He had made far too many enemies","}
{"text": ""over the years, and was now without his father’s protection. In cases","}
{"text": ""when you may need protection, then, it is often wise to entwine yourself","}
{"text": ""around several sources of power. Such a move would be especially","}
{"text": ""prudent in periods of great tumult and violent change, or when your","}
{"text": ""enemies are numerous. The more patrons and masters you serve the less","}
{"text": ""risk you run if one of them falls from power. Such dispersion will even","}
{"text": ""allow you to play one off against the other. Even if you concentrate on","}
{"text": ""the single source of power, you still must practice caution, and prepare","}
{"text": ""for the day when your master or patron is no longer there to help you.","}
{"text": ""Finally, being too single-minded in purpose can make you an","}
{"text": ""intolerable bore, especially in the arts. The Renaissance painter Paolo","}
{"text": ""Uccello was so obsessed with perspective that his paintings look lifeless","}
{"text": ""and contrived. Whereas Leonardo da Vinci interested himself in","}
{"text": ""everything—architecture, painting, warfare, sculpture, mechanics.","}
{"text": ""Diffusion was the source of his power. But such genius is rare, and the","}
{"text": ""rest of us are better off erring on the side of intensity.LAW 24","}
{"text": ""PLAY THE PERFECT COURTIER","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around","}
{"text": ""power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he","}
{"text": ""flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most","}
{"text": ""oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership","}
{"text": ""and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.","}
{"text": ""COURT SOCIETY","}
{"text": ""It is a fact of human nature that the structure of a court society forms","}
{"text": ""itself around power. In the past, the court gathered around the ruler, and","}
{"text": ""had many functions: Besides keeping the ruler amused, it was a way to","}
{"text": ""solidify the hierarchy of royalty, nobility, and the upper classes, and to","}
{"text": ""keep the nobility both subordinate and close to the ruler, so that he could","}
{"text": ""keep an eye on them. The court serves power in many ways, but most of","}
{"text": ""all it glorifies the ruler, providing him with a microcosmic world that","}
{"text": ""must struggle to please him.","}
{"text": ""To be a courtier was a dangerous game. A nineteenth-century Arab","}
{"text": ""traveler to the court of Darfur, in what is now Sudan, reported that","}
{"text": ""courtiers there had to do whatever the sultan did: If he were injured, they","}
{"text": ""had to suffer the same injury; if he fell off his horse during a hunt, they","}
{"text": ""fell, too. Mimicry like this appeared in courts all over the world. More","}
{"text": ""troublesome was the danger of displeasing the ruler—one wrong move","}
{"text": ""spelled death or exile. The successful courtier had to walk a tightrope,","}
{"text": ""pleasing but not pleasing too much, obeying but somehow distinguishing","}
{"text": ""himself from the other courtiers, while also never distinguishing himself","}
{"text": ""so far as to make the ruler insecure.Great courtiers throughout history have mastered the science of","}
{"text": ""manipulating people. They make the king feel more kingly; they make","}
{"text": ""everyone else fear their power. They are magicians of appearance,","}
{"text": ""knowing that most things at court are judged by how they seem. Great","}
{"text": ""courtiers are gracious and polite; their aggression is veiled and indirect.","}
{"text": ""Masters of the word, they never say more than necessary, getting the","}
{"text": ""most out of a compliment or hidden insult. They are magnets of pleasure","}
{"text": ""—people want to be around them because they know how to please, yet","}
{"text": ""they neither fawn nor humiliate themselves. Great courtiers become the","}
{"text": ""king’s favorites, enjoying the benefits of that position. They often end up","}
{"text": ""more powerful than the ruler, for they are wizards in the accumulation of","}
{"text": ""influence.","}
{"text": ""Many today dismiss court life as a relic of the past, a historical","}
{"text": ""curiosity. They reason, according to Machiavelli, “as though heaven, the","}
{"text": ""sun, the elements, and men had changed the order of their motions and","}
{"text": ""power, and were different from what they were in ancient times.” There","}
{"text": ""may be no more Sun Kings but there are still plenty of people who","}
{"text": ""believe the sun revolves around them. The royal court may have more or","}
{"text": ""less disappeared, or at least lost its power, but courts and courtiers still","}
{"text": ""exist because power still exists. A courtier is rarely asked to fall off a","}
{"text": ""horse anymore, but the laws that govern court politics are as timeless as","}
{"text": ""the laws of power. There is much to be learned, then, from great courtiers","}
{"text": ""past and present.","}
{"text": ""THE TWO DOGS","}
{"text": ""Barbos, the faithful yard-dog who serves his master zealously, happens","}
{"text": ""to see his old acquaintance Joujou, the curly lapdog, seated at the","}
{"text": ""window on a soft down cushion. Sidling fondly up to her, like a child to a","}
{"text": ""parent, he all but weeps with emotion; and there, under the window. he","}
{"text": ""whines, wags his tail, and bounds about. “What sort of life do you lead","}
{"text": ""now, Joujoutka, ever since the master took you into his mansion? You","}
{"text": ""remember, no doubt, how we often used to suffer hunger out in the yard.","}
{"text": ""What is your present service like?” “It would be a sin in me to murmur","}
{"text": ""against my good fortune, ” answers Joujoutka. “My master cannot make","}
{"text": ""enough of me. I live amidst riches and plenty, and I eat and drink off","}
{"text": ""silver. I frolic with the master, and, if I get tired, I take my ease on","}
{"text": ""carpets or on a soft couch. And how do you get on?” “I?” replies","}
{"text": ""Barbos, letting his tail dangle like a whip, and hanging his head. “I live","}
{"text": ""as I used to do. I suffer from cold and hunger; and here, while guardingmy master’s house, I have to sleep at the foot of the wall, and I get","}
{"text": ""drenched in the rain. And if I bark at the wrong time, I am whipped. But","}
{"text": ""how did you, Joujou, who were so small and weak, get taken into favor,","}
{"text": ""while I jump out of my skin to no purpose?","}
{"text": ""What is it you do?” “‘What is it you do?’ A pretty question to ask!”","}
{"text": ""replied Joujou, mockingly. “I walk upon my hind legs.”","}
{"text": ""FABLES, IVAN KRILOFF, 1768-1844","}
{"text": ""THE LAWS OF COURT POLITICS","}
{"text": ""Avoid Ostentation. It is never prudent to prattle on about yourself or","}
{"text": ""call too much attention to your actions. The more you talk about your","}
{"text": ""deeds the more suspicion you cause. You also stir up enough envy","}
{"text": ""among your peers to induce treachery and backstabbing. Be careful, ever","}
{"text": ""so careful, in trumpeting your own achievements, and always talk less","}
{"text": ""about yourself than about other people. Modesty is generally preferable.","}
{"text": ""Practice Nonchalance. Never seem to be working too hard. Your talent","}
{"text": ""must appear to flow naturally, with an ease that makes people take you","}
{"text": ""for a genius rather than a workaholic. Even when something demands a","}
{"text": ""lot of sweat, make it look effortless—people prefer to not see your blood","}
{"text": ""and toil, which is another form of ostentation. It is better for them to","}
{"text": ""marvel at how gracefully you have achieved your accomplishment than","}
{"text": ""to wonder why it took so much work.","}
{"text": ""Be Frugal with Flattery. It may seem that your superiors cannot get","}
{"text": ""enough flattery, but too much of even a good thing loses its value. It also","}
{"text": ""stirs up suspicion among your peers. Learn to flatter indirectly—by","}
{"text": ""downplaying your own contribution, for example, to make your master","}
{"text": ""look bet ter.","}
{"text": ""It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be","}
{"text": ""rude. To make enemies by unnecessary and wilful incivility, is just as","}
{"text": ""insane a proceeding as to set your house on fire. For politeness is like a","}
{"text": ""counter—an avowedly false coin, with which it is foolish to be stingy. A","}
{"text": ""sensible man will be generous in the use of it…. Wax, a substance","}
{"text": ""naturally hard and brittle, can be made soft by the application of a little","}
{"text": ""warmth, so that it will take any shape you please. In the same way, bybeing polite and friendly, you can make people pliable and obliging,","}
{"text": ""even though they are apt to be crabbed and malevolent. Hence politeness","}
{"text": ""is to human nature what warmth is to wax.","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""Arrange to Be Noticed. There is a paradox: You cannot display yourself","}
{"text": ""too brazenly, yet you must also get yourself noticed. In the court of Louis","}
{"text": ""XIV, whoever the king decided to look at rose instantly in the court","}
{"text": ""hierarchy. You stand no chance of rising if the ruler does not notice you","}
{"text": ""in the swamp of courtiers. This task requires much art. It is often initially","}
{"text": ""a matter of being seen, in the literal sense. Pay attention to your physical","}
{"text": ""appearance, then, and find a way to create a distinctive—a subtly","}
{"text": ""distinctive—style and image.","}
{"text": ""Alter Your Style and Language According to the Person You Are","}
{"text": ""Dealing With. The pseudo-belief in equality—the idea that talking and","}
{"text": ""acting the same way with everyone, no matter what their rank, makes","}
{"text": ""you somehow a paragon of civilization—is a terrible mistake. Those","}
{"text": ""below you will take it as a form of condescension, which it is, and those","}
{"text": ""above you will be offended, although they may not admit it. You must","}
{"text": ""change your style and your way of speaking to suit each person. This is","}
{"text": ""not lying, it is acting, and acting is an art, not a gift from God. Learn the","}
{"text": ""art. This is also true for the great variety of cultures found in the modern","}
{"text": ""court: Never assume that your criteria of behavior and judgment are","}
{"text": ""universal. Not only is an inability to adapt to another culture the height","}
{"text": ""of barbarism, it puts you at a disadvantage.","}
{"text": ""Never Be the Bearer of Bad News. The king kills the messenger who","}
{"text": ""brings bad news: This is a cliche but there is truth to it. You must","}
{"text": ""struggle and if necessary lie and cheat to be sure that the lot of the bearer","}
{"text": ""of bad news falls on a colleague, never on you. Bring only good news","}
{"text": ""and your approach will gladden your master.","}
{"text": ""Never Affect Friendliness and Intimacy with Your Master. He does","}
{"text": ""not want a friend for a subordinate, he wants a subordinate. Never","}
{"text": ""approach him in an easy, friendly way, or act as if you are on the best of","}
{"text": ""terms—that is his prerogative. If he chooses to deal with you on this","}
{"text": ""level, assume a wary chumminess. Otherwise err in the opposite","}
{"text": ""direction, and make the distance between you clear.Never Criticize Those Above You Directly. This may seem obvious,","}
{"text": ""but there are often times when some sort of criticism is necessary—to","}
{"text": ""say nothing, or to give no advice, would open you to risks of another","}
{"text": ""sort. You must learn, however, to couch your advice and criticism as","}
{"text": ""indirectly and as politely as possible. Think twice, or three times, before","}
{"text": ""deciding you have made them sufficiently circuitous. Err on the side of","}
{"text": ""subtlety and gentleness.","}
{"text": ""Be Frugal in Asking Those Above You for Favors. Nothing irritates a","}
{"text": ""master more than having to reject someone’s request. It stirs up guilt and","}
{"text": ""resentment. Ask for favors as rarely as possible, and know when to stop.","}
{"text": ""Rather than making yourself the supplicant, it is always better to earn","}
{"text": ""your favors, so that the ruler bestows them willingly. Most important: Do","}
{"text": ""not ask for favors on another person’s behalf, least of all a friend’s.","}
{"text": ""Never Joke About Appearances or Taste. A lively wit and a humorous","}
{"text": ""disposition are essential qualities for a good courtier, and there are times","}
{"text": ""when vulgarity is appropriate and engaging. But avoid any kind of joke","}
{"text": ""about appearance or taste, two highly sensitive areas, especially with","}
{"text": ""those above you. Do not even try it when you are away from them. You","}
{"text": ""will dig your own grave.","}
{"text": ""Do Not Be the Court Cynic. Express admiration for the good work of","}
{"text": ""others. If you constantly criticize your equals or subordinates some of","}
{"text": ""that criticism will rub off on you, hovering over you like a gray cloud","}
{"text": ""wherever you go. People will groan at each new cynical comment, and","}
{"text": ""you will irritate them. By expressing modest admiration for other","}
{"text": ""people’s achievements, you paradoxically call attention to your own. The","}
{"text": ""ability to express wonder and amazement, and seem like you mean it, is","}
{"text": ""a rare and dying talent, but one still greatly valued.","}
{"text": ""Be Self-observant. The mirror is a miraculous invention; without it you","}
{"text": ""would commit great sins against beauty and decorum. You also need a","}
{"text": ""mirror for your actions. This can sometimes come from other people","}
{"text": ""telling you what they see in you, but that is not the most trustworthy","}
{"text": ""method: You must be the mirror, training your mind to try to see yourself","}
{"text": ""as others see you. Are you acting too obsequious? Are you trying toohard to please? Do you seem desperate for attention, giving the","}
{"text": ""impression that you are on the decline? Be observant about yourself and","}
{"text": ""you will avoid a mountain of blunders.","}
{"text": ""Master Your Emotions. As an actor in a great play, you must learn to cry","}
{"text": ""and laugh on command and when it is appropriate. You must be able","}
{"text": ""both to disguise your anger and frustration and to fake your contentment","}
{"text": ""and agreement. You must be the master of your own face. Call it lying if","}
{"text": ""you like; but if you prefer to not play the game and to always be honest","}
{"text": ""and upfront, do not complain when others call you obnoxious and","}
{"text": ""arrogant.","}
{"text": ""Fit the Spirit of the Times. A slight affectation of a past era can be","}
{"text": ""charming, as long as you choose a period at least twenty years back;","}
{"text": ""wearing the fashions of ten years ago is ludicrous, unless you enjoy the","}
{"text": ""role of court jester. Your spirit and way of thinking must keep up with","}
{"text": ""the times, even if the times offend your sensibilities. Be too forward-","}
{"text": ""thinking, however, and no one will understand you. It is never a good","}
{"text": ""idea to stand out too much in this area; you are best off at least being","}
{"text": ""able to mimic the spirit of the times.","}
{"text": ""Be a Source of Pleasure. This is critical. It is an obvious law of human","}
{"text": ""nature that we will flee what is unpleasant and distasteful, while charm","}
{"text": ""and the promise of delight will draw us like moths to a flame. Make","}
{"text": ""yourself the flame and you will rise to the top. Since life is otherwise so","}
{"text": ""full of unpleasantness and pleasure so scarce, you will be as","}
{"text": ""indispensable as food and drink. This may seem obvious, but what is","}
{"text": ""obvious is often ignored or unappreciated. There are degrees to this: Not","}
{"text": ""everyone can play the role of favorite, for not everyone is blessed with","}
{"text": ""charm and wit. But we can all control our unpleasant qualities and","}
{"text": ""obscure them when necessary.","}
{"text": ""A man who knows the court is master of his gestures, of his eyes and","}
{"text": ""of his face; he is profound, impenetrable; he dissimulates bad offices,","}
{"text": ""smiles at his enemies, controls his irritation, disguises his passions,","}
{"text": ""belies his heart, speaks and acts against his feelings.","}
{"text": ""Jean de La Bruyère, 1645-1696SCENES OF COURT LIFE: Exemplary Deeds","}
{"text": ""and Fatal Mistakes","}
{"text": ""Scene I","}
{"text": ""Alexander the Great, conqueror of the Mediterranean basin and the","}
{"text": ""Middle East through to India, had had the great Aristotle as his tutor and","}
{"text": ""mentor, and throughout his short life he remained devoted to philosophy","}
{"text": ""and his master’s teachings. He once complained to Aristotle that during","}
{"text": ""his long campaigns he had no one with whom he could discuss","}
{"text": ""philosophical matters. Aristotle responded by suggesting that he take","}
{"text": ""Callisthenes, a former pupil of Aristotle’s and a promising philosopher in","}
{"text": ""his own right, along on the next campaign.","}
{"text": ""Aristotle had schooled Callisthenes in the skills of being a courtier, but","}
{"text": ""the young man secretly scoffed at them. He believed in pure philosophy,","}
{"text": ""in unadorned words, in speaking the naked truth. If Alexander loved","}
{"text": ""learning so much, Callisthenes thought, he could not object to one who","}
{"text": ""spoke his mind. During one of Alexander’s major campaigns,","}
{"text": ""Callisthenes spoke his mind one too many times and Alexander had him","}
{"text": ""put to death. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In court, honesty is a fool’s game. Never be so self-absorbed as to","}
{"text": ""believe that the master is interested in your criticisms of him, no matter","}
{"text": ""how accurate they are.","}
{"text": ""Scene II","}
{"text": ""Beginning in the Han Dynasty two thousand years ago, Chinese scholars","}
{"text": ""compiled a series of writings called the 21 Histories, an official","}
{"text": ""biography of each dynasty, including stories, statistics, census figures,","}
{"text": ""and war chronicles. Each history also contained a chapter called","}
{"text": ""“Unusual Events,” and here, among the listings of earthquakes and","}
{"text": ""floods, there would sometimes suddenly appear descriptions of such","}
{"text": ""bizarre manifestations as two-headed sheep, geese flying backward, stars","}
{"text": ""suddenly appearing in different parts of the sky, and so on. The","}
{"text": ""earthquakes could be historically verified, but the monsters and weird","}
{"text": ""natural phenomena were clearly inserted on purpose, and invariably","}
{"text": ""occurred in clusters. What could this mean?The Chinese emperor was considered more than a man—he was a","}
{"text": ""force of nature. His kingdom was the center of the universe, and","}
{"text": ""everything revolved around him. He embodied the world’s perfection. To","}
{"text": ""criticize him or any of his actions would have been to criticize the divine","}
{"text": ""order. No minister or courtier dared approach the emperor with even the","}
{"text": ""slightest cautionary word. But emperors were fallible and the kingdom","}
{"text": ""suffered greatly by their mistakes. Inserting sightings of strange","}
{"text": ""phenomena into the court chronicles was the only way to warn them. The","}
{"text": ""emperor would read of geese flying backward and moons out of orbit,","}
{"text": ""and realize that he was being cautioned. His actions were unbalancing","}
{"text": ""the universe and needed to change.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""For Chinese courtiers, the problem of how to give the emperor advice","}
{"text": ""was an important issue. Over the years, thousands of them had died","}
{"text": ""trying to warn or counsel their master. To be made safely, their criticisms","}
{"text": ""had to be indirect—yet if they were too indirect they would not be","}
{"text": ""heeded. The chronicles were their solution: Identify no one person as the","}
{"text": ""source of criticism, make the advice as impersonal as possible, but let the","}
{"text": ""emperor know the gravity of the situation.","}
{"text": ""Your master is no longer the center of the universe, but he still","}
{"text": ""imagines that everything revolves around him. When you criticize him","}
{"text": ""he sees the person criticizing, not the criticism itself. Like the Chinese","}
{"text": ""courtiers, you must find a way to disappear behind the warning. Use","}
{"text": ""symbols and other indirect methods to paint a picture of the problems to","}
{"text": ""come, without putting your neck on the line.","}
{"text": ""Scene III","}
{"text": ""Early in his career, the French architect Jules Mansart received","}
{"text": ""commissions to design minor additions to Versailles for King Louis XIV.","}
{"text": ""For each design he would draw up his plans, making sure they followed","}
{"text": ""Louis’s instructions closely. He would then present them to His Majesty.","}
{"text": ""The courtier Saint-Simon described Mansart’s technique in dealing","}
{"text": ""with the king: “His particular skill was to show the king plans that","}
{"text": ""purposely included something imperfect about them, often dealing with","}
{"text": ""the gardens, which were not Mansart’s specialty. The king, as Mansart","}
{"text": ""expected, would put his finger exactly on the problem and propose howto solve it, at which point Mansart would exclaim for all to hear that he","}
{"text": ""would never have seen the problem that the king had so masterfully","}
{"text": ""found and solved; he would burst with admiration, confessing that next","}
{"text": ""to the king he was but a lowly pupil.” At the age of thirty, having used","}
{"text": ""these methods time and time again, Mansart received a prestigious royal","}
{"text": ""commission: Although he was less talented and experienced than a","}
{"text": ""number of other French designers, he was to take charge of the","}
{"text": ""enlargement of Versailles. He was the king’s architect from then on.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""As a young man, Mansart had seen how many royal craftsmen in the","}
{"text": ""service of Louis XIV had lost their positions not through a lack of talent","}
{"text": ""but through a costly social blunder. He would not make that mistake.","}
{"text": ""Mansart always strove to make Louis feel better about himself, to feed","}
{"text": ""the king’s vanity as publicly as possible.","}
{"text": ""Never imagine that skill and talent are all that matter. In court the","}
{"text": ""courtier’s art is more important than his talent; never spend so much time","}
{"text": ""on your studies that you neglect your social skills. And the greatest skill","}
{"text": ""of all is the ability to make the master look more talented than those","}
{"text": ""around him.","}
{"text": ""Scene IV","}
{"text": ""Jean-Baptiste Isabey had become the unofficial painter of the Napoleonic","}
{"text": ""court. During the Congress of Vienna in 1814, after Napoleon, defeated,","}
{"text": ""had been imprisoned on the island of Elba, the participants in these","}
{"text": ""meetings, which were to decide the fate of Europe, invited Isabey to","}
{"text": ""immortalize the historic events in an epic painting.","}
{"text": ""When Isabey arrived in Vienna, Talleyrand, the main negotiator for the","}
{"text": ""French, paid the artist a visit. Considering his role in the proceedings, the","}
{"text": ""statesman explained, he expected to occupy center stage in the painting.","}
{"text": ""Isabey cordially agreed. A few days later the Duke of Wellington, the","}
{"text": ""main negotiator for the English, also approached Isabey, and said much","}
{"text": ""the same thing that Talleyrand had. The ever polite Isabey agreed that the","}
{"text": ""great duke should indeed be the center of attention.","}
{"text": ""Back in his studio, Isabey pondered the dilemma. If he gave the","}
{"text": ""spotlight to either of the two men, he could create a diplomatic rift,","}
{"text": ""stirring up all sorts of resentment at a time when peace and concord werecritical. When the painting was finally unveiled, however, both","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand and Wellington felt honored and satisfied. The work depicts a","}
{"text": ""large hall filled with diplomats and politicians from all over Europe. On","}
{"text": ""one side the Duke of Wellington enters the room, and all eyes are turned","}
{"text": ""toward him; he is the “center” of attention. In the very center of the","}
{"text": ""painting, meanwhile, sits Talleyrand.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""It is often very difficult to satisfy the master, but to satisfy two masters in","}
{"text": ""one stroke takes the genius of a great courtier. Such predicaments are","}
{"text": ""common in the life of a courtier: By giving attention to one master, he","}
{"text": ""displeases another. You must find a way to navigate this Scylla and","}
{"text": ""Charybdis safely. Masters must receive their due; never inadvertently stir","}
{"text": ""up the resentment of one in pleasing another.","}
{"text": ""Scene V","}
{"text": ""George Brummell, also known as Beau Brummell, made his mark in the","}
{"text": ""late 1700s by the supreme elegance of his appearance, his popularization","}
{"text": ""of shoe buckles (soon imitated by all the dandies), and his clever way","}
{"text": ""with words. His London house was the fashionable spot in town, and","}
{"text": ""Brummell was the authority on all matters of fashion. If he disliked your","}
{"text": ""footwear, you immediately got rid of it and bought whatever he was","}
{"text": ""wearing. He perfected the art of tying a cravat; Lord Byron was said to","}
{"text": ""spend many a night in front of the mirror trying to figure out the secret","}
{"text": ""behind Brummell’s perfect knots.","}
{"text": ""One of Brummell’s greatest admirers was the Prince of Wales, who","}
{"text": ""fancied himself a fashionable young man. Becoming attached to the","}
{"text": ""prince’s court (and provided with a royal pension), Brummell was soon","}
{"text": ""so sure of his own authority there that he took to joking about the","}
{"text": ""prince’s weight, referring to his host as Big Ben. Since trimness of figure","}
{"text": ""was an important quality for a dandy, this was a withering criticism. At","}
{"text": ""dinner once, when the service was slow, Brummell said to the prince,","}
{"text": ""“Do ring, Big Ben.” The prince rang, but when the valet arrived he","}
{"text": ""ordered the man to show Brummell the door and never admit him again.","}
{"text": ""Despite falling into the prince’s disfavor, Brummell continued to treat","}
{"text": ""everyone around him with the same arrogance. Without the Prince of","}
{"text": ""Wales’ patronage to support him, he sank into horrible debt, but hemaintained his insolent manners, and everyone soon abandoned him. He","}
{"text": ""died in the most pitiable poverty, alone and deranged.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Beau Brummell’s devastating wit was one of the qualities that endeared","}
{"text": ""him to the Prince of Wales. But not even he, the arbiter of taste and","}
{"text": ""fashion, could get away with a joke about the prince’s appearance, least","}
{"text": ""of all to his face. Never joke about a person’s plumpness, even indirectly","}
{"text": ""—and particularly when he is your master. The poorhouses of history are","}
{"text": ""filled with people who have made such jokes at their master’s expense.","}
{"text": ""Scene VI","}
{"text": ""Pope Urban VIII wanted to be remembered for his skills in writing","}
{"text": ""poetry, which unfortunately were mediocre at best. In 1629 Duke","}
{"text": ""Francesco d‘Este, knowing the pope’s literary pretensions, sent the poet","}
{"text": ""Fulvio Testi as his ambassador to the Vatican. One of Testi’s letters to the","}
{"text": ""duke reveals why he was chosen: “Once our discussion was over, I","}
{"text": ""kneeled to depart, but His Holiness made a signal and walked to another","}
{"text": ""room where he sleeps, and after reaching a small table, he grabbed a","}
{"text": ""bundle of papers and thus, turning to me with a smiling face, he said:","}
{"text": ""‘We want Your Lordship to listen to some of our compositions.’ And, in","}
{"text": ""fact, he read me two very long Pindaric poems, one in praise of the most","}
{"text": ""holy Virgin, and the other one about Countess Matilde.”","}
{"text": ""We do not know exactly what Testi thought of these very long poems,","}
{"text": ""since it would have been dangerous for him to state his opinion freely,","}
{"text": ""even in a letter. But he went on to write, “I, following the mood,","}
{"text": ""commented on each line with the needed praise, and, after having kissed","}
{"text": ""His Holiness’s foot for such an unusual sign of benevolence [the reading","}
{"text": ""of the poetry], I left.” Weeks later, when the duke himself visited the","}
{"text": ""pope, he managed to recite entire verses of the pope’s poetry and praised","}
{"text": ""it enough to make the pope “so jubilant he seemed to lose his mind.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In matters of taste you can never be too obsequious with your master.","}
{"text": ""Taste is one of the ego’s prickliest parts; never impugn or question the","}
{"text": ""master’s taste—his poetry is sublime, his dress impeccable, and his","}
{"text": ""manner the model for all.Scene VII","}
{"text": ""One afternoon in ancient China, Chao, ruler of Han from 358 to 333","}
{"text": ""B.C., got drunk and fell asleep in the palace gardens. The court crown-","}
{"text": ""keeper, whose sole task was to look after the ruler’s head apparel, passed","}
{"text": ""through the gardens and saw his master sleeping without a coat. Since it","}
{"text": ""was getting cold, the crown-keeper placed his own coat over the ruler,","}
{"text": ""and left.","}
{"text": ""When Chao awoke and saw the coat upon him, he asked his","}
{"text": ""attendants, “Who put more clothes on my body?” “The crown-keeper,”","}
{"text": ""they replied. The ruler immediately called for his official coat-keeper and","}
{"text": ""had him punished for neglecting his duties. He also called for the crown-","}
{"text": ""keeper, whom he had beheaded.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Do not overstep your bounds. Do what you are assigned to do, to the best","}
{"text": ""of your abilities, and never do more. To think that by doing more you are","}
{"text": ""doing better is a common blunder. It is never good to seem to be trying","}
{"text": ""too hard—it is as if you were covering up some deficiency. Fulfilling a","}
{"text": ""task that has not been asked of you just makes people suspicious. If you","}
{"text": ""are a crown-keeper, be a crown-keeper. Save your excess energy for","}
{"text": ""when you are not in the court.","}
{"text": ""Scene VIII","}
{"text": ""One day, for amusement, the Italian Renaissance painter Fra Filippo","}
{"text": ""Lippi (1406-1469) and some friends went sailing in a small boat off","}
{"text": ""Ancona. There they were captured by two Moorish galleys, which hauled","}
{"text": ""them off in chains to Barbary, where they were sold as slaves. For","}
{"text": ""eighteen long months Filippo toiled with no hope of returning to Italy.","}
{"text": ""On several occasions Filippo saw the man who had bought him pass","}
{"text": ""by, and one day he decided to sketch this man’s portrait, using burnt coal","}
{"text": ""—charcoal—from the fire. Still in his chains, he found a white wall,","}
{"text": ""where he drew a full-length likeness of his owner in Moorish clothing.","}
{"text": ""The owner soon heard about this, for no one had seen such skill in","}
{"text": ""drawing before in these parts; it seemed like a miracle, a gift from God.","}
{"text": ""The drawing so pleased the owner that he instantly gave Filippo his","}
{"text": ""freedom and employed him in his court. All the big men on the Barbarycoast came to see the magnificent color portraits that Fra Filippo then","}
{"text": ""proceeded to do, and finally, in gratitude for the honor in this way","}
{"text": ""brought upon him, Filippo’s owner returned the artist safely to Italy.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""We who toil for other people have all in some way been captured by","}
{"text": ""pirates and sold into slavery. But like Fra Filippo (if to a lesser degree),","}
{"text": ""most of us possess some gift, some talent, an ability to do something","}
{"text": ""better than other people. Make your master a gift of your talents and you","}
{"text": ""will rise above other courtiers. Let him take the credit if necessary, it will","}
{"text": ""only be temporary: Use him as a stepping stone, a way of displaying","}
{"text": ""your talent and eventually buying your freedom from enslavement.","}
{"text": ""Scene IX","}
{"text": ""Alfonso I of Aragon once had a servant who told the king that the night","}
{"text": ""before he had had a dream: Alfonso had given him a gift of weapons,","}
{"text": ""horses, and clothes. Alfonso, a generous, lordly man, decided it would be","}
{"text": ""amusing to make this dream come true, and promptly gave the servant","}
{"text": ""exactly these gifts.","}
{"text": ""A little while later, the same servant announced to Alfonso that he had","}
{"text": ""had yet another dream, and in this one Alfonso had given him a","}
{"text": ""considerable pile of gold florins. The king smiled and said, “Don’t","}
{"text": ""believe in dreams from now on; they lie.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In his treatment of the servant’s first dream, Alfonso remained in control.","}
{"text": ""By making a dream come true, he claimed a godlike power for himself,","}
{"text": ""if in a mild and humorous way. In the second dream, however, all","}
{"text": ""appearance of magic was gone; this was nothing but an ugly con game","}
{"text": ""on the servant’s part. Never ask for too much, then, and know when to","}
{"text": ""stop. It is the master’s prerogative to give—to give when he wants and","}
{"text": ""what he wants, and to do so without prompting. Do not give him the","}
{"text": ""chance to reject your requests. Better to win favors by deserving them, so","}
{"text": ""that they are bestowed without your asking.Scene X","}
{"text": ""The great English landscape painter J. M. W Turner (1775-1851) was","}
{"text": ""known for his use of color, which he applied with a brilliance and a","}
{"text": ""strange iridescence. The color in his paintings was so striking, in fact,","}
{"text": ""that other artists never wanted his work hung next to theirs: It inevitably","}
{"text": ""made everything around it seem dull.","}
{"text": ""The painter Sir Thomas Lawrence once had the misfortune of seeing","}
{"text": ""Turner’s masterpiece Cologne hanging in an exhibition between two","}
{"text": ""works of his own. Lawrence complained bitterly to the gallery owner,","}
{"text": ""who gave him no satisfaction: After all, someone’s paintings had to hang","}
{"text": ""next to Turner’s. But Turner heard of Lawrence’s complaint, and before","}
{"text": ""the exhibition opened, he toned down the brilliant golden sky in","}
{"text": ""Cologne, making it as dull as the colors in Lawrence’s works. A friend of","}
{"text": ""Turner’s who saw the painting approached the artist with a horrified","}
{"text": ""look: “What have you done to your picture!” he said. “Well, poor","}
{"text": ""Lawrence was so unhappy,” Turner replied, “and it’s only lampblack.","}
{"text": ""It’ll wash off after the exhibition.” Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Many of a courtier’s anxieties have to do with the master, with whom","}
{"text": ""most dangers lie. Yet it is a mistake to imagine that the master is the only","}
{"text": ""one to determine your fate. Your equals and subordinates play integral","}
{"text": ""parts also. A court is a vast stew of resentments, fears, and powerful","}
{"text": ""envy. You have to placate everyone who might someday harm you,","}
{"text": ""deflecting their resentment and envy and diverting their hostility onto","}
{"text": ""other people.","}
{"text": ""Turner, eminent courtier, knew that his good fortune and fame","}
{"text": ""depended on his fellow painters as well as on his dealers and patrons.","}
{"text": ""How many of the great have been felled by envious colleagues! Better","}
{"text": ""temporarily to dull your brilliance than to suffer the slings and arrows of","}
{"text": ""envy.","}
{"text": ""Scene XI","}
{"text": ""Winston Churchill was an amateur artist, and after World War II his","}
{"text": ""paintings became collector’s items. The American publisher Henry Luce,","}
{"text": ""in fact, creator of Time and Life magazines, kept one of Churchill’s","}
{"text": ""landscapes hanging in his private office in New York.","}
{"text": ""On a tour through the United States once, Churchill visited Luce in his","}
{"text": ""office, and the two men looked at the painting together. The publisherremarked, “It’s a good picture, but I think it needs something in the","}
{"text": ""foreground—a sheep, perhaps.” Much to Luce’s horror, Churchill’s","}
{"text": ""secretary called the publisher the next day and asked him to have the","}
{"text": ""painting sent to England. Luce did so, mortified that he had perhaps","}
{"text": ""offended the former prime minister. A few days later, however, the","}
{"text": ""painting was shipped back, but slightly altered: a single sheep now","}
{"text": ""grazed peacefully in the foreground.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In stature and fame, Churchill stood head and shoulders above Luce, but","}
{"text": ""Luce was certainly a man of power, so let us imagine a slight equality","}
{"text": ""between them. Still, what did Churchill have to fear from an American","}
{"text": ""publisher? Why bow to the criticism of a dilettante?","}
{"text": ""A court—in this case the entire world of diplomats and international","}
{"text": ""statesmen, and also of the journalists who court them—is a place of","}
{"text": ""mutual dependence. It is unwise to insult or offend the taste of people of","}
{"text": ""power, even if they are below or equal to you. If a man like Churchill can","}
{"text": ""swallow the criticisms of a man like Luce, he proves himself a courtier","}
{"text": ""without peer. (Perhaps his correction of the painting implied a certain","}
{"text": ""condescension as well, but he did it so subtly that Luce did not perceive","}
{"text": ""any slight.) Imitate Churchill: Put in the sheep. It is always beneficial to","}
{"text": ""play the obliging courtier, even when you are not serving a master.","}
{"text": ""THE DELICATE GAME OF","}
{"text": ""COURTIERSHIP: A Warning","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand was the consummate courtier, especially in serving his master","}
{"text": ""Napoleon. When the two men were first getting to know each other,","}
{"text": ""Napoleon once said in passing, “I shall come to lunch at your house one","}
{"text": ""of these days.” Talleyrand had a house at Auteuil, in the suburbs of Paris.","}
{"text": ""“I should be delighted, mon général,” the minister replied, “and since","}
{"text": ""my house is close to the Bois de Boulogne, you will be able to amuse","}
{"text": ""yourself with a bit of shooting in the afternoon.”","}
{"text": ""“I do not like shooting,” said Napoleon, “But I love hunting. Are there","}
{"text": ""any boars in the Bois de Boulogne?” Napoleon came from Corsica,where boar hunting was a great sport. By asking if there were boars in a","}
{"text": ""Paris park, he showed himself still a provincial, almost a rube.","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand did not laugh, however, but he could not resist a practical joke","}
{"text": ""on the man who was now his master in politics, although not in blood","}
{"text": ""and nobility, since Talleyrand came from an old aristocratic family. To","}
{"text": ""Napoleon’s question, then, he simply replied, “Very few, mon général,","}
{"text": ""but I dare say you will manage to find one.”","}
{"text": ""It was arranged that Napoleon would arrive at Talleyrand’s house the","}
{"text": ""following day at seven A.M. and would spend the morning there. The","}
{"text": ""“boar hunt” would take place in the afternoon. Throughout the morning","}
{"text": ""the excited general talked nothing but boar hunting. Meanwhile,","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand secretly had his servants go to the market, buy two enormous","}
{"text": ""black pigs, and take them to the great park.","}
{"text": ""After lunch, the hunters and their hounds set off for the Bois de","}
{"text": ""Boulogne. At a secret signal from Talleyrand, the servants loosed one of","}
{"text": ""the pigs. “I see a boar,” Napoleon cried joyfully, jumping onto his horse","}
{"text": ""to give chase. Talleyrand stayed behind. It took half an hour of galloping","}
{"text": ""through the park before the “boar” was finally captured. At the moment","}
{"text": ""of triumph, however, Napoleon was approached by one of his aides, who","}
{"text": ""knew the creature could not possibly be a boar, and feared the general","}
{"text": ""would be ridiculed once the story got out: “Sir,” he told Napoleon, “you","}
{"text": ""realize of course that this is not a boar but a pig.”","}
{"text": ""Flying into a rage, Napoleon immediately set off at a gallop for","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand’s house. He realized along the way that he would now be the","}
{"text": ""butt of many a joke, and that exploding at Talleyrand would only make","}
{"text": ""him more ridiculous; it would be better to make a show of good humor.","}
{"text": ""Still, he did not hide his displeasure well.","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand decided to try to soothe the general’s bruised ego. He told","}
{"text": ""Napoleon not to go back to Paris yet—he should again go hunting in the","}
{"text": ""park. There were many rabbits there, and hunting them had been a","}
{"text": ""favorite pastime of Louis XVI. Talleyrand even offered to let Napoleon","}
{"text": ""use a set of guns that had once belonged to Louis. With much flattery","}
{"text": ""and cajolery, he once again got Napoleon to agree to a hunt.","}
{"text": ""The party left for the park in the late afternoon. Along the way,","}
{"text": ""Napoleon told Talleyrand, “I’m not Louis XVI, I surely won’t kill even","}
{"text": ""one rabbit.” Yet that afternoon, strangely enough, the park was teeming","}
{"text": ""with rabbits. Napoleon killed at least fifty of them, and his mood","}
{"text": ""changed from anger to satisfaction. At the end of his wild shooting spree,","}
{"text": ""however, the same aide approached him and whispered in his ear, “To","}
{"text": ""tell the truth, sir, I am beginning to believe these are not wild rabbits. Isuspect that rascal Talleyrand has played another joke on us.” (The aide","}
{"text": ""was right: Talleyrand had in fact sent his servants back to the market,","}
{"text": ""where they had purchased dozens of rabbits and then had released them","}
{"text": ""in the Bois de Boulogne.)","}
{"text": ""Napoleon immediately mounted his horse and galloped away, this time","}
{"text": ""returning straight to Paris. He later threatened Talleyrand, warned him","}
{"text": ""not to tell a soul what had happened; if he became the laughingstock of","}
{"text": ""Paris, there would be hell to pay.","}
{"text": ""It took months for Napoleon to be able to trust Talleyrand again, and","}
{"text": ""he never totally forgave him his humiliation.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Courtiers are like magicians: They deceptively play with appearances,","}
{"text": ""only letting those around them see what they want them to see. With so","}
{"text": ""much deception and manipulation afoot, it is essential to keep people","}
{"text": ""from seeing your tricks and glimpsing your sleight of hand.","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand was normally the Grand Wizard of Courtiership, and but","}
{"text": ""for Napoleon’s aide, he probably would have gotten away completely","}
{"text": ""with both pleasing his master and having a joke at the general’s expense.","}
{"text": ""But courtiership is a subtle art, and overlooked traps and inadvertent","}
{"text": ""mistakes can ruin your best tricks. Never risk being caught in your","}
{"text": ""maneuvers; never let people see your devices. If that happens you","}
{"text": ""instantly pass in people’s perceptions from a courtier of great manners to","}
{"text": ""a loathsome rogue. It is a delicate game you play; apply the utmost","}
{"text": ""attention to covering your tracks, and never let your master unmask you.LAW 25","}
{"text": ""RE-CREATE YOURSELF","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by","}
{"text": ""forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the","}
{"text": ""audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others","}
{"text": ""define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures","}
{"text": ""and actions—your power will be enhanced and your character will seem","}
{"text": ""larger than life.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I","}
{"text": ""Julius Caesar made his first significant mark on Roman society in 65","}
{"text": ""B.C., when he assumed the post of aedile, the official in charge of grain","}
{"text": ""distribution and public games. He began his entrance into the public eye","}
{"text": ""by organizing a series of carefully crafted and well-timed spectacles—","}
{"text": ""wild-beast hunts, extravagant gladiator shows, theatrical contests. On","}
{"text": ""several occasions, he paid for these spectacles out of his own pocket. To","}
{"text": ""the common man, Julius Caesar became indelibly associated with these","}
{"text": ""much-loved events. As he slowly rose to attain the position of consul, his","}
{"text": ""popularity among the masses served as the foundation of his power. He","}
{"text": ""had created an image of himself as a great public showman.","}
{"text": ""The man who intends to make his fortune in this ancient capital of the","}
{"text": ""world [Rome] must be a chameleon susceptible of reflecting the colors of","}
{"text": ""the atmosphere that surrounds him—a Proteus apt to assume every form,","}
{"text": ""every shape. He must be supple, flexible, insinuating, close, inscrutable,","}
{"text": ""often base, sometimes sincere, sometimes perfidious, always concealing","}
{"text": ""a part of his knowledge, indulging in but one tone of voice, patient, a","}
{"text": ""perfect master of his own countenance, as cold as ice when any otherman would be all fire; and if unfortunately he is not religious at heart—a","}
{"text": ""very common occurrence for a soul possessing the above requisites-he","}
{"text": ""must have religion in his mind, that is to say, on his face, on his lips, in","}
{"text": ""his manners; he must suffer quietly, if he be an honest man, the necessity","}
{"text": ""of knowing himself an arrant hypocrite. The man whose soul would","}
{"text": ""loathe such a life should leave Rome and seek his fortune elsewhere. I do","}
{"text": ""not know whether I am praising or excusing myself, but of all those","}
{"text": ""qualities I possessed but one—namely, flexibility.","}
{"text": ""MEMOIRS, GIOVANNI CASANOVA, 1725-1798","}
{"text": ""In 49 B.C., Rome was on the brink of a civil war between rival","}
{"text": ""leaders, Caesar and Pompey. At the height of the tension, Caesar, an","}
{"text": ""addict of the stage, attended a theatrical performance, and afterward, lost","}
{"text": ""in thought, he wandered in the darkness back to his camp at the Rubicon,","}
{"text": ""the river that divides Italy from Gaul, where he had been campaigning.","}
{"text": ""To march his army back into Italy across the Rubicon would mean the","}
{"text": ""beginning of a war with Pompey.","}
{"text": ""Before his staff Caesar argued both sides, forming the options like an","}
{"text": ""actor on stage, a precursor of Hamlet. Finally, to put his soliloquy to an","}
{"text": ""end, he pointed to a seemingly innocent apparition at the edge of the","}
{"text": ""river—a very tall soldier blasting a call on a trumpet, then going across a","}
{"text": ""bridge over the Rubicon—and pronounced, “Let us accept this as a sign","}
{"text": ""from the Gods and follow where they beckon, in vengeance on our","}
{"text": ""double-dealing enemies. The die is cast.” All of this he spoke","}
{"text": ""portentously and dramatically, gesturing toward the river and looking his","}
{"text": ""generals in the eye. He knew that these generals were uncertain in their","}
{"text": ""support, but his oratory overwhelmed them with a sense of the drama of","}
{"text": ""the moment, and of the need to seize the time. A more prosaic speech","}
{"text": ""would never have had the same effect. The generals rallied to his cause;","}
{"text": ""Caesar and his army crossed the Rubicon and by the following year had","}
{"text": ""vanquished Pompey, making Caesar dictator of Rome.","}
{"text": ""In warfare, Caesar always played the leading man with gusto. He was","}
{"text": ""as skilled a horseman as any of his soldiers, and took pride in outdoing","}
{"text": ""them in feats of bravery and endurance. He entered battle astride the","}
{"text": ""strongest mount, so that his soldiers would see him in the thick of battle,","}
{"text": ""urging them on, always positioning himself in the center, a godlike","}
{"text": ""symbol of power and a model for them to follow. Of all the armies in","}
{"text": ""Rome, Caesar’s was the most devoted and loyal. His soldiers, like the","}
{"text": ""common people who had attended his entertainments, had come to","}
{"text": ""identify with him and with his cause.After the defeat of Pompey, the entertainments grew in scale. Nothing","}
{"text": ""like them had ever been seen in Rome. The chariot races became more","}
{"text": ""spectacular, the gladiator fights more dramatic, as Caesar staged fights to","}
{"text": ""the death among the Roman nobility. He organized enormous mock","}
{"text": ""naval battles on an artificial lake. Plays were performed in every Roman","}
{"text": ""ward. A giant new theater was built that sloped dramatically down the","}
{"text": ""Tarpeian Rock. Crowds from all over the empire flocked to these events,","}
{"text": ""the roads to Rome lined with visitors’ tents. And in 45 B.C., timing his","}
{"text": ""entry into the city for maximum effect and surprise, Caesar brought","}
{"text": ""Cleopatra back to Rome after his Egyptian campaign, and staged even","}
{"text": ""more extravagant public spectacles.","}
{"text": ""These events were more than devices to divert the masses; they","}
{"text": ""dramatically enhanced the public’s sense of Caesar’s character, and made","}
{"text": ""him seem larger than life. Caesar was the master of his public image, of","}
{"text": ""which he was forever aware. When he appeared before crowds he wore","}
{"text": ""the most spectacular purple robes. He would be upstaged by no one. He","}
{"text": ""was notoriously vain about his appearance—it was said that one reason","}
{"text": ""he enjoyed being honored by the Senate and people was that on these","}
{"text": ""occasions he could wear a laurel wreath, hiding his baldness. Caesar was","}
{"text": ""a masterful orator. He knew how to say a lot by saying a little, intuited","}
{"text": ""the moment to end a speech for maximum effect. He never failed to","}
{"text": ""incorporate a surprise into his public appearances—a startling","}
{"text": ""announcement that would heighten their drama.","}
{"text": ""Immensely popular among the Roman people, Caesar was hated and","}
{"text": ""feared by his rivals. On the ides of March—March 15—in the year 44","}
{"text": ""B.C., a group of conspirators led by Brutus and Cassius surrounded him","}
{"text": ""in the senate and stabbed him to death. Even dying, however, he kept his","}
{"text": ""sense of drama. Drawing the top of his gown over his face, he let go of","}
{"text": ""the cloth’s lower part so that it draped his legs, allowing him to die","}
{"text": ""covered and decent. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, his","}
{"text": ""final words to his old friend Brutus, who was about to deliver a second","}
{"text": ""blow, were in Greek, and as if rehearsed for the end of a play: “You too,","}
{"text": ""my child?”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The Roman theater was an event for the masses, attended by crowds","}
{"text": ""unimaginable today. Packed into enormous auditoriums, the audience","}
{"text": ""would be amused by raucous comedy or moved by high tragedy. Theaterseemed to contain the essence of life, in its concentrated, dramatic form.","}
{"text": ""Like a religious ritual, it had a powerful, instant appeal to the common","}
{"text": ""man.","}
{"text": ""Julius Caesar was perhaps the first public figure to understand the vital","}
{"text": ""link between power and theater. This was because of his own obsessive","}
{"text": ""interest in drama. He sublimated this interest by making himself an actor","}
{"text": ""and director on the world stage. He said his lines as if they had been","}
{"text": ""scripted; he gestured and moved through a crowd with a constant sense","}
{"text": ""of how he appeared to his audience. He incorporated surprise into his","}
{"text": ""repertoire, building drama into his speeches, staging into his public","}
{"text": ""appearances. His gestures were broad enough for the common man to","}
{"text": ""grasp them instantly. He became immensely popular.","}
{"text": ""Caesar set the ideal for all leaders and people of power. Like him, you","}
{"text": ""must learn to enlarge your actions through dramatic techniques such as","}
{"text": ""surprise, suspense, the creation of sympathy, and symbolic identification.","}
{"text": ""Also like him, you must be constantly aware of your audience—of what","}
{"text": ""will please them and what will bore them. You must arrange to place","}
{"text": ""yourself at the center, to command attention, and never to be upstaged at","}
{"text": ""any cost.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II","}
{"text": ""In the year 1831, a young woman named Aurore Dupin Dudevant left","}
{"text": ""her husband and family in the provinces and moved to Paris. She wanted","}
{"text": ""to be a writer; marriage, she felt, was worse than prison, for it left her","}
{"text": ""neither the time nor the freedom to pursue her passion. In Paris she","}
{"text": ""would establish her independence and make her living by writing.","}
{"text": ""Soon after Dudevant arrived in the capital, however, she had to","}
{"text": ""confront certain harsh realities. To have any degree of freedom in Paris","}
{"text": ""you had to have money. For a woman, money could only come through","}
{"text": ""marriage or prostitution. No woman had ever come close to making a","}
{"text": ""living by writing. Women wrote as a hobby, supported by their husbands,","}
{"text": ""or by an inheritance. In fact when Dudevant first showed her writing to","}
{"text": ""an editor, he told her, “You should make babies, Madame, not literature.”","}
{"text": ""Clearly Dudevant had come to Paris to attempt the impossible. In the","}
{"text": ""end, though, she came up with a strategy to do what no woman had ever","}
{"text": ""done—a strategy to re-create herself completely, forging a public imageof her own making. Women writers before her had been forced into a","}
{"text": ""ready-made role, that of the second-rate artist who wrote mostly for other","}
{"text": ""women. Dudevant decided that if she had to play a role, she would turn","}
{"text": ""the game around: She would play the part of a man.","}
{"text": ""In 1832 a publisher accepted Dudevant’s first major novel, Indiana.","}
{"text": ""She had chosen to publish it under a pseudonym, “George Sand,” and all","}
{"text": ""of Paris assumed this impressive new writer was male. Dudevant had","}
{"text": ""sometimes worn men’s clothes before creating “George Sand” (she had","}
{"text": ""always found men’s shirts and riding breeches more comfortable); now,","}
{"text": ""as a public figure, she exaggerated the image. She added long men’s","}
{"text": ""coats, gray hats, heavy boots, and dandyish cravats to her wardrobe. She","}
{"text": ""smoked cigars and in conversation expressed herself like a man, unafraid","}
{"text": ""to dominate the conversation or to use a saucy word.","}
{"text": ""This strange “male/female” writer fascinated the public. And unlike","}
{"text": ""other women writers, Sand found herself accepted into the clique of male","}
{"text": ""artists. She drank and smoked with them, even carried on affairs with the","}
{"text": ""most famous artists of Europe—Musset, Liszt, Chopin. It was she who","}
{"text": ""did the wooing, and also the abandoning—she moved on at her","}
{"text": ""discretion.","}
{"text": ""Those who knew Sand well understood that her male persona","}
{"text": ""protected her from the public’s prying eyes. Out in the world, she","}
{"text": ""enjoyed playing the part to the extreme; in private she remained herself.","}
{"text": ""She also realized that the character of “George Sand” could grow stale or","}
{"text": ""predictable, and to avoid this she would every now and then dramatically","}
{"text": ""alter the character she had created; instead of conducting affairs with","}
{"text": ""famous men, she would begin meddling in politics, leading","}
{"text": ""demonstrations, inspiring student rebellions. No one would dictate to her","}
{"text": ""the limits of the character she had created. Long after she died, and after","}
{"text": ""most people had stopped reading her novels, the larger-than-life","}
{"text": ""theatricality of that character has continued to fascinate and inspire.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Throughout Sand’s public life, acquaintances and other artists who spent","}
{"text": ""time in her company had the feeling they were in the presence of a man.","}
{"text": ""But in her journals and to her closest friends, such as Gustave Flaubert,","}
{"text": ""she confessed that she had no desire to be a man, but was playing a part","}
{"text": ""for public consumption. What she really wanted was the power to","}
{"text": ""determine her own character. She refused the limits her society wouldhave set on her. She did not attain her power, however, by being herself;","}
{"text": ""instead she created a persona that she could constantly adapt to her own","}
{"text": ""desires, a persona that attracted attention and gave her presence.","}
{"text": ""Understand this: The world wants to assign you a role in life. And","}
{"text": ""once you accept that role you are doomed. Your power is limited to the","}
{"text": ""tiny amount allotted to the role you have selected or have been forced to","}
{"text": ""assume. An actor, on the other hand, plays many roles. Enjoy that","}
{"text": ""protean power, and if it is beyond you, at least forge a new identity, one","}
{"text": ""of your own making, one that has had no boundaries assigned to it by an","}
{"text": ""envious and resentful world. This act of defiance is Promethean: It","}
{"text": ""makes you responsible for your own creation.","}
{"text": ""Your new identity will protect you from the world precisely because it","}
{"text": ""is not “you”; it is a costume you put on and take off. You need not take it","}
{"text": ""personally. And your new identity sets you apart, gives you theatrical","}
{"text": ""presence. Those in the back rows can see you and hear you. Those in the","}
{"text": ""front rows marvel at your audacity.","}
{"text": ""Do not people talk in society of a man being a great actor? They do not","}
{"text": ""mean by","}
{"text": ""that that he feels, but that he excels in simulating, though he feels","}
{"text": ""nothing.","}
{"text": ""Denis Diderot, 1713-1784","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The character you seem to have been born with is not necessarily who","}
{"text": ""you are; beyond the characteristics you have inherited, your parents, your","}
{"text": ""friends, and your peers have helped to shape your personality. The","}
{"text": ""Promethean task of the powerful is to take control of the process, to stop","}
{"text": ""allowing others that ability to limit and mold them. Remake yourself into","}
{"text": ""a character of power. Working on yourself like clay should be one of","}
{"text": ""your greatest and most pleasurable life tasks. It makes you in essence an","}
{"text": ""artist—an artist creating yourself.","}
{"text": ""In fact, the idea of self-creation comes from the world of art. For","}
{"text": ""thousands of years, only kings and the highest courtiers had the freedom","}
{"text": ""to shape their public image and determine their own identity. Similarly,","}
{"text": ""only kings and the wealthiest lords could contemplate their own image inart, and consciously alter it. The rest of mankind played the limited role","}
{"text": ""that society demanded of them, and had little self-consciousness.","}
{"text": ""A shift in this condition can be detected in Velázquez’s painting Las","}
{"text": ""Meninas, made in 1656. The artist appears at the left of the canvas,","}
{"text": ""standing before a painting that he is in the process of creating, but that","}
{"text": ""has its back to us—we cannot see it. Beside him stands a princess, her","}
{"text": ""attendants, and one of the court dwarves, all watching him work. The","}
{"text": ""people posing for the painting are not directly visible, but we can see","}
{"text": ""them in tiny reflections in a mirror on the back wall—the king and queen","}
{"text": ""of Spain, who must be sitting somewhere in the foreground, outside the","}
{"text": ""picture.","}
{"text": ""The painting represents a dramatic change in the dynamics of power","}
{"text": ""and the ability to determine one’s own position in society. For Velázquez,","}
{"text": ""the artist, is far more prominently positioned than the king and queen. In","}
{"text": ""a sense he is more powerful than they are, since he is clearly the one","}
{"text": ""controlling the image—their image. Velázquez no longer saw himself as","}
{"text": ""the slavish, dependent artist. He had remade himself into a man of","}
{"text": ""power. And indeed the first people other than aristocrats to play openly","}
{"text": ""with their image in Western society were artists and writers, and later on","}
{"text": ""dandies and bohemians. Today the concept of self-creation has slowly","}
{"text": ""filtered down to the rest of society, and has become an ideal to aspire to.","}
{"text": ""Like Velazquez, you must demand for yourself the power to determine","}
{"text": ""your position in the painting, and to create your own image.","}
{"text": ""The first step in the process of self-creation is self-consciousness—","}
{"text": ""being aware of yourself as an actor and taking control of your","}
{"text": ""appearance and emotions. As Diderot said, the bad actor is the one who","}
{"text": ""is always sincere. People who wear their hearts on their sleeves out in","}
{"text": ""society are tiresome and embarrassing. Their sincerity notwithstanding, it","}
{"text": ""is hard to take them seriously. Those who cry in public may temporarily","}
{"text": ""elicit sympathy, but sympathy soon turns to scorn and irritation at their","}
{"text": ""self obsessiveness—they are crying to get attention, we feel, and a","}
{"text": ""malicious part of us wants to deny them the satisfaction.","}
{"text": ""Good actors control themselves better. They can play sincere and","}
{"text": ""heartfelt, can affect a tear and a compassionate look at will, but they","}
{"text": ""don’t have to feel it. They externalize emotion in a form that others can","}
{"text": ""understand. Method acting is fatal in the real world. No ruler or leader","}
{"text": ""could possibly play the part if all of the emotions he showed had to be","}
{"text": ""real. So learn self-control. Adopt the plasticity of the actor, who can","}
{"text": ""mold his or her face to the emotion required.The second step in the process of self-creation is a variation on the","}
{"text": ""George Sand strategy: the creation of a memorable character, one that","}
{"text": ""compels attention, that stands out above the other players on the stage.","}
{"text": ""This was the game Abraham Lincoln played. The homespun, common","}
{"text": ""country man, he knew, was a kind of president that America had never","}
{"text": ""had but would delight in electing. Although many of these qualities came","}
{"text": ""naturally to him, he played them up—the hat and clothes, the beard. (No","}
{"text": ""president before him had worn a beard.) Lincoln was also the first","}
{"text": ""president to use photographs to spread his image, helping to create the","}
{"text": ""icon of the “homespun president.”","}
{"text": ""Good drama, however, needs more than an interesting appearance, or a","}
{"text": ""single stand-out moment. Drama takes place over time—it is an","}
{"text": ""unfolding event. Rhythm and timing are critical. One of the most","}
{"text": ""important elements in the rhythm of drama is suspense. Houdini for","}
{"text": ""instance, could sometimes complete his escape acts in seconds—but he","}
{"text": ""drew them out to minutes, to make the audience sweat.","}
{"text": ""The key to keeping the audience on the edge of their seats is letting","}
{"text": ""events unfold slowly, then speeding them up at the right moment,","}
{"text": ""according to a pattern and tempo that you control. Great rulers from","}
{"text": ""Napoleon to Mao Tse-tung have used theatrical timing to surprise and","}
{"text": ""divert their public. Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood the importance","}
{"text": ""of staging political events in a particular order and rhythm.","}
{"text": ""At the time of his 1932 presidential election, the United States was in","}
{"text": ""the midst of a dire economic crisis. Banks were failing at an alarming","}
{"text": ""rate. Shortly after winning the election, Roosevelt went into a kind of","}
{"text": ""retreat. He said nothing about his plans or his cabinet appointments. He","}
{"text": ""even refused to meet the sitting president, Herbert Hoover, to discuss the","}
{"text": ""transition. By the time of Roosevelt’s inauguration the country was in a","}
{"text": ""state of high anxiety.","}
{"text": ""In his inaugural address, Roosevelt shifted gears. He made a powerful","}
{"text": ""speech, making it clear that he intended to lead the country in a","}
{"text": ""completely new direction, sweeping away the timid gestures of his","}
{"text": ""predecessors. From then on the pace of his speeches and public decisions","}
{"text": ""—cabinet appointments, bold legislation—unfolded at an incredibly","}
{"text": ""rapid rate. The period after the inauguration became known as the","}
{"text": ""“Hundred Days,” and its success in altering the country’s mood partly","}
{"text": ""stemmed from Roosevelt’s clever pacing and use of dramatic contrast.","}
{"text": ""He held his audience in suspense, then hit them with a series of bold","}
{"text": ""gestures that seemed all the more momentous because they came from","}
{"text": ""nowhere. You must learn to orchestrate events in a similar manner, neverrevealing all your cards at once, but unfolding them in a way that","}
{"text": ""heightens their dramatic effect.","}
{"text": ""Besides covering a multitude of sins, good drama can also confuse and","}
{"text": ""deceive your enemy. During World War II, the German playwright","}
{"text": ""Bertolt Brecht worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter. After the war he","}
{"text": ""was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities for","}
{"text": ""his supposed Communist sympathies. Other writers who had been called","}
{"text": ""to testify planned to humiliate the committee members with an angry","}
{"text": ""emotional stand. Brecht was wiser: He would play the committee like a","}
{"text": ""violin, charming them while fooling them as well. He carefully rehearsed","}
{"text": ""his responses, and brought along some props, notably a cigar on which","}
{"text": ""he puffed away, knowing the head of the committee liked cigars. And","}
{"text": ""indeed he proceeded to beguile the committee with well-crafted","}
{"text": ""responses that were ambiguous, funny, and double-edged. Instead of an","}
{"text": ""angry, heartfelt tirade, he ran circles around them with a staged","}
{"text": ""production, and they let him off scot-free.","}
{"text": ""Other dramatic effects for your repertoire include the beau geste, an","}
{"text": ""action at a climactic moment that symbolizes your triumph or your","}
{"text": ""boldness. Caesar’s dramatic crossing of the Rubicon was a beau geste—","}
{"text": ""a move that dazzled the soldiers and gave him heroic proportions. You","}
{"text": ""must also appreciate the importance of stage entrances and exits. When","}
{"text": ""Cleopatra first met Caesar in Egypt, she arrived rolled up in a carpet,","}
{"text": ""which she arranged to have unfurled at his feet. George Washington","}
{"text": ""twice left power with flourish and fanfare (first as a general, then as a","}
{"text": ""president who refused to sit for a third term), showing he knew how to","}
{"text": ""make the moment count, dramatically and symbolically. Your own","}
{"text": ""entrances and exits should be crafted and planned as carefully.","}
{"text": ""Remember that overacting can be counterproductive—it is another","}
{"text": ""way of spending too much effort trying to attract attention. The actor","}
{"text": ""Richard Burton discovered early in his career that by standing totally still","}
{"text": ""onstage, he drew attention to himself and away from the other actors. It","}
{"text": ""is less what you do that matters, clearly, than how you do it—your","}
{"text": ""gracefulness and imposing stillness on the social stage count for more","}
{"text": ""than overdoing your part and moving around too much.","}
{"text": ""Finally: Learn to play many roles, to be whatever the moment","}
{"text": ""requires. Adapt your mask to the situation—be protean in the faces you","}
{"text": ""wear. Bismarck played this game to perfection: To a liberal he was a","}
{"text": ""liberal, to a hawk he was a hawk. He could not be grasped, and what","}
{"text": ""cannot be grasped cannot be consumed.Image:","}
{"text": ""The Greek Sea-God Proteus.","}
{"text": ""His power came from his ability to","}
{"text": ""change shape at will, to be whatever the","}
{"text": ""moment required. When Menelaus, brother","}
{"text": ""of Agamemnon, tried to seize him, Proteus","}
{"text": ""transformed himself into a lion, then a serpent, a","}
{"text": ""panther, a boar, running water, and finally a leafy tree.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Know how to be all things to all men. A discreet Proteus—a","}
{"text": ""scholar among scholars, a saint among saints. That is the art of winning","}
{"text": ""over everyone, for like attracts like. Take note of temperaments and","}
{"text": ""adapt yourself to that of each person you meet—follow the lead of the","}
{"text": ""serious and jovial in turn, changing your mood discreetly. (Baltasar","}
{"text": ""Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""There can really be no reversal to this critical law: Bad theater is bad","}
{"text": ""theater. Even appearing natural requires art—in other words, acting. Bad","}
{"text": ""acting only creates embarrassment. Of course you should not be too","}
{"text": ""dramatic—avoid the histrionic gesture. But that is simply bad theater","}
{"text": ""anyway, since it violates centuries-old dramatic laws against overacting.","}
{"text": ""In essence there is no reversal to this law.LAW 26","}
{"text": ""KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never","}
{"text": ""soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance","}
{"text": ""by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your","}
{"text": ""involvement.PART I: CONCEAL YOUR MISTAKES—","}
{"text": ""HAVE A SCAPEGOAT AROUND TO TAKE","}
{"text": ""THE BLAME","}
{"text": ""Our good name and reputation depend more on what we conceal than on","}
{"text": ""what we reveal. Everyone makes mistakes, but those who are truly clever","}
{"text": ""manage to hide them, and to make sure someone else is blamed. A","}
{"text": ""convenient scapegoat should always be kept around for such moments.","}
{"text": ""(III 1.\\I,il .II ,1”/( F","}
{"text": ""A great calamity befell the town of Chelm one day. The town cobbler","}
{"text": ""murdered one of his customers. So he was brought before the judge, who","}
{"text": ""sentenced him to die by hanging. When the verdict was read a townsman","}
{"text": ""arose and cried out, “If your Honor pleases—you have sentenced to","}
{"text": ""death the town cobbler! He’s the only one we’ve got. lf you hang him","}
{"text": ""who will mend our shoes?” “Who? Who?” cried all the people of Chelm","}
{"text": ""with one voice.","}
{"text": ""The judge nodded in agreement and reconsidered his verdict. “Good","}
{"text": ""people of Chelm,”he said, “what you say is true. Since we have only one","}
{"text": ""cobbler it would he a great wrong against the community to let him die.","}
{"text": ""As there are two roofers in the town let one of them be hanged instead.”","}
{"text": ""A TREASURY OF JEWISH FOLKLORE, NATHAN AUSUBEL, ED..","}
{"text": ""1948","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I","}
{"text": ""Near the end of the second century A.D., as China’s mighty Han Empire","}
{"text": ""slowly collapsed, the great general and imperial minister Ts‘ao Ts’ao","}
{"text": ""emerged as the most powerful man in the country. Seeking to extend his","}
{"text": ""power base and to rid himself of the last of his rivals, Ts‘ao Ts’ao began","}
{"text": ""a campaign to take control of the strategically vital Central Plain. Duringthe siege of a key city, he slightly miscalculated the timing for supplies","}
{"text": ""of grain to arrive from the capital. As he waited for the shipment to come","}
{"text": ""in, the army ran low on food, and Ts‘ao Ts’ao was forced to order the","}
{"text": ""chief of commissariat to reduce its rations.","}
{"text": ""Ts‘ao Ts’ao kept a tight rein on the army, and ran a network of","}
{"text": ""informers. His spies soon reported that the men were complaining,","}
{"text": ""grumbling that he was living well while they themselves had barely","}
{"text": ""enough to eat. Perhaps Ts‘ao Ts’ao was keeping the food for himself,","}
{"text": ""they murmured. If the grumbling spread, Ts‘ao Ts’ao could have a","}
{"text": ""mutiny on his hands. He summoned the chief of commissariat to his tent.","}
{"text": ""“I want to ask you to lend me something, and you must not refuse,”","}
{"text": ""Ts‘ao Ts’ao told the chief. “What is it?” the chief replied. “I want the","}
{"text": ""loan of your head to show to the troops,” said Ts‘ao Ts’ao. “But I’ve","}
{"text": ""done nothing wrong!” cried the chief. “I know,” said Ts‘ao Ts’ao with a","}
{"text": ""sigh, “but if I do not put you to death, there will be a mutiny. Do not","}
{"text": ""grieve—after you’re gone, I’ll look after your family.” Put this way, the","}
{"text": ""request left the chief no choice, so he resigned himself to his fate and","}
{"text": ""was beheaded that very day. Seeing his head on public display, the","}
{"text": ""soldiers stopped grumbling. Some saw through Ts‘ao Ts’ao’s gesture, but","}
{"text": ""kept quiet, stunned and intimidated by his violence. And most accepted","}
{"text": ""his version of who was to blame, preferring to believe in his wisdom and","}
{"text": ""fairness than in his incompetence and cruelty.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Ts‘ao Ts’ao came to power in an extremely tumultuous time. In the","}
{"text": ""struggle for supremacy in the crumbling Han Empire, enemies had","}
{"text": ""emerged from all sides. The battle for the Central Plain had proven more","}
{"text": ""difficult than he imagined, and money and provisions were a constant","}
{"text": ""concern. No wonder that under such stress, he had forgotten to order","}
{"text": ""supplies in time.","}
{"text": ""Once it became clear that the delay was a critical mistake, and that the","}
{"text": ""army was seething with mutiny, Ts‘ao Ts’ao had two options: apology","}
{"text": ""and excuses, or a scapegoat. Understanding the workings of power and","}
{"text": ""the importance of appearances as he did, Ts‘ao Ts’ao did not hesitate for","}
{"text": ""a moment: He shopped around for the most convenient head and had it","}
{"text": ""served up immediately.","}
{"text": ""Occasional mistakes are inevitable—the world is just too","}
{"text": ""unpredictable. People of power, however, are undone not by the mistakesthey make, but by the way they deal with them. Like surgeons, they must","}
{"text": ""cut away the tumor with speed and finality. Excuses and apologies are","}
{"text": ""much too blunt tools for this delicate operation; the powerful avoid them.","}
{"text": ""By apologizing you open up all sorts of doubts about your competence,","}
{"text": ""your intentions, any other mistakes you may not have confessed. Excuses","}
{"text": ""satisfy no one and apologies make everyone uncomfortable. The mistake","}
{"text": ""does not vanish with an apology; it deepens and festers. Better to cut it","}
{"text": ""off instantly, distract attention from yourself, and focus attention on a","}
{"text": ""convenient scapegoat before people have time to ponder your","}
{"text": ""responsibility or your possible incompetence.","}
{"text": ""I would rather betray the whole world than let the world betray me.","}
{"text": ""General Ts‘ao Ts’ao, c. A.D. 155-220","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II","}
{"text": ""For several years Cesare Borgia campaigned to gain control of large","}
{"text": ""parts of Italy in the name of his father, Pope Alexander. In the year 1500","}
{"text": ""he managed to take Romagna, in northern Italy. The region had for years","}
{"text": ""been ruled by a series of greedy masters who had plundered its wealth","}
{"text": ""for themselves. Without police or any disciplining force, it had","}
{"text": ""descended into lawlessness, whole areas being ruled by robbers and","}
{"text": ""feuding families. To establish order, Cesare appointed a lieutenant","}
{"text": ""general of the region—Remirro de Orco, “a cruel and vigorous man,”","}
{"text": ""according to Niccolõ Machiavelli. Cesare gave de Orco absolute powers.","}
{"text": ""With energy and violence, de Orco established a severe, brutal justice","}
{"text": ""in Romagna, and soon rid it of almost all of its lawless elements. But in","}
{"text": ""his zeal he sometimes went too far, and after a couple of years the local","}
{"text": ""population resented and even hated him. In December of 1502, Cesare","}
{"text": ""took decisive action. He first let it be known that he had not approved of","}
{"text": ""de Orco’s cruel and violent deeds, which stemmed from the lieutenant’s","}
{"text": ""brutal nature. Then, on December 22, he imprisoned de Orco in the town","}
{"text": ""of Cesena, and the day after Christmas the townspeople awoke to find a","}
{"text": ""strange spectacle in the middle of the piazza: de Orco’s headless body,","}
{"text": ""dressed in a lavish suit with a purple cape, the head impaled beside it on","}
{"text": ""a pike, the bloody knife and executioner’s block laid out beside the head.","}
{"text": ""As Machiavelli concluded his comments on the affair, “The ferocity of","}
{"text": ""this scene left the people at once stunned and satisfied.”Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Cesare Borgia was a master player in the game of power. Always","}
{"text": ""planning several moves ahead, he set his opponents the cleverest traps.","}
{"text": ""For this Machiavelli honored him above all others in The Prince.","}
{"text": ""Cesare foresaw the future with amazing clarity in Romagna: Only","}
{"text": ""brutal justice would bring order to the region. The process would take","}
{"text": ""several years, and at first the people would welcome it. But it would","}
{"text": ""soon make many enemies, and the citizens would come to resent the","}
{"text": ""imposition of such unforgiving justice, especially by outsiders. Cesare","}
{"text": ""himself, then, could not be seen as the agent of this justice—the people’s","}
{"text": ""hatred would cause too many problems in the future. And so he chose the","}
{"text": ""one man who could do the dirty work, knowing in advance that once the","}
{"text": ""task was done he would have to display de Orco’s head on a pike. The","}
{"text": ""scapegoat in this case had been planned from the beginning.","}
{"text": ""With Ts‘ao Ts’ao, the scapegoat was an entirely innocent man; in the","}
{"text": ""Romagna, he was the offensive weapon in Cesare’s arsenal that let him","}
{"text": ""get the dirty work done without bloodying his own hands. With this","}
{"text": ""second kind of scapegoat it is wise to separate yourself from the hatchet","}
{"text": ""man at some point, either leaving him dangling in the wind or, like","}
{"text": ""Cesare, even making yourself the one to bring him to justice. Not only","}
{"text": ""are you free of involvement in the problem, you can appear as the one","}
{"text": ""who cleaned it up.","}
{"text": ""The Athenians regularly maintained a number of degraded and useless","}
{"text": ""beings at the public expense; and when any calamity, such as plague,","}
{"text": ""drought, or famine, befell the city … [these scapegoats] were led about","}
{"text": ""…","}
{"text": ""and then sacrificed, apparently by being stoned outside the city.","}
{"text": ""The Golden Bough, Sir James George Frazer, 1854-1941","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The use of scapegoats is as old as civilization itself, and examples of it","}
{"text": ""can be found in cultures around the world. The main idea behind these","}
{"text": ""sacrifices is the shifting of guilt and sin to an outside figure—object,","}
{"text": ""animal, or man—which is then banished or destroyed. The Hebrews used","}
{"text": ""to take a live goat (hence the term “scapegoat”) upon whose head thepriest would lay both hands while confessing the sins of the Children of","}
{"text": ""Israel. Having thus had those sins transferred to it, the beast would be led","}
{"text": ""away and abandoned in the wilderness. With the Athenians and the","}
{"text": ""Aztecs, the scapegoat was human, often a person fed and raised for the","}
{"text": ""purpose. Since famine and plague were thought to be visited on humans","}
{"text": ""by the gods, in punishment for wrongdoing, the people suffered not only","}
{"text": ""from the famine and plague themselves but from blame and guilt. They","}
{"text": ""freed themselves of guilt by transferring it to an innocent person, whose","}
{"text": ""death was intended to satisfy the divine powers and banish the evil from","}
{"text": ""their midst.","}
{"text": ""It is an extremely human response to not look inward after a mistake","}
{"text": ""or crime, but rather to look outward and to affix blame and guilt on a","}
{"text": ""convenient object. When the plague was ravaging Thebes, Oedipus","}
{"text": ""looked everywhere for its cause, everywhere except inside himself and","}
{"text": ""his own sin of incest, which had so offended the gods and occasioned the","}
{"text": ""plague. This profound need to exteriorize one’s guilt, to project it on","}
{"text": ""another person or object, has an immense power, which the clever know","}
{"text": ""how to harness. Sacrifice is a ritual, perhaps the most ancient ritual of","}
{"text": ""all; ritual too is a well-spring of power. In the killing of de Orco, note","}
{"text": ""Cesare’s symbolic and ritualistic display of his body. By framing it in","}
{"text": ""this dramatic way he focused guilt outward. The citizens of Romagna","}
{"text": ""responded instantly. Because it comes so naturally to us to look outward","}
{"text": ""rather than inward, we readily accept the scapegoat’s guilt.","}
{"text": ""The bloody sacrifice of the scapegoat seems a barbaric relic of the","}
{"text": ""past, but the practice lives on to this day, if indirectly and symbolically;","}
{"text": ""since power depends on appearances, and those in power must seem","}
{"text": ""never to make mistakes, the use of scapegoats is as popular as ever. What","}
{"text": ""modem leader will take responsibility for his blunders? He searches out","}
{"text": ""others to blame, a scapegoat to sacrifice. When Mao Tse-tung’s Cultural","}
{"text": ""Revolution failed miserably, he made no apologies or excuses to the","}
{"text": ""Chinese people; instead, like Ts‘ao Ts’ao before him, he offered up","}
{"text": ""scapegoats, including his own personal secretary and high-ranking","}
{"text": ""member of the Party, Ch’en Po-ta.","}
{"text": ""Franklin D. Roosevelt had a reputation for honesty and fairness.","}
{"text": ""Throughout his career, however, he faced many situations in which being","}
{"text": ""the nice guy would have spelled political disaster—yet he could not be","}
{"text": ""seen as the agent of any foul play. For twenty years, then, his secretary,","}
{"text": ""Louis Howe, played the role de Orco had. He handled the backroom","}
{"text": ""deals, the manipulation of the press, the underhanded campaign","}
{"text": ""maneuvers. And whenever a mistake was committed, or a dirty trickcontradicting Roosevelt’s carefully crafted image became public, Howe","}
{"text": ""served as the scapegoat, and never complained.","}
{"text": ""Besides conveniently shifting blame, a scapegoat can serve as a","}
{"text": ""warning to others. In 1631 a plot was hatched to oust France’s Cardinal","}
{"text": ""Richelieu from power, a plot that became known as “The Day of the","}
{"text": ""Dupes.” It almost succeeded, since it involved the upper echelons of","}
{"text": ""government, including the queen mother. But through luck and his own","}
{"text": ""connivances, Richelieu survived.","}
{"text": ""One of the key conspirators was a man named Marillac, the keeper of","}
{"text": ""the seals. Richelieu could not imprison him without implicating the","}
{"text": ""queen mother, an extremely dangerous tactic, so he targeted Marillac’s","}
{"text": ""brother, a marshal in the army. This man had no involvement in the plot.","}
{"text": ""Richelieu, however, afraid that other conspiracies might be in the air,","}
{"text": ""especially in the army, decided to set an example. He tried the brother on","}
{"text": ""trumped-up charges and had him executed. In this way he indirectly","}
{"text": ""punished the real perpetrator, who had thought himself protected, and","}
{"text": ""warned any future conspirators that he would not shrink from sacrificing","}
{"text": ""the innocent to protect his own power.","}
{"text": ""In fact it is often wise to choose the most innocent victim possible as a","}
{"text": ""sacrificial goat. Such people will not be powerful enough to fight you,","}
{"text": ""and their naive protests may be seen as protesting too much—may be","}
{"text": ""seen, in other words, as a sign of their guilt. Be careful, however, not to","}
{"text": ""create a martyr. It is important that you remain the victim, the poor leader","}
{"text": ""betrayed by the incompetence of those around you. If the scapegoat","}
{"text": ""appears too weak and his punishment too cruel, you may end up the","}
{"text": ""victim of your own device. Sometimes you should find a more powerful","}
{"text": ""scapegoat—one who will elicit less sympathy in the long run.","}
{"text": ""In this vein, history has time and again shown the value of using a","}
{"text": ""close associate as a scapegoat. This is known as the “fall of the favorite.”","}
{"text": ""Most kings had a personal favorite at court, a man whom they singled","}
{"text": ""out, sometimes for no apparent reason, and lavished with favors and","}
{"text": ""attention. But this court favorite could serve as a convenient scapegoat in","}
{"text": ""case of a threat to the king’s reputation. The public would readily believe","}
{"text": ""in the scapegoat’s guilt—why would the king sacrifice his favorite unless","}
{"text": ""he were guilty? And the other courtiers, resentful of the favorite anyway,","}
{"text": ""would rejoice at his downfall. The king, meanwhile, would rid himself of","}
{"text": ""a man who by that time had probably learned too much about him,","}
{"text": ""perhaps becoming arrogant and even disdainful of him. Choosing a close","}
{"text": ""associate as a scapegoat has the same value as the “fall of the favorite.”","}
{"text": ""You may lose a friend or aide, but in the long-term scheme of things, it ismore important to hide your mistakes than to hold on to someone who","}
{"text": ""one day will probably turn against you. Besides, you can always find a","}
{"text": ""new favorite to take his place.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Innocent Goat. On","}
{"text": ""the Day of Atonement, the high","}
{"text": ""priest brings the goat into the","}
{"text": ""temple, places his hands on its","}
{"text": ""head, and confesses the peo","}
{"text": ""ple’s sins, transferring guilt to","}
{"text": ""the guiltless beast, which is","}
{"text": ""then led to the wilderness and","}
{"text": ""abandoned, the people’s sins","}
{"text": ""and blame vanishing with him.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Folly consists not in committing Folly, but in being incapable","}
{"text": ""of concealing it. All men make mistakes, but the wise conceal the","}
{"text": ""blunders they have made, while fools make them public. Reputation","}
{"text": ""depends more on what is hidden than on what is seen. If you can’t be","}
{"text": ""good, be careful. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)PART II: MAKE USE OF THE CAT’S-PAW","}
{"text": ""In the fable, the Monkey grabs the paw of his friend, the Cat, and uses it","}
{"text": ""to fish chestnuts out of the fire, thus getting the nuts he craves, without","}
{"text": ""hurting himself.","}
{"text": ""If there is something unpleasant or unpopular that needs to be done, it","}
{"text": ""is far too risky for you to do the work yourself. You need a cat‘s-paw-","}
{"text": ""someone who does the dirty, dangerous work for you. The cat’s-paw","}
{"text": ""grabs what you need, hurts whom you need hurt, and keeps people from","}
{"text": ""noticing that you are the one responsible. Let someone else be the","}
{"text": ""executioner, or the bearer of bad news, while you bring only joy and glad","}
{"text": ""tidings.","}
{"text": ""THE MONKEY AND THE CAT","}
{"text": ""A monkey and cat, in roguery and fun Sworn brothers twain, both owned","}
{"text": ""a common master, Whatever mischief in the house was done By Pug and","}
{"text": ""Tom was contrived each disaster…. One winter’s day was seen this","}
{"text": ""hopeful pair Close to the kitchen fire, as usual, posted. Amongst the red-","}
{"text": ""hot coals the cook with care Had plac’d some nice plump chestnuts to be","}
{"text": ""roasted, From whence in smoke a pungent odor rose, Whose oily","}
{"text": ""fragrance struck the monkey’s nose. “Tom!” says sly Pug, “pray could","}
{"text": ""not you and I Share this dessert the cook is pleased to cater? Had I such","}
{"text": ""claws as yours, I’d quickly try: Lend me a hand—’twill be a coup-de-","}
{"text": ""maître.” So said, he seized his colleague’s ready paw, Pulled out the","}
{"text": ""fruit, and crammed it in his jaw.","}
{"text": ""Now came the shining Mistress of the fane. And off in haste the two","}
{"text": ""marauders scampered.","}
{"text": ""Tom for his share of the plunder had the pain.","}
{"text": ""Whilst Pug his palate with the dainties pampered.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, JEAN OF LA FONTAINE. 1621-1695","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW IIn 59 B.C., the future queen Cleopatra of Egypt, then ten years old,","}
{"text": ""witnessed the overthrow and banishment of her father, Ptolemy XII, at","}
{"text": ""the hand of his elder daughters—her own sisters. One of the daughters,","}
{"text": ""Berenice, emerged as the leader of the rebellion, and to ensure that she","}
{"text": ""would now rule Egypt alone, she imprisoned her other sisters and","}
{"text": ""murdered her own husband. This may have been necessary as a practical","}
{"text": ""step to secure her rule. But that a member of the royal family, a queen no","}
{"text": ""less, would so overtly exact such violence on her own family horrified","}
{"text": ""her subjects and stirred up powerful opposition. Four years later this","}
{"text": ""opposition was able to return Ptolemy to power, and he promptly had","}
{"text": ""Berenice and the other elder sisters beheaded.","}
{"text": ""In 51 B.C. Ptolemy died, leaving four remaining children as heirs. As","}
{"text": ""was the tradition in Egypt, the eldest son, Ptolemy XIII (only ten at the","}
{"text": ""time), married the elder sister, Cleopatra (now eighteen), and the couple","}
{"text": ""took the throne together as king and queen. None of the four children felt","}
{"text": ""satisfied with this; everyone, including Cleopatra, wanted more power. A","}
{"text": ""struggle emerged between Cleopatra and Ptolemy, each trying to push","}
{"text": ""the other to the side.","}
{"text": ""In 48 B.C., with the help of a government faction that feared","}
{"text": ""Cleopatra’s ambitions, Ptolemy was able to force his sister to flee the","}
{"text": ""country, leaving himself as sole ruler. In exile, Cleopatra schemed. She","}
{"text": ""wanted to rule alone and to restore Egypt to its past glory, a goal she felt","}
{"text": ""none of her other siblings could achieve; yet as long as they were alive,","}
{"text": ""she could not realize her dream. And the example of Berenice had made","}
{"text": ""it clear that no one would serve a queen who was seen murdering her","}
{"text": ""own kind. Even Ptolemy XIII had not dared murder Cleopatra, although","}
{"text": ""he knew she would plot against him from abroad.","}
{"text": ""Within a year after Cleopatra’s banishment, the Roman dictator Julius","}
{"text": ""Caesar arrived in Egypt, determined to make the country a Roman","}
{"text": ""colony. Cleopatra saw her chance: Reentering Egypt in disguise, she","}
{"text": ""traveled hundreds of miles to reach Caesar in Alexandria. Legend has it","}
{"text": ""that she had herself smuggled into his presence rolled up inside a carpet,","}
{"text": ""which was gracefully unfurled at his feet, revealing the young queen.","}
{"text": ""Cleopatra immediately went to work on the Roman. She appealed to his","}
{"text": ""love of spectacle and his interest in Egyptian history, and poured on her","}
{"text": ""feminine charms. Caesar soon succumbed and restored Cleopatra to the","}
{"text": ""throne.","}
{"text": ""Cleopatra’s siblings seethed—she had outmaneuvered them. Ptolemy","}
{"text": ""XIII would not wait to see what happened next: From his palace in","}
{"text": ""Alexandria, he summoned a great army to march on the city and attackCaesar. In response, Caesar immediately put Ptolemy and the rest of the","}
{"text": ""family under house arrest. But Cleopatra’s younger sister Arsinoe","}
{"text": ""escaped from the palace and placed herself at the head of the","}
{"text": ""approaching Egyptian troops, proclaiming herself queen of Egypt. Now","}
{"text": ""Cleopatra finally saw her chance: She convinced Caesar to release","}
{"text": ""Ptolemy from house arrest, under the agreement that he would broker a","}
{"text": ""truce. Of course she knew he would do the opposite—that he would fight","}
{"text": ""Arsinoe for control of the Egyptian army. But this was to Cleopatra’s","}
{"text": ""benefit, for it would divide the royal family. Better still, it would give","}
{"text": ""Caesar the chance to defeat and kill her siblings in battle.","}
{"text": ""Reinforced by troops from Rome, Caesar swiftly defeated the rebels.","}
{"text": ""In the Egyptians’ retreat, Ptolemy drowned in the Nile. Caesar captured","}
{"text": ""Arsinoe and had her sent to Rome as a prisoner. He also executed the","}
{"text": ""numerous enemies who had conspired against Cleopatra, and imprisoned","}
{"text": ""others who had opposed her. To reinforce her position as uncontested","}
{"text": ""queen, Cleopatra now married the only sibling left, Ptolemy XIV—only","}
{"text": ""eleven at the time, and the weakest of the lot. Four years later Ptolemy","}
{"text": ""mysteriously died, of poison.","}
{"text": ""In 41 B.C., Cleopatra employed on a second Roman leader, Marc","}
{"text": ""Antony, the same tactics she had used so well on Julius Caesar. After","}
{"text": ""seducing him, she hinted to him that her sister Arsinoe, still a prisoner in","}
{"text": ""Rome, had conspired to destroy him. Marc Antony believed her and","}
{"text": ""promptly had Arsinoe executed, thereby getting rid of the last of the","}
{"text": ""siblings who had posed such a threat to Cleopatra.","}
{"text": ""IIII ( ROW COBRA AND","}
{"text": ""Once upon a time there was a crow and his wife who had built a nest in a","}
{"text": ""banyan tree. A big snake crawled into the hollow trunk and ate up the","}
{"text": ""chicks as they were hatched. The crow did not want to move, since he","}
{"text": ""loved the tree dearly. So he went to his friend the jackal for advice. A","}
{"text": ""plan of action was devised. The crow and his wife flew about in","}
{"text": ""implementation.","}
{"text": ""As the wife approached a pond, she saw the women of the king’s court","}
{"text": ""bathing, with pearls, necklaces, gems, garments, and a golden chain","}
{"text": ""laying on the shore. The crow-hen seized the golden chain in her beak","}
{"text": ""and flew toward the banyan tree with the eunuchs in pursuit. When she","}
{"text": ""reached the tree, she dropped the chain into the hole. As the kings’ men","}
{"text": ""climbed the tree for the chain, they saw the swelling hood of the cobra.So they killed the snake with their clubs, retrieved the golden chain, and","}
{"text": ""went back to the pond. And the crow and his wife lived happily ever after.","}
{"text": ""A TALE FROM THE PANCHATANTRA, FOURTH CENTURY,","}
{"text": ""RETOLD IN THE CRAFT OF POWER, R. G. H. SIU, 1979","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Legend has it that Cleopatra succeeded through her seductive charms,","}
{"text": ""but in reality her power came from an ability to get people to do her","}
{"text": ""bidding without realizing they were being manipulated. Caesar and","}
{"text": ""Antony not only rid her of her most dangerous siblings—Ptolemy XIII","}
{"text": ""and Arsinoe—they decimated all of her enemies, in both the government","}
{"text": ""and the military. The two men became her cat’s-paws. They entered the","}
{"text": ""fire for her, did the ugly but necessary work, while shielding her from","}
{"text": ""appearing as the destroyer of her siblings and fellow Egyptians. And in","}
{"text": ""the end, both men acquiesced to her desire to rule Egypt not as a Roman","}
{"text": ""colony but as an independent allied kingdom. And they did all this for","}
{"text": ""her without realizing how she had manipulated them. This was","}
{"text": ""persuasion of the subtlest and most powerful kind.","}
{"text": ""A queen must never dirty her hands with ugly tasks, nor can a king","}
{"text": ""appear in public with blood on his face. Yet power cannot survive","}
{"text": ""without the constant squashing of enemies—there will always be dirty","}
{"text": ""little tasks that have to be done to keep you on the throne. Like","}
{"text": ""Cleopatra, you need a cat’s-paw.","}
{"text": ""This will usually be a person from outside your immediate circle, who","}
{"text": ""will therefore be unlikely to realize how he or she is being used. You will","}
{"text": ""find these dupes everywhere—people who enjoy doing you favors,","}
{"text": ""especially if you throw them a minimal bone or two in exchange. But as","}
{"text": ""they accomplish tasks that may seem to them innocent enough, or at least","}
{"text": ""completely justified, they are actually clearing the field for you,","}
{"text": ""spreading the information you feed them, undermining people they do","}
{"text": ""not realize are your rivals, inadvertently furthering your cause, dirtying","}
{"text": ""their hands while yours remain spotless.","}
{"text": ""HOW TO BROADCAST NEWS","}
{"text": ""When Omar, son of al-Khattab, was converted to Islam, he wanted the","}
{"text": ""news of his conversion to reach everyone quickly. He went to see Jamil,","}
{"text": ""son of Ma’mar al-Jumahi. The latter was renowned for the speed with","}
{"text": ""which he passed on secrets. If he was told anything in confidence, he leteveryone know about it immediately. Omar said to him: “I have become","}
{"text": ""a Muslim. Do not say anything. Keep it dark. Do not mention it in front","}
{"text": ""of anyone.” Jamil went out into the street and began shouting at the top","}
{"text": ""of his voice: “Do you believe that Omar, son of al-Khattab, has not","}
{"text": ""become a Muslim? Well, do not believe that! I am telling you that he","}
{"text": ""has!”","}
{"text": ""The news of Omar’s conversion to Islam was spread everywhere. And","}
{"text": ""that was just what he intended.","}
{"text": ""I HE SUBTLE RUSE: THE BOOK OF ARABIC WISDOM AND","}
{"text": ""GUILE, IHIRTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II","}
{"text": ""In the late 1920s, civil war broke out in China as the Nationalist and","}
{"text": ""Communist parties battled for control of the country. In 1927 Chiang","}
{"text": ""Kai-shek, the Nationalist leader, vowed to kill every last Communist, and","}
{"text": ""over the next few years he nearly accomplished his task, pushing his","}
{"text": ""enemies hard until, in 1934-1935, he forced them into the Long March, a","}
{"text": ""six-thousand-mile retreat from the southeast to the remote northwest,","}
{"text": ""through harsh terrain, in which most of their ranks were decimated. In","}
{"text": ""late 1936 Chiang planned one last offensive to wipe them out, but he was","}
{"text": ""caught in a mutiny: His own soldiers captured him and turned him over","}
{"text": ""to the Communists. Now he could only expect the worst.","}
{"text": ""Meanwhile, however, the Japanese began an invasion of China, and","}
{"text": ""much to Chiang’s surprise, instead of killing him the Communist leader,","}
{"text": ""Mao Tse-tung, proposed a deal: The Communists would let him go, and","}
{"text": ""would recognize him as commander of their forces as well as his, if he","}
{"text": ""would agree to fight alongside them against their common enemy.","}
{"text": ""Chiang had expected torture and execution; now he could not believe his","}
{"text": ""luck. How soft these Reds had become. Without having to fight a","}
{"text": ""rearguard action against the Communists, he knew he could beat the","}
{"text": ""Japanese, and then a few years down the line he would turn around and","}
{"text": ""destroy the Reds with ease. He had nothing to lose and everything to","}
{"text": ""gain by agreeing to their terms.","}
{"text": ""The Communists proceeded to fight the Japanese in their usual","}
{"text": ""fashion, with hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, while the Nationalists fought amore conventional war. Together, after several years, they succeeded in","}
{"text": ""evicting the Japanese. Now, however, Chiang finally understood what","}
{"text": ""Mao had really planned. His own army had met the brunt of the Japanese","}
{"text": ""artillery, was greatly weakened, and would take a few years to recover.","}
{"text": ""The Communists, meanwhile, had not only avoided any direct hits from","}
{"text": ""the Japanese, they had used the time to recoup their strength, and to","}
{"text": ""spread out and gain pockets of influence all over China. As soon as the","}
{"text": ""war against the Japanese ended, the civil war started again—but this time","}
{"text": ""the Communists enveloped the weakened Nationalists and slowly beat","}
{"text": ""them into submission. The Japanese had served as Mao’s cat’s-paw,","}
{"text": ""inadvertently ploughing the fields for the Communists and making","}
{"text": ""possible their victory over Chiang Kai-shek.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Most leaders who had taken as powerful an enemy as Chiang Kai-shek","}
{"text": ""prisoner would have made sure to kill him. But in doing so they would","}
{"text": ""have lost the chance Mao exploited. Without the experienced Chiang as","}
{"text": ""leader of the Nationalists, the fight to drive the Japanese out might have","}
{"text": ""lasted much longer, with devastating results. Mao was far too clever to","}
{"text": ""let anger spoil the chance to kill two birds with one stone. In essence,","}
{"text": ""Mao used two cat‘s-paws to help him attain total victory. First, he","}
{"text": ""cleverly baited Chiang into taking charge of the war against the","}
{"text": ""Japanese. Mao knew the Nationalists led by Chiang would do most of","}
{"text": ""the hard fighting and would succeed in pushing the Japanese out of","}
{"text": ""China, if they did not have to concern themselves with fighting the","}
{"text": ""Communists at the same time. The Nationalists, then, were the first cat’s-","}
{"text": ""paw, used to evict the Japanese. But Mao also knew that in the process of","}
{"text": ""leading the war against the invaders, the Japanese artillery and air","}
{"text": ""support would decimate the conventional forces of the Nationalists,","}
{"text": ""doing damage it could take the Communists decades to inflict. Why","}
{"text": ""waste time and lives if the Japanese could do the job quickly? It was this","}
{"text": ""wise policy of using one cat’s-paw after another that allowed the","}
{"text": ""Communists to prevail.","}
{"text": ""There are two uses of the cat‘s-paw: to save appearances, as Cleopatra","}
{"text": ""did, and to save energy and effort. The latter case in particular demands","}
{"text": ""that you plan several moves in advance, realizing that a temporary move","}
{"text": ""backward (letting Chiang go, say) can lead to a giant leap forward. If you","}
{"text": ""are temporarily weakened and need time to recover, it will often serveyou well to use those around you both as a screen to hide your intentions","}
{"text": ""and as a cat’s-paw to do your work for you. Look for a powerful third","}
{"text": ""party who shares an enemy with you (if for different reasons), then take","}
{"text": ""advantage of their superior power to deal blows which would have cost","}
{"text": ""you much more energy, since you are weaker. You can even gently guide","}
{"text": ""them into hostilities. Always search out the overly aggressive as","}
{"text": ""potential cat’s-paws—they are often more than willing to get into a fight,","}
{"text": ""and you can choose just the right fight for your purposes.","}
{"text": ""\\OOAND","}
{"text": ""A wise man, walking alone, Was being bothered by a fool throwing","}
{"text": ""stones at his head. Turning to face him, he said: “My dear chap, well","}
{"text": ""thrown! Please accept these few francs. You’ve worked hard enough to","}
{"text": ""get more than mere thanks. Every effort deserves its reward. But see that","}
{"text": ""man over there? He can afford More than I can. Present him with some","}
{"text": ""of your stones: they’ll earn a good wage.” Lured by the bait, the stupid","}
{"text": ""man Ran off to repeat the outrage On the other worthy citizen. This time","}
{"text": ""he wasn’t paid in money for his stones. Up rushed serving-men, And","}
{"text": ""seized him and thrashed him and broke all his bones. In the courts of","}
{"text": ""kings there are pests like this. devoid of sense: They’ll make their master","}
{"text": ""laugh at your expense. To silence their cackle, should you hand out","}
{"text": ""rough Punishment? Maybe you’re not strong enough. Better persuade","}
{"text": ""them to attack Somebody else, who can more than pay them back.","}
{"text": ""SELECTED FABLES, JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW III","}
{"text": ""Kuriyama Daizen was an adept of Cha-no-yu (Hot Water for Tea, the","}
{"text": ""Japanese tea ceremony) and a student of the teachings of the great tea","}
{"text": ""master Sen no Rikyu. Around 1620 Daizen learned that a friend of his,","}
{"text": ""Hoshino Soemon, had borrowed a large sum of money (300 ryo) to help","}
{"text": ""a relative who had fallen into debt. But although Soemon had managed","}
{"text": ""to bail out his relative, he had simply displaced the burden onto himself.","}
{"text": ""Daizen knew Soemon well—he neither cared nor understood much about","}
{"text": ""money, and could easily get into trouble through slowness in repayingthe loan, which had been made by a wealthy merchant called Kawachiya","}
{"text": ""Sanemon. Yet if Daizen offered to help Soemon pay back the loan, he","}
{"text": ""would refuse, out of pride, and might even be offended.","}
{"text": ""One day Daizen visited his friend, and after touring the garden and","}
{"text": ""looking at Soemon’s prized peonies, they retired to his reception room.","}
{"text": ""Here Daizen saw a painting by the master Kano Tennyu. “Ah,” Daizen","}
{"text": ""exclaimed, “a splendid piece of painting…. I don’t know when I have","}
{"text": ""seen anything I like better.” After several more bouts of praise, Soemon","}
{"text": ""had no choice: “Well,” he said, “since you like it so much, I hope you","}
{"text": ""will do me the favor of accepting it.”","}
{"text": ""At first Daizen refused, but when Soemon insisted he gave in. The","}
{"text": ""next day Soemon in turn received a package from Daizen. Inside it was a","}
{"text": ""beautiful and delicate vase, which Daizen, in an accompanying note,","}
{"text": ""asked his friend to accept as a token of his appreciation for the painting","}
{"text": ""that Soemon had so graciously given him the day before. He explained","}
{"text": ""that the vase had been made by Sen no Rikyu himself, and bore an","}
{"text": ""inscription from Emperor Hideyoshi. If Soemon did not care for the","}
{"text": ""vase, Daizen suggested, he might make a gift of it to an adherent of Cha-","}
{"text": ""no-yu—perhaps the merchant Kawachiya Sanemon, who had often","}
{"text": ""expressed a desire to possess it. “I hear,” Daizen continued, “he has a","}
{"text": ""fine piece of fancy paper [the 300-ryo I.O.U.] which you would much","}
{"text": ""like. It is possible you might arrange an exchange.”","}
{"text": ""Realizing what his gracious friend was up to, Soemon took the vase to","}
{"text": ""the wealthy lender. “However did you get this,” exclaimed Sanemon,","}
{"text": ""when Soemon showed him the vase. “I have often heard of it, but this is","}
{"text": ""the first time I have ever seen it. It is such a treasure that it is never","}
{"text": ""allowed outside the gate!” He instantly offered to exchange the debt note","}
{"text": ""for the flower vase, and to give Soemon 300 ryo more on top of it. But","}
{"text": ""Soemon, who did not care for money, only wanted the debt note back,","}
{"text": ""and Sanemon gladly gave it to him. Then Soemon immediately hurried","}
{"text": ""to Daizen’s house to thank him for his clever support.","}
{"text": ""THE INDIAN BIRD","}
{"text": ""A merchant kept a bird in a cage. He was going to India, the land from","}
{"text": ""which the bird came, and asked it whether he could bring anything back","}
{"text": ""for it. The bird asked for its freedom, but was refused. So he asked the","}
{"text": ""merchant to visit a jungle in India and announce his captivity to the free","}
{"text": ""birds who were there. The merchant did so, and no sooner had he spoken","}
{"text": ""when a wild bird, just like his own, fell senseless out of a tree on to theground. The merchant thought that this must be a relative of his own","}
{"text": ""bird, and felt sad that he should have caused this death. When he got","}
{"text": ""home, the bird asked him whether he had brought good news from India.","}
{"text": ""“No,” said the merchant, “I fear that my news is bad. One of your","}
{"text": ""relations collapsed and fell at my feet when I mentioned your captivity.”.","}
{"text": ""As soon as these words were spoken the merchant’s bird collapsed and","}
{"text": ""fell to the bottom of the cage. “The news of his kins-man’s death has","}
{"text": ""killed him, too, ”thotight the merchant. Sorrowfully he picked up the bird","}
{"text": ""and put it on the windowsill. At once the bird revived and flew to a","}
{"text": ""nearby tree. “Now you know, ”the bird said, “that what you hought was","}
{"text": ""disaster was in fact good news for me. And how the message, the","}
{"text": ""suggestion of how to behave in order to free myself, was transmitted to","}
{"text": ""me through you, my captor.” And he flew away, free at last.","}
{"text": ""TALES OF THE DERVISHES. IDRIES SHAH. 1967","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Kuriyama Daizen understood that the granting of a favor is never simple:","}
{"text": ""If it is done with fuss and obviousness, its receiver feels burdened by an","}
{"text": ""obligation. This may give the doer a certain power, but it is a power that","}
{"text": ""will eventually self-destruct, for it will stir up resentment and resistance.","}
{"text": ""A favor done indirectly and elegantly has ten times more power. Daizen","}
{"text": ""knew a direct approach would only have offended Soemon. By letting","}
{"text": ""his friend give him the painting, however, he made Soemon feel that he","}
{"text": ""too had pleased his friend with a gift. In the end, all three parties","}
{"text": ""emerged from the encounter feeling fulfilled in their own way.","}
{"text": ""In essence, Daizen made himself the cat‘s-paw, the tool to take the","}
{"text": ""chestnuts out of the fire. He must have felt some pain in losing the vase,","}
{"text": ""but he gained not only the painting but, more important, the power of the","}
{"text": ""courtier. The courtier uses his gloved hand to soften any blows against","}
{"text": ""him, disguise his scars, and make the act of rescue more elegant and","}
{"text": ""clean. By helping others, the courtier eventually helps himself. Daizen’s","}
{"text": ""example provides the paradigm for every favor done between friends and","}
{"text": ""peers: never impose your favors. Search out ways to make yourself the","}
{"text": ""cat’s-paw, indirectly extricating your friends from distress without","}
{"text": ""imposing yourself or making them feel obligated to you.","}
{"text": ""One should not be too straightforward. Go and see the forest.","}
{"text": ""The straight trees are cut down, the crooked ones are left standing.","}
{"text": ""Kautilya, Indian philosopher, third century B.C.KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""As a leader you may imagine that constant diligence, and the appearance","}
{"text": ""of working harder than anyone else, signify power. Actually, though,","}
{"text": ""they have the opposite effect: They imply weakness. Why are you","}
{"text": ""working so hard? Perhaps you are incompetent, and have to put in extra","}
{"text": ""effort just to keep up; perhaps you are one of those people who does not","}
{"text": ""know how to delegate, and has to meddle in everything. The truly","}
{"text": ""powerful, on the other hand, seem never to be in a hurry or","}
{"text": ""overburdened. While others work their fingers to the bone, they take","}
{"text": ""their leisure. They know how to find the right people to put in the effort","}
{"text": ""while they save their energy and keep their hands out of the fire.","}
{"text": ""Similarly, you may believe that by taking on the dirty work yourself,","}
{"text": ""involving yourself directly in unpleasant actions, you impose your power","}
{"text": ""and instill fear. In fact you make yourself look ugly, and abusive of your","}
{"text": ""high position. Truly powerful people keep their hands clean. Only good","}
{"text": ""things surround them, and the only announcements they make are of","}
{"text": ""glorious achievements.","}
{"text": ""You will often find it necessary, of course, to expend energy, or to","}
{"text": ""effect an evil but necessary action. But you must never appear to be this","}
{"text": ""action’s agent. Find a cat‘s-paw. Develop the arts of finding, using, and,","}
{"text": ""in time, getting rid of these people when their cat’s-paw role has been","}
{"text": ""fulfilled.","}
{"text": ""On the eve of an important river battle, the great third-century Chinese","}
{"text": ""strategist Chuko Liang found himself falsely accused of secretly working","}
{"text": ""for the other side. As proof of his loyalty, his commander ordered him to","}
{"text": ""produce 100,000 arrows for the army within three days, or be put to","}
{"text": ""death. Instead of trying to manufacture the arrows, an impossible task,","}
{"text": ""Liang took a dozen boats and had bundles of straw lashed to their sides.","}
{"text": ""In the late afternoon, when mist always blanketed the river, he floated","}
{"text": ""the boats toward the enemy camp. Fearing a trap from the wily Chuko","}
{"text": ""Liang, the enemy did not attack the barely visible boats with boats of","}
{"text": ""their own, but showered them with arrows from the bank. As Liang’s","}
{"text": ""boats inched closer, they redoubled the rain of arrows, which stuck in the","}
{"text": ""thick straw. After several hours, the men hiding on board sailed the","}
{"text": ""vessels quickly downstream, where Chuko Liang met them and collected","}
{"text": ""his 100,000 arrows.","}
{"text": ""Chuko Liang would never do work that others could do for him—he","}
{"text": ""was always thinking up tricks like this one. The key to planning such astrategy is the ability to think far ahead, to imagine ways in which other","}
{"text": ""people can be baited into doing the job for you.","}
{"text": ""An essential element in making this strategy work is to disguise your","}
{"text": ""goal, shrouding it in mystery, like the strange enemy boats appearing","}
{"text": ""dimly in the mist. When your rivals cannot be sure what you are after,","}
{"text": ""they will react in ways that often work against them in the long run. In","}
{"text": ""fact they will become your cat’s-paws. If you disguise your intentions, it","}
{"text": ""is much easier to guide them into moves that accomplish exactly what","}
{"text": ""you want done, but prefer not to do yourself. This may require planning","}
{"text": ""several moves in advance, like a billiard ball that bounces off the sides a","}
{"text": ""few times before heading into the right pocket.","}
{"text": ""The early-twentieth-century American con artist Yellow Kid Weil","}
{"text": ""knew that no matter how skillfully he homed in on the perfect wealthy","}
{"text": ""sucker, if he, a stranger, approached this man directly, the sucker might","}
{"text": ""become suspicious. So Weil would find someone the sucker already","}
{"text": ""knew to serve as a cat‘s-paw—someone lower on the totem pole who","}
{"text": ""was himself an unlikely target, and would therefore be less suspicious.","}
{"text": ""Weil would interest this man in a scheme promising incredible wealth.","}
{"text": ""Convinced the scheme was for real, the cat’s-paw would often suggest,","}
{"text": ""without prompting, that his boss or wealthy friend should get involved:","}
{"text": ""Having more cash to invest, this man would increase the size of the pot,","}
{"text": ""making bigger bucks for all concerned. The cat‘s-paw would then","}
{"text": ""involve the wealthy sucker who had been Weil’s target all along, but who","}
{"text": ""would not suspect a trap, since it was his trusty subordinate who had","}
{"text": ""roped him in. Devices like this are often the best way to approach a","}
{"text": ""person of power: Use an associate or subordinate to hook you up with","}
{"text": ""your primary target. The cat’s-paw establishes your credibility and","}
{"text": ""shields you from the unsavory appearance of being too pushy in your","}
{"text": ""courtship.","}
{"text": ""The easiest and most effective way to use a cat’s-paw is often to plant","}
{"text": ""information with him that he will then spread to your primary target.","}
{"text": ""False or planted information is a powerful tool, especially if spread by a","}
{"text": ""dupe whom no one suspects. You will find it very easy to play innocent","}
{"text": ""and disguise yourself as the source.","}
{"text": ""DAVID AND BATHSHEBA","}
{"text": ""At the turn of the year, when kings take the field, David sent Joab out","}
{"text": ""with his other officers and all the Israelite forces, and they ravaged","}
{"text": ""Ammon and laid siege to Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem.One evening David got up from his couch and, as he walked about on the","}
{"text": ""roof of the palace, he saw from there a woman bathing and she was very","}
{"text": ""beautiful. He sent to inquire who she was, and the answer came, “It must","}
{"text": ""be Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite….” David","}
{"text": ""wrote a letter to Joab and sent Uriah with it. He wrote in the letter: “Put","}
{"text": ""Uriah opposite the enemy where the fighting is fiercest and then fall","}
{"text": ""back, and leave him to meet his death.”… Joab… stationed Uriah at a","}
{"text": ""point where he knew they would put up a stout fight. The men of the city","}
{"text": ""sallied out and engaged Joab, and some of David’s guards fell; Uriah the","}
{"text": ""Hittite was also killed. Joab sent David a dispatch with all the news of","}
{"text": ""the battle…. When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she","}
{"text": ""mourned for him; and when the period of mourning was over, David sent","}
{"text": ""for her and brought her into his house. She became his wife and bore","}
{"text": ""him a son.","}
{"text": ""OLD TESTAMENT, 2 SAMUEL,11-12","}
{"text": ""The strategic therapist Dr. Milton H. Erickson would often encounter","}
{"text": ""among his patients a married couple in which the wife wanted the","}
{"text": ""therapy but the husband absolutely refused it. Rather than wasting","}
{"text": ""energy trying to deal with the man directly, Dr. Erickson would see the","}
{"text": ""wife alone, and as she talked he would interject interpretations of the","}
{"text": ""husband’s behavior that he knew would rile the husband up if he heard","}
{"text": ""them. Sure enough, the wife would tell her husband what the doctor had","}
{"text": ""said. After a few weeks the husband would be so furious he would insist","}
{"text": ""on joining his wife in the sessions so he could set the doctor straight.","}
{"text": ""Finally, you may well find cases in which deliberately offering","}
{"text": ""yourself as the cat’s-paw will ultimately gain you great power. This is the","}
{"text": ""ruse of the perfect courtier. Its symbol is Sir Walter Raleigh, who once","}
{"text": ""placed his own cloak on the muddy ground so that Queen Elizabeth","}
{"text": ""would not sully her shoes. As the instrument that protects a master or","}
{"text": ""peer from unpleasantness or danger, you gain immense respect, which","}
{"text": ""sooner or later will pay dividends. And remember: If you can make your","}
{"text": ""assistance subtle and gracious rather than boastful and burdensome, your","}
{"text": ""recompense will be that much the more satisfying and powerful.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Cat’s-Paw.","}
{"text": ""It has long claws to grab","}
{"text": ""things. It is soft and","}
{"text": ""padded. Take hold of the cat","}
{"text": ""and use its paw to pluckthings out of the fire, to claw","}
{"text": ""your enemy, to play with the","}
{"text": ""mouse before devouring it.","}
{"text": ""Sometimes you hurt the","}
{"text": ""cat, but most often it","}
{"text": ""doesn’t feel a thing.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Do everything pleasant yourself, everything unpleasant","}
{"text": ""through third parties. By adopting the first course you win favor, by","}
{"text": ""taking the second you deflect ill will. Important affairs often require","}
{"text": ""rewards and punishments. Let only the good come from you and the evil","}
{"text": ""from others. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The cat’s-paw and the scapegoat must be used with extreme caution and","}
{"text": ""delicacy. They are like screens that hide your own involvement in dirty","}
{"text": ""work from the public; if at any moment the screen is lifted and you are","}
{"text": ""seen as the manipulator, the puppet master, the whole dynamic turns","}
{"text": ""around—your hand will be seen everywhere, and you will be blamed for","}
{"text": ""misfortunes you may have had nothing to do with. Once the truth is","}
{"text": ""revealed, events will snowball beyond your control.","}
{"text": ""In 1572, Queen Catherine de’ Médicis of France conspired to do away","}
{"text": ""with Gaspard de Coligny, an admiral in the French navy and a leading","}
{"text": ""member of the Huguenot (French Protestant) community. Coligny was","}
{"text": ""close to Catherine’s son, Charles IX, and she feared his growing","}
{"text": ""influence on the young king. So she arranged for a member of the Guise","}
{"text": ""family, one of the most powerful royal clans in France, to assassinate","}
{"text": ""him.","}
{"text": ""Secretly, however, Catherine had another plan: She wanted the","}
{"text": ""Huguenots to blame the Guises for killing one of their leaders, and to","}
{"text": ""take revenge. With one blow, she would erase or injure two threateningrivals, Coligny and the Guise family. Yet both plans went awry. The","}
{"text": ""assassin missed his target, only wounding Coligny; knowing Catherine","}
{"text": ""as his enemy, he strongly suspected it was she who had set up the attack","}
{"text": ""on him, and he told the king so. Eventually the failed assassination and","}
{"text": ""the arguments that ensued from it set off a chain of events that led to a","}
{"text": ""bloody civil war between Catholics and Protestants, culminating in the","}
{"text": ""horrifying Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve, in which thousands of","}
{"text": ""Protestants were killed.","}
{"text": ""If you have to use a cat’s-paw or a scapegoat in an action of great","}
{"text": ""consequence, be very careful: Too much can go wrong. It is often wiser","}
{"text": ""to use such dupes in more innocent endeavors, where mistakes or","}
{"text": ""miscalculations will cause no serious harm.","}
{"text": ""Finally, there are moments when it is advantageous to not disguise","}
{"text": ""your involvement or responsibility, but rather to take the blame yourself","}
{"text": ""for some mistake. If you have power and are secure in it, you should","}
{"text": ""sometimes play the penitent: With a sorrowful look, you ask for","}
{"text": ""forgiveness from those weaker than you. It is the ploy of the king who","}
{"text": ""makes a show of his own sacrifices for the good of the people. Similarly,","}
{"text": ""upon occasion you may want to appear as the agent of punishment in","}
{"text": ""order to instill fear and trembling in your subordinates. Instead of the","}
{"text": ""cat‘s-paw you show your own mighty hand as a threatening gesture. Play","}
{"text": ""such a card sparingly. If you play it too often, fear will turn into","}
{"text": ""resentment and hatred. Before you know it, such emotions will spark a","}
{"text": ""vigorous opposition that will someday bring you down. Get in the habit","}
{"text": ""of using a cat’s-paw—it is far safer.LAW 27","}
{"text": ""PLAY ON PEOPLE’S NEED TO BELIEVE TO","}
{"text": ""CREATE A CULTLIKE FOLLOWING","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the","}
{"text": ""focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow.","}
{"text": ""Keep your words vague but full of promise ; emphasize enthusiasm over","}
{"text": ""rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to","}
{"text": ""perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of","}
{"text": ""organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring","}
{"text": ""you untold power.","}
{"text": ""THE SCIENCE OF CHARLATANISM, OR","}
{"text": ""HOW TO CREATE A CULT IN FIVE EASY","}
{"text": ""STEPS","}
{"text": ""In searching, as you must, for the methods that will gain you the most","}
{"text": ""power for the least effort, you will find the creation of a cultlike","}
{"text": ""following one of the most effective. Having a large following opens up","}
{"text": ""all sorts of possibilities for deception; not only will your followers","}
{"text": ""worship you, they will defend you from your enemies and will","}
{"text": ""voluntarily take on the work of enticing others to join your fledgling cult.","}
{"text": ""This kind of power will lift you to another realm: You will no longer","}
{"text": ""have to struggle or use subterfuge to enforce your will. You are adored","}
{"text": ""and can do no wrong.","}
{"text": ""You might think it a gargantuan task to create such a following, but in","}
{"text": ""fact it is fairly simple. As humans, we have a desperate need to believe in","}
{"text": ""something, anything. This makes us eminently gullible: We simplycannot endure long periods of doubt, or of the emptiness that comes from","}
{"text": ""a lack of something to believe in. Dangle in front of us some new cause,","}
{"text": ""elixir, get-rich-quick scheme, or the latest technological trend or art","}
{"text": ""movement and we leap from the water as one to take the bait. Look at","}
{"text": ""history: The chronicles of the new trends and cults that have made a","}
{"text": ""mass following for themselves could fill a library. After a few centuries,","}
{"text": ""a few decades, a few years, a few months, they generally look ridiculous,","}
{"text": ""but at the time they seem so attractive, so transcendental, so divine.","}
{"text": ""Always in a rush to believe in something, we will manufacture saints","}
{"text": ""and faiths out of nothing. Do not let this gullibility go to waste: Make","}
{"text": ""yourself the object of worship. Make people form a cult around you.","}
{"text": ""The great European charlatans of the sixteenth and seventeenth","}
{"text": ""centuries mastered the art of cultmaking. They lived, as we do now, in a","}
{"text": ""time of transformation: Organized religion was on the wane, science on","}
{"text": ""the rise. People were desperate to rally around a new cause or faith. The","}
{"text": ""charlatans had begun by peddling health elixirs and alchemic shortcuts to","}
{"text": ""wealth. Moving quickly from town to town, they originally focused on","}
{"text": ""small groups—until, by accident, they stumbled on a truth of human","}
{"text": ""nature: The larger the group they gathered around themselves, the easier","}
{"text": ""it was to deceive.","}
{"text": ""The charlatan would station himself on a high wooden platform (hence","}
{"text": ""the term “mountebank”) and crowds would swarm around him. In a","}
{"text": ""group setting, people were more emotional, less able to reason. Had the","}
{"text": ""charlatan spoken to them individually, they might have found him","}
{"text": ""ridiculous, but lost in a crowd they got caught up in a communal mood","}
{"text": ""of rapt attention. It became impossible for them to find the distance to be","}
{"text": ""skeptical. Any deficiencies in the charlatan’s ideas were hidden by the","}
{"text": ""zeal of the mass. Passion and enthusiasm swept through the crowd like a","}
{"text": ""contagion, and they reacted violently to anyone who dared to spread a","}
{"text": ""seed of doubt. Both consciously studying this dynamic over decades of","}
{"text": ""experiment and spontaneously adapting to these situations as they","}
{"text": ""happened, the charlatans perfected the science of attracting and holding a","}
{"text": ""crowd, molding the crowd into followers and the followers into a cult.","}
{"text": ""It was to the charlatan’s advantage that the individuals predisposed to","}
{"text": ""credulity should multiply, that the groups of his adherents should enlarge","}
{"text": ""to mass proportions, guaranteeing an ever greater scope for his","}
{"text": ""triumphs. And this was in fact to occur, as science was popularized, from","}
{"text": ""the Renaissance on down through succeeding centuries. With the","}
{"text": ""immense growth of knowledge and its spread through printing in modern","}
{"text": ""times, the mass of the half educated, the eagerly gullible prey of thequack, also increased, became indeed a majority; real power could be","}
{"text": ""based on their wishes, opinions, preferences, and rejections. The","}
{"text": ""charlatan’s empire accordingly widened with the modern dissemination","}
{"text": ""of knowledge; since he operated on the basis of science, however much","}
{"text": ""he perverted it, producing gold with a technique borrowed from","}
{"text": ""chemistry and his wonderful balsams with the apparatus of medicine, he","}
{"text": ""could not appeal to an entirely ignorant folk. The illiterate would be","}
{"text": ""protected against his absurdities by their healthy common sense. His","}
{"text": ""choicest audience would be composed of the semiliterate, those who had","}
{"text": ""exchanged their common sense for a little distorted information and had","}
{"text": ""encountered science and education at some time, though briefly and","}
{"text": ""unsuccessfully…. The great mass of mankind has always been","}
{"text": ""predisposed to marvel at mysteries, and this was especially true at","}
{"text": ""certain historic periods when the secure foundations of life seemed","}
{"text": ""shaken and old values, economic or spiritual, long accepted as","}
{"text": ""certainties, could no longer be relied upon. Then the numbers of the","}
{"text": ""charlatan’s dupes multiplied—the “self killers,” as a seventeenth-century","}
{"text": ""Englishman called them.","}
{"text": ""THE POWER OF THE CHARLATAN, GRETE DE FRANCESCO,","}
{"text": ""1939","}
{"text": ""The gimmicks of the charlatans may seem quaint today, but there are","}
{"text": ""thousands of charlatans among us still, using the same tried-and-true","}
{"text": ""methods their predecessors refined centuries ago, only changing the","}
{"text": ""names of their elixirs and modernizing the look of their cults. We find","}
{"text": ""these latter-day charlatans in all arenas of life—business, fashion,","}
{"text": ""politics, art. Many of them, perhaps, are following in the charlatan","}
{"text": ""tradition without having any knowledge of its history, but you can be","}
{"text": ""more systematic and deliberate. Simply follow the five steps of","}
{"text": ""cultmaking that our charlatan ancestors perfected over the years.","}
{"text": ""Step 1: Keep It Vague; Keep It Simple. To create a cult you must first","}
{"text": ""attract attention. This you should do not through actions, which are too","}
{"text": ""clear and readable, but through words, which are hazy and deceptive.","}
{"text": ""Your initial speeches, conversations, and interviews must include two","}
{"text": ""elements: on the one hand the promise of something great and","}
{"text": ""transformative, and on the other a total vagueness. This combination will","}
{"text": ""stimulate all kinds of hazy dreams in your listeners, who will make their","}
{"text": ""own connections and see what they want to see.To make your vagueness attractive, use words of great resonance but","}
{"text": ""cloudy meaning, words full of heat and enthusiasm. Fancy titles for","}
{"text": ""simple things are helpful, as are the use of numbers and the creation of","}
{"text": ""new words for vague concepts. All of these create the impression of","}
{"text": ""specialized knowledge, giving you a veneer of profundity. By the same","}
{"text": ""token, try to make the subject of your cult new and fresh, so that few will","}
{"text": ""understand it. Done right, the combination of vague promises, cloudy but","}
{"text": ""alluring concepts, and fiery enthusiasm will stir people’s souls and a","}
{"text": ""group will form around you.","}
{"text": ""Talk too vaguely and you have no credibility. But it is more dangerous","}
{"text": ""to be specific. If you explain in detail the benefits people will gain by","}
{"text": ""following your cult, you will be expected to satisfy them.","}
{"text": ""As a corollary to its vagueness your appeal should also be simple.","}
{"text": ""Most people’s problems have complex causes: deep-rooted neurosis,","}
{"text": ""interconnected social factors, roots that go way back in time and are","}
{"text": ""exceedingly hard to unravel. Few, however, have the patience to deal","}
{"text": ""with this; most people want to hear that a simple solution will cure their","}
{"text": ""problems. The ability to offer this kind of solution will give you great","}
{"text": ""power and build you a following. Instead of the complicated","}
{"text": ""explanations of real life, return to the primitive solutions of our","}
{"text": ""ancestors, to good old country remedies, to mysterious panaceas.","}
{"text": ""Step 2: Emphasize the Visual and the Sensual over the Intellectual.","}
{"text": ""Once people have begun to gather around you, two dangers will present","}
{"text": ""themselves: boredom and skepticism. Boredom will make people go","}
{"text": ""elsewhere ; skepticism will allow them the distance to think rationally","}
{"text": ""about whatever it is you are offering, blowing away the mist you have","}
{"text": ""artfully created and revealing your ideas for what they are. You need to","}
{"text": ""amuse the bored, then, and ward off the cynics.","}
{"text": ""THE OW WHO WAS GOD","}
{"text": ""Once upon a starless midnight there was an owl who sat on the branch","}
{"text": ""of an oak tree. Two ground moles tried to slip quietly by, unnoticed.","}
{"text": ""“You!” said the owl. “Who?” they quavered, in fear and astonishment,","}
{"text": ""for they could not believe it was possible for anyone to see them in that","}
{"text": ""thick darkness. “You two!” said the owl. The moles hurried away and","}
{"text": ""told the other creatures of the field and forest that the owl was the","}
{"text": ""greatest and wisest of all animals because he could see in the dark and","}
{"text": ""because he could answer any question. “I’ll see about that,” said asecretary bird, and he called on the owl one night when it was again very","}
{"text": ""dark. “How many claws am I holding up?” said the secretary bird.","}
{"text": ""“Two,” said the owl, and that was right. “Can you give me another","}
{"text": ""expression for ‘that is to say’ or ‘namely?’ ” asked the secretary bird.","}
{"text": ""“To wit,” said the owl. “Why does a lover call on his love?” asked the","}
{"text": ""secretary bird. “To woo,” said the owl. The secretary bird hastened back","}
{"text": ""to the other creatures and reported that the owl was indeed the greatest","}
{"text": ""and wisest animal in the world because he could see in the dark and","}
{"text": ""because he could answer any question.","}
{"text": ""“Can he see in the daytime, too?” asked a red fox. “Yes,” echoed a","}
{"text": ""dormouse and a French poodle. “Can he see in the daytime, too?” All","}
{"text": ""the other creatures laughed loudly at this silly question, and they set","}
{"text": ""upon the red fox and his friends and drove them out of the region. Then","}
{"text": ""they sent a messenger to the owl and asked him to be their leader. When","}
{"text": ""the owl appeared among the animals it was high noon and the sun was","}
{"text": ""shining brightly. He walked very slowly, which gave him an appearance","}
{"text": ""of great dignity, and he peered about him with large, staring eyes, which","}
{"text": ""gave him an air of tremendous importance. “He’s God!” screamed a","}
{"text": ""Plymouth Rock hen. And the others took up the cry “He’s God!” So they","}
{"text": ""followed him wherever he went and when he began to bump into things","}
{"text": ""they began to bump into things. too. Finally he came to a concrete","}
{"text": ""highway and he started up the middle of it and all the other creatures","}
{"text": ""followed him. Presently a hawk, who was acting as outrider, observed a","}
{"text": ""truck coming toward them at fifty miles an hour, and he reported to the","}
{"text": ""secretary bird and the secretary bird reported to the owl. “There’s","}
{"text": ""danger ahead, ” said the secretary bird. “To wit?” said the owl. The","}
{"text": ""secretary bird told him. “Aren’t you afraid?” He asked. “Who?” said the","}
{"text": ""owl calmly, for he could not see the truck. “He’s God!” cried all the","}
{"text": ""creatures again, and they were still crying “He’s God!” when the truck","}
{"text": ""hit them and ran them down. Some of the animals were merely injured,","}
{"text": ""but most of them, including the owl, were killed. Moral: You can fool too","}
{"text": ""many of the people too much of the time.","}
{"text": ""THE THURBER CARNIVAI , JAMES THURBER , 1894-1961","}
{"text": ""The best way to do this is through theater, or other devices of its kind.","}
{"text": ""Surround yourself with luxury, dazzle your followers with visual","}
{"text": ""splendor, fill their eyes with spectacle. Not only will this keep them from","}
{"text": ""seeing the ridiculousness of your ideas, the holes in your belief system, it","}
{"text": ""will also attract more attention, more followers. Appeal to all the senses:","}
{"text": ""Use incense for scent, soothing music for hearing, colorful charts and","}
{"text": ""graphs for the eye. You might even tickle the mind, perhaps by usingnew technological gadgets to give your cult a pseudo-scientific veneer—","}
{"text": ""as long as you do not make anyone really think. Use the exotic—distant","}
{"text": ""cultures, strange customs—to create theatrical effects, and to make the","}
{"text": ""most banal and ordinary affairs seem signs of something extraordinary.","}
{"text": ""Step 3: Borrow the Forms of Organized Religion to Structure the","}
{"text": ""Group. Your cultlike following is growing; it is time to organize it. Find","}
{"text": ""a way both elevating and comforting. Organized religions have long held","}
{"text": ""unquestioned authority for large numbers of people, and continue to do","}
{"text": ""so in our supposedly secular age. And even if the religion itself has faded","}
{"text": ""some, its forms still resonate with power. The lofty and holy associations","}
{"text": ""of organized religion can be endlessly exploited. Create rituals for your","}
{"text": ""followers; organize them into a hierarchy, ranking them in grades of","}
{"text": ""sanctity, and giving them names and titles that resound with religious","}
{"text": ""overtones; ask them for sacrifices that will fill your coffers and increase","}
{"text": ""your power. To emphasize your gathering’s quasi-religious nature, talk","}
{"text": ""and act like a prophet. You are not a dictator, after all; you are a priest, a","}
{"text": ""guru, a sage, a shaman, or any other word that hides your real power in","}
{"text": ""the mist of religion.","}
{"text": ""Step 4: Disguise Your Source of Income. Your group has grown, and","}
{"text": ""you have structured it in a churchlike form. Your coffers are beginning to","}
{"text": ""fill with your followers’ money. Yet you must never be seen as hungry","}
{"text": ""for money and the power it brings. It is at this moment that you must","}
{"text": ""disguise the source of your income.","}
{"text": ""Your followers want to believe that if they follow you all sorts of good","}
{"text": ""things will fall into their lap. By surrounding yourself with luxury you","}
{"text": ""become living proof of the soundness of your belief system. Never reveal","}
{"text": ""that your wealth actually comes from your followers’ pockets; instead,","}
{"text": ""make it seem to come from the truth of your methods. Followers will","}
{"text": ""copy your each and every move in the belief that it will bring them the","}
{"text": ""same results, and their imitative enthusiasm will blind them to the","}
{"text": ""charlatan nature of your wealth.","}
{"text": ""Step 5: Set Up an Us-Versus-Them Dynamic. The group is now large","}
{"text": ""and thriving, a magnet attracting more and more particles. If you are not","}
{"text": ""careful, though, inertia will set in, and time and boredom will","}
{"text": ""demagnetize the group. To keep your followers united, you must now dowhat all religions and belief systems have done: create an us-versus-them","}
{"text": ""dynamic.","}
{"text": ""First, make sure your followers believe they are part of an exclusive","}
{"text": ""club, unified by a bond of common goals. Then, to strengthen this bond,","}
{"text": ""manufacture the notion of a devious enemy out to ruin you. There is a","}
{"text": ""force of nonbelievers that will do anything to stop you. Any outsider","}
{"text": ""who tries to reveal the charlatan nature of your belief system can now be","}
{"text": ""described as a member of this devious force.","}
{"text": ""If you have no enemies, invent one. Given a straw man to react","}
{"text": ""against, your followers will tighten and cohere. They have your cause to","}
{"text": ""believe in and infidels to destroy.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Observance I","}
{"text": ""In the year 1653, a twenty-seven-year-old Milan man named Francesco","}
{"text": ""Giuseppe Borri claimed to have had a vision. He went around town","}
{"text": ""telling one and all that the archangel Michael had appeared to him and","}
{"text": ""announced that he had been chosen to be the capitano generale of the","}
{"text": ""Army of the New Pope, an army that would seize and revitalize the","}
{"text": ""world. The archangel had further revealed that Borri now had the power","}
{"text": ""to see people’s souls, and that he would soon discover the philosopher’s","}
{"text": ""stone—a long-sought-after substance that could change base metals into","}
{"text": ""gold. Friends and acquaintances who heard Borri explain the vision, and","}
{"text": ""who witnessed the change that had come over him, were impressed, for","}
{"text": ""Borri had previously devoted himself to a life of wine, women, and","}
{"text": ""gambling. Now he gave all that up, plunging himself into the study of","}
{"text": ""alchemy and talking only of mysticism and the occult.","}
{"text": ""The transformation was so sudden and miraculous, and Borri’s words","}
{"text": ""were so filled with enthusiasm, that he began to create a following.","}
{"text": ""Unfortunately the Italian Inquisition began to notice him as well—they","}
{"text": ""prosecuted anyone who delved into the occult—so he left Italy and","}
{"text": ""began to wander Europe, from Austria to Holland, telling one and all that","}
{"text": ""“to those who follow me all joy shall be granted.” Wherever Borri stayed","}
{"text": ""he attracted followers. His method was simple: He spoke of his vision,","}
{"text": ""which had grown more and more elaborate, and offered to “look into”the soul of anyone who believed him (and they were many). Seemingly","}
{"text": ""in a trance, he would stare at this new follower for several minutes, then","}
{"text": ""claim to have seen the person’s soul, degree of enlightenment, and","}
{"text": ""potential for spiritual greatness. If what he saw showed promise, he","}
{"text": ""would add the person to his growing order of disciples, an honor indeed.","}
{"text": ""The cult had six degrees, into which the disciples were assigned","}
{"text": ""according to what Borri had glimpsed in their souls. With work and total","}
{"text": ""devotion to the cult they could graduate to a higher degree. Borri—","}
{"text": ""whom they called “His Excellency,” and “Universal Doctor”—demanded","}
{"text": ""from them the strictest vows of poverty. All the goods and moneys they","}
{"text": ""possessed had to be turned over to him. But they did not mind handing","}
{"text": ""over their property, for Borri had told them, “I shall soon bring my","}
{"text": ""chemical studies to a happy conclusion by the discovery of the","}
{"text": ""philosopher’s stone, and by this means we shall all have as much gold as","}
{"text": ""we desire.”","}
{"text": ""Given his growing wealth, Borri began to change his style of living.","}
{"text": ""Renting the most splendid apartment in the city into which he had","}
{"text": ""temporarily settled, he would furnish it with fabulous furniture and","}
{"text": ""accessories, which he had begun to collect. He would drive through the","}
{"text": ""city in a coach studded with jewels, with six magnificent black horses at","}
{"text": ""its head. He never stayed too long in one place, and when he","}
{"text": ""disappeared, saying he had more souls to gather into his flock, his","}
{"text": ""reputation only grew in his absence. He became famous, although in fact","}
{"text": ""he had never done a single concrete thing.","}
{"text": ""To become the founder of a new religion one must be psychologically","}
{"text": ""infallible in one’s knowledge of a certain average type of souls who have","}
{"text": ""not yet recognized that they belong together.","}
{"text": ""FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, 1844-1900","}
{"text": ""Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate","}
{"text": ""needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be","}
{"text": ""deceived.","}
{"text": ""NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, 1469-1527","}
{"text": ""From all over Europe, the blind, the crippled, and the desperate came","}
{"text": ""to visit Borri, for word had spread that he had healing powers. He asked","}
{"text": ""no fee for his services, which only made him seem more marvelous, and","}
{"text": ""indeed some claimed that in this or that city he had performed a miracle","}
{"text": ""cure. By only hinting at his accomplishments, he encouraged people’s","}
{"text": ""imaginations to blow them up to fantastic proportions. His wealth, forexample, actually came from the vast sums he was collecting from his","}
{"text": ""increasingly select group of rich disciples; yet it was presumed that he","}
{"text": ""had in fact perfected the philosopher’s stone. The Church continued to","}
{"text": ""pursue him, denouncing him for heresy and witchcraft, and Borri’s","}
{"text": ""response to these charges was a dignified silence; this only enhanced his","}
{"text": ""reputation and made his followers more passionate. Only the great are","}
{"text": ""persecuted, after all; how many understood Jesus Christ in his own time?","}
{"text": ""Borri did not have to say a word—his followers now called the Pope the","}
{"text": ""Antichrist.","}
{"text": ""And so Borri’s power grew and grew, until one day he left the city of","}
{"text": ""Amsterdam (where he had settled for a while), absconding with huge","}
{"text": ""sums of borrowed money and diamonds that had been entrusted to him.","}
{"text": ""(He claimed to be able to remove the flaws from diamonds through the","}
{"text": ""power of his gifted mind.) Now he was on the run. The Inquisition","}
{"text": ""eventually caught up with him, and for the last twenty years of his life he","}
{"text": ""was imprisoned in Rome. But so great was the belief in his occult powers","}
{"text": ""that to his dying day he was visited by wealthy believers, including","}
{"text": ""Queen Christina of Sweden. Supplying him with money and materials,","}
{"text": ""these visitors allowed him to continue his search for the elusive","}
{"text": ""philosopher’s stone. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""THE TEMPLE OF HEALTH","}
{"text": ""[In the late 1780s] the Scottish quack James Graham… was winning a","}
{"text": ""large following and great riches in London…. [Graham] maintained a","}
{"text": ""show of great scientific technique. In 1772 … he had visited","}
{"text": ""Philadelphia, where he met Benjamin Franklin and became interested in","}
{"text": ""the latter’s experiments with electricity. These appear to have inspired","}
{"text": ""the apparatus in the “Temple of Health,”","}
{"text": ""the fabulous establishment he opened in London for the sale of his","}
{"text": ""elixirs…. In the chief room, where he received patients, stood “the","}
{"text": ""largest air pump in the world” to assist him in his “philosophical","}
{"text": ""investigations” into disease, and also a “stupendous metallic","}
{"text": ""conductor,” a richly gilded pedestal surrounded with retorts and vials of","}
{"text": ""“etherial and other essences.” … According to J. Ennemoser, who","}
{"text": ""published a history of magic in 1844 at Leipzig, Graham’s “house…","}
{"text": ""united the useful with the pleasurable. Everywhere the utmost","}
{"text": ""magnificence was displayed. Even in the outer court, averred an eye-","}
{"text": ""witness, it seemed as though art, invention, and riches had been","}
{"text": ""exhausted. On the side walls in the chambers an arc-shaped glow wasprovided by artificial electric light; star rays darted forth; transparent","}
{"text": ""glasses of all colors were placed with clever selection and much taste.","}
{"text": ""All this, the same eyewitness assures us, was ravishing and exalted the","}
{"text": ""imagination to the highest degree.” Visitors were given a printed sheet of","}
{"text": ""rules for healthy living. In the Great Apollo Apartment they might join in","}
{"text": ""mysterious rituals, accompanied by chants : “Hail, Vital Air, aethereal !","}
{"text": ""Magnetic Magic, hail !” And while they hailed the magic of magnetism,","}
{"text": ""the windows were darkened, revealing a ceiling studded with electric","}
{"text": ""stars and a young and lovely “Rosy Goddess of Health” in a niche….","}
{"text": ""Every evening this Temple of Health was crowded with guests; it had","}
{"text": ""become the fashion to visit it and try the great twelve-foot bed of state,","}
{"text": ""the “Grand Celestial Bed,” said to cure any disease…. This bed,","}
{"text": ""according to Ennemoser, “stood in a splendid room, into which a","}
{"text": ""cylinder led from an adjoining chamber to conduct the healing","}
{"text": ""currents… at the same time all sorts of pleasing scents of strengthening","}
{"text": ""herbs and Oriental incense were also brought in through glass tubes.","}
{"text": ""The heavenly bed itself rested upon six solid transparent pillars; the","}
{"text": ""bedclothes were of purple and sky-blue Atlas silk, spread over a mattress","}
{"text": ""saturated with Arabian perfumed waters to suit the tastes of the Persian","}
{"text": ""court. The chamber in which it was placed he called the Sanctum","}
{"text": ""Sanctorum…. To add to all this, there were the melodious notes of the","}
{"text": ""harmonica, soft flutes, agreeable voices, and a great organ.”","}
{"text": ""THE POWER OF THE CHARLATAN, GRETE DE FRANCESCO,","}
{"text": ""1939","}
{"text": ""Before he formed his cult, Borri seems to have stumbled on a critical","}
{"text": ""discovery. Tiring of his life of debauchery, he had decided to give it up","}
{"text": ""and to devote himself to the occult, a genuine interest of his. He must","}
{"text": ""have noticed, however, that when he alluded to a mystical experience","}
{"text": ""(rather than physical exhaustion) as the source of his conversion, people","}
{"text": ""of all classes wanted to hear more. Realizing the power he could gain by","}
{"text": ""ascribing the change to something external and mysterious, he went","}
{"text": ""further with his manufactured visions. The grander the vision, and the","}
{"text": ""more sacrifices he asked for, the more appealing and believable his story","}
{"text": ""seemed to become.","}
{"text": ""Remember: People are not interested in the truth about change. They","}
{"text": ""do not want to hear that it has come from hard work, or from anything as","}
{"text": ""banal as exhaustion, boredom, or depression; they are dying to believe in","}
{"text": ""something romantic, otherworldly. They want to hear of angels and out-","}
{"text": ""of-body experiences. Indulge them. Hint at the mystical source of some","}
{"text": ""personal change, wrap it in ethereal colors, and a cultlike following willform around you. Adapt to people’s needs: The messiah must mirror the","}
{"text": ""desires of his followers. And always aim high. The bigger and bolder","}
{"text": ""your illusion, the better.","}
{"text": ""Observance II","}
{"text": ""In the mid-1700s, word spread in Europe’s fashionable society of a Swiss","}
{"text": ""country doctor named Michael Schüppach who practiced a different kind","}
{"text": ""of medicine: He used the healing powers of nature to perform miraculous","}
{"text": ""cures. Soon well-to-do people from all over the Continent, their ailments","}
{"text": ""both serious and mild, were making the trek to the alpine village of","}
{"text": ""Langnau, where Schüppach lived and worked. Trudging through the","}
{"text": ""mountains, these visitors witnessed the most dramatic natural landscapes","}
{"text": ""that Europe has to offer. By the time they reached Langnau, they were","}
{"text": ""already feeling transformed and on their way to health.","}
{"text": ""Schüppach, who had become known as simply the “Mountain","}
{"text": ""Doctor,” had a small pharmacy in town. This place became quite a scene:","}
{"text": ""Crowds of people from many different countries would cram the small","}
{"text": ""room, its walls lined with colorful bottles filled with herbal cures. Where","}
{"text": ""most doctors of the time prescribed foul-tasting concoctions that bore","}
{"text": ""incomprehensible Latin titles (as medicines often do still), Schüppach’s","}
{"text": ""cures had names such as “The Oil of Joy,” “Little Flower’s Heart,” or","}
{"text": ""“Against the Monster,” and they tasted sweet and pleasing.","}
{"text": ""Visitors to Langnau would have to wait patiently for a visit with the","}
{"text": ""Mountain Doctor, because every day some eighty messengers would","}
{"text": ""arrive at the pharmacy bearing flasks of urine from all over Europe.","}
{"text": ""Schüppach claimed he could diagnose what ailed you simply by looking","}
{"text": ""at a sample of your urine and reading a written description of your","}
{"text": ""ailment. (Naturally he read the description very carefully before","}
{"text": ""prescribing a cure.) When he finally had a spare minute (the urine","}
{"text": ""samples took up much of his time), he would call the visitor into his","}
{"text": ""office in the pharmacy. He would then examine this person’s urine","}
{"text": ""sample, explaining that its appearance would tell him everything he","}
{"text": ""needed to know. Country people had a sense for these things, he would","}
{"text": ""say—their wisdom came from living a simple, godly life with none of","}
{"text": ""the complications of urban living. This personal consultation would also","}
{"text": ""include a discussion as to how one might bring one’s soul more into","}
{"text": ""harmony with nature.Schüppach had devised many forms of treatment, each profoundly","}
{"text": ""unlike the usual medical practices of the time. He was a believer, for","}
{"text": ""instance, in electric shock therapy. To those who wondered whether this","}
{"text": ""was in keeping with his belief in the healing power of nature, he would","}
{"text": ""explain that electricity is a natural phenomenon; he was merely imitating","}
{"text": ""the power of lightning. One of his patients claimed to be inhabited by","}
{"text": ""seven devils. The doctor cured him with electrical shocks, and as he","}
{"text": ""administered these he exclaimed that he could see the devils flying out of","}
{"text": ""the man’s body, one by one. Another man claimed to have swallowed a","}
{"text": ""hay wagon and its driver, which were causing him massive pains in the","}
{"text": ""chest. The Mountain Doctor listened patiently, claimed to be able to hear","}
{"text": ""the crack of a whip in the man’s belly, promised to cure him, and gave","}
{"text": ""him a sedative and a purgative. The man fell asleep on a chair outside the","}
{"text": ""pharmacy. As soon as he awoke he vomited, and as he vomited a hay","}
{"text": ""wagon sped past him (the Mountain Doctor had hired it for the","}
{"text": ""occasion), the crack of its whip making him feel that somehow he had","}
{"text": ""indeed expelled it under the doctor’s care.","}
{"text": ""Over the years, the Mountain Doctor’s fame grew. He was consulted","}
{"text": ""by the powerful—even the writer Goethe made the trek to his village—","}
{"text": ""and he became the center of a cult of nature in which everything natural","}
{"text": ""was considered worthy of worship. Schüppach was careful to create","}
{"text": ""effects that would entertain and inspire his patients. A professor who","}
{"text": ""visited him once wrote, “One stands or sits in company, one plays cards,","}
{"text": ""sometimes with a young woman; now a concert is given, now a lunch or","}
{"text": ""supper, and now a little ballet is presented. With a very happy effect, the","}
{"text": ""freedom of nature is everywhere united with the pleasures of the beau","}
{"text": ""monde, and if the doctor is not able to heal any diseases, he can at least","}
{"text": ""cure hypochondria and the vapors.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Schüppach had begun his career as an ordinary village doctor. He would","}
{"text": ""sometimes use in his practice some of the village remedies he had grown","}
{"text": ""up with, and apparently he noticed some results, for soon these herbal","}
{"text": ""tinctures and natural forms of healing became his specialty. And in fact","}
{"text": ""his natural form of healing did have profound psychological effects on","}
{"text": ""his patients. Where the normal drugs of the time created fear and pain,","}
{"text": ""Schüppach’s treatments were comfortable and soothing. The resulting","}
{"text": ""improvement in the patient’s mood was a critical element in the cures hebrought about. His patients believed so deeply in his skills that they","}
{"text": ""willed themselves into health. Instead of scoffing at their irrational","}
{"text": ""explanations for their ailments, Schüppach used their hypochondria to","}
{"text": ""make it seem that he had effected a great cure.","}
{"text": ""The case of the Mountain Doctor teaches us valuable lessons in the","}
{"text": ""creation of a cultlike following. First, you must find a way to engage","}
{"text": ""people’s will, to make their belief in your powers strong enough that they","}
{"text": ""imagine all sorts of benefits. Their belief will have a self-fulfilling","}
{"text": ""quality, but you must make sure that it is you, rather than their own will,","}
{"text": ""who is seen as the agent of transformation. Find the belief, cause, or","}
{"text": ""fantasy that will make them believe with a passion and they will imagine","}
{"text": ""the rest, worshipping you as healer, prophet, genius, whatever you like.","}
{"text": ""Second, Schüppach teaches us the everlasting power of belief in","}
{"text": ""nature, and in simplicity. Nature, in reality, is full of much that is","}
{"text": ""terrifying—poisonous plants, fierce animals, sudden disasters, plagues.","}
{"text": ""Belief in the healing, comforting quality of nature is really a constructed","}
{"text": ""myth, a romanticism. But the appeal to nature can bring you great power,","}
{"text": ""especially in complicated and stressful times.","}
{"text": ""This appeal, however, must be handled right. Devise a kind of theater","}
{"text": ""of nature in which you, as the director, pick and choose the qualities that","}
{"text": ""fit the romanticism of the times. The Mountain Doctor played the part to","}
{"text": ""perfection, playing up his homespun wisdom and wit, and staging his","}
{"text": ""cures as dramatic pieces. He did not make himself one with nature;","}
{"text": ""instead he molded nature into a cult, an artificial construction. To create","}
{"text": ""a “natural” effect you actually have to work hard, making nature","}
{"text": ""theatrical and delightfully pagan. Otherwise no one will notice. Nature","}
{"text": ""too must follow trends and be progressive.","}
{"text": ""Observance III","}
{"text": ""In 1788, at the age of fifty-five, the doctor and scientist Franz Mesmer","}
{"text": ""was at a crossroads. He was a pioneer in the study of animal magnetism","}
{"text": ""—the belief that animals contain magnetic matter, and that a doctor or","}
{"text": ""specialist can effect miraculous cures by working on this charged","}
{"text": ""substance—but in Vienna, where he lived, his theories had met with","}
{"text": ""scorn and ridicule from the medical establishment. In treating women for","}
{"text": ""convulsions, Mesmer claimed to have worked a number of cures, his","}
{"text": ""proudest achievement being the restoration of sight to a blind girl. But","}
{"text": ""another doctor who examined the young girl said she was as blind asever, an assessment with which she herself agreed. Mesmer countered","}
{"text": ""that his enemies were out to slander him by winning her over to their","}
{"text": ""side. This claim only elicited more ridicule. Clearly the sober-minded","}
{"text": ""Viennese were the wrong audience for his theories, and so he decided to","}
{"text": ""move to Paris and start again.","}
{"text": ""Renting a splendid apartment in his new city, Mesmer decorated it","}
{"text": ""appropriately. Stained glass in most of the windows created a religious","}
{"text": ""feeling, and mirrors on all the walls produced an hypnotic effect. The","}
{"text": ""doctor advertised that in his apartment he would give demonstrations of","}
{"text": ""the powers of animal magnetism, inviting the diseased and melancholic","}
{"text": ""to feel its powers. Soon Parisians of all classes (but mostly women, who","}
{"text": ""seemed more attracted to the idea than men did) were paying for entry to","}
{"text": ""witness the miracles that Mesmer promised.","}
{"text": ""Inside the apartment, the scents of orange blossom and exotic incense","}
{"text": ""wafted through special vents. As the initiates filtered into the salon","}
{"text": ""where the demonstrations took place, they heard harp music and the","}
{"text": ""lulling sounds of a female vocalist coming from another room. In the","}
{"text": ""center of the salon was a long oval container filled with water that","}
{"text": ""Mesmer claimed had been magnetized. From holes in the container’s","}
{"text": ""metal lid protruded long movable iron rods. The visitors were instructed","}
{"text": ""to sit around the container, place these magnetized rods on the body part","}
{"text": ""that gave them pains or problems, and then hold hands with their","}
{"text": ""neighbors, sitting as close as possible to one another to help the magnetic","}
{"text": ""force pass between their bodies. Sometimes, too, they were attached to","}
{"text": ""each other by cords.","}
{"text": ""THE POWIROI II","}
{"text": ""In the town of Tarnopol lived a man by the name of Reb Feivel. One day,","}
{"text": ""as he sat in his house deeply-absorbed in his Talmud, he heard a loud","}
{"text": ""noise outside. When he went to the window he saw a lot of little","}
{"text": ""pranksters. “Up to some new piece of mischief, no doubt.” he thought.","}
{"text": ""“Children, run quickly to the synagogue,” he cried, leaning out and","}
{"text": ""improvising the first story that occurred to him. “You’ll see there a sea","}
{"text": ""monster, and what a monster ! It’s a creature with five feet, three eyes,","}
{"text": ""and a beard like that of a goat, only it’s green !”","}
{"text": ""And sure enough the children scampered off and Reb Feivel returned to","}
{"text": ""his studies. He smiled into his beard as he thought of the trick he had","}
{"text": ""played on those little rascals. It wasn’t long before his studies were","}
{"text": ""interrupted again, this time by running footsteps. When he went to thewindow he saw several Jews running. “Where are you running ?” he","}
{"text": ""called out.","}
{"text": ""“To the sonagogue !” answered the Jews. “Haven’t you heard? There’s a","}
{"text": ""sea monster, there’s a creature with five legs, three eyes, and a beard like","}
{"text": ""that of a goat, only it’s green !” Reb Feivel laughed with glee, thinking of","}
{"text": ""the trick he had played, and sat down again to his Talmud. But no sooner","}
{"text": ""had he begun to concentrate when suddenly he heard a dinning tumult","}
{"text": ""outside. And what did he see? A great crowd of men, women and","}
{"text": ""children, all running toward the synagogue. “What’s iep?” he cried,","}
{"text": ""sticking his head out of the window.","}
{"text": ""“What a question! Why, don’t you know?” they answered. “Right in front","}
{"text": ""of the synagogue there’s a sea monster. It’s a creature with five legs,","}
{"text": ""three eyes, and a beard like that of a goat, only it’s green!”","}
{"text": ""And as the crowd hurried by, Reb Feivel suddenly noticed that the rabbi","}
{"text": ""himself was among them.","}
{"text": ""“Lord of the world!” he exclaimed. “If the rabbi himself is running with","}
{"text": ""them surely there must be something happening. Where there’s smoke","}
{"text": ""there’s fire!” Without further thought Reb Feivel grabbed his hat, left his","}
{"text": ""house, and also began running. “Who can tell?” he muttered to himself","}
{"text": ""as he ran, all out of breath, toward the synagogue.","}
{"text": ""A TREASURY OF JEWISH FOLKLORE, NATHAN AUSUBEL, ED.,","}
{"text": ""1948","}
{"text": ""Mesmer would leave the room, and “assistant magnetizers”—all","}
{"text": ""handsome and strapping young men—would enter with jars of","}
{"text": ""magnetized water that they would sprinkle on the patients, rubbing the","}
{"text": ""healing fluid on their bodies, massaging it into their skin, moving them","}
{"text": ""toward a trancelike state. And after a few minutes a kind of delirium","}
{"text": ""would overcome the women. Some would sob, some would shriek and","}
{"text": ""tear their hair, others would laugh hysterically. At the height of the","}
{"text": ""delirium Mesmer would reenter the salon, dressed in a flowing silk robe","}
{"text": ""embroidered with golden flowers and carrying a white magnetic rod.","}
{"text": ""Moving around the container, he would stroke and soothe the patients","}
{"text": ""until calm was restored. Many women would later attribute the strange","}
{"text": ""power he had on them to his piercing look, which, they thought, was","}
{"text": ""exciting or quieting the magnetic fluids in their bodies.","}
{"text": ""Within months of his arrival in Paris, Mesmer became the rage. His","}
{"text": ""supporters included Marie-Antoinette herself, the queen of France, wife","}
{"text": ""of Louis XVI. As in Vienna, he was condemned by the official faculty of","}
{"text": ""medicine, but it did not matter. His growing following of pupils and","}
{"text": ""patients paid him handsomely.Mesmer expanded his theories to proclaim that all humanity could be","}
{"text": ""brought into harmony through the power of magnetism, a concept with","}
{"text": ""much appeal during the French Revolution. A cult of Mesmerism spread","}
{"text": ""across the country; in many towns, “Societies of Harmony” sprang up to","}
{"text": ""experiment with magnetism. These societies eventually became","}
{"text": ""notorious: They tended to be led by libertines who would turn their","}
{"text": ""sessions into a kind of group orgy.","}
{"text": ""At the height of Mesmer’s popularity, a French commission published","}
{"text": ""a report based on years of testing the theory of animal magnetism. The","}
{"text": ""conclusion: Magnetism’s effects on the body actually came from a kind","}
{"text": ""of group hysteria and autosuggestion. The report was well documented,","}
{"text": ""and ruined Mesmer’s reputation in France. He left the country and went","}
{"text": ""into retirement. Only a few years later, however, imitators sprang up all","}
{"text": ""over Europe and the cult of Mesmerism spread once again, its believers","}
{"text": ""more numerous than ever.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Mesmer’s career can be broken into two parts. When still in Vienna, he","}
{"text": ""clearly believed in the validity of his theory, and did all he could to prove","}
{"text": ""it. But his growing frustration and the disapproval of his colleagues made","}
{"text": ""him adopt another strategy. First he moved to Paris, where no one knew","}
{"text": ""him, and where his extravagant theories found a more fruitful soil. Then","}
{"text": ""he appealed to the French love of theater and spectacle, making his","}
{"text": ""apartment into a kind of magical world in which a sensory overload of","}
{"text": ""smells, sights, and sounds entranced his customers. Most important, from","}
{"text": ""now on he practiced his magnetism only on a group. The group provided","}
{"text": ""the setting in which the magnetism would have its proper effect, one","}
{"text": ""believer infecting the other, overwhelming any individual doubter.","}
{"text": ""Mesmer thus passed from being a confirmed advocate of magnetism to","}
{"text": ""the role of a charlatan using every trick in the book to captivate the","}
{"text": ""public. The biggest trick of all was to play on the repressed sexuality that","}
{"text": ""bubbles under the surface of any group setting. In a group, a longing for","}
{"text": ""social unity, a longing older than civilization, cries out to be awakened.","}
{"text": ""This desire may be subsumed under a unifying cause, but beneath it is a","}
{"text": ""repressed sexuality that the charlatan knows how to exploit and","}
{"text": ""manipulate for his own purposes.","}
{"text": ""This is the lesson that Mesmer teaches us: Our tendency to doubt, the","}
{"text": ""distance that allows us to reason, is broken down when we join a group.The warmth and infectiousness of the group overwhelm the skeptical","}
{"text": ""individual. This is the power you gain by creating a cult. Also, by","}
{"text": ""playing on people’s repressed sexuality, you lead them into mistaking","}
{"text": ""their excited feelings for signs of your mystical strength. You gain untold","}
{"text": ""power by working on people’s unrealized desire for a kind of","}
{"text": ""promiscuous and pagan unity.","}
{"text": ""Remember too that the most effective cults mix religion with science.","}
{"text": ""Take the latest technological trend or fad and blend it with a noble cause,","}
{"text": ""a mystical faith, a new form of healing. People’s interpretations of your","}
{"text": ""hybrid cult will run rampant, and they will attribute powers to you that","}
{"text": ""you had never even thought to claim.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Magnet. An unseen force draws objects to it, which in turn","}
{"text": ""become magnetized themselves, drawing other pieces to them, the","}
{"text": ""magnetic power of the whole constantly increasing. But take away the","}
{"text": ""original magnet and it all falls apart. Become the magnet, the invisible","}
{"text": ""force that attracts people’s imaginations and holds them together. Once","}
{"text": ""they have clustered around you, no power can wrest them away.","}
{"text": ""Authority: The charlatan achieves his great power by simply opening a","}
{"text": ""possibility for men to believe what they already want to believe…. The","}
{"text": ""credulous cannot keep at a distance; they crowd around the wonder","}
{"text": ""worker, entering his personal aura, surrendering themselves to illusion","}
{"text": ""with a heavy solemnity, like cattle. (Grete de Francesco)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""One reason to create a following is that a group is often easier to deceive","}
{"text": ""than an individual, and turns over to you that much more power. This","}
{"text": ""comes, however, with a danger: If at any moment the group sees through","}
{"text": ""you, you will find yourself facing not one deceived soul but an angry","}
{"text": ""crowd that will tear you to pieces as avidly as it once followed you. The","}
{"text": ""charlatans constantly faced this danger, and were always ready to moveout of town as it inevitably became clear that their elixirs did not work","}
{"text": ""and their ideas were sham. Too slow and they paid with their lives. In","}
{"text": ""playing with the crowd, you are playing with fire, and must constantly","}
{"text": ""keep an eye out for any sparks of doubt, any enemies who will turn the","}
{"text": ""crowd against you. When you play with the emotions of a crowd, you","}
{"text": ""have to know how to adapt, attuning yourself instantaneously to all of","}
{"text": ""the moods and desires that a group will produce. Use spies, be on top of","}
{"text": ""everything, and keep your bags packed.","}
{"text": ""For this reason you may often prefer to deal with people one by one.","}
{"text": ""Isolating them from their normal milieu can have the same effect as","}
{"text": ""putting them in a group—it makes them more prone to suggestion and","}
{"text": ""intimidation. Choose the right sucker and if he eventually sees through","}
{"text": ""you he may prove easier to escape than a crowd.LAW 28","}
{"text": ""ENTER ACTION WITH BOLDNESS","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and","}
{"text": ""hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to","}
{"text": ""enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are","}
{"text": ""easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one","}
{"text": ""honors the timid.","}
{"text": ""THE TWO ADVENTURERS","}
{"text": ""The path of pleasure never leads to glory! The prodigious achievements","}
{"text": ""of Hercules were the result of high adventure, and though there is little,","}
{"text": ""either in fable or history, to show that he had any rivals, still it is","}
{"text": ""recorded that a knight errant, in company with a fellow adventurer,","}
{"text": ""sought his fortune in a romantic country. He had not traveled far when","}
{"text": ""his companion observed a post, on which was written the following","}
{"text": ""inscription: “Brave adventurer, if you have a desire to discover that","}
{"text": ""which has never been seen by any knight errant, you have only to pass","}
{"text": ""this torrent, and then take in your arms an elephant of stone and carry it","}
{"text": ""in one breath to the summit of this mountain, whose noble head seems","}
{"text": ""blended with the sky.” “But,” said the knight’s companion, “the water","}
{"text": ""may be deep as well as rapid, and though, notwithstanding, we should","}
{"text": ""pass it, why should we be encumbered with the elephant? What a","}
{"text": ""ridiculous undertaking!” And philosophically and with nice calculation,","}
{"text": ""he observed that the elephant might be carried four steps; but for","}
{"text": ""conveying it to the top of the mountain in one breath, that was not in the","}
{"text": ""power of a mortal, unless it should","}
{"text": ""be the dwarf figure of an elephant, fit only to be placed on the top of a","}
{"text": ""stick; and then what honor would there be in such an adventure? “There","}
{"text": ""is,” said he, “some deception in this writing. It is an enigma only fit to","}
{"text": ""amuse a child. I shall therefore leave you and your elephant.”The reasoner then departed; but the adventurous man rushed with his","}
{"text": ""eyes closed across the water; neither depth nor violence prevented him.","}
{"text": ""and according to the inscription he saw the elephant lying on the","}
{"text": ""opposite bank.","}
{"text": ""He took it and carried it to the top of the hill, where he saw a town. A","}
{"text": ""shriek from the elephant alarmed the people of the city, who rose in","}
{"text": ""arms; but the adventurer, nothing daunted, was determined to die a hero.","}
{"text": ""The people, however, were awed by his presence, and he was astonished","}
{"text": ""to hear them proclaim him successor to their king, who had recently","}
{"text": ""died. Great enterprises are only achieved by adventurous spirits. They","}
{"text": ""who calculate with too great nicety every difficulty and obstacle which is","}
{"text": ""likely to lie in their way, lose that time in hesitation, which the more","}
{"text": ""daring seize and render available to the loftiest purposes.","}
{"text": ""FABLES. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695","}
{"text": ""BOLDNESS AND HESITATION: A Brief Psychological Comparison","}
{"text": ""Boldness and hesitation elicit very different psychological responses in","}
{"text": ""their targets: Hesitation puts obstacles in your path, boldness eliminates","}
{"text": ""them. Once you understand this, you will find it essential to overcome","}
{"text": ""your natural timidity and practice the art of audacity. The following are","}
{"text": ""among the most pronounced psychological effects of boldness and","}
{"text": ""timidity.","}
{"text": ""The Bolder the Lie the Better. We all have weaknesses, and our efforts","}
{"text": ""are never perfect. But entering action with boldness has the magical","}
{"text": ""effect of hiding our deficiencies. Con artists know that the bolder the lie,","}
{"text": ""the more convincing it becomes. The sheer audacity of the story makes it","}
{"text": ""more credible, distracting attention from its inconsistencies. When","}
{"text": ""putting together a con or entering any kind of negotiation, go further than","}
{"text": ""you planned. Ask for the moon and you will be surprised how often you","}
{"text": ""get it.","}
{"text": ""Lions Circle the Hesitant Prey. People have a sixth sense for the","}
{"text": ""weaknesses of others. If, in a first encounter, you demonstrate your","}
{"text": ""willingness to compromise, back down, and retreat, you bring out the","}
{"text": ""lion even in people who are not necessarily bloodthirsty. Everything","}
{"text": ""depends on perception, and once you are seen as the kind of person who","}
{"text": ""quickly goes on the defensive, who is willing to negotiate and be","}
{"text": ""amenable, you will be pushed around without mercy.Boldness Strikes Fear; Fear Creates Authority. The bold move makes","}
{"text": ""you seem larger and more powerful than you are. If it comes suddenly,","}
{"text": ""with the stealth and swiftness of a snake, it inspires that much more fear.","}
{"text": ""By intimidating with a bold move, you establish a precedent: in every","}
{"text": ""subsequent encounter, people will be on the defensive, in terror of your","}
{"text": ""next strike.","}
{"text": ""Going Halfway with Half a Heart Digs the Deeper Grave. If you enter","}
{"text": ""an action with less than total confidence, you set up obstacles in your","}
{"text": ""own path. When a problem arises you will grow confused, seeing options","}
{"text": ""where there are none and inadvertently creating more problems still.","}
{"text": ""Retreating from the hunter, the timid hare scurries more easily into his","}
{"text": ""snares.","}
{"text": ""Hesitation Creates Gaps, Boldness Obliterates Them. When you take","}
{"text": ""time to think, to hem and haw, you create a gap that allows others time to","}
{"text": ""think as well. Your timidity infects people with awkward energy, elicits","}
{"text": ""embarrassment. Doubt springs up on all sides.","}
{"text": ""Boldness destroys such gaps. The swiftness of the move and the","}
{"text": ""energy of the action leave others no space to doubt and worry. In","}
{"text": ""seduction, hesitation is fatal—it makes your victim conscious of your","}
{"text": ""intentions. The bold move crowns seduction with triumph: It leaves no","}
{"text": ""time for reflection.","}
{"text": ""Audacity Separates You from the Herd. Boldness gives you presence","}
{"text": ""and makes you seem larger than life. The timid fade into the wallpaper,","}
{"text": ""the bold draw attention, and what draws attention draws power. We","}
{"text": ""cannot keep our eyes off the audacious—we cannot wait to see their next","}
{"text": ""bold move.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Observance IIn May of 1925, five of the most successful dealers in the French scrap-","}
{"text": ""metal business found themselves invited to an “official” but “highly","}
{"text": ""confidential” meeting with the deputy director general of the Ministry of","}
{"text": ""Post and Telegraphs at the Hotel Crillon, then the most luxurious hotel in","}
{"text": ""Paris. When the businessmen arrived, it was the director general himself,","}
{"text": ""a Monsieur Lustig, who met them in a swank suite on the top floor.","}
{"text": ""The businessmen had no idea why they had been summoned to this","}
{"text": ""meeting, and they were bursting with curiosity. After drinks, the director","}
{"text": ""explained. “Gentlemen,” he said, “this is an urgent matter that requires","}
{"text": ""complete secrecy. The government is going to have to tear down the","}
{"text": ""Eiffel Tower.” The dealers listened in stunned silence as the director","}
{"text": ""explained that the tower, as recently reported in the news, desperately","}
{"text": ""needed repairs. It had originally been meant as a temporary structure (for","}
{"text": ""the Exposition of 1889), its maintenance costs had soared over the years,","}
{"text": ""and now, in a time of a fiscal crisis, the government would have to spend","}
{"text": ""millions to fix it. Many Parisians considered the Eiffel Tower an eyesore","}
{"text": ""and would be delighted to see it go. Over time, even the tourists would","}
{"text": ""forget about it—it would live on in photographs and postcards.","}
{"text": ""“Gentlemen,” Lustig said, “you are all invited to make the government","}
{"text": ""an offer for the Eiffel Tower.”","}
{"text": ""He gave the businessmen sheets of government stationery filled with","}
{"text": ""figures, such as the tonnage of the tower’s metal. Their eyes popped as","}
{"text": ""they calculated how much they could make from the scrap. Then Lustig","}
{"text": ""led them to a waiting limo, which brought them to the Eiffel Tower.","}
{"text": ""Flashing an official badge, he guided them through the area, spicing his","}
{"text": ""tour with amusing anecdotes. At the end of the visit he thanked them and","}
{"text": ""asked them to have their offers delivered to his suite within four days.","}
{"text": ""Several days after the offers were submitted, one of the five, a","}
{"text": ""Monsieur P., received notice that his bid was the winner, and that to","}
{"text": ""secure the sale he should come to the suite at the hotel within two days,","}
{"text": ""bearing a certified check for more than 250,000 francs (the equivalent","}
{"text": ""today of about $1,000,000)—a quarter of the total price. On delivery of","}
{"text": ""the check, he would receive the documents confirming his ownership of","}
{"text": ""the Eiffel Tower. Monsieur P. was excited—he would go down in history","}
{"text": ""as the man who had bought and torn down the infamous landmark. But","}
{"text": ""by the time he arrived at the suite, check in hand, he was beginning to","}
{"text": ""have doubts about the whole affair. Why meet in a hotel instead of a","}
{"text": ""government building? Why hadn’t he heard from other officials? Was","}
{"text": ""this a hoax, a scam? As he listened to Lustig discuss the arrangementsfor the scrapping of the tower, he hesitated, and contemplated backing","}
{"text": ""out.","}
{"text": ""Suddenly, however, he realized that the director had changed his tone.","}
{"text": ""Instead of talking about the tower, he was complaining about his low","}
{"text": ""salary, about his wife’s desire for a fur coat, about how galling it was to","}
{"text": ""work hard and be unappreciated. It dawned on Monsieur P. that this high","}
{"text": ""government official was asking for a bribe. The effect on him, though,","}
{"text": ""was not outrage but relief. Now he was sure that Lustig was for real,","}
{"text": ""since in all of his previous encounters with French bureaucrats, they had","}
{"text": ""inevitably asked for a little greasing of the palm. His confidence","}
{"text": ""restored, Monsieur P. slipped the director several thousand francs in bills,","}
{"text": ""then handed him the certified check. In return he received the","}
{"text": ""documentation, including an impressive-looking bill of sale. He left the","}
{"text": ""hotel, dreaming of the profits and fame to come.","}
{"text": ""Over the next few days, however, as Monsieur P. waited for","}
{"text": ""correspondence from the government, he began to realize that something","}
{"text": ""was amiss. A few telephone calls made it clear that there was no deputy","}
{"text": ""director general Lustig, and there were no plans to destroy the Eiffel","}
{"text": ""Tower: He had been bilked of over 250,000 francs!","}
{"text": ""Monsieur P. never went to the police. He knew what kind of reputation","}
{"text": ""he would get if word got out that he had fallen for one of the most","}
{"text": ""absurdly audacious cons in history. Besides the public humiliation, it","}
{"text": ""would have been business suicide.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Had Count Victor Lustig, con artist extraordinaire, tried to sell the Arc de","}
{"text": ""Triomphe, a bridge over the Seine, a statue of Balzac, no one would have","}
{"text": ""believed him. But the Eiffel Tower was just too large, too improbable to","}
{"text": ""be part of a con job. In fact it was so improbable that Lustig was able to","}
{"text": ""return to Paris six months later and “resell” the Eiffel Tower to a","}
{"text": ""different scrap-iron dealer, and for a higher price—a sum in francs","}
{"text": ""equivalent today to over $1,500,000!","}
{"text": ""Largeness of scale deceives the human eye. It distracts and awes us,","}
{"text": ""and is so self-evident that we cannot imagine there is any illusion or","}
{"text": ""deception afoot. Arm yourself with bigness and boldness—stretch your","}
{"text": ""deceptions as far as they will go and then go further. If you sense that the","}
{"text": ""sucker has suspicions, do as the intrepid Lustig did: Instead of backing","}
{"text": ""down, or lowering his price, he simply raised his price higher, by askingfor and getting a bribe. Asking for more puts the other person on the","}
{"text": ""defensive, cuts out the nibbling effect of compromise and doubt, and","}
{"text": ""overwhelms with its boldness.","}
{"text": ""Always set to work without misgivings on the score of imprudence. Fear","}
{"text": ""of failure in the mind of a performer is, for an onlooker, already evidence","}
{"text": ""of failure…. Actions are dangerous when there is doubt as to their","}
{"text": ""wisdom; it would be safer to do nothing.","}
{"text": ""BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658","}
{"text": ""THE STORY OF HUH SAENG","}
{"text": ""In a lowly thatched cottage in the Namsan Valley there lived a poor","}
{"text": ""couple, Mr. and Mrs. Huh Saeng. The husband confined himself for","}
{"text": ""seven years and only read books in his cold room…. One day his wife, all","}
{"text": ""in tears, said to him: “Look here, my good man! What is the use of all","}
{"text": ""your book reading? I have spent my youth in washing and sewing for","}
{"text": ""other people and yet I have no spare jacket or skirt to wear and I have","}
{"text": ""had no food to eat during the past three days. I am hungry and cold. I","}
{"text": ""can stand it no more!” … Hearing these words, the middle-aged scholar","}
{"text": ""closed his book… rose to his feet and… without saying another word, he","}
{"text": ""went out of doors…. Arriving in the heart of the city, he slopped a","}
{"text": ""passing gentleman. “Hello, my friend! Who is the richest man in town?”","}
{"text": ""“Poor countryman! Don’t you know Bvôn-ssi, the millionaire? His","}
{"text": ""glittering tile-roofed house pierced by twelve gates is just over there.”","}
{"text": ""Huh Saeng bent his steps to the rich man’s house. Having entered the btg","}
{"text": ""gate, he flung the guest-room door open and addressed the host:“I need","}
{"text": ""10,000 yang for capital for my commercial business and I want you to","}
{"text": ""lend me the money.” “Alright, sir. Where shall I send the money?”","}
{"text": ""“To the Ansông Market in care of a commission merchant.” “Very well.","}
{"text": ""sir. I will draw on Kim, who does the biggest commission business in the","}
{"text": ""Ansông Market. You’ll get the money there.” “Good-bye. sir.” When Huh","}
{"text": ""Saeng was gone, all the other guests in the room asked Bvôn-ssi why he","}
{"text": ""gave so much money to a beggarlike stranger whose family name was","}
{"text": ""unknown to him. But the rich man replied with a triumphant face: “Even","}
{"text": ""though he was in ragged clothes, he spoke clearly to the point without","}
{"text": ""betraying shame or inferiority, unlike common people who want to","}
{"text": ""borrow money for a bad debt. Such a man as he is either mad or self-","}
{"text": ""confident in doing business. But judging from his dauntless eyes and","}
{"text": ""booming voice he is an uncommon man with a superhuman brain,","}
{"text": ""worthy of my trust. I know money and I know men. Money often makes aman small, but a man like him makes big money. I am only glad to have","}
{"text": ""helped a big man do big business.”","}
{"text": ""BEHIND THE SCENES OF ROYAL PALACES IN KOREA, HA TAE-","}
{"text": ""HUNG, 1983","}
{"text": ""Observance II","}
{"text": ""On his deathbed in 1533, Vasily III, the Grand Duke of Moscow and","}
{"text": ""ruler of a semi-united Russia, proclaimed his three-year-old son, Ivan IV,","}
{"text": ""as his successor. He appointed his young wife, Helena, as regent until","}
{"text": ""Ivan reached his majority and could rule on his own. The aristocracy—","}
{"text": ""the boyars—secretly rejoiced: For years the dukes of Moscow had been","}
{"text": ""trying to extend their authority over the boyars’ turf. With Vasily dead,","}
{"text": ""his heir a mere three years old, and a young woman in charge of the","}
{"text": ""dukedom, the boyars would be able to roll back the dukes’ gains, wrest","}
{"text": ""control of the state, and humiliate the royal family.","}
{"text": ""Aware of these dangers, young Helena turned to her trusted friend","}
{"text": ""Prince Ivan Obolensky to help her rule. But after five years as regent she","}
{"text": ""suddenly died—poisoned by a member of the Shuisky family, the most","}
{"text": ""fearsome boyar clan. The Shuisky princes seized control of the","}
{"text": ""government and threw Obolensky in prison, where he starved to death.","}
{"text": ""At the age of eight, Ivan was now a despised orphan, and any boyar or","}
{"text": ""family member who took an interest in him was immediately banished or","}
{"text": ""killed.","}
{"text": ""And so Ivan roamed the palace, hungry, ill clothed, and often in hiding","}
{"text": ""from the Shuiskys, who treated him roughly when they saw him. On","}
{"text": ""some days they would search him out, clothe him in royal robes, hand","}
{"text": ""him a scepter, and set him on the throne—a kind of mock ritual in which","}
{"text": ""they lampooned his royal pretensions. Then they would shoo him away.","}
{"text": ""One evening several of them chased the Metropolitan—the head of the","}
{"text": ""Russian church—through the palace, and he sought refuge in Ivan’s","}
{"text": ""room; the boy watched in horror as the Shuiskys entered, hurled insults,","}
{"text": ""and beat the Metropolitan mercilessly.","}
{"text": ""Ivan had one friend in the palace, a boyar named Vorontsov who","}
{"text": ""consoled and advised him. One day, however, as he, Vorontsov, and the","}
{"text": ""newest Metropolitan conferred in the palace refectory, several Shuiskys","}
{"text": ""burst in, beat up Uorontsov, and insulted the Metropolitan by tearing and","}
{"text": ""treading on his robes. Then they banished Vorontsov from Moscow.Throughout all this Ivan maintained a strict silence. To the boyars it","}
{"text": ""seemed that their plan had worked: The young man had turned into a","}
{"text": ""terrified and obedient idiot. They could ignore him now, even leave him","}
{"text": ""alone. But on the evening of December 29, 1543, Ivan, now thirteen,","}
{"text": ""asked Prince Andrei Shuisky to come to his room. When the prince","}
{"text": ""arrived, the room was filled with palace guards. Young Ivan then pointed","}
{"text": ""his finger at Andrei and ordered the guards to arrest him, have him","}
{"text": ""killed, and throw his body to the bloodhounds in the royal kennel. Over","}
{"text": ""the next few days Ivan had all of Andrei’s close associates arrested and","}
{"text": ""banished. Caught off-guard by his sudden boldness, the boyars now","}
{"text": ""stood in mortal terror of this youth, the future Ivan the Terrible, who had","}
{"text": ""planned and waited for five years to execute this one swift and bold act","}
{"text": ""that would secure his power for decades to come.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The world is full of boyars—men who despise you, fear your ambition,","}
{"text": ""and jealously guard their shrinking realms of power. You need to","}
{"text": ""establish your authority and gain respect, but the moment the boyars","}
{"text": ""sense your growing boldness, they will act to thwart you. This is how","}
{"text": ""Ivan met such a situation: He lay low, showing neither ambition nor","}
{"text": ""discontent. He waited, and when the time came he brought the palace","}
{"text": ""guards over to his side. The guards had come to hate the cruel Shuiskys.","}
{"text": ""Once they agreed to Ivan’s plan, he struck with the swiftness of a snake,","}
{"text": ""pointing his finger at Shuisky and giving him no time to react.","}
{"text": ""Negotiate with a boyar and you create opportunities for him. A small","}
{"text": ""compromise becomes the toehold he needs to tear you apart. The sudden","}
{"text": ""bold move, without discussion or warning, obliterates these toeholds, and","}
{"text": ""builds your authority. You terrify doubters and despisers and gain the","}
{"text": ""confidence of the many who admire and glorify those who act boldly.","}
{"text": ""Observance III","}
{"text": ""In 1514 the twenty-two-year-old Pietro Aretino was working as a lowly","}
{"text": ""assistant scullion to a wealthy Roman family. He had ambitions of","}
{"text": ""greatness as a writer, to enflame the world with his name, but how could","}
{"text": ""a mere lackey hope to realize such dreams?","}
{"text": ""That year Pope Leo X received from the king of Portugal an embassy","}
{"text": ""that included many gifts, most prominent among them a great elephant,the first in Rome since imperial times. The pontiff adored this elephant","}
{"text": ""and showered it with attention and gifts. But despite his love and care,","}
{"text": ""the elephant, which was called Hanno, became deathly ill. The pope","}
{"text": ""summoned doctors, who administered a five-hundred-pound purgative to","}
{"text": ""the elephant, but all to no avail. The animal died and the pope went into","}
{"text": ""mourning. To console himself he summoned the great painter Raphael","}
{"text": ""and ordered him to create a life-sized painting of Hanno above the","}
{"text": ""animal’s tomb, bearing the inscription, “What nature took away, Raphael","}
{"text": ""has with his art restored.”","}
{"text": ""Over the next few days, a pamphlet circulated throughout Rome that","}
{"text": ""caused great merriment and laughter. Entitled “The Last Will and","}
{"text": ""Testament of the Elephant Hanno,” it read, in part, “To my heir the","}
{"text": ""Cardinal Santa Croce, I give my knees, so that he can imitate my","}
{"text": ""genuflections…. To my heir Cardinal Santi Quattro, I give my jaws, so","}
{"text": ""that he can more readily devour all of Christ’s revenues…. To my heir","}
{"text": ""Cardinal Medici, I give my ears, so that he can hear everyone’s","}
{"text": ""doings….” To Cardinal Grassi, who had a reputation for lechery, the","}
{"text": ""elephant bequeathed the appropriate, oversized part of his own anatomy.","}
{"text": ""On and on the anonymous pamphlet went, sparing none of the great in","}
{"text": ""Rome, not even the pope. With each one it took aim at their best-known","}
{"text": ""weakness. The pamphlet ended with verse, “See to it that Aretino is your","}
{"text": ""friend / For he is a bad enemy to have. / His words alone could ruin the","}
{"text": ""high pope / So God guard everyone from his tongue.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""With one short pamphlet, Aretino, son of a poor shoemaker and a servant","}
{"text": ""himself, hurled himself to fame. Everyone in Rome rushed to find out","}
{"text": ""who this daring young man was. Even the pope, amused by his audacity,","}
{"text": ""sought him out and ended up giving him a job in the papal service. Over","}
{"text": ""the years he came to be known as the “Scourge of Princes,” and his","}
{"text": ""biting tongue earned him the respect and fear of the great, from the king","}
{"text": ""of France to the Hapsburg emperor.","}
{"text": ""Fear, which always magnifies objects, gives a body to all their fancies,","}
{"text": ""which takes for its form whatever they conceive to exist in their enemies’","}
{"text": ""thoughts; so that fearful persons seldom fail to fall into real","}
{"text": ""inconveniences, occasioned by imaginary dangers…. And the duke,","}
{"text": ""whose predominant character was to be always full of fear and of","}
{"text": ""distrust, was, of all men I have ever seen, the most capable of falling intofalse steps, by the dread he had of falling into them; being in that like","}
{"text": ""unto hares.","}
{"text": ""CARDINAL DE RETZ, 1613-1679","}
{"text": ""The Aretino strategy is simple: When you are as small and obscure as","}
{"text": ""David was, you must find a Goliath to attack. The larger the target, the","}
{"text": ""more attention you gain. The bolder the attack, the more you stand out","}
{"text": ""from the crowd, and the more admiration you earn. Society is full of","}
{"text": ""those who think daring thoughts but lack the guts to print and publicize","}
{"text": ""them. Voice what the public feels—the expression of shared feelings is","}
{"text": ""always powerful. Search out the most prominent target possible and sling","}
{"text": ""your boldest shot. The world will enjoy the spectacle, and will honor the","}
{"text": ""underdog—you, that is—with glory and power.","}
{"text": ""1111. BOY AND","}
{"text": ""A boy playing in the fields got stung by a nettle. He ran home to his","}
{"text": ""mother, telling her that he had but touched that nasty weed, and it had","}
{"text": ""stung him. “It was just your touching it, my boy,” said the mother, “that","}
{"text": ""caused it to sting you; the next time you meddle with a nettle, grasp it","}
{"text": ""tightly, and it will do you no hurt.”","}
{"text": ""Do boldly what you do at all.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, AESOP. SIXTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Most of us are timid. We want to avoid tension and conflict and we want","}
{"text": ""to be liked by all. We may contemplate a bold action but we rarely bring","}
{"text": ""it to life. We are terrified of the consequences, of what others might think","}
{"text": ""of us, of the hostility we will stir up if we dare go beyond our usual","}
{"text": ""place.","}
{"text": ""Although we may disguise our timidity as a concern for others, a","}
{"text": ""desire not to hurt or offend them, in fact it is the opposite—we are really","}
{"text": ""self-absorbed, worried about ourselves and how others perceive us.","}
{"text": ""Boldness, on the other hand, is outer-directed, and often makes people","}
{"text": ""feel more at ease, since it is less self-conscious and less repressed.This can be seen most clearly in seduction. All great seducers succeed","}
{"text": ""through effrontery. Casanova’s boldness was not revealed in a daring","}
{"text": ""approach to the woman he desired, or in intrepid words to flatter her; it","}
{"text": ""consisted in his ability to surrender himself to her completely and to","}
{"text": ""make her believe he would do anything for her, even risk his life, which","}
{"text": ""in fact he sometimes did. The woman on whom he lavished this attention","}
{"text": ""understood that he held nothing back from her. This was infinitely more","}
{"text": ""flattering than compliments. At no point during the seduction would he","}
{"text": ""show hesitation or doubt, simply because he never felt it.","}
{"text": ""Part of the charm of being seduced is that it makes us feel engulfed,","}
{"text": ""temporarily outside of ourselves and the usual doubts that permeate our","}
{"text": ""lives. The moment the seducer hesitates, the charm is broken, because","}
{"text": ""we become aware of the process, of their deliberate effort to seduce us,","}
{"text": ""of their self-consciousness. Boldness directs attention outward and keeps","}
{"text": ""the illusion alive. It never induces awkwardness or embarrassment. And","}
{"text": ""so we admire the bold, and prefer to be around them, because their self-","}
{"text": ""confidence infects us and draws us outside our own realm of inwardness","}
{"text": ""and reflection.","}
{"text": ""HOW IOBL.","}
{"text": ""But with those who have made an impression upon your heart, I have","}
{"text": ""noticed that you are timid. This quality might affect a bourgeoise, but","}
{"text": ""you must attack the heart of a woman of the world with other weapons….","}
{"text": ""I tell you on behalf of women: there is not one of us who does not prefer","}
{"text": ""a little rough handling to too much consideration. Men lose through","}
{"text": ""blundering more hearts than virtue saves. The more timidity a lover","}
{"text": ""shows with us the more it concerns our pride to goad him on; the more","}
{"text": ""respect he has for our resistance, the more respect we demand of him.","}
{"text": ""We would willingly say to you men: “Ah, in pity’s name do not suppose","}
{"text": ""us to be so very virtuous; you are forcing us to have too much of it….”","}
{"text": ""We are continually struggling to hide the fact that we have permitted","}
{"text": ""ourselves to be loved. Put a woman in a position to say that she has","}
{"text": ""yielded only to a species of violence, or to surprise: persuade her that","}
{"text": ""you do not undervalue her, and I will answer for her heart….A little more","}
{"text": ""boldness on your part would put you both at your ease. Do you","}
{"text": ""remember what M. de la Rochefoucauld told you lately: “A reasonable","}
{"text": ""man in love may act like a madman, but he should not and cannot act","}
{"text": ""like an idiot.”LIFE, LETTERS, AND EPICUREAN PHILOSOPHY OF NINON DE","}
{"text": ""LENCLOS, NINON DE LENCLOS, 1620-1705","}
{"text": ""Few are born bold. Even Napoleon had to cultivate the habit on the","}
{"text": ""battlefield, where he knew it was a matter of life and death. In social","}
{"text": ""settings he was awkward and timid, but he overcame this and practiced","}
{"text": ""boldness in every part of his life because he saw its tremendous power,","}
{"text": ""how it could literally enlarge a man (even one who, like Napoleon, was","}
{"text": ""in fact conspicuously small). We also see this change in Ivan the","}
{"text": ""Terrible: A harmless boy suddenly transforms himself into a powerful","}
{"text": ""young man who commands authority, simply by pointing a finger and","}
{"text": ""taking bold action.","}
{"text": ""You must practice and develop your boldness. You will often find uses","}
{"text": ""for it. The best place to begin is often the delicate world of negotiation,","}
{"text": ""particularly those discussions in which you are asked to set your own","}
{"text": ""price. How often we put ourselves down by asking for too little. When","}
{"text": ""Christopher Columbus proposed that the Spanish court finance his","}
{"text": ""voyage to the Americas, he also made the insanely bold demand that he","}
{"text": ""be called “Grand Admiral of the Ocean.” The court agreed. The price he","}
{"text": ""set was the price he received—he demanded to be treated with respect,","}
{"text": ""and so he was. Henry Kissinger too knew that in negotiation, bold","}
{"text": ""demands work better than starting off with piecemeal concessions and","}
{"text": ""trying to meet the other person halfway. Set your value high, and then, as","}
{"text": ""Count Lustig did, set it higher.","}
{"text": ""Understand: If boldness is not natural, neither is timidity. It is an","}
{"text": ""acquired habit, picked up out of a desire to avoid conflict. If timidity has","}
{"text": ""taken hold of you, then, root it out. Your fears of the consequences of a","}
{"text": ""bold action are way out of proportion to reality, and in fact the","}
{"text": ""consequences of timidity are worse. Your value is lowered and you","}
{"text": ""create a self-fulfilling cycle of doubt and disaster. Remember: The","}
{"text": ""problems created by an audacious move can be disguised, even","}
{"text": ""remedied, by more and greater audacity.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Lion and the","}
{"text": ""Hare. The lion creates no","}
{"text": ""gaps in his way—his","}
{"text": ""movements are too","}
{"text": ""swift, his jaws too quick","}
{"text": ""and powerful. The","}
{"text": ""timid hare will do any","}
{"text": ""thing to escape danger,but in its haste to","}
{"text": ""retreat and flee, it backs","}
{"text": ""into traps, hops smack","}
{"text": ""into its enemies’ jaws.","}
{"text": ""Authority: I certainly think that it is better to be impetuous than cautious,","}
{"text": ""for fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to","}
{"text": ""conquer her by force; and it can be seen that she lets herself be overcome","}
{"text": ""by the bold rather than by those who proceed coldly. And therefore, like","}
{"text": ""a woman, she is always a friend to the young, because they are less","}
{"text": ""cautious, fiercer, and master her with greater audacity. (Niccolò","}
{"text": ""Machiavelli, 1469-1527)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Boldness should never be the strategy behind all of your actions. It is a","}
{"text": ""tactical instrument, to be used at the right moment. Plan and think ahead,","}
{"text": ""and make the final element the bold move that will bring you success. In","}
{"text": ""other words, since boldness is a learned response, it is also one that you","}
{"text": ""learn to control and utilize at will. To go through life armed only with","}
{"text": ""audacity would be tiring and also fatal. You would offend too many","}
{"text": ""people, as is proven by those who cannot control their boldness. One","}
{"text": ""such person was Lola Montez; her audacity brought her triumphs and led","}
{"text": ""to her seduction of the king of Bavaria. But since she could never rein in","}
{"text": ""her boldness, it also led to her downfall—in Bavaria, in England,","}
{"text": ""wherever she turned. It crossed the border between boldness and the","}
{"text": ""appearance of cruelty, even insanity. Ivan the Terrible suffered the same","}
{"text": ""fate: When the power of boldness brought him success, he stuck to it, to","}
{"text": ""the point where it became a lifelong pattern of violence and sadism. He","}
{"text": ""lost the ability to tell when boldness was appropriate and when it was","}
{"text": ""not.","}
{"text": ""Timidity has no place in the realm of power; you will often benefit,","}
{"text": ""however, by being able to feign it. At that point, of course, it is no longertimidity but an offensive weapon: You are luring people in with your","}
{"text": ""show of shyness, all the better to pounce on them boldly later.LAW 29","}
{"text": ""PLAN ALL THE WAY TO THE END","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all","}
{"text": ""the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might","}
{"text": ""reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the","}
{"text": ""end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know","}
{"text": ""when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by","}
{"text": ""thinking far ahead.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In 1510 a ship set out from the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the","}
{"text": ""Dominican Republic) for Venezuela, where it was to rescue a besieged","}
{"text": ""Spanish colony. Several miles out of port, a stowaway climbed out of a","}
{"text": ""provision chest: Vasco Núñez de Balboa, a noble Spaniard who had","}
{"text": ""come to the New World in search of gold but had fallen into debt and had","}
{"text": ""escaped his creditors by hiding in the chest.","}
{"text": ""There are very few men—and they are the exceptions—who are able to","}
{"text": ""think and feel beyond the present moment.","}
{"text": ""CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ, 1780-1831","}
{"text": ""Balboa had been obsessed with gold ever since Columbus had","}
{"text": ""returned to Spain from his voyages with tales of a fabulous but as yet","}
{"text": ""undiscovered kingdom called El Dorado. Balboa was one of the first","}
{"text": ""adventurers to come in search of Columbus’s land of gold, and he had","}
{"text": ""decided from the beginning that he would be the one to find it, throughsheer audacity and single-mindedness. Now that he was free of his","}
{"text": ""creditors, nothing would stop him.","}
{"text": ""Unfortunately the ship’s owner, a wealthy jurist named Francisco Fer","}
{"text": ""nández de Enciso, was furious when told of the stowaway, and he","}
{"text": ""ordered that Balboa be left on the first island they came across. Before","}
{"text": ""they found any island, however, Enciso received news that the colony he","}
{"text": ""was to rescue had been abandoned. This was Balboa’s chance. He told","}
{"text": ""the sailors of his previous voyages to Panama, and of the rumors he had","}
{"text": ""heard of gold in the area. The excited sailors convinced Enciso to spare","}
{"text": ""Balboa’s life, and to establish a colony in Panama. Weeks later they","}
{"text": ""named their new settlement “Darien.”","}
{"text": ""Darien’s first governor was Enciso, but Balboa was not a man to let","}
{"text": ""others steal the initiative. He campaigned against Enciso among the","}
{"text": ""sailors, who eventually made it clear that they preferred him as governor.","}
{"text": ""Enciso fled to Spain, fearing for his life. Months later, when a","}
{"text": ""representative of the Spanish crown arrived to establish himself as the","}
{"text": ""new, official governor of Darien, he was turned away. On his return","}
{"text": ""voyage to Spain, this man drowned; the drowning was accidental, but","}
{"text": ""under Spanish law, Balboa had murdered the governor and usurped his","}
{"text": ""position.","}
{"text": ""Balboa’s bravado had got him out of scrapes before, but now his hopes","}
{"text": ""of wealth and glory seemed doomed. To lay claim to El Dorado, should","}
{"text": ""he discover it, he would need the approval of the Spanish king—which,","}
{"text": ""as an outlaw, he would never receive. There was only one solution.","}
{"text": ""Panamanian Indians had told Balboa of a vast ocean on the other side of","}
{"text": ""the Central American isthmus, and had said that by traveling south upon","}
{"text": ""this western coast, he would reach a fabulous land of gold, called by a","}
{"text": ""name that to his ears sounded like “Biru.” Balboa decided he would","}
{"text": ""cross the treacherous jungles of Panama and become the first European","}
{"text": ""to bathe his feet in this new ocean. From there he would march on El","}
{"text": ""Dorado. If he did this on Spain’s behalf, he would obtain the eternal","}
{"text": ""gratitude of the king, and would secure his own reprieve—only he had to","}
{"text": ""act before Spanish authorities came to arrest him.","}
{"text": ""THE TWO FROGS","}
{"text": ""Two frogs dwelt in the same pool. The pool being dried up under the","}
{"text": ""summer’s heat, they left it, and set out together to seek another home. As","}
{"text": ""they went along they chanced to pass a deep well, amply supplied with","}
{"text": ""water, on seeing which one of the frogs said to the other: “Let us descendand make our abode in this well, it will furnish us with shelter and","}
{"text": ""food.” The other replied with greater caution: “But suppose the water","}
{"text": ""should fail us, how can we get out again from so great a depth?” Do","}
{"text": ""nothing without a regard to the consequences.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""In 1513, then, Balboa set out, with 190 soldiers. Halfway across the","}
{"text": ""isthmus (some ninety miles wide at that point), only sixty soldiers","}
{"text": ""remained, many having succumbed to the harsh conditions—the blood-","}
{"text": ""sucking insects, the torrential rainfall, fever. Finally, from a mountaintop,","}
{"text": ""Balboa became the first European to lay eyes on the Pacific Ocean. Days","}
{"text": ""later he marched in his armor into its waters, bearing the banner of","}
{"text": ""Castile and claiming all its seas, lands, and islands in the name of the","}
{"text": ""Spanish throne.","}
{"text": ""Look to the end, no matter what it is you are considering. Often enough,","}
{"text": ""God gives a man a glimpse of happiness, and then utterly ruins him.","}
{"text": ""THE HISTORIES, HERODOTUS, FIFTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""Indians from the area greeted Balboa with gold, jewels, and precious","}
{"text": ""pearls, the like of which he had never seen. When he asked where these","}
{"text": ""had come from, the Indians pointed south, to the land of the Incas. But","}
{"text": ""Balboa had only a few soldiers left. For the moment, he decided, he","}
{"text": ""should return to Darien, send the jewels and gold to Spain as a token of","}
{"text": ""good will, and ask for a large army to aid him in the conquest of El","}
{"text": ""Dorado.","}
{"text": ""When news reached Spain of Balboa’s bold crossing of the isthmus,","}
{"text": ""his discovery of the western ocean, and his planned conquest of El","}
{"text": ""Dorado, the former criminal became a hero. He was instantly proclaimed","}
{"text": ""governor of the new land. But before the king and queen received word","}
{"text": ""of his discovery, they had already sent a dozen ships, under the command","}
{"text": ""of a man named Pedro Arias Dávila, “Pedrarias,” with orders to arrest","}
{"text": ""Balboa for murder and to take command of the colony. By the time","}
{"text": ""Pedrarias arrived in Panama, he had learned that Balboa had been","}
{"text": ""pardoned, and that he was to share the governorship with the former","}
{"text": ""outlaw.","}
{"text": ""All the same, Balboa felt uneasy. Gold was his dream, El Dorado his","}
{"text": ""only desire. In pursuit of this goal he had nearly died many times over,","}
{"text": ""and to share the wealth and glory with a newcomer would be intolerable.","}
{"text": ""He also soon discovered that Pedrarias was a jealous, bitter man, and","}
{"text": ""equally unhappy with the situation. Once again, the only solution forBalboa was to seize the initiative by proposing to cross the jungle with a","}
{"text": ""larger army, carrying ship-building materials and tools. Once on the","}
{"text": ""Pacific coast, he would create an armada with which to conquer the","}
{"text": ""Incas. Surprisingly enough, Pedrarias agreed to the plan—perhaps","}
{"text": ""sensing it would never work. Hundreds died in this second march","}
{"text": ""through the jungle, and the timber they carried rotted in the torrential","}
{"text": ""rains. Balboa, as usual, was undaunted—no power in the world could","}
{"text": ""thwart his plan—and on arriving at the Pacific he began to cut down","}
{"text": ""trees for new lumber. But the men remaining to him were too few and","}
{"text": ""too weak to mount an invasion, and once again Balboa had to return to","}
{"text": ""Darien.","}
{"text": ""Pedrarias had in any case invited Balboa back to discuss a new plan,","}
{"text": ""and on the outskirts of the settlement, the explorer was met by Francisco","}
{"text": ""Pizarro, an old friend who had accompanied him on his first crossing of","}
{"text": ""the isthmus. But this was a trap: Leading one hundred soldiers, Pizarro","}
{"text": ""surrounded his former friend, arrested him, and returned him to","}
{"text": ""Pedrarias, who tried him on charges of rebellion. A few days later","}
{"text": ""Balboa’s head fell into a basket, along with those of his most trusted","}
{"text": ""followers. Years later Pizarro himself reached Peru, and Balboa’s deeds","}
{"text": ""were forgotten.","}
{"text": ""THE KING. THE SUFI. AND THE SURGEON","}
{"text": ""In ancient times a king of Tartary was out walking with some of his","}
{"text": ""noblemen. At the roadside was an abdal (a wandering Sufi), who cried","}
{"text": ""out: “Whoever will give me a hundred dinars, I will give him some good","}
{"text": ""advice.” The king stopped, and said: “Abdal, what is this good advice","}
{"text": ""for a hundred dinars?” “Sir,” answered the abdal, “order the sum to be","}
{"text": ""given to me, and I will tell it you immediately.” The king did so,","}
{"text": ""expecting to hear something extraordinary. The dervish said to him: “My","}
{"text": ""advice is this: Never begin anything until you have reflected what will be","}
{"text": ""the end of it.” At this the nobles and everyone else present laughed,","}
{"text": ""saying that the abdal had been wise to ask for his money in advance. But","}
{"text": ""the king said: “You have no reason to laugh at the good advice this","}
{"text": ""abdal has given me. No one is unaware of the fact that we should think","}
{"text": ""well before doing anything. But we are daily guilty of not remembering,","}
{"text": ""and the consequences are evil. I very much value this dervish’s advice. ”","}
{"text": ""The king decided to bear the advice always in his mind, and commanded","}
{"text": ""it to be written in gold on the walls and even engraved on his silver","}
{"text": ""plate.Not long afterward a plotter desired to kill the king. He bribed the royal","}
{"text": ""surgeon with a promise of the prime ministership if he thrust a poisoned","}
{"text": ""lancet into the king’s arm. When the time came to let some of the king’s","}
{"text": ""blood, a silver basin was placed to catch the blood. Suddenly the","}
{"text": ""surgeon became aware of the words engraved upon it: “Never begin","}
{"text": ""anything until you have reflected what will be the end of it. ” It was only","}
{"text": ""then that he realized that if the plotter became king he could have the","}
{"text": ""surgeon killed instantly, and would not need to fulfill his bargain.","}
{"text": ""The king, seeing that the surgeon was now trembling, asked him what","}
{"text": ""was wrong with hun. And so he confessed the truth, at that very moment.","}
{"text": ""The plotter was seized; and the king sent for all the people who had been","}
{"text": ""present when the abdal gave his advice, and said to them: “Do you still","}
{"text": ""laugh at the dervish?”","}
{"text": ""CARAVAN OF DREAMS. IDRIES SHAH, 1968","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Most men are ruled by the heart, not the head. Their plans are vague, and","}
{"text": ""when they meet obstacles they improvise. But improvisation will only","}
{"text": ""bring you as far as the next crisis, and is never a substitute for thinking","}
{"text": ""several steps ahead and planning to the end.","}
{"text": ""Balboa had a dream of glory and wealth, and a vague plan to reach it.","}
{"text": ""Yet his bold deeds, and his discovery of the Pacific, are largely forgotten,","}
{"text": ""for he committed what in the world of power is the ultimate sin: He went","}
{"text": ""part way, leaving the door open for others to take over. A real man of","}
{"text": ""power would have had the prudence to see the dangers in the distance—","}
{"text": ""the rivals who would want to share in the conquests, the vultures that","}
{"text": ""would hover once they heard the word “gold.” Balboa should have kept","}
{"text": ""his knowledge of the Incas secret until after he had conquered Peru. Only","}
{"text": ""then would his wealth, and his head, have been secure. Once Pedrarias","}
{"text": ""arrived on the scene, a man of power and prudence would have schemed","}
{"text": ""to kill or imprison him, and to take over the army he had brought for the","}
{"text": ""conquest of Peru. But Balboa was locked in the moment, always reacting","}
{"text": ""emotionally, never thinking ahead.","}
{"text": ""What good is it to have the greatest dream in the world if others reap","}
{"text": ""the benefits and the glory? Never lose your head over a vague, open-","}
{"text": ""ended dream—plan to the end.OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In 1863 the Prussian premier Otto von Bismarck surveyed the","}
{"text": ""chessboard of European power as it then stood. The main players were","}
{"text": ""England, France, and Austria. Prussia itself was one of several states in","}
{"text": ""the loosely allied German Federation. Austria, dominant member of the","}
{"text": ""Federation, made sure that the other German states remained weak,","}
{"text": ""divided and submissive. Bismarck believed that Prussia was destined for","}
{"text": ""something far greater than servant boy to Austria.","}
{"text": ""This is how Bismarck played the game. His first move was to start a","}
{"text": ""war with lowly Denmark, in order to recover the former Prussian lands","}
{"text": ""of Schleswig-Holstein. He knew that these rumblings of Prussian","}
{"text": ""independence might worry France and England, so he enlisted Austria in","}
{"text": ""the war, claiming that he was recovering Schleswig-Holstein for their","}
{"text": ""benefit. In a few months, after the war was decided, Bismarck demanded","}
{"text": ""that the newly conquered lands be made part of Prussia. The Austrians of","}
{"text": ""course were furious, but they compromised: First they agreed to give the","}
{"text": ""Prussians Schleswig, and a year later they sold them Holstein. The world","}
{"text": ""began to see that Austria was weakening and that Prussia was on the rise.","}
{"text": ""Bismarck’s next move was his boldest: In 1866 he convinced King","}
{"text": ""William of Prussia to withdraw from the German Federation, and in","}
{"text": ""doing so to go to war with Austria itself. King William’s wife, his son","}
{"text": ""the crown prince, and the princes of the other German kingdoms","}
{"text": ""vehemently opposed such a war. But Bismarck, undaunted, succeeded in","}
{"text": ""forcing the conflict, and Prussia’s superior army defeated the Austrians","}
{"text": ""in the brutally short Seven Weeks War. The king and the Prussian","}
{"text": ""generals then wanted to march on Vienna, taking as much land from","}
{"text": ""Austria as possible. But Bismarck stopped them—now he presented","}
{"text": ""himself as on the side of peace. The result was that he was able to","}
{"text": ""conclude a treaty with Austria that granted Prussia and the other German","}
{"text": ""states total autonomy. Bismarck could now position Prussia as the","}
{"text": ""dominant power in Germany and the head of a newly formed North","}
{"text": ""German Confederation.","}
{"text": ""The French and the English began to compare Bismarck to Attila the","}
{"text": ""Hun, and to fear that he had designs on all of Europe. Once he had","}
{"text": ""started on the path to conquest, there was no telling where he would stop.","}
{"text": ""And, indeed, three years later Bismarck provoked a war with France.","}
{"text": ""First he appeared to give his permission to France’s annexation of","}
{"text": ""Belgium, then at the last moment he changed his mind. Playing a cat-and-mouse game, he infuriated the French emperor, Napoleon III, and","}
{"text": ""stirred up his own king against the French. To no one’s surprise, war","}
{"text": ""broke out in 1870. The newly formed German federation enthusiastically","}
{"text": ""joined in the war on France, and once again the Prussian military","}
{"text": ""machine and its allies destroyed the enemy army in a matter of months.","}
{"text": ""Although Bismarck opposed taking any French land, the generals","}
{"text": ""convinced him that Alsace-Lorraine would become part of the","}
{"text": ""federation.","}
{"text": ""Now all of Europe feared the next move of the Prussian monster, led","}
{"text": ""by Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor.” And in fact a year later Bismarck","}
{"text": ""founded the German Empire, with the Prussian king as the newly","}
{"text": ""crowned emperor and Bismarck himself a prince. But then something","}
{"text": ""strange happened: Bismarck instigated no more wars. And while the","}
{"text": ""other European powers grabbed up land for colonies in other continents,","}
{"text": ""he severely limited Germany’s colonial acquisitions. He did not want","}
{"text": ""more land for Germany, but more security. For the rest of his life he","}
{"text": ""struggled to maintain peace in Europe and to prevent further wars.","}
{"text": ""Everybody assumed he had changed, mellowing with the years. They","}
{"text": ""had failed to understand: This was the final move of his original plan.","}
{"text": ""He who asks fortune-tellers the future unwittingly forfeits an inner","}
{"text": ""intimation of coming events that is a thousand times more exact than","}
{"text": ""anything they may say.","}
{"text": ""WALTER BENJAMIN, 1892-1940","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""There is a simple reason why most men never know when to come off","}
{"text": ""the attack: They form no concrete idea of their goal. Once they achieve","}
{"text": ""victory they only hunger for more. To stop—to aim for a goal and then","}
{"text": ""keep to it—seems almost inhuman, in fact; yet nothing is more critical to","}
{"text": ""the maintenance of power. The person who goes too far in his triumphs","}
{"text": ""creates a reaction that inevitably leads to a decline. The only solution is","}
{"text": ""to plan for the long run. Foresee the future with as much clarity as the","}
{"text": ""gods on Mount Olympus, who look through the clouds and see the ends","}
{"text": ""of all things.","}
{"text": ""From the beginning of his career in politics, Bismarck had one goal: to","}
{"text": ""form an independent German state led by Prussia. He instigated the war","}
{"text": ""with Denmark not to conquer territory but to stir up Prussian nationalism","}
{"text": ""and unite the country. He incited the war with Austria only to gainPrussian independence. (This was why he refused to grab Austrian","}
{"text": ""territory.) And he fomented the war with France to unite the German","}
{"text": ""kingdoms against a common enemy, and thus to prepare for the","}
{"text": ""formation of a united Germany.","}
{"text": ""Once this was achieved, Bismarck stopped. He never let triumph go to","}
{"text": ""his head, was never tempted by the siren call of more. He held the reins","}
{"text": ""tightly, and whenever the generals, or the king, or the Prussian people","}
{"text": ""demanded new conquests, he held them back. Nothing would spoil the","}
{"text": ""beauty of his creation, certainly not a false euphoria that pushed those","}
{"text": ""around him to attempt to go past the end that he had so carefully","}
{"text": ""planned.","}
{"text": ""Experience shows that, if one foresees from far away the designs to be","}
{"text": ""undertaken, one can act with speed when the moment comes to execute","}
{"text": ""them.","}
{"text": ""Cardinall Richelieu, 1585-1642","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""According to the cosmology of the ancient Greeks, the gods were","}
{"text": ""thought to have complete vision into the future. They saw everything to","}
{"text": ""come, right down to the intricate details. Men, on the other hand, were","}
{"text": ""seen as victims of fate, trapped in the moment and their emotions, unable","}
{"text": ""to see beyond immediate dangers. Those heroes, such as Odysseus, who","}
{"text": ""were able to look beyond the present and plan several steps ahead,","}
{"text": ""seemed to defy fate, to approximate the gods in their ability to determine","}
{"text": ""the future. The comparison is still valid—those among us who think","}
{"text": ""further ahead and patiently bring their plans to fruition seem to have a","}
{"text": ""godlike power.","}
{"text": ""Because most people are too imprisoned in the moment to plan with","}
{"text": ""this kind of foresight, the ability to ignore immediate dangers and","}
{"text": ""pleasures translates into power. It is the power of being able to overcome","}
{"text": ""the natural human tendency to react to things as they happen, and instead","}
{"text": ""to train oneself to step back, imagining the larger things taking shape","}
{"text": ""beyond one’s immediate vision. Most people believe that they are in fact","}
{"text": ""aware of the future, that they are planning and thinking ahead. They are","}
{"text": ""usually deluded: What they are really doing is succumbing to their","}
{"text": ""desires, to what they want the future to be. Their plans are vague, basedon their imaginations rather than their reality. They may believe they are","}
{"text": ""thinking all the way to the end, but they are really only focusing on the","}
{"text": ""happy ending, and deluding themselves by the strength of their desire.","}
{"text": ""In 415 B.C., the ancient Athenians attacked Sicily, believing their","}
{"text": ""expedition would bring them riches, power, and a glorious ending to the","}
{"text": ""sixteen-year Peloponnesian War. They did not consider the dangers of an","}
{"text": ""invasion so far from home; they did not foresee that the Sicilians would","}
{"text": ""fight all the harder since the battles were in their own homeland, or that","}
{"text": ""all of Athens’s enemies would band together against them, or that war","}
{"text": ""would break out on several fronts, stretching their forces way too thin.","}
{"text": ""The Sicilian expedition was a complete disaster, leading to the","}
{"text": ""destruction of one of the greatest civilizations of all time. The Athenians","}
{"text": ""were led into this disaster by their hearts, not their minds. They saw only","}
{"text": ""the chance of glory, not the dangers that loomed in the distance.","}
{"text": ""Cardinal de Retz, the seventeenth-century Frenchman who prided","}
{"text": ""himself on his insights into human schemes and why they mostly fail,","}
{"text": ""analyzed this phenomenon. In the course of a rebellion he spearheaded","}
{"text": ""against the French monarchy in 1651, the young king, Louis XIV, and","}
{"text": ""his court had suddenly left Paris and established themselves in a palace","}
{"text": ""outside the capital. The presence of the king so close to the heart of the","}
{"text": ""revolution had been a tremendous burden on the revolutionaries, and","}
{"text": ""they breathed a sigh of relief. This later proved their downfall, however,","}
{"text": ""since the court’s absence from Paris gave it much more room to","}
{"text": ""maneuver. “The most ordinary cause of people’s mistakes,” Cardinal de","}
{"text": ""Retz later wrote, “is their being too much frightened at the present","}
{"text": ""danger, and not enough so at that which is remote.”","}
{"text": ""The dangers that are remote, that loom in the distance—if we can see","}
{"text": ""them as they take shape, how many mistakes we avoid. How many plans","}
{"text": ""we would instantly abort if we realized we were avoiding a small danger","}
{"text": ""only to step into a larger one. So much of power is not what you do but","}
{"text": ""what you do not do—the rash and foolish actions that you refrain from","}
{"text": ""before they get you into trouble. Plan in detail before you act—do not let","}
{"text": ""vague plans lead you into trouble. Will this have unintended","}
{"text": ""consequences? Will I stir up new enemies? Will someone else take","}
{"text": ""advantage of my labors? Unhappy endings are much more common than","}
{"text": ""happy ones—do not be swayed by the happy ending in your mind.","}
{"text": ""The French elections of 1848 came down to a struggle between Louis-","}
{"text": ""Adolphe Thiers, the man of order, and General Louis Eugène Cavaignac,","}
{"text": ""the rabble-rouser of the right. When Thiers realized he was hopelessly","}
{"text": ""behind in this high-stakes race, he searched desperately for a solution.His eye fell on Louis Bonaparte, grand-nephew of the great general","}
{"text": ""Napoleon, and a lowly deputy in the parliament. This Bonaparte seemed","}
{"text": ""a bit of an imbecile, but his name alone could get him elected in a","}
{"text": ""country yearning for a strong ruler. He would be Thiers’s puppet and","}
{"text": ""eventually would be pushed offstage. The first part of the plan worked to","}
{"text": ""perfection, and Napoleon was elected by a large margin. The problem","}
{"text": ""was that Thiers had not foreseen one simple fact: This “imbecile” was in","}
{"text": ""fact a man of enormous ambition. Three years later he dissolved","}
{"text": ""parliament, declared himself emperor, and ruled France for another","}
{"text": ""eighteen years, much to the horror of Thiers and his party.","}
{"text": ""The ending is everything. It is the end of the action that determines","}
{"text": ""who gets the glory, the money, the prize. Your conclusion must be crystal","}
{"text": ""clear, and you must keep it constantly in mind. You must also figure out","}
{"text": ""how to ward off the vultures circling overhead, trying to live off the","}
{"text": ""carcass of your creation. And you must anticipate the many possible","}
{"text": ""crises that will tempt you to improvise. Bismarck overcame these","}
{"text": ""dangers because he planned to the end, kept on course through every","}
{"text": ""crisis, and never let others steal the glory. Once he had reached his stated","}
{"text": ""goal, he withdrew into his shell like a turtle. This kind of self-control is","}
{"text": ""godlike.","}
{"text": ""When you see several steps ahead, and plan your moves all the way to","}
{"text": ""the end, you will no longer be tempted by emotion or by the desire to","}
{"text": ""improvise. Your clarity will rid you of the anxiety and vagueness that are","}
{"text": ""the primary reasons why so many fail to conclude their actions","}
{"text": ""successfully. You see the ending and you tolerate no deviation.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Gods on","}
{"text": ""Mount Olympus.","}
{"text": ""Looking down on","}
{"text": ""human actions from the","}
{"text": ""clouds, they see in advance the","}
{"text": ""endings of all the great dreams that","}
{"text": ""lead to disaster and tragedy. And","}
{"text": ""they laugh at our inability to see beyond","}
{"text": ""the moment, and at how we delude ourselves.Authority: How much easier it is never to get in than to get yourself out!","}
{"text": ""We should act contrary to the reed which, when it first appears, throws","}
{"text": ""up a long straight stem but afterwards, as though it were exhausted …","}
{"text": ""makes several dense knots, indicating that it no longer has its original","}
{"text": ""vigor and drive. We must rather begin gently and coolly, saving our","}
{"text": ""breath for the encounter and our vigorous thrusts for finishing off the","}
{"text": ""job. In their beginnings it is we who guide affairs and hold them in our","}
{"text": ""power; but so often once they are set in motion, it is they which guide us","}
{"text": ""and sweep us along. (Montaigne, 1533-1592)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""It is a cliché among strategists that your plan must include alternatives","}
{"text": ""and have a degree of flexibility. That is certainly true. If you are locked","}
{"text": ""into a plan too rigidly, you will be unable to deal with sudden shifts of","}
{"text": ""fortune. Once you have examined the future possibilities and decided on","}
{"text": ""your target, you must build in alternatives and be open to new routes","}
{"text": ""toward your goal.","}
{"text": ""Most people, however, lose less from overplanning and rigidity than","}
{"text": ""from vagueness and a tendency to improvise constantly in the face of","}
{"text": ""circumstance. There is no real purpose in contemplating a reversal to this","}
{"text": ""Law, then, for no good can come from refusing to think far into the","}
{"text": ""future and planning to the end. If you are clear- and far-thinking enough,","}
{"text": ""you will understand that the future is uncertain, and that you must be","}
{"text": ""open to adaptation. Only having a clear objective and a far-reaching plan","}
{"text": ""allows you that freedom.LAW 30","}
{"text": ""MAKE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS SEEM","}
{"text": ""EFFORTLESS","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and","}
{"text": ""practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be","}
{"text": ""concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more.","}
{"text": ""Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work—it only raises","}
{"text": ""questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.","}
{"text": ""KANO TANNYU. MASTER ARTIST","}
{"text": ""Date Masamune once sent for Tannyu to decorate a pair of gold screens","}
{"text": ""seven feet high. The artist said he thought black-and-white sketches","}
{"text": ""would suit them, and went home again after considering them carefully.","}
{"text": ""The next morning he came early and made a large quantity of ink into","}
{"text": ""which he dipped a horseshoe he had brought with him, and then","}
{"text": ""proceeded to make impressions of this all over one of the screens. Then,","}
{"text": ""with a large brush, he drew a number of lines across them. Meanwhile","}
{"text": ""Masamune had come in to watch his work, and at this he could contain","}
{"text": ""his irritation no longer, and muttering, “What a beastly mess!” he strode","}
{"text": ""away to his own apartments. The retainers told Tannyu he was in a very","}
{"text": ""bad temper indeed. “He shouldn’t look on while I am at work, then,”","}
{"text": ""replied the painter, “he should wait till it is finished.” Then he took up a","}
{"text": ""smaller brush and dashed in touches here and there, and as he did so the","}
{"text": ""prints of the horse-shoe turned into crabs, while the big broad strokes","}
{"text": ""became rushes. He then turned to the other screen and splashed drops of","}
{"text": ""ink all over it, and when he had added a few brush-strokes here and","}
{"text": ""there they became a flight of swallows over willow trees. When","}
{"text": ""Masamune saw the finished work he was as overjoyed at the artist’s skillas he had previously been annoyed at the apparent mess he was making","}
{"text": ""of the screens.","}
{"text": ""CHA-NO-YU: THE JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY A. L. SADLER,","}
{"text": ""1962","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I","}
{"text": ""The Japanese tea ceremony called Cha-no-yu (“Hot Water for Tea”) has","}
{"text": ""origins in ancient times, but it reached its peak of refinement in the","}
{"text": ""sixteenth century under its most renowned practitioner, Sen no Rikyu.","}
{"text": ""Although not from a noble family, Rikyu rose to great power, becoming","}
{"text": ""the preferred tea master of the Emperor Hideyoshi, and an important","}
{"text": ""adviser on aesthetic and even political matters. For Rikyu, the secret of","}
{"text": ""success consisted in appearing natural, concealing the effort behind one’s","}
{"text": ""work.","}
{"text": ""One day Rikyu and his son went to an acquaintance’s house for a tea","}
{"text": ""ceremony. On the way in, the son remarked that the lovely antique-","}
{"text": ""looking gate at their host’s house gave it an evocatively lonely","}
{"text": ""appearance. “I don’t think so,” replied his father, “it looks as though it","}
{"text": ""had been brought from some mountain temple a long way off, and as if","}
{"text": ""the labor required to import it must have cost a lot of money.” If the","}
{"text": ""owner of the house had put this much effort into one gate, it would show","}
{"text": ""in his tea ceremony—and indeed Sen no Rikyu had to leave the","}
{"text": ""ceremony early, unable to endure the affectation and effort it","}
{"text": ""inadvertently revealed.","}
{"text": ""On another evening, while having tea at a friend’s house, Rikyu saw","}
{"text": ""his host go outside, hold up a lantern in the darkness, cut a lemon off a","}
{"text": ""tree, and bring it in. This charmed Rikyu—the host needed a relish for","}
{"text": ""the dish he was serving, and had spontaneously gone outside to get one.","}
{"text": ""But when the man offered the lemon with some Osaka rice cake, Rikyu","}
{"text": ""realized that he had planned the cutting of the lemon all along, to go with","}
{"text": ""this expensive delicacy. The gesture no longer seemed spontaneous—it","}
{"text": ""was a way for the host to prove his cleverness. He had accidentally","}
{"text": ""revealed how hard he was trying. Having seen enough, Rikyu politely","}
{"text": ""declined the cake, excused himself, and left.","}
{"text": ""Emperor Hideyoshi once planned to visit Rikyu for a tea ceremony.","}
{"text": ""On the night before he was to come, snow began to fall. Thinkingquickly, Rikyu laid round cushions that fit exactly on each of the","}
{"text": ""stepping-stones that led through the garden to his house. Just before","}
{"text": ""dawn, he rose, saw that it had stopped snowing, and carefully removed","}
{"text": ""the cushions. When Hideyoshi arrived, he marveled at the simple beauty","}
{"text": ""of the sight—the perfectly round stepping stones, unencumbered by","}
{"text": ""snow—and noticed how it called no attention to the manner in which","}
{"text": ""Rikyu had accomplished it, but only to the polite gesture itself.","}
{"text": ""After Sen no Rikyu died, his ideas had a profound influence on the","}
{"text": ""practice of the tea ceremony. The Tokugawa shogun Yorinobu, son of the","}
{"text": ""great Emperor Ieyasu, was a student of Rikyu’s teachings. In his garden","}
{"text": ""he had a stone lantern made by a famous master, and Lord Sakai","}
{"text": ""Tadakatsu asked if he could come by one day to see it. Yorinobu replied","}
{"text": ""that he would be honored, and commanded his gardeners to put","}
{"text": ""everything in order for the visit. These gardeners, unfamiliar with the","}
{"text": ""precepts of Cha-no-yu, thought the stone lantern misshapen, its windows","}
{"text": ""being too small for the present taste. They had a local workman enlarge","}
{"text": ""the windows. A few days before Lord Sakai’s visit, Yorinobu toured the","}
{"text": ""garden. When he saw the altered windows he exploded with rage, ready","}
{"text": ""to impale on his sword the fool who had ruined the lantern, upsetting its","}
{"text": ""natural grace and destroying the whole purpose of Lord Sakai’s visit.","}
{"text": ""When Yorinobu calmed down, however, he remembered that he had","}
{"text": ""originally bought two of the lanterns, and that the second was in his","}
{"text": ""garden on the island of Kishu. At great expense, he hired a whale boat","}
{"text": ""and the finest rowers he could find, ordering them to bring the lantern to","}
{"text": ""him within two days—a difficult feat at best. But the sailors rowed day","}
{"text": ""and night, and with the luck of a good wind they arrived just in time. To","}
{"text": ""Yorinobu’s delight, this stone lantern was more magnificent than the","}
{"text": ""first, for it had stood untouched for twenty years in a bamboo thicket,","}
{"text": ""acquiring a brilliant antique appearance and a delicate covering of moss.","}
{"text": ""When Lord Sakai arrived, later that same day, he was awed by the","}
{"text": ""lantern, which was more magnificent than he had imagined—so graceful","}
{"text": ""and at one with the elements. Fortunately he had no idea what time and","}
{"text": ""effort it had cost Yorinobu to create this sublime effect.","}
{"text": ""THE RESILING MASTER","}
{"text": ""There was once a wrestling master who was versed in 360 feints and","}
{"text": ""holds. He took a special liking to one of his pupils, to whom he taught","}
{"text": ""359 of them over a period of time. Somehow he never got around to the","}
{"text": ""last trick. As months went by the young man became so proficient in theart that he bested everyone who dared to face him in the ring. He was so","}
{"text": ""proud of his prowess that one day he boasted before the sultan that he","}
{"text": ""could readily whip his master, were it not out of respect for his age and","}
{"text": ""gratitude for his tutelage.","}
{"text": ""The sultan became incensed at this irreverence and ordered an","}
{"text": ""immediate match with the royal court in attendance.","}
{"text": ""At the gong the youth barged forward with a lusty yell, only to be","}
{"text": ""confronted with the unfamiliar 360th feint. The master seized his former","}
{"text": ""pupil, lifted him high above his head, and flung him crashing to the","}
{"text": ""ground. The sultan and the assembly let out a loud cheer. When the","}
{"text": ""sultan asked the master how he was able to overcome such a strong","}
{"text": ""opponent, the master confessed that he had reserved a secret technique","}
{"text": ""for himself for just such a contingency. Then he related the lamentation","}
{"text": ""of a master of archery, who taught everything he knew. “No one has","}
{"text": ""learned archery from me,” the poor fellow complained, “who has not","}
{"text": ""tried to use me as a butt in the end.”","}
{"text": ""A STORY OF SAADI, AS TOLD IN THE CRAFT OF POWER, R.G.","}
{"text": ""H. SIU, 1979","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""To Sen no Rikyu, the sudden appearance of something naturally, almost","}
{"text": ""accidentally graceful was the height of beauty. This beauty came without","}
{"text": ""warning and seemed effortless. Nature created such things by its own","}
{"text": ""laws and processes, but men had to create their effects through labor and","}
{"text": ""contrivance. And when they showed the effort of producing the effect,","}
{"text": ""the effect was spoiled. The gate came from too far away, the cutting of","}
{"text": ""the lemon looked contrived.","}
{"text": ""You will often have to use tricks and ingenuity to create your effects—","}
{"text": ""the cushions in the snow, the men rowing all night—but your audience","}
{"text": ""must never suspect the work or the thinking that has gone into them.","}
{"text": ""Nature does not reveal its tricks, and what imitates nature by appearing","}
{"text": ""effortless approximates nature’s power.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW IIThe great escape artist Harry Houdini once advertised his act as “The","}
{"text": ""Impossible Possible.” And indeed those who witnessed his dramatic","}
{"text": ""escapes felt that what he did onstage contradicted commonsense ideas of","}
{"text": ""human capacity.","}
{"text": ""One evening in 1904, an audience of 4,000 Londoners filled a theater","}
{"text": ""to watch Houdini accept a challenge: to escape from a pair of manacles","}
{"text": ""billed as the strongest ever invented. They contained six sets of locks and","}
{"text": ""nine tumblers in each cuff; a Birmingham maker had spent five years","}
{"text": ""constructing them. Experts who examined them said they had never seen","}
{"text": ""anything so intricate, and this intricacy was thought to make them","}
{"text": ""impossible to escape.","}
{"text": ""The crowd watched the experts secure the manacles on Houdini’s","}
{"text": ""wrists. Then the escape artist entered a black cabinet on stage. The","}
{"text": ""minutes went by; the more time passed, the more certain it seemed that","}
{"text": ""these manacles would be the first to defeat him. At one point he emerged","}
{"text": ""from the cabinet, and asked that the cuffs be temporarily removed so that","}
{"text": ""he could take off his coat—it was hot inside. The challengers refused,","}
{"text": ""suspecting his request was a trick to find out how the locks worked.","}
{"text": ""Undeterred, and without using his hands, Houdini managed to lift the","}
{"text": ""coat over his shoulders, turn it inside out, remove a penknife from his","}
{"text": ""vest pocket with his teeth, and, by moving his head, cut the coat off his","}
{"text": ""arms. Freed from the coat, he stepped back into the cabinet, the audience","}
{"text": ""roaring with approval at his grace and dexterity.","}
{"text": ""Finally, having kept the audience waiting long enough, Houdini","}
{"text": ""emerged from the cabinet a second time, now with his hands free, the","}
{"text": ""manacles raised high in triumph. To this day no one knows how he","}
{"text": ""managed the escape. Although he had taken close to an hour to free","}
{"text": ""himself, he had never looked concerned, had shown no sign of doubt.","}
{"text": ""Indeed it seemed by the end that he had drawn out the escape as a way to","}
{"text": ""heighten the drama, to make the audience worry—for there was no other","}
{"text": ""sign that the performance had been anything but easy. The complaint","}
{"text": ""about the heat was equally part of the act. The spectators of this and","}
{"text": ""other Houdini performances must have felt he was toying with them:","}
{"text": ""These manacles are nothing, he seemed to say, I could have freed myself","}
{"text": ""a lot sooner, and from a lot worse.","}
{"text": ""Over the years, Houdini escaped from the chained carcass of an","}
{"text": ""embalmed “sea monster” (a half octopus, half whalelike beast that had","}
{"text": ""beached near Boston); he had himself sealed inside an enormous","}
{"text": ""envelope from which he emerged without breaking the paper; he passed","}
{"text": ""through brick walls; he wriggled free from straitjackets while danglinghigh in the air; he leaped from bridges into icy waters, his hands","}
{"text": ""manacled and his legs in chains; he had himself submerged in glass cases","}
{"text": ""full of water, hands pad-locked, while the audience watched in","}
{"text": ""amazement as he worked himself free, struggling for close to an hour","}
{"text": ""apparently without breathing. Each time he seemed to court certain death","}
{"text": ""yet survived with superhuman aplomb. Meanwhile, he said nothing","}
{"text": ""about his methods, gave no clues as to how he accomplished any of his","}
{"text": ""tricks—he left his audiences and critics speculating, his power and","}
{"text": ""reputation enhanced by their struggles with the inexplicable. Perhaps the","}
{"text": ""most baffling trick of all was making a ten-thousand-pound elephant","}
{"text": ""disappear before an audience’s eyes, a feat he repeated on stage for over","}
{"text": ""nineteen weeks. No one has ever really explained how he did this, for in","}
{"text": ""the auditorium where he performed the trick, there was simply nowhere","}
{"text": ""for an elephant to hide.","}
{"text": ""The effortlessness of Houdini’s escapes led some to think he used","}
{"text": ""occult forces, his superior psychic abilities giving him special control","}
{"text": ""over his body. But a German escape artist named Kleppini claimed to","}
{"text": ""know Houdini’s secret: He simply used elaborate gadgets. Kleppini also","}
{"text": ""claimed to have defeated Houdini in a handcuff challenge in Holland.","}
{"text": ""Houdini did not mind all kinds of speculation floating around about","}
{"text": ""his methods, but he would not tolerate an outright lie, and in 1902 he","}
{"text": ""challenged Kleppini to a handcuff duel. Kleppini accepted. Through a","}
{"text": ""spy, he found out the secret word to unlock a pair of French","}
{"text": ""combination-lock cuffs that Houdini liked to use. His plan was to choose","}
{"text": ""these cuffs to escape from onstage. This would definitively debunk","}
{"text": ""Houdini—his “genius” simply lay in his use of mechanical gadgets.","}
{"text": ""On the night of the challenge, just as Kleppini had planned, Houdini","}
{"text": ""offered him a choice of cuffs and he selected the ones with the","}
{"text": ""combination lock. He was even able to disappear with them behind a","}
{"text": ""screen to make a quick test, and reemerged seconds later, confident of","}
{"text": ""victory.","}
{"text": ""Acting as if he sensed fraud, Houdini refused to lock Kleppini in the","}
{"text": ""cuffs. The two men argued and began to fight, even wrestling with each","}
{"text": ""other onstage. After a few minutes of this, an apparently angry, frustrated","}
{"text": ""Houdini gave up and locked Kleppini in the cuffs. For the next few","}
{"text": ""minutes Kleppini strained to get free. Something was wrong—minutes","}
{"text": ""earlier he had opened the cuffs behind the screen; now the same code no","}
{"text": ""longer worked. He sweated, racking his brains. Hours went by, the","}
{"text": ""audience left, and finally an exhausted and humiliated Kleppini gave up","}
{"text": ""and asked to be released.The cuffs that Kleppini himself had opened behind the screen with the","}
{"text": ""word “C-L-E-F-S” (French for “keys”) now clicked open only with the","}
{"text": ""word “F-R-A-U-D.” Kleppini never figured out how Houdini had","}
{"text": ""accomplished this uncanny feat.","}
{"text": ""Keep the extent of your abilities unknown. The wise man does not allow","}
{"text": ""his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he desires to","}
{"text": ""be honored by all. He allows you to know them but not to comprehend","}
{"text": ""them. No one must know the extent of his abilities, lest he be","}
{"text": ""disappointed. No one ever has an opportunity of fathoming him entirely.","}
{"text": ""For guesses and doubts about the extent of his talents arouse more","}
{"text": ""veneration than accurate knowledge of them, be they ever so great.","}
{"text": ""BALTASAR GRACIÁN. 1601-1658","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Although we do not know for certain how Houdini accomplished many","}
{"text": ""of his most ingenious escapes, one thing is clear: It was not the occult, or","}
{"text": ""any kind of magic, that gave him his powers, but hard work and endless","}
{"text": ""practice, all of which he carefully concealed from the world. Houdini","}
{"text": ""never left anything to chance—day and night he studied the workings of","}
{"text": ""locks, researched centuries-old sleight-of-hand tricks, pored over books","}
{"text": ""on mechanics, whatever he could use. Every moment not spent","}
{"text": ""researching he spent working his body, keeping himself exceptionally","}
{"text": ""limber, and learning how to control his muscles and his breathing.","}
{"text": ""Early on in Houdini’s career, an old Japanese performer whom he","}
{"text": ""toured with taught him an ancient trick: how to swallow an ivory ball,","}
{"text": ""then bring it back up. He practiced this endlessly with a small peeled","}
{"text": ""potato tied to a string—up and down he would manipulate the potato","}
{"text": ""with his throat muscles, until they were strong enough to move it without","}
{"text": ""the string. The organizers of the London handcuff challenge had","}
{"text": ""searched Houdini’s body thoroughly beforehand, but no one could check","}
{"text": ""the inside of his throat, where he could have concealed small tools to","}
{"text": ""help him escape. Even so, Kleppini was fundamentally wrong: It was not","}
{"text": ""Houdini’s tools but his practice, work, and research that made his","}
{"text": ""escapes possible.","}
{"text": ""Kleppini, in fact, was completely outwitted by Houdini, who set the","}
{"text": ""whole thing up. He let his opponent learn the code to the French cuffs,","}
{"text": ""then baited him into choosing those cuffs onstage. Then, during the two","}
{"text": ""men’s tussle, the dexterous Houdini was able to change the code to “F-R-A-U-D.” He had spent weeks practicing this trick, but the audience","}
{"text": ""saw none of the sweat and toil behind the scenes. Nor was Houdini ever","}
{"text": ""nervous; he induced nervousness in others. (He deliberately dragged out","}
{"text": ""the time it would take to escape, as a way of heightening the drama, and","}
{"text": ""making the audience squirm.) His escapes from death, always graceful","}
{"text": ""and easy, made him look like a superman.","}
{"text": ""As a person of power, you must research and practice endlessly before","}
{"text": ""appearing in public, onstage or anywhere else. Never expose the sweat","}
{"text": ""and labor behind your poise. Some think such exposure will demonstrate","}
{"text": ""their diligence and honesty, but it actually just makes them look weaker","}
{"text": ""—as if anyone who practiced and worked at it could do what they had","}
{"text": ""done, or as if they weren’t really up to the job. Keep your effort and your","}
{"text": ""tricks to yourself and you seem to have the grace and ease of a god. One","}
{"text": ""never sees the source of a god’s power revealed; one only sees its effects.","}
{"text": ""A line [of poetry] will take us hours maybe;","}
{"text": ""Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought,","}
{"text": ""Our stitching and unstitching has been naught.","}
{"text": ""Adam’s Curse, William Buller Yeats, 1865-1939","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Humanity’s first notions of power came from primitive encounters with","}
{"text": ""nature—the flash of lightning in the sky, a sudden flood, the speed and","}
{"text": ""ferocity of a wild animal. These forces required no thinking, no planning","}
{"text": ""—they awed us by their sudden appearance, their gracefulness, and their","}
{"text": ""power over life and death. And this remains the kind of power we have","}
{"text": ""always wanted to imitate. Through science and technology we have re-","}
{"text": ""created the speed and sublime power of nature, but something is missing:","}
{"text": ""Our machines are noisy and jerky, they reveal their effort. Even the very","}
{"text": ""best creations of technology cannot root out our admiration for things","}
{"text": ""that move easily and effortlessly. The power of children to bend us to","}
{"text": ""their will comes from a kind of seductive charm that we feel in the","}
{"text": ""presence of a creature less reflective and more graceful than we are. We","}
{"text": ""cannot return to such a state, but if we can create the appearance of this","}
{"text": ""kind of ease, we elicit in others the kind of primitive awe that nature has","}
{"text": ""always evoked in hu mankind.One of the first European writers to expound on this principle came","}
{"text": ""from that most unnatural of environments, the Renaissance court. In The","}
{"text": ""Book of the Courtier, published in 1528, Baldassare Castiglione","}
{"text": ""describes the highly elaborate and codified manners of the perfect court","}
{"text": ""citizen. And yet, Castiglione explains, the courtier must execute these","}
{"text": ""gestures with what he calls sprezzatura, the capacity to make the difficult","}
{"text": ""seem easy. He urges the courtier to “practice in all things a certain","}
{"text": ""nonchalance which conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or","}
{"text": ""does seem uncontrived and effortless.” We all admire the achievement of","}
{"text": ""some unusual feat, but if it is accomplished naturally and gracefully, our","}
{"text": ""admiration increases tenfold—“whereas … to labor at what one is doing","}
{"text": ""and … to make bones over it, shows an extreme lack of grace and causes","}
{"text": ""everything, whatever its worth, to be discounted.”","}
{"text": ""Much of the idea of sprezzatura came from the world of art. All the","}
{"text": ""great Renaissance artists carefully kept their works under wraps. Only","}
{"text": ""the finished masterpiece could be shown to the public. Michelangelo","}
{"text": ""forbade even popes to view his work in process. A Renaissance artist","}
{"text": ""was always careful to keep his studios shut to patrons and public alike,","}
{"text": ""not out of fear of imitation, but because to see the making of the works","}
{"text": ""would mar the magic of their effect, and their studied atmosphere of ease","}
{"text": ""and natural beauty.","}
{"text": ""The Renaissance painter Vasari, also the first great art critic, ridiculed","}
{"text": ""the work of Paolo Uccello, who was obsessed with the laws of","}
{"text": ""perspective. The effort Uccello spent on improving the appearance of","}
{"text": ""perspective was too obvious in his work—it made his paintings ugly and","}
{"text": ""labored, overwhelmed by the effort of their effects. We have the same","}
{"text": ""response when we watch performers who put too much effort into their","}
{"text": ""act: Seeing them trying so hard breaks the illusion. It also makes us","}
{"text": ""uncomfortable. Calm, graceful performers, on the other hand, set us at","}
{"text": ""ease, creating the illusion that they are not acting but being natural and","}
{"text": ""themselves, even when everything they are doing involves labor and","}
{"text": ""practice.","}
{"text": ""The idea of sprezzatura is relevant to all forms of power, for power","}
{"text": ""depends vitally on appearances and the illusions you create. Your public","}
{"text": ""actions are like artworks: They must have visual appeal, must create","}
{"text": ""anticipation, even entertain. When you reveal the inner workings of your","}
{"text": ""creation, you become just one more mortal among others. What is","}
{"text": ""understandable is not awe-inspiring—we tell ourselves we could do as","}
{"text": ""well if we had the money and time. Avoid the temptation of showinghow clever you are—it is far more clever to conceal the mechanisms of","}
{"text": ""your cleverness.","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand’s application of this concept to his daily life greatly","}
{"text": ""enhanced the aura of power that surrounded him. He never liked to work","}
{"text": ""too hard, so he made others do the work for him—the spying, the","}
{"text": ""research, the detailed analyses. With all this labor at his disposal, he","}
{"text": ""himself never seemed to strain. When his spies revealed that a certain","}
{"text": ""event was about to take place, he would talk in social conversation as if","}
{"text": ""he sensed its imminence. The result was that people thought he was","}
{"text": ""clairvoyant. His short pithy statements and witticisms always seemed to","}
{"text": ""summarize a situation perfectly, but they were based on much research","}
{"text": ""and thought. To those in government, including Napoleon himself,","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand gave the impression of immense power—an effect entirely","}
{"text": ""dependent on the apparent ease with which he accomplished his feats.","}
{"text": ""There is another reason for concealing your shortcuts and tricks: When","}
{"text": ""you let this information out, you give people ideas they can use against","}
{"text": ""you. You lose the advantages of keeping silent. We tend to want the","}
{"text": ""world to know what we have done—we want our vanity gratified by","}
{"text": ""having our hard work and cleverness applauded, and we may even want","}
{"text": ""sympathy for the hours it has taken to reach our point of artistry. Learn to","}
{"text": ""control this propensity to blab, for its effect is often the opposite of what","}
{"text": ""you expected. Remember: The more mystery surrounds your actions, the","}
{"text": ""more awesome your power seems. You appear to be the only one who","}
{"text": ""can do what you do—and the appearance of having an exclusive gift is","}
{"text": ""immensely powerful. Finally, because you achieve your","}
{"text": ""accomplishments with grace and ease, people believe that you could","}
{"text": ""always do more if you tried harder. This elicits not only admiration but a","}
{"text": ""touch of fear. Your powers are untapped—no one can fathom their limits.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Racehorse. From up close we would see the","}
{"text": ""strain, the effort to control the horse, the labored, painful","}
{"text": ""breathing. But from the distance where we sit and watch, it","}
{"text": ""is all gracefulness, flying through the air. Keep others at a","}
{"text": ""distance and they will only see the ease with which you move.","}
{"text": ""Authority: For whatever action [nonchalance] accompanies, no matter","}
{"text": ""how trivial it is, it not only reveals the skill of the person doing it but","}
{"text": ""also very often causes it to be considered far greater than it really is. This","}
{"text": ""is because it makes the onlookers believe that a man who performs wellwith so much facility must possess even greater skill than he does.","}
{"text": ""(Baldassare Castiglione, 1478-1529)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The secrecy with which you surround your actions must seem","}
{"text": ""lighthearted in spirit. A zeal to conceal your work creates an unpleasant,","}
{"text": ""almost paranoiac impression: you are taking the game too seriously.","}
{"text": ""Houdini was careful to make the concealment of his tricks seem a game,","}
{"text": ""all part of the show. Never show your work until it is finished, but if you","}
{"text": ""put too much effort into keeping it under wraps you will be like the","}
{"text": ""painter Pontormo, who spent the last years of his life hiding his frescoes","}
{"text": ""from the public eye and only succeeded in driving himself mad. Always","}
{"text": ""keep your sense of humor about yourself.","}
{"text": ""There are also times when revealing the inner workings of your","}
{"text": ""projects can prove worthwhile. It all depends on your audience’s taste,","}
{"text": ""and on the times in which you operate. P. T. Barnum recognized that his","}
{"text": ""public wanted to feel involved in his shows, and that understanding his","}
{"text": ""tricks delighted them, partly, perhaps, because implicitly debunking","}
{"text": ""people who kept their sources of power hidden from the masses appealed","}
{"text": ""to America’s democratic spirit. The public also appreciated the","}
{"text": ""showman’s humor and honesty. Barnum took this to the extreme of","}
{"text": ""publicizing his own humbuggery in his popular autobiography, written","}
{"text": ""when his career was at its height.","}
{"text": ""As long as the partial disclosure of tricks and techniques is carefully","}
{"text": ""planned, rather than the result of an uncontrollable need to blab, it is the","}
{"text": ""ultimate in cleverness. It gives the audience the illusion of being superior","}
{"text": ""and involved, even while much of what you do remains concealed from","}
{"text": ""them.LAW 31","}
{"text": ""CONTROL THE OPTIONS: GET OTHERS TO","}
{"text": ""PLAY WITH THE CARDS YOU DEAL","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a","}
{"text": ""choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your","}
{"text": ""puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one","}
{"text": ""they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils,","}
{"text": ""both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma:","}
{"text": ""They are gored wherever they turn.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I","}
{"text": ""From early in his reign, Ivan IV, later known as Ivan the Terrible, had to","}
{"text": ""confront an unpleasant reality: The country desperately needed reform,","}
{"text": ""but he lacked the power to push it through. The greatest limit to his","}
{"text": ""authority came from the boyars, the Russian princely class that","}
{"text": ""dominated the country and terrorized the peasantry.","}
{"text": ""In 1553, at the age of twenty-three, Ivan fell ill. Lying in bed, nearing","}
{"text": ""death, he asked the boyars to swear allegiance to his son as the new czar.","}
{"text": ""Some hesitated, some even refused. Then and there Ivan saw he had no","}
{"text": ""power over the boyars. He recovered from his illness, but he never forgot","}
{"text": ""the lesson: The boyars were out to destroy him. And indeed in the years","}
{"text": ""to come, many of the most powerful of them defected to Russia’s main","}
{"text": ""enemies, Poland and Lithuania, where they plotted their return and the","}
{"text": ""overthrow of the czar. Even one of Ivan’s closest friends, Prince Andrey","}
{"text": ""Kurbski, suddenly turned against him, defecting to Lithuania in 1564,","}
{"text": ""and becoming the strongest of Ivan’s enemies.When Kurbski began raising troops for an invasion, the royal dynasty","}
{"text": ""seemed suddenly more precarious than ever. With émigré nobles","}
{"text": ""fomenting invasion from the west, Tartars bearing down from the east,","}
{"text": ""and the boyars stirring up trouble within the country, Russia’s vast size","}
{"text": ""made it a nightmare to defend. In whatever direction Ivan struck, he","}
{"text": ""would leave himself vulnerable on the other side. Only if he had absolute","}
{"text": ""power could he deal with this many-headed Hydra. And he had no such","}
{"text": ""power.","}
{"text": ""Ivan brooded until the morning of December 3, 1564, when the","}
{"text": ""citizens of Moscow awoke to a strange sight. Hundreds of sleds filled the","}
{"text": ""square before the Kremlin, loaded with the czar’s treasures and with","}
{"text": ""provisions for the entire court. They watched in disbelief as the czar and","}
{"text": ""his court boarded the sleds and left town. Without explaining why, he","}
{"text": ""established himself in a village south of Moscow. For an entire month a","}
{"text": ""kind of terror gripped the capital, for the Muscovites feared that Ivan had","}
{"text": ""abandoned them to the bloodthirsty boyars. Shops closed up and riotous","}
{"text": ""mobs gathered daily. Finally, on January 3 of 1565, a letter arrived from","}
{"text": ""the czar, explaining that he could no longer bear the boyars’ betrayals","}
{"text": ""and had decided to abdicate once and for all.","}
{"text": ""The German Chancellor Bismarck, enraged at the constant criticisms","}
{"text": ""from Rudolf Virchow (the German pathologist and liberal politician),","}
{"text": ""had his seconds call upon the scientist to challenge him to a duel. “As","}
{"text": ""the challenged party, I have the choice of weapons,” said Virchow, “and","}
{"text": ""I choose these.” He held aloft two large and apparently identical","}
{"text": ""sausages. “One of these,” he went on, “is infected with deadly germs;","}
{"text": ""the orher is perfectly sound. Let His Excellency decide which one he","}
{"text": ""wishes to eat, and I will eat the other.” Almost immediately the message","}
{"text": ""came back that the chancellor had decided to cancel the duel.","}
{"text": ""THE LITTLE. BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES. CLIFTON","}
{"text": ""FADIMAN, FD., 1985","}
{"text": ""Read aloud in public, the letter had a startling effect: Merchants and","}
{"text": ""commoners blamed the boyars for Ivan’s decision, and took to the","}
{"text": ""streets, terrifying the nobility with their fury. Soon a group of delegates","}
{"text": ""representing the church, the princes, and the people made the journey to","}
{"text": ""Ivan’s village, and begged the czar, in the name of the holy land of","}
{"text": ""Russia, to return to the throne. Ivan listened but would not change his","}
{"text": ""mind. After days of hearing their pleas, however, he offered his subjectsa choice: Either they grant him absolute powers to govern as he pleased,","}
{"text": ""with no interference from the boyars, or they find a new leader.","}
{"text": ""Faced with a choice between civil war and the acceptance of despotic","}
{"text": ""power, almost every sector of Russian society “opted” for a strong czar,","}
{"text": ""calling for Ivan’s return to Moscow and the restoration of law and order.","}
{"text": ""In February, with much celebration, Ivan returned to Moscow. The","}
{"text": ""Russians could no longer complain if he behaved dictatorially—they had","}
{"text": ""given him this power themselves.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Ivan the Terrible faced a terrible dilemma: To give in to the boyars would","}
{"text": ""lead to certain destruction, but civil war would bring a different kind of","}
{"text": ""ruin. Even if Ivan came out of such a war on top, the country would be","}
{"text": ""devastated and its divisions would be stronger than ever. His weapon of","}
{"text": ""choice in the past had been to make a bold, offensive move. Now,","}
{"text": ""however, that kind of move would turn against him—the more boldly he","}
{"text": ""confronted his enemies, the worse the reactions he would spark.","}
{"text": ""The main weakness of a show of force is that it stirs up resentment and","}
{"text": ""eventually leads to a response that eats at your authority. Ivan,","}
{"text": ""immensely creative in the use of power, saw clearly that the only path to","}
{"text": ""the kind of victory he wanted was a false withdrawal. He would not force","}
{"text": ""the country over to his position, he would give it “options”: either his","}
{"text": ""abdication, and certain anarchy, or his accession to absolute power. To","}
{"text": ""back up his move, he made it clear that he preferred to abdicate: “Call","}
{"text": ""my bluff,” he said, “and watch what happens.” No one called his bluff.","}
{"text": ""By withdrawing for just a month, he showed the country a glimpse of the","}
{"text": ""nightmares that would follow his abdication—Tartar invasions, civil war,","}
{"text": ""ruin. (All of these did eventually come to pass after Ivan’s death, in the","}
{"text": ""infamous “Time of the Troubles.”)","}
{"text": ""Withdrawal and disappearance are classic ways of controlling the","}
{"text": ""options. You give people a sense of how things will fall apart without","}
{"text": ""you, and you offer them a “choice”: I stay away and you suffer the","}
{"text": ""consequences, or I return under circumstances that I dictate. In this","}
{"text": ""method of controlling people’s options, they choose the option that gives","}
{"text": ""you power because the alternative is just too unpleasant. You force their","}
{"text": ""hand, but indirectly: They seem to have a choice. Whenever people feel","}
{"text": ""they have a choice, they walk into your trap that much more easily.THE I IAR","}
{"text": ""Once upon a time there was a king of Armenia, who, being of a curious","}
{"text": ""turn of mind and in need of some new diversion, sent his heralds","}
{"text": ""throughout the land to make the following proclamation: “Hear this!","}
{"text": ""Whatever man among you can prove himself the most outrageous liar in","}
{"text": ""Armenia shall receive an apple made of pure gold from the hands of His","}
{"text": ""Majesty the King!” People began to swarm to the palace from every","}
{"text": ""town and hamlet in the country, people of all ranks and conditions,","}
{"text": ""princes, merchants, farmers, priests, rich and poor, tall and short, fat","}
{"text": ""and thin. There was no lack of liars in the land, and each one told his","}
{"text": ""tale to the king. A ruler, however, has heard practically every sort of lie,","}
{"text": ""and none of those now told him convinced the king that he had listened","}
{"text": ""to the best of them. The king was beginning to grow tired of his new sport","}
{"text": ""and was thinking of calling the whole contest off without declaring a","}
{"text": ""winner, when there appeared before him a poor, ragged man, carrying a","}
{"text": ""large earthenware pitcher under his arm. “What can I do for you?”","}
{"text": ""asked His Majesty. “Sire!” said the poor man, slightly bewildered","}
{"text": ""“Surely you remember? You owe me a pot of gold, and I have come to","}
{"text": ""collect it.” “You are a pet feet liar, sir!’ exclaimed the king ”I owe you","}
{"text": ""no money’” ”A perfect liar, am I?” said the poor man. ”Then give me the","}
{"text": ""golden apple!” The king, realizing that the man was Irving to trick him.","}
{"text": ""started to hedge. ”No. no! You are not a liar!” ”Then give me the pot of","}
{"text": ""gold you owe me. sire.” said the man. The king saw the dilemma, He","}
{"text": ""handed over the golden apple.","}
{"text": ""ARMENIAN FOLK-IALES AND FABLES. REIOLD BY CAHARLES","}
{"text": ""DOWNING. 1993","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II","}
{"text": ""As a seventeenth-century French courtesan, Ninon de Lenclos found that","}
{"text": ""her life had certain pleasures. Her lovers came from royalty and","}
{"text": ""aristocracy, and they paid her well, entertained her with their wit and","}
{"text": ""intellect, satisfied her rather demanding sensual needs, and treated her","}
{"text": ""almost as an equal. Such a life was infinitely preferable to marriage. In","}
{"text": ""1643, however, Ninon’s mother died suddenly, leaving her, at the age of","}
{"text": ""twenty-three, totally alone in the world—no family, no dowry, nothing tofall back upon. A kind of panic overtook her and she entered a convent,","}
{"text": ""turning her back on her illustrious lovers. A year later she left the","}
{"text": ""convent and moved to Lyons. When she finally reappeared in Paris, in","}
{"text": ""1648, lovers and suitors flocked to her door in greater numbers than ever","}
{"text": ""before, for she was the wittiest and most spirited courtesan of the time","}
{"text": ""and her presence had been greatly missed.","}
{"text": ""Ninon’s followers quickly discovered, however, that she had changed","}
{"text": ""her old way of doing things, and had set up a new system of options. The","}
{"text": ""dukes, seigneurs, and princes who wanted to pay for her services could","}
{"text": ""continue to do so, but they were no longer in control—she would sleep","}
{"text": ""with them when she wanted, according to her whim. All their money","}
{"text": ""bought them was a possibility. If it was her pleasure to sleep with them","}
{"text": ""only once a month, so be it.","}
{"text": ""Those who did not want to be what Ninon called a payeur could join","}
{"text": ""the large and growing group of men she called her martyrs—men who","}
{"text": ""visited her apartment principally for her friendship, her biting wit, her","}
{"text": ""lute-playing, and the company of the most vibrant minds of the period,","}
{"text": ""including Molière, La Rochefoucauld, and Saint-Évremond. The","}
{"text": ""martyrs, too, however, entertained a possibility: She would regularly","}
{"text": ""select from them a favori, a man who would become her lover without","}
{"text": ""having to pay, and to whom she would abandon herself completely for as","}
{"text": ""long as she so desired—a week, a few months, rarely longer. A payeur","}
{"text": ""could not become a favori, but a martyr had no guarantee of becoming","}
{"text": ""one, and indeed could remain disappointed for an entire lifetime. The","}
{"text": ""poet Charleval, for example, never enjoyed Ninon’s favors, but never","}
{"text": ""stopped coming to visit—he did not want to do without her company.","}
{"text": ""As word of this system reached polite French society, Ninon became","}
{"text": ""the object of intense hostility. Her reversal of the position of the","}
{"text": ""courtesan scandalized the queen mother and her court. Much to their","}
{"text": ""horror, however, it did not discourage her male suitors—indeed it only","}
{"text": ""increased their numbers and intensified their desire. It became an honor","}
{"text": ""to be a payeur, helping Ninon to maintain her lifestyle and her glittering","}
{"text": ""salon, accompanying her sometimes to the theater, and sleeping with her","}
{"text": ""when she chose. Even more distinguished were the martyrs, enjoying her","}
{"text": ""company without paying for it and maintaining the hope, however","}
{"text": ""remote, of some day becoming her favori. That possibility spurred on","}
{"text": ""many a young nobleman, as word spread that none among the courtesans","}
{"text": ""could surpass Ninon in the art of love. And so the married and the single,","}
{"text": ""the old and the young, entered her web and chose one of the two options","}
{"text": ""presented to them, both of which amply satisfied her.Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The life of the courtesan entailed the possibility of a power that was","}
{"text": ""denied a married woman, but it also had obvious perils. The man who","}
{"text": ""paid for the courtesan’s services in essence owned her, determining when","}
{"text": ""he could possess her and when, later on, he would abandon her. As she","}
{"text": ""grew older, her options narrowed, as fewer men chose her. To avoid a life","}
{"text": ""of poverty she had to amass her fortune while she was young. The","}
{"text": ""courtesan’s legendary greed, then, reflected a practical necessity, yet also","}
{"text": ""lessened her allure, since the illusion of being desired is important to","}
{"text": ""men, who are often alienated if their partner is too interested in their","}
{"text": ""money. As the courtesan aged, then, she faced a most difficult fate.","}
{"text": ""Ninon de Lenclos had a horror of any kind of dependence. She early","}
{"text": ""on tasted a kind of equality with her lovers, and she would not settle into","}
{"text": ""a system that left her such distasteful options. Strangely enough, the","}
{"text": ""system she devised in its place seemed to satisfy her suitors as much as it","}
{"text": ""did her. The payeurs may have had to pay, but the fact that Ninon would","}
{"text": ""only sleep with them when she wanted to gave them a thrill unavailable","}
{"text": ""with every other courtesan: She was yielding out of her own desire. The","}
{"text": ""martyrs’ avoidance of the taint of having to pay gave them a sense of","}
{"text": ""superiority; as members of Ninon’s fraternity of admirers, they also","}
{"text": ""might some day experience the ultimate pleasure of being her favori.","}
{"text": ""Finally, Ninon did not force her suitors into either category. They could","}
{"text": ""“choose” which side they preferred—a freedom that left them a vestige","}
{"text": ""of masculine pride.","}
{"text": ""Such is the power of giving people a choice, or rather the illusion of","}
{"text": ""one, for they are playing with cards you have dealt them. Where the","}
{"text": ""alternatives set up by Ivan the Terrible involved a certain risk—one","}
{"text": ""option would have led to his losing his power—Ninon created a situation","}
{"text": ""in which every option redounded to her favor. From the payeurs she","}
{"text": ""received the money she needed to run her salon. And from the martyrs","}
{"text": ""she gained the ultimate in power: She could surround herself with a bevy","}
{"text": ""of admirers, a harem from which to choose her lovers.","}
{"text": ""The system, though, depended on one critical factor: the possibility,","}
{"text": ""however remote, that a martyr could become a favori. The illusion that","}
{"text": ""riches, glory, or sensual satisfaction may someday fall into your victim’s","}
{"text": ""lap is an irresistible carrot to include in your list of choices. That hope,","}
{"text": ""however slim, will make men accept the most ridiculous situations,","}
{"text": ""because it leaves them the all-important option of a dream. The illusionof choice, married to the possibility of future good fortune, will lure the","}
{"text": ""most stubborn sucker into your glittering web.","}
{"text": ""J. P. Morgan Sr. once told a jeweler of his acquaintance that he was","}
{"text": ""interested in buying a pearl scarf-pin. Just a few weeks later, the jeweler","}
{"text": ""happened upon a magnificent pearl. He had it mounted in an","}
{"text": ""appropriate setting and sent it to Morgan, together with a bill for $5,000.","}
{"text": ""The following day the package was returned. Morgan’s accompanying","}
{"text": ""note read: “I like the pin, but I don’t like the price. If you will accept the","}
{"text": ""enclosed check for $4,000, please send back the box with the seal","}
{"text": ""unbroken.” The enraged jeweler refused the check and dismissed the","}
{"text": ""messenger in disgust. He opened up the box to reclaim the unwanted pin,","}
{"text": ""only to find that it had been removed. In its place was a check for","}
{"text": ""$5,000.","}
{"text": ""THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES. CLIFTON","}
{"text": ""FADIMAN, ED.. 1985","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Words like “freedom,” “options,” and “choice” evoke a power of","}
{"text": ""possibility far beyond the reality of the benefits they entail. When","}
{"text": ""examined closely, the choices we have—in the marketplace, in elections,","}
{"text": ""in our jobs—tend to have noticeable limitations: They are often a matter","}
{"text": ""of a choice simply between A and B, with the rest of the alphabet out of","}
{"text": ""the picture. Yet as long as the faintest mirage of choice flickers on, we","}
{"text": ""rarely focus on the missing options. We “choose” to believe that the","}
{"text": ""game is fair, and that we have our freedom. We prefer not to think too","}
{"text": ""much about the depth of our liberty to choose.","}
{"text": ""This unwillingness to probe the smallness of our choices stems from","}
{"text": ""the fact that too much freedom creates a kind of anxiety. The phrase","}
{"text": ""“unlimited options” sounds infinitely promising, but unlimited options","}
{"text": ""would actually paralyze us and cloud our ability to choose. Our limited","}
{"text": ""range of choices comforts us.","}
{"text": ""This supplies the clever and cunning with enormous opportunities for","}
{"text": ""deception. For people who are choosing between alternatives find it hard","}
{"text": ""to believe they are being manipulated or deceived; they cannot see that","}
{"text": ""you are allowing them a small amount of free will in exchange for a","}
{"text": ""much more powerful imposition of your own will. Setting up a narrowrange of choices, then, should always be a part of your deceptions. There","}
{"text": ""is a saying: If you can get the bird to walk into the cage on its own, it","}
{"text": ""will sing that much more prettily.","}
{"text": ""The following are among the most common forms of “controlling the","}
{"text": ""options”:","}
{"text": ""Color the Choices. This was a favored technique of Henry Kissinger. As","}
{"text": ""President Richard Nixon’s secretary of state, Kissinger considered","}
{"text": ""himself better informed than his boss, and believed that in most","}
{"text": ""situations he could make the best decision on his own. But if he tried to","}
{"text": ""determine policy, he would offend or perhaps enrage a notoriously","}
{"text": ""insecure man. So Kissinger would propose three or four choices of action","}
{"text": ""for each situation, and would present them in such a way that the one he","}
{"text": ""preferred always seemed the best solution compared to the others. Time","}
{"text": ""after time, Nixon fell for the bait, never suspecting that he was moving","}
{"text": ""where Kissinger pushed him. This is an excellent device to use on the","}
{"text": ""insecure master.","}
{"text": ""Force the Resister. One of the main problems faced by Dr. Milton H.","}
{"text": ""Erickson, a pioneer of hypnosis therapy in the 1950s, was the relapse.","}
{"text": ""His patients might seem to be recovering rapidly, but their apparent","}
{"text": ""susceptibility to the therapy masked a deep resistance: They would soon","}
{"text": ""relapse into old habits, blame the doctor, and stop coming to see him. To","}
{"text": ""avoid this, Erickson began ordering some patients to have a relapse, to","}
{"text": ""make themselves feel as bad as when they first came in—to go back to","}
{"text": ""square one. Faced with this option, the patients would usually “choose”","}
{"text": ""to avoid the relapse—which, of course, was what Erickson really","}
{"text": ""wanted.","}
{"text": ""This is a good technique to use on children and other willful people","}
{"text": ""who enjoy doing the opposite of what you ask them to: Push them to","}
{"text": ""“choose” what you want them to do by appearing to advocate the","}
{"text": ""opposite.","}
{"text": ""Alter the Playing Field. In the 1860s, John D. Rockefeller set out to","}
{"text": ""create an oil monopoly. If he tried to buy up the smaller oil companies","}
{"text": ""they would figure out what he was doing and fight back. Instead, he","}
{"text": ""began secretly buying up the railway companies that transported the oil.","}
{"text": ""When he then attempted to take over a particular company, and met with","}
{"text": ""resistance, he reminded them of their dependence on the rails. Refusingthem shipping, or simply raising their fees, could ruin their business.","}
{"text": ""Rockefeller altered the playing field so that the only options the small oil","}
{"text": ""producers had were the ones he gave them.","}
{"text": ""In this tactic your opponents know their hand is being forced, but it","}
{"text": ""doesn’t matter. The technique is effective against those who resist at all","}
{"text": ""costs.","}
{"text": ""The Shrinking Options. The late-nineteenth-century art dealer","}
{"text": ""Ambroise Vollard perfected this technique.","}
{"text": ""Customers would come to Vollard’s shop to see some Cézannes. He","}
{"text": ""would show three paintings, neglect to mention a price, and pretend to","}
{"text": ""doze off. The visitors would have to leave without deciding. They would","}
{"text": ""usually come back the next day to see the paintings again, but this time","}
{"text": ""Vollard would pull out less interesting works, pretending he thought they","}
{"text": ""were the same ones. The baffled customers would look at the new","}
{"text": ""offerings, leave to think them over, and return yet again. Once again the","}
{"text": ""same thing would happen: Vollard would show paintings of lesser quality","}
{"text": ""still. Finally the buyers would realize they had better grab what he was","}
{"text": ""showing them, because tomorrow they would have to settle for","}
{"text": ""something worse, perhaps at even higher prices.","}
{"text": ""A variation on this technique is to raise the price every time the buyer","}
{"text": ""hesitates and another day goes by. This is an excellent negotiating ploy","}
{"text": ""to use on the chronically indecisive, who will fall for the idea that they","}
{"text": ""are getting a better deal today than if they wait till tomorrow.","}
{"text": ""The Weak Man on the Precipice. The weak are the easiest to maneuver","}
{"text": ""by controlling their options. Cardinal de Retz, the great seventeenth-","}
{"text": ""century provocateur, served as an unofficial assistant to the Duke of","}
{"text": ""Orléans, who was notoriously indecisive. It was a constant struggle to","}
{"text": ""convince the duke to take action—he would hem and haw, weigh the","}
{"text": ""options, and wait till the last moment, giving everyone around him an","}
{"text": ""ulcer. But Retz discovered a way to handle him: He would describe all","}
{"text": ""sorts of dangers, exaggerating them as much as possible, until the duke","}
{"text": ""saw a yawning abyss in every direction except one: the one Retz was","}
{"text": ""pushing him to take.","}
{"text": ""This tactic is similar to “Color the Choices,” but with the weak you","}
{"text": ""have to be more aggressive. Work on their emotions—use fear and terror","}
{"text": ""to propel them into action. Try reason and they will always find a way to","}
{"text": ""procrastinate.Brothers in Crime. This is a classic con-artist technique: You attract","}
{"text": ""your victims to some criminal scheme, creating a bond of blood and guilt","}
{"text": ""between you. They participate in your deception, commit a crime (or","}
{"text": ""think they do—see the story of Sam Geezil in Law 3), and are easily","}
{"text": ""manipulated. Serge Stavisky, the great French con artist of the 1920s, so","}
{"text": ""entangled the government in his scams and swindles that the state did not","}
{"text": ""dare to prosecute him, and “chose” to leave him alone. It is often wise to","}
{"text": ""implicate in your deceptions the very person who can do you the most","}
{"text": ""harm if you fail. Their involvement can be subtle—even a hint of their","}
{"text": ""involvement will narrow their options and buy their silence.","}
{"text": ""The Horns of a Dilemma. This idea was demonstrated by General","}
{"text": ""William Sherman’s infamous march through Georgia during the","}
{"text": ""American Civil War. Although the Confederates knew what direction","}
{"text": ""Sherman was heading in, they never knew if he would attack from the","}
{"text": ""left or the right, for he divided his army into two wings—and if the","}
{"text": ""rebels retreated from one wing they found themselves facing the other.","}
{"text": ""This is a classic trial lawyer’s technique: The lawyer leads the witnesses","}
{"text": ""to decide between two possible explanations of an event, both of which","}
{"text": ""poke a hole in their story. They have to answer the lawyer’s questions,","}
{"text": ""but whatever they say they hurt themselves. The key to this move is to","}
{"text": ""strike quickly: Deny the victim the time to think of an escape. As they","}
{"text": ""wriggle between the horns of the dilemma, they dig their own grave.","}
{"text": ""Understand: In your struggles with your rivals, it will often be necessary","}
{"text": ""for you to hurt them. And if you are clearly the agent of their","}
{"text": ""punishment, expect a counterattack—expect revenge. If, however, they","}
{"text": ""seem to themselves to be the agents of their own misfortune, they will","}
{"text": ""submit quietly. When Ivan left Moscow for his rural village, the citizens","}
{"text": ""asking him to return agreed to his demand for absolute power. Over the","}
{"text": ""years to come, they resented him less for the terror he unleashed on the","}
{"text": ""country, because, after all, they had granted him his power themselves.","}
{"text": ""This is why it is always good to allow your victims their choice of","}
{"text": ""poison, and to cloak your involvement in providing it to them as far as","}
{"text": ""possible.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Horns of the Bull. The bull backs you into the corner with its","}
{"text": ""horns—not a single horn, which you might be e able to escape, but a pair","}
{"text": ""of horns that trap you within their hold. Run right or run left—either way","}
{"text": ""you move into their piercing ends and are gored.Authority: For the wounds and every other evil that men inflict upon","}
{"text": ""themselves spontaneously, and of their own choice, are in the long run","}
{"text": ""less painful than those inflicted by others. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-","}
{"text": ""1527)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Controlling the options has one main purpose: to disguise yourself as the","}
{"text": ""agent of power and punishment. The tactic works best, then, for those","}
{"text": ""whose power is fragile, and who cannot operate too openly without","}
{"text": ""incurring suspicion, resentment, and anger. Even as a general rule,","}
{"text": ""however, it is rarely wise to be seen as exerting power directly and","}
{"text": ""forcefully, no matter how secure or strong you are. It is usually more","}
{"text": ""elegant and more effective to give people the illusion of choice.","}
{"text": ""On the other hand, by limiting other people’s options you sometimes","}
{"text": ""limit your own. There are situations in which it is to your advantage to","}
{"text": ""allow your rivals a large degree of freedom: As you watch them operate,","}
{"text": ""you give yourself rich opportunities to spy, gather information, and plan","}
{"text": ""your deceptions. The nineteenth-century banker James Rothschild liked","}
{"text": ""this method: He felt that if he tried to control his opponents’ movements,","}
{"text": ""he lost the chance to observe their strategy and plan a more effective","}
{"text": ""course. The more freedom he allowed them in the short term, the more","}
{"text": ""forcefully he could act against them in the long run.LAW 32","}
{"text": ""PLAY TO PEOPLE’S FANTASIES","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never","}
{"text": ""appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that","}
{"text": ""comes from disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people","}
{"text": ""who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the","}
{"text": ""desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the","}
{"text": ""fantasies of the masses.","}
{"text": ""THE FUNERAL OF THE LIONESS","}
{"text": ""The lion having suddenly lost his queen, every one hastened to show","}
{"text": ""allegiance to the monarch, by offering consolation. These compliments,","}
{"text": ""alas, served but to increase the widower’s affliction. Due notice was","}
{"text": ""given throughout the kingdom that the funeral would be performed at a","}
{"text": ""certain time and place; the lion’s officers were ordered to be in","}
{"text": ""attendance, to regulate the ceremony, and place the company according","}
{"text": ""to their respective rank. One may well judge no one absented himself.","}
{"text": ""The monarch gave way to his grief, and the whole cave, lions having no","}
{"text": ""other temples, resounded with his cries. After his example, all the","}
{"text": ""courtiers roared in their different tones. A court is the sort of place","}
{"text": ""where everyone is either sorrowful, gay, or indifferent to everything, just","}
{"text": ""as the reigning prince may think fit; or if any one is not actually, he at","}
{"text": ""least tries to appear so; each endeavors to mimic the master. It is truly","}
{"text": ""said that one mind animates a thousand bodies, clearly showing that","}
{"text": ""human beings are mere machines. But let us return to our subject. The","}
{"text": ""stag alone shed no tears. How could he, forsooth? The death of the","}
{"text": ""queen avenged him; she had formerly strangled his wife and son. A","}
{"text": ""courtier thought fit to inform the bereaved monarch, and even affirmed","}
{"text": ""that he had seen the stag laugh. The rage of a king, says Solomon, is","}
{"text": ""terrible, and especially that of a lion-king. “Pitiful forester!” heexclaimed, “darest thou laugh when all around are dissolved in tears?","}
{"text": ""We will not soil our royal claws with thy profane blood! Do thou, brave","}
{"text": ""wolf, avenge our queen, by immolating this traitor to her august manes.","}
{"text": ""”","}
{"text": ""Hereupon the stag replied: “Sire, the time for weeping is passed; grief is","}
{"text": ""here superfluous. Your revered spouse appeared to me but now, reposing","}
{"text": ""on a bed of roses; I instantly recognized her. ‘Friend,’ said she to me,","}
{"text": ""‘have done with this funereal pomp, cease these useless tears. I have","}
{"text": ""tasted a thousand delights in the Elysian fields, conversing with those","}
{"text": ""who are saints like myself. Let the king’s despair remain for some time","}
{"text": ""unchecked, it gratifies me.’” Scarcely had he spoken, when every one","}
{"text": ""shouted: “A miracle! a miracle!” The stag, instead of being punished,","}
{"text": ""received a handsome gift. Do but entertain a king with dreams, flatter","}
{"text": ""him, and tell him a few pleasant fantastic lies: whatever his indignation","}
{"text": ""against you may be, he will swallow the bait, and make you his dearest","}
{"text": ""friend.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""The city-state of Venice was prosperous for so long that its citizens felt","}
{"text": ""their small republic had destiny on its side. In the Middle Ages and High","}
{"text": ""Renaissance, its virtual monopoly on trade to the east made it the","}
{"text": ""wealthiest city in Europe. Under a beneficent republican government,","}
{"text": ""Venetians enjoyed liberties that few other Italians had ever known. Yet in","}
{"text": ""the sixteenth century their fortunes suddenly changed. The opening of","}
{"text": ""the New World transferred power to the Atlantic side of Europe—to the","}
{"text": ""Spanish and Portuguese, and later the Dutch and English. Venice could","}
{"text": ""not compete economically and its empire gradually dwindled. The final","}
{"text": ""blow was the devastating loss of a prized Mediterranean possession, the","}
{"text": ""island of Cyprus, captured from Venice by the Turks in 1570.","}
{"text": ""Now noble families went broke in Venice, and banks began to fold. A","}
{"text": ""kind of gloom and depression settled over the citizens. They had known","}
{"text": ""a glittering past—had either lived through it or heard stories about it","}
{"text": ""from their elders. The closeness of the glory years was humiliating. The","}
{"text": ""Venetians half believed that the goddess Fortune was only playing a jokeon them, and that the old days would soon return. For the time being,","}
{"text": ""though, what could they do?","}
{"text": ""In 1589 rumors began to swirl around Venice of the arrival not far","}
{"text": ""away of a mysterious man called “Il Bragadino,” a master of alchemy, a","}
{"text": ""man who had won incredible wealth through his ability, it was said, to","}
{"text": ""multiply gold through the use of a secret substance. The rumor spread","}
{"text": ""quickly because a few years earlier, a Venetian nobleman passing","}
{"text": ""through Poland had heard a learned man prophesy that Venice would","}
{"text": ""recover her past glory and power if she could find a man who understood","}
{"text": ""the alchemic art of manufacturing gold. And so, as word reached Venice","}
{"text": ""of the gold this Bragadino possessed—he clinked gold coins","}
{"text": ""continuously in his hands, and golden objects filled his palace—some","}
{"text": ""began to dream: Through him, their city would prosper again.","}
{"text": ""Members of Venice’s most important noble families accordingly went","}
{"text": ""together to Brescia, where Bragadino lived. They toured his palace and","}
{"text": ""watched in awe as he demonstrated his gold-making abilities, taking a","}
{"text": ""pinch of seemingly worthless minerals and transforming it into several","}
{"text": ""ounces of gold dust. The Venetian senate prepared to debate the idea of","}
{"text": ""extending an official invitation to Bragadino to stay in Venice at the","}
{"text": ""city’s expense, when word suddenly reached them that they were","}
{"text": ""competing with the Duke of Mantua for his services. They heard of a","}
{"text": ""magnificent party in Bragadino’s palace for the duke, featuring garments","}
{"text": ""with golden buttons, gold watches, gold plates, and on and on. Worried","}
{"text": ""they might lose Bragadino to Mantua, the senate voted almost","}
{"text": ""unanimously to invite him to Venice, promising him the mountain of","}
{"text": ""money he would need to continue living in his luxurious style—but only","}
{"text": ""if he came right away.","}
{"text": ""Late that year the mysterious Bragadino arrived in Venice. With his","}
{"text": ""piercing dark eyes under thick brows, and the two enormous black","}
{"text": ""mastiffs that accompanied him everywhere, he was forbidding and","}
{"text": ""impressive. He took up residence in a sumptuous palace on the island of","}
{"text": ""the Giudecca, with the republic funding his banquets, his expensive","}
{"text": ""clothes, and all his other whims. A kind of alchemy fever spread through","}
{"text": ""Venice. On street corners, hawkers would sell coal, distilling apparatus,","}
{"text": ""bellows, how-to books on the subject. Everyone began to practice","}
{"text": ""alchemy—everyone except Bragadino.","}
{"text": ""The alchemist seemed to be in no hurry to begin manufacturing the","}
{"text": ""gold that would save Venice from ruin. Strangely enough this only","}
{"text": ""increased his popularity and following; people thronged from all over","}
{"text": ""Europe, even Asia, to meet this remarkable man. Months went by, withgifts pouring in to Bragadino from all sides. Still he gave no sign of the","}
{"text": ""miracle that the Venetians confidently expected him to produce.","}
{"text": ""Eventually the citizens began to grow impatient, wondering if he would","}
{"text": ""wait forever. At first the senators warned them not to hurry him—he was","}
{"text": ""a capricious devil, who needed to be cajoled. Finally, though, the nobility","}
{"text": ""began to wonder too, and the senate came under pressure to show a","}
{"text": ""return on the city’s ballooning investment.","}
{"text": ""Bragadino had only scorn for the doubters, but he responded to them.","}
{"text": ""He had, he said, already deposited in the city’s mint the mysterious","}
{"text": ""substance with which he multiplied gold. He could use this substance up","}
{"text": ""all at once, and produce double the gold, but the more slowly the process","}
{"text": ""took place, the more it would yield. If left alone for seven years, sealed","}
{"text": ""in a casket, the substance would multiply the gold in the mint thirty times","}
{"text": ""over. Most of the senators agreed to wait to reap the gold mine","}
{"text": ""Bragadino promised. Others, however, were angry: seven more years of","}
{"text": ""this man living royally at the public trough! And many of the common","}
{"text": ""citizens of Venice echoed these sentiments. Finally the alchemist’s","}
{"text": ""enemies demanded he produce a proof of his skills: a substantial amount","}
{"text": ""of gold, and soon.","}
{"text": ""Lofty, apparently devoted to his art, Bragadino responded that Venice,","}
{"text": ""in its impatience, had betrayed him, and would therefore lose his","}
{"text": ""services. He left town, going first to nearby Padua, then, in 1590, to","}
{"text": ""Munich, at the invitation of the Duke of Bavaria, who, like the entire city","}
{"text": ""of Venice, had known great wealth but had fallen into bankruptcy","}
{"text": ""through his own profligacy, and hoped to regain his fortune through the","}
{"text": ""famous alchemist’s services. And so Bragadino resumed the comfortable","}
{"text": ""arrangement he had known in Venice, and the same pattern repeated","}
{"text": ""itself.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The young Cypriot Mamugna had lived in Venice for several years","}
{"text": ""before reincarnating himself as the alchemist Bragadino. He saw how","}
{"text": ""gloom had settled on the city, how everyone was hoping for a","}
{"text": ""redemption from some indefinite source. While other charlatans","}
{"text": ""mastered everyday cons based on sleight of hand, Mamugnà mastered","}
{"text": ""human nature. With Venice as his target from the start, he traveled","}
{"text": ""abroad, made some money through his alchemy scams, and then returned","}
{"text": ""to Italy, setting up shop in Brescia. There he created a reputation that heknew would spread to Venice. From a distance, in fact, his aura of power","}
{"text": ""would be all the more impressive.","}
{"text": ""At first Mamugna did not use vulgar demonstrations to convince","}
{"text": ""people of his alchemic skill. His sumptuous palace, his opulent garments,","}
{"text": ""the clink of gold in his hands, all these provided a superior argument to","}
{"text": ""anything rational. And these established the cycle that kept him going:","}
{"text": ""His obvious wealth confirmed his reputation as an alchemist, so that","}
{"text": ""patrons like the Duke of Mantua gave him money, which allowed him to","}
{"text": ""live in wealth, which reinforced his reputation as an alchemist, and so","}
{"text": ""on. Only once this reputation was established, and dukes and senators","}
{"text": ""were fighting over him, did he resort to the trifling necessity of a","}
{"text": ""demonstration. By then, however, people were easy to deceive: They","}
{"text": ""wanted to believe. The Venetian senators who watched him multiply","}
{"text": ""gold wanted to believe so badly that they failed to notice the glass pipe","}
{"text": ""up his sleeve, from which he slipped gold dust into his pinches of","}
{"text": ""minerals. Brilliant and capricious, he was the alchemist of their fantasies","}
{"text": ""—and once he had created an aura like this, no one noticed his simple","}
{"text": ""deceptions.","}
{"text": ""Such is the power of the fantasies that take root in us, especially in","}
{"text": ""times of scarcity and decline. People rarely believe that their problems","}
{"text": ""arise from their own misdeeds and stupidity. Someone or something out","}
{"text": ""there is to blame—the other, the world, the gods—and so salvation","}
{"text": ""comes from the outside as well. Had Bragadino arrived in Venice armed","}
{"text": ""with a detailed analysis of the reasons behind the city’s economic","}
{"text": ""decline, and of the hard-nosed steps that it could take to turn things","}
{"text": ""around, he would have been scorned. The reality was too ugly and the","}
{"text": ""solution too painful—mostly the kind of hard work that the citizens’","}
{"text": ""ancestors had mustered to create an empire. Fantasy, on the other hand—","}
{"text": ""in this case the romance of alchemy—was easy to understand and","}
{"text": ""infinitely more palatable.","}
{"text": ""To gain power, you must be a source of pleasure for those around you","}
{"text": ""—and pleasure comes from playing to people’s fantasies. Never promise","}
{"text": ""a gradual improvement through hard work; rather, promise the moon, the","}
{"text": ""great and sudden transformation, the pot of gold.","}
{"text": ""No man need despair of gaining converts to the most extravagant","}
{"text": ""hypothesis who has art enough to represent it in favorable colors.","}
{"text": ""David Hume, 1711-1776","}
{"text": ""If you want to tell lies that will be believed, don’t tell the truth that won’t.EMPEROR TOKUGAWA IEYASU OF JAPAN, SEVENTEENTH","}
{"text": ""CENTURY","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Fantasy can never operate alone. It requires the backdrop of the","}
{"text": ""humdrum and the mundane. It is the oppressiveness of reality that allows","}
{"text": ""fantasy to take root and bloom. In sixteenth-century Venice, the reality","}
{"text": ""was one of decline and loss of prestige. The corresponding fantasy","}
{"text": ""described a sudden recovery of past glories through the miracle of","}
{"text": ""alchemy. While the reality only got worse, the Venetians inhabited a","}
{"text": ""happy dream world in which their city restored its fabulous wealth and","}
{"text": ""power overnight, turning dust into gold.","}
{"text": ""The person who can spin a fantasy out of an oppressive reality has","}
{"text": ""access to untold power. As you search for the fantasy that will take hold","}
{"text": ""of the masses, then, keep your eye on the banal truths that weigh heavily","}
{"text": ""on us all. Never be distracted by people’s glamorous portraits of","}
{"text": ""themselves and their lives; search and dig for what really imprisons","}
{"text": ""them. Once you find that, you have the magical key that will put great","}
{"text": ""power in your hands.","}
{"text": ""Although times and people change, let us examine a few of the","}
{"text": ""oppressive realities that endure, and the opportunities for power they","}
{"text": ""provide:","}
{"text": ""The Reality: Change is slow and gradual. It requires hard work, a bit of","}
{"text": ""luck, a fair amount of self-sacrifice, and a lot of patience.","}
{"text": ""The Fantasy: A sudden transformation will bring a total change in one’s","}
{"text": ""fortunes, bypassing work, luck, self-sacrifice, and time in one fantastic","}
{"text": ""stroke.","}
{"text": ""This is of course the fantasy par excellence of the charlatans who","}
{"text": ""prowl among us to this day, and was the key to Bragadino’s success.","}
{"text": ""Promise a great and total change—from poor to rich, sickness to health,","}
{"text": ""misery to ecstasy—and you will have followers.","}
{"text": ""How did the great sixteenth-century German quack Leonhard","}
{"text": ""Thurneisser become the court physician for the Elector of Brandenburgwithout ever studying medicine? Instead of offering amputations,","}
{"text": ""leeches, and foul-tasting purgatives (the medicaments of the time),","}
{"text": ""Thurneisser offered sweet-tasting elixirs and promised instant recovery.","}
{"text": ""Fashionable courtiers especially wanted his solution of “drinkable gold,”","}
{"text": ""which cost a fortune. If some inexplicable illness assailed you,","}
{"text": ""Thurneisser would consult a horoscope and prescribe a talisman. Who","}
{"text": ""could resist such a fantasy—health and well-being without sacrifice and","}
{"text": ""pain!","}
{"text": ""The Reality: The social realm has hard-set codes and boundaries. We","}
{"text": ""understand these limits and know that we have to move within the same","}
{"text": ""familiar circles, day in and day out.","}
{"text": ""The Fantasy: We can enter a totally new world with different codes and","}
{"text": ""the promise of adventure.","}
{"text": ""In the early 1700s, all London was abuzz with talk of a mysterious","}
{"text": ""stranger, a young man named George Psalmanazar. He had arrived from","}
{"text": ""what was to most Englishmen a fantastical land: the island of Formosa","}
{"text": ""(now Taiwan), off the coast of China. Oxford University engaged","}
{"text": ""Psalmanazar to teach the island’s language; a few years later he","}
{"text": ""translated the Bible into Formosan, then wrote a book—an immediate","}
{"text": ""best-seller—on Formosa’s history and geography. English royalty wined","}
{"text": ""and dined the young man, and everywhere he went he entertained his","}
{"text": ""hosts with wondrous stories of his homeland, and its bizarre customs.","}
{"text": ""After Psalmanazar died, however, his will revealed that he was in fact","}
{"text": ""merely a Frenchman with a rich imagination. Everything he had said","}
{"text": ""about Formosa—its alphabet, its language, its literature, its entire culture","}
{"text": ""—he had invented. He had built on the English public’s ignorance of the","}
{"text": ""place to concoct an elaborate story that fulfilled their desire for the exotic","}
{"text": ""and strange. British culture’s rigid control of people’s dangerous dreams","}
{"text": ""gave him the perfect opportunity to exploit their fantasy.","}
{"text": ""The fantasy of the exotic, of course, can also skirt the sexual. It must","}
{"text": ""not come too close, though, for the physical hinders the power of","}
{"text": ""fantasy; it can be seen, grasped, and then tired of—the fate of most","}
{"text": ""courtesans. The bodily charms of the mistress only whet the master’s","}
{"text": ""appetite for more and different pleasures, a new beauty to adore. To","}
{"text": ""bring power, fantasy must remain to some degree unrealized, literally","}
{"text": ""unreal. The dancer Mata Hari, for instance, who rose to public","}
{"text": ""prominence in Paris before World War I, had quite ordinary looks. Herpower came from the fantasy she created of being strange and exotic,","}
{"text": ""unknowable and indecipherable. The taboo she worked with was less sex","}
{"text": ""itself than the breaking of social codes.","}
{"text": ""Another form of the fantasy of the exotic is simply the hope for relief","}
{"text": ""from boredom. Con artists love to play on the oppressiveness of the","}
{"text": ""working world, its lack of adventure. Their cons might involve, say, the","}
{"text": ""recovery of lost Spanish treasure, with the possible participation of an","}
{"text": ""alluring Mexican señorita and a connection to the president of a South","}
{"text": ""American country—anything offering release from the humdrum.","}
{"text": ""The Reality: Society is fragmented and full of conflict.","}
{"text": ""The Fantasy: People can come together in a mystical union of souls.","}
{"text": ""In the 1920s the con man Oscar Hartzell made a quick fortune out of","}
{"text": ""the age-old Sir Francis Drake swindle—basically promising any sucker","}
{"text": ""who happened to be surnamed “Drake” a substantial share of the long-","}
{"text": ""lost “Drake treasure,” to which Hartzell had access. Thousands across","}
{"text": ""the Midwest fell for the scam, which Hartzell cleverly turned into a","}
{"text": ""crusade against the government and everyone else who was trying to","}
{"text": ""keep the Drake fortune out of the rightful hands of its heirs. There","}
{"text": ""developed a mystical union of the oppressed Drakes, with emotional","}
{"text": ""rallies and meetings. Promise such a union and you can gain much","}
{"text": ""power, but it is a dangerous power that can easily turn against you. This","}
{"text": ""is a fantasy for demagogues to play on.","}
{"text": ""The Reality: Death. The dead cannot be brought back, the past cannot be","}
{"text": ""changed. The Fantasy: A sudden reversal of this intolerable fact.","}
{"text": ""This con has many variations, but requires great skill and subtlety.","}
{"text": ""The beauty and importance of the art of Vermeer have long been","}
{"text": ""recognized, but his paintings are small in number, and are extremely","}
{"text": ""rare. In the 1930s, though, Vermeers began to appear on the art market.","}
{"text": ""Experts were called on to verify them, and pronounced them real.","}
{"text": ""Possession of these new Vermeers would crown a collector’s career. It","}
{"text": ""was like the resurrection of Lazarus: In a strange way, Vermeer had been","}
{"text": ""brought back to life. The past had been changed.","}
{"text": ""Only later did it come out that the new Vermeers were the work of a","}
{"text": ""middle-aged Dutch forger named Han van Meegeren. And he had chosenVermeer for his scam because he understood fantasy: The paintings","}
{"text": ""would seem real precisely because the public, and the experts as well, so","}
{"text": ""desperately wanted to believe they were.","}
{"text": ""Remember: The key to fantasy is distance. The distant has allure and","}
{"text": ""promise, seems simple and problem free. What you are offering, then,","}
{"text": ""should be ungraspable. Never let it become oppressively familiar; it is","}
{"text": ""the mirage in the distance, withdrawing as the sucker approaches. Never","}
{"text": ""be too direct in describing the fantasy—keep it vague. As a forger of","}
{"text": ""fantasies, let your victim come close enough to see and be tempted, but","}
{"text": ""keep him far away enough that he stays dreaming and desiring.","}
{"text": ""Image: The","}
{"text": ""Moon. Unattainable,","}
{"text": ""always changing shape,","}
{"text": ""disappearing and reappear","}
{"text": ""ing. We look at it, imagine,","}
{"text": ""wonder, and pine—never fa","}
{"text": ""miliar, continuous provoker","}
{"text": ""of dreams. Do not offer","}
{"text": ""the obvious. Promise","}
{"text": ""the moon.","}
{"text": ""Authority: A lie is an allurement, a fabrication, that can be embellished","}
{"text": ""into a fantasy. It can be clothed in the raiments of a mystic conception.","}
{"text": ""Truth is cold, sober fact, not so comfortable to absorb. A lie is more","}
{"text": ""palatable. The most detested person in the world is the one who always","}
{"text": ""tells the truth, who never romances…. I found it far more interesting and","}
{"text": ""profitable to romance than to tell the truth. (Joseph Weil, a.k.a. “The","}
{"text": ""Yellow Kid,” 1875-1976)REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""If there is power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses, there is also","}
{"text": ""danger. Fantasy usually contains an element of play—the public half","}
{"text": ""realizes it is being duped, but it keeps the dream alive anyway, relishing","}
{"text": ""the entertainment and the temporary diversion from the everyday that","}
{"text": ""you are providing. So keep it light—never come too close to the place","}
{"text": ""where you are actually expected to produce results. That place may","}
{"text": ""prove extremely hazardous.","}
{"text": ""After Bragadino established himself in Munich, he found that the","}
{"text": ""sober-minded Bavarians had far less faith in alchemy than the","}
{"text": ""temperamental Venetians. Only the duke really believed in it, for he","}
{"text": ""needed it desperately to rescue him from the hopeless mess he was in. As","}
{"text": ""Bragadino played his familiar waiting game, accepting gifts and","}
{"text": ""expecting patience, the public grew angry. Money was being spent and","}
{"text": ""was yielding no results. In 1592 the Bavarians demanded justice, and","}
{"text": ""eventually Bragadino found himself swinging from the gallows. As","}
{"text": ""before, he had promised and had not delivered, but this time he had","}
{"text": ""misjudged the forbearance of his hosts, and his inability to fulfill their","}
{"text": ""fantasy proved fatal.","}
{"text": ""One last thing: Never make the mistake of imagining that fantasy is","}
{"text": ""always fantastical. It certainly contrasts with reality, but reality itself is","}
{"text": ""sometimes so theatrical and stylized that fantasy becomes a desire for","}
{"text": ""simple things. The image Abraham Lincoln created of himself, for","}
{"text": ""example, as a homespun country lawyer with a beard, made him the","}
{"text": ""common man’s president.","}
{"text": ""P. T. Barnum created a successful act with Tom Thumb, a dwarf who","}
{"text": ""dressed up as famous leaders of the past, such as Napoleon, and","}
{"text": ""lampooned them wickedly. The show delighted everyone, right up to","}
{"text": ""Queen Victoria, by appealing to the fantasy of the time: Enough of the","}
{"text": ""vainglorious rulers of history, the common man knows best. Tom Thumb","}
{"text": ""reversed the familiar pattern of fantasy in which the strange and","}
{"text": ""unknown becomes the ideal. But the act still obeyed the Law, for","}
{"text": ""underlying it was the fantasy that the simple man is without problems,","}
{"text": ""and is happier than the powerful and the rich.","}
{"text": ""Both Lincoln and Tom Thumb played the commoner but carefully","}
{"text": ""maintained their distance. Should you play with such a fantasy, you too","}
{"text": ""must carefully cultivate distance and not allow your “common” persona","}
{"text": ""to become too familiar or it will not project as fantasy.LAW 33","}
{"text": ""DISCOVER EACH MAN’S THUMBSCREW","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is","}
{"text": ""usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a","}
{"text": ""small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can","}
{"text": ""turn to your advantage.","}
{"text": ""FINDING THE THUMBSCREW: A Strategic","}
{"text": ""Plan of Action","}
{"text": ""We all have resistances. We live with a perpetual armor around ourselves","}
{"text": ""to defend against change and the intrusive actions of friends and rivals.","}
{"text": ""We would like nothing more than to be left to do things our own way.","}
{"text": ""Constantly butting up against these resistances will cost you a lot of","}
{"text": ""energy. One of the most important things to realize about people, though,","}
{"text": ""is that they all have a weakness, some part of their psychological armor","}
{"text": ""that will not resist, that will bend to your will if you find it and push on","}
{"text": ""it. Some people wear their weaknesses openly, others disguise them.","}
{"text": ""Those who disguise them are often the ones most effectively undone","}
{"text": ""through that one chink in their armor.","}
{"text": ""THE LION. THE CHAMOIS. AND THE FOX","}
{"text": ""A lion was chasing a chamois along a valley. He had all but caught it,","}
{"text": ""and with longing eyes was anticipating a certain and a satisfying repast.","}
{"text": ""It seemed as if it were utterly impossible for the victim to escape; for a","}
{"text": ""deep ravine appeared to bar the way for both the hunter and the hunted.","}
{"text": ""But the nimble chamois, gathering together all its strength, shot like anarrow from a bow across the chasm, and stood still on the rocky cliff on","}
{"text": ""the other side. Our lion pulled up short. But at that moment a friend of","}
{"text": ""his happened to be near at hand. That friend was the fox. “What!” said","}
{"text": ""he, “with your strength and agility, is it possible that you will yield to a","}
{"text": ""feeble chamois? You have only to will, and you will be able to work","}
{"text": ""wonders. Though the abyss be deep, yet, if you are only in earnest, I am","}
{"text": ""certain you will clear it. Surely you can confide in my disinterested","}
{"text": ""friendship. I would not expose your life to danger if I were not so well","}
{"text": ""aware of your strength and dexterity. ” The lion’s blood waxed hot, and","}
{"text": ""began to boil in his veins. He flung himself with all his might into space.","}
{"text": ""But he could not clear the chasm; so down he tumbled headlong, and","}
{"text": ""was killed by the fall. Then what did his dear friend do? He cautiously","}
{"text": ""made his way down to the bottom of the ravine. and there, out in the","}
{"text": ""open space and the free air, seeing that the lion wanted neither flattery","}
{"text": ""nor obedience now, he set to work to pay the last sad rites to his dead","}
{"text": ""friend, and in a month picked his bones clean.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, IVAN KRILOFF, 1768-1844","}
{"text": ""In planning your assault, keep these principles in mind:","}
{"text": ""Pay Attention to Gestures and Unconscious Signals. As Sigmund","}
{"text": ""Freud remarked, “No mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he","}
{"text": ""chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore.”","}
{"text": ""This is a critical concept in the search for a person’s weakness—it is","}
{"text": ""revealed by seemingly unimportant gestures and passing words.","}
{"text": ""The key is not only what you look for but where and how you look.","}
{"text": ""Everyday conversation supplies the richest mine of weaknesses, so train","}
{"text": ""yourself to listen. Start by always seeming interested—the appearance of","}
{"text": ""a sympathetic ear will spur anyone to talk. A clever trick, often used by","}
{"text": ""the nineteenth-century French statesman Talleyrand, is to appear to open","}
{"text": ""up to the other person, to share a secret with them. It can be completely","}
{"text": ""made up, or it can be real but of no great importance to you—the","}
{"text": ""important thing is that it should seem to come from the heart. This will","}
{"text": ""usually elicit a response that is not only as frank as yours but more","}
{"text": ""genuine—a response that reveals a weakness.","}
{"text": ""If you suspect that someone has a particular soft spot, probe for it","}
{"text": ""indirectly. If, for instance, you sense that a man has a need to be loved,","}
{"text": ""openly flatter him. If he laps up your compliments, no matter how","}
{"text": ""obvious, you are on the right track. Train your eye for details—howsomeone tips a waiter, what delights a person, the hidden messages in","}
{"text": ""clothes. Find people’s idols, the things they worship and will do anything","}
{"text": ""to get—perhaps you can be the supplier of their fantasies. Remember:","}
{"text": ""Since we all try to hide our weaknesses, there is little to be learned from","}
{"text": ""our conscious behavior. What oozes out in the little things outside our","}
{"text": ""conscious control is what you want to know.","}
{"text": ""Find the Helpless Child. Most weaknesses begin in childhood, before","}
{"text": ""the self builds up compensatory defenses. Perhaps the child was","}
{"text": ""pampered or indulged in a particular area, or perhaps a certain emotional","}
{"text": ""need went unfulfilled; as he or she grows older, the indulgence or the","}
{"text": ""deficiency may be buried but never disappears. Knowing about a","}
{"text": ""childhood need gives you a powerful key to a person’s weakness.","}
{"text": ""One sign of this weakness is that when you touch on it the person will","}
{"text": ""often act like a child. Be on the lookout, then, for any behavior that","}
{"text": ""should have been outgrown. If your victims or rivals went without","}
{"text": ""something important, such as parental support, when they were children,","}
{"text": ""supply it, or its facsimile. If they reveal a secret taste, a hidden","}
{"text": ""indulgence, indulge it. In either case they will be unable to resist you.","}
{"text": ""Look for Contrasts. An overt trait often conceals its opposite. People","}
{"text": ""who thump their chests are often big cowards; a prudish exterior may","}
{"text": ""hide a lascivious soul; the uptight are often screaming for adventure; the","}
{"text": ""shy are dying for attention. By probing beyond appearances, you will","}
{"text": ""often find people’s weaknesses in the opposite of the qualities they","}
{"text": ""reveal to you.","}
{"text": ""Find the Weak Link. Sometimes in your search for weaknesses it is not","}
{"text": ""what but who that matters. In today’s versions of the court, there is often","}
{"text": ""someone behind the scenes who has a great deal of power, a tremendous","}
{"text": ""influence over the person superficially on top. These behind-the-scenes","}
{"text": ""powerbrokers are the group’s weak link: Win their favor and you","}
{"text": ""indirectly influence the king. Alternatively, even in a group of people","}
{"text": ""acting with the appearance of one will—as when a group under attack","}
{"text": ""closes ranks to resist an outsider—there is always a weak link in the","}
{"text": ""chain. Find the one person who will bend under pressure.Fill the Void. The two main emotional voids to fill are insecurity and","}
{"text": ""unhappiness. The insecure are suckers for any kind of social validation;","}
{"text": ""as for the chronically unhappy, look for the roots of their unhappiness.","}
{"text": ""The insecure and the unhappy are the people least able to disguise their","}
{"text": ""weaknesses. The ability to fill their emotional voids is a great source of","}
{"text": ""power, and an indefinitely prolongable one.","}
{"text": ""Feed on Uncontrollable Emotions. The uncontrollable emotion can be","}
{"text": ""a paranoid fear—a fear disproportionate to the situation—or any base","}
{"text": ""motive such as lust, greed, vanity, or hatred. People in the grip of these","}
{"text": ""emotions often cannot control themselves, and you can do the controlling","}
{"text": ""for them.","}
{"text": ""IRING IZAR","}
{"text": ""[Hollywood super-agent] Irving Paul Lazar was once anxious to sell","}
{"text": ""[studio mogul] Jack L. Warner a play. “I had a long meeting with him","}
{"text": ""today,” Lazar explained [to screenwriter Garson Kanin], “but I didn’t","}
{"text": ""mention it, I didn’t even bring it up.” “Why not?” I asked. “Because I’m","}
{"text": ""going to wait until the weekend after next, when I go to Palm Springs.”","}
{"text": ""“I don’t understand.” “You don’t? I go to Palm Springs every weekend,","}
{"text": ""but Warner isn’t going this weekend. He’s got a preview or something. So","}
{"text": ""he’s not coming down till the next weekend, so that’s when I’m going to","}
{"text": ""bring it up. ” “Irving, I’m more and more confused.” “Look,” said","}
{"text": ""Irving impatiently, ”I know what I’m doing. I know how to sell Warner.","}
{"text": ""This is a type of material that he’s uneasy with, so I have to hit him with","}
{"text": ""it hard and suddenly to get an okay.” ”But why Palm Springs?”","}
{"text": ""”Because in Palm Springs, every day he goes to the baths at The Spa.","}
{"text": ""And that’s where I’m going to be when he’s there. Now there’s a thing","}
{"text": ""about Jack: He’s eighty and he’s very vain, and he doesn’t like people to","}
{"text": ""see him naked. So when I walk up to him naked at The Spa—I mean he’s","}
{"text": ""naked—well, I’m naked too, but I don’t care who sees me. He does. And","}
{"text": ""I walk up to him naked, and I start to talk to him about this thing, he’ll","}
{"text": ""be very embarrassed.And he’ll want to get away from me, and the easiest","}
{"text": ""way is to say ‘Yes,’ because he knows if he says ‘No,’ then I’m going to","}
{"text": ""stick with him, and stay right on it, and not give up. So to get rid of me,","}
{"text": ""he’ll probably say, ‘Yes.’” Two weeks later, I read of the acquisition of","}
{"text": ""this particular property by Warner Brothers. I phoned Lazar and asked","}
{"text": ""how it had been accomplished. ”How do you think?” he asked. ”In the","}
{"text": ""buff, that’s how… just the way I told you it was going to work.”HOLLYWOOD, GARSON KANIN, 1974","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Observance I","}
{"text": ""In 1615 the thirty-year-old bishop of Luçon, later known as Cardinal","}
{"text": ""Richelieu, gave a speech before representatives of the three estates of","}
{"text": ""France—clergy, nobility, and commoners. Richelieu had been chosen to","}
{"text": ""serve as the mouthpiece for the clergy—an immense responsibility for a","}
{"text": ""man still young and not particularly well known. On all of the important","}
{"text": ""issues of the day, the speech followed the Church line. But near the end","}
{"text": ""of it Richelieu did something that had nothing to do with the Church and","}
{"text": ""everything to do with his career. He turned to the throne of the fifteen-","}
{"text": ""year-old King Louis XIII, and to the Queen Mother Marie de’ Médicis,","}
{"text": ""who sat beside Louis, as the regent ruling France until her son reached","}
{"text": ""his majority. Everyone expected Richelieu to say the usual kind words to","}
{"text": ""the young king. Instead, however, he looked directly at and only at the","}
{"text": ""queen mother. Indeed his speech ended in long and fulsome praise of her,","}
{"text": ""praise so glowing that it actually offended some in the Church. But the","}
{"text": ""smile on the queen’s face as she lapped up Richelieu’s compliments was","}
{"text": ""unforgettable.","}
{"text": ""A year later the queen mother appointed Richelieu secretary of state","}
{"text": ""for foreign affairs, an incredible coup for the young bishop. He had now","}
{"text": ""entered the inner circle of power, and he studied the workings of the","}
{"text": ""court as if it were the machinery of a watch. An Italian, Concino","}
{"text": ""Concini, was the queen mother’s favorite, or rather her lover, a role that","}
{"text": ""made him perhaps the most powerful man in France. Concini was vain","}
{"text": ""and foppish, and Richelieu played him perfectly—attending to him as if","}
{"text": ""he were the king. Within months Richelieu had become one of Concini’s","}
{"text": ""favorites. But something happened in 1617 that turned everything upside","}
{"text": ""down: the young king, who up until then had shown every sign of being","}
{"text": ""an idiot, had Concini murdered and his most important associates","}
{"text": ""imprisoned. In so doing Louis took command of the country with one","}
{"text": ""blow, sweeping the queen mother aside.","}
{"text": ""Had Richelieu played it wrong? He had been close to both Concini","}
{"text": ""and Marie de Médicis, whose advisers and ministers were now all out offavor, some even arrested. The queen mother herself was shut up in the","}
{"text": ""Louvre, a virtual prisoner. Richelieu wasted no time. If everyone was","}
{"text": ""deserting Marie de Médicis, he would stand by her. He knew Louis could","}
{"text": ""not get rid of her, for the king was still very young, and had in any case","}
{"text": ""always been inordinately attached to her. As Marie’s only remaining","}
{"text": ""powerful friend, Richelieu filled the valuable function of liaison between","}
{"text": ""the king and his mother. In return he received her protection, and was","}
{"text": ""able to survive the palace coup, even to thrive. Over the next few years","}
{"text": ""the queen mother grew still more dependent on him, and in 1622 she","}
{"text": ""repaid him for his loyalty: Through the intercession of her allies in","}
{"text": ""Rome, Richelieu was elevated to the powerful rank of cardinal.","}
{"text": ""By 1623 King Louis was in trouble. He had no one he could trust to","}
{"text": ""advise him, and although he was now a young man instead of a boy, he","}
{"text": ""remained childish in spirit, and affairs of state came hard to him. Now","}
{"text": ""that he had taken the throne, Marie was no longer the regent and","}
{"text": ""theoretically had no power, but she still had her son’s ear, and she kept","}
{"text": ""telling him that Richelieu was his only possible savior. At first Louis","}
{"text": ""would have none of it—he hated the cardinal with a passion, only","}
{"text": ""tolerating him out of love for Marie. In the end, however, isolated in the","}
{"text": ""court and crippled by his own indecisiveness, he yielded to his mother","}
{"text": ""and made Richelieu first his chief councilor and later prime minister.","}
{"text": ""Now Richelieu no longer needed Marie de Médicis. He stopped","}
{"text": ""visiting and courting her, stopped listening to her opinions, even argued","}
{"text": ""with her and opposed her wishes. Instead he concentrated on the king,","}
{"text": ""making himself indispensable to his new master. All the previous","}
{"text": ""premiers, understanding the king’s childishness, had tried to keep him","}
{"text": ""out of trouble; the shrewd Richelieu played him differently, deliberately","}
{"text": ""pushing him into one ambitious project after another, such as a crusade","}
{"text": ""against the Huguenots and finally an extended war with Spain. The","}
{"text": ""immensity of these projects only made the king more dependent on his","}
{"text": ""powerful premier, the only man able to keep order in the realm. And so,","}
{"text": ""for the next eighteen years, Richelieu, exploiting the king’s weaknesses,","}
{"text": ""governed and molded France according to his own vision, unifying the","}
{"text": ""country and making it a strong European power for centuries to come.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Richelieu saw everything as a military campaign, and no strategic move","}
{"text": ""was more important to him than discovering his enemy’s weaknesses andapplying pressure to them. As early as his speech in 1615, he was","}
{"text": ""looking for the weak link in the chain of power, and he saw that it was","}
{"text": ""the queen mother. Not that Marie was obviously weak—she governed","}
{"text": ""both France and her son; but Richelieu saw that she was really an","}
{"text": ""insecure woman who needed constant masculine attention. He showered","}
{"text": ""her with affection and respect, even toadying up to her favorite, Concini.","}
{"text": ""He knew the day would come when the king would take over, but he also","}
{"text": ""recognized that Louis loved his mother dearly and would always remain","}
{"text": ""a child in relation to her. The way to control Louis, then, was not by","}
{"text": ""gaining his favor, which could change overnight, but by gaining sway","}
{"text": ""over his mother, for whom his affection would never change.","}
{"text": ""Once Richelieu had the position he desired—prime minister—he","}
{"text": ""discarded the queen mother, moving on to the next weak link in the","}
{"text": ""chain: the king’s own character. There was a part of him that would","}
{"text": ""always be a helpless child in need of higher authority. It was on the","}
{"text": ""foundation of the king’s weakness that Richelieu established his own","}
{"text": ""power and fame.","}
{"text": ""Remember: When entering the court, find the weak link. The person in","}
{"text": ""control is often not the king or queen; it is someone behind the scenes—","}
{"text": ""the favorite, the husband or wife, even the court fool. This person may","}
{"text": ""have more weaknesses than the king himself, because his power depends","}
{"text": ""on all kinds of capricious factors outside his control.","}
{"text": ""Finally, when dealing with helpless children who cannot make","}
{"text": ""decisions, play on their weakness and push them into bold ventures.","}
{"text": ""They will have to depend on you even more, for you will become the","}
{"text": ""adult figure whom they rely on to get them out of scrapes and to safety.","}
{"text": ""THE THINGS ON","}
{"text": ""As time went on I came to look for the little weaknesses…. It’s the little","}
{"text": ""things that count. On one occasion, I worked on the president of a large","}
{"text": ""bank in Omaha. The [phony] deal involved the purchase of the street","}
{"text": ""railway system of Omaha, including a bridge across the Mississippi","}
{"text": ""River. My principals were supposedly German and I had to negotiate","}
{"text": ""with Berlin. While awaiting word from them I introduced my fake","}
{"text": ""mining-stock proposition. Since this man was rich, I decided to play for","}
{"text": ""high stakes…. Meanwhile, I played golf with the banker, visited his","}
{"text": ""home, and went to the theater with him and his wife. Though he showed","}
{"text": ""some interest in my stock deal, he still wasn’t convinced. I had built it up","}
{"text": ""to the point that an investment of $1,250,000 was required. Of this I wasto put up $900,000, the banker $350,000. But still he hesitated. One","}
{"text": ""evening when I was at his home for dinner I wore some perfume-Coty’s","}
{"text": ""“April Violets.” It was not then considered effeminate for a man to use a","}
{"text": ""dash of perfume. The banker’s wife thought it very lovely. “Where did","}
{"text": ""you get it?” “It is a rare blend,” I told her, “especially made for me by a","}
{"text": ""French perfumer. Do you like it?” ”l love it,” she replied. The following","}
{"text": ""day I went through my effects and found two empty bottles. Both had","}
{"text": ""come from France, but were empty. I went to a downtown department","}
{"text": ""store and purchased ten ounces of Coty’s ”April Violets.” I poured this","}
{"text": ""into the two French bottles, carefully sealed them, wrapped them in","}
{"text": ""tissue paper. That evening I dropped by the banker’s home and presented","}
{"text": ""the two bottles to his wife. ”They were especially put up for me in","}
{"text": ""Cologne,” I told her. The next day the banker called at my hotel. His wife","}
{"text": ""was enraptured by the perfume. She considered it the most wonderful,","}
{"text": ""the most exotic fragrance she had ever used. I did not tell the banker he","}
{"text": ""could get all he wanted right in Omaha. ”She said,” the banker added,","}
{"text": ""”that I was fortunate to be associated with a man like you.” From then","}
{"text": ""on his attitude was changed, for he had complete faith in his wife’s","}
{"text": ""judgment …. He parted with $350,000. This, incidentally was my biggest","}
{"text": ""[con] score.","}
{"text": ""“YELLOW KID” WEIL, 1875-1976","}
{"text": ""Observance II","}
{"text": ""In December of 1925, guests at the swankiest hotel in Palm Beach,","}
{"text": ""Florida, watched with interest as a mysterious man arrived in a Rolls-","}
{"text": ""Royce driven by a Japanese chauffeur. Over the next few days they","}
{"text": ""studied this handsome man, who walked with an elegant cane, received","}
{"text": ""telegrams at all hours, and only engaged in the briefest of conversations.","}
{"text": ""He was a count, they heard, Count Victor Lustig, and he came from one","}
{"text": ""of the wealthiest families in Europe—but this was all they could find out.","}
{"text": ""Imagine their amazement, then, when Lustig one day walked up to one","}
{"text": ""of the least distinguished guests in the hotel, a Mr. Herman Loller, head","}
{"text": ""of an engineering company, and entered into conversation with him.","}
{"text": ""Loller had made his fortune only recently, and forging social connections","}
{"text": ""was very important to him. He felt honored and somewhat intimidated by","}
{"text": ""this sophisticated man, who spoke perfect English with a hint of a","}
{"text": ""foreign accent. Over the days to come, the two became friends.Loller of course did most of the talking, and one night he confessed","}
{"text": ""that his business was doing poorly, with more troubles ahead. In return,","}
{"text": ""Lustig confided in his new friend that he too had serious money","}
{"text": ""problems—Communists had seized his family estate and all its assets.","}
{"text": ""He was too old to learn a trade and go to work. Luckily he had found an","}
{"text": ""answer—“ a money-making machine.” “You counterfeit?” Loller","}
{"text": ""whispered in half-shock. No, Lustig replied, explaining that through a","}
{"text": ""secret chemical process, his machine could duplicate any paper currency","}
{"text": ""with complete accuracy. Put in a dollar bill and six hours later you had","}
{"text": ""two, both perfect. He proceeded to explain how the machine had been","}
{"text": ""smuggled out of Europe, how the Germans had developed it to","}
{"text": ""undermine the British, how it had supported the count for several years,","}
{"text": ""and on and on. When Loller insisted on a demonstration, the two men","}
{"text": ""went to Lustig’s room, where the count produced a magnificent","}
{"text": ""mahogany box fitted with slots, cranks, and dials. Loller watched as","}
{"text": ""Lustig inserted a dollar bill in the box. Sure enough, early the following","}
{"text": ""morning Lustig pulled out two bills, still wet from the chemicals.","}
{"text": ""Lustig gave the notes to Loller, who immediately took the bills to a","}
{"text": ""local bank—which accepted them as genuine. Now the businessman","}
{"text": ""feverishly begged Lustig to sell him a machine. The count explained that","}
{"text": ""there was only one in existence, so Loller made him a high offer:","}
{"text": ""$25,000, then a considerable amount (more than $400,000 in today’s","}
{"text": ""terms). Even so, Lustig seemed reluctant: He did not feel right about","}
{"text": ""making his friend pay so much. Yet finally he agreed to the sale. After","}
{"text": ""all, he said, “I suppose it matters little what you pay me. You are, after","}
{"text": ""all, going to recover the amount within a few days by duplicating your","}
{"text": ""own bills.” Making Loller swear never to reveal the machine’s existence","}
{"text": ""to other people, Lustig accepted the money. Later the same day he","}
{"text": ""checked out of the hotel. A year later, after many futile attempts at","}
{"text": ""duplicating bills, Loller finally went to the police with the story of how","}
{"text": ""Count Lustig had conned him with a pair of dollar bills, some chemicals,","}
{"text": ""and a worthless mahogany box. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Count Lustig had an eagle eye for other people’s weaknesses. He saw","}
{"text": ""them in the smallest gesture. Loller, for instance, overtipped waiters,","}
{"text": ""seemed nervous in conversation with the concierge, talked loudly about","}
{"text": ""his business. His weakness, Lustig knew, was his need for social","}
{"text": ""validation and for the respect that he thought his wealth had earned him.","}
{"text": ""He was also chronically insecure. Lustig had come to the hotel to hunt","}
{"text": ""for prey. In Loller he homed in on the perfect sucker—a man hungering","}
{"text": ""for someone to fill his psychic voids.In offering Loller his friendship, then, Lustig knew he was offering","}
{"text": ""him the immediate respect of the other guests. As a count, Lustig was","}
{"text": ""also offering the newly rich businessman access to the glittering world of","}
{"text": ""old wealth. And for the coup de grace, he apparently owned a machine","}
{"text": ""that would rescue Loller from his worries. It would even put him on a","}
{"text": ""par with Lustig himself, who had also used the machine to maintain his","}
{"text": ""status. No wonder Loller took the bait.","}
{"text": ""Remember: When searching for suckers, always look for the","}
{"text": ""dissatisfied, the unhappy, the insecure. Such people are riddled with","}
{"text": ""weaknesses and have needs that you can fill. Their neediness is the","}
{"text": ""groove in which you place your thumbnail and turn them at will.","}
{"text": ""Observance III","}
{"text": ""In the year 1559, the French king Henri II died in a jousting exhibition.","}
{"text": ""His son assumed the throne, becoming Francis II, but in the background","}
{"text": ""stood Henri’s wife and queen, Catherine de’ Médicis, a woman who had","}
{"text": ""long ago proven her skill in affairs of state. When Francis died the next","}
{"text": ""year, Catherine took control of the country as regent to her next son in","}
{"text": ""line of succession, the future Charles IX, a mere ten years old at the time.","}
{"text": ""The main threats to the queen’s power were Antoine de Bourbon, king","}
{"text": ""of Navarre, and his brother, Louis, the powerful prince of Condé, both of","}
{"text": ""whom could claim the right to serve as regent instead of Catherine, who,","}
{"text": ""after all, was Italian—a foreigner. Catherine quickly appointed Antoine","}
{"text": ""lieutenant general of the kingdom, a title that seemed to satisfy his","}
{"text": ""ambition. It also meant that he had to remain in court, where Catherine","}
{"text": ""could keep an eye on him. Her next move proved smarter still: Antoine","}
{"text": ""had a notorious weakness for young women, so she assigned one of her","}
{"text": ""most attractive maids of honor, Louise de Rouet, to seduce him. Now","}
{"text": ""Antoine’s intimate, Louise reported all of his actions to Catherine. The","}
{"text": ""move worked so brilliantly that Catherine assigned another of her maids","}
{"text": ""to Prince Condé, and thus was formed her escadron volant—“flying","}
{"text": ""squadron”—of young girls whom she used to keep the unsuspecting","}
{"text": ""males in the court under her control.","}
{"text": ""In 1572 Catherine married off her daughter, Marguerite de Valois, to","}
{"text": ""Henri, the son of Antoine and the new king of Navarre. To put a family","}
{"text": ""that had always struggled against her so close to power was a dangerous","}
{"text": ""move, so to make sure of Henri’s loyalty she unleashed on him the","}
{"text": ""loveliest member of her “flying squadron,” Charlotte de BeauneSemblançay, baroness of Sauves. Catherine did this even though Henri","}
{"text": ""was married to her daughter. Within weeks, Marguerite de Valois wrote","}
{"text": ""in her memoirs, “Mme. de Sauves so completely ensnared my husband","}
{"text": ""that we no longer slept together, nor even conversed.”","}
{"text": ""And while I am on the subject, there is another fact that deserves","}
{"text": ""mention. It is this. A man shows his character just in the way in which he","}
{"text": ""deals with trifles-for then he is off his guard. This will often afford a","}
{"text": ""good opportunity of observing the boundless egoism of a man’s nature,","}
{"text": ""and his total lack of consideration for others; and if these defects show","}
{"text": ""themselves in small things, or merely in his general demeanour, you will","}
{"text": ""find that they also underlie his action in matters of importance, although","}
{"text": ""he may disguise the fact. This is an opportunity which should not be","}
{"text": ""missed. If in the little affairs of every day—the trifles of life…—a man is","}
{"text": ""inconsiderate and seeks only what is advantageous or convenient to","}
{"text": ""himself, to the prejudice of others’ rights; if he appropriates to himself","}
{"text": ""that which belongs to all alike, you may be sure there is no justice in his","}
{"text": ""heart, and that he would be a scoundrel on a wholesale scale, only that","}
{"text": ""law and compulsion bind his hands.","}
{"text": ""Arthur SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""The baroness was an excellent spy and helped to keep Henri under","}
{"text": ""Catherine’s thumb. When the queen’s youngest son, the Duke of","}
{"text": ""Alençon, grew so close to Henri that she feared the two might plot","}
{"text": ""against her, she assigned the baroness to him as well. This most","}
{"text": ""infamous member of the flying squadron quickly seduced Alençon, and","}
{"text": ""soon the two young men fought over her and their friendship quickly","}
{"text": ""ended, along with any danger of a conspiracy.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Catherine had seen very early on the sway that a mistress has over a man","}
{"text": ""of power: Her own husband, Henri II, had kept one of the most infamous","}
{"text": ""mistresses of them all, Diane de Poitiers. What Catherine learned from","}
{"text": ""the experience was that a man like her husband wanted to feel he could","}
{"text": ""win a woman over without having to rely on his status, which he had","}
{"text": ""inherited rather than earned. And such a need contained a huge blind","}
{"text": ""spot: As long as the woman began the affair by acting as if she had been","}
{"text": ""conquered, the man would fail to notice that as time passed the mistress","}
{"text": ""had come to hold power over him, as Diane de Poitiers did over Henri. Itwas Catherine’s strategy to turn this weakness to her advantage, using it","}
{"text": ""as a way to conquer and control men. All she had to do was unleash the","}
{"text": ""loveliest women in the court, her “flying squadron,” on men whom she","}
{"text": ""knew shared her husband’s vulnerability.","}
{"text": ""Remember: Always look for passions and obsessions that cannot be","}
{"text": ""controlled. The stronger the passion, the more vulnerable the person.","}
{"text": ""This may seem surprising, for passionate people look strong. In fact,","}
{"text": ""however, they are simply filling the stage with their theatricality,","}
{"text": ""distracting people from how weak and helpless they really are. A man’s","}
{"text": ""need to conquer women actually reveals a tremendous helplessness that","}
{"text": ""has made suckers out of them for thousands of years. Look at the part of","}
{"text": ""a person that is most visible—their greed, their lust, their intense fear.","}
{"text": ""These are the emotions they cannot conceal, and over which they have","}
{"text": ""the least control. And what people cannot control, you can control for","}
{"text": ""them.","}
{"text": ""THE BATTLE AT PHARSALIA","}
{"text": ""When the two armies [Julius Caesar’s and Pompey‘s] were come into","}
{"text": ""Pharsalia, and both encamped there, Pompey’s thoughts ran the same","}
{"text": ""way as they had done before, against fighting…. But those who were","}
{"text": ""about him were greatly confident of success … as if they had already","}
{"text": ""conquered…. The cavalry especially were obstinate for fighting, being","}
{"text": ""splendidly armed and bravely mounted, and valuing themselves upon the","}
{"text": ""fine horses they kept, and upon their own handsome persons; as also","}
{"text": ""upon the advantage of their numbers, for they were five thousand against","}
{"text": ""one thousand of Caesar’s. Nor were the numbers of the infantry less","}
{"text": ""disproportionate, there being forty-five thousand of Pompey’s against","}
{"text": ""twenty-two thousand of the enemy. [The next day] whilst the infantry was","}
{"text": ""thus sharply engaged in the main battle, on the flank Pompey’s horse","}
{"text": ""rode up confidently, and opened [his cavalry’s] ranks very wide, that","}
{"text": ""they might surround the right wing of Caesar. But before they engaged,","}
{"text": ""Caesar’s cohorts rushed out and attacked them, and did not dart their","}
{"text": ""javelins at a distance, nor strike at the thighs and legs, as they usually","}
{"text": ""did in close battle, but aimed at their faces. For thus Caesar had","}
{"text": ""instructed them, in hopes that young gentlemen, who had nol known","}
{"text": ""much of battles and wounds, but came wearing their hair long, in the","}
{"text": ""flower of their age and height of their beauty, would be more","}
{"text": ""apprehensive of such blows, and not care for hazarding both a danger at","}
{"text": ""present and a blemish for the future.And so it proved, for they were so far from bearing the stroke of the","}
{"text": ""javelins, that they could not stand the sight of them, but turned about,","}
{"text": ""and covered their faces to secure them. Once in disorder, presently they","}
{"text": ""turned about to fly; and so most shamefully ruined all. For those who","}
{"text": ""had beat them back at once outflanked the infantry, and falling on their","}
{"text": ""rear, cut them to pieces. Pompey, who commanded the other wing of the","}
{"text": ""army, when he saw his cavalry thus broken and flying, was no longer","}
{"text": ""himself, nor did he now remember that he was Pompey the Great, but,","}
{"text": ""like one whom some god had deprived of his senses, retired to his tent","}
{"text": ""without speaking a word, and there sat to expect the event, till the whole","}
{"text": ""army was routed.","}
{"text": ""THE LIFE OF JULIUS CAESAR. PLUIARCH, c. A.D. 46-120","}
{"text": ""Observance IV","}
{"text": ""Arabella Huntington, wife of the great late-nineteenth-century railroad","}
{"text": ""magnate Collis P. Huntington, came from humble origins and always","}
{"text": ""struggled for social recognition among her wealthy peers. When she","}
{"text": ""gave a party in her San Francisco mansion, few of the social elite would","}
{"text": ""show up; most of them took her for a gold digger, not their kind. Because","}
{"text": ""of her husband’s fabulous wealth, art dealers courted her, but with such","}
{"text": ""condescension they obviously saw her as an upstart. Only one man of","}
{"text": ""consequence treated her differently: the dealer Joseph Duveen.","}
{"text": ""For the first few years of Duveen’s relationship with Arabella, he","}
{"text": ""made no effort to sell expensive art to her. Instead he accompanied her to","}
{"text": ""fine stores, chatted endlessly about queens and princesses he knew, on","}
{"text": ""and on. At last, she thought, a man who treated her as an equal, even a","}
{"text": ""superior, in high society. Meanwhile, if Duveen did not try to sell art to","}
{"text": ""her, he did subtly educate her in his aesthetic ideas—namely, that the","}
{"text": ""best art was the most expensive art. And after Arabella had soaked up his","}
{"text": ""way of seeing things, Duveen would act as if she always had exquisite","}
{"text": ""taste, even though before she met him her aesthetics had been abysmal.","}
{"text": ""When Collis Huntington died, in 1900, Arabella came into a fortune.","}
{"text": ""She suddenly started to buy expensive paintings, by Rembrandt and","}
{"text": ""Velázquez, for example—and only from Duveen. Years later Duveen","}
{"text": ""sold her Gainsborough’s Blue Boy for the highest price ever paid for a","}
{"text": ""work of art at the time, an astounding purchase for a family that","}
{"text": ""previously had shown little interest in collecting.Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Joseph Duveen instantly understood Arabella Huntington and what made","}
{"text": ""her tick: She wanted to feel important, at home in society. Intensely","}
{"text": ""insecure about her lower-class background, she needed confirmation of","}
{"text": ""her new social status. Duveen waited. Instead of rushing into trying to","}
{"text": ""persuade her to collect art, he subtly went to work on her weaknesses. He","}
{"text": ""made her feel that she deserved his attention not because she was the","}
{"text": ""wife of one of the wealthiest men in the world but because of her own","}
{"text": ""special character—and this completely melted her. Duveen never","}
{"text": ""condescended to Arabella; rather than lecturing to her, he instilled his","}
{"text": ""ideas in her indirectly. The result was one of his best and most devoted","}
{"text": ""clients, and also the sale of The Blue Boy.","}
{"text": ""People’s need for validation and recognition, their need to feel","}
{"text": ""important, is the best kind of weakness to exploit. First, it is almost","}
{"text": ""universal; second, exploiting it is so very easy. All you have to do is find","}
{"text": ""ways to make people feel better about their taste, their social standing,","}
{"text": ""their intelligence. Once the fish are hooked, you can reel them in again","}
{"text": ""and again, for years—you are filling a positive role, giving them what","}
{"text": ""they cannot get on their own. They may never suspect that you are","}
{"text": ""turning them like a thumbscrew, and if they do they may not care,","}
{"text": ""because you are making them feel better about themselves, and that is","}
{"text": ""worth any price.","}
{"text": ""Observance V","}
{"text": ""In 1862 King William of Prussia named Otto von Bismarck premier and","}
{"text": ""minister for foreign affairs. Bismarck was known for his boldness, his","}
{"text": ""ambition—and his interest in strengthening the military. Since William","}
{"text": ""was surrounded by liberals in his government and cabinet, politicians","}
{"text": ""who already wanted to limit his powers, it was quite dangerous for him","}
{"text": ""to put Bismarck in this sensitive position. His wife, Queen Augusta, had","}
{"text": ""tried to dissuade him, but although she usually got her way with him, this","}
{"text": ""time William stuck to his guns.","}
{"text": ""Only a week after becoming prime minister, Bismarck made an","}
{"text": ""impromptu speech to a few dozen ministers to convince them of the need","}
{"text": ""to enlarge the army. He ended by saying, “The great questions of the","}
{"text": ""time will be decided, not by speeches and resolutions of majorities, but","}
{"text": ""by iron and blood.” His speech was immediately disseminatedthroughout Germany. The queen screamed at her husband that Bismarck","}
{"text": ""was a barbaric militarist who was out to usurp control of Prussia, and","}
{"text": ""that William had to fire him. The liberals in the government agreed with","}
{"text": ""her. The outcry was so vehement that William began to be afraid he","}
{"text": ""would end up on a scaffold, like Louis XVI of France, if he kept","}
{"text": ""Bismarck on as prime minister.","}
{"text": ""Bismarck knew he had to get to the king before it was too late. He also","}
{"text": ""knew he had blundered, and should have tempered his fiery words. Yet","}
{"text": ""as he contemplated his strategy, he decided not to apologize but to do the","}
{"text": ""exact opposite. Bismarck knew the king well.","}
{"text": ""When the two men met, William, predictably, had been worked into a","}
{"text": ""tizzy by the queen. He reiterated his fear of being guillotined. But","}
{"text": ""Bismarck only replied, “Yes, then we shall be dead! We must die sooner","}
{"text": ""or later, and could there be a more respectable way of dying? I should die","}
{"text": ""fighting for the cause of my king and master. Your Majesty would die","}
{"text": ""sealing with your own blood your royal rights granted by God’s grace.","}
{"text": ""Whether upon the scaffold or upon the battlefield makes no difference to","}
{"text": ""the glorious staking of body and life on behalf of rights granted by God’s","}
{"text": ""grace!” On he went, appealing to William’s sense of honor and the","}
{"text": ""majesty of his position as head of the army. How could the king allow","}
{"text": ""people to push him around? Wasn’t the honor of Germany more","}
{"text": ""important than quibbling over words? Not only did the prime minister","}
{"text": ""convince the king to stand up to both his wife and his parliament, he","}
{"text": ""persuaded him to build up the army—Bismarck’s goal all along.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Bismarck knew the king felt bullied by those around him. He knew that","}
{"text": ""William had a military background and a deep sense of honor, and that","}
{"text": ""he felt ashamed at his cravenness before his wife and his government.","}
{"text": ""William secretly yearned to be a great and mighty king, but he dared not","}
{"text": ""express this ambition because he was afraid of ending up like Louis XVI.","}
{"text": ""Where a show of courage often conceals a man’s timidity, William’s","}
{"text": ""timidity concealed his need to show courage and thump his chest.","}
{"text": ""Bismarck sensed the longing for glory beneath William’s pacifist","}
{"text": ""front, so he played to the king’s insecurity about his manhood, finally","}
{"text": ""pushing him into three wars and the creation of a German empire.","}
{"text": ""Timidity is a potent weakness to exploit. Timid souls often yearn to be","}
{"text": ""their opposite—to be Napoleons. Yet they lack the inner strength. You, inessence, can become their Napoleon, pushing them into bold actions that","}
{"text": ""serve your needs while also making them dependent on you. Remember:","}
{"text": ""Look to the opposites and never take appearances at face value.","}
{"text": ""Image: The","}
{"text": ""Thumbscrew.","}
{"text": ""Your enemy","}
{"text": ""has secrets that","}
{"text": ""he guards, thinks","}
{"text": ""thoughts he will","}
{"text": ""not reveal. But","}
{"text": ""they come out in","}
{"text": ""ways he cannot","}
{"text": ""help. It is there some","}
{"text": ""where, a groove of","}
{"text": ""weakness on his head,","}
{"text": ""at his heart, over his","}
{"text": ""belly. Once you find the","}
{"text": ""groove, put your thumb in","}
{"text": ""it and turn him at will.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Find out each man’s thumbscrew. ’Tis the art of setting their","}
{"text": ""wills in action. It needs more skill than resolution. You must know where","}
{"text": ""to get at anyone. Every volition has a special motive which varies","}
{"text": ""according to taste. All men are idolaters, some of fame, others of self-","}
{"text": ""interest, most of pleasure. Skill consists in knowing these idols in order","}
{"text": ""to bring them into play. Knowing any man’s mainspring of motive you","}
{"text": ""have as it were the key to his will. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Playing on people’s weakness has one significant danger: You may stir","}
{"text": ""up an action you cannot control.","}
{"text": ""In your games of power you always look several steps ahead and plan","}
{"text": ""accordingly. And you exploit the fact that other people are more","}
{"text": ""emotional and incapable of such foresight. But when you play on their","}
{"text": ""vulnerabilities, the areas over which they have least control, you can","}
{"text": ""unleash emotions that will upset your plans. Push timid people into bold","}
{"text": ""action and they may go too far; answer their need for attention orrecognition and they may need more than you want to give them. The","}
{"text": ""helpless, childish element you are playing on can turn against you.","}
{"text": ""The more emotional the weakness, the greater the potential danger.","}
{"text": ""Know the limits to this game, then, and never get carried away by your","}
{"text": ""control over your victims. You are after power, not the thrill of control.LAW 34","}
{"text": ""BE ROYAL IN YOUR OWN FASHION: ACT","}
{"text": ""LIKE A KING TO BE TREATED LIKE ONE","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated: In","}
{"text": ""the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect","}
{"text": ""you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in","}
{"text": ""others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make","}
{"text": ""yourself seem destined to wear a crown.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In July of 1830, a revolution broke out in Paris that forced the king,","}
{"text": ""Charles X, to abdicate. A commission of the highest authorities in the","}
{"text": ""land gathered to choose a successor, and the man they picked was Louis-","}
{"text": ""Philippe, the Duke of Orléans.","}
{"text": ""From the beginning it was clear that Louis-Philippe would be a","}
{"text": ""different kind of king, and not just because he came from a different","}
{"text": ""branch of the royal family, or because he had not inherited the crown but","}
{"text": ""had been given it, by a commission, putting his legitimacy in question.","}
{"text": ""Rather it was that he disliked ceremony and the trappings of royalty; he","}
{"text": ""had more friends among the bankers than among the nobility; and his","}
{"text": ""style was not to create a new kind of royal rule, as Napoleon had done,","}
{"text": ""but to downplay his status, the better to mix with the businessmen and","}
{"text": ""middle-class folk who had called him to lead. Thus the symbols that","}
{"text": ""came to be associated with Louis-Philippe were neither the scepter nor","}
{"text": ""the crown, but the gray hat and umbrella with which he would proudly","}
{"text": ""walk the streets of Paris, as if he were a bourgeois out for a stroll. WhenLouis-Philippe invited James Rothschild, the most important banker in","}
{"text": ""France, to his palace, he treated him as an equal. And unlike any king","}
{"text": ""before him, not only did he talk business with Monsieur Rothschild but","}
{"text": ""that was literally all he talked, for he loved money and had amassed a","}
{"text": ""huge fortune.","}
{"text": ""As the reign of the “bourgeois king” plodded on, people came to","}
{"text": ""despise him. The aristocracy could not endure the sight of an unkingly","}
{"text": ""king, and within a few years they turned on him. Meanwhile the growing","}
{"text": ""class of the poor, including the radicals who had chased out Charles X,","}
{"text": ""found no satisfaction in a ruler who neither acted as a king nor governed","}
{"text": ""as a man of the people. The bankers to whom Louis-Philippe was the","}
{"text": ""most beholden soon realized that it was they who controlled the country,","}
{"text": ""not he, and they treated him with growing contempt. One day, at the start","}
{"text": ""of a train trip organized for the royal family, James Rothschild actually","}
{"text": ""berated him—and in public—for being late. Once the king had made","}
{"text": ""news by treating the banker as an equal; now the banker treated the king","}
{"text": ""as an inferior.","}
{"text": ""Eventually the workers’ insurrections that had brought down Louis-","}
{"text": ""Philippe’s predecessor began to reemerge, and the king put them down","}
{"text": ""with force. But what was he defending so brutally? Not the institution of","}
{"text": ""the monarchy, which he disdained, nor a democratic republic, which his","}
{"text": ""rule prevented. What he was really defending, it seemed, was his own","}
{"text": ""fortune, and the fortunes of the bankers—not a way to inspire loyalty","}
{"text": ""among the citizenry.","}
{"text": ""Never lose your self-respect, nor be too familiar with yoetrself when you","}
{"text": ""are alone. Let your integrity itself be your own standard of rectitude, and","}
{"text": ""be more indebted to the severity of your own judgment of yourself than to","}
{"text": ""all external precepts. Desist from unseemly conduct, rather out of respect","}
{"text": ""for your own virtue than for the strictures of external authority. Come to","}
{"text": ""hold yourself in awe, and you will have no need of Seneca’s imaginary","}
{"text": ""tittor.","}
{"text": ""BALIASAR GRACIAN. 1601-1658","}
{"text": ""In early 1848, Frenchmen of all classes began to demonstrate for","}
{"text": ""electoral reforms that would make the country truly democratic. By","}
{"text": ""February the demonstrations had turned violent. To assuage the","}
{"text": ""populace, Louis-Philippe fired his prime minister and appointed a liberal","}
{"text": ""as a replacement. But this created the opposite of the desired effect: The","}
{"text": ""people sensed they could push the king around. The demonstrationsturned into a full-fledged revolution, with gunfire and barricades in the","}
{"text": ""streets.","}
{"text": ""On the night of February 23, a crowd of Parisians surrounded the","}
{"text": ""palace. With a suddenness that caught everyone by surprise, Louis-","}
{"text": ""Philippe abdicated that very evening and fled to England. He left no","}
{"text": ""successor, nor even the suggestion of one—his whole government folded","}
{"text": ""up and dissolved like a traveling circus leaving town.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Louis-Philippe consciously dissolved the aura that naturally pertains to","}
{"text": ""kings and leaders. Scoffing at the symbolism of grandeur, he believed a","}
{"text": ""new world was dawning, where rulers should act and be like ordinary","}
{"text": ""citizens. He was right: A new world, without kings and queens, was","}
{"text": ""certainly on its way. He was profoundly wrong, however, in predicting a","}
{"text": ""change in the dynamics of power.","}
{"text": ""The bourgeois king’s hat and umbrella amused the French at first, but","}
{"text": ""soon grew irritating. People knew that Louis-Philippe was not really like","}
{"text": ""them at all—that the hat and umbrella were essentially a kind of trick to","}
{"text": ""encourage them in the fantasy that the country had suddenly grown more","}
{"text": ""equal. Actually, though, the divisions of wealth had never been greater.","}
{"text": ""The French expected their ruler to be a bit of a showman, to have some","}
{"text": ""presence. Even a radical like Robespierre, who had briefly come to","}
{"text": ""power during the French Revolution fifty years earlier, had understood","}
{"text": ""this, and certainly Napoleon, who had turned the revolutionary republic","}
{"text": ""into an imperial regime, had known it in his bones. Indeed as soon as","}
{"text": ""Louis-Philippe fled the stage, the French revealed their true desire: They","}
{"text": ""elected Napoleon’s grand-nephew president. He was a virtual unknown,","}
{"text": ""but they hoped he would re-create the great general’s powerful aura,","}
{"text": ""erasing the awkward memory of the “bourgeois king.”","}
{"text": ""Powerful people may be tempted to affect a common-man aura, trying","}
{"text": ""to create the illusion that they and their subjects or underlings are","}
{"text": ""basically the same. But the people whom this false gesture is intended to","}
{"text": ""impress will quickly see through it. They understand that they are not","}
{"text": ""being given more power—that it only appears as if they shared in the","}
{"text": ""powerful person’s fate. The only kind of common touch that works is the","}
{"text": ""kind affected by Franklin Roosevelt, a style that said the president shared","}
{"text": ""values and goals with the common people even while he remained apatrician at heart. He never pretended to erase his distance from the","}
{"text": ""crowd.","}
{"text": ""Leaders who try to dissolve that distance through a false chumminess","}
{"text": ""gradually lose the ability to inspire loyalty, fear, or love. Instead they","}
{"text": ""elicit contempt. Like Louis-Philippe, they are too uninspiring even to be","}
{"text": ""worth the guillotine—the best they can do is simply vanish in the night,","}
{"text": ""as if they were never there.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""When Christopher Columbus was trying to find funding for his","}
{"text": ""legendary voyages, many around him believed he came from the Italian","}
{"text": ""aristocracy. This view was passed into history through a biography","}
{"text": ""written after the explorer’s death by his son, which describes him as a","}
{"text": ""descendant of a Count Colombo of the Castle of Cuccaro in Montferrat.","}
{"text": ""Colombo in turn was said to be descended from the legendary Roman","}
{"text": ""general Colonius, and two of his first cousins were supposedly direct","}
{"text": ""descendants of an emperor of Con stantinople. An illustrious background","}
{"text": ""indeed. But it was nothing more than illustrious fantasy, for Columbus","}
{"text": ""was actually the son of Domenico Colombo, a humble weaver who had","}
{"text": ""opened a wine shop when Christopher was a young man, and who then","}
{"text": ""made his living by selling cheese.","}
{"text": ""Columbus himself had created the myth of his noble background,","}
{"text": ""because from early on he felt that destiny had singled him out for great","}
{"text": ""things, and that he had a kind of royalty in his blood. Accordingly he","}
{"text": ""acted as if he were indeed descended from noble stock. After an","}
{"text": ""uneventful career as a merchant on a commercial vessel, Columbus,","}
{"text": ""originally from Genoa, settled in Lisbon. Using the fabricated story of","}
{"text": ""his noble background, he married into an established Lisbon family that","}
{"text": ""had excellent connections with Portuguese royalty.","}
{"text": ""Through his in-laws, Columbus finagled a meeting with the king of","}
{"text": ""Portugal, Joao II, whom he petitioned to finance a westward voyage","}
{"text": ""aimed at discovering a shorter route to Asia. In return for announcing","}
{"text": ""that any discoveries he achieved would be made in the king’s name,","}
{"text": ""Columbus wanted a series of rights: the title Grand Admiral of the","}
{"text": ""Oceanic Sea; the office of viceroy over any lands he found; and 10","}
{"text": ""percent of the future commerce with such lands. All of these rights wereto be hereditary and for all time. Columbus made these demands even","}
{"text": ""though he had previously been a mere merchant, he knew almost nothing","}
{"text": ""about navigation, he could not work a quadrant, and he had never led a","}
{"text": ""group of men. In short he had absolutely no qualifications for the journey","}
{"text": ""he proposed. Furthermore, his petition included no details as to how he","}
{"text": ""would accomplish his plans, just vague promises.","}
{"text": ""When Columbus finished his pitch, João II smiled: He politely","}
{"text": ""declined the offer, but left the door open for the future. Here Columbus","}
{"text": ""must have noticed something he would never forget: Even as the king","}
{"text": ""turned down the sailor’s demands, he treated them as legitimate. He","}
{"text": ""neither laughed at Columbus nor questioned his background and","}
{"text": ""credentials. In fact the king was impressed by the boldness of","}
{"text": ""Columbus’s requests, and clearly felt comfortable in the company of a","}
{"text": ""man who acted so confidently. The meeting must have convinced","}
{"text": ""Columbus that his instincts were correct: By asking for the moon, he had","}
{"text": ""instantly raised his own status, for the king assumed that unless a man","}
{"text": ""who set such a high price on himself were mad, which Columbus did not","}
{"text": ""appear to be, he must somehow be worth it.","}
{"text": ""HIPPOFIDES IT SI","}
{"text": ""In the next generation the family became much more famous than before","}
{"text": ""through the distinction conferred upon it by Cleisthenes the master of","}
{"text": ""Sicyon. Cleisthenes… had a daughter, Agarista, whom he wished to","}
{"text": ""marry to the best man in all Greece. So during the Olympic games, in","}
{"text": ""which he had himself won the chariot race, he had a public","}
{"text": ""announcement made, to the effect that any Greek who thought himself","}
{"text": ""good enough to become Cleisthenes’ son-in-law should present himself","}
{"text": ""in Sicyon within sixty days—or sooner if he wished—because he","}
{"text": ""intended, within the year following the sixtieth day, to betroth his","}
{"text": ""daughter to her future husband. Cleisthenes had had a race-track and a","}
{"text": ""wrestling-ring specially made for his purpose, and presently the suitors","}
{"text": ""began to arrive—every man of Greek nationality who had something to","}
{"text": ""be proud of either in his country or in himself…. Cleisthenes began by","}
{"text": ""asking each [of the numerous suitors] in turn to name his country and","}
{"text": ""parentage; then he kept them in his house for a year, to get to know them","}
{"text": ""well, entering into conversation with them sometimes singly, sometimes","}
{"text": ""all together, and testing each of them for his manly qualities and temper,","}
{"text": ""education and manners…. But the most important test of all was their","}
{"text": ""behaviour at the dinner-table. All this went on throughout their stay inSicyon, and all the time he entertained them handsomely. For one reason","}
{"text": ""or another it was the two Athenians who impressed Cleisthenes most","}
{"text": ""favourably, and of the two Tisander’s son Hippocleides came to be","}
{"text": ""preferred…. At last the day came which had been fixed for the betrothal,","}
{"text": ""and Cleisthenes had to declare his choice. He nzarked the day by the","}
{"text": ""sacrifice of a hundred oxen, and then gave a great banquet, to which not","}
{"text": ""only the suitors but everyone of note in Sicyon was invited. When dinner","}
{"text": ""was over, the suitors began to compete with each other in music and in","}
{"text": ""talking in company. In both these accomplishments it was Hippocleides","}
{"text": ""who proved by far the doughtiest champion, until at last, as more and","}
{"text": ""more wine was drunk, he asked the flute-player to play him a tune and","}
{"text": ""began to dance to it. Now it may well be that he danced to his own","}
{"text": ""satisfaction; Cleisthenes, however, who was watching the performance,","}
{"text": ""began to have serious doubts about the whole business. Presently, after a","}
{"text": ""brief pause, Hippocleides sent for a table; the table was brought, and","}
{"text": ""Hippocleides, climbing on to it, danced first some Laconian dances, next","}
{"text": ""some Attic ones, and ended by standing on his head and beating time","}
{"text": ""with his legs in the air The Laconian and Attic dances were bad enough;","}
{"text": ""but Cleisthenes, though he already loathed the thought of having a son-","}
{"text": ""in-law like that, nevertheless restrained himself and managed to avoid an","}
{"text": ""outburst; but when he saw Hippocleides beating time with his legs, he","}
{"text": ""could bear it no longer. “Son of Tisander, ”he cried, “you have danced","}
{"text": ""away your marriage. ”","}
{"text": ""THE HISTORIES, Herodotus, FIFTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""A few years later Columbus moved to Spain. Using his Portuguese","}
{"text": ""connections, he moved in elevated circles at the Spanish court, receiving","}
{"text": ""subsidies from illustrious financiers and sharing tables with dukes and","}
{"text": ""princes. To all these men he repeated his request for financing for a","}
{"text": ""voyage to the west—and also for the rights he had demanded from João","}
{"text": ""II. Some, such as the powerful duke of Medina, wanted to help, but","}
{"text": ""could not, since they lacked the power to grant him the titles and rights","}
{"text": ""he wanted. But Columbus would not back down. He soon realized that","}
{"text": ""only one person could meet his demands: Queen Isabella. In 1487 he","}
{"text": ""finally managed a meeting with the queen, and although he could not","}
{"text": ""convince her to finance the voyage, he completely charmed her, and","}
{"text": ""became a frequent guest in the palace.","}
{"text": ""In 1492 the Spanish finally expelled the Moorish invaders who","}
{"text": ""centuries earlier had seized parts of the country. With the wartime burden","}
{"text": ""on her treasury lifted, Isabella felt she could finally respond to the","}
{"text": ""demands of her explorer friend, and she decided to pay for three ships,equipment, the salaries of the crews, and a modest stipend for Columbus.","}
{"text": ""More important, she had a contract drawn up that granted Columbus the","}
{"text": ""titles and rights on which he had insisted. The only one she denied—and","}
{"text": ""only in the contract’s fine print—was the 10 percent of all revenues from","}
{"text": ""any lands discovered: an absurd demand, since he wanted no time limit","}
{"text": ""on it. (Had the clause been left in, it would eventually have made","}
{"text": ""Columbus and his heirs the wealthiest family on the planet. Columbus","}
{"text": ""never read the fine print.)","}
{"text": ""Satisfied that his demands had been met, Columbus set sail that same","}
{"text": ""year in search of the passage to Asia. (Before he left he was careful to","}
{"text": ""hire the best navigator he could find to help him get there.) The mission","}
{"text": ""failed to find such a passage, yet when Columbus petitioned the queen to","}
{"text": ""finance an even more ambitious voyage the following year, she agreed.","}
{"text": ""By then she had come to see Columbus as destined for great things.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""As an explorer Columbus was mediocre at best. He knew less about the","}
{"text": ""sea than did the average sailor on his ships, could never determine the","}
{"text": ""latitude and longitude of his discoveries, mistook islands for vast","}
{"text": ""continents, and treated his crew badly. But in one area he was a genius:","}
{"text": ""He knew how to sell himsel£ How else to explain how the son of a","}
{"text": ""cheese vendor, a low-level sea merchant, managed to ingratiate himself","}
{"text": ""with the highest royal and aristocratic families?","}
{"text": ""Columbus had an amazing power to charm the nobility, and it all came","}
{"text": ""from the way he carried himself. He projected a sense of confidence that","}
{"text": ""was completely out of proportion to his means. Nor was his confidence","}
{"text": ""the aggressive, ugly self-promotion of an upstart—it was a quiet and","}
{"text": ""calm self-assurance. In fact it was the same confidence usually shown by","}
{"text": ""the nobility themselves. The powerful in the old-style aristocracies felt","}
{"text": ""no need to prove or assert themselves; being noble, they knew they","}
{"text": ""always deserved more, and asked for it. With Columbus, then, they felt","}
{"text": ""an instant affinity, for he carried himself just the way they did—elevated","}
{"text": ""above the crowd, destined for greatness.","}
{"text": ""Understand: It is within your power to set your own price. How you","}
{"text": ""carry yourself reflects what you think of yourself. If you ask for little,","}
{"text": ""shuffle your feet and lower your head, people will assume this reflects","}
{"text": ""your character. But this behavior is not you—it is only how you have","}
{"text": ""chosen to present yourself to other people. You can just as easily presentthe Columbus front: buoyancy, confidence, and the feeling that you were","}
{"text": ""born to wear a crown.","}
{"text": ""With all great deceivers there is a noteworthy occurrence to which","}
{"text": ""they owe their power. In the actual act of deception they are overcome by","}
{"text": ""belief in themselves: it is this which then speaks so miraculously and","}
{"text": ""compellingly to those around them.","}
{"text": ""Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""As children, we start our lives with great exuberance, expecting and","}
{"text": ""demanding everything from the world. This generally carries over into","}
{"text": ""our first forays into society, as we begin our careers. But as we grow","}
{"text": ""older the rebuffs and failures we experience set up boundaries that only","}
{"text": ""get firmer with time. Coming to expect less from the world, we accept","}
{"text": ""limitations that are really self-imposed. We start to bow and scrape and","}
{"text": ""apologize for even the simplest of requests. The solution to such a","}
{"text": ""shrinking of horizons is to deliberately force ourselves in the opposite","}
{"text": ""direction—to downplay the failures and ignore the limitations, to make","}
{"text": ""ourselves demand and expect as much as the child. To accomplish this,","}
{"text": ""we must use a particular strategy upon ourselves. Call it the Strategy of","}
{"text": ""the Crown.","}
{"text": ""The Strategy of the Crown is based on a simple chain of cause and","}
{"text": ""effect: If we believe we are destined for great things, our belief will","}
{"text": ""radiate outward, just as a crown creates an aura around a king. This","}
{"text": ""outward radiance will infect the people around us, who will think we","}
{"text": ""must have reasons to feel so confident. People who wear crowns seem to","}
{"text": ""feel no inner sense of the limits to what they can ask for or what they can","}
{"text": ""accomplish. This too radiates outward. Limits and boundaries disappear.","}
{"text": ""Use the Strategy of the Crown and you will be surprised how often it","}
{"text": ""bears fruit. Take as an example those happy children who ask for","}
{"text": ""whatever they want, and get it. Their high expectations are their charm.","}
{"text": ""Adults enjoy granting their wishes—just as Isabella enjoyed granting the","}
{"text": ""wishes of Columbus.","}
{"text": ""Throughout history, people of undistinguished birth—the Theodoras","}
{"text": ""of Byzantium, the Columbuses, the Beethovens, the Disraelis—have","}
{"text": ""managed to work the Strategy of the Crown, believing so firmly in theirown greatness that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The trick is","}
{"text": ""simple: Be overcome by your self-belief. Even while you know you are","}
{"text": ""practicing a kind of deception on yourself, act like a king. You are likely","}
{"text": ""to be treated as one.","}
{"text": ""The crown may separate you from other people, but it is up to you to","}
{"text": ""make that separation real: You have to act differently, demonstrating","}
{"text": ""your distance from those around you. One way to emphasize your","}
{"text": ""difference is to always act with dignity, no matter the circumstance.","}
{"text": ""Louis-Philippe gave no sense of being different from other people—he","}
{"text": ""was the banker king. And the moment his subjects threatened him, he","}
{"text": ""caved in. Everyone sensed this and pounced. Lacking regal dignity and","}
{"text": ""firmness of purpose, Louis-Philippe seemed an impostor, and the crown","}
{"text": ""was easily toppled from his head.","}
{"text": ""Regal bearing should not be confused with arrogance. Arrogance may","}
{"text": ""seem the king’s entitlement, but in fact it betrays insecurity. It is the very","}
{"text": ""opposite of a royal demeanor.","}
{"text": ""Haile Selassie, ruler of Ethiopia for forty or so years beginning in","}
{"text": ""1930, was once a young man named Lij Tafari. He came from a noble","}
{"text": ""family, but there was no real chance of him coming to power, for he was","}
{"text": ""far down the line of succession from the king then on the throne,","}
{"text": ""Menelik II. Nevertheless, from an early age he exhibited a self-","}
{"text": ""confidence and a royal bearing that surprised everyone around him.","}
{"text": ""At the age of fourteen, Tafari went to live at the court, where he","}
{"text": ""immediately impressed Menelik and became his favorite. Tafari’s grace","}
{"text": ""under fire, his patience, and his calm self-assurance fascinated the king.","}
{"text": ""The other young nobles, arrogant, blustery, and envious, would push this","}
{"text": ""slight, bookish teenager around. But he never got angry—that would","}
{"text": ""have been a sign of insecurity, to which he would not stoop. There were","}
{"text": ""already people around him who felt he would someday rise to the top, for","}
{"text": ""he acted as if he were already there.","}
{"text": ""Years later, in 1936, when the Italian Fascists had taken over Ethiopia","}
{"text": ""and Tafari, now called Haile Selassie, was in exile, he addressed the","}
{"text": ""League of Nations to plead his country’s case. The Italians in the","}
{"text": ""audience heckled him with vulgar abuse, but he maintained his dignified","}
{"text": ""pose, as if completely unaffected. This elevated him while making his","}
{"text": ""opponents look even uglier. Dignity, in fact, is invariably the mask to","}
{"text": ""assume under difficult circumstances: It is as if nothing can affect you,","}
{"text": ""and you have all the time in the world to respond. This is an extremely","}
{"text": ""powerful pose.A royal demeanor has other uses. Con artists have long known the","}
{"text": ""value of an aristocratic front; it either disarms people and makes them","}
{"text": ""less suspicious, or else it intimidates them and puts them on the","}
{"text": ""defensive—and as Count Victor Lustig knew, once you put a sucker on","}
{"text": ""the defensive he is doomed. The con man Yellow Kid Weil, too, would","}
{"text": ""often assume the trappings of a man of wealth, along with the","}
{"text": ""nonchalance that goes with them. Alluding to some magical method of","}
{"text": ""making money, he would stand aloof, like a king, exuding confidence as","}
{"text": ""if he really were fabulously rich. The suckers would beg to be in on the","}
{"text": ""con, to have a chance at the wealth that he so clearly displayed.","}
{"text": ""Finally, to reinforce the inner psychological tricks involved in","}
{"text": ""projecting a royal demeanor, there are outward strategies to help you","}
{"text": ""create the effect. First, the Columbus Strategy: Always make a bold","}
{"text": ""demand. Set your price high and do not waver. Second, in a dignified","}
{"text": ""way, go after the highest person in the building. This immediately puts","}
{"text": ""you on the same plane as the chief executive you are attacking. It is the","}
{"text": ""David and Goliath Strategy: By choosing a great opponent, you create","}
{"text": ""the appearance of greatness.","}
{"text": ""Third, give a gift of some sort to those above you. This is the strategy","}
{"text": ""of those who have a patron: By giving your patron a gift, you are","}
{"text": ""essentially saying that the two of you are equal. It is the old con game of","}
{"text": ""giving so that you can take. When the Renaissance writer Pietro Aretino","}
{"text": ""wanted the Duke of Mantua as his next patron, he knew that if he was","}
{"text": ""slavish and sycophantic, the duke would think him unworthy; so he","}
{"text": ""approached the duke with gifts, in this case paintings by the writer’s","}
{"text": ""good friend Titian. Accepting the gifts created a kind of equality between","}
{"text": ""duke and writer: The duke was put at ease by the feeling that he was","}
{"text": ""dealing with a man of his own aristocratic stamp. He funded Aretino","}
{"text": ""generously. The gift strategy is subtle and brilliant because you do not","}
{"text": ""beg: You ask for help in a dignified way that implies equality between","}
{"text": ""two people, one of whom just happens to have more money.","}
{"text": ""Remember: It is up to you to set your own price. Ask for less and that","}
{"text": ""is just what you will get. Ask for more, however, and you send a signal","}
{"text": ""that you are worth a king’s ransom. Even those who turn you down","}
{"text": ""respect you for your confidence, and that respect will eventually pay off","}
{"text": ""in ways you cannot imagine.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Crown. Place it upon your head","}
{"text": ""and you assume a different pose—tranquil","}
{"text": ""yet radiating assurance. Never show","}
{"text": ""doubt, never lose your dignity beneaththe crown, or it will not fit. It will seem","}
{"text": ""to be destined for one more worthy. Do","}
{"text": ""not wait for a coronation; the great","}
{"text": ""est emperors crown themselves.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Everyone should be royal after his own fashion. Let all your","}
{"text": ""actions, even though they are not those of a king, be, in their own sphere,","}
{"text": ""worthy of one. Be sublime in your deeds, lofty in your thoughts; and in","}
{"text": ""all your doings show that you deserve to be a king even though you are","}
{"text": ""not one in reality. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The idea behind the assumption of regal confidence is to set yourself","}
{"text": ""apart from other people, but if you take this too far it will be your","}
{"text": ""undoing. Never make the mistake of thinking that you elevate yourself","}
{"text": ""by humiliating people. Also, it is never a good idea to loom too high","}
{"text": ""above the crowd—you make an easy target. And there are times when an","}
{"text": ""aristocratic pose is eminently dangerous.","}
{"text": ""Charles I, king of England during the 1640s, faced a profound public","}
{"text": ""disenchantment with the institution of monarchy. Revolts erupted","}
{"text": ""throughout the country, led by Oliver Cromwell. Had Charles reacted to","}
{"text": ""the times with insight, supporting reforms and making a show of","}
{"text": ""sacrificing some of his power, history might have been different. Instead","}
{"text": ""he reverted to an even more regal pose, seeming outraged by the assault","}
{"text": ""on his power and on the divine institution of monarchy. His stiff","}
{"text": ""kingliness offended people and spurred on their revolts. And eventuallyCharles lost his head, literally. Understand: You are radiating confidence,","}
{"text": ""not arrogance or disdain.","}
{"text": ""Finally, it is true that you can sometimes find some power through","}
{"text": ""affecting a kind of earthy vulgarity, which will prove amusing by its","}
{"text": ""extreme-ness. But to the extent that you win this game by going beyond","}
{"text": ""the limits, separating yourself from other people by appearing even more","}
{"text": ""vulgar than they are, the game is dangerous: There will always be people","}
{"text": ""more vulgar than you, and you will easily be replaced the following","}
{"text": ""season by someone younger and worse.LAW 35","}
{"text": ""MASTER THE ART OF TIMING","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Never seem to be in a hurry-hurrying betrays a lack of control over","}
{"text": ""yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that","}
{"text": ""everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right","}
{"text": ""moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to","}
{"text": ""power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike","}
{"text": ""fiercely when it has reached fruition.","}
{"text": ""SERTORIUS’S LESSON","}
{"text": ""Sertorius’s strength was now rapidly increasing, for all the tribes","}
{"text": ""between the Ebro and the Pyrenees came over to his side, and troops","}
{"text": ""came flocking daily to join him from every quarter. At the same time he","}
{"text": ""was troubled by the lack of discipline and the overconfidence of these","}
{"text": ""newly arrived barbarians, who would shout at him to attack the enemy","}
{"text": ""and had no patience with his delaying tactics, and he therefore tried to","}
{"text": ""win them over by argument. them over by argument. But when he saw","}
{"text": ""that they were discontented and persisted in pressing their demands","}
{"text": ""regardless of the circumstances, he let them have their way and allowed","}
{"text": ""them to engage the enemy; he hoped that they would suffer a severe","}
{"text": ""defeat without being completely crushed, and that this would make them","}
{"text": ""better disposed to obey his orders in future. The event turned out as he","}
{"text": ""expected and Sertorius came to their rescue, provided a rallying point","}
{"text": ""for the fugitives, and led them safely back to his camp. His next step was","}
{"text": ""to revive their dejected spirits, and so a few days later he summoned a","}
{"text": ""general assembly. Before it he produced two horses, one of them old and","}
{"text": ""enfeebled, the other large and lusty and possessing a flowing tail, which","}
{"text": ""was remarkable for the thickness and beauty of its hair. By the side of the","}
{"text": ""weak horse stood a tall strong man, and by the side of the powerful horse","}
{"text": ""a short man of mean physique. At a signal the strong man seized the tailof his horse and tried with all his strength to pull it towards him, as if to","}
{"text": ""tear it off, while the weak man began to pull the hairs one by one from","}
{"text": ""the tail of the strong horse.","}
{"text": ""The strong man, after tugging with all his might to no purpose and","}
{"text": ""causing the spectators a great deal of amusement in the process, finally","}
{"text": ""gave up the attempt, while the weak man quickly and with very little","}
{"text": ""trouble stripped his horse’s tail completely bare. Then Sertorius rose to","}
{"text": ""his feet and said, “Now you can see, my friends and allies, that","}
{"text": ""perseverance is more effective than brute strength and that there are","}
{"text": ""many difficulties that cannot be overcome if you try to do everything at","}
{"text": ""once, but which will yield if you master them little by little. The truth is","}
{"text": ""that a steady continuous effort is irresistible, for this is the way in which","}
{"text": ""Time captures and subdues the greatest powers on earth. Now Time, you","}
{"text": ""should remember, is a good friend and ally to those who use their","}
{"text": ""intelligence to choose the right moment, but a most dangerous enemy to","}
{"text": ""those who rush into action at the wrong one.”","}
{"text": ""LIFE OF SERTORIUS, PLUTARCH, C.A.D. 46-120","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Starting out in life as a nondescript French seminary-school teacher,","}
{"text": ""Joseph Fouché wandered from town to town for most of the decade of","}
{"text": ""the 1780s, teaching mathematics to young boys. Yet he never completely","}
{"text": ""committed himself to the church, never took his vows as a priest—he","}
{"text": ""had bigger plans. Patiently waiting for his chance, he kept his options","}
{"text": ""open. And when the French Revolution broke out, in 1789, Fouché","}
{"text": ""waited no longer: He got rid of his cassock, grew his hair long, and","}
{"text": ""became a revolutionary. For this was the spirit of the times. To miss the","}
{"text": ""boat at this critical moment could have spelt disaster. Fouché did not","}
{"text": ""miss the boat: Befriending the revolutionary leader Robespierre, he","}
{"text": ""quickly rose in the rebel ranks. In 1792 the town of Nantes elected","}
{"text": ""Fouche to be its representative to the National Convention (created that","}
{"text": ""year to frame a new constitution for a French republic).","}
{"text": ""When Fouché arrived in Paris to take his seat at the convention, a","}
{"text": ""violent rift had broken out between the moderates and the radical","}
{"text": ""Jacobins. Fouché sensed that in the long run neither side would emergevictorious. Power rarely ends up in the hands of those who start a","}
{"text": ""revolution, or even of those who further it; power sticks to those who","}
{"text": ""bring it to a conclusion. That was the side Fouche wanted to be on.","}
{"text": ""His sense of timing was uncanny. He started as a moderate, for","}
{"text": ""moderates were in the majority. When the time came to decide on","}
{"text": ""whether or not to execute Louis XVI, however, he saw that the people","}
{"text": ""were clamoring for the king’s head, so he cast the deciding vote—for the","}
{"text": ""guillotine. Now he had become a radical. Yet as tensions came to the boil","}
{"text": ""in Paris, he foresaw the danger of being too closely associated with any","}
{"text": ""one faction, so he accepted a position in the provinces, where he could","}
{"text": ""lie low for a while. A few months later he was assigned to the post of","}
{"text": ""proconsul in Lyons, where he oversaw the execution of dozens of","}
{"text": ""aristocrats. At a certain moment, however, he called a halt to the killings,","}
{"text": ""sensing that the mood of the country was turning-and despite the blood","}
{"text": ""already on his hands, the citizens of Lyons hailed him as a savior from","}
{"text": ""what had become known as the Terror.","}
{"text": ""So far Fouché had played his cards brilliantly, but in 1794 his old","}
{"text": ""friend Robespierre recalled him to Paris to account for his actions in","}
{"text": ""Lyons. Robespierre had been the driving force behind the Terror. He had","}
{"text": ""sent heads on both the right and the left rolling, and Fouché, whom he no","}
{"text": ""longer trusted, seemed destined to provide the next head. Over the next","}
{"text": ""few weeks, a tense struggle ensued: While Robespierre railed openly","}
{"text": ""against Fouché, accusing of him dangerous ambitions and calling for his","}
{"text": ""arrest, the crafty Fouché worked more indirectly, quietly gaining support","}
{"text": ""among those who were beginning to tire of Robespierre’s dictatorial","}
{"text": ""control. Fouche was playing for time. He knew that the longer he","}
{"text": ""survived, the more disaffected citizens he could rally against","}
{"text": ""Robespierre. He had to have broad support before he moved against the","}
{"text": ""powerful leader. He rallied support among both the moderates and the","}
{"text": ""Jacobins, playing on the widespread fear of Robespierre-everyone was","}
{"text": ""afraid of being the next to go to the guillotine. It all came to fruition on","}
{"text": ""July 27: The convention turned against Robespierre, shouting down his","}
{"text": ""usual lengthy speech. He was quickly arrested, and a few days later it","}
{"text": ""was Robespierre’s head, not Fouché’s, that fell into the basket.","}
{"text": ""When Fouché returned to the convention after Robespierre’s death, he","}
{"text": ""played his most unexpected move: Having led the conspiracy against","}
{"text": ""Robespierre, he was expected to sit with the moderates, but lo and","}
{"text": ""behold, he once again changed sides, joining the radical Jacobins. For","}
{"text": ""perhaps the first time in his life he aligned himself with the minority.","}
{"text": ""Clearly he sensed a reaction stirring: He knew that the moderate factionthat had executed Robespierre, and was now about to take power, would","}
{"text": ""initiate a new round of the Terror, this time against the radicals. In siding","}
{"text": ""with the Jacobins, then, Fouché was sitting with the martyrs of the days","}
{"text": ""to come—the people who would be considered blameless in the troubles","}
{"text": ""that were on their way. Taking sides with what was about to become the","}
{"text": ""losing team was a risky gambit, of course, but Fouché must have","}
{"text": ""calculated he could keep his head long enough to quietly stir up the","}
{"text": ""populace against the moderates and watch them fall from power. And","}
{"text": ""indeed, although the moderates did call for his arrest in December of","}
{"text": ""1795, and would have sent him to the guillotine, too much time had","}
{"text": ""passed. The executions had become unpopular with the people, and","}
{"text": ""Fouché survived the swing of the pendulum one more time.","}
{"text": ""A new government took over, the Directoire. It was not, however, a","}
{"text": ""Jacobin government, but a moderate one—more moderate than the","}
{"text": ""government that had reimposed the Terror. Fouché, the radical, had kept","}
{"text": ""his head, but now he had to keep a low profile. He waited patiently on","}
{"text": ""the sidelines for several years, allowing time to soften any bitter feelings","}
{"text": ""against him, then he approached the Directoire and convinced them he","}
{"text": ""had a new passion: intelligence-gathering. He became a paid spy for the","}
{"text": ""government, excelled at the job, and in 1799 was rewarded by being","}
{"text": ""made minister of police. Now he was not just empowered but required to","}
{"text": ""extend his spying to every corner of France—a responsibility that would","}
{"text": ""greatly reinforce his natural ability to sniff out where the wind was","}
{"text": ""blowing. One of the first social trends he detected, in fact, came in the","}
{"text": ""person of Napoleon, a brash young general whose destiny he right away","}
{"text": ""saw was entwined with the future of France. When Napoleon unleashed","}
{"text": ""a coup d‘etat, on November 9, 1799, Fouche pretended to be asleep.","}
{"text": ""Indeed he slept the whole day. For this indirect assistance—it might have","}
{"text": ""been thought his job, after all, to prevent a military coup—Napoleon","}
{"text": ""kept him on as minister of police in the new regime.","}
{"text": ""Over the next few years, Napoleon came to rely on Fouché more and","}
{"text": ""more. He even gave this former revolutionary a title, duke of Otranto,","}
{"text": ""and rewarded him with great wealth. By 1808, however, Fouché, always","}
{"text": ""attuned to the times, sensed that Napoleon was on the downswing. His","}
{"text": ""futile war with Spain, a country that posed no threat to France, was a","}
{"text": ""sign that he was losing a sense of proportion. Never one to be caught on","}
{"text": ""a sinking ship, Fouché conspired with Talleyrand to bring about","}
{"text": ""Napoleon’s downfall. Although the conspiracy failed—Talleyrand was","}
{"text": ""fired; Fouché stayed, but was kept on a tight leash—it publicized a","}
{"text": ""growing discontent with the emperor, who seemed to be losing control.By 1814 Napoleon’s power had crumbled and allied forces finally","}
{"text": ""conquered him.","}
{"text": ""The next government was a restoration of the monarchy, in the form of","}
{"text": ""King Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI. Fouché, his nose always","}
{"text": ""sniffing the air for the next social shift, knew Louis would not last long","}
{"text": ""—he had none of Napoleon’s flair. Fouché once again played his waiting","}
{"text": ""game, lying low, staying away from the spotlight. Sure enough, in","}
{"text": ""February of 1815, Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba, where he","}
{"text": ""had been imprisoned. Louis XVIII panicked: His policies had alienated","}
{"text": ""the citizenry, who were clamoring for Napoleon’s return. So Louis turned","}
{"text": ""to the one man who could maybe have saved his hide, Fouché, the","}
{"text": ""former radical who had sent his brother, Louis XVI, to the guillotine, but","}
{"text": ""was now one of the most popular and widely admired politicians in","}
{"text": ""France. Fouché, however, would not side with a loser: He refused","}
{"text": ""Louis’s request for help by pretending that his help was unnecessary—by","}
{"text": ""swearing that Napoleon would never return to power (although he knew","}
{"text": ""otherwise). A short time later, of course, Napoleon and his new citizen","}
{"text": ""army were closing in on Paris.","}
{"text": ""Seeing his reign about to collapse, feeling that Fouché had betrayed","}
{"text": ""him, and certain that he did not want this powerful and able man on","}
{"text": ""Napoleon’s team, King Louis ordered the minister’s arrest and execution.","}
{"text": ""On March 16, 1815, policemen surrounded Fouché’s coach on a Paris","}
{"text": ""boulevard. Was this finally his end? Perhaps, but not immediately:","}
{"text": ""Fouché told the police that an ex-member of government could not be","}
{"text": ""arrested on the street. They fell for the story and allowed him to return","}
{"text": ""home. Later that day, though, they came to his house and once again","}
{"text": ""declared him under arrest. Fouché nodded—but would the officers be so","}
{"text": ""kind as allow a gentleman to wash and to change his clothes before","}
{"text": ""leaving his house for the last time? They gave their permission, Fouché","}
{"text": ""left the room, and the minutes went by. Fouché did not return. Finally the","}
{"text": ""policemen went into the next room—where they saw a ladder against an","}
{"text": ""open window, leading down to the garden below.","}
{"text": ""That day and the next the police combed Paris for Fouche, but by then","}
{"text": ""Napoleon’s cannons were audible in the distance and the king and all the","}
{"text": ""king’s men had to flee the city. As soon as Napoleon entered Paris,","}
{"text": ""Fouché came out of hiding. He had cheated the executioner once again.","}
{"text": ""Napoleon greeted his former minister of police and gladly restored him","}
{"text": ""to his old post. During the 100 days that Napoleon remained in power,","}
{"text": ""until Waterloo, it was essentially Fouché who governed France. After","}
{"text": ""Napoleon fell, Louis XVIII returned to the throne, and like a cat withnine lives, Fouche stayed on to serve in yet another government—by","}
{"text": ""then his power and influence had grown so great that not even the king","}
{"text": ""dared challenge him.","}
{"text": ""Mr. Shih had two sons: one loved learning; the other war. The first","}
{"text": ""expounded his moral teachings at the admiring court of Ch‘i and was","}
{"text": ""made a tutor, while the second talked strategy at the bellicose court of","}
{"text": ""Ch’u and was made a general. The impecunious Mr. Meng, hearing of","}
{"text": ""these successes, sent his own two sons out to follow the example of the","}
{"text": ""Shih boys. The first expounded his moral teachings at the court ofCh‘in,","}
{"text": ""but the King of Ch’in said: “At present the states are quarreling violently","}
{"text": ""and every prince is busy arming his troops to the teeth. If I followed this","}
{"text": ""prig’s pratings we should soon be annihilated.” So he had the fellow","}
{"text": ""castrated. Meanwhile, the second brother displayed his military genius","}
{"text": ""at the court of Wei. But the King of Wei said: “Mine is a weak state. If I","}
{"text": ""relied on force instead of diplomacy, we should soon be wiped out. If, on","}
{"text": ""the other hand, I let this fire-eater go, he will offer his services to","}
{"text": ""another state and then we shall be in trouble.” So he had the fellow’s feet","}
{"text": ""cut off Both.families did exactly the same thing, but one timed it right,","}
{"text": ""the other wrong. Thtts success depends not on ratiocination but on","}
{"text": ""rhythm.","}
{"text": ""LlEH TZU. QUOTED IN THE CHINESE LOOKING GLASS. DENNIS","}
{"text": ""BLOODWORTH, 1967","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In a period of unprecedented turmoil, Joseph Fouché thrived through his","}
{"text": ""mastery of the art of timing. He teaches us a number of key lessons.","}
{"text": ""First, it is critical to recognize the spirit of the times. Fouché always","}
{"text": ""looked two steps ahead, found the wave that would carry him to power,","}
{"text": ""and rode it. You must always work with the times, anticipate twists and","}
{"text": ""turns, and never miss the boat. Sometimes the spirit of the times is","}
{"text": ""obscure: Recognize it not by what is loudest and most obvious in it, but","}
{"text": ""by what lies hidden and dormant. Look forward to the Napoleons of the","}
{"text": ""future rather than holding on to the ruins of the past.","}
{"text": ""Second, recognizing the prevailing winds does not necessarily mean","}
{"text": ""running with them. Any potent social movement creates a powerful","}
{"text": ""reaction, and it is wise to anticipate what that reaction will be, as Fouché","}
{"text": ""did after the execution of Robespierre. Rather than ride the cresting wave","}
{"text": ""of the moment, wait for the tide’s ebb to carry you back to power. Uponoccasion bet on the reaction that is brewing, and place yourself in the","}
{"text": ""vanguard of it.","}
{"text": ""Finally, Fouché had remarkable patience. Without patience as your","}
{"text": ""sword and shield, your timing will fail and you will inevitably find","}
{"text": ""yourself a loser. When the times were against Fouché, he did not","}
{"text": ""struggle, get emotional, or strike out rashly. He kept his cool and","}
{"text": ""maintained a low profile, patiently building support among the citizenry,","}
{"text": ""the bulwark in his next rise to power. Whenever he found himself in the","}
{"text": ""weaker position, he played for time, which he knew would always be his","}
{"text": ""ally if he was patient. Recognize the moment, then, to hide in the grass","}
{"text": ""or slither under a rock, as well as the moment to bare your fangs and","}
{"text": ""attack.","}
{"text": ""Space we can recover, time never.","}
{"text": ""Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Time is an artificial concept that we ourselves have created to make the","}
{"text": ""limitlessness of eternity and the universe more bearable, more human.","}
{"text": ""Since we have constructed the concept of time, we are also able to mold","}
{"text": ""it to some degree, to play tricks with it. The time of a child is long and","}
{"text": ""slow, with vast expanses; the time of an adult whizzes by frighteningly","}
{"text": ""fast. Time, then, depends on perception, which, we know, can be","}
{"text": ""willfully altered. This is the first thing to understand in mastering the art","}
{"text": ""of timing. If the inner turmoil caused by our emotions tends to make time","}
{"text": ""move faster, it follows that once we control our emotional responses to","}
{"text": ""events, time will move much more slowly. This altered way of dealing","}
{"text": ""with things tends to lengthen our perception of future time, opens up","}
{"text": ""possibilities that fear and anger close off, and allows us the patience that","}
{"text": ""is the principal requirement in the art of timing.","}
{"text": ""The sultan [of Persia] had sentenced two men to death. One of them,","}
{"text": ""knowing how much the sultan loved his stallion, offered to teach the","}
{"text": ""horse to fly within a year in return for his life. The sultan, fancying","}
{"text": ""himself as the rider of the only flying horse in the world, agreed. The","}
{"text": ""other prisoner looked at his friend in disbelief “You know horses don’t","}
{"text": ""fly. What made you come up with a crazv idea like that? You’re onlypostponing the inevitable.” “Not so, ” said the (first prisoner]. “I have","}
{"text": ""actuallv given myself four chances for freedom. First, the sultan might","}
{"text": ""die during the year. Second, I might die. Third, the horse might die. And","}
{"text": ""fourth … I might teach the horse to fly!”","}
{"text": ""THE CRAFT OF POWER, R.G.H. SIU, 1979","}
{"text": ""There are three kinds of time for us to deal with; each presents","}
{"text": ""problems that can be solved with skill and practice. First there is long","}
{"text": ""time: the drawn-out, years-long kind of time that must be managed with","}
{"text": ""patience and gentle guidance. Our handling of long time should be","}
{"text": ""mostly defensive—this is the art of not reacting impulsively, of waiting","}
{"text": ""for opportunity.","}
{"text": ""Next there is forced time: the short-term time that we can manipulate as","}
{"text": ""an offensive weapon, upsetting the timing of our opponents. Finally there","}
{"text": ""is end time, when a plan must be executed with speed and force. We have","}
{"text": ""waited, found the moment, and must not hesitate.","}
{"text": ""Long Time. The famous seventeenth-century Ming painter Chou Yung","}
{"text": ""relates a story that altered his behavior forever. Late one winter afternoon","}
{"text": ""he set out to visit a town that lay across the river from his own town. He","}
{"text": ""was bringing some important books and papers with him and had","}
{"text": ""commissioned a young boy to help him carry them. As the ferry neared","}
{"text": ""the other side of the river, Chou Yung asked the boatman if they would","}
{"text": ""have time to get to the town before its gates closed, since it was a mile","}
{"text": ""away and night was approaching. The boatman glanced at the boy, and at","}
{"text": ""the bundle of loosely tied papers and books—“Yes,” he replied, “if you","}
{"text": ""do not walk too fast.”","}
{"text": ""As they started out, however, the sun was setting. Afraid of being","}
{"text": ""locked out of the town at night, prey to local bandits, Chou and the boy","}
{"text": ""walked faster and faster, finally breaking into a run. Suddenly the string","}
{"text": ""around the papers broke and the documents scattered on the ground. It","}
{"text": ""took them many minutes to put the packet together again, and by the","}
{"text": ""time they had reached the city gates, it was too late.","}
{"text": ""When you force the pace out of fear and impatience, you create a nest","}
{"text": ""of problems that require fixing, and you end up taking much longer than","}
{"text": ""if you had taken your time. Hurriers may occasionally get there quicker,","}
{"text": ""but papers fly everywhere, new dangers arise, and they find themselves","}
{"text": ""in constant crisis mode, fixing the problems that they themselves have","}
{"text": ""created. Sometimes not acting in the face of danger is your best move—you wait, you deliberately slow down. As time passes it will eventually","}
{"text": ""present opportunities you had not imagined.","}
{"text": ""Waiting involves controlling not only your own emotions but those of","}
{"text": ""your colleagues, who, mistaking action for power, may try to push you","}
{"text": ""into making rash moves. In your rivals, on the other hand, you can","}
{"text": ""encourage this same mistake: If you let them rush headlong into trouble","}
{"text": ""while you stand back and wait, you will soon find ripe moments to","}
{"text": ""intervene and pick up the pieces. This wise policy was the principal","}
{"text": ""strategy of the great early-seventeenth-century emperor Tokugawa","}
{"text": ""Ieyasu of Japan. When his predecessor, the headstrong Hideyoshi, whom","}
{"text": ""he served as a general, staged a rash invasion of Korea, Ieyasu did not","}
{"text": ""involve himself. He knew the invasion would be a disaster and would","}
{"text": ""lead to Hideyoshi’s downfall. Better to stand patiently on the sidelines,","}
{"text": ""even for many years, and then be in position to seize power when the","}
{"text": ""time is right—exactly what Ieyasu did, with great artistry.","}
{"text": ""THE TROUT AND THE GUDGEON","}
{"text": ""A fisherman in the month of May stood angling on the bank of the","}
{"text": ""Thames with an artificial fly. He threw his bait with so much art, that a","}
{"text": ""young trout was rushing toward it, when she was prevented by her","}
{"text": ""mother. “Never,” said she, “my child, be too precipitate, where there is a","}
{"text": ""possibility of danger. Take due time to consider, before you risk an action","}
{"text": ""that may be fatal. How know you whether yon appearance be indeed a","}
{"text": ""fly, or the snare of an enemy? Let someone else make the experiment","}
{"text": ""before you. If it be a fly, he will very probably elude the first attack: and","}
{"text": ""the second may be made, if not with success, at least with safety.” She","}
{"text": ""had no sooner spoken, than a gudgeon seized the pretended fly, and","}
{"text": ""became an example to the giddy daughter of the importance of her","}
{"text": ""mother’s counsel.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, ROBERT DODSLEY, 1703-1764","}
{"text": ""You do not deliberately slow time down to live longer, or to take more","}
{"text": ""pleasure in the moment, but the better to play the game of power. First,","}
{"text": ""when your mind is uncluttered by constant emergencies you will see","}
{"text": ""further into the future. Second, you will be able to resist the baits that","}
{"text": ""people dangle in front of you, and will keep yourself from becoming","}
{"text": ""another impatient sucker. Third, you will have more room to be flexible.","}
{"text": ""Opportunities will inevitably arise that you had not expected and would","}
{"text": ""have missed had you forced the pace. Fourth, you will not move fromone deal to the next without completing the first one. To build your","}
{"text": ""power’s foundation can take years; make sure that foundation is secure.","}
{"text": ""Do not be a flash in the pan—success that is built up slowly and surely is","}
{"text": ""the only kind that lasts.","}
{"text": ""Finally, slowing time down will give you a perspective on the times","}
{"text": ""you live in, letting you take a certain distance and putting you in a less","}
{"text": ""emotionally charged position to see the shapes of things to come.","}
{"text": ""Hurriers will often mistake surface phenomena for a real trend, seeing","}
{"text": ""only what they want to see. How much better to see what is really","}
{"text": ""happening, even if it is unpleasant or makes your task harder.","}
{"text": ""Forced Time. The trick in forcing time is to upset the timing of others—","}
{"text": ""to make them hurry, to make them wait, to make them abandon their own","}
{"text": ""pace, to distort their perception of time. By upsetting the timing of your","}
{"text": ""opponent while you stay patient, you open up time for yourself, which is","}
{"text": ""half the game.","}
{"text": ""In 1473 the great Turkish sultan Mehmed the Conqueror invited","}
{"text": ""negotiations with Hungary to end the off-and-on war the two countries","}
{"text": ""had waged for years. When the Hungarian emissary arrived in Turkey to","}
{"text": ""start the talks, Turkish officials humbly apologized—Mehmed had just","}
{"text": ""left Istanbul, the capital, to battle his longtime foe, Uzun Hasan. But he","}
{"text": ""urgently wanted peace with Hungary, and had asked that the emissary","}
{"text": ""join him at the front.","}
{"text": ""When the emissary arrived at the site of the fighting, Mehmed had","}
{"text": ""already left it, moving eastward in pursuit of his swift foe. This happened","}
{"text": ""several times. Wherever the emissary stopped, the Turks lavished gifts","}
{"text": ""and banquets on him, in pleasurable but time-consuming ceremonies.","}
{"text": ""Finally Mehmed defeated Uzun and met with the emissary. Yet his terms","}
{"text": ""for peace with Hungary were excessively harsh. After a few days, the","}
{"text": ""negotiations ended, and the usual stalemate remained in place. But this","}
{"text": ""was fine with Mehmed. In fact he had planned it that way all along:","}
{"text": ""Plotting his campaign against Uzun, he had seen that diverting his armies","}
{"text": ""to the east would leave his western flank vulnerable. To prevent Hungary","}
{"text": ""from taking advantage of his weakness and his preoccupation elsewhere,","}
{"text": ""he first dangled the lure of peace before his enemy, then made them wait","}
{"text": ""—all on his own terms.","}
{"text": ""Making people wait is a powerful way of forcing time, as long as they","}
{"text": ""do not figure out what you are up to. You control the clock, they linger in","}
{"text": ""limbo—and rapidly come unglued, opening up opportunities for you to","}
{"text": ""strike. The opposite effect is equally powerful: You make youropponents hurry. Start off your dealings with them slowly, then suddenly","}
{"text": ""apply pressure, making them feel that everything is happening at once.","}
{"text": ""People who lack the time to think will make mistakes—so set their","}
{"text": ""deadlines for them. This was the technique Machiavelli admired in","}
{"text": ""Cesare Borgia, who, during negotiations, would suddenly press","}
{"text": ""vehemently for a decision, upsetting his opponent’s timing and patience.","}
{"text": ""For who would dare make Cesare wait?","}
{"text": ""Joseph Duveen, the famous art dealer, knew that if he gave an","}
{"text": ""indecisive buyer like John D. Rockefeller a deadline—the painting had","}
{"text": ""to leave the country, another tycoon was interested in it—the client","}
{"text": ""would buy just in time. Freud noticed that patients who had spent years","}
{"text": ""in psychoanalysis without improvement would miraculously recover just","}
{"text": ""in time if he fixed a definite date for the end of the therapy. Jacques","}
{"text": ""Lacan, the famous French psychoanalyst, used a variation on this tactic","}
{"text": ""—he would sometimes end the customary hour session of therapy after","}
{"text": ""only ten minutes, without warning. After this happened several times, the","}
{"text": ""patient would realize that he had better make maximum use of the time,","}
{"text": ""rather than wasting much of the hour with a lot of talk that meant","}
{"text": ""nothing. The deadline, then, is a powerful tool. Close off the vistas of","}
{"text": ""indecision and force people to make up their damn minds or get to the","}
{"text": ""point never let them make you play on their excruciating terms. Never","}
{"text": ""give them time.","}
{"text": ""Magicians and showmen are experts in forcing time. Houdini could","}
{"text": ""often wriggle free of handcuffs in minutes, but he would draw the escape","}
{"text": ""out to an hour, making the audience sweat, as time came to an apparent","}
{"text": ""standstill. Magicians have always known that the best way to alter our","}
{"text": ""perception of time is often to slow down the pace. Creating suspense","}
{"text": ""brings time to a terrifying pause: The slower the magician’s hands move,","}
{"text": ""the easier it is to create the illusion of speed, making people think the","}
{"text": ""rabbit has appeared instantaneously. The great nineteenth-century","}
{"text": ""magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin took explicit notice of this effect:","}
{"text": ""“The more slowly a story is told,” he said, “the shorter it seems.”","}
{"text": ""Going slower also makes what you are doing more interesting—the","}
{"text": ""audience yields to your pace, becomes entranced. It is a state in which","}
{"text": ""time whizzes delightfully by. You must practice such illusions, which","}
{"text": ""share in the hypnotist’s power to alter perceptions of time.","}
{"text": ""End Time. You can play the game with the utmost artistry—waiting","}
{"text": ""patiently for the right moment to act, putting your competitors off their","}
{"text": ""form by messing with their timing—but it won’t mean a thing unless youknow how to finish. Do not be one of those people who look like","}
{"text": ""paragons of patience but are actually just afraid to bring things to a close:","}
{"text": ""Patience is worthless unless combined with a willingness to fall","}
{"text": ""ruthlessly on your opponent at the right moment. You can wait as long as","}
{"text": ""necessary for the conclusion to come, but when it comes it must come","}
{"text": ""quickly. Use speed to paralyze your opponent, cover up any mistakes","}
{"text": ""you might make, and impress people with your aura of authority and","}
{"text": ""finality.","}
{"text": ""With the patience of a snake charmer, you draw the snake out with","}
{"text": ""calm and steady rhythms. Once the snake is out, though, would you","}
{"text": ""dangle your foot above its deadly head? There is never a good reason to","}
{"text": ""allow the slightest hitch in your endgame. Your mastery of timing can","}
{"text": ""really only be judged by how you work with end time—how you quickly","}
{"text": ""change the pace and bring things to a swift and definitive conclusion.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Hawk. Patiently and silently it circles the sky, high","}
{"text": ""above, all-seeing with its powerful eyes. Those below have","}
{"text": ""no awareness that they are being tracked. Suddenly,","}
{"text": ""when the moment arrives, the hawk swoops","}
{"text": ""down with a speed that cannot be de","}
{"text": ""fended against; before its prey","}
{"text": ""knows what has happened,","}
{"text": ""the bird’s viselike talons","}
{"text": ""have carried it","}
{"text": ""up into the","}
{"text": ""sky.","}
{"text": ""Authority: There is a tide in the affairs of men, / Which, taken at the","}
{"text": ""flood, leads on to fortune; / Omitted, all the voyage of their life / Is","}
{"text": ""bound in shallows and in miseries. (Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare,","}
{"text": ""1564-1616)REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""There is no power to be gained in letting go of the reins and adapting to","}
{"text": ""whatever time brings. To some degree you must guide time or you will","}
{"text": ""be its merciless victim. There is accordingly no reversal to this law.LAW 36","}
{"text": ""DISDAIN THINGS YOU CANNOT HAVE:","}
{"text": ""IGNORING THEM IS THE BEST REVENGE","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility.","}
{"text": ""The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a","}
{"text": ""small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it.","}
{"text": ""It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want","}
{"text": ""but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the","}
{"text": ""more superior you seem.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""The Mexican rebel leader Pancho Villa started out as the chief of a gang","}
{"text": ""of bandits, but after revolution broke out in Mexico in 1910, he became a","}
{"text": ""kind of folk hero—robbing trains and giving the money to the poor,","}
{"text": ""leading daring raids, and charming the ladies with romantic escapades.","}
{"text": ""His exploits fascinated Americans—he seemed a man from another era,","}
{"text": ""part Robin Hood, part Don Juan. After a few years of bitter fighting,","}
{"text": ""however, General Carranza emerged as the victor in the Revolution; the","}
{"text": ""defeated Villa and his troops went back home, to the northern state of","}
{"text": ""Chihuahua. His army dwindled and he turned to banditry again,","}
{"text": ""damaging his popularity. Finally, perhaps out of desperation, he began to","}
{"text": ""rail against the United States, the gringos, whom he blamed for his","}
{"text": ""troubles.","}
{"text": ""In March of 1916, Pancho Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico.","}
{"text": ""Rampaging through the town, he and his gang killed seventeen American","}
{"text": ""soldiers and civilians. President Woodrow Wilson, like many Americans,had admired Villa; now, however, the bandit needed to be punished.","}
{"text": ""Wilson’s advisers urged him to send troops into Mexico to capture Villa.","}
{"text": ""For a power as large as the United States, they argued, not to strike back","}
{"text": ""at an army that had invaded its territory would send the worst kind of","}
{"text": ""signal. Furthermore, they continued, many Americans saw Wilson as a","}
{"text": ""pacifist, a principle the public doubted as a response to violence; he","}
{"text": ""needed to prove his mettle and manliness by ordering the use of force.","}
{"text": ""The pressure on Wilson was strong, and before the month was out,","}
{"text": ""with the approval of the Carranza government, he sent an army of ten","}
{"text": ""thousand soldiers to capture Pancho Villa. The venture was called the","}
{"text": ""Punitive Expedition, and its leader was the dashing General John J.","}
{"text": ""Pershing, who had defeated guerrillas in the Philippines and Native","}
{"text": ""Americans in the American Southwest. Certainly Pershing could find","}
{"text": ""and overpower Pancho Villa.","}
{"text": ""The Punitive Expedition became a sensational story, and carloads of","}
{"text": ""U.S. reporters followed Pershing into action. The campaign, they wrote,","}
{"text": ""would be a test of American power. The soldiers carried the latest in","}
{"text": ""weaponry, communicated by radio, and were supported by","}
{"text": ""reconnaissance from the air.","}
{"text": ""In the first few months, the troops split up into small units to comb the","}
{"text": ""wilds of northern Mexico. The Americans offered a $50,000 reward for","}
{"text": ""information leading to Villa’s capture. But the Mexican people, who had","}
{"text": ""been disillusioned with Villa when he had returned to banditry, now","}
{"text": ""idolized him for facing this mighty American army. They began to give","}
{"text": ""Pershing false leads: Villa had been seen in this village, or in that","}
{"text": ""mountain hideaway, airplanes would be dispatched, troops would scurry","}
{"text": ""after them, and no one would ever see him. The wily bandit seemed to be","}
{"text": ""always one step ahead of the American military.","}
{"text": ""THE ON AND THE CRAPES","}
{"text": ""A starving fox … saw a cluster Of luscious-looking grapes of purplish","}
{"text": ""luster Dangling above him on a trellis-frame. He would have dearly","}
{"text": ""liked them for his lunch, But when he tried and failed to reach the bunch:","}
{"text": ""“Ah well, it’s more than likely they’re not sweet—Good only for green","}
{"text": ""fools to eat!”","}
{"text": ""Wasn’t he wise to say they were unripe Rather than whine and gripe?","}
{"text": ""FABLES. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE. 1621-1695Once when G. K. Chesterton’s economic views were abused in print by","}
{"text": ""George Bernard Shaw, his friends waited in vain for him to reply.","}
{"text": ""Historian Hilaire Belloc reproached him. “My dear Belloc,” Chesterton","}
{"text": ""said, “I have answered him. To a man of Shaw’s wit, silence is the one","}
{"text": ""unbearable repartee.","}
{"text": ""THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF ANECDOTES, CLIFTON","}
{"text": ""FADIMAN, ED., 1985","}
{"text": ""By the summer of that year, the expedition had swelled to 123,000","}
{"text": ""men. They suffered through the stultifying heat, the mosquitoes, the wild","}
{"text": ""terrain. Trudging over a countryside in which they were already resented,","}
{"text": ""they infuriated both the local people and the Mexican government. At","}
{"text": ""one point Pancho Villa hid in a mountain cave to recover from a gunshot","}
{"text": ""wound he received in a skirmish with the Mexican army; looking down","}
{"text": ""from his aerie, he could watch Pershing lead the exhausted American","}
{"text": ""troops back and forth across the mountains, never getting any closer to","}
{"text": ""their goal.","}
{"text": ""All the way into winter, Villa played his cat-and-mouse game.","}
{"text": ""Americans came to see the affair as a kind of slapstick farce—in fact","}
{"text": ""they began to admire Villa again, respecting his resourcefulness in","}
{"text": ""eluding a superior force. In January of 1917, Wilson finally ordered","}
{"text": ""Pershing’s withdrawal. As the troops made their way back to American","}
{"text": ""territory, rebel forces pursued them, forcing the U.S. Army to use","}
{"text": ""airplanes to protect its rear flanks. The Punitive Expedition was being","}
{"text": ""punished itself—it had turned into a retreat of the most humiliating sort.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Woodrow Wilson organized the Punitive Expedition as a show of force:","}
{"text": ""He would teach Pancho Villa a lesson and in the process show the world","}
{"text": ""that no one, large or small, could attack the mighty United States and get","}
{"text": ""away with it. The expedition would be over in a few weeks, and Villa","}
{"text": ""would be forgotten.","}
{"text": ""That was not how it played out. The longer the expedition took, the","}
{"text": ""more it focused attention on the Americans’ incompetence and on Villa’s","}
{"text": ""cleverness. Soon what was forgotten was not Villa but the raid that had","}
{"text": ""started it all. As a minor annoyance became an international","}
{"text": ""embarrassment, and the enraged Americans dispatched more troops, the","}
{"text": ""imbalance between the size of the pursuer and the size of the pursued—","}
{"text": ""who still managed to stay free—made the affair a joke. And in the endthis white elephant of an army had to lumber out of Mexico, humiliated.","}
{"text": ""The Punitive Expedition did the opposite of what it set out to do: It left","}
{"text": ""Villa not only free but more popular than ever.","}
{"text": ""What could Wilson have done differently? He could have pressured","}
{"text": ""the Carranza government to catch Villa for him. Alternatively, since","}
{"text": ""many Mexicans had tired of Villa before the Punitive Expedition began,","}
{"text": ""he could have worked quietly with them and won their support for a","}
{"text": ""much smaller raid to capture the bandit. He could have organized a trap","}
{"text": ""on the American side of the border, anticipating the next raid. Or he","}
{"text": ""could have ignored the matter altogether for the time being, waiting for","}
{"text": ""the Mexicans themselves to do away with Villa of their own accord.","}
{"text": ""THE ASS AND THE GARDENER","}
{"text": ""An ass had once by some accident lost his tail, which was a grievous","}
{"text": ""affliction to him; and he was everywhere seeking after it, being fool","}
{"text": ""enough to think he could get it set on again. He passed through a","}
{"text": ""meadow, and afterwards got into a garden. The gardener seeing him, and","}
{"text": ""not able to endure the mischief he was doing in trampling down his","}
{"text": ""plants, fell into a violent rage, ran to the ass, and never standing on the","}
{"text": ""ceremony of a pillory, cut off both his ears, and beat him out of the","}
{"text": ""ground. Thus the ass, who bemoaned the loss of his tail, was in far","}
{"text": ""greater affliction when he saw himself without ears.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, PILPAY, INDIA, FOURTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""THE PRODIGY OX","}
{"text": ""Once, when the Tokudaiji minister of the right was chief of the imperial","}
{"text": ""police, he was holding a meeting of his staff at the middle gate when an","}
{"text": ""ox belonging to an official named Akikane got loose and wandered into","}
{"text": ""the ministry building. It climbed up on the dais where the chief was","}
{"text": ""seated and lay there, chewing its cud. Everyone was sure that this was","}
{"text": ""some grave portent, and urged that the ox be sent to a yin-yang diviner.","}
{"text": ""However, the prime minister, the father of the minister of the right, said,","}
{"text": ""“An ox has no discrimination. It has legs—there is nowhere it won’t go.","}
{"text": ""It does not make sense to deprive an underpaid official of the wretched","}
{"text": ""ox he needs in order to attend court.” He returned the ox to its owner","}
{"text": ""and changed the matting on which it had lain. No untoward event of anykind occurred afterward. They say that if you see a prodigy and do not","}
{"text": ""treat it as such, its character as a prodigy is destroyed.","}
{"text": ""ESSAYS IN IDLENESS, KENKO, JAPAN, FOURTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""Remember: You choose to let things bother you. You can just as easily","}
{"text": ""choose not to notice the irritating offender, to consider the matter trivial","}
{"text": ""and unworthy of your interest. That is the powerful move. What you do","}
{"text": ""not react to cannot drag you down in a futile engagement. Your pride is","}
{"text": ""not involved. The best lesson you can teach an irritating gnat is to","}
{"text": ""consign it to oblivion by ignoring it. If it is impossible to ignore (Pancho","}
{"text": ""Villa had in fact killed American citizens), then conspire in secret to do","}
{"text": ""away with it, but never inadvertently draw attention to the bothersome","}
{"text": ""insect that will go away or die on its own. If you waste time and energy","}
{"text": ""in such entanglements, it is your own fault. Learn to play the card of","}
{"text": ""disdain and turn your back on what cannot harm you in the long run.","}
{"text": ""Just think—it cost your government $130 million to try to get me. I took","}
{"text": ""them","}
{"text": ""over rough, hilly country. Sometimes for fifty miles at a stretch they had","}
{"text": ""no water.","}
{"text": ""They had nothing but the sun and mosquitoes…. And nothing was","}
{"text": ""gained.","}
{"text": ""Pancho Villa, 1878-1923","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In the year 1527, King Henry VIII of England decided he had to find a","}
{"text": ""way to get rid of his wife, Catherine of Aragon. Catherine had failed to","}
{"text": ""produce a son, a male heir who would ensure the continuance of his","}
{"text": ""dynasty, and Henry thought he knew why: He had read in the Bible the","}
{"text": ""passage, “And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean","}
{"text": ""thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be","}
{"text": ""childless.” Before marrying Henry, Catherine had married his older","}
{"text": ""brother Arthur, but Arthur had died five months later. Henry had waited","}
{"text": ""an appropriate time, then had married his brother’s widow.","}
{"text": ""Catherine was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of","}
{"text": ""Spain, and by marrying her Henry had kept alive a valuable alliance.","}
{"text": ""Now, however, Catherine had to assure him that her brief marriage withArthur had never been consummated. Otherwise Henry would view their","}
{"text": ""relationship as incestuous and their marriage as null and void. Catherine","}
{"text": ""insisted that she had remained a virgin through her marriage to Arthur,","}
{"text": ""and Pope Clement VII supported her by giving his blessing to the union,","}
{"text": ""which he could not have done had he considered it incestuous. Yet after","}
{"text": ""years of marriage to Henry, Catherine had failed to produce a son, and in","}
{"text": ""the early 1520s she had entered menopause. To the king this could only","}
{"text": ""mean one thing: She had lied about her virginity, their union was","}
{"text": ""incestuous, and God had punished them.","}
{"text": ""There was another reason why Henry wanted to get rid of Catherine:","}
{"text": ""He had fallen in love with a younger woman, Anne Boleyn. Not only","}
{"text": ""was he in love with her, but if he married her he could still hope to sire a","}
{"text": ""legitimate son. The marriage to Catherine had to be annulled. For this,","}
{"text": ""however, Henry had to apply to the Vatican. But Pope Clement would","}
{"text": ""never annul the marriage.","}
{"text": ""By the summer of 1527, rumors spread throughout Europe that Henry","}
{"text": ""was about to attempt the impossible—to annul his marriage against","}
{"text": ""Clement’s wishes. Catherine would never abdicate, let alone voluntarily","}
{"text": ""enter a nunnery, as Henry had urged her. But Henry had his own strategy:","}
{"text": ""He stopped sleeping in the same bed with Catherine, since he considered","}
{"text": ""her his sister-in-law, not his lawful wife. He insisted on calling her","}
{"text": ""Princess Dowager of Wales, her title as Arthur’s widow. Finally, in 1531,","}
{"text": ""he banished her from court and shipped her off to a distant castle. The","}
{"text": ""pope ordered him to return her to court, on pain of excommunication, the","}
{"text": ""most severe penalty a Catholic could suffer. Henry not only ignored this","}
{"text": ""threat, he insisted that his marriage to Catherine had been dissolved, and","}
{"text": ""in 1533 he married Anne Boleyn.","}
{"text": ""Clement refused to recognize the marriage, but Henry did not care. He","}
{"text": ""no longer recognized the pope’s authority, and proceeded to break with","}
{"text": ""the Roman Catholic Church, establishing the Church of England in its","}
{"text": ""stead, with the king as the head of the new church. And so, not","}
{"text": ""surprisingly, the newly formed Church of England proclaimed Anne","}
{"text": ""Boleyn England’s rightful queen.","}
{"text": ""The pope tried every threat in the book, but nothing worked. Henry","}
{"text": ""simply ignored him. Clement fumed—no one had ever treated him so","}
{"text": ""contemptuously. Henry had humiliated him and he had no power of","}
{"text": ""recourse. Even excommunication (which he constantly threatened but","}
{"text": ""never carried out) would no longer matter.","}
{"text": ""Catherine too felt the devastating sting of Henry’s disdain. She tried to","}
{"text": ""fight back, but in appealing to Henry her words fell on deaf ears, andsoon they fell on no one’s. Isolated from the court, ignored by the king,","}
{"text": ""mad with anger and frustration, Catherine slowly deteriorated, and","}
{"text": ""finally died in January of 1536, from a cancerous tumor of the heart.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""When you pay attention to a person, the two of you become partners of","}
{"text": ""sorts, each moving in step to the actions and reactions of the other. In the","}
{"text": ""process you lose your initiative. It is a dynamic of all interactions: By","}
{"text": ""acknowledging other people, even if only to fight with them, you open","}
{"text": ""yourself to their influence. Had Henry locked horns with Catherine, he","}
{"text": ""would have found himself mired in endless arguments that would have","}
{"text": ""weakened his resolve and eventually worn him down. (Catherine was a","}
{"text": ""strong, stubborn woman.) Had he set out to convince Clement to change","}
{"text": ""his verdict on the marriage’s validity, or tried to compromise and","}
{"text": ""negotiate with him, he would have gotten bogged down in Clement’s","}
{"text": ""favorite tactic: playing for time, promising flexibility, but actually","}
{"text": ""getting what popes always got—their way.","}
{"text": ""Henry would have none of this. He played a devastating power game","}
{"text": ""—total disdain. By ignoring people you cancel them out. This unsettles","}
{"text": ""and infuriates them—but since they have no dealings with you, there is","}
{"text": ""nothing they can do.","}
{"text": ""And in this view it is advisable to let everyone of your acquaintance—","}
{"text": ""whether man or woman—feel now and then that you could very well","}
{"text": ""dispense with their company. This will consolidate friendship. Nay, with","}
{"text": ""most people there will be no harm in occasionally mixing a grain of","}
{"text": ""disdain with your treatment of them; that will make them value your","}
{"text": ""friendship all the more. Chi non stima vien stimato, as a subtle Italian","}
{"text": ""proverb has it—to disregard is to win regard. But if we really think very","}
{"text": ""highly of a person, we should conceal it from him like a crime. This is","}
{"text": ""not a very gratifying thing to do, but it is right. Why, a dog will not bear","}
{"text": ""being treated too kindly, let alone a man!","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""THE MONKEY AND THE PEAS","}
{"text": ""A monkey was carrying two handfuls of peas. One little pea dropped out.","}
{"text": ""He tried to pick it up, and spilt twenty. He tried to pick up the twenty, andspilt them all. Then he lost his temper, scattered the peas in all","}
{"text": ""directions, and ran away.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, LEO TOLSTOY, 1828-1910","}
{"text": ""This is the offensive aspect of the law. Playing the card of contempt is","}
{"text": ""immensely powerful, for it lets you determine the conditions of the","}
{"text": ""conflict. The war is waged on your terms. This is the ultimate power","}
{"text": ""pose: You are the king, and you ignore what offends you. Watch how this","}
{"text": ""tactic infuriates people—half of what they do is to get your attention, and","}
{"text": ""when you withhold it from them, they flounder in frustration.","}
{"text": ""MAN: Kick him—he’ll forgive you. Flatter him—he may or may not","}
{"text": ""see through you. But ignore him and he’ll hate you.","}
{"text": ""Idries Shah, Caravan of Dreams, 1968","}
{"text": ""As some make gossip out of everything, so others make much ado about","}
{"text": ""everything. They are always talking big, [and] take everything seriously,","}
{"text": ""making a quarrel and a mystery of it. You should take very few","}
{"text": ""grievances to heart, for to do so is to give yourself groundless worry. It is","}
{"text": ""a topsyturvy way of behaving to take to heart cares which you ought to","}
{"text": ""throw over your shoulder. Many things which seemed important [at the","}
{"text": ""time] turn out to be of no account when they are ignored; and others,","}
{"text": ""which seem trifling, appear formidable when you pay attention to them.","}
{"text": ""Things can easily be settled at the outset, but not so later on. In many","}
{"text": ""cases, the remedy itself is the cause of the disease: to let things be is not","}
{"text": ""the least satisfactory of life’s rules.","}
{"text": ""BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Desire often creates paradoxical effects: The more you want something,","}
{"text": ""the more you chase after it, the more it eludes you. The more interest you","}
{"text": ""show, the more you repel the object of your desire. This is because your","}
{"text": ""interest is too strong—it makes people awkward, even fearful.","}
{"text": ""Uncontrollable desire makes you seem weak, unworthy, pathetic.","}
{"text": ""You need to turn your back on what you want, show your contempt","}
{"text": ""and disdain. This is the kind of powerful response that will drive your","}
{"text": ""targets crazy. They will respond with a desire of their own, which is","}
{"text": ""simply to have an effect on you—perhaps to possess you, perhaps to hurtyou. If they want to possess you, you have successfully completed the","}
{"text": ""first step of seduction. If they want to hurt you, you have unsettled them","}
{"text": ""and made them play by your rules (see Laws 8 and 39 on baiting people","}
{"text": ""into action).","}
{"text": ""Contempt is the prerogative of the king. Where his eyes turn, what he","}
{"text": ""decides to see, is what has reality; what he ignores and turns his back on","}
{"text": ""is as good as dead. That was the weapon of King Louis XIV—if he did","}
{"text": ""not like you, he acted as if you were not there, maintaining his","}
{"text": ""superiority by cutting off the dynamic of interaction. This is the power","}
{"text": ""you have when you play the card of contempt, periodically showing","}
{"text": ""people that you can do without them.","}
{"text": ""If choosing to ignore enhances your power, it follows that the opposite","}
{"text": ""approach—commitment and engagement—often weakens you. By","}
{"text": ""paying undue attention to a puny enemy, you look puny, and the longer it","}
{"text": ""takes you to crush such an enemy, the larger the enemy seems. When","}
{"text": ""Athens set out to conquer the island of Sicily, in 415 B.C., a giant power","}
{"text": ""was attacking a tiny one. Yet by entangling Athens in a long-drawn-out","}
{"text": ""conflict, Syracuse, Sicily’s most important city-state, was able to grow in","}
{"text": ""stature and confidence. Finally defeating Athens, it made itself famous","}
{"text": ""for centuries to come. In recent times, President John F. Kennedy made a","}
{"text": ""similar mistake in his attitude to Fidel Castro of Cuba: His failed","}
{"text": ""invasion at the Bay of Pigs, in 1961, made Castro an international hero.","}
{"text": ""A second danger: If you succeed in crushing the irritant, or even if you","}
{"text": ""merely wound it, you create sympathy for the weaker side. Critics of","}
{"text": ""Franklin D. Roosevelt complained bitterly about the money his","}
{"text": ""administration spent on government projects, but their attacks had no","}
{"text": ""resonance with the public, who saw the president as working to end the","}
{"text": ""Great Depression. His opponents thought they had an example that","}
{"text": ""would show just how wasteful he had become: his dog, Fala, which he","}
{"text": ""lavished with favors and attention. Critics railed at his insensitivity—","}
{"text": ""spending taxpayers’ money on a dog while so many Americans were still","}
{"text": ""in poverty. But Roosevelt had a response: How dare his critics attack a","}
{"text": ""defenseless little dog? His speech in defense of Fala was one of the most","}
{"text": ""popular he ever gave. In this case, the weak party involved was the","}
{"text": ""president’s dog and the attack backfired—in the long run, it only made","}
{"text": ""the president more sympathetic, since many people will naturally side","}
{"text": ""with the “underdog,” just as the American public came to sympathize","}
{"text": ""with the wily but outnumbered Pancho Villa.","}
{"text": ""It is tempting to want to fix our mistakes, but the harder we try, the","}
{"text": ""worse we often make them. It is sometimes more politic to leave themalone. In 1971, when the New York Times published the Pentagon Papers,","}
{"text": ""a group of government documents about the history of U.S. involvement","}
{"text": ""in Indochina, Henry Kissinger erupted into a volcanic rage. Furious","}
{"text": ""about the Nixon administration’s vulnerability to this kind of damaging","}
{"text": ""leak, he made recommendations that eventually led to the formation of a","}
{"text": ""group called the Plumbers to plug the leaks. This was the unit that later","}
{"text": ""broke into Democratic Party offices in the Watergate Hotel, setting off","}
{"text": ""the chain of events that led to Nixon’s downfall. In reality the publication","}
{"text": ""of the Pentagon Papers was not a serious threat to the administration, but","}
{"text": ""Kissinger’s reaction made it a big deal. In trying to fix one problem, he","}
{"text": ""created another: a paranoia for security that in the end was much more","}
{"text": ""destructive to the government. Had he ignored the Pentagon Papers, the","}
{"text": ""scandal they had created would eventually have blown over.","}
{"text": ""Instead of inadvertently focusing attention on a problem, making it","}
{"text": ""seem worse by publicizing how much concern and anxiety it is causing","}
{"text": ""you, it is often far wiser to play the contemptuous aristocrat, not deigning","}
{"text": ""to acknowledge the problem’s existence. There are several ways to","}
{"text": ""execute this strategy.","}
{"text": ""First there is the sour-grapes approach. If there is something you want","}
{"text": ""but that you realize you cannot have, the worst thing you can do is draw","}
{"text": ""attention to your disappointment by complaining about it. An infinitely","}
{"text": ""more powerful tactic is to act as if it never really interested you in the","}
{"text": ""first place. When the writer George Sand’s supporters nominated her to","}
{"text": ""be the first female member of the Académie Française, in 1861, Sand","}
{"text": ""quickly saw that the academy would never admit her. Instead of whining,","}
{"text": ""though, she claimed she had no interest in belonging to this group of","}
{"text": ""worn-out, overrated, out-of-touch windbags. Her disdain was the perfect","}
{"text": ""response: Had she shown her anger at her exclusion, she would have","}
{"text": ""revealed how much it meant to her. Instead she branded the academy a","}
{"text": ""club of old men—and why should she be angry or disappointed at not","}
{"text": ""having to spend her time with them? Crying “sour grapes” is sometimes","}
{"text": ""seen as a reflection of the weak; it is actually the tactic of the powerful.","}
{"text": ""THE MAN AND HIS SHADOW","}
{"text": ""There was a certain original man who desired to catch his own shadow.","}
{"text": ""He makes a step or two toward it, but it moves away from him. He","}
{"text": ""quickens his pace; it does the same. At last he takes to running; but the","}
{"text": ""quicker he goes, the quicker runs the shadow also, utterly refusing to","}
{"text": ""give itself up, just as if it had been a treasure. But see! our eccentricfriend suddenly turns round, and walks away from it. And presently he","}
{"text": ""looks behind him; now the shadow runs after him. Ladies fair, I have","}
{"text": ""often observed… that Fortune treats us in a similar way. One man tries","}
{"text": ""with all his might to seize the goddess, and only loses his time and his","}
{"text": ""trouble. Another seems, to all appearance, to be running out of her sight;","}
{"text": ""but, no: she herself takes a pleasure in pursuing him.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, IVAN KRILOFF, 1768-1844","}
{"text": ""Second, when you are attacked by an inferior, deflect people’s","}
{"text": ""attention by making it clear that the attack has not even registered. Look","}
{"text": ""away, or answer sweetly, showing how little the attack concerns you.","}
{"text": ""Similarly, when you yourself have committed a blunder, the best","}
{"text": ""response is often to make less of your mistake by treating it lightly.","}
{"text": ""The Japanese emperor Go-Saiin, a great disciple of the tea ceremony,","}
{"text": ""owned a priceless antique tea bowl that all the courtiers envied. One day","}
{"text": ""a guest, Dainagon Tsunehiro, asked if he could carry the tea bowl into","}
{"text": ""the light, to examine it more closely. The bowl rarely left the table, but","}
{"text": ""the emperor was in good spirits and he consented. As Dainagon carried","}
{"text": ""the bowl to the railing of the verandah, however, and held it up to the","}
{"text": ""light, it slipped from his hands and fell on a rock in the garden below,","}
{"text": ""smashing into tiny fragments.","}
{"text": ""The emperor of course was furious. “It was indeed most clumsy of me","}
{"text": ""to let it drop in this way,” said Dainagon, with a deep bow, “but really","}
{"text": ""there is not much harm done. This Ido tea-bowl is a very old one and it is","}
{"text": ""impossible to say how much longer it would have lasted, but anyhow it is","}
{"text": ""not a thing of any public use, so I think it rather fortunate that it has","}
{"text": ""broken thus.” This surprising response had an immediate effect: The","}
{"text": ""emperor calmed down. Dainagon neither sniveled nor overapologized,","}
{"text": ""but signaled his own worth and power by treating his mistake with a","}
{"text": ""touch of disdain. The emperor had to respond with a similar aristocratic","}
{"text": ""indifference; his anger had made him seem low and petty—an image","}
{"text": ""Dainagon was able to manipulate.","}
{"text": ""Among equals this tactic might backfire: Your indifference could","}
{"text": ""make you seem callous. But with a master, if you act quickly and without","}
{"text": ""great fuss, it can work to great effect: You bypass his angry response,","}
{"text": ""save him the time and energy he would waste by brooding over it, and","}
{"text": ""allow him the opportunity to display his own lack of pettiness publicly.","}
{"text": ""If we make excuses and denials when we are caught in a mistake or a","}
{"text": ""deception, we stir the waters and make the situation worse. It is often","}
{"text": ""wiser to play things the opposite way. The Renaissance writer Pietro","}
{"text": ""Aretino often boasted of his aristocratic lineage, which was, of course, afiction, since he was actually the son of a shoemaker. When an enemy of","}
{"text": ""his finally revealed the embarrassing truth, word quickly spread, and","}
{"text": ""soon all of Venice (where he lived at the time) was aghast at Aretino’s","}
{"text": ""lies. Had he tried to defend himself, he would have only dragged himself","}
{"text": ""down. His response was masterful: He announced that he was indeed the","}
{"text": ""son of a shoemaker, but this only proved his greatness, since he had risen","}
{"text": ""from the lowest stratum of society to its very pinnacle. From then on he","}
{"text": ""never mentioned his previous lie, trumpeting instead his new position on","}
{"text": ""the matter of his ancestry.","}
{"text": ""Remember: The powerful responses to niggling, petty annoyances and","}
{"text": ""irritations are contempt and disdain. Never show that something has","}
{"text": ""affected you, or that you are offended—that only shows you have","}
{"text": ""acknowledged a problem. Contempt is a dish that is best served cold and","}
{"text": ""without affectation.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Tiny","}
{"text": ""Wound.","}
{"text": ""It is small but painful and irritating. You","}
{"text": ""try all sorts of medicaments, you com","}
{"text": ""plain, you scratch and pick at the scab.","}
{"text": ""Doctors only make it worse, transforming","}
{"text": ""the tiny wound into a grave matter. If only","}
{"text": ""you had left the wound alone, letting time","}
{"text": ""heal it and freeing yourself of worry.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Know how to play the card of contempt. It is the most politic","}
{"text": ""kind of revenge. For there are many of whom we should have known","}
{"text": ""nothing if their distinguished opponents had taken no notice of them.","}
{"text": ""There is no revenge like oblivion, for it is the entombment of the","}
{"text": ""unworthy in the dust of their own nothingness. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-","}
{"text": ""1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSALYou must play the card of contempt with care and delicacy. Most small","}
{"text": ""troubles will vanish on their own if you leave them be; but some will","}
{"text": ""grow and fester unless you attend to them. Ignore a person of inferior","}
{"text": ""stature and the next time you look he has become a serious rival, and","}
{"text": ""your contempt has made him vengeful as well. The great princes of","}
{"text": ""Renaissance Italy chose to ignore Cesare Borgia at the outset of his","}
{"text": ""career as a young general in the army of his father, Pope Alexander VI.","}
{"text": ""By the time they paid attention it was too late—the cub was now a lion,","}
{"text": ""gobbling up chunks of Italy. Often, then, while you show contempt","}
{"text": ""publicly you will also need to keep an eye on the problem privately,","}
{"text": ""monitoring its status and making sure it goes away. Do not let it become","}
{"text": ""a cancerous cell.","}
{"text": ""Develop the skill of sensing problems when they are still small and","}
{"text": ""taking care of them before they become intractable. Learn to distinguish","}
{"text": ""between the potentially disastrous and the mildly irritating, the nuisance","}
{"text": ""that will quietly go away on its own. In either case, though, never","}
{"text": ""completely take your eye off it. As long as it is alive it can smolder and","}
{"text": ""spark into life.LAW 37","}
{"text": ""CREATE COMPELLING SPECTACLES","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power","}
{"text": ""—everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you,","}
{"text": ""then, full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your","}
{"text": ""presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are","}
{"text": ""really doing.","}
{"text": ""ANTONY AND CLEOPATHA","}
{"text": ""She relied above all upon her physical presence and the spell and","}
{"text": ""enchantment which it could create…. She came sailing up the river","}
{"text": ""Cydnus in a barge with a poop of gold, its purple sails billowing in the","}
{"text": ""wind, while her rowers caressed the water with oars of silver which","}
{"text": ""dipped in time to the music of the flute, accompanied by pipes and lutes.","}
{"text": ""Cleopatra herself reclined beneath a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed in","}
{"text": ""the character of Aphrodite, as we see her in paintings, while on either","}
{"text": ""side to complete the picture stood boys costumed as Cupids who cooled","}
{"text": ""her with their fans. Instead of a crew the barge was lined with the most","}
{"text": ""beautiful of her waiting-women attired as Nereids and Graces, some at","}
{"text": ""the rudders, others at the tackle of the sails, and all the while an","}
{"text": ""indescribably rich perfume, exhaled from innumerable censers, was","}
{"text": ""wafted from the vessel to the riverbanks. Great multitudes accompanied","}
{"text": ""this royal progress, some of them following the queen on both sides of","}
{"text": ""the river from its very mouth, while others hurried down from the city of","}
{"text": ""Tarsus to gaze at the sight. Gradually the crowds drifted away from the","}
{"text": ""marketplace, where Antony awaited the queen enthroned on his tribunal,","}
{"text": ""until at last he was left sitting quite alone. And the word spread on every","}
{"text": ""side that Aphrodite had come to revel with Dionysus for the happiness of","}
{"text": ""Asia. Antony then sent a message inviting Cleopatra to dine with him.","}
{"text": ""But she thought it more appropriate that he should come to her, and so,as he wished to show his courtesy and goodwill, he accepted and went.","}
{"text": ""He found the preparations made to receive him magnificent bevond","}
{"text": ""words, but what astonished him most of all was the extraordinary","}
{"text": ""number of lights. So many of these, it is said, were let down from the roof","}
{"text": ""and displayed on all sides at once, and they were arranged and grouped","}
{"text": ""in such ingenious patterns in relation to each other, some in squares and","}
{"text": ""some in circles, that they created as brilliant a spectacle as can ever","}
{"text": ""have been devised to delight the eve.","}
{"text": ""LIFE OF ANTONY. PLI [ARCH. C. A.D. 46-120","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I","}
{"text": ""In the early 1780s, word spread through Berlin of the strange and","}
{"text": ""spectacular medical practice of a Dr. Weisleder. He performed his","}
{"text": ""miracles in an enormous converted beer hall, outside which Berliners","}
{"text": ""began to notice ever longer lines of people—the blind, the lame, anyone","}
{"text": ""with an illness incurable by normal medicine. When it leaked out that the","}
{"text": ""doctor worked by exposing the patient to the rays of the moon, he soon","}
{"text": ""became dubbed The Moon Doctor of Berlin.","}
{"text": ""Sometime in 1783, it was reported that Dr. Weisleder had cured a","}
{"text": ""well-to-do woman of a terrible ailment. He suddenly became a celebrity.","}
{"text": ""Previously only the poorest Berliners had been seen waiting outside the","}
{"text": ""beer hall in their rags; now magnificent carriages were parked outside,","}
{"text": ""and gentlemen in frock coats, and ladies with enormous coiffures, lined","}
{"text": ""the street as sunset drew near. Even folk with the mildest of ailments","}
{"text": ""came, out of sheer curiosity. As they waited in line, the poorer clients","}
{"text": ""would explain to the gentlemen and ladies that the doctor only practiced","}
{"text": ""when the moon was in its increscent phase. Many would add that they","}
{"text": ""themselves had already been exposed to the healing powers he called","}
{"text": ""forth from the rays of the moon. Even those who felt cured kept coming","}
{"text": ""back, drawn by this powerful experience.","}
{"text": ""Inside the beer hall, a strange and stirring spectacle greeted the visitor:","}
{"text": ""Packed into the entrance hall was a crowd of all classes and ethnic","}
{"text": ""backgrounds, a veritable Tower of Babel. Through tall windows on the","}
{"text": ""northern side of the hall, silvery moonlight poured in at odd angles. The","}
{"text": ""doctor and his wife, who, it seemed, was also able to effect the cure,practiced on the second floor, which was reached by a stairway, at the","}
{"text": ""end of the hall. As the line edged closer to the stairs, the sick would hear","}
{"text": ""shouts and cries from above, and word would spread of, perhaps, a blind","}
{"text": ""gentleman suddenly able to see.","}
{"text": ""Once upstairs, the line would fork in two directions, toward a northern","}
{"text": ""room for the doctor, a southern one for his wife, who worked only on the","}
{"text": ""ladies. Finally, after hours of anticipation and waiting in line, the","}
{"text": ""gentlemen patients would be led before the amazing doctor himself, an","}
{"text": ""elderly man with a few stalks of wild gray hair and an air of nervous","}
{"text": ""energy. He would take the patient (let us say a young boy, brought in by","}
{"text": ""his father), uncover the afflicted body part, and lift the boy up to the","}
{"text": ""window, which faced the light of the moon. He would rub the site of the","}
{"text": ""injury or illness, mumble something unintelligible, look knowingly at the","}
{"text": ""moon, and then, after collecting his fee, send the boy and his father on","}
{"text": ""their way. Meanwhile, in the south-facing room, his wife would be doing","}
{"text": ""the same with the ladies—which was odd, really, since the moon cannot","}
{"text": ""appear in two places at once; it cannot have been visible, in other words,","}
{"text": ""from both windows. Apparently the mere thought, idea, and symbol of","}
{"text": ""the moon were enough, for the ladies did not complain, and would later","}
{"text": ""remark confidently that the wife of the Moon Doctor had the same","}
{"text": ""healing powers as he.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Dr. Weisleder may have known nothing about medicine, but he","}
{"text": ""understood human nature. He recognized that people do not always want","}
{"text": ""words, or rational explanations, or demonstrations of the powers of","}
{"text": ""science; they want an immediate appeal to their emotions. Give them that","}
{"text": ""and they will do the rest—such as imagine they can be healed by the","}
{"text": ""light reflected from a rock a quarter million miles away. Dr. Weisleder","}
{"text": ""had no need of pills, or of lengthy lectures on the moon’s power, or of","}
{"text": ""any silly gadgetry to amplify its rays. He understood that the simpler the","}
{"text": ""spectacle the better—just the moonlight pouring in from the side, the","}
{"text": ""stairway leading to the heavens, and the rays of the moon, whether","}
{"text": ""directly visible or not. Any added effects might have made it seem that","}
{"text": ""the moon was not strong enough on its own. And the moon was strong","}
{"text": ""enough—it was a magnet for fantasies, as it has been throughout history.","}
{"text": ""Simply by associating himself with the image of the moon, the doctor","}
{"text": ""gained power.Remember: Your search for power depends on shortcuts. You must","}
{"text": ""always circumvent people’s suspicions, their perverse desire to resist","}
{"text": ""your will. Images are an extremely effective shortcut: Bypassing the","}
{"text": ""head, the seat of doubt and resistance, they aim straight for the heart.","}
{"text": ""Overwhelming the eyes, they create powerful associations, bringing","}
{"text": ""people together and stirring their emotions. With the white light of the","}
{"text": ""moon in their eyes, your targets are blinded to the deceptions you","}
{"text": ""practice.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II","}
{"text": ""In 1536 the future king Henri II of France took his first mistress, Diane","}
{"text": ""de Poitiers. Diane was thirty-seven at the time, and was the widow of the","}
{"text": ""grand seneschal of Normandy. Henri, meanwhile, was a sprightly lad of","}
{"text": ""seventeen, who was just beginning to sow his wild oats. At first their","}
{"text": ""union seemed merely platonic, with Henri showing an intensely spiritual","}
{"text": ""devotion to Diane. But it soon became clear that he loved her in every","}
{"text": ""way, preferring her bed to that of his young wife, Catherine de’ Médicis.","}
{"text": ""In 1547 King Francis died and Henri ascended to the throne. This new","}
{"text": ""situation posed perils for Diane de Poitiers. She had just turned forty-","}
{"text": ""eight, and despite her notorious cold baths and rumored youth potions,","}
{"text": ""she was beginning to show her age; now that Henri was king, perhaps he","}
{"text": ""would return to the queen’s bed, and do as other kings had done—choose","}
{"text": ""mistresses from the bevy of beauties who made the French court the","}
{"text": ""envy of Europe. He was, after all, only twenty-eight, and cut a dashing","}
{"text": ""figure. But Diane did not give up so easily. She would continue to","}
{"text": ""enthrall her lover, as she had enthralled him for the past eleven years.","}
{"text": ""In the Middle Ages the symbolist attitude was much more in evidence. …","}
{"text": ""Symbolism appears as a sort of short cut of thought. Instead of looking","}
{"text": ""for the relation between two things by following the hidden detours of","}
{"text": ""their causal connexions, thought makes a leap and discovers their","}
{"text": ""relation not in the connexion of cause and effects, but in a connexion of","}
{"text": ""signification…. Symbolist thought permits an infinity of relations","}
{"text": ""between things. Each thing may denote a number of distinct ideas by its","}
{"text": ""different special qualities, and a quality may have several symbolic","}
{"text": ""meanings. The highest conceptions have symbols by the thousand.","}
{"text": ""Nothing is too humble to represent and glory the sublime. The walnutsignifies Christ: the sweet kernel is His divine nature, the green and","}
{"text": ""pulpy outer peel is His humanity, the wooden shell between is the cross.","}
{"text": ""Thus all things raise his thoughts to the eternal…. Every precious stone,","}
{"text": ""besides its natural splendour sparkles with the brilliance of its symbolic","}
{"text": ""values. The assimilation of roses and virginity is much more than a","}
{"text": ""poetic comparison, for it reveals their common essence. As each notion","}
{"text": ""arises in the mind the logic of symbolism creates an harmony of ideas.","}
{"text": ""THE WANING OF THE MIDDLE AGES, JOHAN HUIZINGA, 1928","}
{"text": ""Diane’s secret weapons were symbols and images, to which she had","}
{"text": ""always paid great attention. Early on in her relationship with Henri, she","}
{"text": ""had created a motif by intertwining her initials with his, to symbolize","}
{"text": ""their union. The idea worked like a charm: Henri put this insignia","}
{"text": ""everywhere—on his royal robes, on monuments, on churches, on the","}
{"text": ""facade of the Louvre, then the royal palace in Paris. Diane’s favorite","}
{"text": ""colors were black and white, which she wore exclusively, and wherever","}
{"text": ""it was possible the insignia appeared in these colors. Everyone","}
{"text": ""recognized the symbol and its meaning. Soon after Henri took the throne,","}
{"text": ""however, Diane went still further: She decided to identify herself with","}
{"text": ""the Roman goddess Diana, her namesake. Diana was the goddess of the","}
{"text": ""hunt, the traditional royal pastime and the particular passion of Henri.","}
{"text": ""Equally important, in Renaissance art she symbolized chastity and purity.","}
{"text": ""For a woman like Diane to identify herself with this goddess would","}
{"text": ""instantly call up those images in the court, giving her an air of","}
{"text": ""respectability. Symbolizing her “chaste” relationship with Henri, it","}
{"text": ""would also set her apart from the adulterous liaisons of royal mistresses","}
{"text": ""past.","}
{"text": ""To effect this association, Diane began by completely transforming her","}
{"text": ""castle at Anet. She razed the building’s structure and in its place erected","}
{"text": ""a magnificent Doric-columned edifice modeled after a Roman temple. It","}
{"text": ""was made in white Normandy stone flecked with black silex,","}
{"text": ""reproducing Diane’s trademark colors of black and white. The insignia of","}
{"text": ""her and Henri’s initials appeared on the columns, the doors, the windows,","}
{"text": ""the carpet. Meanwhile, symbols of Diana—crescent moons, stags, and","}
{"text": ""hounds—adorned the gates and facade. Inside, enormous tapestries","}
{"text": ""depicting episodes in the life of the goddess lay on the floors and hung","}
{"text": ""on the walls. In the garden stood the famous Goujon sculpture Diane","}
{"text": ""Chasseresse, which is now in the Louvre, and which had an uncanny","}
{"text": ""resemblance to Diane de Poitiers. Paintings and other depictions of","}
{"text": ""Diana appeared in every corner of the castle.Anet overwhelmed Henri, who soon was trumpeting the image of","}
{"text": ""Diane de Poitiers as a Roman goddess. In 1548, when the couple","}
{"text": ""appeared together in Lyons for a royal celebration, the townspeople","}
{"text": ""welcomed them with a tableau vivant depicting a scene with Diana the","}
{"text": ""huntress. France’s greatest poet of the period, Pierre de Ronsard, began","}
{"text": ""to write verses in honor of Diana—indeed a kind of cult of Diana sprang","}
{"text": ""up, all inspired by the king’s mistress. It seemed to Henri that Diane had","}
{"text": ""given herself a kind of divine aura, and as if he were destined to worship","}
{"text": ""her for the rest of his life. And until his death, in 1559, he did remain","}
{"text": ""faithful to her—making her a duchess, giving her untold wealth, and","}
{"text": ""displaying an almost religious devotion to his first and only mistress.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Diane de Poitiers, a woman from a modest bourgeois background,","}
{"text": ""managed to captivate Henri for over twenty years. By the time he died","}
{"text": ""she was well into her sixties, yet his passion for her only increased with","}
{"text": ""the years. She knew the king well. He was not an intellectual but a lover","}
{"text": ""of the outdoors—he particularly loved jousting tournaments, with their","}
{"text": ""bright pennants, brilliantly caparisoned horses, and beautifully dressed","}
{"text": ""women. Henri’s love of visual splendor seemed childlike to Diane, and","}
{"text": ""she played on this weakness of his at every opportunity.","}
{"text": ""Most astute of all was Diane’s appropriation of the goddess Diana.","}
{"text": ""Here she took the game beyond physical imagery into the realm of the","}
{"text": ""psychic symbol. It was quite a feat to transform a king’s mistress into an","}
{"text": ""emblem of power and purity, but she managed it. Without the resonance","}
{"text": ""of the goddess, Diane was merely an aging courtesan. With the imagery","}
{"text": ""and symbolism of Diana on her shoulders, she seemed a mythic force,","}
{"text": ""destined for greatness.","}
{"text": ""You too can play with images like these, weaving visual clues into an","}
{"text": ""encompassing gestalt, as Diane did with her colors and her insignia.","}
{"text": ""Establish a trademark like these to set yourself apart. Then take the game","}
{"text": ""further: Find an image or symbol from the past that will neatly fit your","}
{"text": ""situation, and put it on your shoulders like a cape. It will make you seem","}
{"text": ""larger than life.","}
{"text": ""There was a man named Sakamotoya Hechigwan who lived in upper","}
{"text": ""Kyoto…. When [Emperor] Hideyoshi gave his great Cha-no-yu [tea","}
{"text": ""ceremony] meeting at Kitano in the tenth month of 1588, Hechigwan set","}
{"text": ""up a great red umbrella nine feet across mounted on a stick seven feethigh. The circumference of the handle he surrounded for about two feet","}
{"text": ""by a reed fence in such a way that the rays of the sun were reflected from","}
{"text": ""it and diffused the colour of the umbrella all around. This device pleased","}
{"text": ""Hideyoshi so much that he remitted Hechigwan’s taxes as a reward.","}
{"text": ""CHA-NO-YU: THE JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY, A. L. SADLER,","}
{"text": ""1962","}
{"text": ""Because of the light it shines on the other stars which make up a kind of","}
{"text": ""court around it, because of the just and equal distribution of its rays to","}
{"text": ""all alike, because of the good it brings to all places, producing life, joy","}
{"text": ""and action, because of its constancy from which it never varies, I chose","}
{"text": ""the sun as the most magnificent image to represent a great leader.","}
{"text": ""Louis XIV, the Sun King, 1638-1715","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Using words to plead your case is risky business: Words are dangerous","}
{"text": ""instruments, and often go astray. The words people use to persuade us","}
{"text": ""virtually invite us to reflect on them with words of our own; we mull","}
{"text": ""them over, and often end up believing the opposite of what they say.","}
{"text": ""(That is part of our perverse nature.) It also happens that words offend","}
{"text": ""us, stirring up associations unintended by the speaker.","}
{"text": ""The visual, on the other hand, short-circuits the labyrinth of words. It","}
{"text": ""strikes with an emotional power and immediacy that leave no gaps for","}
{"text": ""reflection and doubt. Like music, it leaps right over rational, reasonable","}
{"text": ""thoughts. Imagine the Moon Doctor trying to make a case for his medical","}
{"text": ""practice, trying to convince the unconverted by telling them about the","}
{"text": ""healing powers of the moon, and about his own special connection to a","}
{"text": ""distant object in the sky. Fortunately for him, he was able to create a","}
{"text": ""compelling spectacle that made words unnecessary. The moment his","}
{"text": ""patients entered the beer hall, the image of the moon spoke eloquently","}
{"text": ""enough.","}
{"text": ""Understand: Words put you on the defensive. If you have to explain","}
{"text": ""yourself your power is already in question. The image, on the other hand,","}
{"text": ""imposes itself as a given. It discourages questions, creates forceful","}
{"text": ""associations, resists unintended interpretations, communicates instantly,","}
{"text": ""and forges bonds that transcend social differences. Words stir uparguments and divisions; images bring people together. They are the","}
{"text": ""quintessential instruments of power.","}
{"text": ""The symbol has the same force, whether it is visual (the statue of","}
{"text": ""Diana) or a verbal description of something visual (the words “the Sun","}
{"text": ""King”). The symbolic object stands for something else, something","}
{"text": ""abstract (such as the image “Diana” standing for chastity). The abstract","}
{"text": ""concept—purity, patriotism, courage, love—is full of emotional and","}
{"text": ""powerful associations. The symbol is a shortcut of expression, containing","}
{"text": ""dozens of meanings in one simple phrase or object. The symbol of the","}
{"text": ""Sun King, as explained by Louis XIV, can be read on many layers, but","}
{"text": ""the beauty of it is that its associations required no explanation, spoke","}
{"text": ""immediately to his subjects, distinguished him from all other kings, and","}
{"text": ""conjured up a kind of majesty that went far beyond the words","}
{"text": ""themselves. The symbol contains untold power.","}
{"text": ""The first step in using symbols and images is to understand the","}
{"text": ""primacy of sight among the senses. Before the Renaissance, it has been","}
{"text": ""argued, sight and the other senses—taste, touch, and so on—operated on","}
{"text": ""a relatively equal plane. Since then, however, the visual has come to","}
{"text": ""dominate the others, and is the sense we most depend on and trust. As","}
{"text": ""Gracián said, “The truth is generally seen, rarely heard.” When the","}
{"text": ""Renaissance painter Fra Filippo Lippi was a captured slave among the","}
{"text": ""Moors, he won his freedom by sketching a drawing of his master on a","}
{"text": ""white wall with a piece of charcoal; when the owner saw the drawing, he","}
{"text": ""instantly understood the power of a man who could make such images,","}
{"text": ""and let Fra Lippi go. That one image was far more powerful than any","}
{"text": ""argument the artist could have made with words.","}
{"text": ""Never neglect the way you arrange things visually. Factors like color,","}
{"text": ""for example, have enormous symbolic resonance. When the con artist","}
{"text": ""Yellow Kid Weil created a newsletter touting the phony stocks he was","}
{"text": ""peddling, he called it the “Red Letter Newsletter” and had it printed, at","}
{"text": ""considerable expense, in red ink. The color created a sense of urgency,","}
{"text": ""power, and good fortune. Weil recognized details like these as keys to","}
{"text": ""deception—as do modern advertisers and mass-marketers. If you use","}
{"text": ""“gold” in the title of anything you are trying to sell, for example, print it","}
{"text": ""in gold. Since the eye predominates, people will respond more to the","}
{"text": ""color than to the word.","}
{"text": ""The visual contains great emotional power. The Roman emperor","}
{"text": ""Constantine worshipped the sun as a god for most of his life; one day,","}
{"text": ""though, he looked up at the sun, and saw a cross superimposed on it. The","}
{"text": ""vision of the cross over the sun proved to him the ascendancy of the newreligion, and he converted not just himself but the whole Roman Empire","}
{"text": ""to Christianity soon thereafter. All the preaching and proselytizing in the","}
{"text": ""world could not have been as powerful. Find and associate yourself with","}
{"text": ""the images and symbols that will communicate in this immediate way","}
{"text": ""today, and you will have untold power.","}
{"text": ""Most effective of all is a new combination—a fusion of images and","}
{"text": ""symbols that have not been seen together before, but that through their","}
{"text": ""association clearly demonstrate your new idea, message, religion. The","}
{"text": ""creation of new images and symbols out of old ones in this way has a","}
{"text": ""poetic effect—viewers’ associations run rampant, giving them a sense of","}
{"text": ""participation.","}
{"text": ""Visual images often appear in a sequence, and the order in which they","}
{"text": ""appear creates a symbol. The first to appear, for instance, symbolizes","}
{"text": ""power; the image at the center seems to have central importance.","}
{"text": ""Near the end of World War II, orders came down from General","}
{"text": ""Eisenhower that American troops were to lead the way into Paris after its","}
{"text": ""liberation from the Nazis. The French general Charles de Gaulle,","}
{"text": ""however, realized that this sequence would imply that the Americans","}
{"text": ""now commanded the fate of France. Through much manipulation, de","}
{"text": ""Gaulle made certain that he and the French Second Armored Division","}
{"text": ""would appear at the head of the liberating force. The strategy worked:","}
{"text": ""After he had successfully pulled off this stunt, the Allies started treating","}
{"text": ""him as the new leader of an independent France. De Gaulle knew that a","}
{"text": ""leader has to locate himself literally at the head of his troops. This visual","}
{"text": ""association is crucial to the emotional response that he needs to elicit.","}
{"text": ""Things change in the game of symbols: It is probably no longer","}
{"text": ""possible to pose as a “sun king,” or to wrap the mantle of Diana around","}
{"text": ""you. Yet you can associate yourself with such symbols more indirectly.","}
{"text": ""And, of course, you can make your own mythology out of figures from","}
{"text": ""more recent history, people who are comfortably dead but still","}
{"text": ""powerfully associative in the public eye. The idea is to give yourself an","}
{"text": ""aura, a stature that your normal banal appearance simply will not create.","}
{"text": ""By herself Diane de Poitiers had no such radiant powers; she was as","}
{"text": ""human and ordinary as most of us. But the symbol elevated her above the","}
{"text": ""human lot, and made her seem divine.","}
{"text": ""Using symbols also has a courtier-like effect, since they are often","}
{"text": ""gentler than brutish words. The psychotherapist Dr. Milton H. Erickson","}
{"text": ""always tried to find symbols and images that would communicate to the","}
{"text": ""patient in ways that words could not. When dealing with a severely","}
{"text": ""troubled patient, he would not question him directly but would talk aboutsomething irrelevant, such as driving through the desert in Arizona,","}
{"text": ""where he practiced in the 1950s. In describing this he would eventually","}
{"text": ""come to an appropriate symbol for what he suspected was the man’s","}
{"text": ""problem. If he felt the patient was isolated, say, Dr. Erickson would talk","}
{"text": ""of a single iron-wood tree, and how its isolation left it battered by the","}
{"text": ""winds. Making an emotional connection with the tree as a symbol, the","}
{"text": ""patient would open up more readily to the doctor’s probing.","}
{"text": ""Use the power of symbols as a way to rally, animate, and unite your","}
{"text": ""troops or team. During the rebellion against the French crown in 1648,","}
{"text": ""those loyal to the king disparaged the rebels by comparing them to the","}
{"text": ""slingshots (in French, frondes) that little boys use to frighten big boys.","}
{"text": ""Cardinal de Retz decided to turn this disparaging term into the rebels’","}
{"text": ""symbol: The uprising was now known as the Fronde, and the rebels as","}
{"text": ""frondeurs. They began to wear sashes in their hats that symbolized the","}
{"text": ""slingshot, and the word became their rallying cry. Without it the rebellion","}
{"text": ""might well have petered out. Always find a symbol to represent your","}
{"text": ""cause—the more emotional associations, the better.","}
{"text": ""The best way to use images and symbols is to organize them into a","}
{"text": ""grand spectacle that awes people and distracts them from unpleasant","}
{"text": ""realities. This is easy to do: People love what is grand, spectacular, and","}
{"text": ""larger than life. Appeal to their emotions and they will flock to your","}
{"text": ""spectacle in hordes. The visual is the easiest route to their hearts.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Cross and the","}
{"text": ""Sun. Crucifixion and","}
{"text": ""total radiance. With one","}
{"text": ""imposed over the other, a","}
{"text": ""new reality takes shape—","}
{"text": ""a new power is in the","}
{"text": ""ascendant. The sym","}
{"text": ""bol—no explanation","}
{"text": ""necessary.","}
{"text": ""Authority: The people are always impressed by the superficial","}
{"text": ""appearance of things…. The [prince] should, at fitting times of the year,keep the people occupied and distracted with festivities and spectacles.","}
{"text": ""(Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""No power is made available by ignoring images and symbols. There is","}
{"text": ""no possible reversal to this law.LAW 38","}
{"text": ""THINK AS YOU LIKE BUT BEHAVE LIKE","}
{"text": ""OTHERS","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your","}
{"text": ""unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you","}
{"text": ""only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a","}
{"text": ""way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in","}
{"text": ""and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant","}
{"text": ""friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.","}
{"text": ""THINK WITH THE FEW AND SPEAK WITH","}
{"text": ""THE MANY","}
{"text": ""It is easy to run into danger by trying to swim against the stream. Only a","}
{"text": ""Socrates could attempt to do that. Disagreement is regarded as offensive","}
{"text": ""because it is a condemnation of the views of others; the numbers of the","}
{"text": ""disgruntled grow, on account either of some matter that has been the","}
{"text": ""object of censure or of some person who has praised it: Truth is for the","}
{"text": ""few, error is as usual as it is vulgar. Nor is the wise man to be recognized","}
{"text": ""by what he says in the marketplace, for he speaks there not with his own","}
{"text": ""voice, but with that of universal folly, however much his inmost thoughts","}
{"text": ""may gainsay it: The wise man avoids being contradicted as sedulously as","}
{"text": ""he avoids contradicting; the publicity of censure is withheld from that","}
{"text": ""which readily provokes it. Thought is free; it cannot and should not be","}
{"text": ""coerced; retire into the sanctuary of your silence and if you sometimes","}
{"text": ""allow yourself to break it, do so under the aegis of a discreet few.","}
{"text": ""BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Around the year 478 B.C., the city of Sparta sent an expedition to Persia","}
{"text": ""led by the young Spartan nobleman Pausanias. The city-states of Greece","}
{"text": ""had recently fought off a mighty invasion from Persia, and now","}
{"text": ""Pausanias, along with allied ships from Athens, had orders to punish the","}
{"text": ""invaders and win back the islands and coastal towns that the Persians had","}
{"text": ""occupied. Both the Athenians and the Spartans had great respect for","}
{"text": ""Pausanias-he had proven himself as a fearless warrior, with a flair for the","}
{"text": ""dramatic.","}
{"text": ""With amazing speed, Pausanias and his troops took Cyprus, then","}
{"text": ""moved on to the mainland of Asia Minor known as the Hellespont and","}
{"text": ""captured Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul). Now master of part of the","}
{"text": ""Persian empire, Pausanias began to show signs of behavior that went","}
{"text": ""beyond his normal flamboyance. He appeared in public wearing","}
{"text": ""pomades in his hair and flowing Persian robes, and accompanied by a","}
{"text": ""bodyguard of Egyptians. He held lavish banquets in which he sat in the","}
{"text": ""Persian manner and demanded to be entertained. He stopped seeing his","}
{"text": ""old friends, entered into communication with the Persian King Xerxes,","}
{"text": ""and all in all affected the style and manner of a Persian dictator.","}
{"text": ""Clearly power and success had gone to Pausanias’s head. His army-","}
{"text": ""Athenians and Spartans alike-at first thought this a passing fancy: He had","}
{"text": ""always been a bit exaggerated in his gestures. But when he flaunted his","}
{"text": ""disdain for the Greeks’ simple way of life, and insulted the common","}
{"text": ""Greek soldier, they began to feel he had gone too far. Although there was","}
{"text": ""no concrete evidence for this, rumors spread that he had gone over to the","}
{"text": ""other side, and that he dreamed of becoming a kind of Greek Xerxes. To","}
{"text": ""quell the possibility of mutiny, the Spartans relieved Pausanias of his","}
{"text": ""command and called him home.","}
{"text": ""Pausanias, however, continued to dress in the Persian style, even in","}
{"text": ""Sparta. After a few months he independently hired a trireme and returned","}
{"text": ""to the Hellespont, telling his compatriots he was going to continue the","}
{"text": ""fight against the Persians. Actually, however, he had different plans—to","}
{"text": ""make himself ruler of all Greece, with the aid of Xerxes himself. The","}
{"text": ""Spartans declared him a public enemy and sent a ship to capture him.","}
{"text": ""Pausanias surrendered, certain that he could clear himself of the charges","}
{"text": ""of treason. It did come out during the trial that during his reign as","}
{"text": ""commander he had offended his fellow Greeks time and again, erecting","}
{"text": ""monuments, for instance, in his own name, rather than in those of thecities whose troops had fought alongside him, as was the custom. Yet","}
{"text": ""Pausanias proved right: Despite the evidence of his numerous contacts","}
{"text": ""with the enemy, the Spartans refused to imprison a man of such noble","}
{"text": ""birth, and let him go.","}
{"text": ""Now thinking himself untouchable, Pausanias hired a messenger to","}
{"text": ""take a letter to Xerxes, but the messenger instead took the letter to the","}
{"text": ""Spartan authorities. These men wanted to find out more, so they had the","}
{"text": ""messenger arrange to meet Pausanias in a temple where they could hide","}
{"text": ""and listen behind a partition. What Pausanias said shocked them-they","}
{"text": ""had never heard such contempt for their ways spoken so brazenly by one","}
{"text": ""of their own—and they made arrangements for his immediate arrest.","}
{"text": ""On his way home from the temple, Pausanias got word of what had","}
{"text": ""happened. He ran to another temple to hide, but the authorities followed","}
{"text": ""him there and placed sentries all around. Pausanias refused to surrender.","}
{"text": ""Unwilling to forcibly remove him from the sacred temple, the authorities","}
{"text": ""kept him trapped inside, until he eventually died of starvation.","}
{"text": ""Bene vixit, qui bene latuit—“He lives well who conceals himself well. ”","}
{"text": ""OVID, c. 43 B.C.-A.D. 18","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""At first glance it might seem that Pausanias simply fell in love with","}
{"text": ""another culture, a phenomenon as old as time. Never comfortable with","}
{"text": ""the asceti cism of the Spartans, he found himself enthralled by the","}
{"text": ""Persian love of luxury and sensual pleasure. He put on Persian robes and","}
{"text": ""perfumes with a sense of deliverance from Greek discipline and","}
{"text": ""simplicity.","}
{"text": ""This is how it appears when people adopt a culture in which they were","}
{"text": ""not raised. Often, however, there is also something else at play: People","}
{"text": ""who flaunt their infatuation with a different culture are expressing a","}
{"text": ""disdain and contempt for their own. They are using the outward","}
{"text": ""appearance of the exotic to separate themselves from the common folk","}
{"text": ""who unques tioningly follow the local customs and laws, and to express","}
{"text": ""their sense of superiority. Otherwise they would act with more dignity,","}
{"text": ""showing respect for those who do not share their desires. Indeed their","}
{"text": ""need to show their difference so dramatically often makes them disliked","}
{"text": ""by the people whose beliefs they challenge, indirectly and subtly,","}
{"text": ""perhaps, but offensively nonetheless.As Thucydides wrote of Pausanias, “By his contempt for the laws and","}
{"text": ""his imitation of foreign ways he had made himself very widely suspected","}
{"text": ""of being unwilling to abide by normal standards.” Cultures have norms","}
{"text": ""that reflect centuries of shared beliefs and ideals. Do not expect to scoff","}
{"text": ""at such things with impunity. You will be punished somehow, even if just","}
{"text": ""through isolation—a position of real powerlessness.","}
{"text": ""Many of us, like Pausanias, feel the siren call of the exotic, the","}
{"text": ""foreign. Measure and moderate this desire. Flaunting your pleasure in","}
{"text": ""alien ways of thinking and acting will reveal a different motive—to","}
{"text": ""demonstrate your superiority over your fellows.","}
{"text": ""Wise men [should be] like coffers with double bottoms: Which when","}
{"text": ""others look into, being opened, they see not all that they hold.","}
{"text": ""SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 1554-1618","}
{"text": ""WHEN THE WATERS WERE CHANGED","}
{"text": ""Once upon a time Khidr, the teacher of Moses, called upon mankind with","}
{"text": ""a warning. At a certain date, he said, all the water in the world which","}
{"text": ""had not been specially hoarded, would disappear. It would then be","}
{"text": ""renewed, with different water, which would drive men mad. Only one","}
{"text": ""man listened to the meaning of this advice. He collected water and went","}
{"text": ""to a secure place where he stored it, and waited for the water to change","}
{"text": ""its character. On the appointed date the streams stopped running, the","}
{"text": ""wells went dry, and the man who had listened, seeing this happening,","}
{"text": ""went to his retreat and drank his preserved water. When he saw, from his","}
{"text": ""security, the waterfalls again beginning to flow, this man descended","}
{"text": ""among the other sons of men. He found that they were thinking and","}
{"text": ""talking in an entirely different way from before; yet they had no memory","}
{"text": ""of what had happened, nor of having been warned. When he tried to talk","}
{"text": ""to them, he realized that they thought that he was mad, and they showed","}
{"text": ""hostility or compassion, not understanding. At first he drank none of the","}
{"text": ""new water, but went back to his concealment, to draw on his supplies,","}
{"text": ""every day. Finally, however, he took the decision to drink the new water","}
{"text": ""because he could not bear the loneliness of living, behaving and thinking","}
{"text": ""in a different way from everyone else. He drank the new water, and","}
{"text": ""became like the rest. Then he forgot all about his own store of special","}
{"text": ""water, and his fellows began to look upon him as a madman who had","}
{"text": ""miraculously been restored to sanity.","}
{"text": ""TALES OF THE DERVISHES, IDRIES SHAH, 1967OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""During the late sixteenth century, a violent reaction against the Protestant","}
{"text": ""Reformation erupted in Italy. The Counter-Reformation, as it was called,","}
{"text": ""included its own version of the Inquisition to root out all deviations from","}
{"text": ""the Catholic Church. Among its victims was the scientist Galileo, but an","}
{"text": ""important thinker who suffered even greater persecution was the","}
{"text": ""Dominican monk and philosopher Tommaso Campanella.","}
{"text": ""A follower of the materialist doctrine of the Roman philosopher","}
{"text": ""Epicurus, Campanella did not believe in miracles, or in heaven and hell.","}
{"text": ""The Church had promoted such superstitions, he wrote, to control the","}
{"text": ""common folk by keeping them in fear. Such ideas verged on atheism, and","}
{"text": ""Campanella expressed them incautiously. In 1593 the Inquisition threw","}
{"text": ""him into prison for his heretical beliefs. Six years later, as a form of","}
{"text": ""partial release, he was confined to a monastery in Naples.","}
{"text": ""Southern Italy was controlled by Spain at the time, and in Naples","}
{"text": ""Campanella became involved in a plot to fight and throw out these","}
{"text": ""invaders. His hope was to establish an independent republic based on his","}
{"text": ""own ideas of utopia. The leaders of the Italian Inquisition, working with","}
{"text": ""their Spanish counterparts, had him imprisoned again. This time they","}
{"text": ""also tortured him, to discover the true nature of his impious beliefs: He","}
{"text": ""was subjected to the infamous la veglia, a torture in which he was","}
{"text": ""suspended by his arms in a squatting position a few inches above a seat","}
{"text": ""studded with spikes. The posture was impossible to sustain, and in time","}
{"text": ""the victim would end up sitting on the spikes, which would tear his flesh","}
{"text": ""at the slightest contact.","}
{"text": ""During these years, however, Campanella learned something about","}
{"text": ""power. Facing the prospect of execution for heresy, he changed his","}
{"text": ""strategy: He would not renounce his beliefs, yet he knew he had to","}
{"text": ""disguise their outward appearance.","}
{"text": ""To save his life, Campanella feigned madness. He let his inquisitors","}
{"text": ""imagine that his beliefs stemmed from an incontrollable unsoundness of","}
{"text": ""mind. For a while the tortures continued, to see if his insanity was faked,","}
{"text": ""but in 1603 his sentence was commuted to life in prison. The first four","}
{"text": ""years of this he spent chained to a wall in an underground dungeon.","}
{"text": ""Despite such conditions, he continued to write—although no longer","}
{"text": ""would he be so foolish as to express his ideas directly.","}
{"text": ""One book of Campanella’s, The Hispanic Monarchy, promoted the","}
{"text": ""idea that Spain had a divine mission to expand its powers around theworld, and offered the Spanish king practical, Machiavelli-type advice","}
{"text": ""for achieving this. Despite his own interest in Machiavelli, the book in","}
{"text": ""general presented ideas completely the opposite to his own. The","}
{"text": ""Hispanic Monarchy was in fact a ploy, an attempt to show his conversion","}
{"text": ""to orthodoxy in the boldest manner possible. It worked: In 1626, six","}
{"text": ""years after its publication, the pope finally let Campanella out of prison.","}
{"text": ""Shortly after gaining his freedom, Campanella wrote Atheism","}
{"text": ""Conquered, a book attacking free-thinkers, Machiavellians, Calvinists,","}
{"text": ""and heretics of all stripes. The book is written in the form of debates in","}
{"text": ""which heretics express their beliefs and are countered by arguments for","}
{"text": ""the superiority of Catholicism. Campanella had obviously reformed—his","}
{"text": ""book made that clear. Or did it?","}
{"text": ""The arguments in the mouths of the heretics had never before been","}
{"text": ""expressed with such verve and freshness. Pretending to present their side","}
{"text": ""only to knock it down, Campanella actually summarized the case against","}
{"text": ""Catholicism with striking passion. When he argued the other side,","}
{"text": ""supposedly his side, on the other hand, he resorted to stale clichés and","}
{"text": ""convoluted rationales. Brief and eloquent, the heretics’ arguments","}
{"text": ""seemed bold and sincere. The lengthy arguments for Catholicism seemed","}
{"text": ""tiresome and unconvincing.","}
{"text": ""Catholics who read the book found it disturbing and ambiguous, but","}
{"text": ""they could not claim it was heretical, or that Campanella should be","}
{"text": ""returned to prison. His defense of Catholicism, after all, used arguments","}
{"text": ""they had used themselves. Yet in the years to come, Atheism Conquered","}
{"text": ""became a bible for atheists, Machiavellians and libertines who used the","}
{"text": ""arguments Campanella had put in their mouths to defend their dangerous","}
{"text": ""ideas. Combining an outward display of conformity with an expression","}
{"text": ""of his true beliefs in a way that his sympathizers would understand,","}
{"text": ""Campanella showed that he had learned his lesson.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In the face of awesome persecution, Campanella devised three","}
{"text": ""strategic moves that saved his hide, freed him from prison, and allowed","}
{"text": ""him to continue to express his beliefs. First he feigned madness—the","}
{"text": ""medieval equivalent of disavowing responsibility for one’s actions, like","}
{"text": ""blaming one’s parents today. Next he wrote a book that expressed the","}
{"text": ""exact opposite of his own beliefs. Finally, and most brilliantly of all, he","}
{"text": ""disguised his ideas while insinuating them at the same time. It is an oldbut powerful trick: You pretend to disagree with dangerous ideas, but in","}
{"text": ""the course of your disagreement you give those ideas expression and","}
{"text": ""exposure. You seem to conform to the prevailing orthodoxy, but those","}
{"text": ""who know will understand the irony involved. You are protected.","}
{"text": ""It is inevitable in society that certain values and customs lose contact","}
{"text": ""with their original motives and become oppressive. And there will","}
{"text": ""always be those who rebel against such oppression, harboring ideas far","}
{"text": ""ahead of their time. As Campanella was forced to realize, however, there","}
{"text": ""is no point in making a display of your dangerous ideas if they only bring","}
{"text": ""you suffering and persecution. Martyrdom serves no purpose—better to","}
{"text": ""live on in an oppressive world, even to thrive in it. Meanwhile find a way","}
{"text": ""to express your ideas subtly for those who understand you. Laying your","}
{"text": ""pearls before swine will only bring you trouble.","}
{"text": ""Never combat any man‘s opinion; for though you reached the age of","}
{"text": ""Methuselah, you would never have done setting him right upon all the","}
{"text": ""absurd things that he believes.","}
{"text": ""It is also well to avoid correcting people’s mistakes in conversation,","}
{"text": ""however good your intentions may be; for it is easy to offend people, and","}
{"text": ""difficult, if not impossible to mend them.","}
{"text": ""If you feel irritated by the absurd remarks of two people whose","}
{"text": ""conversation you happen to overhear, you should imagine that you are","}
{"text": ""listening to the dialogue of two fools in a comedy. Probatum est.","}
{"text": ""The man who comes into the world with the notion that he is really going","}
{"text": ""to instruct it in matters of the highest importance, may thank his stars if","}
{"text": ""he escapes with a whole skin.","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""For a long time I have not said what I believed, nor do I ever believe","}
{"text": ""what I say, and if indeed sometimes I do happen to tell the truth,","}
{"text": ""I hide it among so many lies that it is hard to find.","}
{"text": ""Niccolò Machiavelli, in a letter to Francesco Gnicciardini, May 17, 1521","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""We all tell lies and hide our true feelings, for complete free expression is","}
{"text": ""a social impossibility. From an early age we learn to conceal our","}
{"text": ""thoughts, telling the prickly and insecure what we know they want tohear, watching carefully lest we offend them. For most of us this is","}
{"text": ""natural—there are ideas and values that most people accept, and it is","}
{"text": ""pointless to argue. We believe what we want to, then, but on the outside","}
{"text": ""we wear a mask.","}
{"text": ""There are people, however, who see such restraints as an intolerable","}
{"text": ""infringement on their freedom, and who have a need to prove the","}
{"text": ""superiority of their values and beliefs. In the end, though, their","}
{"text": ""arguments convince only a few and offend a great deal more. The reason","}
{"text": ""arguments do not work is that most people hold their ideas and values","}
{"text": ""without thinking about them. There is a strong emotional content in their","}
{"text": ""beliefs: They really do not want to have to rework their habits of","}
{"text": ""thinking, and when you challenge them, whether directly through your","}
{"text": ""arguments or indirectly through your behavior, they are hostile.","}
{"text": ""Wise and clever people learn early on that they can display","}
{"text": ""conventional behavior and mouth conventional ideas without having to","}
{"text": ""believe in them. The power these people gain from blending in is that of","}
{"text": ""being left alone to have the thoughts they want to have, and to express","}
{"text": ""them to the people they want to express them to, without suffering","}
{"text": ""isolation or ostracism. Once they have established themselves in a","}
{"text": ""position of power, they can try to convince a wider circle of the","}
{"text": ""correctness of their ideas—perhaps working indirectly, using","}
{"text": ""Campanella’s strategies of irony and insinuation.","}
{"text": ""In the late fourteenth century, the Spanish began a massive persecution","}
{"text": ""of the Jews, murdering thousands and driving others out of the country.","}
{"text": ""Those who remained in Spain were forced to convert. Yet over the next","}
{"text": ""three hundred years, the Spanish noticed a phenomenon that disturbed","}
{"text": ""them: Many of the converts lived their outward lives as Catholics, yet","}
{"text": ""somehow managed to retain their Jewish beliefs, practicing the religion","}
{"text": ""in private. Many of these so-called Marranos (originally a derogatory","}
{"text": ""term, being the Spanish for “pig”) attained high levels of government","}
{"text": ""office, married into the nobility, and gave every appearance of Christian","}
{"text": ""piety, only to be discovered late in life as practicing Jews. (The Spanish","}
{"text": ""Inquisition was specifically commissioned to ferret them out.) Over the","}
{"text": ""years they mastered the art of dissimulation, displaying crucifixes","}
{"text": ""liberally, giving generous gifts to churches, even occasionally making","}
{"text": ""anti-Semitic remarks—and all the while maintaining their inner freedom","}
{"text": ""and beliefs.","}
{"text": ""In society, the Marranos knew, outward appearances are what matter.","}
{"text": ""This remains true today. The strategy is simple: As Campanella did in","}
{"text": ""writing Atheism Conquered, make a show of blending in, even going sofar as to be the most zealous advocate of the prevailing orthodoxy. If you","}
{"text": ""stick to conventional appearances in public few will believe you think","}
{"text": ""differently in private.","}
{"text": ""THE CITIZEN AND THE TRAVELLER","}
{"text": ""“Look around you,” said the citizen. “This is the largest market in the","}
{"text": ""world.” “Oh surely not,” said the traveller. “Well, perhaps not the","}
{"text": ""largest,” said the citizen, “but much the best.” “You are certainly wrong","}
{"text": ""there,” said the traveller. “I can tell you….” They buried the stranger in","}
{"text": ""the dusk.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, ROBERT Louis STEVENSON, 1850-1894","}
{"text": ""If Machiavelli had had a prince for disciple, the first thing he would have","}
{"text": ""recommended him to do would have been to write a book against","}
{"text": ""Machiavellism.","}
{"text": ""VOLTAIRE, 1694-1778","}
{"text": ""Do not be so foolish as to imagine that in our own time the old","}
{"text": ""orthodoxies are gone. Jonas Salk, for instance, thought science had","}
{"text": ""gotten past politics and protocol. And so, in his search for a polio","}
{"text": ""vaccine, he broke all the rules—going public with a discovery before","}
{"text": ""showing it to the scientific community, taking credit for the vaccine","}
{"text": ""without acknowledging the scientists who had paved the way, making","}
{"text": ""himself a star. The public may have loved him but scientists shunned","}
{"text": ""him. His disrespect for his community’s orthodoxies left him isolated,","}
{"text": ""and he wasted years trying to heal the breach, and struggling for funding","}
{"text": ""and cooperation.","}
{"text": ""Bertolt Brecht underwent a modem form of Inquisition—the House","}
{"text": ""Un-American Activities Committee—and approached it with","}
{"text": ""considerable canniness. Having worked off and on in the American film","}
{"text": ""industry during World War II, in 1947 Brecht was summoned to appear","}
{"text": ""before the committee to answer questions on his suspected Communist","}
{"text": ""sympathies. Other writers called before the committee made a point of","}
{"text": ""attacking its members, and of acting as belligerently as possible in order","}
{"text": ""to gain sympathy for themselves. Brecht, on the other hand, who had","}
{"text": ""actually worked steadfastly for the Communist cause, played the","}
{"text": ""opposite game: He answered questions with ambiguous generalities that","}
{"text": ""defied easy interpretation. Call it the Campanella strategy. Brecht even","}
{"text": ""wore a suit—a rare event for him-and made a point of smoking a cigar","}
{"text": ""during the proceedings, knowing that a key committee member had apassion for cigars. In the end he charmed the committee members, who","}
{"text": ""let him go scot-free.","}
{"text": ""Brecht then moved to East Germany, where he encountered a different","}
{"text": ""kind of Inquisition. Here the Communists were in power, and they","}
{"text": ""criticized his plays as decadent and pessimistic. He did not argue with","}
{"text": ""them, but made small changes in the performance scripts to shut them","}
{"text": ""up. Meanwhile he managed to preserve the published texts as written.","}
{"text": ""His outward conformity in both cases gave him the freedom to work","}
{"text": ""unhindered, without having to change his thinking. In the end, he made","}
{"text": ""his way safely through dangerous times in different countries through the","}
{"text": ""use of little dances of orthodoxy, and proved he was more powerful than","}
{"text": ""the forces of repression.","}
{"text": ""Not only do people of power avoid the offenses of Pausanias and Salk,","}
{"text": ""they also learn to play the clever fox and feign the common touch. This","}
{"text": ""has been the ploy of con artists and politicians throughout the centuries.","}
{"text": ""Leaders like Julius Caesar and Franklin D. Roosevelt have overcome","}
{"text": ""their natural aristocratic stance to cultivate a familiarity with the","}
{"text": ""common man. They have expressed this familiarity in little gestures,","}
{"text": ""often symbolic, to show the people that their leaders share popular","}
{"text": ""values, despite their different status.","}
{"text": ""The logical extension of this practice is the invaluable ability to be all","}
{"text": ""things to all people. When you go into society, leave behind your own","}
{"text": ""ideas and values, and put on the mask that is most appropriate for the","}
{"text": ""group in which you find yourself. Bismarck played this game","}
{"text": ""successfully for years—there were people who vaguely understood what","}
{"text": ""he was up to, but not clearly enough that it mattered. People will","}
{"text": ""swallow the bait because it flatters them to believe that you share their","}
{"text": ""ideas. They will not take you as a hypocrite if you are careful—for how","}
{"text": ""can they accuse you of hypocrisy if you do not let them know exactly","}
{"text": ""what you stand for? Nor will they see you as lacking in values. Of course","}
{"text": ""you have values—the values you share with them, while in their","}
{"text": ""company.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls","}
{"text": ""before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.","}
{"text": ""(Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:6)","}
{"text": ""Image: The Black The herd shuns the Sheep. black sheep, uncertain","}
{"text": ""whether or not it belongs with them. So it straggles behind, or wanders","}
{"text": ""away from the herd, where it is cornered by wolves and promptly","}
{"text": ""devoured. Stay with the herd—there is safety in numbers. Keep your","}
{"text": ""differences in your thoughts and not in your fleece.REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The only time it is worth standing out is when you already stand out—","}
{"text": ""when you have achieved an unshakable position of power, and can","}
{"text": ""display your difference from others as a sign of the distance between","}
{"text": ""you. As president of the United States, Lyndon Johnson would","}
{"text": ""sometimes hold meetings while he sat on the toilet. Since no one else","}
{"text": ""either could or would claim such a “privilege,” Johnson was showing","}
{"text": ""people that he did not have to observe the protocols and niceties of","}
{"text": ""others. The Roman emperor Caligula played the same game: He would","}
{"text": ""wear a woman’s negligee, or a bathrobe, to receive important visitors. He","}
{"text": ""even went so far as to have his horse elected consul. But it backfired, for","}
{"text": ""the people hated Caligula, and his gestures eventually brought his","}
{"text": ""overthrow. The truth is that even those who attain the heights of power","}
{"text": ""would be better off at least affecting the common touch, for at some","}
{"text": ""point they may need popular support.","}
{"text": ""Finally, there is always a place for the gadfly, the person who","}
{"text": ""successfully defies custom and mocks what has grown lifeless in a","}
{"text": ""culture. Oscar Wilde, for example, achieved considerable social power","}
{"text": ""on this foundation: He made it clear that he disdained the usual ways of","}
{"text": ""doing things, and when he gave public readings his audiences not only","}
{"text": ""expected him to insult them but welcomed it. We notice, however, that","}
{"text": ""his eccentric role eventually destroyed him. Even had he come to a better","}
{"text": ""end, remember that he possessed an unusual genius: Without his gift to","}
{"text": ""amuse and delight, his barbs would simply have offended people.LAW 39","}
{"text": ""STIR UP WATERS TO CATCH FISH","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always","}
{"text": ""stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while","}
{"text": ""staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies","}
{"text": ""off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle","}
{"text": ""them and you hold the strings.","}
{"text": ""ITAKURA SHICEMUNE GRINDS HIS OWN","}
{"text": ""TEA","}
{"text": ""The Kyoto Shoshidai ltakura Suwo-no-kami Shigemune was very fond of","}
{"text": ""Cha-no-yu (the tea ceremony), and used to grind his own tea while","}
{"text": ""sitting in the court as judge. And the reason was this. He once asked a","}
{"text": ""friend of his who was his companion in Cha-no-yu, a tea merchant","}
{"text": ""named Eiki, to tell him frankly what was the public opinion about him.","}
{"text": ""“Well,” said Eiki, “they say that you get irritated with those who don’t","}
{"text": ""give their evidence very clearly and scold them, and so people are afraid","}
{"text": ""to bring lawsuits before you and if they do, the truth does not come out.”","}
{"text": ""“Ah, I am glad you have told me that,” replied Shigemune, “for now that","}
{"text": ""I consider it, I have fallen into the habit of speaking sharply to people in","}
{"text": ""this way, and no doubt humble folk and those who are not ready in","}
{"text": ""speech get flurried and are unable to put their case in the best light. I","}
{"text": ""will see to it that this does not occur in the future.” So after this he had a","}
{"text": ""tea mill placed before him in court and in front of it the paper-covered","}
{"text": ""shoji were drawn to, and Shigemune sat behind them and ground the tea","}
{"text": ""and thus kept his mind calm while he heard the cases. And he could","}
{"text": ""easily see whether his composure was ruffied or not by looking at the","}
{"text": ""tea, which would not fall evenly ground to the proper consistency if hegot excited. And so justice was done impartially and people went away","}
{"text": ""from his court satisfied.","}
{"text": ""CHA-NO-YU: THE JAPANESE TFA CEREMONY A. L. SADLER,","}
{"text": ""1962","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In January of 1809, an agitated and anxious Napoleon hurried back to","}
{"text": ""Paris from his Spanish wars. His spies and confidants had confirmed a","}
{"text": ""rumor that his foreign minister Talleyrand had conspired against him","}
{"text": ""with Fouché, the minister of police. Immediately on arriving in the","}
{"text": ""capital the shocked emperor summoned his ministers to the palace.","}
{"text": ""Following them into the meeting right after their arrival, he began pacing","}
{"text": ""up and down, and started rambling vaguely about plotters working","}
{"text": ""against him, speculators bringing down the stock market, legislators","}
{"text": ""delaying his policies—and his own ministers undermining him.","}
{"text": ""As Napoleon talked, Talleyrand leaned on the mantelpiece, looking","}
{"text": ""completely indifferent. Facing Talleyrand directly, Napoleon announced,","}
{"text": ""“For these ministers, treason has begun when they permit themselves to","}
{"text": ""doubt.” At the word “treason” the ruler expected his minister to be","}
{"text": ""afraid. But Talleyrand only smiled, calm and bored.","}
{"text": ""The sight of a subordinate apparently serene in the face of charges that","}
{"text": ""could get him hanged pushed Napoleon to the edge. There were","}
{"text": ""ministers, he said, who wanted him dead, and he took a step closer to","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand—who stared back at him unfazed. Finally Napoleon","}
{"text": ""exploded. “You are a coward,” he screamed in Talleyrand’s face, “a man","}
{"text": ""of no faith. Nothing is sacred to you. You would sell your own father. I","}
{"text": ""have showered you with riches and yet there is nothing you would not do","}
{"text": ""to hurt me.” The other ministers looked at each other in disbelief—they","}
{"text": ""had never seen this fearless general, the conqueror of most of Europe, so","}
{"text": ""unhinged.","}
{"text": ""“You deserve to be broken like glass,” Napoleon continued, stamping.","}
{"text": ""“I have the power to do it, but I have too much contempt for you to","}
{"text": ""bother. Why didn’t I have you hanged from the gates of the Tuileries?","}
{"text": ""But there is still time for that.” Yelling, almost out of breath, his face red,","}
{"text": ""his eyes bulging, he went on, “You, by the way, are nothing but shit in a","}
{"text": ""silk stocking…. What about your wife? You never told me that SanCarlos was your wife’s lover?” “Indeed, sire, it did not occur to me that","}
{"text": ""this information had any bearing on Your Majesty’s glory or my own,”","}
{"text": ""said Talleyrand calmly, completely unflustered. After a few more insults,","}
{"text": ""Napoleon walked away. Talleyrand slowly crossed the room, moving","}
{"text": ""with his characteristic limp. As an attendant helped him with his cloak,","}
{"text": ""he turned to his fellow ministers (all afraid they would never see him","}
{"text": ""again), and said, “What a pity, gentlemen, that so great a man should","}
{"text": ""have such bad manners.”","}
{"text": ""Despite his anger, Napoleon did not arrest his foreign minister. He","}
{"text": ""merely relieved him of his duties and banished him from the court,","}
{"text": ""believing that for this man humiliation would be punishment enough. He","}
{"text": ""did not realize that word had quickly spread of his tirade—of how the","}
{"text": ""emperor had completely lost control of himself, and how Talleyrand had","}
{"text": ""essentially humiliated him by maintaining his composure and dignity. A","}
{"text": ""page had been turned: For the first time people had seen the great","}
{"text": ""emperor lose his cool under fire. A feeling spread that he was on the way","}
{"text": ""down. As Talleyrand later said, “This is the beginning of the end.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""This was indeed the beginning of the end. Waterloo was still six years","}
{"text": ""ahead, but Napoleon was on a slow descent to defeat, crystallizing in","}
{"text": ""1812 with his disastrous invasion of Russia. Talleyrand was the first to","}
{"text": ""see the signs of his decline, especially in the irrational war with Spain.","}
{"text": ""Sometime in 1808, the minister decided that for the future peace of","}
{"text": ""Europe, Napoleon had to go. And so he conspired with Fouché.","}
{"text": ""It is possible that the conspiracy was never anything more than a ploy","}
{"text": ""—a device to push Napoleon over the edge. For it is hard to believe that","}
{"text": ""two of the most practical men in history would only go halfway in their","}
{"text": ""plotting. They may have been only stirring the waters, trying to goad","}
{"text": ""Napoleon into a misstep. And indeed, what they got was the tantrum that","}
{"text": ""laid out his loss of control for all to see. In fact, Napoleon’s soon-famous","}
{"text": ""blowup that afternoon had a profoundly negative effect on his public","}
{"text": ""image.","}
{"text": ""This is the problem with the angry response. At first it may strike fear","}
{"text": ""and terror, but only in some, and as the days pass and the storm clears,","}
{"text": ""other responses emerge—embarrassment and uneasiness about the","}
{"text": ""shouter’s capacity for going out of control, and resentment of what has","}
{"text": ""been said. Losing your temper, you always make unfair and exaggeratedaccusations. A few such tirades and people are counting the days until","}
{"text": ""you are gone.","}
{"text": ""In the face of a conspiracy against him, a conspiracy between his two","}
{"text": ""most important ministers, Napoleon certainly had a right to feel angry","}
{"text": ""and anxious. But by responding so angrily, and so publicly, he only","}
{"text": ""demonstrated his frustration. To show your frustration is to show that","}
{"text": ""you have lost your power to shape events; it is the helpless action of the","}
{"text": ""child who resorts to a hysterical fit to get his way. The powerful never","}
{"text": ""reveal this kind of weakness.","}
{"text": ""There were a number of things Napoleon could have done in this","}
{"text": ""situation. He could have thought about the fact that two eminently","}
{"text": ""sensible men had had reason to turn against him, and could have listened","}
{"text": ""and learned from them. He could have tried to win them back to him. He","}
{"text": ""could even have gotten rid of them, making their imprisonment or death","}
{"text": ""an ominous display of his power. No tirades, no childish fits, no","}
{"text": ""embarrassing after-effects—just a quiet and definitive severing of ties.","}
{"text": ""Remember: Tantrums neither intimidate nor inspire loyalty. They only","}
{"text": ""create doubts and uneasiness about your power. Exposing your","}
{"text": ""weakness, these stormy eruptions often herald a fall.","}
{"text": ""If possible, no animosity should be felt for anyone…. To speak angrily to","}
{"text": ""a person, to show your hatred by what you say or by the way you look, is","}
{"text": ""an unnecessary proceeding-dangerous, foolish, ridiculous, and vulgar.","}
{"text": ""Anger or hatred should never be shown otherwise than in what you do;","}
{"text": ""and feelings will be all the more effective in action. in so far as you avoid","}
{"text": ""the exhibition of them in any other way. It is only the cold-blooded","}
{"text": ""animals whose bite is poisonous.","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER. 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""By the late 1920s, Haile Selassie had nearly achieved his goal of","}
{"text": ""assuming total control over Ethiopia, a country he felt needed strong and","}
{"text": ""unified leadership. As regent to the empress Zauditu (stepdaughter of the","}
{"text": ""late queen) and heir to the throne, Selassie had spent several years","}
{"text": ""weakening the power of Ethiopia’s various warlords. Now only one real","}
{"text": ""obstacle stood in his way: the empress and her husband, Ras Gugsa.","}
{"text": ""Selassie knew the royal couple hated him and wanted to get rid of him,so to cut short their plotting he made Gugsa the governor of the northern","}
{"text": ""province of Begemeder, forcing him to leave the capital, where the","}
{"text": ""empress lived.","}
{"text": ""For several years Gugsa played the loyal administrator. But Selassie","}
{"text": ""did not trust him: He knew that Gugsa and the empress were plotting","}
{"text": ""revenge. As time passed and Gugsa made no move, the chances of a plot","}
{"text": ""only increased. Selassie knew what he had to do: draw Gugsa out, get","}
{"text": ""under his skin, and push him into action before he was ready.","}
{"text": ""For several years, a northern tribe, the Azebu Gallas, had been in","}
{"text": ""virtual rebellion against the throne, robbing and pillaging local villages","}
{"text": ""and refusing to pay taxes. Selassie had done nothing to stop them, letting","}
{"text": ""them grow stronger. Finally, in 1929, he ordered Ras Gugsa to lead an","}
{"text": ""army against these disobedient tribesmen. Gugsa agreed, but inwardly he","}
{"text": ""seethed—he had no grudge against the Azebu Gallas, and the demand","}
{"text": ""that he fight them hurt his pride. He could not disobey the order, but as","}
{"text": ""he worked to put together an army, he began to spread an ugly rumor—","}
{"text": ""that Selassie was in cahoots with the pope, and planned to convert the","}
{"text": ""country to Roman Catholicism and make it a colony of Italy. Gugsa’s","}
{"text": ""army swelled, and some of the tribes from which its soldiers came","}
{"text": ""secretly agreed to fight Selassie. In March of 1930 an enormous force of","}
{"text": ""35,000 men began to march, not on the Azebu Gallas but south, toward","}
{"text": ""the capital of Addis Ababa. Made confident by his growing strength,","}
{"text": ""Gugsa now openly led a holy war to depose Selassie and put the country","}
{"text": ""back in the hands of true Christians.","}
{"text": ""He did not see the trap that had been laid for him. Before Selassie had","}
{"text": ""ordered Gugsa to fight the Azebu Gallas, he had secured the support of","}
{"text": ""the Ethiopian church. And before the revolt got underway, he had bribed","}
{"text": ""several of Gugsa’s key allies not to show up for battle. As the rebel army","}
{"text": ""marched south, airplanes flew overhead dropping leaflets announcing","}
{"text": ""that the highest church officials had recognized Selassie as the true","}
{"text": ""Christian leader of Ethiopia, and that they had excommunicated Gugsa","}
{"text": ""for fomenting a civil war. These leaflets severely blunted the emotions","}
{"text": ""behind the holy crusade. And as battle loomed and the support that","}
{"text": ""Gugsa’s allies had promised him failed to show up, soldiers began to flee","}
{"text": ""or defect.","}
{"text": ""When the battle came, the rebel army quicky collapsed. Refusing to","}
{"text": ""surrender, Ras Gugsa was killed in the fighting. The empress, distraught","}
{"text": ""over her husband’s death, died a few days later. On April 30, Selassie","}
{"text": ""issued a formal proclamation announcing his new title: Emperor of","}
{"text": ""Ethiopia.THE MONKEY AND THE WASP","}
{"text": ""A monkey, whilst munching a ripe pear, was pestered by the bare-faced","}
{"text": ""importunities of a wasp, who, nolens volens, would have a part. After","}
{"text": ""threatening the monkey with his anger if he further hesitated to submit to","}
{"text": ""his demand, he settled on the fruit; but was as soon knocked off by the","}
{"text": ""monkey. The irritable wasp now had recourse to invective —and, after","}
{"text": ""using the most insulting language, which the other calmly listened to, he","}
{"text": ""so worked himself up into violent passion that, losing all consideration","}
{"text": ""of the penalty, he flew to the face of the monkey, and stung him with such","}
{"text": ""rage that he was unable to extricate his weapon, and was compelled to","}
{"text": ""tear himself away, leaving it in the wound—thus entailing on himself a","}
{"text": ""lingering death, accompanied by pains much greater than those he had","}
{"text": ""inflicted.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, JONATHAN BIRCH, 1783-1847","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Haile Selassie always saw several moves ahead. He knew that if he let","}
{"text": ""Ras Gugsa decide the time and place of the revolt, the danger would be","}
{"text": ""much greater than if he forced Gugsa to act on Selassie’s terms. So he","}
{"text": ""goaded him into rebellion by offending his manly pride, asking him to","}
{"text": ""fight people he had no quarrel with on behalf of a man he hated.","}
{"text": ""Thinking everything out ahead, Selassie made sure that Gugsa’s rebellion","}
{"text": ""would come to nothing, and that he could use it to do away with his last","}
{"text": ""two enemies.","}
{"text": ""This is the essence of the Law: When the waters are still, your","}
{"text": ""opponents have the time and space to plot actions that they will initiate","}
{"text": ""and control. So stir the waters, force the fish to the surface, get them to","}
{"text": ""act before they are ready, steal the initiative. The best way to do this is to","}
{"text": ""play on uncontrollable emotions—pride, vanity, love, hate. Once the","}
{"text": ""water is stirred up, the little fish cannot help but rise to the bait. The","}
{"text": ""angrier they become, the less control they have, and finally they are","}
{"text": ""caught in the whirlpool you have made, and they drown.","}
{"text": ""DITCH HIGH PRIEST","}
{"text": ""Kin ’yo, an officer of the second rank, had a brother called the High","}
{"text": ""Priest Ryogaku, an extremely bad-tempered man. Next to his monasterygrew a large nettle-tree which occasioned the nickname people gave him,","}
{"text": ""the Nettle-tree High Priest. “That name is outrageous,”said the high","}
{"text": ""priest, and cut down the tree. The stump still being left, people referred","}
{"text": ""to him now as the Stump High Priest. More furious than ever, Ryogaku","}
{"text": ""had the stump dug up and thrown away, but this left a big ditch. People","}
{"text": ""now called him the Ditch High Priest.","}
{"text": ""ESSAYS IN IDLENESS. KENKO, JAPAN, FOURTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""A sovereign should never launch an army out of anger,","}
{"text": ""a leader should never start a war out of wrath.","}
{"text": ""Sun-tzu, fourth century B.C.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Angry people usually end up looking ridiculous, for their response seems","}
{"text": ""out of proportion to what occasioned it. They have taken things too","}
{"text": ""seriously, exaggerating the hurt or insult that has been done to them.","}
{"text": ""They are so sensitive to slight that it becomes comical how much they","}
{"text": ""take personally. More comical still is their belief that their outbursts","}
{"text": ""signify power. The truth is the opposite: Petulance is not power, it is a","}
{"text": ""sign of helplessness. People may temporarily be cowed by your","}
{"text": ""tantrums, but in the end they lose respect for you. They also realize they","}
{"text": ""can easily undermine a person with so little self-control.","}
{"text": ""The answer, however, is not to repress our angry or emotional","}
{"text": ""responses. For repression drains us of energy and pushes us into strange","}
{"text": ""behavior. Instead we have to change our perspective: We have to realize","}
{"text": ""that nothing in the social realm, and in the game of power, is personal.","}
{"text": ""Everyone is caught up in a chain of events that long predates the","}
{"text": ""present moment. Our anger often stems from problems in our childhood,","}
{"text": ""from the problems of our parents which stem from their own childhood,","}
{"text": ""on and on. Our anger also has roots in the many interactions with others,","}
{"text": ""the accumulated disappointments and heartaches that we have suffered.","}
{"text": ""An individual will often appear as the instigator of our anger but it is","}
{"text": ""much more complicated, goes far beyond what that individual did to us.","}
{"text": ""If a person explodes with anger at you (and it seems out of proportion to","}
{"text": ""what you did to them), you must remind yourself that it is not","}
{"text": ""exclusively directed at you—do not be so vain. The cause is much larger,","}
{"text": ""goes way back in time, involves dozens of prior hurts, and is actually notworth the bother to understand. Instead of seeing it as a personal grudge,","}
{"text": ""look at the emotional outburst as a disguised power move, an attempt to","}
{"text": ""control or punish you cloaked in the form of hurt feelings and anger.","}
{"text": ""This shift of perspective will let you play the game of power with","}
{"text": ""more clarity and energy. Instead of overreacting, and becoming ensnared","}
{"text": ""in people’s emotions, you will turn their loss of control to your","}
{"text": ""advantage: You keep your head while they are losing theirs.","}
{"text": ""During an important battle in the War of the Three Kingdoms, in the","}
{"text": ""third century A.D., advisers to the commander Ts‘ao Ts’ao discovered","}
{"text": ""documents showing that certain of his generals had conspired with the","}
{"text": ""enemy, and urged him to arrest and execute them. Instead he ordered the","}
{"text": ""documents burned and the matter forgotten. At this critical moment in","}
{"text": ""the battle, to get upset or demand justice would have reverberated against","}
{"text": ""him: An angry action would have called attention to the generals’","}
{"text": ""disloyalty, which would have harmed the troops’ morale. Justice could","}
{"text": ""wait—he would deal with the generals in time. Ts‘ao Ts’ao kept his head","}
{"text": ""and made the right decision.","}
{"text": ""Compare this to Napoleon’s response to Talleyrand: Instead of taking","}
{"text": ""the conspiracy personally, the emperor should have played the game like","}
{"text": ""Ts‘ao Ts’ao, carefully weighing the consequences of any action he took.","}
{"text": ""The more powerful response in the end would have been to ignore","}
{"text": ""Talleyrand, or to bring the minister gradually back to his side and punish","}
{"text": ""him later.","}
{"text": ""Anger only cuts off our options, and the powerful cannot thrive","}
{"text": ""without options. Once you train yourself not to take matters personally,","}
{"text": ""and to control your emotional responses, you will have placed yourself in","}
{"text": ""a position of tremendous power: Now you can play with the emotional","}
{"text": ""responses of other people. Stir the insecure into action by impugning","}
{"text": ""their manhood, and by dangling the prospect of an easy victory before","}
{"text": ""their faces. Do as Houdini did when challenged by the less successful","}
{"text": ""escape artist Kleppini: Reveal an apparent weakness (Houdini let","}
{"text": ""Kleppini steal the combination for a pair of cuffs) to lure your opponent","}
{"text": ""into action. Then you can beat him with ease. With the arrogant too you","}
{"text": ""can appear weaker than you are, taunting them into a rash action.","}
{"text": ""Sun Pin, commander of the armies of Ch‘i and loyal disciple of Sun-","}
{"text": ""tzu, once led his troops against the armies of Wei, which outnumbered","}
{"text": ""him two to one. “Let us light a hundred thousand fires when our army","}
{"text": ""enters Wei,” suggested Sun Pin, “fifty thousand on the next day, and only","}
{"text": ""thirty thousand on the third.” On the third day the Wei general","}
{"text": ""exclaimed, “I knew the men of Ch’i were cowards, and after only threedays more than half of them have deserted!” So, leaving behind his slow-","}
{"text": ""moving heavy infantry, the general decided to seize the moment and","}
{"text": ""move swiftly on the Ch’I camp with a lightly armed force. Sun Pin’s","}
{"text": ""troops retreated, luring Wei’s army into a narrow pass, where they","}
{"text": ""ambushed and destroyed them. With the Wei general dead and his forces","}
{"text": ""decimated, Sun Pin now easily defeated the rest of his army.","}
{"text": ""In the face of a hot-headed enemy, finally, an excellent response is no","}
{"text": ""response. Follow the Talleyrand tactic: Nothing is as infuriating as a man","}
{"text": ""who keeps his cool while others are losing theirs. If it will work to your","}
{"text": ""advantage to unsettle people, affect the aristocratic, bored pose, neither","}
{"text": ""mocking nor triumphant but simply indifferent. This will light their fuse.","}
{"text": ""When they embarrass themselves with a temper tantrum, you will have","}
{"text": ""gained several victories, one of these being that in the face of their","}
{"text": ""childishness you have maintained your dignity and composure.","}
{"text": ""Image: The Pond of Fish. The waters","}
{"text": ""are clear and calm, and the fish are well below the surface.","}
{"text": ""Stir the waters and they emerge. Stir it some more and they get","}
{"text": ""angry, rising to the surface, biting whatever comes near—","}
{"text": ""including a freshly baited hook.","}
{"text": ""Authority: If your opponent is of a hot temper, try to irritate him. If he is","}
{"text": ""arrogant, try to encourage his egotism…. One who is skilled at making","}
{"text": ""the enemy move does so by creating a situation according to which the","}
{"text": ""enemy will act; he entices the enemy with something he is certain to","}
{"text": ""take. He keeps the enemy on the move by holding out bait and then","}
{"text": ""attacks him with picked troops. (Sun-tzu, fourth century B.C.)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""When playing with people’s emotions you have to be careful. Study the","}
{"text": ""enemy beforehand: Some fish are best left at the bottom of the pond.","}
{"text": ""The leaders of the city of Tyre, capital of ancient Phoenicia, felt","}
{"text": ""confident they could withstand Alexander the Great, who had conquered","}
{"text": ""the Orient but had not attacked their city, which stood well protected on","}
{"text": ""the water. They sent ambassadors to Alexander saying that although they","}
{"text": ""would recognize him as emperor they would not allow him or his forcesto enter Tyre. This of course enraged him, and he immediately mounted a","}
{"text": ""siege. For four months the city withstood him, and finally he decided that","}
{"text": ""the struggle was not worth it, and that he would come to terms with the","}
{"text": ""Tyrians. But they, feeling that they had already baited Alexander and","}
{"text": ""gotten away with it, and confident that they could withstand him, refused","}
{"text": ""to negotiate—in fact they killed his messengers.","}
{"text": ""This pushed Alexander over the edge. Now it did not matter to him","}
{"text": ""how long the siege lasted or how large an army it needed; he had the","}
{"text": ""resources, and would do whatever it took. He remounted his assault so","}
{"text": ""strenuously that he captured Tyre within days, burned it to the ground,","}
{"text": ""and sold its people into slavery.","}
{"text": ""You can bait the powerful and get them to commit and divide their","}
{"text": ""forces as Sun Pin did, but test the waters first. Find the gap in their","}
{"text": ""strength. If there is no gap—if they are impossibly strong—you have","}
{"text": ""nothing to gain and everything to lose by provoking them. Choose","}
{"text": ""carefully whom you bait, and never stir up the sharks.","}
{"text": ""Finally there are times when a well-timed burst of anger can do you","}
{"text": ""good, but your anger must be manufactured and under your control.","}
{"text": ""Then you can determine exactly how and on whom it will fall. Never stir","}
{"text": ""up reactions that will work against you in the long run. And use your","}
{"text": ""thunder-bolts rarely, to make them the more intimidating and","}
{"text": ""meaningful. Whether purposefully staged or not, if your outbursts come","}
{"text": ""too often, they will lose their power.LAW 40","}
{"text": ""DESPISE THE FREE LUNCH","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""What is offered for free is dangerous-it usually involves either a trick or","}
{"text": ""a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your","}
{"text": ""own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often","}
{"text": ""wise to pay the full price—there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be","}
{"text": ""lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign","}
{"text": ""and a magnet for power.","}
{"text": ""BURIED TREASURE","}
{"text": ""Many weak-minded persons in cities hope to discover property under the","}
{"text": ""surface of the earth and to make some profit from it. In the Maghrib","}
{"text": ""there are many Berber “students” who are unable to make a living by","}
{"text": ""natural ways and means. They approach well-to-do people with papers","}
{"text": ""that have torn margins and contain either non-Arabic writing or what","}
{"text": ""they claim to be the translation of a document written by the owner of","}
{"text": ""buried treasures, giving the clue to the hiding place. In this way, they try","}
{"text": ""to get their sustenance by [persuading the well-to-do] to send them out","}
{"text": ""to dig and hunt for treasure. Occasionally, one of these treasure hunters","}
{"text": ""displays strange information or some remarkable trick of magic with","}
{"text": ""which he fools people into believing his other claims, although, in fact,","}
{"text": ""he knows nothing of magic and its procedures…. The things that have","}
{"text": ""been said about [treasure hunting] have no scientific basis, nor are they","}
{"text": ""based upon [factual] information. It should be realized that although","}
{"text": ""treasures are found, this happens rarely and by chance, not by systematic","}
{"text": ""search…. Those who are deluded or afflicted by these things must take","}
{"text": ""refuge in God from their inability to make a living and their laziness in","}
{"text": ""this respect. They should not occupy themselves with absurdities and","}
{"text": ""untrue stories.THE MUQADDIMAH, IBN KHALDUN, 1332-1406","}
{"text": ""MONEY AND POWER","}
{"text": ""In the realm of power, everything must be judged by its cost, and","}
{"text": ""everything has a price. What is offered for free or at bargain rates often","}
{"text": ""comes with a psychological price tag—complicated feelings of","}
{"text": ""obligation, compromises with quality, the insecurity those compromises","}
{"text": ""bring, on and on. The powerful learn early to protect their most valuable","}
{"text": ""resources: independence and room to maneuver. By paying the full price,","}
{"text": ""they keep themselves free of dangerous entanglements and worries.","}
{"text": ""Being open and flexible with money also teaches the value of strategic","}
{"text": ""generosity, a variation on the old trick of “giving when you are about to","}
{"text": ""take.” By giving the appropriate gift, you put the recipient under","}
{"text": ""obligation. Generosity softens people up—to be deceived. By gaining a","}
{"text": ""reputation for liberality, you win people’s admiration while distracting","}
{"text": ""them from your power plays. By strategically spreading your wealth, you","}
{"text": ""charm the other courtiers, creating pleasure and making valuable allies.","}
{"text": ""Look at the masters of power—the Caesars, the Queen Elizabeths, the","}
{"text": ""Michelangelos, the Medicis: Not a miser among them. Even the great","}
{"text": ""con artists spend freely to swindle. Tight purse strings are unattractive—","}
{"text": ""when engaged in seduction, Casanova would give completely not only of","}
{"text": ""himself but of his wallet. The powerful understand that money is","}
{"text": ""psychologically charged, and that it is also a vessel of politeness and","}
{"text": ""sociability. They make the human side of money a weapon in their","}
{"text": ""armory.","}
{"text": ""For everyone able to play with money, thousands more are locked in a","}
{"text": ""self-destructive refusal to use money creatively and strategically. These","}
{"text": ""types represent the opposite pole to the powerful, and you must learn to","}
{"text": ""recognize them—either to avoid their poisonous natures or to turn their","}
{"text": ""inflexibility to your advantage:","}
{"text": ""The Greedy Fish. The greedy fish take the human side out of money.","}
{"text": ""Cold and ruthless, they see only the lifeless balance sheet; viewing others","}
{"text": ""solely as either pawns or obstructions in their pursuit of wealth, they","}
{"text": ""trample on people’s sentiments and alienate valuable allies. No onewants to work with the greedy fish, and over the years they end up","}
{"text": ""isolated, which often proves their undoing.","}
{"text": ""Greedy fish are the con artist’s bread and butter: Lured by the bait of","}
{"text": ""easy money, they swallow the ruse hook, line, and sinker. They are easy","}
{"text": ""to deceive, for they spend so much time dealing with numbers (not with","}
{"text": ""people) that they become blind to psychology, including their own.","}
{"text": ""Either avoid them before they exploit you or play on their greed to your","}
{"text": ""gain.","}
{"text": ""The Bargain Demon. Powerful people judge everything by what it costs,","}
{"text": ""not just in money but in time, dignity, and peace of mind. And this is","}
{"text": ""exactly what Bargain Demons cannot do. Wasting valuable time digging","}
{"text": ""for bargains, they worry endlessly about what they could have gotten","}
{"text": ""elsewhere for a little less. On top of that, the bargain item they do buy is","}
{"text": ""often shabby; perhaps it needs costly repairs, or will have to be replaced","}
{"text": ""twice as fast as a high-quality item. The costs of these pursuits—not","}
{"text": ""always in money (though the price of a bargain is often deceptive) but in","}
{"text": ""time and peace of mind—discourage normal people from undertaking","}
{"text": ""them, but for the Bargain Demon the bargain is an end in itself.","}
{"text": ""These types might seem to harm only themselves, but their attitudes","}
{"text": ""are contagious: Unless you resist them they will infect you with the","}
{"text": ""insecure feeling that you should have looked harder to find a cheaper","}
{"text": ""price. Don’t argue with them or try to change them. Just mentally add up","}
{"text": ""the cost, in time and inner peace if not in hidden financial expense, of the","}
{"text": ""irrational pursuit of a bargain.","}
{"text": ""The Sadist. Financial sadists play vicious power games with money as a","}
{"text": ""way of asserting their power. They might, for example, make you wait","}
{"text": ""for money that is owed you, promising you that the check is in the mail.","}
{"text": ""Or if they hire you to work for them, they meddle in every aspect of the","}
{"text": ""job, haggling and giving you ulcers. Sadists seem to think that paying for","}
{"text": ""something gives them the right to torture and abuse the seller. They have","}
{"text": ""no sense of the courtier element in money. If you are unlucky enough to","}
{"text": ""get involved with this type, accepting a financial loss may be better in","}
{"text": ""the long run than getting entangled in their destructive power games.","}
{"text": ""The Indiscriminate Giver. Generosity has a definite function in power: It","}
{"text": ""attracts people, softens them up, makes allies out of them. But it has to","}
{"text": ""be used strategically, with a definite end in mind. Indiscriminate Givers,on the other hand, are generous because they want to be loved and","}
{"text": ""admired by all. And their generosity is so indiscriminate and needy that","}
{"text": ""it may not have the desired effect: If they give to one and all, why should","}
{"text": ""the recipient feel special? Attractive as it may seem to make an","}
{"text": ""Indiscriminate Giver your mark, in any involvement with this type you","}
{"text": ""will often feel burdened by their insatiable emotional needs.","}
{"text": ""THE","}
{"text": ""A miser, to make sure of his property, sold all that he had and converted","}
{"text": ""it into a great lump of gold, which he htd in a hole in the ground, and","}
{"text": ""went continually to visit and inspect it. This roused the curiosity of one of","}
{"text": ""his workmen, who, suspecting that there was a treasure, when his","}
{"text": ""master’s back was turned, went to the spot, and stole it away. When the","}
{"text": ""miser returned and found the place empty, he wept and tore his hair. But","}
{"text": ""a neighbor who saw him in this extravagant grief, and learned the cause","}
{"text": ""of it, said: “Fret thyself no longer, but take a stone and put it in the same","}
{"text": ""place, and think that it is your lump of gold; for, as you never meant to","}
{"text": ""use it. the one will do you as much good as the other.”","}
{"text": ""The worth of money is not in its possession, but in its use.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, AFSOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Transgression I","}
{"text": ""After Francisco Pizarro conquered Peru, in 1532, gold from the Incan","}
{"text": ""Empire began to pour into Spain, and Spaniards of all classes started","}
{"text": ""dreaming of the instant riches to be had in the New World. The story","}
{"text": ""soon spread of an Indian chief to the east of Peru who once each year","}
{"text": ""would ritually cover himself in gold dust and dive into a lake. Soon word","}
{"text": ""of mouth transformed El Dorado, the “Golden Man,” into an empire","}
{"text": ""called El Dorado, wealthier than the Incan, where the streets were paved","}
{"text": ""and the buildings inlaid with gold. This elaboration of the story did not","}
{"text": ""seem implausible, for surely a chief who could afford to waste gold dust","}
{"text": ""in a lake must rule a golden empire. Soon Spaniards were searching for","}
{"text": ""El Dorado all over northern South America.In February of 1541, the largest expedition yet in this venture, led by","}
{"text": ""Pizarro’s brother Gonzalo, left Quito, in Ecuador. Resplendent in their ar","}
{"text": ""mors and colorful silks, 340 Spaniards headed east, along with 4,000","}
{"text": ""Indians to carry supplies and serve as scouts, 4,000 swine, dozens of","}
{"text": ""llamas, and close to 1,000 dogs. But the expedition was soon hit by","}
{"text": ""torrential rain, which rotted its gear and spoiled its food. Meanwhile, as","}
{"text": ""Gonzalo Pizarro questioned the Indians they met along the way, those","}
{"text": ""who seemed to be withholding information, or who had not even heard","}
{"text": ""of the fabulous kingdom, he would torture and feed to the dogs. Word of","}
{"text": ""the Spaniards’ mur derousness spread quickly among the Indians, who","}
{"text": ""realized that the only way to avoid Gonzalo’s wrath was to make up","}
{"text": ""stories about El Dorado and send him as far away as possible. As","}
{"text": ""Gonzalo and his men followed the leads the Indians gave them, then,","}
{"text": ""they were only led farther into deep jungle.","}
{"text": ""The explorers’ spirits sagged. Their uniforms had long since shredded;","}
{"text": ""their armor rusted and they threw it away; their shoes were torn to","}
{"text": ""pieces, forcing them to walk barefoot; the Indian slaves they had set out","}
{"text": ""with had either died or deserted them; they had eaten not only the swine","}
{"text": ""but the hunting dogs and llamas. They lived on roots and fruit. Realizing","}
{"text": ""that they could not continue this way, Pizarro decided to risk river travel,","}
{"text": ""and a barge was built out of rotting wood. But the journey down the","}
{"text": ""treacherous Napo River proved no easier. Setting up camp on the river’s","}
{"text": ""edge, Gonzalo sent scouts ahead on the barge to find Indian settlements","}
{"text": ""with food. He waited and waited for the scouts to return, only to find out","}
{"text": ""they had decided to desert the expedition and continue down the river on","}
{"text": ""their own.","}
{"text": ""The rain continued without end. Gonzalo’s men forgot about El Dorado;","}
{"text": ""they wanted only to return to Quito. Finally, in August of 1542, a little","}
{"text": ""over a hundred men, from an expedition originally numbering in the","}
{"text": ""thousands, managed to find their way back. To the residents of Quito","}
{"text": ""they seemed to have emerged from hell itself, wrapped in tatters and","}
{"text": ""skins, their bodies covered in sores, and so emaciated as to be","}
{"text": ""unrecognizable. For over a year and a half they had marched in an","}
{"text": ""enormous circle, two thousand miles by foot. The vast sums of money","}
{"text": ""invested in the expedition had yielded nothing—no sign of El Dorado","}
{"text": ""and no sign of gold. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Even after Gonzalo Pizarro’s disaster, the Spaniards launched expedition","}
{"text": ""after expedition in search of El Dorado. And like Pizarro the","}
{"text": ""conquistadors would burn and loot villages, torture Indians, endure","}
{"text": ""unimaginable hardships, and get no closer to gold. The money they spenton such expeditions cannot be calculated; yet despite the futility of the","}
{"text": ""search, the lure of the fantasy endured.","}
{"text": ""There is a popular saying in Japan that goes “Tada yori takai mono wa","}
{"text": ""nai,” meaning: “Nothing is more costly than something given free of","}
{"text": ""charge.”","}
{"text": ""THE UNSPOKEN WAY, MICHIHIRO MATSUMOTO, 1988","}
{"text": ""MONEY","}
{"text": ""Yusuf Ibn Jafar el-Amudi used to take sums of money, sometimes very","}
{"text": ""large ones, from those who came to study with him. A distinguished","}
{"text": ""legalist visiting him once said: “I am enchanted and impressed by your","}
{"text": ""teachings, and I am sure that you are directing your disciples in a proper","}
{"text": ""manner. But it is not in accordance with tradition to take money for","}
{"text": ""knowledge. Besides, the action is open to misinterpretation.” El-Amudi","}
{"text": ""said: “I have never sold any knowledge. There is no Imoney on earth","}
{"text": ""sufficient to pay for it. As for misinterpretation, the abstaining from","}
{"text": ""taking money will not prevent it, for it will find some other object. Rather","}
{"text": ""should you know that a man who takes money may be greedy for money,","}
{"text": ""or he may not. But a man who takes nothing at all is under the gravest","}
{"text": ""suspicion of robbing the disciple of his soul. People who say, ‘I take","}
{"text": ""nothing,’ may be found to take away the volition of their victim.”","}
{"text": ""THE DERMIS PROBE, IDRIES SHAH, 1970","}
{"text": ""Not only did the search for El Dorado cost millions of lives—both","}
{"text": ""Indian and Spanish—it helped bring the ruin of the Spanish empire. Gold","}
{"text": ""became Spain’s obsession. The gold that did find its way back to Spain-","}
{"text": ""and a lot did—was reinvested in more expeditions, or in the purchase of","}
{"text": ""luxuries, rather than in agriculture or any other productive endeavor.","}
{"text": ""Whole Spanish towns were depopulated as their menfolk left to hunt","}
{"text": ""gold. Farms fell into ruin, and the army had no recruits for its European","}
{"text": ""wars. By the end of the seventeenth century, the entire country had","}
{"text": ""shrunk by more than half of its population; the city of Madrid had gone","}
{"text": ""from a population of 400,000 to 150,000. With diminishing returns from","}
{"text": ""its efforts over so many years, Spain fell into a decline from which it","}
{"text": ""never recovered.","}
{"text": ""Power requires self-discipline. The prospect of wealth, particularly","}
{"text": ""easy, sudden wealth, plays havoc with the emotions. The suddenly rich","}
{"text": ""believe that more is always possible. The free lunch, the money that will","}
{"text": ""fall into your lap, is just around the corner.In this delusion the greedy neglect everything power really depends","}
{"text": ""on: self-control, the goodwill of others, and so on. Understand: With one","}
{"text": ""exception—death—no lasting change in fortune comes quickly. Sudden","}
{"text": ""wealth rarely lasts, for it is built on nothing solid. Never let lust for","}
{"text": ""money lure you out of the protective and enduring fortress of real power.","}
{"text": ""Make power your goal and money will find its way to you. Leave El","}
{"text": ""Dorado for suckers and fools.","}
{"text": ""Transgression II","}
{"text": ""In the early eighteenth century, no one stood higher in English society","}
{"text": ""than the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. The duke, having led","}
{"text": ""successful campaigns against the French, was considered Europe’s","}
{"text": ""premier general and strategist. And his wife, the duchess, after much","}
{"text": ""maneuvering, had established herself as the favorite of Queen Anne, who","}
{"text": ""became ruler of England in 1702. In 1704 the duke’s triumph at the","}
{"text": ""Battle of Blenheim made him the toast of England, and to honor him the","}
{"text": ""queen awarded him a large plot of land in the town of Woodstock, and","}
{"text": ""the funds to create a great palace there. Calling his planned home the","}
{"text": ""Palace of Blenheim, the duke chose as his architect the young John","}
{"text": ""Vanbrugh, a kind of Renaissance man who wrote plays as well as","}
{"text": ""designed buildings. And so construction began, in the summer of 1705,","}
{"text": ""with much fanfare and great hopes.","}
{"text": ""Vanbrugh had a dramatist’s sense of architecture. His palace was to be","}
{"text": ""a monument to Marlborough’s brilliance and power, and was to include","}
{"text": ""artificial lakes, enormous bridges, elaborate gardens, and other","}
{"text": ""fantastical touches. From day one, however, the duchess could not be","}
{"text": ""pleased: She thought Vanbrugh was wasting money on yet another stand","}
{"text": ""of trees; she wanted the palace finished as soon as possible. The duchess","}
{"text": ""tortured Vanbrugh and his workmen on every detail. She was consumed","}
{"text": ""with petty matters; although the government was paying for Blenheim,","}
{"text": ""she counted every penny. Eventually her grumbling, about Blenheim and","}
{"text": ""other things too, created an irreparable rift between her and Queen Anne,","}
{"text": ""who, in 1711, dismissed her from the court, ordering her to vacate her","}
{"text": ""apartments at the royal palace. When the duchess left (fuming over the","}
{"text": ""loss of her position, and also of her royal salary), she emptied the","}
{"text": ""apartment of every fixture down to the brass doorknobs.THE MAN WHO LOVED MONEY BETTER","}
{"text": ""THAN LIFE","}
{"text": ""In ancient times there was an old woodcutter who went to the mountain","}
{"text": ""almost every day to cut wood.","}
{"text": ""It was said that this old n?an was a miser who hoarded his silver until it","}
{"text": ""changed to gold, and that he cared more for gold than anything else in","}
{"text": ""all the world.","}
{"text": ""One day a wilderness tiger sprang at him and though he ran he could","}
{"text": ""not escape, and the tiger carried him off in its mouth.","}
{"text": ""The woodcutter’s son saw his father’s danger, and ran to save him if","}
{"text": ""possible. He carried a long knife, and as he could run faster than the","}
{"text": ""tiger, who had a man to carry, he soon overtook them.","}
{"text": ""His father was not much hurt, for the tiger held him by his clothes. When","}
{"text": ""the old woodcutter saw his son about to stab the tiger he called out in","}
{"text": ""great alarm: “Do not spoil the tiger’s skin! Do not spoil the tiger’s skin!","}
{"text": ""If you can kill him without cutting holes in his skin we can get many","}
{"text": ""pieces of silver for it. Kill him, but do not cut his body.” While the son","}
{"text": ""was listening to his father’s instructions the tiger suddenly dashed off","}
{"text": ""into the forest, carrying the old man where the son could not reach him,","}
{"text": ""and he was soon killed.","}
{"text": ""“CHINESE FABLE,” VARIOUS FABLES FROM VARIOUS PLACES,","}
{"text": ""DIANE DI PRIMA, ED., 1960","}
{"text": ""Over the next ten years, work on Blenheim would stop and start, as the","}
{"text": ""funds became harder to procure from the government. The duchess","}
{"text": ""thought Vanbrugh was out to ruin her. She quibbled over every carload","}
{"text": ""of stone and bushel of lime, counted every extra yard of iron railing or","}
{"text": ""foot of wainscot, hurling abuse at the wasteful workmen, contractors,","}
{"text": ""and surveyors. Marlborough, old and weary, wanted nothing more than","}
{"text": ""to settle into the palace in his last years, but the project became bogged","}
{"text": ""down in a swamp of litigation, the workmen suing the duchess for","}
{"text": ""wages, the duchess suing the architect right back. In the midst of this","}
{"text": ""interminable wrangling, the duke died. He had never spent a night in his","}
{"text": ""beloved Blenheim.","}
{"text": ""After Marlborough’s death, it became clear that he had a vast estate,","}
{"text": ""worth over £2 million—more than enough to pay for finishing the","}
{"text": ""palace. But the duchess would not relent: She held back Vanbrugh’s","}
{"text": ""wages as well as the workmen’s, and finally had the architect dismissed.The man who took his place finished Blenheim in a few years, following","}
{"text": ""Vanbrugh’s designs to the letter. Vanbrugh died in 1726, locked out of","}
{"text": ""the palace by the duchess, unable to set foot in his greatest creation.","}
{"text": ""Foreshadowing the romantic movement, Blenheim had started a whole","}
{"text": ""new trend in architecture, but had given its creator a twenty-year","}
{"text": ""nightmare.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""For the Duchess of Marlborough, money was a way to play sadistic","}
{"text": ""power games. She saw the loss of money as a symbolic loss of power.","}
{"text": ""With Vanbrugh her contortions went deeper still: He was a great artist,","}
{"text": ""and she envied his power to create, to attain a fame outside her reach.","}
{"text": ""She may not have had his gifts, but she did have the money to torture and","}
{"text": ""abuse him over the pettiest details—to ruin his life.","}
{"text": ""This kind of sadism, however, bears an awful price. It made","}
{"text": ""construction that should have lasted ten years take twenty. It poisoned","}
{"text": ""many a relationship, alienated the duchess from the court, deeply pained","}
{"text": ""the duke (who wanted only to live peacefully in Blenheim), created","}
{"text": ""endless lawsuits, and took years off Vanbrugh’s life. Finally, too,","}
{"text": ""posterity had the last word: Vanbrugh is recognized as a genius while the","}
{"text": ""duchess is forever remembered for her consummate cheapness.","}
{"text": ""The powerful must have grandeur of spirit—they can never reveal any","}
{"text": ""pettiness. And money is the most visible arena in which to display either","}
{"text": ""grandeur or pettiness. Best spend freely, then, and create a reputation for","}
{"text": ""generosity, which in the end will pay great dividends. Never let financial","}
{"text": ""details blind you to the bigger picture of how people perceive you. Their","}
{"text": ""resentment will cost you in the long run. And if you want to meddle in","}
{"text": ""the work of creative people under your hire, at least pay them well. Your","}
{"text": ""money will buy their submission better than your displays of power.","}
{"text": ""THE STORY OF MOSES AND PHARAOH","}
{"text": ""It is written in the histories of the prophets that Moses was sent to","}
{"text": ""Pharaoh with many miracles, wonders and honors. Now the daily ration","}
{"text": ""for Pharaoh’s table was 4,000 sheep, 400 cows, 200 camels, and a","}
{"text": ""corresponding amount of chickens, fish, beverages, fried meats, sweets,","}
{"text": ""and other things. All the people of Egypt and all his army used to eat at","}
{"text": ""his table every day. For 400 years he had claimed divinity and never","}
{"text": ""ceased providing this food. When Moses prayed, saying, “O Lord,destroy Pharaoh,” God answered his prayer and said, “I shall destroy","}
{"text": ""him in water, and I shall bestow all his wealth and that of his soldiers on","}
{"text": ""you and your peoples.” Several vears passed bv after this promise, and","}
{"text": ""Pharaoh, doomed to rum, continued to live in all his magnificence.","}
{"text": ""Moses was impatient for God to destroy Pharaoh quickle, and he could","}
{"text": ""not endure to wail any longer. So he fasted for forty days and went to","}
{"text": ""Mount Sinai, and in his communing with god he said, “O Lord. Thou","}
{"text": ""didst promise that Thou wouldst destroy Pharaoh, and still he has","}
{"text": ""forsaken none of his blasphemies and pretensions. So when wilt Thou","}
{"text": ""destroy him?”","}
{"text": ""A voice came from The Truth saying, “O Muses, you want Me to destroy","}
{"text": ""Pharaoh as quickly as possible, but a thousand times a thousand of My","}
{"text": ""servants want Me never to do so, because they partake of his bounty and","}
{"text": ""enjoy tranquillity under his rule. By My power I swear that as long as he","}
{"text": ""provides abundant food and comfort for My creatures, I shall not destroy","}
{"text": ""him.”","}
{"text": ""Moses said, “Then when will Thy promise be fulfilled?” God said, “Mv","}
{"text": ""promise will be fulfilled when he withholds his provision from My","}
{"text": ""creatures. If ever he begins to lessen his bounty, know that his hour is","}
{"text": ""drawing near.”","}
{"text": ""It chanced that one day Pharaoh said to Haman, “Moses has gathered","}
{"text": ""the Sons of Israel about him and is causing us disquiet. We know not","}
{"text": ""what will be the issue of his affair with us. We must keep our stores full","}
{"text": ""lest at any time we be without resources. So we must halve our daily","}
{"text": ""rations and keep the saving in reserve.” He deducted 2, 000 sheep, 200","}
{"text": ""cows, and a 100 camels, and similarly every two or three days reduced","}
{"text": ""the ration. Moses then knew that the promise of The Truth was near to","}
{"text": ""fulfillment, for excessive economy is a sign of decline and a bad omen.","}
{"text": ""The masters of tradition say that on the day when Pharaoh was drowned","}
{"text": ""only two ewes had been killed in his kitchen. Nothing is better than","}
{"text": ""generosity…. If a man is rich and desires, without a royal charter, to act","}
{"text": ""like a lord; if he wants men to humble themselves before him, to revere","}
{"text": ""him and call him Lord and prince, then tell him every day to spread a","}
{"text": ""table with victuals. All those who have acquired renown in the world,","}
{"text": ""have gained it mainly through hospitality, while the miserly and","}
{"text": ""avaricious are despised in both worlds.","}
{"text": ""THE BOOK OF GOVERNMENT OR RULES FOR KINGS, NIZAM","}
{"text": ""AL-MULK, ELEVENTH CENTURYOBSERVANCES OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Observance I","}
{"text": ""Pietro Aretino, son of a lowly shoemaker, had catapulted himself into","}
{"text": ""fame as a writer of biting satires. But like every Renaissance artist, he","}
{"text": ""needed to find a patron who would give him a comfortable lifestyle","}
{"text": ""while not interfering with his work. In 1528 Aretino decided to attempt a","}
{"text": ""new strategy in the patronage game. Leaving Rome, he established","}
{"text": ""himself in Venice, where few had heard of him. He had a fair amount of","}
{"text": ""money he had managed to save, but little else. Soon after he moved into","}
{"text": ""his new home, however, he threw open its doors to rich and poor,","}
{"text": ""regaling them with banquets and amusements. He befriended each and","}
{"text": ""every gondolier, tipping them royally. In the streets, he spread his money","}
{"text": ""liberally, giving it away to beggars, orphans, washerwomen. Among the","}
{"text": ""city’s commoners, word quickly spread that Aretino was more than just a","}
{"text": ""great writer, he was a man of power—a kind of lord.","}
{"text": ""Artists and men of influence soon began to frequent Aretino’s house.","}
{"text": ""Within a few years he made himself a celebrity; no visiting dignitary","}
{"text": ""would think of leaving Venice without paying him a call. His generosity","}
{"text": ""had cost him most of his savings, but had bought him influence and a","}
{"text": ""good name—a cornerstone in the foundation of power. Since in","}
{"text": ""Renaissance Italy as elsewhere the ability to spend freely was the","}
{"text": ""privilege of the rich, the aristocracy thought Aretino had to be a man of","}
{"text": ""influence, since he spent money like one. And since the influence of a","}
{"text": ""man of influence is worth buying, Aretino became the recipient of all","}
{"text": ""sorts of gifts and moneys. Dukes and duchesses, wealthy merchants, and","}
{"text": ""popes and princes competed to gain his favor, and showered him with all","}
{"text": ""kinds of presents.","}
{"text": ""Aretino’s spending habits, of course, were strategic, and the strategy","}
{"text": ""worked like a charm. But for real money and comfort he needed a great","}
{"text": ""patron’s bottomless pockets. Having surveyed the possibilities, he","}
{"text": ""eventually set his sights on the extremely wealthy Marquis of Mantua,","}
{"text": ""and wrote an epic poem that he dedicated to the marquis. This was a","}
{"text": ""common practice of writers looking for patronage: In exchange for a","}
{"text": ""dedication they would get a small stipend, enough to write yet another","}
{"text": ""poem, so that they spent their lives in a kind of constant servility.","}
{"text": ""Aretino, however, wanted power, not a measly wage. He might dedicate","}
{"text": ""a poem to the marquis, but he would offer it to him as a gift, implying bydoing so that he was not a hired hack looking for a stipend but that he","}
{"text": ""and the marquis were equals.","}
{"text": ""Aretino’s gift-giving did not stop there: As a close friend of two of","}
{"text": ""Venice’s greatest artists, the sculptor Jacopo Sansovino and the painter","}
{"text": ""Titian, he convinced these men to participate in his gift-giving scheme.","}
{"text": ""Aretino had studied the marquis before going to work on him, and knew","}
{"text": ""his taste inside and out; he was able to advise Sansovino and Titian what","}
{"text": ""subject matter would please the marquis most. When he then sent a","}
{"text": ""Sansovino sculpture and a Titian painting to the marquis as gifts from all","}
{"text": ""three of them, the man was beside himself with joy.","}
{"text": ""Over the next few months, Aretino sent other gifts—swords, saddles,","}
{"text": ""the glass that was a Venetian specialty, things he knew the marquis","}
{"text": ""prized. Soon he, Titian, and Sansovino began to receive gifts from the","}
{"text": ""marquis in return. And the strategy went further: When the son-in-law of","}
{"text": ""a friend of Aretino’s found himself in jail in Mantua, Aretino was able to","}
{"text": ""get the marquis to arrange his release. Aretino’s friend, a wealthy","}
{"text": ""merchant, was a man of great influence in Venice; by turning the","}
{"text": ""goodwill he had built up with the marquis to use, Aretino had now","}
{"text": ""bought this man’s indebtedness, too, and he in turn would help Aretino","}
{"text": ""when he could. The circle of influence was growing wider. Time and","}
{"text": ""again, Aretino was able to cash in on the immense political power of the","}
{"text": ""marquis, who also helped him in his many court romances.","}
{"text": ""Eventually, however, the relationship became strained, as Aretino","}
{"text": ""came to feel that the marquis should have requited his generosity better.","}
{"text": ""But he would not lower himself to begging or whining: Since the","}
{"text": ""exchange of gifts between the two men had made them equals, it would","}
{"text": ""not seem right to bring up money. He simply withdrew from the","}
{"text": ""marquis’s circle and hunted for other wealthy prey, settling first on the","}
{"text": ""French king Francis, then the Medicis, the Duke of Urbino, Emperor","}
{"text": ""Charles V, and more. In the end, having many patrons meant he did not","}
{"text": ""have to bow to any of them, and his power seemed comparable to that of","}
{"text": ""a great lord. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Aretino understood two fundamental properties of money: First, that it","}
{"text": ""has to circulate to bring power. What money should buy is not lifeless","}
{"text": ""objects but power over people. By keeping money in constant","}
{"text": ""circulation, Aretino bought an ever-expanding circle of influence that in","}
{"text": ""the end more than compensated him for his expenses.","}
{"text": ""Second, Aretino understood the key property of the gift. To give a gift","}
{"text": ""is to imply that you and the recipient are equals at the very least, or that","}
{"text": ""you are the recipient’s superior. A gift also involves an indebtedness orobligation; when friends, for instance, offer you something for free, you","}
{"text": ""can be sure they expect something in return, and that to get it they are","}
{"text": ""making you feel indebted. (The mechanism may or may not be entirely","}
{"text": ""conscious on their part, but this is how it works.)","}
{"text": ""Aretino avoided such encumbrances on his freedom. Instead of acting","}
{"text": ""like a menial who expects the powerful to pay his way in life, he turned","}
{"text": ""the whole dynamic around; instead of being indebted to the powerful, he","}
{"text": ""made the powerful indebted to him. This was the point of his gift-giving,","}
{"text": ""a ladder that carried him to the highest social levels. By the end of his","}
{"text": ""life he had become the most famous writer in Europe.","}
{"text": ""Understand: Money may determine power relationships, but those","}
{"text": ""relationships need not depend on the amount of money you have; they","}
{"text": ""also depend on the way you use it. Powerful people give freely, buying","}
{"text": ""influence rather than things. If you accept the inferior position because","}
{"text": ""you have no fortune yet, you may find yourself in it forever. Play the","}
{"text": ""trick that Aretino played on Italy’s aristocracy: Imagine yourself an","}
{"text": ""equal. Play the lord, give freely, open your doors, circulate your money,","}
{"text": ""and create the facade of power through an alchemy that transforms","}
{"text": ""money into influence.","}
{"text": ""Observance II","}
{"text": ""Soon after Baron James Rothschild made his fortune in Paris in the early","}
{"text": ""1820s, he faced his most intractable problem: How could a Jew and a","}
{"text": ""German, a total outsider to French society, win the respect of the","}
{"text": ""xenophobic French upper classes? Rothschild was a man who","}
{"text": ""understood power—he knew that his fortune would bring him status, but","}
{"text": ""that if he remained socially alienated neither his status nor his fortune","}
{"text": ""would last. So he looked at the society of the time and asked what would","}
{"text": ""win their hearts.","}
{"text": ""Charity? The French couldn’t care less. Political influence? He already","}
{"text": ""had that, and if anything it only made people more suspicious of him.","}
{"text": ""The one weak spot, he decided, was boredom. In the period of the","}
{"text": ""restoration of the monarchy, the French upper classes were bored. So","}
{"text": ""Rothschild began to spend astounding sums of money on entertaining","}
{"text": ""them. He hired the best architects in France to design his gardens and","}
{"text": ""ballroom; he hired Marie-Antoine Carême, the most celebrated French","}
{"text": ""chef, to prepare the most lavish parties Paris had ever witnessed; no","}
{"text": ""Frenchman could resist, even if the parties were given by a German Jew.Rothschild’s weekly soirees began to attract bigger and bigger numbers.","}
{"text": ""Over the next few years he won the only thing that would secure an","}
{"text": ""outsider’s power: social acceptance.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Strategic generosity is always a great weapon in building a support base,","}
{"text": ""particularly for the outsider. But the Baron de Rothschild was cleverer","}
{"text": ""still: He knew it was his money that had created the barrier between him","}
{"text": ""and the French, making him look ugly and untrustworthy. The best way","}
{"text": ""to overcome this was literally to waste huge sums, a gesture to show he","}
{"text": ""valued French culture and society over money. What Rothschild did","}
{"text": ""resembled the famous potlatch feasts of the American Northwest: By","}
{"text": ""periodically destroying its wealth in a giant orgy of festivals and","}
{"text": ""bonfires, an Indian tribe would symbolize its power over other tribes.","}
{"text": ""The base of its power was not money but its ability to spend, and its","}
{"text": ""confidence in a superiority that would restore to it all that the potlatch","}
{"text": ""had destroyed.","}
{"text": ""In the end, the baron’s soirees reflected his desire to mingle not just in","}
{"text": ""France’s business world but in its society. By wasting money on his pot-","}
{"text": ""latches, he hoped to demonstrate that his power went beyond money into","}
{"text": ""the more precious realm of culture. Rothschild may have won social","}
{"text": ""acceptance by spending money, but the support base he gained was one","}
{"text": ""that money alone could not buy. To secure his fortune he had to “waste”","}
{"text": ""it. That is strategic generosity in a nutshell—the ability to be flexible","}
{"text": ""with your wealth, putting it to work, not to buy objects, but to win","}
{"text": ""people’s hearts.","}
{"text": ""Observance III","}
{"text": ""The Medicis of Renaissance Florence had built their immense power on","}
{"text": ""the fortune they had made in banking. But in Florence, centuries-old","}
{"text": ""republic that it was, the idea that money bought power went against all","}
{"text": ""the city’s proud democratic values. Cosimo de’ Medici, the first of the","}
{"text": ""family to gain great fame, worked around this by keeping a low profile.","}
{"text": ""He never flaunted his wealth. But by the time his grandson Lorenzo","}
{"text": ""came of age, in the 1470s, the family’s wealth was too large, and their","}
{"text": ""influence too noticeable, to be disguised any longer.THE FLAME-COLORED CLOCK","}
{"text": ""During the campaign of Carnbyses in Egypt, a great many Greeks visited","}
{"text": ""that country for one reason or another: some, as was to be expected, for","}
{"text": ""trade, some to serve in the army, others, no doubt, out of mere curiosity,","}
{"text": ""to see what they could see. Amongst the sightseers was Aeaces’s son","}
{"text": ""Syloson, the exiled brother of Polycrates of Samos. While he was in","}
{"text": ""Egypt, Syloson had an extraordinary stroke of luck: he was hanging","}
{"text": ""about the streets of Memphis dressed in a flame-colored cloak, when","}
{"text": ""Darius, who at that time was a member of Cambyses’s guard and not yet","}
{"text": ""of any particular importance, happened to catch sight of him and, seized","}
{"text": ""with a sudden longing to possess the cloak, came up to Syloson and","}
{"text": ""made him an offer for it.","}
{"text": ""His extreme anxiety to get it was obvious enough to Syloson, who was","}
{"text": ""inspired to say: “I am not selling this for any money, but if you must","}
{"text": ""have it, I will give it to you for free. ” Darius thererepon thanked him","}
{"text": ""warmly and took it. Syloson at the moment merely thought he had lost it","}
{"text": ""by his foolish good nature; then came the death of Cambyses and the","}
{"text": ""revolt of the seven against the Magus, and Darius ascended the throne.","}
{"text": ""Syloson now had the news that the man whose request for the flame-","}
{"text": ""colored cloak he had formerly gratified in Egypt had become king of","}
{"text": ""Persia. He hurried to Susa, sat down at the entrance of the royal palace,","}
{"text": ""and claimed to be included in the official list of the king’s benefactors.","}
{"text": ""The sentry on guard reported his claim to Darius, who asked in surprise","}
{"text": ""who the man might be. “For surely,” he said, “as I have so recently","}
{"text": ""come to the throne, there cannot be any Greek to whom I am indebted for","}
{"text": ""a service. Hardly any of them have been here yet, and I certainly cannot","}
{"text": ""remember owing anything to a Greek. But bring him in all the same, that","}
{"text": ""I may know what he means by this claim.”","}
{"text": ""The guard escorted Syloson into the royal presence, and when the","}
{"text": ""interpreters asked him who he was and what he had done to justify the","}
{"text": ""statement that he was the king’s benefactor, he reminded Darius of the","}
{"text": ""story of the cloak, and said that he was the man who had given it him.","}
{"text": ""“Sir,” exclaimed Darius, “you are the most generous of men; for while I","}
{"text": ""was still a person of no power or consequence you gave me a present—","}
{"text": ""small indeed, but deserving then as much gratitude from me as would the","}
{"text": ""most splendid of gifts today. I will give you in return more silver and","}
{"text": ""gold than you can count, that you may never regret that you once did a","}
{"text": ""favor to Darius the son of Hystaspes. ” “My lord, ” replied Syloson, ”do","}
{"text": ""not give me gold or silver, but recover Samos for me, my native island,which now since Oroetes killed my brother Polycrates is in the hands of","}
{"text": ""one of our servants. Let Samos be your gift to me—but let no man in the","}
{"text": ""island be killed or enslaved.”","}
{"text": ""Darius consented to Syloson’s request, and dispatched a force under the","}
{"text": ""command of Otanes, one of the seven, with orders to do everything that","}
{"text": ""Syloson had asked.","}
{"text": ""THE HISTORIES. HERODOTUS. FIFTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""Lorenzo solved the problem in his own way by developing the","}
{"text": ""strategy of distraction that has served people of wealth ever since: He","}
{"text": ""became the most illustrious patron of the arts that history has ever","}
{"text": ""known. Not only did he spend lavishly on paintings, he created Italy’s","}
{"text": ""finest apprentice schools for young artists. It was in one of these schools","}
{"text": ""that the young Michelangelo first caught the attention of Lorenzo, who","}
{"text": ""invited the artist to come and live in his house. He did the same with","}
{"text": ""Leonardo da Vinci. Once under his wing, Michelangelo and Leonardo","}
{"text": ""requited his generosity by becoming loyal artists in his stable.","}
{"text": ""Whenever Lorenzo faced an enemy, he would wield the weapon of","}
{"text": ""patronage. When Pisa, Florence’s traditional enemy, threatened to rebel","}
{"text": ""against it in 1472, Lorenzo placated its people by pouring money into its","}
{"text": ""university, which had once been its pride and joy but had long ago lost","}
{"text": ""its luster. The Pisans had no defense against this insidious maneuver,","}
{"text": ""which simultaneously fed their love of culture and blunted their desire","}
{"text": ""for battle. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Lorenzo undoubtedly loved the arts, but his patronage of artists had a","}
{"text": ""practical function as well, of which he was keenly aware. In Florence at","}
{"text": ""the time, banking was perhaps the least admired way of making money,","}
{"text": ""and was certainly not a respected source of power. The arts were at the","}
{"text": ""other pole, the pole of quasi-religious transcendence. By spending on the","}
{"text": ""arts, Lorenzo diluted people’s opinions of the ugly source of his wealth,","}
{"text": ""disguising himself in nobility. There is no better use of strategic","}
{"text": ""generosity than that of distracting attention from an unsavory reality and","}
{"text": ""wrapping oneself in the mantle of art or religion.","}
{"text": ""Observance IV","}
{"text": ""Louis XIV had an eagle eye for the strategic power of money. When he","}
{"text": ""came to the throne, the powerful nobility had recently proven a thorn in","}
{"text": ""the monarchy’s side, and seethed with rebelliousness. So heimpoverished these aristocrats by making them spend enormous sums on","}
{"text": ""maintaining their position in the court. Making them dependent on royal","}
{"text": ""largesse for their livelihood, he had them in his claws.","}
{"text": ""Next Louis brought the nobles to their knees with strategic generosity.","}
{"text": ""It would work like this: Whenever he noticed a stubborn courtier whose","}
{"text": ""influence he needed to gain, or whose troublemaking he needed to","}
{"text": ""squelch, he would use his vast wealth to soften the soil. First he would","}
{"text": ""ignore his victim, making the man anxious. Then the man would","}
{"text": ""suddenly find that his son had been given a well-paid post, or that funds","}
{"text": ""had been spent liberally in his home region, or that he had been given a","}
{"text": ""painting he had long coveted. Presents would flow from Louis’s hands.","}
{"text": ""Finally, weeks or months later, Louis would ask for the favor he had","}
{"text": ""needed all along. A man who had once vowed to do anything to stop the","}
{"text": ""king would find he had lost the desire to fight. A straightforward bribe","}
{"text": ""would have made him rebellious; this was far more insidious. Facing","}
{"text": ""hardened earth in which nothing could take root, Louis loosened the soil","}
{"text": ""before he planted his seeds. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Louis understood that there is a deep-rooted emotional element in our","}
{"text": ""attitude to money, an element going back to childhood. When we are","}
{"text": ""children, all kinds of complicated feelings about our parents center","}
{"text": ""around gifts; we see the giving of a gift as a sign of love and approval.","}
{"text": ""And that emotional element never goes away. The recipients of gifts,","}
{"text": ""financial or otherwise, are suddenly as vulnerable as children, especially","}
{"text": ""when the gift comes from someone in authority. They cannot help","}
{"text": ""opening up; their will is loosened, as Louis loosened the soil.","}
{"text": ""To succeed best, the gift should come out of the blue. It should be","}
{"text": ""remarkable for the fact that a gift like it has never been given before, or","}
{"text": ""for being preceded by a cold shoulder from the giver. The more often","}
{"text": ""you give to particular people, the blunter this weapon becomes. If they","}
{"text": ""don’t take your gifts for granted, becoming monsters of ingratitude, they","}
{"text": ""will resent what appears to be charity. The sudden, unexpected, one-time","}
{"text": ""gift will not spoil your children; it will keep them under your thumb.","}
{"text": ""Observance V","}
{"text": ""The antique dealer Fushimiya, who lived in the city of Edo (former name","}
{"text": ""for Tokyo) in the seventeenth century, once made a stop at a village","}
{"text": ""teahouse. After enjoying a cup of tea, he spent several minutes","}
{"text": ""scrutinizing the cup, which he eventually paid for and took away withhim. A local artisan, watching this, waited until Fushimiya left the shop,","}
{"text": ""then approached the old woman who owned the teahouse and asked her","}
{"text": ""who this man was. She told him it was Japan’s most famous connoisseur,","}
{"text": ""antique dealer to the lord of Izumo. The artisan ran out of the shop,","}
{"text": ""caught up with Fushimiya, and begged him to sell him the cup, which","}
{"text": ""must clearly be valuable if Fushimiya judged it so. Fushimiya laughed","}
{"text": ""heartily: “It’s just an ordinary cup of Bizen ware,” he explained, “and it","}
{"text": ""is not valuable at all. The reason I was looking at it was that the steam","}
{"text": ""seemed to hang about it strangely and I wondered if there wasn’t a leak","}
{"text": ""somewhere.” (Devotees of the Tea Ceremony were interested in any odd","}
{"text": ""or accidental beauty in nature.) Since the artisan still seemed so excited","}
{"text": ""about it, Fushimiya gave him the cup for free.","}
{"text": ""The artisan took the cup around, trying to find an expert who would","}
{"text": ""appraise it at a high price, but since all of them recognized it as an","}
{"text": ""ordinary teacup he got nowhere. Soon he was neglecting his own","}
{"text": ""business, thinking only of the cup and the fortune it could bring. Finally","}
{"text": ""he went to Edo to talk to Fushimiya at his shop. There the dealer,","}
{"text": ""realizing that he had inadvertently caused this man pain by making him","}
{"text": ""believe the cup had great worth, paid him 100 ryo (gold pieces) for the","}
{"text": ""cup as a kindness. The cup was indeed mediocre, but he wanted to rid the","}
{"text": ""artisan of his obsession, while also allowing him to feel that his effort","}
{"text": ""had not been wasted. The artisan thanked him and went on his way.","}
{"text": ""Money is never spent to so much advantage as when vou have been","}
{"text": ""cheated out of it; for at one stroke you have purchased prudence.","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""Soon word spread of Fushimiya’s purchase of the teacup. Every dealer","}
{"text": ""in Japan clamored for him to sell it, since a cup he had bought for 100","}
{"text": ""ryo must be worth much more. He tried to explain the circumstances in","}
{"text": ""which he had bought the cup, but the dealers could not be dissuaded.","}
{"text": ""Fushimiya finally relented and put the cup up for sale.","}
{"text": ""During the auction, two buyers simultaneously bid 200 ryo for the","}
{"text": ""teacup, and then began to fight over who had bid first. Their fighting","}
{"text": ""tipped over a table and the teacup fell to the ground and broke into","}
{"text": ""several pieces. The auction was clearly over. Fushimiya glued and","}
{"text": ""mended the cup, then stored it away, thinking the affair finished. Years","}
{"text": ""later, however, the great tea master Matsudaira Fumai visited the store,","}
{"text": ""and asked to see the cup, which by then had become legendary. Fumai","}
{"text": ""examined it. “As a piece,” he said, “it is not up to much, but a Tea","}
{"text": ""Master prizes sentiment and association more than intrinsic value.” Hebought the cup for a high sum. A glued-together work of less than","}
{"text": ""ordinary craftsmanship had become one of the most famous objects in","}
{"text": ""Japan.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The story shows, first, an essential aspect of money: That it is humans","}
{"text": ""who have created it and humans who instill it with meaning and value.","}
{"text": ""Second, with objects as with money, what the courtier most values are","}
{"text": ""the sentiments and emotions embedded in them—these are what make","}
{"text": ""them worth having. The lesson is simple: The more your gifts and your","}
{"text": ""acts of generosity play with sentiment, the more powerful they are. The","}
{"text": ""object or concept that plays with a charged emotion or hits a chord of","}
{"text": ""sentiment has more power than the money you squander on an expensive","}
{"text": ""yet lifeless present.","}
{"text": ""Observance VI","}
{"text": ""Akimoto Suzutomo, a wealthy adherent of the tea ceremony, once gave","}
{"text": ""his page 100 ryo (gold pieces) and instructed him to purchase a tea bowl","}
{"text": ""offered by a particular dealer. When the page saw the bowl, he doubted it","}
{"text": ""was worth that much, and after much bargaining got the price reduced to","}
{"text": ""95 ryo. Days later, after Suzutomo had put the bowl to use, the page","}
{"text": ""proudly told him what he had done.","}
{"text": ""“What an ignoramus you are!” replied Suzutomo. “A tea bowl that","}
{"text": ""anyone asks 100 pieces of gold for can only be a family heirloom, and a","}
{"text": ""thing like that is only sold when the family is pressed for money. And in","}
{"text": ""that case they will be hoping to find someone who will give even 150","}
{"text": ""pieces for it. So what sort of fellow is it who does not consider their","}
{"text": ""feelings? Quite apart from that, a curio that you give 100 ryo for is","}
{"text": ""something worth having, but one that has only cost 95 gives a mean","}
{"text": ""impression. So never let me see that tea bowl again!” And he had the","}
{"text": ""bowl locked away, and never took it out.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""When you insist on paying less, you may save your five ryo, but the","}
{"text": ""insult you cause and the cheap impression you create will cost you inreputation, which is the thing the powerful prize above all. Learn to pay","}
{"text": ""the full price—it will save you a lot in the end.","}
{"text": ""A GIFT OF FISH","}
{"text": ""Kung-yi Hsiu, premier of Lu, was fond of fish. Therefore, people in the","}
{"text": ""whole country conscientiously bought fish, which they presented to him.","}
{"text": ""However, Kung-yi would not accept the presents. Against such a step his","}
{"text": ""younger brother remonstrated with him and said: “You like fish, indeed.","}
{"text": ""Why don’t you accept the present of fish?” In reply, he said: “It is solely","}
{"text": ""because I like fish that I would not accept the fish they gave me. Indeed,","}
{"text": ""if I accept the fish, I will be placed under an obligation to them. Once","}
{"text": ""placed under an obligation to them, I will some time have to bend the","}
{"text": ""law. If I bend the law, I will be dismissed from the premiership. After","}
{"text": ""being dismissed from the premiership, I might not be able to supply","}
{"text": ""myself with fish. On the contrary, if I do not accept the fish from them","}
{"text": ""and am not dismissed the premiership, however fond of fish, I can always","}
{"text": ""supply myself with fish.”","}
{"text": ""HAN-FEI-TZU, CHINESE PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""Observance VII","}
{"text": ""Sometime near the beginning of the seventeenth century in Japan, a","}
{"text": ""group of generals whiled away the time before a big battle by staging an","}
{"text": ""incense-smelling competition. Each participant anted up a prize for the","}
{"text": ""contest’s winners—bows, arrows, saddles, and other items a warrior","}
{"text": ""would covet.","}
{"text": ""The great Lord Date Masamune happened to pass by and was induced to","}
{"text": ""participate. For a prize, he offered the gourd that hung from his belt.","}
{"text": ""Everyone laughed, for no one wanted to win this cheap item. A retainer","}
{"text": ""of the host finally accepted the gourd.","}
{"text": ""When the party broke up, however, and the generals were chatting","}
{"text": ""outside the tent, Masamune brought over his magnificent horse and gave","}
{"text": ""it to the retainer. “There,” he said, “a horse has come out of the gourd.”","}
{"text": ""The stunned generals suddenly regretted their scorn at Masamune’s gift.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Masamune understood the following: Money gives its possessor the","}
{"text": ""ability to give pleasure to others. The more you can do this, the more you","}
{"text": ""attract admiration. When you make a horse come out of a gourd, you","}
{"text": ""give the ultimate demonstration of your power.Image: The River. To protect","}
{"text": ""yourself or to save the resource,","}
{"text": ""you dam it up. Soon, however,","}
{"text": ""the waters become dank and","}
{"text": ""pestilent. Only the foulest","}
{"text": ""forms of life can live in such","}
{"text": ""stagnant waters; nothing trav","}
{"text": ""els on them, all commerce","}
{"text": ""stops. Destroy the dam. When","}
{"text": ""water flows and circulates, it gen","}
{"text": ""erates abundance, wealth, and","}
{"text": ""power in ever larger circles. The","}
{"text": ""River must flood periodically","}
{"text": ""for good things to flourish.","}
{"text": ""I took money only from those who could afford it and were willing to go","}
{"text": ""in with me in schemes they fancied would fleece others. They wanted","}
{"text": ""money for its own sake. I wanted it for the luxuries and pleasures it","}
{"text": ""would afford me. They were seldom concerned with human nature. They","}
{"text": ""knew little-and cared less-about their fellow men. If they had been","}
{"text": ""keener students of human nature, if they had given more time to","}
{"text": ""companionship with their fellows and less to the chase of the almighty","}
{"text": ""dollar, they wouldn’t have been such easy marks.","}
{"text": ""“YELLOW KID” WEIL. 1875-1976","}
{"text": ""Authority: The great man who is a miser is a great fool, and a man in","}
{"text": ""high places can have no vice so harmful as avarice. A miserly man can","}
{"text": ""conquer neither lands nor lordships, for he does not have a plentiful","}
{"text": ""supply of friends with whom he may work his will. Whoever wants to","}
{"text": ""have friends must not love his possessions but must acquire friends by","}
{"text": ""means of fair gifts; for in the same way that the lodestone subtly draws","}
{"text": ""iron to itself, so the gold and silver that a man gives attract the hearts of","}
{"text": ""men. (The Romance of the Rose, Guillaume de Lorris, c. 1200-1238)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The powerful never forget that what is offered for free is inevitably a","}
{"text": ""trick. Friends who offer favors without asking for payment will laterwant something far dearer than the money you would have paid them.","}
{"text": ""The bargain has hidden problems, both material and psychological.","}
{"text": ""Learn to pay, then, and to pay well.","}
{"text": ""On the other hand, this Law offers great opportunities for swindling","}
{"text": ""and deception if you apply it from the other side. Dangling the lure of a","}
{"text": ""free lunch is the con artist’s stock in trade.","}
{"text": ""No man was better at this than the most successful con artist of our","}
{"text": ""age, Joseph Weil, a.k.a. “The Yellow Kid.” The Yellow Kid learned early","}
{"text": ""that what made his swindles possible was his fellow humans’ greed.","}
{"text": ""“This desire to get something for nothing,” he once wrote, “has been","}
{"text": ""very costly to many people who have dealt with me and with other con","}
{"text": ""men…. When people learn—as I doubt they will—that they can’t get","}
{"text": ""something for nothing, crime will diminish and we shall all live in","}
{"text": ""greater harmony.” Over the years Weil devised many ways to seduce","}
{"text": ""people with the prospect of easy money. He would hand out “free” real","}
{"text": ""estate—who could resist such an offer?—and then the suckers would","}
{"text": ""learn they had to pay $25 to register the sale. Since the land was free, it","}
{"text": ""seemed worth the high fee, and the Yellow Kid would make thousands of","}
{"text": ""dollars on the phony registration. In exchange he would give his suckers","}
{"text": ""a phony deed. Other times, he would tell suckers about a fixed horse","}
{"text": ""race, or a stock that would earn 200 percent in a few weeks. As he spun","}
{"text": ""his stories he would watch the sucker’s eyes open wide at the thought of","}
{"text": ""a free lunch.","}
{"text": ""The lesson is simple: Bait your deceptions with the possibility of easy","}
{"text": ""money. People are essentially lazy, and want wealth to fall in their lap","}
{"text": ""rather than to work for it. For a small sum, sell them advice on how to","}
{"text": ""make millions (P. T. Barnum did this later in life), and that small sum","}
{"text": ""will become a fortune when multiplied by thousands of suckers. Lure","}
{"text": ""people in with the prospect of easy money and you have the room to","}
{"text": ""work still more deceptions on them, since greed is powerful enough to","}
{"text": ""blind your victims to anything. And as the Yellow Kid said, half the fun","}
{"text": ""is teaching a moral lesson: Greed does not pay.LAW 41","}
{"text": ""AVOID STEPPING INTO A GREAT MAN’S","}
{"text": ""SHOES","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""What happens first always appears better and more original than what","}
{"text": ""comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you","}
{"text": ""will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do","}
{"text": ""not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making:","}
{"text": ""Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the","}
{"text": ""overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in","}
{"text": ""your own way.","}
{"text": ""THE EXCELLENCE OF BEING FIRST","}
{"text": ""Many would have shone like the very phoenix in their occupations if","}
{"text": ""others had not preceded them. Being first is a great advantage; with","}
{"text": ""eminence, twice as good. Deal the first hand and you will win the upper","}
{"text": ""ground…. Those who go first win fame by right of birth, and those who","}
{"text": ""follow are like second sons, contenting themselves with meager","}
{"text": ""portions…. Solomon opted wisely for pacifism, yielding warlike things to","}
{"text": ""his father. By changing course he found it easier to become a hero….","}
{"text": ""And our great Philip II governed the entire world from the throne of his","}
{"text": ""prudence, astonishing the ages. If his unconquered father was a model of","}
{"text": ""energy, Philip was a paradigm of prudence…. This sort of novelty has","}
{"text": ""helped the well-advised win a place in the roll of the great. Without","}
{"text": ""leaving their own art, the ingenious leave the common path and take,","}
{"text": ""even in professions gray with age, new steps toward eminence. Horace","}
{"text": ""yielded epic poetry to Virgil, and Martial the lyric to Horace. Terence","}
{"text": ""opted for comedy, Persius for satire, each hoping to be first in his genre.","}
{"text": ""Bold fancy never succumbed to facile imitation.A POCKET MIRROR FOR HEROES, BALTASAR GRACIÁN,","}
{"text": ""TRANSLATED BY CHRISTOPHER MAURER, 1996","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""When Louis XIV died, in 1715, after a glorious fifty-five-year reign, all","}
{"text": ""eyes focused on his great-grandson and chosen successor, the future","}
{"text": ""Louis XV. Would the boy, only five at the time, prove as great a leader as","}
{"text": ""the Sun King? Louis XIV had transformed a country on the verge of civil","}
{"text": ""war into the preeminent power in Europe. The last years of his reign had","}
{"text": ""been difficult—he had been old and tired—but it was hoped that the","}
{"text": ""child would develop into the kind of strong ruler who would reinvigorate","}
{"text": ""the land and add to the firm foundation that Louis XIV had laid.","}
{"text": ""To this end the child was given the best minds of France as his tutors,","}
{"text": ""men who would instruct him in the arts of statecraft, in the methods that","}
{"text": ""the Sun King had perfected. Nothing was neglected in his education. But","}
{"text": ""when Louis XV came to the throne, in 1726, a sudden change came over","}
{"text": ""him: He no longer had to study or please others or prove himself. He","}
{"text": ""stood alone at the top of a great country, with wealth and power at his","}
{"text": ""command. He could do as he wished.","}
{"text": ""In the first years of his reign, Louis gave himself over to pleasure,","}
{"text": ""leaving the government in the hands of a trusted minister, André-Hercule","}
{"text": ""de Fleury. This caused little concern, for he was a young man who","}
{"text": ""needed to sow his wild oats, and de Fleury was a good minister. But it","}
{"text": ""slowly became clear that this was more than a passing phase. Louis had","}
{"text": ""no interest in governing. His main worry was not France’s finances, or a","}
{"text": ""possible war with Spain, but boredom. He could not stand being bored,","}
{"text": ""and when he was not hunting deer, or chasing young girls, he whiled","}
{"text": ""away his time at the gambling tables, losing huge sums in a single night.","}
{"text": ""The court, as usual, reflected the tastes of the ruler. Gambling and","}
{"text": ""lavish parties became the obsession. The courtiers had no concern with","}
{"text": ""the future of France—they poured their energies into charming the king,","}
{"text": ""angling for titles that would bring them life pensions, and for cabinet","}
{"text": ""positions demanding little work but paying huge salaries. Parasites","}
{"text": ""flocked to the court, and the state’s debts swelled.","}
{"text": ""In 1745 Louis fell in love with Madame de Pompadour, a woman of","}
{"text": ""middle-class origin who had managed to rise through her charms, herintelligence, and a good marriage. Madame de Pompadour became the","}
{"text": ""official royal mistress; she also became France’s arbiter of taste and","}
{"text": ""fashion. But the Madame had political ambitions as well, and she","}
{"text": ""eventually emerged as the country’s unofficial prime minister—it was","}
{"text": ""she, not Louis, who wielded hiring-and-firing power over France’s most","}
{"text": ""important ministers.","}
{"text": ""As he grew older Louis only needed more diversion. On the grounds","}
{"text": ""of Versailles he built a brothel, Parc aux Cerfs, which housed some of the","}
{"text": ""prettiest young girls of France. Underground passages and hidden stair-","}
{"text": ""cases gave Louis access at all hours. After Madame de Pompadour died,","}
{"text": ""in 1764, she was succeeded as royal mistress by Madame du Barry, who","}
{"text": ""soon came to dominate the court, and who, like de Pompadour before","}
{"text": ""her, began to meddle in affairs of state. If a minister did not please her he","}
{"text": ""would find himself fired. All of Europe was aghast when du Barry, the","}
{"text": ""daughter of a baker, managed to arrange the firing of Étienne de","}
{"text": ""Choiseul, the foreign minister and France’s most able diplomat. He had","}
{"text": ""shown her too little respect. As time went by, swindlers and charlatans","}
{"text": ""made their nests in Versailles, and enticed Louis’s interest in astrology,","}
{"text": ""the occult, and fraudulent business deals. The young and pampered","}
{"text": ""teenager who had taken over France years before had only grown worse","}
{"text": ""with age.","}
{"text": ""The motto that became attached to Louis’s reign was “Après moi, le","}
{"text": ""déluge”—“After me the flood,” or, Let France rot after I am gone. And","}
{"text": ""indeed when Louis did go, in 1774, worn out by debauchery, his country","}
{"text": ""and his own finances were in horrible disarray. His grandson Louis XVI","}
{"text": ""inherited a realm in desperate need of reform and a strong leader. But","}
{"text": ""Louis XVI was even weaker than his grandfather, and could only watch","}
{"text": ""as the country descended into revolution. In 1792 the republic introduced","}
{"text": ""by the French Revolution declared the end of the monarchy, and gave the","}
{"text": ""king a new name, “Louis the Last.” A few months later he kneeled on the","}
{"text": ""guillotine, his about-to-be-severed head stripped of all the radiance and","}
{"text": ""power that the Sun King had invested in the crown.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""From a country that had descended into civil war in the late 1640s, Louis","}
{"text": ""XIV forged the mightiest realm in Europe. Great generals would tremble","}
{"text": ""in his presence. A cook once made a mistake in preparing a dish and","}
{"text": ""committed suicide rather than face the king’s wrath. Louis XIV hadmany mistresses, but their power ended in the bedroom. He filled his","}
{"text": ""court with the most brilliant minds of the age. The symbol of his power","}
{"text": ""was Versailles: Refusing to accept the palace of his forefathers, the","}
{"text": ""Louvre, he built his own palace in what was then the middle of nowhere,","}
{"text": ""symbolizing that this was a new order he had founded, one without","}
{"text": ""precedent. He made Versailles the centerpiece of his reign, a place that","}
{"text": ""all the powerful of Europe envied and visited with a sense of awe. In","}
{"text": ""essence, Louis took a great void—the decaying monarchy of France—","}
{"text": ""and filled it with his own symbols and radiant power.","}
{"text": ""Louis XV, on the other hand, symbolizes the fate of all those who","}
{"text": ""inherit something large or who follow in a great man’s footsteps. It","}
{"text": ""would seem easy for a son or successor to build on the grand foundation","}
{"text": ""left for them, but in the realm of power the opposite is true. The","}
{"text": ""pampered, indulged son almost always squanders the inheritance, for he","}
{"text": ""does not start with the father’s need to fill a void. As Machiavelli states,","}
{"text": ""necessity is what impels men to take action, and once the necessity is","}
{"text": ""gone, only rot and decay are left. Having no need to increase his store of","}
{"text": ""power, Louis XV inevitably succumbed to inertia. Under him, Versailles,","}
{"text": ""the symbol of the Sun King’s authority, became a pleasure palace of","}
{"text": ""incomparable banality, a kind of Las Vegas of the Bourbon monarchy. It","}
{"text": ""came to represent all that the oppressed peasantry of France hated about","}
{"text": ""their king, and during the Revolution they looted it with glee.","}
{"text": ""CUT OF PERICLES","}
{"text": ""As a young man Pericles was inclined to shrink from facing the people.","}
{"text": ""One reason for this was that he was considered to bear a distinct","}
{"text": ""resemblance to the tyrant Pisistratus, and when men who were well on in","}
{"text": ""years remarked on the charm of Pericles’ voice and the smoothness and","}
{"text": ""fluency of his speech, they were astonished at the resemblance between","}
{"text": ""the two. The fact that he was rich and that he came of a distinguished","}
{"text": ""family and possessed exceedingly powerful friends made the fear of","}
{"text": ""ostracism very real to him, and at the beginning of his career he took no","}
{"text": ""part in politics but devoted himself to soldiering, in which he showed","}
{"text": ""great daring and enterprise. However, the time came when Aristides was","}
{"text": ""dead. Themistocles in exile, and Cimon frequently absent on distant","}
{"text": ""campaigns. Then at last Pericles decided to attach himself to the people’s","}
{"text": ""party and to take up the cause of the poor and the many instead of that of","}
{"text": ""the rich and the few, in spite of the fact that this was quite contrary to his","}
{"text": ""own temperament, which was thoroughly aristocratic. He was afraid,apparently, of being suspected of aiming at a dictatorship: so that when","}
{"text": ""he saw that Cimon’s sympathies were strongly with the nobles and that","}
{"text": ""Cimon was the idol of the aristocratic party, Pericles began to ingratiate","}
{"text": ""himself with the people, partly for self-preservation and partly by way of","}
{"text": ""securing power against his rival. He now entered upon a new mode of","}
{"text": ""life. He was never to be seen walking in any street except the one which","}
{"text": ""led to the market-place and the council chamber.","}
{"text": ""THE LIFE OF PERICLES, PLUTARCH, c. A.D. 46-120","}
{"text": ""Louis XV had only one way out of the trap awaiting the son or","}
{"text": ""successor of a man like the Sun King: to psychologically begin from","}
{"text": ""nothing, to denigrate the past and his inheritance, and to move in a","}
{"text": ""totally new direction, creating his own world. Assuming you have the","}
{"text": ""choice, it would be better to avoid the situation altogether, to place","}
{"text": ""yourself where there is a vacuum of power, where you can be the one to","}
{"text": ""bring order out of chaos without having to compete with another star in","}
{"text": ""the sky. Power depends on appearing larger than other people, and when","}
{"text": ""you are lost in the shadow of the father, the king, the great predecessor,","}
{"text": ""you cannot possibly project such a presence.","}
{"text": ""But when they began to make sovereignty hereditary, the children quickly","}
{"text": ""degenerated from their fathers; and, so far from trying to equal their","}
{"text": ""father’s","}
{"text": ""virtues, they considered that a prince had nothing else to do than to excel","}
{"text": ""all the rest in idleness, indulgence, and every other variety of pleasure.","}
{"text": ""Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527","}
{"text": ""THE LIFE OF PIETRO PERUGINO, PAINTER,","}
{"text": ""c.1450-1523","}
{"text": ""How beneficial poverty may sometimes be to those with talent, and how","}
{"text": ""it may serve as a powerful goad to make them perfect or excellent in","}
{"text": ""whatever occupation they might choose, can be seen very clearly in the","}
{"text": ""actions of Pietro Perugino. Wishing by means of his ability to attain","}
{"text": ""some respectable rank, after leaving disastrous calamities behind in","}
{"text": ""Perugia and coming to Florence, he remained there many months in","}
{"text": ""poverty, sleeping in a chest, since he had no other bed; he turned night","}
{"text": ""into day, and with the greatest zeal continually applied himself to the","}
{"text": ""study of his profession. After painting had become second nature to him,","}
{"text": ""Pietro’s only pleasure was always to be working in his craft andconstantly to be painting. And because he always had the dread of","}
{"text": ""poverty before his eyes, he did things to make money which he probably","}
{"text": ""would not have bothered to do had he not been forced to support himself.","}
{"text": ""Perhaps wealth would have closed to him and his talent the path to","}
{"text": ""excellence just as poverty had opened it up to him, but need spurred him","}
{"text": ""on since he desired to rise from such a miserable and lowly position-if","}
{"text": ""not perhaps to the summit and supreme height of excellence, then at least","}
{"text": ""to a point where he could have enough to live on. For this reason, he","}
{"text": ""took no notice of cold, hunger, discomfort, inconvenience, toil or shame","}
{"text": ""if he could only live one day in ease and repose; and he would always","}
{"text": ""say—and as if it were a proverb—that after bad weather, good weather","}
{"text": ""must follow, and that during the good weather houses must be built for","}
{"text": ""shelter in times of need.","}
{"text": ""LIVES OF THE ARTISTS, GIORGIO VASARI, 1511-1574","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Alexander the Great had a dominant passion as a young man—an intense","}
{"text": ""dislike for his father, King Philip of Macedonia. He hated Philip’s","}
{"text": ""cunning, cautious style of ruling, his bombastic speeches, his drinking","}
{"text": ""and whoring, and his love of wrestling and of other wastes of time.","}
{"text": ""Alexander knew he had to make himself the very opposite of his","}
{"text": ""domineering father: He would force himself to be bold and reckless, he","}
{"text": ""would control his tongue and be a man of few words, and he would not","}
{"text": ""lose precious time in pursuit of pleasures that brought no glory.","}
{"text": ""Alexander also resented the fact that Philip had conquered most of","}
{"text": ""Greece: “My father will go on conquering till there is nothing","}
{"text": ""extraordinary left for me to do,” he once complained. While other sons","}
{"text": ""of powerful men were content to inherit wealth and live a life of leisure,","}
{"text": ""Alexander wanted only to outdo his father, to obliterate Philip’s name","}
{"text": ""from history by surpassing his accomplishments.","}
{"text": ""Alexander itched to show others how superior he was to his father. A","}
{"text": ""Thessalian horse-dealer once brought a prize horse named Bucephalus to","}
{"text": ""sell to Philip. None of the king’s grooms could get near the horse—it was","}
{"text": ""far too savage—and Philip berated the merchant for bringing him such a","}
{"text": ""useless beast. Watching the whole affair, Alexander scowled and","}
{"text": ""commented, “What a horse they are losing for want of skill and spirit tomanage him!” When he had said this several times, Philip had finally","}
{"text": ""had enough, and challenged him to take on the horse. He called the","}
{"text": ""merchant back, secretly hoping his son would have a nasty fall and learn","}
{"text": ""a bitter lesson. But Alexander was the one to teach the lesson: Not only","}
{"text": ""did he mount Bucephalus, he managed to ride him at full gallop, taming","}
{"text": ""the horse that would later carry him all the way to India. The courtiers","}
{"text": ""applauded wildly, but Philip seethed inside, seeing not a son but a rival","}
{"text": ""to his power.","}
{"text": ""Alexander’s defiance of his father grew bolder. One day the two men","}
{"text": ""had a heated argument before the entire court, and Philip drew his sword","}
{"text": ""as if to strike his son; having drunk too much wine, however, the king","}
{"text": ""stumbled. Alexander pointed at his father and jeered, “Men of","}
{"text": ""Macedonia, see there the man who is preparing to pass from Europe to","}
{"text": ""Asia. He cannot pass from one table to another without falling.”","}
{"text": ""When Alexander was eighteen, a disgruntled courtier murdered Philip.","}
{"text": ""As word of the regicide spread through Greece, city after city rose up in","}
{"text": ""rebellion against their Macedonian rulers. Philip’s advisers counseled","}
{"text": ""Alexander, now the king, to proceed cautiously, to do as Philip had done","}
{"text": ""and conquer through cunning. But Alexander would do things his way:","}
{"text": ""He marched to the furthest reaches of the kingdom, suppressed the","}
{"text": ""rebellious towns, and reunited the empire with brutal efficiency.","}
{"text": ""As a young rebel grows older, his struggle against the father often","}
{"text": ""wanes, and he gradually comes to resemble the very man he had wanted","}
{"text": ""to defy. But Alexander’s loathing of his father did not end with Philip’s","}
{"text": ""death. Once he had consolidated Greece, he set his eyes on Persia, the","}
{"text": ""prize that had eluded his father, who had dreamed of conquering Asia. If","}
{"text": ""he defeated the Persians, Alexander would finally surpass Philip in glory","}
{"text": ""and fame.","}
{"text": ""Alexander crossed into Asia with an army of 35,000 to face a Persian","}
{"text": ""force numbering over a million. Before engaging the Persians in battle he","}
{"text": ""passed through the town of Gordium. Here, in the town’s main temple,","}
{"text": ""there stood an ancient chariot tied with cords made of the rind of the cor","}
{"text": ""nel tree. Legend had it that any man who could undo these cords—the","}
{"text": ""Gordian knot—would rule the world. Many had tried to untie the","}
{"text": ""enormous and intricate knot, but none had succeeded. Alexander, seeing","}
{"text": ""he could not possibly untie the knot with his bare hands, took out his","}
{"text": ""sword and with one slash cut it in half. This symbolic gesture showed the","}
{"text": ""world that he would not do as others, but would blaze his own path.","}
{"text": ""Against astounding odds, Alexander conquered the Persians. Most","}
{"text": ""expected him to stop there—it was a great triumph, enough to secure hisfame for eternity. But Alexander had the same relationship to his own","}
{"text": ""deeds as he had to his father: His conquest of Persia represented the past,","}
{"text": ""and he wanted never to rest on past triumphs, or to allow the past to","}
{"text": ""outshine the present. He moved on to India, extending his empire beyond","}
{"text": ""all known limits. Only his disgruntled and weary soldiers prevented him","}
{"text": ""from going farther.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Alexander represents an extremely uncommon type in history: the son of","}
{"text": ""a famous and successful man who manages to surpass the father in glory","}
{"text": ""and power. The reason this type is uncommon is simple: The father most","}
{"text": ""often manages to amass his fortune, his kingdom, because he begins with","}
{"text": ""little or nothing. A desperate urge impels him to succeed—he has","}
{"text": ""nothing to lose by cunning and impetuousness, and has no famous father","}
{"text": ""of his own to compete against. This kind of man has reason to believe in","}
{"text": ""himself—to believe that his way of doing things is the best, because,","}
{"text": ""after all, it worked for him.","}
{"text": ""When a man like this has a son, he becomes domineering and","}
{"text": ""oppressive, imposing his lessons on the son, who is starting off life in","}
{"text": ""circumstances totally different from those in which the father himself","}
{"text": ""began. Instead of allowing the son to go in a new direction, the father","}
{"text": ""will try to put him in his own shoes, perhaps secretly wishing the boy","}
{"text": ""will fail, as Philip half wanted to see Alexander thrown from","}
{"text": ""Bucephalus. Fathers envy their sons’ youth and vigor, after all, and their","}
{"text": ""desire is to control and dominate. The sons of such men tend to become","}
{"text": ""cowed and cautious, terrified of losing what their fathers have gained.","}
{"text": ""The son will never step out of his father’s shadow unless he adopts the","}
{"text": ""ruthless strategy of Alexander: disparage the past, create your own","}
{"text": ""kingdom, put the father in the shadows instead of letting him do the same","}
{"text": ""to you. If you cannot materially start from ground zero—it would be","}
{"text": ""foolish to renounce an inheritance—you can at least begin from ground","}
{"text": ""zero psychologically, by throwing off the weight of the past and charting","}
{"text": ""a new direction. Alexander instinctively recognized that privileges of","}
{"text": ""birth are impediments to power. Be merciless with the past, then—not","}
{"text": ""only with your father and his father but with your own earlier","}
{"text": ""achievements. Only the weak rest on their laurels and dote on past","}
{"text": ""triumphs; in the game of power there is never time to rest.THE PROBLEM OF PAUL MORPHY","}
{"text": ""The slightest acquaintance with chess shows one that it is a play-","}
{"text": ""substitute for the art of war and indeed it has been a favorite recreation","}
{"text": ""of some of the greatest military leaders, from William the Conqueror to","}
{"text": ""Napoleon. In the contest between the opposing armies the same","}
{"text": ""principles of both strategy and tactics are displayed as in actual war, the","}
{"text": ""same foresight and powers of calculation are necessary, the same","}
{"text": ""capacity for divining the plans of the opponent, and the rigor with which","}
{"text": ""decisions are followed by their consequences is, if anything, even more","}
{"text": ""ruthless. More than that, it is plain that the unconscious motive actuating","}
{"text": ""the players is not the mere love of pugnacity characteristic of all","}
{"text": ""competitive games, but the grimmer one of father-murder. It is true that","}
{"text": ""the original goal of capturing the king has been given up, but from the","}
{"text": ""point of view of motive there is, except in respect of crudity, not","}
{"text": ""appreciable change in the present goal of sterilizing him in immobility….","}
{"text": ""“Checkmate” means literally “the king is dead.” … Our knowledge of","}
{"text": ""the unconscious motivation of chess-playing tells us that what it","}
{"text": ""represented could only have been the wish to overcome the father in an","}
{"text": ""acceptable way…. It is no doubt significant that [nineteenth-century","}
{"text": ""chess champion Paul] Morphy’s soaring odyssey into the higher realms","}
{"text": ""of chess began just a year after the unexpectedly sudden death of his","}
{"text": ""father, which had been a great shock to him, and we may surmise that his","}
{"text": ""brilliant effort of sublimation was, like Shakespeare’s Hamlet and","}
{"text": ""Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, a reaction to this critical event….","}
{"text": ""Something should now be said about the reception Morphy’s successes","}
{"text": ""met with, for they were of such a kind as to raise the question whether","}
{"text": ""his subsequent collapse may not have been influenced through his","}
{"text": ""perhaps belonging to the type that Freud has described under the name","}
{"text": ""of Die am Erfolge scheitern (“Those wrecked by success”)…. Couched","}
{"text": ""in more psychological language, was Morphy affrighted at his own","}
{"text": ""presumptuousness when the light of publicity was thrown on [his great","}
{"text": ""success?] Freud has pointed out that the people who break under the","}
{"text": ""strain of too great success do so because they can endure it only in","}
{"text": ""imagination, not in reality. To castrate the father in a dream is a very","}
{"text": ""different matter from doing it in reality. The real situation provokes the","}
{"text": ""unconscious guilt in its full force, and the penalty may be mental","}
{"text": ""collapse.","}
{"text": ""THE PROBLEM OF PAUL MORPHY, ERNEST JONES, 1951KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""In many ancient kingdoms, for example Bengal and Sumatra, after the","}
{"text": ""king had ruled for several years his subjects would execute him. This","}
{"text": ""was done partly as a ritual of renewal, but also to prevent him from","}
{"text": ""growing too powerful-for the king would generally try to establish a","}
{"text": ""permanent order, at the expense of other families and of his own sons.","}
{"text": ""Instead of protecting the tribe and leading it in times of war, he would","}
{"text": ""attempt to dominate it. And so he would be beaten to death, or executed","}
{"text": ""in an elaborate ritual. Now that he was no longer around for his honors to","}
{"text": ""go to his head, he could be worshipped as a god. Meanwhile the field had","}
{"text": ""been cleared for a new and youthful order to establish itself.","}
{"text": ""The ambivalent, hostile attitude towards the king or father figure also","}
{"text": ""finds expression in legends of heroes who do not know their father.","}
{"text": ""Moses, the archetypal man of power, was found abandoned among the","}
{"text": ""bulrushes and never knew his parents; without a father to compete with","}
{"text": ""him or limit him, he could attain the heights of power. Hercules had no","}
{"text": ""earthly father-he was the son of the god Zeus. Later in his life Alexander","}
{"text": ""the Great spread the story that the god Jupiter Ammon had sired him, not","}
{"text": ""Philip of Macedon. Legends and rituals like these eliminate the human","}
{"text": ""father because he symbolizes the destructive power of the past.","}
{"text": ""The past prevents the young hero from creating his own world—he","}
{"text": ""must do as his father did, even after that father is dead or powerless. The","}
{"text": ""hero must bow and scrape before his predecessor and yield to tradition","}
{"text": ""and precedent. What had success in the past must be carried over to the","}
{"text": ""present, even though circumstances have greatly changed. The past also","}
{"text": ""weighs the hero down with an inheritance that he is terrified of losing,","}
{"text": ""making him timid and cautious.","}
{"text": ""Power depends on the ability to fill a void, to occupy a field that has","}
{"text": ""been cleared of the dead weight of the past. Only after the father figure","}
{"text": ""has been properly done away with will you have the necessary space to","}
{"text": ""create and establish a new order. There are several strategies you can","}
{"text": ""adopt to accomplish this—variations on the execution of the king that","}
{"text": ""disguise the violence of the impulse by channeling it in socially","}
{"text": ""acceptable forms.","}
{"text": ""Perhaps the simplest way to escape the shadow of the past is simply to","}
{"text": ""belittle it, playing on the timeless antagonism between the generations,","}
{"text": ""stirring up the young against the old. For this you need a convenient","}
{"text": ""older figure to pillory. Mao Tse-tung, confronting a culture that fiercelyresisted change, played on the suppressed resentment against the","}
{"text": ""overbearing presence of the venerable Confucius in Chinese culture.","}
{"text": ""John F. Kennedy knew the dangers of getting lost in the past; he radically","}
{"text": ""distinguished his presidency from that of his predecessor, Dwight D.","}
{"text": ""Eisenhower, and also from the preceding decade, the 1950s, which","}
{"text": ""Eisenhower personified. Kennedy, for instance, would not play the dull","}
{"text": ""and fatherly game of golf—a symbol of retirement and privilege, and","}
{"text": ""Eisenhower’s passion. Instead he played football on the White House","}
{"text": ""lawn. In every aspect his administration represented vigor and youth, as","}
{"text": ""opposed to the stodgy Eisenhower. Kennedy had discovered an old truth:","}
{"text": ""The young are easily set against the old, since they yearn to make their","}
{"text": ""own place in the world and resent the shadow of their fathers.","}
{"text": ""The distance you establish from your predecessor often demands some","}
{"text": ""symbolism, a way of advertising itself publicly. Louis XIV, for example,","}
{"text": ""created such symbolism when he rejected the traditional palace of the","}
{"text": ""French kings and built his own palace of Versailles. King Philip II of","}
{"text": ""Spain did the same when he created his center of power, the palace of El","}
{"text": ""Escorial, in what was then the middle of nowhere. But Louis carried the","}
{"text": ""game further: He would not be a king like his father or earlier ancestors,","}
{"text": ""he would not wear a crown or carry a scepter or sit on a throne, he would","}
{"text": ""establish a new kind of imposing authority with symbols and rituals of","}
{"text": ""its own. Louis made his ancestors’ rituals into laughable relics of the","}
{"text": ""past. Follow his example: Never let yourself be seen as following your","}
{"text": ""predecessor’s path. If you do you will never surpass him. You must","}
{"text": ""physically demonstrate your difference, by establishing a style and","}
{"text": ""symbolism that sets you apart.","}
{"text": ""The Roman emperor Augustus, successor to Julius Caesar, understood","}
{"text": ""this thoroughly. Caesar had been a great general, a theatrical figure","}
{"text": ""whose spectacles kept the Romans entertained, an international emissary","}
{"text": ""seduced by the charms of Cleopatra—a larger-than-life figure. So","}
{"text": ""Augustus, despite his own theatrical tendencies, competed with Caesar","}
{"text": ""not by trying to outdo him but by differentiating himself from him: He","}
{"text": ""based his power on a return to Roman simplicity, an austerity of both","}
{"text": ""style and substance. Against the memory of Caesar’s sweeping presence","}
{"text": ""Augustus posed a quiet and manly dignity.","}
{"text": ""The problem with the overbearing predecessor is that he fills the vistas","}
{"text": ""before you with symbols of the past. You have no room to create your","}
{"text": ""own name. To deal with this situation you need to hunt out the vacuums","}
{"text": ""—those areas in culture that have been left vacant and in which you can","}
{"text": ""become the first and principal figure to shine.When Pericles of Athens was about to launch a career as a statesman,","}
{"text": ""he looked for the one thing that was missing in Athenian politics. Most","}
{"text": ""of the great politicians of his time had allied themselves with the","}
{"text": ""aristocracy; indeed Pericles himself had aristocratic tendencies. Yet he","}
{"text": ""decided to throw in his hat with the city’s democratic elements. The","}
{"text": ""choice had nothing to do with his personal beliefs, but it launched him on","}
{"text": ""a brilliant career. Out of necessity he became a man of the people.","}
{"text": ""Instead of competing in an arena filled with great leaders both past and","}
{"text": ""present, he would make a name for himself where no shadows could","}
{"text": ""obscure his presence.","}
{"text": ""When the painter Diego de Velázquez began his career, he knew he","}
{"text": ""could not compete in refinement and technique with the great","}
{"text": ""Renaissance painters who had come before him. Instead he chose to","}
{"text": ""work in a style that by the standards of the time seemed coarse and","}
{"text": ""rough, in a way that had never been seen before. And in this style he","}
{"text": ""excelled. There were members of the Spanish court who wanted to","}
{"text": ""demonstrate their own break with the past; the newness of Velázquez’s","}
{"text": ""style thrilled them. Most people are afraid to break so boldly with","}
{"text": ""tradition, but they secretly admire those who can break up the old forms","}
{"text": ""and reinvigorate the culture. This is why there is so much power to be","}
{"text": ""gained from entering vacuums and voids.","}
{"text": ""There is a kind of stubborn stupidity that recurs throughout history,","}
{"text": ""and is a strong impediment to power: The superstitious belief that if the","}
{"text": ""person before you succeeded by doing A, B, and C, you can re-create","}
{"text": ""their success by doing the same thing. This cookie-cutter approach will","}
{"text": ""seduce the uncreative, for it is easy, and appeals to their timidity and","}
{"text": ""their laziness. But circumstances never repeat themselves exactly.","}
{"text": ""When General Douglas MacArthur assumed command of American","}
{"text": ""forces in the Philippines during World War II, an assistant handed him a","}
{"text": ""book containing the various precedents established by the commanders","}
{"text": ""before him, the methods that had been successful for them. MacArthur","}
{"text": ""asked the assistant how many copies there were of this book. Six, the","}
{"text": ""assistant answered. “Well,” the general replied, “you get all those six","}
{"text": ""copies together and burn them—every one of them. I’ll not be bound by","}
{"text": ""precedents. Any time a problem comes up, I’ll make the decision at once","}
{"text": ""—immediately.” Adopt this ruthless strategy toward the past: Burn all","}
{"text": ""the books, and train yourself to react to circumstances as they happen.","}
{"text": ""You may believe that you have separated yourself from the","}
{"text": ""predecessor or father figure, but as you grow older you must be eternally","}
{"text": ""vigilant lest you become the father you had rebelled against. As a youngman, Mao Tse-tung disliked his father and in the struggle against him","}
{"text": ""found his own identity and a new set of values. But as he aged, his","}
{"text": ""father’s ways crept back in. Mao’s father had valued manual work over","}
{"text": ""intellect; Mao had scoffed at this as a young man, but as he grew older","}
{"text": ""he unconsciously returned to his father’s views and echoed such outdated","}
{"text": ""ideas by forcing a whole generation of Chinese intellectuals into manual","}
{"text": ""labor, a nightmarish mistake that cost his regime dearly. Remember: You","}
{"text": ""are your own father. Do not let yourself spend years creating yourself","}
{"text": ""only to let your guard down and allow the ghost of the past—father,","}
{"text": ""habit, history—to sneak back in.","}
{"text": ""Finally, as noted in the story of Louis XV, plenitude and prosperity","}
{"text": ""tend to make us lazy and inactive: When our power is secure we have no","}
{"text": ""need to act. This is a serious danger, especially for those who achieve","}
{"text": ""success and power at an early age. The playwright Tennessee Williams,","}
{"text": ""for instance, found himself skyrocketed from obscurity to fame by the","}
{"text": ""success of The Glass Menagerie. “The sort of life which I had had","}
{"text": ""previous to this popular success,” he later wrote, “was one that required","}
{"text": ""endurance, a life of clawing and scratching, but it was a good life","}
{"text": ""because it was the sort of life for which the human organism is created. I","}
{"text": ""was not aware of how much vital energy had gone into this struggle until","}
{"text": ""the struggle was removed. This was security at last. I sat down and","}
{"text": ""looked about me and was suddenly very depressed.” Williams had a","}
{"text": ""nervous breakdown, which may in fact have been necessary for him:","}
{"text": ""Pushed to the psychological edge, he could start writing with the old","}
{"text": ""vitality again, and he produced A Streetcar Named Desire. Fyodor","}
{"text": ""Dostoyevsky, similarly, whenever he wrote a successful novel, would","}
{"text": ""feel that the financial security he had gained made the act of creation","}
{"text": ""unnecessary. He would take his entire savings to the casino and would","}
{"text": ""not leave until he had gambled away his last penny. Once reduced to","}
{"text": ""poverty he could write again.","}
{"text": ""It is not necessary to go to such extremes, but you must be prepared to","}
{"text": ""return to square one psychologically rather than growing fat and lazy","}
{"text": ""with prosperity. Pablo Picasso could deal with success, but only by","}
{"text": ""constantly changing the style of his painting, often breaking completely","}
{"text": ""with what had made him successful before. How often our early","}
{"text": ""triumphs turn us into a kind of caricature of ourselves. Powerful people","}
{"text": ""recognize these traps; like Alexander the Great, they struggle constantly","}
{"text": ""to re-create themselves. The father must not be allowed to return; he","}
{"text": ""must be slain at every step of the way.Image: The Father. He casts a giant shadow over his children, keeping","}
{"text": ""them in thrall long after he is gone by tying them to the past, squashing","}
{"text": ""their youthful spirit, and forcing them down the same tired path he","}
{"text": ""followed himself. His tricks are many. At every crossroads you must slay","}
{"text": ""the father and step out of his shadow.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Beware of stepping into a great man’s shoes—you will have","}
{"text": ""to accomplish twice as much to surpass him. Those who follow are taken","}
{"text": ""for imitators. No matter how much they sweat, they will never shed that","}
{"text": ""burden. It is an uncommon skill to find a new path for excellence, a","}
{"text": ""modern route to celebrity. There are many roads to singularity, not all of","}
{"text": ""them well traveled. The newest ones can be arduous, but they are often","}
{"text": ""shortcuts to greatness. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The shadow of a great predecessor could be used to advantage if it is","}
{"text": ""chosen as a trick, a tactic that can be discarded once it has brought you","}
{"text": ""power. Napoleon III used the name and legend of his illustrious grand-","}
{"text": ""uncle Napoleon Bonaparte to help him become first president and then","}
{"text": ""emperor of France. Once on the throne, however, he did not stay tied to","}
{"text": ""the past; he quickly showed how different his reign would be, and was","}
{"text": ""careful to keep the public from expecting him to attain the heights that","}
{"text": ""Bonaparte had attained.","}
{"text": ""The past often has elements worth appropriating, qualities that would","}
{"text": ""be foolish to reject out of a need to distinguish yourself. Even Alexander","}
{"text": ""the Great recognized and was influenced by his father’s skill in","}
{"text": ""organizing an army. Making a display of doing things differently from","}
{"text": ""your predecessor can make you seem childish and in fact out of control,","}
{"text": ""unless your actions have a logic of their own.","}
{"text": ""Joseph II, son of the Austrian empress Maria Theresa, made a show of","}
{"text": ""doing the exact opposite of his mother—dressing like an ordinary","}
{"text": ""citizen, staying in inns instead of palaces, appearing as the “people’s","}
{"text": ""emperor.” Maria Theresa, on the other hand, had been regal and","}
{"text": ""aristocratic. The problem was that she had also been beloved, an empress","}
{"text": ""who ruled wisely after years of learning the hard way. If you have the","}
{"text": ""kind of intelligence and instinct that will point you in the right direction,","}
{"text": ""playing the rebel will not be dangerous. But if you are mediocre, asJoseph II was in comparison to his mother, you are better off learning","}
{"text": ""from your predecessor’s knowledge and experience, which are based on","}
{"text": ""something real.","}
{"text": ""Finally, it is often wise to keep an eye on the young, your future rivals","}
{"text": ""in power. Just as you try to rid yourself of your father, they will soon","}
{"text": ""play the same trick on you, denigrating everything you have","}
{"text": ""accomplished. Just as you rise by rebelling against the past, keep an eye","}
{"text": ""on those rising from below, and never give them the chance to do the","}
{"text": ""same to you.","}
{"text": ""The great Baroque artist and architect Pietro Bernini was a master at","}
{"text": ""sniffing out younger potential rivals and keeping them in his shadow.","}
{"text": ""One day a young stonemason named Francesco Borromini showed","}
{"text": ""Bernini his architectural sketches. Recognizing his talent immediately,","}
{"text": ""Bernini instantly hired Borromini as his assistant, which delighted the","}
{"text": ""young man but was actually only a tactic to keep him close at hand, so","}
{"text": ""that he could play psychological games on him and create in him a kind","}
{"text": ""of inferiority complex. And indeed, despite Borromini’s brilliance,","}
{"text": ""Bernini has the greater fame. His strategy with Borromini he made a","}
{"text": ""lifelong practice: Fearing that the great sculptor Alessandro Algardi, for","}
{"text": ""example, would eclipse him in fame, he arranged it so that Algardi could","}
{"text": ""only find work as his assistant. And any assistant who rebelled against","}
{"text": ""Bernini and tried to strike out on his own would find his career ruined.LAW 42","}
{"text": ""STRIKE THE SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP","}
{"text": ""WILL SCATTER","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual —the stirrer, the","}
{"text": ""arrogant underling, the poisoner of goodwill. If you allow such people","}
{"text": ""room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for","}
{"text": ""the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them—","}
{"text": ""they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or","}
{"text": ""banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will","}
{"text": ""scatter.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I","}
{"text": ""Near the end of the sixth century B.C., the city-state of Athens overthrew","}
{"text": ""the series of petty tyrants who had dominated its politics for decades. It","}
{"text": ""established instead a democracy that was to last over a century, a","}
{"text": ""democracy that became the source of its power and its proudest","}
{"text": ""achievement. But as the democracy evolved, so did a problem the","}
{"text": ""Athenians had never faced: How to deal with those who did not concern","}
{"text": ""themselves with the cohesion of a small city surrounded by enemies,","}
{"text": ""who did not work for its greater glory, but thought of only themselves","}
{"text": ""and their own ambitions and petty intrigues? The Athenians understood","}
{"text": ""that these people, if left alone, would sow dissension, divide the city into","}
{"text": ""factions, and stir up anxieties, all of which could lead to the ruin of their","}
{"text": ""democracy.","}
{"text": ""Violent punishment no longer suited the new, civilized order that","}
{"text": ""Athens had created. Instead the citizens found another, more satisfying,and less brutal way to deal with the chronically selfish: Every year they","}
{"text": ""would gather in the marketplace and write on a piece of earthenware, an","}
{"text": ""ostrakon, the name of an individual they wanted to see banished from the","}
{"text": ""city for ten years. If a particular name appeared on six thousand ballots,","}
{"text": ""that person would instantly be exiled. If no one received six thousand","}
{"text": ""votes, the person with the most ostraka recording his name would suffer","}
{"text": ""the ten-year “ostracism.” This ritual expulsion became a kind of festival","}
{"text": ""—what a joy to be able to banish those irritating, anxiety-inducing","}
{"text": ""individuals who wanted to rise above the group they should have served.","}
{"text": ""In 490 B.C., Aristides, one of the great generals of Athenian history,","}
{"text": ""helped defeat the Persians at the battle of Marathon. Meanwhile, off the","}
{"text": ""battlefield, his fairness as a judge had earned him the nickname “The","}
{"text": ""Just.” But as the years went by the Athenians came to dislike him. He","}
{"text": ""made such a show of his righteousness, and this, they believed, disguised","}
{"text": ""his feelings of superiority and scorn for the common folk. His","}
{"text": ""omnipresence in Athenian politics became obnoxious; the citizens grew","}
{"text": ""tired of hearing him called “The Just.” They feared that this was just the","}
{"text": ""type of man—judgmental, haughty—who would eventually stir up fierce","}
{"text": ""divisions among them. In 482 B.C., despite Aristides’ invaluable","}
{"text": ""expertise in the continuing war with the Persians, they collected the","}
{"text": ""ostraka and had him banished.","}
{"text": ""After Aristides’ ostracism, the great general Themistocles emerged as","}
{"text": ""the city’s premier leader. But his many honors and victories went to his","}
{"text": ""head, and he too became arrogant and overbearing, constantly reminding","}
{"text": ""the Athenians of his triumphs in battle, the temples he had built, the","}
{"text": ""dangers he had fended off. He seemed to be saying that without him the","}
{"text": ""city would come to ruin. And so, in 472 B.C., Themistocles’ name was","}
{"text": ""filled in on the ostraka and the city was rid of his poisonous presence.","}
{"text": ""THE, CONQUEST OF PER","}
{"text": ""The struggle now became fiercer than ever around the royal litter [of A","}
{"text": ""tahualpa, king of the Incan empire]. It reeled more and more, and at","}
{"text": ""length, several of the nobles who supported it having been slain, it was","}
{"text": ""overturned, and the Indian prince would have come with violence to the","}
{"text": ""ground, had not his fall been broken bv the efforts of Pizarro and some","}
{"text": ""other of the cavaliers, who caught him in their arms. The imperial borla","}
{"text": ""was instantly snatched from his temples by a soldier. and the unhappy","}
{"text": ""monarch, strongly secured, was removed to a neighboring building","}
{"text": ""where he was carefully guarded.All attempt at resistance now ceased. The fate of the Inca [Atahualpa]","}
{"text": ""soon spread over town and country. The charm that might have held the","}
{"text": ""Peruvians together was dissolved. Every man thought only of his own","}
{"text": ""safety. Even the [Incan] soldiery encamped on the adjacent fields took","}
{"text": ""the alarm, and, learning the fatal tidings, were seen flying in every","}
{"text": ""direction before their pursuers, who in the heat of triumph showed no","}
{"text": ""touch of mercy. At length night, more pitiful than man, threw her friendly","}
{"text": ""mantle over the fugitives, and the scattered troops of Pizarro rallied once","}
{"text": ""more at the sound of the trumpet in the bloody square of Cajamarca….","}
{"text": ""[Atahualpa] was reverenced as more than a human. He was not merely","}
{"text": ""the head of the state, but the point to which all its institutions converged","}
{"text": ""as to a common center—the keystone of the political fabric which must","}
{"text": ""fall to pieces by its own weight when that was withdrawn. So it fared on","}
{"text": ""the [execution] of Atahualpa. His death not only left the throne vacant,","}
{"text": ""without any certain successor, but the manner of it announced to the","}
{"text": ""Peruvian people that a hand stronger than that of their Incas had now","}
{"text": ""seized the scepter, and that the dynasty of the Children of the Sun had","}
{"text": ""passed away forever.","}
{"text": ""THE CONQUEST OF PERU, WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT, 1847","}
{"text": ""The greatest political figure in fifth-century Athens was undoubtedly","}
{"text": ""Pericles. Although several times threatened with ostracism, he avoided","}
{"text": ""that fate by maintaining close ties with the people. Perhaps he had","}
{"text": ""learned a lesson as a child from his favorite tutor, the incomparable","}
{"text": ""Damon, who excelled above all other Athenians in his intelligence, his","}
{"text": ""musical skills, and his rhetorical abilities. It was Damon who had trained","}
{"text": ""Pericles in the arts of ruling. But he, too, suffered ostracism, for his","}
{"text": ""superior airs and his insulting manner toward the commoners stirred up","}
{"text": ""too much resentment.","}
{"text": ""Toward the end of the century there lived a man named Hyperbolus.","}
{"text": ""Most writers of the time describe him as the city’s most worthless","}
{"text": ""citizen: He did not care what anyone thought of him, and slandered","}
{"text": ""whomever he disliked. He amused some, but irritated many more. In 417","}
{"text": ""B.C., Hyperbolus saw an opportunity to stir up anger against the two","}
{"text": ""leading politicians of the time, Alcibiades and Nicias. He hoped that one","}
{"text": ""of the two would be ostracized and that he would rise in that man’s","}
{"text": ""place. His campaign seemed likely to succeed: The Athenians disliked","}
{"text": ""Alcibiades’ flamboyant and carefree lifestyle, and were wary of Nicias’","}
{"text": ""wealth and aloofness. They seemed certain to ostracize one or the other.","}
{"text": ""But Alcibiades and Nicias, although they were otherwise enemies,","}
{"text": ""pooled their resources and managed to turn the ostracism on Hyperbolusinstead. His obnoxiousness, they argued, could only be terminated by","}
{"text": ""banishment.","}
{"text": ""Earlier sufferers of ostracism had been formidable, powerful men.","}
{"text": ""Hyperbolus, however, was a low buffoon, and with his banishment the","}
{"text": ""Athenians felt that ostracism had been degraded. And so they ended the","}
{"text": ""practice that for nearly a hundred years had been one of the keys to","}
{"text": ""keeping the peace within Athens.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The ancient Athenians had social instincts unknown today—the passage","}
{"text": ""of centuries has blunted them. Citizens in the true sense of the word, the","}
{"text": ""Athenians sensed the dangers posed by asocial behavior, and saw how","}
{"text": ""such behavior often disguises itself in other forms: the holier-than-thou","}
{"text": ""attitude that silently seeks to impose its standards on others; overweening","}
{"text": ""ambition at the expense of the common good; the flaunting of","}
{"text": ""superiority; quiet scheming; terminal obnoxiousness. Some of these","}
{"text": ""behaviors would eat away at the city’s cohesion by creating factions and","}
{"text": ""sowing dissension, others would ruin the democratic spirit by making the","}
{"text": ""common citizen feel inferior and envious. The Athenians did not try to","}
{"text": ""reeducate people who acted in these ways, or to absorb them somehow","}
{"text": ""into the group, or to impose a violent punishment that would only create","}
{"text": ""other problems. The solution was quick and effective: Get rid of them.","}
{"text": ""Within any group, trouble can most often be traced to a single source,","}
{"text": ""the unhappy, chronically dissatisfied one who will always stir up","}
{"text": ""dissension and infect the group with his or her ill ease. Before you know","}
{"text": ""what hit you the dissatisfaction spreads. Act before it becomes","}
{"text": ""impossible to disentangle one strand of misery from another, or to see","}
{"text": ""how the whole thing started. First, recognize troublemakers by their","}
{"text": ""overbearing presence, or by their complaining nature. Once you spot","}
{"text": ""them do not try to reform them or appease them—that will only make","}
{"text": ""things worse. Do not attack them, whether directly or indirectly, for they","}
{"text": ""are poisonous in nature and will work underground to destroy you. Do as","}
{"text": ""the Athenians did: Banish them before it is too late. Separate them from","}
{"text": ""the group before they become the eye of a whirlpool. Do not give them","}
{"text": ""time to stir up anxieties and sow discontent; do not give them room to","}
{"text": ""move. Let one person suffer so that the rest can live in peace.","}
{"text": ""When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.","}
{"text": ""Chinese sayingOBSERVANCE OF THE LAW II","}
{"text": ""In 1296 the cardinals of the Catholic Church met in Rome to select a new","}
{"text": ""pope. They chose Cardinal Gaetani, for he was incomparably shrewd;","}
{"text": ""such a man would make the Vatican a great power. Taking the name","}
{"text": ""Boniface VIII, Gaetani soon proved he deserved the cardinals’high","}
{"text": ""opinion of him: He plotted his moves carefully in advance, and stopped","}
{"text": ""at nothing to get his way. Once in power, Boniface quickly crushed his","}
{"text": ""rivals and unified the Papal States. The European powers began to fear","}
{"text": ""him, and sent delegates to negotiate with him. The German King","}
{"text": ""Albrecht of Austria even yielded some territory to Boniface. All was","}
{"text": ""proceeding according to the pope’s plan.","}
{"text": ""One piece did not fall into place, however, and that was Tuscany, the","}
{"text": ""richest part of Italy. If Boniface could conquer Florence, Tuscany’s most","}
{"text": ""powerful city, the region would be his. But Florence was a proud","}
{"text": ""republic, and would be hard to defeat. The pope had to play his cards","}
{"text": ""skillfully.","}
{"text": ""Florence was divided by two rival factions, the Blacks and the Whites.","}
{"text": ""The Whites were the merchant families that had recently and quickly","}
{"text": ""risen to power and wealth; the Blacks were the older money. Because of","}
{"text": ""their popularity with the people, the Whites retained control of the city,","}
{"text": ""to the Blacks’ increasing resentment. The feud between the two grew","}
{"text": ""steadily more bitter.","}
{"text": ""THE WOLVES AND THE SHEEP","}
{"text": ""Once apon a time, the wolves sent an embassy to the sheep, desiring that","}
{"text": ""there might be peace between them for the time to come. “Why,” said","}
{"text": ""they, “should we be for ever waging this deadly strife? Those wicked","}
{"text": ""dogs are the cause of all; they are incessantly barking at us, and","}
{"text": ""provoking us. Send them away, and there will be no longer any obstacle","}
{"text": ""to our eternal friendship and peace.” The silly sheep listened, the dogs","}
{"text": ""were dismissed, and the flock, thus deprived of their best protectors,","}
{"text": ""became an easy prey to their treacherous enemy.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""Here Boniface saw his chance: He would plot to help the Blacks take","}
{"text": ""over the city, and Florence would be in his pocket. And as he studied the","}
{"text": ""situation he began to focus on one man, Dante Alighieri, the celebratedwriter, poet, and ardent supporter of the Whites. Dante had always been","}
{"text": ""interested in politics. He believed passionately in the republic, and often","}
{"text": ""chastised his fellow citizens for their lack of spine. He also happened to","}
{"text": ""be the city’s most eloquent public speaker. In 1300, the year Boniface","}
{"text": ""began plotting to take over Tuscany, Dante’s fellow citizens had voted","}
{"text": ""him in to Florence’s highest elected position, making him one of the","}
{"text": ""city’s six priors. During his six-month term in the post, he had stood","}
{"text": ""firmly against the Blacks and against all of the pope’s attempts to sow","}
{"text": ""disorder.","}
{"text": ""By 1301, however, Boniface had a new plan: He called in Charles de","}
{"text": ""Valois, powerful brother of the king of France, to help bring order to","}
{"text": ""Tuscany. As Charles marched through northern Italy, and Florence","}
{"text": ""seethed with anxiety and fear, Dante quickly emerged as the man who","}
{"text": ""could rally the people, arguing vehemently against appeasement and","}
{"text": ""working desperately to arm the citizens and to organize resistance","}
{"text": ""against the pope and his puppet French prince. By hook or by crook,","}
{"text": ""Boniface had to neutralize Dante. And so, even as on the one hand he","}
{"text": ""threatened Florence with Charles de Valois, on the other he held out the","}
{"text": ""olive branch, the possibility of negotiations, hoping Dante would take the","}
{"text": ""bait. And indeed the Florentines decided to send a delegation to Rome","}
{"text": ""and try to negotiate a peace. To head the mission, predictably, they chose","}
{"text": ""Dante.","}
{"text": ""Some warned the poet that the wily pope was setting up a trap to lure","}
{"text": ""him away, but Dante went to Rome anyway, arriving as the French army","}
{"text": ""stood before the gates of Florence. He felt sure that his eloquence and","}
{"text": ""reason would win the pope over and save the city. Yet when the pope met","}
{"text": ""the poet and the Florentine delegates, he instantly intimidated them, as","}
{"text": ""he did so many. “Fall on your knees before me!” he bellowed at their","}
{"text": ""first meeting. “Submit to me! I tell you that in all truth I have nothing in","}
{"text": ""my heart but to promote your peace.” Succumbing to his powerful","}
{"text": ""presence, the Florentines listened as the pope promised to look after their","}
{"text": ""interests. He then advised them to return home, leaving one of their","}
{"text": ""members behind to continue the talks. Boniface signaled that the man to","}
{"text": ""stay was to be Dante. He spoke with the utmost politeness, but in essence","}
{"text": ""it was an order.","}
{"text": ""And so Dante remained in Rome. And while he and the pope","}
{"text": ""continued their dialogue, Florence fell apart. With no one to rally the","}
{"text": ""Whites, and with Charles de Valois using the pope’s money to bribe and","}
{"text": ""sow dissension, the Whites disintegrated, some arguing for negotiations,","}
{"text": ""others switching sides. Facing an enemy now divided and unsure ofitself, the Blacks easily destroyed them within weeks, exacting violent","}
{"text": ""revenge on them. And once the Blacks stood firmly in power, the pope","}
{"text": ""finally dismissed Dante from Rome.","}
{"text": ""The Blacks ordered Dante to return home to face accusations and","}
{"text": ""stand trial. When the poet refused, the Blacks condemned him to be","}
{"text": ""burned to death if he ever set foot in Florence again. And so Dante began","}
{"text": ""a miserable life of exile, wandering through Italy, disgraced in the city","}
{"text": ""that he loved, never to return to Florence, even after his death.","}
{"text": ""THE LIFE OF THEMISTOCLES","}
{"text": ""[Themistocles‘s] fellow citizens reached the point at which their jealousy","}
{"text": ""made them listen to any slander at his expense, and so [he] was forced to","}
{"text": ""remind the assembly of his achievements until they could bear this no","}
{"text": ""longer. He once said to those who were complaining of him: “Why are","}
{"text": ""you tired of receiving benefits so often from the same men?” Besides this","}
{"text": ""he gave offense to the people when he built the temple of Artemis, for not","}
{"text": ""only did he style the goddess Artemis Aristoboule, or Artemis wisest in","}
{"text": ""counsel —with the hint that it was he who had given the best counsel to","}
{"text": ""the Athenians and the Greeks-but he chose a site for it near his own","}
{"text": ""house at Melite… So at last the Athenians banished him. They made use","}
{"text": ""of the ostracism to humble his great reputation and his authority, as","}
{"text": ""indeed was their habit with any whose power they regarded as","}
{"text": ""oppressive, or who had risen to an eminence which they considered out","}
{"text": ""of keeping with the equality of a democracy.","}
{"text": ""THE LIFE OF THEMISTOCLES, PLUTARCH, C. A.D. 46-120","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Boniface knew that if he only had a pretext to lure Dante away, Florence","}
{"text": ""would crumble. He played the oldest card in the book—threatening with","}
{"text": ""one hand while holding out the olive branch with the other—and Dante","}
{"text": ""fell for it. Once the poet was in Rome, the pope kept him there for as","}
{"text": ""long as it took. For Boniface understood one of the principal precepts in","}
{"text": ""the game of power: One resolute person, one disobedient spirit, can turn","}
{"text": ""a flock of sheep into a den of lions. So he isolated the troublemaker.","}
{"text": ""Without the backbone of the city to keep them together, the sheep","}
{"text": ""quickly scattered.","}
{"text": ""Learn the lesson: Do not waste your time lashing out in all directions","}
{"text": ""at what seems to be a many-headed enemy. Find the one head thatmatters—the person with willpower, or smarts, or, most important of all,","}
{"text": ""charisma. Whatever it costs you, lure this person away, for once he is","}
{"text": ""absent his powers will lose their effect. His isolation can be physical","}
{"text": ""(banishment or absence from the court), political (narrowing his base of","}
{"text": ""support), or psychological (alienating him from the group through","}
{"text": ""slander and insinuation). Cancer begins with a single cell; excise it","}
{"text": ""before it spreads beyond cure.","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""In the past, an entire nation would be ruled by a king and his handful of","}
{"text": ""ministers. Only the elite had any power to play with. Over the centuries,","}
{"text": ""power has gradually become more and more diffused and democratized.","}
{"text": ""This has created, however, a common misperception that groups no","}
{"text": ""longer have centers of power—that power is spread out and scattered","}
{"text": ""among many people. Actually, however, power has changed in its","}
{"text": ""numbers but not in its essence. There may be fewer mighty tyrants","}
{"text": ""commanding the power of life and death over millions, but there remain","}
{"text": ""thousands of petty tyrants ruling smaller realms, and enforcing their will","}
{"text": ""through indirect power games, charisma, and so on. In every group,","}
{"text": ""power is concentrated in the hands of one or two people, for this is one","}
{"text": ""area in which human nature will never change: People will congregate","}
{"text": ""around a single strong personality like planets orbiting a sun.","}
{"text": ""To labor under the illusion that this kind of power center no longer","}
{"text": ""exists is to make endless mistakes, waste energy and time, and never hit","}
{"text": ""the target. Powerful people never waste time. Outwardly they may play","}
{"text": ""along with the game—pretending that power is shared among many—","}
{"text": ""but inwardly they keep their eyes on the inevitable few in the group who","}
{"text": ""hold the cards. These are the ones they work on. When troubles arise,","}
{"text": ""they look for the underlying cause, the single strong character who","}
{"text": ""started the stirring and whose isolation or banishment will settle the","}
{"text": ""waters again.","}
{"text": ""In his family-therapy practice, Dr. Milton H. Erickson found that if the","}
{"text": ""family dynamic was unsettled and dysfunctional there was inevitably one","}
{"text": ""person who was the stirrer, the troublemaker. In his sessions he would","}
{"text": ""symbolically isolate this rotten apple by seating him or her apart from the","}
{"text": ""others, if only by a few feet. Slowly the other family members would seethe physically separate person as the source of their difficulty. Once you","}
{"text": ""recognize who the stirrer is, pointing it out to other people will","}
{"text": ""accomplish a great deal. Understanding who controls the group dynamic","}
{"text": ""is a critical realization. Remember: Stirrers thrive by hiding in the group,","}
{"text": ""disguising their actions among the reactions of others. Render their","}
{"text": ""actions visible and they lose their power to upset.","}
{"text": ""A key element in games of strategy is isolating the enemy’s power. In","}
{"text": ""chess you try to corner the king. In the Chinese game of go you try to","}
{"text": ""isolate the enemy’s forces in small pockets, rendering them immobile","}
{"text": ""and ineffectual. It is often better to isolate your enemies than to destroy","}
{"text": ""them—you seem less brutal. The result, though, is the same, for in the","}
{"text": ""game of power, isolation spells death.","}
{"text": ""The most effective form of isolation is somehow to separate your","}
{"text": ""victims from their power base. When Mao Tse-tung wanted to eliminate","}
{"text": ""an enemy in the ruling elite, he did not confront the person directly; he","}
{"text": ""silently and stealthily worked to isolate the man, divide his allies and","}
{"text": ""turn them away from him, shrink his support. Soon the man would","}
{"text": ""vanish on his own.","}
{"text": ""Presence and appearance have great import in the game of power. To","}
{"text": ""seduce, particularly in the beginning stages, you need to be constantly","}
{"text": ""present, or create the feeling that you are; if you are often out of sight,","}
{"text": ""the charm will wear off. Queen Elizabeth’s prime minister, Robert Cecil,","}
{"text": ""had two main rivals: the queen’s favorite, the Earl of Essex, and her","}
{"text": ""former favorite, Sir Walter Raleigh. He contrived to send them both on a","}
{"text": ""mission against Spain; with them away from the court he managed to","}
{"text": ""wrap his tentacles around the queen, secure his position as her top","}
{"text": ""adviser and weaken her affection for Raleigh and the earl. The lesson","}
{"text": ""here is twofold: First, your absence from the court spells danger for you,","}
{"text": ""and you should never leave the scene in a time of turmoil, for your","}
{"text": ""absence can both symbolize and induce a loss of power; second, and on","}
{"text": ""the other hand, luring your enemies away from the court at critical","}
{"text": ""moments is a great ploy.","}
{"text": ""Isolation has other strategic uses. When trying to seduce people, it is","}
{"text": ""often wise to isolate them from their usual social context. Once isolated","}
{"text": ""they are vulnerable to you, and your presence becomes magnified.","}
{"text": ""Similarly, con artists often look for ways to isolate their marks from their","}
{"text": ""normal social milieux, steering them into new environments in which","}
{"text": ""they are no longer comfortable. Here they feel weak, and succumb to","}
{"text": ""deception more easily. Isolation, then, can prove a powerful way of","}
{"text": ""bringing people under your spell to seduce or swindle them.You will often find powerful people who have alienated themselves","}
{"text": ""from the group. Perhaps their power has gone to their heads, and they","}
{"text": ""consider themselves superior; perhaps they have lost the knack of","}
{"text": ""communicating with ordinary folk. Remember: This makes them","}
{"text": ""vulnerable. Powerful though they be, people like this can be turned to","}
{"text": ""use.","}
{"text": ""The monk Rasputin gained his power over Czar Nicholas and Czarina","}
{"text": ""Alexandra of Russia through their tremendous isolation from the people.","}
{"text": ""Alexandra in particular was a foreigner, and especially alienated from","}
{"text": ""everyday Russians; Rasputin used his peasant origins to insinuate","}
{"text": ""himself into her good graces, for she desperately wanted to communicate","}
{"text": ""with her subjects. Once in the court’s inner circle, Rasputin made himself","}
{"text": ""indispensable and attained great power. Heading straight for the center,","}
{"text": ""he aimed for the one figure in Russia who commanded power (the","}
{"text": ""czarina dominated her husband), and found he had no need to isolate her","}
{"text": ""for the work was already done. The Rasputin strategy can bring you","}
{"text": ""great power: Always search out people who hold high positions yet who","}
{"text": ""find themselves isolated on the board. They are like apples falling into","}
{"text": ""your lap, easily seduced, and able to catapult you into power yourself.","}
{"text": ""Finally, the reason you strike at the shepherd is because such an action","}
{"text": ""will dishearten the sheep beyond any rational measure. When Hernando","}
{"text": ""Cortés and Francisco Pizarro led their tiny forces against the Aztec and","}
{"text": ""Incan empires, they did not make the mistake of fighting on several","}
{"text": ""fronts, nor were they intimidated by the numbers arrayed against them;","}
{"text": ""they captured the kings, Moctezuma and Atahualpa. Vast empires fell","}
{"text": ""into their hands. With the leader gone the center of gravity is gone; there","}
{"text": ""is nothing to revolve around and everything falls apart. Aim at the","}
{"text": ""leaders, bring them down, and look for the endless opportunities in the","}
{"text": ""confusion that will ensue.","}
{"text": ""Image: A Flock of Fatted","}
{"text": ""Sheep. Do not waste precious","}
{"text": ""time trying to steal a sheep or two; do","}
{"text": ""not risk life and limb by setting upon","}
{"text": ""the dogs that guard the flock. Aim at the","}
{"text": ""shepherd. Lure him away and the dogs","}
{"text": ""will follow. Strike him down and the flock will","}
{"text": ""scatter—you can pick them off one by one.Authority: If you draw a bow, draw the strongest. If you use an arrow,","}
{"text": ""use the longest. To shoot a rider, first shoot his horse. To catch a gang of","}
{"text": ""bandits, first capture its leader. Just as a country has its border, so the","}
{"text": ""killing of men has its limits. If the enemy’s attack can be stopped [with a","}
{"text": ""blow to the head], why have any more dead and wounded than","}
{"text": ""necessary? (Chinese poet Tu Fu, Tang dynasty, eighth century)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""“Any harm you do to a man should be done in such a way that you need","}
{"text": ""not fear his revenge,” writes Machiavelli. If you act to isolate your","}
{"text": ""enemy, make sure he lacks the means to repay the favor. If you apply this","}
{"text": ""Law, in other words, apply it from a position of superiority, so that you","}
{"text": ""have nothing to fear from his resentment.","}
{"text": ""Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln’s successor as U.S. president, saw","}
{"text": ""Ulysses S. Grant as a troublesome member of his government. So he","}
{"text": ""isolated Grant, as a prelude to forcing him out. This only enraged the","}
{"text": ""great general, however, who responded by forming a support base in the","}
{"text": ""Republican party and going on to become the next president. It would","}
{"text": ""have been far wiser to keep a man like Grant in the fold, where he could","}
{"text": ""do less harm, than to make him revengeful. And so you may often find it","}
{"text": ""better to keep people on your side, where you can watch them, than to","}
{"text": ""risk creating an angry enemy. Keeping them close, you can secretly","}
{"text": ""whittle away at their support base, so that when the time comes to cut","}
{"text": ""them loose they will fall fast and hard without knowing what hit them.LAW 43","}
{"text": ""WORK ON THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF","}
{"text": ""OTHERS","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You","}
{"text": ""must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you","}
{"text": ""have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is","}
{"text": ""to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up","}
{"text": ""the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold","}
{"text": ""dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they","}
{"text": ""will grow to hate you.","}
{"text": ""CYRUS’S RUSE","}
{"text": ""Thinking of the means by which he could most effectively persuade the","}
{"text": ""Persians to revolt, [Cyrus’s] deliberations led him to adopt the following","}
{"text": ""plan, which he found best suited to his purpose. He wrote on a roll of","}
{"text": ""parchment that Astyages had appointed him to command the Persian","}
{"text": ""army; then he summoned an assembly of the Persians, opened the roll in","}
{"text": ""their presence and read out what he had written. “And now, he added, I","}
{"text": ""have an order for you: every man is to appear on parade with a","}
{"text": ""billhook….” The order was obeyed. All the men assembled with their","}
{"text": ""billhooks, and Cyrus’s next command was that before the day was out","}
{"text": ""they should clear a certain piece of rough land full of thorn-bushes,","}
{"text": ""about eighteen or twenty furlongs square. This too was done, whereupon","}
{"text": ""Cyrus issued the further order that they should present themselves again","}
{"text": ""on the following day, after having taken a bath. Meanwhile, Cyrus","}
{"text": ""collected and slaughtered all his father’s goats, sheep, and oxen in","}
{"text": ""preparation for entertaining the whole Persian army at a banquet,","}
{"text": ""together with the best wine and bread he could procure. The next day the","}
{"text": ""guests assembled, and were told to sit down on the grass and enjoythemselves. After the meal Cyrus asked them which they preferred—","}
{"text": ""yesterday’s work or today’s amusement; and they replied that it was","}
{"text": ""indeed a far cry from the previous day’s misery to their present","}
{"text": ""pleasures. This was the answer which Cyrus wanted; he seized upon it at","}
{"text": ""once and proceeded to lay bare what he had in mind. “Men of Persia,”","}
{"text": ""he said, “listen to me: obey my orders, and you will be able to enjoy a","}
{"text": ""thousand pleasures as good as this without ever turning your hands to","}
{"text": ""menial labor; but, if you disobey, yesterday’s task will be the pattern of","}
{"text": ""innumerable others you will be forced to perform. Take my advice and","}
{"text": ""win your freedom. I am the man destined to undertake your liberation,","}
{"text": ""and it is my belief that you are a match for the Medes in war as in","}
{"text": ""everything else. It is the truth I tell you. Do not delay, but fling off the","}
{"text": ""yoke of Astyages at once.”","}
{"text": ""The Persians had long resented their subjection to the Medes. At last","}
{"text": ""they had found a leader, and welcomed with enthusiasm the prospect of","}
{"text": ""liberty…. On the present occasion the Persians under Cyrus rose against","}
{"text": ""the Medes and from then onwards were masters of Asia.","}
{"text": ""THE HISTORIES, HERODOTUS, FIFTH CENTURY B.C..","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Near the end of the reign of Louis XV, all of France seemed desperate","}
{"text": ""for change. When the king’s grandson and chosen successor, the future","}
{"text": ""Louis XVI, married the fifteen-year-old daughter of the empress of","}
{"text": ""Austria, the French caught a glimpse of the future that seemed hopeful.","}
{"text": ""The young bride, Marie-Antoinette, was beautiful and full of life. She","}
{"text": ""instantly changed the mood of the court, which was rank with Louis","}
{"text": ""XV’s de baucheries; even the common people, who had yet to see her,","}
{"text": ""talked excitedly of Marie-Antoinette. The French had grown disgusted","}
{"text": ""with the series of mistresses who had dominated Louis XV, and they","}
{"text": ""looked forward to serving their new queen. In 1773, when Marie-","}
{"text": ""Antoinette publicly rode through the streets of Paris for the first time,","}
{"text": ""applauding crowds swarmed around her carriage. “How fortunate,” she","}
{"text": ""wrote her mother, “to be in a position in which one can gain widespread","}
{"text": ""affection at so little cost.”","}
{"text": ""In 1774 Louis XV died and Louis XVI took the throne. As soon as","}
{"text": ""Marie-Antoinette became queen she abandoned herself to the pleasuresshe loved the most—ordering and wearing the most expensive gowns","}
{"text": ""and jewelry in the realm; sporting the most elaborate hair in history, her","}
{"text": ""sculpted coiffures rising as much as three feet above her head; and","}
{"text": ""throwing a constant succession of masked balls and fêtes. All of these","}
{"text": ""whims she paid for on credit, never concerning herself with the cost or","}
{"text": ""who paid the bills.","}
{"text": ""Marie-Antoinette’s greatest pleasure was the creation and designing of","}
{"text": ""a private Garden of Eden at the Petit Trianon, a château on the grounds","}
{"text": ""of Versailles with its own woods. The gardens at the Petit Trianon were","}
{"text": ""to be as “natural” as possible, including moss applied by hand to the","}
{"text": ""trees and rocks. To heighten the pastoral effect, the queen employed","}
{"text": ""peasant milkmaids to milk the finest-looking cows in the realm;","}
{"text": ""launderers and cheese-makers in special peasant outfits she helped","}
{"text": ""design; shepherds to tend sheep with silk ribbons around their necks.","}
{"text": ""When she inspected the barns, she would watch her milkmaids squeezing","}
{"text": ""milk into porcelain vases made at the royal ceramic works. To pass the","}
{"text": ""time, Marie-Antoinette would gather flowers in the woods around the","}
{"text": ""Petit Trianon, or watch her “good peasants” doing their “chores.” The","}
{"text": ""place became a separate world, its community limited to her chosen","}
{"text": ""favorites.","}
{"text": ""With each new whim, the cost of maintaining the Petit Trianon soared.","}
{"text": ""Meanwhile, France itself was deteriorating: There was famine and","}
{"text": ""widespread discontent. Even socially insulated courtiers seethed with","}
{"text": ""resentment—the queen treated them like children. Only her favorites","}
{"text": ""mattered, and these were becoming fewer and fewer. But Marie-","}
{"text": ""Antoinette did not concern herself with this. Not once throughout her","}
{"text": ""reign did she read a minister’s report. Not once did she tour the","}
{"text": ""provinces and rally the people to her side. Not once did she mingle","}
{"text": ""among the Parisians, or receive a delegation from them. She did none of","}
{"text": ""these things because as queen she felt the people owed her their","}
{"text": ""affection, and she was not required to love them in return.","}
{"text": ""In 1784 the queen became embroiled in a scandal. As part of an","}
{"text": ""elaborate swindle, the most expensive diamond necklace in Europe had","}
{"text": ""been purchased under her name, and during the swindlers’ trial her lavish","}
{"text": ""lifestyle became public: People heard about the money she spent on","}
{"text": ""jewels and dresses and masked dances. They gave her the nickname","}
{"text": ""“Madame Deficit,” and from then on she became the focus of the","}
{"text": ""people’s growing resentment. When she appeared in her box at the opera","}
{"text": ""the audience greeted her with hisses. Even the court turned against her.For while she had been running up her huge expenditures, the country","}
{"text": ""was headed for ruin.","}
{"text": ""Five years later, in 1789, an unprecedented event took place: the","}
{"text": ""beginning of the French Revolution. The queen did not worry—let the","}
{"text": ""people have their little rebellion, she seemed to think; it would soon","}
{"text": ""quiet down and she would be able to resume her life of pleasure. That","}
{"text": ""year the people marched on Versailles, forcing the royal family to quit","}
{"text": ""the palace and take residence in Paris. This was a triumph for the rebels,","}
{"text": ""but it offered the queen an opportunity to heal the wounds she had","}
{"text": ""opened and establish contact with the people. The queen, however, had","}
{"text": ""not learned her lesson: Not once would she leave the palace during her","}
{"text": ""stay in Paris. Her subjects could rot in hell for all she cared.","}
{"text": ""In 1792 the royal couple was moved from the palace to a prison, as the","}
{"text": ""revolution officially declared the end of the monarchy. The following","}
{"text": ""year Louis XVI was tried, found guilty, and guillotined. As Marie-","}
{"text": ""Antoinette awaited the same fate, hardly a soul came to her defense—not","}
{"text": ""one of her former friends in the court, not one of Europe’s other","}
{"text": ""monarchs (who, as members of their own countries’ royal families, had","}
{"text": ""all the reason in the world to show that revolution did not pay), not even","}
{"text": ""her own family in Austria, including her brother, who now sat on the","}
{"text": ""throne. She had become the world’s pariah. In October of 1793, she","}
{"text": ""finally knelt at the guillotine, unrepentant and defiant to the bitter end.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""From early on, Marie-Antoinette acquired the most dangerous of","}
{"text": ""attitudes: As a young princess in Austria she was endlessly flattered and","}
{"text": ""cajoled. As the future queen of the French court she was the center of","}
{"text": ""everyone’s attention. She never learned to charm or please other people,","}
{"text": ""to become attuned to their individual psychologies. She never had to","}
{"text": ""work to get her way, to use calculation or cunning or the arts of","}
{"text": ""persuasion. And like everyone who is indulged from an early age, she","}
{"text": ""evolved into a monster of insensitivity.","}
{"text": ""Marie-Antoinette became the focus of an entire country’s","}
{"text": ""dissatisfaction because it is so infuriating to meet with a person who","}
{"text": ""makes no effort to seduce you or attempt to persuade you, even if only","}
{"text": ""for the purpose of deception. And do not imagine that she represents a","}
{"text": ""bygone era, or that she is even rare. Her type is today more common than","}
{"text": ""ever. Such types live in their own bubble—they seem to feel they areborn kings and queens, and that attention is owed them. They do not","}
{"text": ""consider anyone else’s nature, but bulldoze over people with the self-","}
{"text": ""righteous arrogance of a Marie-Antoinette. Pampered and indulged as","}
{"text": ""children, as adults they still believe that everything must come to them;","}
{"text": ""convinced of their own charm, they make no effort to charm, seduce, or","}
{"text": ""gently persuade.","}
{"text": ""In the realm of power, such attitudes are disastrous. At all times you","}
{"text": ""must attend to those around you, gauging their particular psychology,","}
{"text": ""tailoring your words to what you know will entice and seduce them. This","}
{"text": ""requires energy and art. The higher your station, the greater the need to","}
{"text": ""remain attuned to the hearts and minds of those below you, creating a","}
{"text": ""base of support to maintain you at the pinnacle. Without that base, your","}
{"text": ""power will teeter, and at the slightest change of fortune those below will","}
{"text": ""gladly assist in your fall from grace.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In A.D. 225, Chuko Liang, master strategist and chief minister to the","}
{"text": ""ruler of Shu in ancient China, confronted a dangerous situation. The","}
{"text": ""kingdom of Wei had mounted an all-out attack on Shu from the north.","}
{"text": ""More dangerous still, Wei had formed an alliance with the barbarous","}
{"text": ""states to the south of Shu, led by King Menghuo. Chuko Liang had to","}
{"text": ""deal with this second menace from the south before he could hope to","}
{"text": ""fend off Wei in the north.","}
{"text": ""As Chuko Liang prepared to march south against the barbarians, a","}
{"text": ""wise man in his camp offered him advice. It would be impossible, this","}
{"text": ""man said, to pacify the region by force. Liang would probably beat","}
{"text": ""Menghuo, but as soon as he headed north again to deal with Wei,","}
{"text": ""Menghuo would reinvade. “It is better to win hearts,” said the wise man,","}
{"text": ""“than cities; better to battle with hearts than with weapons. I hope you","}
{"text": ""will succeed in winning the hearts of these people.” “You read my","}
{"text": ""thoughts,” responded Chuko Liang.","}
{"text": ""THE GENTLE ART OF PERSUASION","}
{"text": ""The north wind and the sun were disputing which was the stronger, and","}
{"text": ""agreed to acknowledge as the victor whichever of them could strip atraveler of his clothing. The wind tried first. But its violent gusts only","}
{"text": ""made the man hold his clothes tightly around him, and when it blew","}
{"text": ""harder still the cold made him so uncomfortable that he put on an extra","}
{"text": ""wrap. Eventually the wind got tired of it and handed him over to the sun.","}
{"text": ""The sun shone first with a moderate warmth, which made the man take","}
{"text": ""off his topcoat. Then it blazed fiercely, till, unable to stand the heat, he","}
{"text": ""stripped and went off to bathe in a nearby river. Persuasion is more","}
{"text": ""effective than force.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""As Liang expected, Menghuo launched a powerful attack. But Liang","}
{"text": ""laid a trap and managed to capture a large part of Menghuo’s army,","}
{"text": ""including the king himself. Instead of punishing or executing his","}
{"text": ""prisoners, however, he separated the soldiers from their king, had their","}
{"text": ""shackles removed, regaled them with food and wine, and then addressed","}
{"text": ""them. “You are all upright men,” he said. “I believe you all have parents,","}
{"text": ""wives, and children waiting for you at home. They are doubtless","}
{"text": ""shedding bitter tears at your fate. I am going to release you, so that you","}
{"text": ""can return home to your loved ones and comfort them.” The men","}
{"text": ""thanked Liang with tears in their eyes; then he sent for Menghuo. “If I","}
{"text": ""release you,” asked Liang, “what will you do?” “I will pull my army","}
{"text": ""together again,” answered the king, “and lead it against you to a decisive","}
{"text": ""battle. But if you capture me a second time, I will bow to your","}
{"text": ""superiority.” Not only did Liang order Menghuo released, he gave him a","}
{"text": ""gift of a horse and saddle. When angry lieutenants wondered why he did","}
{"text": ""this, Liang told them, “I can capture that man as easily as I can take","}
{"text": ""something out of my pocket. I am trying to win his heart. When I do,","}
{"text": ""peace will come of itself here in the south.”","}
{"text": ""As Menghuo had said he would, he attacked again. But his own","}
{"text": ""officers, whom Liang had treated so well, rebelled against him, captured","}
{"text": ""him, and turned him over to Liang, who asked him again the same","}
{"text": ""question as before. Menghuo replied that he had not been beaten fairly,","}
{"text": ""but merely betrayed by his own officers; he would fight again, but if","}
{"text": ""captured a third time he would bow to Liang’s superiority.","}
{"text": ""Over the following months Liang outwitted Menghuo again and again,","}
{"text": ""capturing him a third, a fourth, and a fifth time. On each occasion","}
{"text": ""Menghuo’s troops grew more dissatisfied. Liang had treated them with","}
{"text": ""respect; they had lost their heart for fighting. But every time Chuko","}
{"text": ""Liang asked Menghuo to yield, the great king would come up with","}
{"text": ""another excuse: You tricked me, I lost through bad luck, on and on. Ifyou capture me again, he would promise, I swear I will not betray you.","}
{"text": ""And so Liang would let him go.","}
{"text": ""When he captured Menghuo for the sixth time, he asked the king the","}
{"text": ""same question again. “If you capture me a seventh time,” the king","}
{"text": ""replied, “I shall give you my loyalty and never rebel again.” “Very well,”","}
{"text": ""said Liang. “But if I capture you again, I will not release you.”","}
{"text": ""Now Menghuo and his soldiers fled to a far corner of their kingdom,","}
{"text": ""the region of Wuge. Defeated so many times, Menghuo had only one","}
{"text": ""hope left: He would ask the help of King Wutugu of Wuge, who had an","}
{"text": ""immense and ferocious army. Wutugu’s warriors wore an armor of","}
{"text": ""tightly woven vines soaked in oil, then dried to an impenetrable","}
{"text": ""hardness. With Menghuo at his side, Wutugu marched this mighty army","}
{"text": ""against Liang, and this time the great strategist seemed frightened,","}
{"text": ""leading his men in a hurried retreat. But he was merely leading Wutugu","}
{"text": ""into a trap: He cornered the king’s men in a narrow valley, then lit fires","}
{"text": ""set all around them. When the fires reached the soldiers Wutugu’s whole","}
{"text": ""army burst into flame—the oil in their armor, of course, being highly","}
{"text": ""flammable. All of them perished.","}
{"text": ""Liang had managed to separate Menghuo and his entourage from the","}
{"text": ""carnage in the valley, and the king found himself a captive for the","}
{"text": ""seventh time. After this slaughter Liang could not bear to face his","}
{"text": ""prisoner again. He sent a messenger to the captured king: “He has","}
{"text": ""commissioned me to release you. Mobilize another army against him, if","}
{"text": ""you can, and try once more to defeat him.” Sobbing, the king fell to the","}
{"text": ""ground, crawled to Liang on his hands and knees, and prostrated himself","}
{"text": ""at his feet. “Oh great minister,” cried Menghuo, “yours is the majesty of","}
{"text": ""Heaven. We men of the south will never again offer resistance to your","}
{"text": ""rule.” “Do you now yield?” asked Liang. “I, my sons, and my grandsons","}
{"text": ""are deeply moved by Your Honor’s boundless, life-giving mercy. How","}
{"text": ""could we not yield?”","}
{"text": ""Liang honored Menghuo with a great banquet, reestablished him on","}
{"text": ""the throne, restored his conquered lands to his rule, then returned north","}
{"text": ""with his army, leaving no occupying force. Liang never came back—he","}
{"text": ""had no need to: Menghuo had become his most devoted and unshakable","}
{"text": ""ally.","}
{"text": ""The men who have changed the universe have never gotten there by","}
{"text": ""working on leaders, but rather by moving the masses. Working on","}
{"text": ""leaders is the method of intrigue and only leads to secondary results.","}
{"text": ""Working on the masses, however, is the stroke of genius that changes the","}
{"text": ""face of the world.NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, 1769-1821","}
{"text": ""LIFE OF ABBENDER THE GREAT","}
{"text": ""This long and painful pursuit of Darius—for in eleven days he marched","}
{"text": ""33 hundred furlongs—harassed his soldiers so that most of them were","}
{"text": ""ready to give it up, chiefly for want of water. While they were in this","}
{"text": ""distress, it happened that some Macedonians who had fetched water in","}
{"text": ""skins upon their mules from a river they had found out came about noon","}
{"text": ""to the place where Alexander was, and seeing him almost choked with","}
{"text": ""thirst, presently filled a helmet and offered it him…. Then he took the","}
{"text": ""helmet into his hands, and looking round about, when he saw all those","}
{"text": ""who were near him stretching their heads out and looking earnestly after","}
{"text": ""the drink, he returned it again with thanks without tasting a drop of it.","}
{"text": ""“For,” said he, “if I alone should drink, the rest will be out of heart.”","}
{"text": ""The soldiers no sooner took notice of his temperance and magnanimity","}
{"text": ""upon this occasion, but they one and all cried out to him to lead them","}
{"text": ""forward boldly, and began whipping on their horses. For whilst they had","}
{"text": ""such a king they said they defied both weariness and thirst, and looked","}
{"text": ""upon themselves to be little less than immortal.","}
{"text": ""THE LIFE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, PLUTARCH, C. A.D. 46-","}
{"text": ""120","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Chuko Liang had two options: Try to defeat the barbarians in the south","}
{"text": ""with one crushing blow, or patiently and slowly win them to his side over","}
{"text": ""time. Most people more powerful than their enemy grab the first option","}
{"text": ""and never consider the second, but the truly powerful think far ahead:","}
{"text": ""The first option may be quick and easy, but over time it brews ugly","}
{"text": ""emotions in the hearts of the vanquished. Their resentment turns to","}
{"text": ""hatred; such animosity keeps you on edge—you spend your energy","}
{"text": ""protecting what you have gained, growing paranoid and defensive. The","}
{"text": ""second option, though more difficult, not only brings you peace of mind,","}
{"text": ""it converts a potential enemy into a pillar of support.","}
{"text": ""In all your encounters, take a step back—take the time to calculate and","}
{"text": ""attune yourself to your targets’ emotional makeup and psychological","}
{"text": ""weaknesses. Force will only strengthen their resistance. With most","}
{"text": ""people the heart is the key: They are like children, ruled by theiremotions. To soften them up, alternate harshness with mercy. Play on","}
{"text": ""their basic fears, and also their loves—freedom, family, etc. Once you","}
{"text": ""break them down, you will have a lifelong friend and fiercely loyal ally.","}
{"text": ""Governments saw men only in mass; but our men, being irregulars, were","}
{"text": ""not","}
{"text": ""formations, but individuals…. Our kingdoms lay in each man’s mind.","}
{"text": ""Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T. E. Lawrence, 1888-1935","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""In the game of power, you are surrounded by people who have absolutely","}
{"text": ""no reason to help you unless it is in their interest to do so. And if you","}
{"text": ""have nothing to offer their self-interest, you are likely to make them","}
{"text": ""hostile, for they will see in you just one more competitor, one more","}
{"text": ""waster of their time. Those that overcome this prevailing coldness are the","}
{"text": ""ones who find the key that unlocks the stranger’s heart and mind,","}
{"text": ""seducing him into their comer, if necessary softening him up for a punch.","}
{"text": ""But most people never learn this side of the game. When they meet","}
{"text": ""someone new, rather than stepping back and probing to see what makes","}
{"text": ""this person unique, they talk about themselves, eager to impose their own","}
{"text": ""willpower and prejudices. They argue, boast, and make a show of their","}
{"text": ""power. They may not know it but they are secretly creating an enemy, a","}
{"text": ""resister, because there is no more infuriating feeling than having your","}
{"text": ""individuality ignored, your own psychology unacknowledged. It makes","}
{"text": ""you feel lifeless and resentful.","}
{"text": ""Remember: The key to persuasion is softening people up and breaking","}
{"text": ""them down, gently. Seduce them with a two-pronged approach: Work on","}
{"text": ""their emotions and play on their intellectual weaknesses. Be alert to both","}
{"text": ""what separates them from everyone else (their individual psychology)","}
{"text": ""and what they share with everyone else (their basic emotional","}
{"text": ""responses). Aim at the primary emotions—love, hate, jealousy. Once you","}
{"text": ""move their emotions you have reduced their control, making them more","}
{"text": ""vulnerable to persuasion.","}
{"text": ""When Chuko Liang wanted to dissuade an important general of a rival","}
{"text": ""kingdom from entering into an alliance with Ts‘ao Ts’ao, Liang’s","}
{"text": ""dreaded enemy, he did not detail Ts‘ao Ts’ao’s cruelty, or attack him on","}
{"text": ""moral grounds. Instead Liang suggested that Ts‘ao Ts’ao was really afterthe general’s beautiful young wife. This hit the general in the gut, and","}
{"text": ""won him over. Mao Tse-tung similarly always appealed to popular","}
{"text": ""emotions, and spoke in the simplest terms. Educated and well-read","}
{"text": ""himself, in his speeches he used visceral metaphors, voicing the public’s","}
{"text": ""deepest anxieties and encouraging them to vent their frustrations in","}
{"text": ""public meetings. Rather than arguing the practical aspects of a particular","}
{"text": ""program, he would describe how it would affect them on the most","}
{"text": ""primitive, down-to-earth level. Do not believe that this approach works","}
{"text": ""only with the illiterate and unschooled—it works on one and all. All of","}
{"text": ""us are mortal and face the same dreadful fate, and all of us share the","}
{"text": ""desire for attachment and belonging. Stir up these emotions and you","}
{"text": ""captivate our hearts.","}
{"text": ""The best way to do this is with a dramatic jolt, of the kind that Chuko","}
{"text": ""Liang created when he fed and released prisoners who expected only the","}
{"text": ""worst from him. Shaking them to the core, he softened their hearts. Play","}
{"text": ""on contrasts like this: Push people to despair, then give them relief. If","}
{"text": ""they expect pain and you give them pleasure, you win their hearts.","}
{"text": ""Creating pleasure of any kind, in fact, will usually bring you success, as","}
{"text": ""will allaying fears and providing or promising security.","}
{"text": ""Symbolic gestures are often enough to win sympathy and goodwill. A","}
{"text": ""gesture of self-sacrifice, for example—a show that you suffer as those","}
{"text": ""around you do—will make people identify with you, even if your","}
{"text": ""suffering is symbolic or minor and theirs is real. When you enter a","}
{"text": ""group, make a gesture of goodwill; soften the group up for the harsher","}
{"text": ""actions that will follow later.","}
{"text": ""When T. E. Lawrence was fighting the Turks in the deserts of the","}
{"text": ""Middle East during World War I, he had an epiphany: It seemed to him","}
{"text": ""that conventional warfare had lost its value. The old-fashioned soldier","}
{"text": ""was lost in the enormous armies of the time, in which he was ordered","}
{"text": ""about like a lifeless pawn. Lawrence wanted to turn this around. For him,","}
{"text": ""every soldier’s mind was a kingdom he had to conquer. A committed,","}
{"text": ""psychologically motivated soldier would fight harder and more","}
{"text": ""creatively than a puppet.","}
{"text": ""Lawrence’s perception is still more true in the world today, where so","}
{"text": ""many of us feel alienated, anonymous, and suspicious of authority, all of","}
{"text": ""which makes overt power plays and force even more counterproductive","}
{"text": ""and dangerous. Instead of manipulating lifeless pawns, make those on","}
{"text": ""your side convinced and excited by the cause you have enlisted them in;","}
{"text": ""this will not only make your work easier but it will also give you more","}
{"text": ""leeway to deceive them later on. And to accomplish this you need to dealwith their individual psychologies. Never clumsily assume that the tactic","}
{"text": ""that worked on one person will necessarily work on another. To find the","}
{"text": ""key that will motivate them, first get them to open up. The more they","}
{"text": ""talk, the more they reveal about their likes and dislikes—the handles and","}
{"text": ""levers to move them with.","}
{"text": ""The quickest way to secure people’s minds is by demonstrating, as","}
{"text": ""simply as possible, how an action will benefit them. Self-interest is the","}
{"text": ""strongest motive of all: A great cause may capture minds, but once the","}
{"text": ""first flush of excitement is over, interest will flag—unless there is","}
{"text": ""something to be gained. Self-interest is the solider foundation. The","}
{"text": ""causes that work best use a noble veneer to cover a blatant appeal to self-","}
{"text": ""interest; the cause seduces but the self-interest secures the deal.","}
{"text": ""The people who are best at appealing to people’s minds are often","}
{"text": ""artists, intellectuals, and those of a more poetic nature. This is because","}
{"text": ""ideas are most easily communicated through metaphors and imagery. It","}
{"text": ""is always good policy, then, to have in your pocket at least one artist or","}
{"text": ""intellectual who can appeal concretely to people’s minds. Kings have","}
{"text": ""always kept a stable of writers in their barn: Frederick the Great had his","}
{"text": ""Voltaire (until they quarreled and separated), Napoleon won over","}
{"text": ""Goethe. Conversely, Napoleon III’s alienation of writers such as Victor","}
{"text": ""Hugo, whom he exiled from France, contributed to his growing","}
{"text": ""unpopularity and eventual downfall. It is dangerous, then, to alienate","}
{"text": ""those who have powers of expression, and useful to pacify and exploit","}
{"text": ""them.","}
{"text": ""Finally, learn to play the numbers game. The wider your support base","}
{"text": ""the stronger your power. Understanding that one alienated, disaffected","}
{"text": ""soul can spark a blaze of discontent, Louis XIV made sure to endear","}
{"text": ""himself to the lowest members of his staff. You too must constantly win","}
{"text": ""over more allies on all levels—a time will inevitably come when you","}
{"text": ""will need them.","}
{"text": ""Image:","}
{"text": ""The Keyhole.","}
{"text": ""People build","}
{"text": ""walls to keep you","}
{"text": ""out; never force","}
{"text": ""your way in—you","}
{"text": ""will find only more","}
{"text": ""walls within walls.","}
{"text": ""There are doors in","}
{"text": ""these walls, doors tothe heart and mind, and","}
{"text": ""they have tiny key","}
{"text": ""holes. Peer through the","}
{"text": ""keyhole, find the key","}
{"text": ""that opens the door,","}
{"text": ""and you have access","}
{"text": ""to their will with","}
{"text": ""no ugly signs","}
{"text": ""of forced","}
{"text": ""entry.","}
{"text": ""Authority: The difficulties in the way of persuasion lie in my knowing","}
{"text": ""the heart of the persuaded in order thereby to fit my wording into it….","}
{"text": ""For this reason, whoever attempts persuasion before the throne, must","}
{"text": ""carefully observe the sovereign’s feelings of love and hate, his secret","}
{"text": ""wishes and fears, before he can conquer his heart. (Han-fei-tzu, Chinese","}
{"text": ""philosopher, third century B.C.)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""There is no possible reversal to this Law.LAW 44","}
{"text": ""DISARM AND INFURIATE WITH THE","}
{"text": ""MIRROR EFFECT","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception:","}
{"text": ""When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot","}
{"text": ""figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them,","}
{"text": ""making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you","}
{"text": ""seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a","}
{"text": ""mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the","}
{"text": ""power of the Mirror Effect.","}
{"text": ""MIRROR EFFECTS: Preliminary Typology","}
{"text": ""Mirrors have the power to disturb us. Gazing at our reflection in the","}
{"text": ""mirror, we most often see what we want to see—the image of ourselves","}
{"text": ""with which we are most comfortable. We tend not to look too closely,","}
{"text": ""ignoring the wrinkles and blemishes. But if we do look hard at the","}
{"text": ""reflected image, we sometimes feel that we are seeing ourselves as others","}
{"text": ""see us, as a person among other people, an object rather than a subject.","}
{"text": ""That feeling makes us shudder—we see ourselves, but from the outside,","}
{"text": ""minus the thoughts, spirit, and soul that fill our consciousness. We are a","}
{"text": ""thing.","}
{"text": ""In using Mirror Effects we symbolically re-create this disturbing","}
{"text": ""power by mirroring the actions of other people, mimicking their","}
{"text": ""movements to unsettle and infuriate them. Made to feel mocked, cloned,","}
{"text": ""objectlike, an image without a soul, they get angry. Or do the same thing","}
{"text": ""slightly differently and they might feel disarmed—you have perfectlyreflected their wishes and desires. This is the narcissistic power of","}
{"text": ""mirrors. In either case, the Mirror Effect unsettles your targets, whether","}
{"text": ""angering or entrancing them, and in that instant you have the power to","}
{"text": ""manipulate or seduce them. The Effect contains great power because it","}
{"text": ""operates on the most primitive emotions.","}
{"text": ""There are four main Mirror Effects in the realm of power:","}
{"text": ""The Neutralizing Effect. In ancient Greek mythology, the Gorgon","}
{"text": ""Medusa had serpents for hair, protruding tongue, massive teeth, and a","}
{"text": ""face so ugly that anyone who gazed at her was turned into stone, out of","}
{"text": ""fright. But the hero Perseus managed to slay Medusa by polishing his","}
{"text": ""bronze shield into a mirror, then using the reflection in the mirror to","}
{"text": ""guide him as he crept up and cut off her head without looking at her","}
{"text": ""directly. If the shield in this instance was a mirror, the mirror also was a","}
{"text": ""kind of shield: Medusa could not see Perseus, she saw only her own","}
{"text": ""reflected actions, and behind this screen the hero stole up and destroyed","}
{"text": ""her.","}
{"text": ""This is the essence of the Neutralizing Effect: Do what your enemies","}
{"text": ""do, following their actions as best you can, and they cannot see what you","}
{"text": ""are up to—they are blinded by your mirror. Their strategy for dealing","}
{"text": ""with you depends on your reacting to them in a way characteristic of","}
{"text": ""you; neutralize it by playing a game of mimicry with them. The tactic","}
{"text": ""has a mocking, even infuriating effect. Most of us remember the","}
{"text": ""childhood experience of someone teasing us by repeating our words","}
{"text": ""exactly—after a while, usually not long, we wanted to punch them in the","}
{"text": ""face. Working more subtly as an adult, you can still unsettle your","}
{"text": ""opponents this way; shielding your own strategy with the mirror, you lay","}
{"text": ""invisible traps, or push your opponents into the trap they planned for","}
{"text": ""you.","}
{"text": ""This powerful technique has been used in military strategy since the","}
{"text": ""days of Sun-tzu; in our own time it often appears in political","}
{"text": ""campaigning. It is also useful for disguising those situations in which","}
{"text": ""you have no particular strategy yourself. This is the Warrior’s Mirror.","}
{"text": ""THE MERCHANT AND HIS","}
{"text": ""A certain merchant once had a great desire to make a long journey. Now","}
{"text": ""in regard that he was not very wealthy, “It is requisite, ”said he to","}
{"text": ""himself, “that before my departure I should leave some part of my estate","}
{"text": ""in the city, to the end that if I meet with ill luck in my travels, I may havewherewithal to keep me at my return.”To this purpose he delivered a","}
{"text": ""great number of bars of iron, which were a principal part of his wealth,","}
{"text": ""in trust to one of his friends, desiring him to keep them during his","}
{"text": ""absence; and then, taking his leave, away he went. Some time after,","}
{"text": ""having had but ill luck in his travels, he returned home; and the first","}
{"text": ""thing he did was to go to his friend, and demand his iron: but his friend,","}
{"text": ""who owed several sums of money, having sold the iron to pay his own","}
{"text": ""debts, made him this answer: “Truly, friend,”said he, “I put your iron","}
{"text": ""into a room that was close locked, imagining it would have been there as","}
{"text": ""secure as my own gold; but an accident has happened which no one","}
{"text": ""could have suspected, for there was a rat in the room which ate it all","}
{"text": ""up.” The merchant, pretending ignorance, replied, “It is a terrible","}
{"text": ""misfortune to me indeed; but I know of old that rats love iron extremely;","}
{"text": ""I have suffered by them many times before in the same manner, and","}
{"text": ""therefore can the better bear my present affliction.” This answer","}
{"text": ""extremely pleased the friend, who was glad to hear the merchant so well","}
{"text": ""inclined to believe that a rat had eaten his iron; and to remove all","}
{"text": ""suspicions, desired him to dine with him the next day. The merchant","}
{"text": ""promised he would, but in the meantime he met in the middle of the city","}
{"text": ""one of his friend’s children; the child he carried home, and locked up in","}
{"text": ""a room. The next day he went to his friend, who seemed to be in great","}
{"text": ""affliction, which he asked him the cause of, as if he had been perfectly","}
{"text": ""ignorant of what had happened. ”O, my dear friend,” answered the","}
{"text": ""other, ”I beg you to excuse me, if you do not see me so cheerful as","}
{"text": ""otherwise I would be; I have lost one of my children; I have had him","}
{"text": ""cried by sound of trumpet, but I know not what is become of him.” “O!”","}
{"text": ""replied the merchant, ”I am grieved to hear this; for yesterday in the","}
{"text": ""evening, as I parted from hence, I saw an owl in the air with a child in","}
{"text": ""his claws; but whether it were yours I cannot tell.” “Why, you most","}
{"text": ""foolish and absurd creature!” replied the friend, ”are you not ashamed","}
{"text": ""to tell such an egregious lie? An owl, that weighs at most not above two","}
{"text": ""or three pounds, can he carry a boy that weighs above fifty?” ”Why,”","}
{"text": ""replied the merchant, ”do you make such a wonder at that? As if in a","}
{"text": ""country where one rat can eat a hundred tons’ weight of iron, it were","}
{"text": ""such a wonder for an owl to carry a child that weighs not over fifty","}
{"text": ""pounds in all!” The friend, upon this, found that the merchant was no","}
{"text": ""such fool as he took him to be, begged his pardon for the cheat which he","}
{"text": ""designed to have put apon him, restored him the value of his iron, and so","}
{"text": ""had his son again.","}
{"text": ""FABLES, PILPAY. INDIA. FOURTH CENTURYA reverse version of the Neutralizing Effect is the Shadow: You","}
{"text": ""shadow your opponents’ every move without their seeing you. Use the","}
{"text": ""Shadow to gather information that will neutralize their strategy later on,","}
{"text": ""when you will be able to thwart their every move. The Shadow is","}
{"text": ""effective because to follow the movements of others is to gain valuable","}
{"text": ""insights into their habits and routines. The Shadow is the preeminent","}
{"text": ""device for detectives and spies.","}
{"text": ""The Narcissus Effect. Gazing at an image in the waters of a pond, the","}
{"text": ""Greek youth Narcissus fell in love with it. And when he found out that","}
{"text": ""the image was his own reflection, and that he therefore could not","}
{"text": ""consummate his love, he despaired and drowned himself. All of us have","}
{"text": ""a similar problem: We are profoundly in love with ourselves, but since","}
{"text": ""this love excludes a love object outside ourselves, it remains","}
{"text": ""continuously unsatisfied and unfulfilled. The Narcissus Effect plays on","}
{"text": ""this universal narcissism: You look deep into the souls of other people;","}
{"text": ""fathom their inmost desires, their values, their tastes, their spirit; and you","}
{"text": ""reflect it back to them, making yourself into a kind of mirror image. Your","}
{"text": ""ability to reflect their psyche gives you great power over them; they may","}
{"text": ""even feel a tinge of love.","}
{"text": ""This is simply the ability to mimic another person not physically, but","}
{"text": ""psychologically, and it is immensely powerful because it plays upon the","}
{"text": ""unsatisfied self-love of a child. Normally, people bombard us with their","}
{"text": ""experiences, their tastes. They hardly ever make the effort to see things","}
{"text": ""through our eyes. This is annoying, but it also creates great opportunity:","}
{"text": ""If you can show you understand another person by reflecting their inmost","}
{"text": ""feelings, they will be entranced and disarmed, all the more so because it","}
{"text": ""happens so rarely. No one can resist this feeling of being harmoniously","}
{"text": ""reflected in the outside world, even though you might well be","}
{"text": ""manufacturing it for their benefit, and for deceptive purposes of your","}
{"text": ""own.","}
{"text": ""The Narcissus Effect works wonders in both social life and business; it","}
{"text": ""gives us both the Seducer’s and the Courtier’s Mirror.","}
{"text": ""The Moral Effect The power of verbal argument is extremely limited,","}
{"text": ""and often accomplishes the opposite of what is intended. As Gracián","}
{"text": ""remarks, “The truth is generally seen, rarely heard.” The Moral Effect is","}
{"text": ""a perfect way to demonstrate your ideas through action. Quite simply,","}
{"text": ""you teach others a lesson by giving them a taste of their own medicine.","}
{"text": ""In the Moral Effect, you mirror what other people have done to you,","}
{"text": ""and do so in a way that makes them realize you are doing to them exactlywhat they did to you. You make them feel that their behavior has been","}
{"text": ""unpleasant, as opposed to hearing you complain and whine about it,","}
{"text": ""which only gets their defenses up. And as they feel the result of their","}
{"text": ""actions mirrored back at them, they realize in the profoundest sense how","}
{"text": ""they hurt or punish others with their unsocial behavior. You objectify the","}
{"text": ""qualities you want them to feel ashamed of and create a mirror in which","}
{"text": ""they can gaze at their follies and learn a lesson about themselves. This","}
{"text": ""technique is often used by educators, psychologists, and anyone who has","}
{"text": ""to deal with unpleasant and unconscious behavior. This is the Teacher’s","}
{"text": ""Mirror. Whether or not there is actually anything wrong with the way","}
{"text": ""people have treated you, however, it can often be to your advantage to","}
{"text": ""reflect it back to them in a way that makes them feel guilty about it.","}
{"text": ""The Hallucinatory Effect. Mirrors are tremendously deceptive, for they","}
{"text": ""create a sense that you are looking at the real world. Actually, though,","}
{"text": ""you are only staring at a piece of glass, which, as everyone knows,","}
{"text": ""cannot show the world exactly as it is: Everything in a mirror is reversed.","}
{"text": ""When Alice goes through the looking glass in Lewis Carroll’s book, she","}
{"text": ""enters a world that is back-to-front, and more than just visually.","}
{"text": ""The Hallucinatory Effect comes from creating a perfect copy of an","}
{"text": ""object, a place, a person. This copy acts as a kind of dummy—people","}
{"text": ""take it for the real thing, because it has the physical appearance of the","}
{"text": ""real thing. This is the preeminent technique of con artists, who","}
{"text": ""strategically mimic the real world to deceive you. It also has applications","}
{"text": ""in any arena that requires camouflage. This is the Deceiver’s Mirror.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCES OF MIRROR EFFECTS","}
{"text": ""Observance I","}
{"text": ""In February of 1815, the emperor Napoleon escaped from the island of","}
{"text": ""Elba, where he had been imprisoned by the allied forces of Europe, and","}
{"text": ""returned to Paris in a march that stirred the French nation, rallying troops","}
{"text": ""and citizens of all classes to his side and chasing his successor, King","}
{"text": ""Louis XVIII, off the throne. By March, however, having reestablished","}
{"text": ""himself in power, he had to face the fact that France’s situation had","}
{"text": ""gravely changed. The country was devastated, he had no allies amongthe other European nations, and his most loyal and important ministers","}
{"text": ""had deserted him or left the country. Only one man remained from the","}
{"text": ""old regime—Joseph Fouche, his former minister of police.","}
{"text": ""Napoleon had relied on Fouché to do his dirty work throughout his","}
{"text": ""previous reign, but he had never been able to figure his minister out. He","}
{"text": ""kept a corps of agents to spy on all of his ministers, so that he would","}
{"text": ""always have an edge on them, but no one had gotten anything on Fouché.","}
{"text": ""If suspected of some misdeed, the minister would not get angry or take","}
{"text": ""the accusation personally—he would submit, nod, smile, and change","}
{"text": ""colors chameleonlike, adapting to the requirements of the moment. At","}
{"text": ""first this had seemed somewhat pleasant and charming, but after a while","}
{"text": ""it frustrated Napoleon, who felt outdone by this slippery man. At one","}
{"text": ""time or another he had fired all of his most important ministers,","}
{"text": ""including Talleyrand, but he never touched Fouché. And so, in 1815,","}
{"text": ""back in power and in need of help, he felt he had no choice but to","}
{"text": ""reappoint Fouché as his minister of police.","}
{"text": ""When you have come to grips and are striving together with the enemy,","}
{"text": ""and you realize that you cannot advance, you “soak in” and become one","}
{"text": ""with the enemy. You can win by applying a suitable technique while you","}
{"text": ""are mutually entangled. … You can win often decisively with the","}
{"text": ""advantage of knowing how to “soak” into the enemy, whereas, were you","}
{"text": ""to draw apart, you would lose the chance to win.","}
{"text": ""A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, MIYAMOTO MUSASHI, JAPAN,","}
{"text": ""SEVENTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""Several weeks into his new reign, Napoleon’s spies told him they","}
{"text": ""believed Fouché was in secret contact with ministers of foreign","}
{"text": ""countries, including Metternich of Austria. Afraid that his most valuable","}
{"text": ""minister was betraying him to his enemies, Napoleon had to find out the","}
{"text": ""truth before it was too late. He could not confront Fouché directly—in","}
{"text": ""person the man was as slippery as an eel. He needed hard proof.","}
{"text": ""This seemed to come in April, when the emperor’s private police","}
{"text": ""captured a Viennese gentleman who had come to Paris to pass","}
{"text": ""information on to Fouché. Ordering the man brought before him,","}
{"text": ""Napoleon threatened to shoot him then and there unless he confessed; the","}
{"text": ""man broke down and admitted he had given Fouché a letter from","}
{"text": ""Metternich, written in invisible ink, arranging for a secret meeting of","}
{"text": ""special agents in Basel. Napoleon accordingly ordered one of his ownagents to infiltrate this meeting. If Fouché was indeed planning to betray","}
{"text": ""him, he would finally be caught red-handed and would hang.","}
{"text": ""Napoleon waited impatiently for the agent’s return, but to his","}
{"text": ""bewilderment the agent showed up days later reporting that he had heard","}
{"text": ""nothing that would implicate Fouché in a conspiracy. In fact it seemed","}
{"text": ""that the other agents present suspected Fouché of double-crossing them,","}
{"text": ""as if he were working for Napoleon all along. Napoleon did not believe","}
{"text": ""this for an instant—Fouché had somehow outwitted him again.","}
{"text": ""The following morning Fouché visited Napoleon, and remarked, “By","}
{"text": ""the way, sire, I never told you that I had a letter from Metternich a few","}
{"text": ""days ago; my mind was so full of things of greater moment. Besides, his","}
{"text": ""emissary omitted to give me the powder needed to make the writing","}
{"text": ""legible…. Here at length is the letter.” Sure that Fouché was toying with","}
{"text": ""him, Napoleon exploded, “You are a traitor, Fouché! I ought to have you","}
{"text": ""hanged.” He continued to harangue Fouché, but could not fire him","}
{"text": ""without proof. Fouché only expressed amazement at the emperor’s","}
{"text": ""words, but inwardly he smiled, for all along he had been playing a","}
{"text": ""mirroring game. Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Fouché had known for years that Napoleon kept on top of those around","}
{"text": ""him by spying on them day and night. The minister had survived this","}
{"text": ""game by having his own spies spy on Napoleon’s spies, thus neutralizing","}
{"text": ""any action Napoleon might take against him. In the case of the meeting","}
{"text": ""in Basel, he even turned the tables: Knowing about Napoleon’s double","}
{"text": ""agent, he set it up so that it would appear as if Fouché were a loyal","}
{"text": ""double agent too.","}
{"text": ""Fouché gained power and flourished in a period of great tumult by","}
{"text": ""mirroring those around him. During the French Revolution he was a","}
{"text": ""radical Jacobin; after the Terror he became a moderate republican; and","}
{"text": ""under Napoleon he became a committed imperialist whom Napoleon","}
{"text": ""ennobled and made the duke of Otranto. If Napoleon took up the weapon","}
{"text": ""of digging up dirt on people, Fouché made sure he had the dirt on","}
{"text": ""Napoleon, as well as on everyone else. This also allowed him to predict","}
{"text": ""the emperor’s plans and desires, so that he could echo his boss’s","}
{"text": ""sentiments before he had even uttered them. Shielding his actions with a","}
{"text": ""mirror strategy, Fouché could also plot offensive moves without being","}
{"text": ""caught in the act.","}
{"text": ""THE FOX AND THE STORKOne day Mr. Fox decided to fork out And invite old Mrs. Stork out. The","}
{"text": ""dinner wasn’t elaborate—Being habitually mean, He didn’t go in for","}
{"text": ""haute cuisine-In fact it consisted of a shallow plate Of thin gruel. Within","}
{"text": ""a minute Our joker had lapped his plate clean; Meanwhile his guest,","}
{"text": ""fishing away with her beak, Got not a morsel in it. To pay him back for","}
{"text": ""this cruel Practical joke, the stork invited The fox to dinner the following","}
{"text": ""week. “I should be delighted,” He replied; “When it comes to friends I","}
{"text": ""never stand upon pride.” Punctually on the day he ran To his hostess’s","}
{"text": ""house and at once began Praising everything: “What taste! What chic!","}
{"text": ""And the food—done just to a turn!” Then sat down with a hearty","}
{"text": ""appetite (Foxes are always ready to eat) And savored the delicious smell","}
{"text": ""of meat. It was minced meat and served—to serve him right!—In a long-","}
{"text": ""necked, narrow-mouthed urn. The stork, easily stooping, Enjoyed her fill","}
{"text": ""With her long bill; His snout, though, being the wrong shape and size,","}
{"text": ""He had to return to his den Empty-bellied, tail dragging, ears drooping,","}
{"text": ""As red in the face as a fox who’s been caught by a hen.","}
{"text": ""SELECTED FABLES, JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695","}
{"text": ""This is the power of mirroring those around you. First, you give","}
{"text": ""people the feeling that you share their thoughts and goals. Second, if they","}
{"text": ""suspect you have ulterior motives, the mirror shields you from them,","}
{"text": ""preventing them from figuring out your strategy. Eventually this will","}
{"text": ""infuriate and unsettle them. By playing the double, you steal their","}
{"text": ""thunder, suck away their initiative, make them feel helpless. You also","}
{"text": ""gain the ability to choose when and how to unsettle them—another","}
{"text": ""avenue to power. And the mirror saves you mental energy: simply","}
{"text": ""echoing the moves of others gives you the space you need to develop a","}
{"text": ""strategy of your own.","}
{"text": ""Observance II","}
{"text": ""Early on in his career, the ambitious statesman and general Alcibiades of","}
{"text": ""Athens (450-404 B.C.) fashioned a formidable weapon that became the","}
{"text": ""source of his power. In every encounter with others, he would sense their","}
{"text": ""moods and tastes, then carefully tailor his words and actions to mirror","}
{"text": ""their inmost desires. He would seduce them with the idea that their","}
{"text": ""values were superior to everyone else’s, and that his goal was to model","}
{"text": ""himself on them or help them realize their dreams. Few could resist his","}
{"text": ""charm.The first man to fall under his spell was the philosopher Socrates.","}
{"text": ""Alcibiades represented the opposite of the Socratic ideal of simplicity","}
{"text": ""and uprightness: He lived lavishly and was completely unprincipled.","}
{"text": ""Whenever he met Socrates, however, he mirrored the older man’s","}
{"text": ""sobriety, eating simply, accompanying Socrates on long walks, and","}
{"text": ""talking only of philosophy and virtue. Socrates was not completely","}
{"text": ""fooled—he was not unaware of Alcibiades’ other life. But that only","}
{"text": ""made him vulnerable to a logic that flattered him: Only in my presence,","}
{"text": ""he felt, does this man submit to a virtuous influence; only I have such","}
{"text": ""power over him. This feeling intoxicated Socrates, who became","}
{"text": ""Alcibiades’ fervent admirer and supporter, one day even risking his own","}
{"text": ""life to rescue the young man in battle.","}
{"text": ""The Athenians considered Alcibiades their greatest orator, for he had","}
{"text": ""an uncanny ability to tune in to his audience’s aspirations, and mirror","}
{"text": ""their desires. He made his greatest speeches in support of the invasion of","}
{"text": ""Sicily, which he thought would bring great wealth to Athens and","}
{"text": ""limitless glory to himself. The speeches gave expression to young","}
{"text": ""Athenians’ thirst to conquer lands for themselves, rather than living off","}
{"text": ""the victories of their ancestors. But he also tailored his words to reflect","}
{"text": ""older men’s nostalgia for the glory years when Athens led the Greeks","}
{"text": ""against Persia, and then went on to create an empire. All Athens now","}
{"text": ""dreamed of conquering Sicily; Alcibiades’ plan was approved, and he","}
{"text": ""was made the expedition’s commander.","}
{"text": ""THE PU RI.OINED LLTTER","}
{"text": ""When I wish to find out how wise, or how stupid, or how good, or how","}
{"text": ""wicked is any one, or what are his thoughts at the moment, I fashion the","}
{"text": ""expression of my face, as accurately as possible, in accordance with the","}
{"text": ""expression of his, and then wait to see what thoughts or sentiments arise","}
{"text": ""in my mind or heart, as if to match or correspond with the expression.","}
{"text": ""EDGAR ALLAN POE, 1809-1849","}
{"text": ""While Alcibiades was leading the invasion of Sicily, however, certain","}
{"text": ""Athenians fabricated charges against him of profaning sacred statues. He","}
{"text": ""knew his enemies would have him executed if he returned home, so at","}
{"text": ""the last minute he deserted the Athenian fleet and defected to Athens’s","}
{"text": ""bitter enemy, Sparta. The Spartans welcomed this great man to their side,","}
{"text": ""but they knew his reputation and were wary of him. Alcibiades loved","}
{"text": ""luxury; the Spartans were a warrior people who worshipped austerity,","}
{"text": ""and they were afraid he would corrupt their youth. But much to theirrelief, the Alcibiades who arrived in Sparta was not at all what they","}
{"text": ""expected: He wore his hair untrimmed (as they did), took cold baths, ate","}
{"text": ""coarse bread and black broth, and wore simple clothes. To the Spartans","}
{"text": ""this signified that he had come to see their way of life as superior to the","}
{"text": ""Athenian; greater than they were, he had chosen to be a Spartan rather","}
{"text": ""than being born one, and should thus be honored above all others. They","}
{"text": ""fell under his spell and gave him great powers. Unfortunately Alcibiades","}
{"text": ""rarely knew how to rein in his charm—he managed to seduce the king of","}
{"text": ""Sparta’s wife and make her pregnant. When this became public he once","}
{"text": ""more had to flee for his life.","}
{"text": ""This time Alcibiades defected to Persia, where he suddenly went from","}
{"text": ""Spartan simplicity to embracing the lavish Persian lifestyle down to the","}
{"text": ""last detail. It was of course immensely flattering to the Persians to see a","}
{"text": ""Greek of Alcibiades’ stature prefer their culture over his own, and they","}
{"text": ""showered him with honors, land, and power. Once seduced by the mirror,","}
{"text": ""they failed to notice that behind this shield Alcibiades was playing a","}
{"text": ""double game, secretly helping the Athenians in their war with Sparta and","}
{"text": ""thus reingratiat ing himself with the city to which he desperately wanted","}
{"text": ""to return, and which welcomed him back with open arms in 408 B.C.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Early in his political career, Alcibiades made a discovery that changed","}
{"text": ""his whole approach to power: He had a colorful and forceful personality,","}
{"text": ""but when he argued his ideas strongly with other people he would win","}
{"text": ""over a few while at the same time alienating many more. The secret to","}
{"text": ""gaining ascendancy over large numbers, he came to believe, was not to","}
{"text": ""impose his colors but to absorb the colors of those around him, like a","}
{"text": ""chameleon. Once people fell for the trick, the deceptions he went on to","}
{"text": ""practice would be invisible to them.","}
{"text": ""Understand: Everyone is wrapped up in their own narcissistic shell.","}
{"text": ""When you try to impose your own ego on them, a wall goes up,","}
{"text": ""resistance is increased. By mirroring them, however, you seduce them","}
{"text": ""into a kind of narcissistic rapture: They are gazing at a double of their","}
{"text": ""own soul. This double is actually manufactured in its entirety by you.","}
{"text": ""Once you have used the mirror to seduce them, you have great power","}
{"text": ""over them.","}
{"text": ""It is worth noting, however, the dangers in the promiscuous use of the","}
{"text": ""mirror. In Alcibiades’ presence people felt larger, as if their egos hadbeen doubled. But once he left, they felt empty and diminished, and","}
{"text": ""when they saw him mirroring completely different people as totally as he","}
{"text": ""had mirrored them, they felt not just diminished but betrayed.","}
{"text": ""Alcibiades’ overuse of the Mirror Effect made whole peoples feel used,","}
{"text": ""so that he constantly had to flee from one place to another. Indeed","}
{"text": ""Alcibiades so angered the Spartans that they finally had him murdered.","}
{"text": ""He had gone too far. The Seducer’s Mirror must be used with caution","}
{"text": ""and discrimination.","}
{"text": ""LORENZO DE’ MEDICI SEDUCES THE POPE","}
{"text": ""Lorenzo [de’ Medici] lost no opportunity of increasing the respect which","}
{"text": ""Pope Innocent now felt for him and of gaining his friendship, if possible","}
{"text": ""his affection. He took the trouble to discover the Pope’s tastes and","}
{"text": ""indulged them accordingly. He sent him… casks of his favourite wine….","}
{"text": ""He sent him courteous, flattering letters in which he assured him, when","}
{"text": ""the Pope was ill, that he felt his sufferings as though they were his own,","}
{"text": ""in which he encouraged him with such fortifying statements as “a Pope","}
{"text": ""is what he wills to be,” and in which, as though incidentally, he included","}
{"text": ""his views on the proper course of papal policies. Innocent was gratified","}
{"text": ""by Lorenzo’s attentions and convinced by his arguments…. So","}
{"text": ""completely, indeed, did he come to share his opinions that, as the","}
{"text": ""disgruntled Ferrarese ambassador put it, “the Pope sleeps with the eyes","}
{"text": ""of the Magnificent Lorenzo.”","}
{"text": ""THE HOUSE OF MEDICI: ITS RISE AND FALL, CHRISTOPHER","}
{"text": ""HIBBERT, 1980","}
{"text": ""Observance III","}
{"text": ""In 1652 the recently widowed Baroness Mancini moved her family from","}
{"text": ""Rome to Paris, where she could count on the influence and protection of","}
{"text": ""her brother Cardinal Mazarin, the French prime minister. Of the","}
{"text": ""baroness’s five daughters, four dazzled the court with their beauty and","}
{"text": ""high spirits. These infamously charming nieces of Cardinal Mazarin","}
{"text": ""became known as the Mazarinettes, and soon found themselves invited","}
{"text": ""to all the most important court functions.","}
{"text": ""One daughter, Marie Mancini, did not share this good fortune, for she","}
{"text": ""lacked the beauty and grace of her sisters—who, along with her mother","}
{"text": ""and even Cardinal Mazarin, eventually came to dislike her, for they felt","}
{"text": ""she spoiled the family image. They tried to persuade her to enter aconvent, where she would be less of an embarrassment, but she refused.","}
{"text": ""Instead she applied herself to her studies, learning Latin and Greek,","}
{"text": ""perfecting her French, and practicing her musical skills. On the rare","}
{"text": ""occasions when the family would let her attend court affairs, she trained","}
{"text": ""herself to be an artful listener, sizing people up for their weaknesses and","}
{"text": ""hidden desires. And when she finally met the future King Louis XIV, in","}
{"text": ""1657 (Louis was seventeen years old, Marie eighteen), she decided that","}
{"text": ""to spite her family and uncle, she would find a way to make this young","}
{"text": ""man fall in love with her.","}
{"text": ""This was a seemingly impossible task for such a plain-looking girl, but","}
{"text": ""Marie studied the future king closely. She noticed that her sisters’","}
{"text": ""frivolity did not please him, and she sensed that he loathed the scheming","}
{"text": ""and petty politicking that went on all around him. She saw that he had a","}
{"text": ""romantic nature—he read adventure novels, insisted on marching at the","}
{"text": ""head of his armies, and had high ideals and a passion for glory. The court","}
{"text": ""did not feed these fantasies of his; it was a banal, superficial world that","}
{"text": ""bored him.","}
{"text": ""The key to Louis’s heart, Marie saw, would be to construct a mirror","}
{"text": ""reflecting his fantasies and his youthful yearnings for glory and romance.","}
{"text": ""To begin with she immersed herself in the romantic novels, poems, and","}
{"text": ""plays that she knew the young king read voraciously. When Louis began","}
{"text": ""to engage her in conversation, to his delight she would talk of the things","}
{"text": ""that stirred his soul—not this fashion or that piece of gossip, but rather","}
{"text": ""courtly love, the deeds of great knights, the nobility of past kings and","}
{"text": ""heroes. She fed his thirst for glory by creating an image of an august,","}
{"text": ""superior king whom he could aspire to become. She stirred his","}
{"text": ""imagination.","}
{"text": ""As the future Sun King spent more and more time in Marie’s presence,","}
{"text": ""it eventually became clear that he had fallen in love with the least likely","}
{"text": ""young woman of the court. To the horror of her sisters and mother, he","}
{"text": ""showered Marie Mancini with attention. He brought her along on his","}
{"text": ""military campaigns, and made a show of stationing her where she could","}
{"text": ""watch as he marched into battle. He even promised Marie that he would","}
{"text": ""marry her and make her queen.","}
{"text": ""Wittgenstein had an extraordinary gift for divining the thoughts of the","}
{"text": ""person with whom he was engaged in discussion. While the other","}
{"text": ""struggled to put his thought into words, Wittgenstein would perceive","}
{"text": ""what it was and state it for him. This power of his, which sometimes","}
{"text": ""seemed uncanny, was made possible, I am sure, by his own prolonged","}
{"text": ""and continuous researches.LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN: A MEMOIR. NORMAN MALCOLM,","}
{"text": ""1958","}
{"text": ""The doctor should be opaque to his patients, and like a mirror, should","}
{"text": ""show them nothing but what is shown to him.","}
{"text": ""SIGMUND FREUD, 1856-1939","}
{"text": ""Mazarin, however, would never allow the king to marry his niece, a","}
{"text": ""woman who could bring France no diplomatic or royal alliances. Louis","}
{"text": ""had to marry a princess of Spain or Austria. In 1658 Louis succumbed to","}
{"text": ""the pressure and agreed to break off the first romantic involvement of his","}
{"text": ""life. He did so with much regret, and at the end of his life he","}
{"text": ""acknowledged that he never loved anyone as much as Marie Mancini.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Marie Mancini played the seducer’s game to perfection. First, she took a","}
{"text": ""step back, to study her prey. Seduction often fails to get past the first step","}
{"text": ""because it is too aggressive; the first move must always be a retreat. By","}
{"text": ""studying the king from a distance Marie saw what distinguished him","}
{"text": ""from others—his high ideals, romantic nature, and snobbish disdain for","}
{"text": ""petty politics. Marie’s next step was to make a mirror for these hidden","}
{"text": ""yearnings on Louis’s part, letting him glimpse what he himself could be","}
{"text": ""—a godlike king!","}
{"text": ""This mirror had several functions: Satisfying Louis’s ego by giving","}
{"text": ""him a double to look at, it also focused on him so exclusively as to give","}
{"text": ""him the feeling that Marie existed for him alone. Surrounded by a pack","}
{"text": ""of scheming courtiers who only had their own self-interest at heart, he","}
{"text": ""could not fail to be touched by this devotional focus. Finally Marie’s","}
{"text": ""mirror set up an ideal for him to live up to: the noble knight of the","}
{"text": ""medieval court. To a soul both romantic and ambitious, nothing could be","}
{"text": ""more intoxicating than to have someone hold up an idealized reflection","}
{"text": ""of him. In effect it was Marie Mancini who created the image of the Sun","}
{"text": ""King—indeed Louis later admitted the enormous part she had played in","}
{"text": ""fashioning his radiant self-image.","}
{"text": ""This is the power of the Seducer’s Mirror: By doubling the tastes and","}
{"text": ""ideals of the target, it shows your attention to his or her psychology, an","}
{"text": ""attention more charming than any aggressive pursuit. Find out what sets","}
{"text": ""the other person apart, then hold up the mirror that will reflect it andbring it out of them. Feed their fantasies of power and greatness by","}
{"text": ""reflecting their ideals, and they will succumb.","}
{"text": ""Observance IV","}
{"text": ""In 1538, with the death of his mother, Helena, the eight-year-old future","}
{"text": ""czar Ivan IV (or Ivan the Terrible) of Russia became an orphan. For the","}
{"text": ""next five years he watched as the princely class, the boyars, terrorized","}
{"text": ""the country. Now and then, to mock the young Ivan, they would make","}
{"text": ""him wear a crown and scepter and place him on the throne. When the","}
{"text": ""little boy’s feet dangled over the edge of the chair, they would laugh and","}
{"text": ""lift him off it, handing him from man to man in the air, making him feel","}
{"text": ""his helplessness compared to them.","}
{"text": ""When Ivan was thirteen, he boldly murdered the boyar leader and","}
{"text": ""ascended to the throne. For the next few decades he struggled to subdue","}
{"text": ""the boyars’ power, but they continued to defy him. By 1575 his efforts to","}
{"text": ""transform Russia and defeat its enemies had exhausted him. Meanwhile,","}
{"text": ""his subjects were complaining bitterly about his endless wars, his secret","}
{"text": ""police, the unvanquished and oppressive boyars. His own ministers","}
{"text": ""began to question his moves. Finally he had had enough. In 1564 he had","}
{"text": ""temporarily abandoned the throne, forcing his subjects to call him back","}
{"text": ""to power. Now he took the strategy a step further, and abdicated.","}
{"text": ""To take his place Ivan elevated a general of his, Simeon","}
{"text": ""Bekbulatovich, to the throne. But although Simeon had recently","}
{"text": ""converted to Christianity, he was by birth a Tartar, and his enthronement","}
{"text": ""was an insult to Ivan’s subjects, since Russians looked down on the","}
{"text": ""Tartars as inferiors and infidels. Yet Ivan ordered that all Russians,","}
{"text": ""including the boyars, pledge obedience to their new ruler. And while","}
{"text": ""Simeon moved into the Kremlin, Ivan lived in a humble house on","}
{"text": ""Moscow’s outskirts, from which he would sometimes visit the palace,","}
{"text": ""bow before the throne, sit among the other boyars, and humbly petition","}
{"text": ""Simeon for favors.","}
{"text": ""Over time it became clear that Simeon was a kind of king’s double. He","}
{"text": ""dressed like Ivan, and acted like Ivan, but he had no real power, since no","}
{"text": ""one would really obey him. The boyars at the court who were old enough","}
{"text": ""to remember taunting Ivan when he was a boy, by placing him on the","}
{"text": ""throne, saw the connection: They had made Ivan feel like a weak","}
{"text": ""pretender, so now he mirrored them by placing a weak pretender of his","}
{"text": ""own on the throne.For two long years Ivan held the mirror of Simeon up to the Russian","}
{"text": ""people. The mirror said: Your whining and disobedience have made me a","}
{"text": ""czar with no real power, so I will reflect back to you a czar with no real","}
{"text": ""power. You have treated me disrespectfully, so I will do the same to you,","}
{"text": ""making Russia the laughingstock of the world. In 1577, in the name of","}
{"text": ""the Russian people, the chastised boyars once again begged Ivan to","}
{"text": ""return to the throne, which he did. He lived as czar until his death, in","}
{"text": ""1584, and the conspiracies, complaining, and second-guessing","}
{"text": ""disappeared along with Simeon.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In 1564, after threatening to abdicate, Ivan had been granted absolute","}
{"text": ""powers. But these powers had slowly been chipped away as every sector","}
{"text": ""of society—the boyars, the church, the government—vied for more","}
{"text": ""control. Foreign wars had exhausted the country, internal bickering had","}
{"text": ""increased, and Ivan’s attempts to respond had been met with scorn.","}
{"text": ""Russia had turned into a kind of boisterous classroom in which the pupils","}
{"text": ""laughed openly at the teacher. If he raised his voice or complained, he","}
{"text": ""only met more resistance. He had to teach them a lesson, give them a","}
{"text": ""taste of their own medicine. Simeon Bekbulatovich was the mirror he","}
{"text": ""used to do so.","}
{"text": ""After two years in which the throne had been an object of ridicule and","}
{"text": ""disgust, the Russian people learned their lesson. They wanted their czar","}
{"text": ""back, conceding to him all the dignity and respect that the position","}
{"text": ""should always have commanded. For the rest of his reign, Russia and","}
{"text": ""Ivan got along fine.","}
{"text": ""Understand: People are locked in their own experiences. When you","}
{"text": ""whine about some insensitivity on their part, they may seem to","}
{"text": ""understand, but inwardly they are untouched and even more resistant.","}
{"text": ""The goal of power is always to lower people’s resistance to you. For this","}
{"text": ""you need tricks, and one trick is to teach them a lesson.","}
{"text": ""Instead of haranguing people verbally, then, create a kind of mirror of","}
{"text": ""their behavior. In doing so you leave them two choices: They can ignore","}
{"text": ""you, or they can start to think about themselves. And even if they ignore","}
{"text": ""you, you will have planted a seed in their unconscious that will","}
{"text": ""eventually take root. When you mirror their behavior, incidentally, do not","}
{"text": ""be afraid to add a touch of caricature and exaggeration, as Ivan did byenthroning a Tartar—it is the little spice in the soup that will open their","}
{"text": ""eyes and make them see the ridiculousness in their own actions.","}
{"text": ""Observance V","}
{"text": ""Dr. Milton H. Erickson, a pioneer in strategic psychotherapy, would","}
{"text": ""often educate his patients powerfully but indirectly by creating a kind of","}
{"text": ""mirror effect. Constructing an analogy to make patients see the truth on","}
{"text": ""their own, he would bypass their resistance to change. When Dr.","}
{"text": ""Erickson treated married couples complaining of sexual problems, for","}
{"text": ""instance, he often found that psychotherapy’s tradition of direct","}
{"text": ""confrontation and problem-airing only heightened the spouses’ resistance","}
{"text": ""and sharpened their differences. Instead, he would draw a husband and","}
{"text": ""wife out on other topics, often banal ones, trying to find an analogy for","}
{"text": ""the sexual conflict.","}
{"text": ""In one couple’s first session, the pair were discussing their eating","}
{"text": ""habits, especially at dinner. The wife preferred the leisurely approach—a","}
{"text": ""drink before the meal, some appetizers, and then a small main course, all","}
{"text": ""at a slow, civilized pace. This frustrated the husband—he wanted to get","}
{"text": ""dinner over quickly and to dig right into the main course, the bigger the","}
{"text": ""better. As the conversation continued, the couple began to catch glimpses","}
{"text": ""of an analogy to their problems in bed. The moment they made this","}
{"text": ""connection, however, Dr. Erickson would change the subject, carefully","}
{"text": ""avoiding a discussion of the real problem.","}
{"text": ""The couple thought Erickson was just getting to know them and would","}
{"text": ""deal with the problem directly the next time he saw them. But at the end","}
{"text": ""of this first session, Dr. Erickson directed them to arrange a dinner a few","}
{"text": ""nights away that would combine each person’s desire: The wife would","}
{"text": ""get the slow meal, including time spent bonding, and the husband would","}
{"text": ""get the big dishes he wanted to eat. Without realizing they were acting","}
{"text": ""under the doctor’s gentle guidance, the couple would walk into a mirror","}
{"text": ""of their problem, and in the mirror they would solve their problems","}
{"text": ""themselves, ending the evening just as the doctor had hoped—by","}
{"text": ""mirroring the improved dinner dynamics in bed.","}
{"text": ""In dealing with more severe problems, such as the schizophrenic’s","}
{"text": ""mirror fantasy world of his or her own construction, Dr. Erickson would","}
{"text": ""always try to enter the mirror and work within it. He once treated a","}
{"text": ""hospital inmate who believed he was Jesus Christ—draping sheets","}
{"text": ""around his body, talking in vague parables, and bombarding staff andpatients with endless Christian proselytizing. No therapy or drugs","}
{"text": ""seemed to work, until one day Dr. Erickson went up to the young man","}
{"text": ""and said, “I understand you have had experience as a carpenter.” Being","}
{"text": ""Christ, the patient had to say that he had had such experience, and","}
{"text": ""Erickson immediately put him to work building bookcases and other","}
{"text": ""useful items, allowing him to wear his Jesus garb. Over the next weeks,","}
{"text": ""as the patient worked on these projects, his mind became less occupied","}
{"text": ""with Jesus fantasies and more focused on his labor. As the carpentry","}
{"text": ""work took precedence, a psychic shift took effect: The religious fantasies","}
{"text": ""remained, but faded comfortably into the background, allowing the man","}
{"text": ""to function in society.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Communication depends on metaphors and symbols, which are the basis","}
{"text": ""of language itself. A metaphor is a kind of mirror to the concrete and","}
{"text": ""real, which it often expresses more clearly and deeply than a literal","}
{"text": ""description does. When you are dealing with the intractable willpower of","}
{"text": ""other people, direct communication often only heightens their resistance.","}
{"text": ""This happens most clearly when you complain about people’s","}
{"text": ""behavior, particularly in sensitive areas such as their lovemaking. You","}
{"text": ""will effect a far more lasting change if, like Dr. Erickson, you construct","}
{"text": ""an analogy, a symbolic mirror of the situation, and guide the other","}
{"text": ""through it. As Christ himself understood, talking in parables is often the","}
{"text": ""best way to teach a lesson, for it allows people to realize the truth on","}
{"text": ""their own.","}
{"text": ""When dealing with people who are lost in the reflections of fantasy","}
{"text": ""worlds (including a host of people who do not live in mental hospitals),","}
{"text": ""never try to push them into reality by shattering their mirrors. Instead,","}
{"text": ""enter their world and operate inside it, under their rules, gently guiding","}
{"text": ""them out of the hall of mirrors they have entered.","}
{"text": ""Observance VI","}
{"text": ""The great sixteenth-century Japanese tea master Takeno Sho-o once","}
{"text": ""passed by a house and noticed a young man watering flowers near his","}
{"text": ""front gate. Two things caught Sho-o’s attention—first, the graceful way","}
{"text": ""the man performed his task; and, second, the stunningly beautiful rose of","}
{"text": ""Sharon blossoms that bloomed in the garden. He stopped and introducedhimself to the man, whose name was Sen no Rikyu. Sho-o wanted to","}
{"text": ""stay, but he had a prior engagement and had to hurry off. Before he left,","}
{"text": ""however, Rikyu invited him to take tea with him the following morning.","}
{"text": ""Sho-o happily accepted.","}
{"text": ""When Sho-o opened the garden gate the next day, he was horrified to","}
{"text": ""see that not a single flower remained. More than anything else, he had","}
{"text": ""come to see the rose of Sharon blossoms that he had not had the time to","}
{"text": ""appreciate the day before; now, disappointed, he started to leave, but at","}
{"text": ""the gate he stopped himself, and decided to enter Sen no Rikyu’s tea","}
{"text": ""room. Immediately inside, he stopped in his tracks and gazed in","}
{"text": ""astonishment: Before him a vase hung from the ceiling, and in the vase","}
{"text": ""stood a single rose of Sharon blossom, the most beautiful in the garden.","}
{"text": ""Somehow Sen no Rikyu had read his guest’s thoughts, and, with this one","}
{"text": ""eloquent gesture, had demonstrated that this day guest and host would be","}
{"text": ""in perfect harmony.","}
{"text": ""Sen no Rikyu went on to become the most famous tea master of all,","}
{"text": ""and his trademark was this uncanny ability to harmonize himself with his","}
{"text": ""guests’ thoughts and to think one step ahead, enchanting them by","}
{"text": ""adapting to their taste.","}
{"text": ""One day Rikyu was invited to tea by Yamashina Hechigwan, an","}
{"text": ""admirer of the tea ceremony but also a man with a vivid sense of humor.","}
{"text": ""When Rikyu arrived at Hechigwan’s home, he found the garden gate","}
{"text": ""shut, so he opened it to look for the host. On the other side of the gate he","}
{"text": ""saw that someone had first dug a ditch, then carefully covered it over","}
{"text": ""with canvas and earth. Realizing that Hechigwan had planned a practical","}
{"text": ""joke, he obligingly walked right into the ditch, muddying his clothes in","}
{"text": ""the process.","}
{"text": ""Apparently horrified, Hechigwan came running out, and hurried Rikyu","}
{"text": ""to a bath that for some inexplicable reason stood already prepared. After","}
{"text": ""bathing, Rikyu joined Hechigwan in the tea ceremony, which both","}
{"text": ""enjoyed immensely, sharing a laugh about the accident. Later Sen no","}
{"text": ""Rikyu explained to a friend that he had heard about Hechigwan’s","}
{"text": ""practical joke beforehand, “But since it should always be one’s aim to","}
{"text": ""conform to the wishes of one’s host, I fell into the hole knowingly and","}
{"text": ""thus assured the success of the meeting. Tea is by no means mere","}
{"text": ""obsequiousness, but there is no tea where the host and guest are not in","}
{"text": ""harmony with one another.” Hechigwan’s vision of the dignified Sen no","}
{"text": ""Rikyu at the bottom of a ditch had pleased him endlessly, but Rikyu had","}
{"text": ""gained a pleasure of his own in complying with his host’s wish and","}
{"text": ""watching him amuse himself in this way.Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Sen no Rikyu was no magician or seer—he watched those around him","}
{"text": ""acutely, plumbing the subtle gestures that revealed a hidden desire, then","}
{"text": ""producing that desire’s image. Although Sho-o never spoke of being","}
{"text": ""enchanted by the rose of Sharon blossoms, Rikyu read it in his eyes. If","}
{"text": ""mirroring a person’s desires meant falling into a ditch, so be it. Rikyu’s","}
{"text": ""power resided in his skillful use of the Courtier’s Mirror, which gave him","}
{"text": ""the appearance of an unusual ability to see into other people.","}
{"text": ""Learn to manipulate the Courtier’s Mirror, for it will bring you great","}
{"text": ""power. Study people’s eyes, follow their gestures—surer barometers of","}
{"text": ""pain and pleasure than any spoken word. Notice and remember the","}
{"text": ""details—the clothing, the choice of friends, the daily habits, the tossed-","}
{"text": ""out remarks—that reveal hidden and rarely indulged desires. Soak it all","}
{"text": ""in, find out what lies under the surface, then make yourself the mirror of","}
{"text": ""their unspoken selves. That is the key to this power: The other person has","}
{"text": ""not asked for your consideration, has not mentioned his pleasure in the","}
{"text": ""rose of Sharon, and when you reflect it back to him his pleasure is","}
{"text": ""heightened because it is unasked for. Remember: The wordless","}
{"text": ""communication, the indirect compliment, contains the most power. No","}
{"text": ""one can resist the enchantment of the Courtier’s Mirror.","}
{"text": ""Observance VII","}
{"text": ""Yellow Kid Weil, con artist extraordinaire, used the Deceiver’s Mirror in","}
{"text": ""his most brilliant cons. Most audacious of all was his re-creation of a","}
{"text": ""bank in Muncie, Indiana. When Weil read one day that the Merchants","}
{"text": ""Bank in Muncie had moved, he saw an opportunity he could not pass up.","}
{"text": ""Weil rented out the original Merchants building, which still contained","}
{"text": ""bank furniture, complete with teller windows. He bought money bags,","}
{"text": ""stenciled a bank’s invented name on them, filled them with steel","}
{"text": ""washers, and arrayed them impressively behind the teller windows, along","}
{"text": ""with bundles of boodle—real bills hiding newspaper cut to size. For his","}
{"text": ""bank’s staff and customers Weil hired gamblers, bookies, girls from local","}
{"text": ""bawdy houses, and other assorted confederates. He even had a local thug","}
{"text": ""pose as a bank dick.","}
{"text": ""Claiming to be the broker for a certificate investment the bank was","}
{"text": ""offering, Weil would fish the waters and hook the proper wealthy sucker.","}
{"text": ""He would bring this man to the bank and ask to see the president. An“officer” of the bank would tell them that they had to wait, which only","}
{"text": ""heightened the realism of the con—one always has to wait to see the","}
{"text": ""bank president. And as they waited the bank would bustle with banklike","}
{"text": ""activity, as call girls and bookies in disguise floated in and out, making","}
{"text": ""deposits and withdrawals and tipping their hats to the phony bank dick.","}
{"text": ""Lulled by this perfect copy of reality, the sucker would deposit $50,000","}
{"text": ""into the fake bank without a worry in the world.","}
{"text": ""Over the years Weil did the same thing with a deserted yacht club, an","}
{"text": ""abandoned brokerage office, a relocated real estate office, and a","}
{"text": ""completely realistic gambling club.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The mirroring of reality offers immense deceptive powers. The right","}
{"text": ""uniform, the perfect accent, the proper props—the deception cannot be","}
{"text": ""deciphered because it is enmeshed in a simulation of reality. People have","}
{"text": ""an intense desire and need to believe, and their first instinct is to trust a","}
{"text": ""well-constructed facade, to mistake it for reality. After all, we cannot go","}
{"text": ""around doubting the reality of everything we see—that would be too","}
{"text": ""exhausting. We habitually accept appearances, and this is a credulity you","}
{"text": ""can use.","}
{"text": ""In this particular game it is the first moment that counts the most. If","}
{"text": ""your suckers’ suspicions are not raised by their first glance at the","}
{"text": ""mirror’s reflection, they will stay suppressed. Once they enter your hall","}
{"text": ""of mirrors, they will be unable to distinguish the real from the fake, and","}
{"text": ""it will become easier and easier to deceive them. Remember: Study the","}
{"text": ""world’s surfaces and learn to mirror them in your habits, your manner,","}
{"text": ""your clothes. Like a carnivorous plant, to unsuspecting insects you will","}
{"text": ""look like all the other plants in the field.","}
{"text": ""Authority: The task of a military operation is to accord deceptively with","}
{"text": ""the intentions of the enemy … get to what they want first, subtly","}
{"text": ""anticipate them. Maintain discipline and adapt to the enemy…. Thus, at","}
{"text": ""first you are like a maiden, so the enemy opens his door; then you are","}
{"text": ""like a rabbit on the loose, so the enemy cannot keep you out. (Sun-tzu,","}
{"text": ""fourth century B.C.)","}
{"text": ""Image: The","}
{"text": ""Shield of Perseus. It is pol","}
{"text": ""ished into a reflecting mirror.","}
{"text": ""Medusa cannot see you, only herown hideousness reflected back at her.","}
{"text": ""Behind such a mirror you can de","}
{"text": ""ceive, mock, and infuriate. With","}
{"text": ""one blow you sever Medusa’s","}
{"text": ""unsuspecting head.","}
{"text": ""A WARNING: BEWARE OF MIRRORED","}
{"text": ""SITUATIONS","}
{"text": ""Mirrors contain great power but also dangerous reefs, including the","}
{"text": ""mirrored situation—a situation that seems to reflect or closely resemble a","}
{"text": ""previous one, mostly in style and surface appearance. You can often back","}
{"text": ""into such a situation without fully understanding it, while those around","}
{"text": ""you understand it quite well, and compare it and you to whatever","}
{"text": ""happened before. Most often you suffer by the comparison, seeming","}
{"text": ""either weaker than the previous occupant of your position or else tainted","}
{"text": ""by any unpleasant associations that person has left behind.","}
{"text": ""In 1864 the composer Richard Wagner moved to Munich at the behest","}
{"text": ""of Ludwig II, known variously as the Swan King or the Mad King of","}
{"text": ""Bavaria. Ludwig was Wagner’s biggest fan and most generous patron.","}
{"text": ""The strength of his support turned Wagner’s head—once established in","}
{"text": ""Munich under the king’s protection, he would be able to say and do","}
{"text": ""whatever he wanted.","}
{"text": ""Wagner moved into a lavish house, which the king eventually bought","}
{"text": ""for him. This house was but a stone’s throw from the former home of","}
{"text": ""Lola Montez, the notorious courtesan who had plunged Ludwig II’s","}
{"text": ""grandfather into a crisis that had forced him to abdicate. Warned that he","}
{"text": ""could be infected by this association, Wagner only scoffed—“I am no","}
{"text": ""Lola Montez,” he said. Soon enough, however, the citizens of Munich","}
{"text": ""began to resent the favors and money showered on Wagner, and dubbed","}
{"text": ""him “the second Lola,” or “Lolotte.” He unconsciously began to tread in","}
{"text": ""Lola’s footsteps—spending money extravagantly, meddling in matters","}
{"text": ""beyond music, even dabbling in politics and advising the king on cabinet","}
{"text": ""appointments. Meanwhile Ludwig’s affection for Wagner seemed intense","}
{"text": ""and undignified for a king—just like his grandfather’s love for Lola","}
{"text": ""Montez.Eventually Ludwig’s ministers wrote him a letter: “Your Majesty now","}
{"text": ""stands at a fateful parting of the ways: you have to choose between the","}
{"text": ""love and respect of your faithful people and the ‘friendship’ of Richard","}
{"text": ""Wagner.” In December of 1865, Ludwig politely asked his friend to leave","}
{"text": ""and never return. Wagner had inadvertently placed himself in Lola","}
{"text": ""Montez’s reflection. Once there, everything he did reminded the stolid","}
{"text": ""Bavarians of that dread woman, and there was nothing he could do about","}
{"text": ""it.","}
{"text": ""Avoid such association-effects like the plague. In a mirrored situation","}
{"text": ""you have little or no control over the reflections and recollections that","}
{"text": ""will be connected to you, and any situation beyond your control is","}
{"text": ""dangerous. Even if the person or event has positive associations, you will","}
{"text": ""suffer from not being able to live up to them, since the past generally","}
{"text": ""appears greater than the present. If you ever notice people associating","}
{"text": ""you with some past event or person, do everything you can to separate","}
{"text": ""yourself from that memory and to shatter the reflection.LAW 45","}
{"text": ""PREACH THE NEED FOR CHANGE, BUT","}
{"text": ""NEVER REFORM TOO MUCH AT ONCE","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the","}
{"text": ""day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is","}
{"text": ""traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power,","}
{"text": ""or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting","}
{"text": ""the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a","}
{"text": ""gentle improvement on the past.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Sometime in the early 1520s, King Henry VIII of England decided to","}
{"text": ""divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she had failed to bear","}
{"text": ""him a son, and because he had fallen in love with the young and comely","}
{"text": ""Anne Boleyn. The pope, Clement VII, opposed the divorce, and","}
{"text": ""threatened the king with excommunication. The king’s most powerful","}
{"text": ""minister, Cardinal Wolsey, also saw no need for divorce—and his","}
{"text": ""halfhearted support of the king cost him his position and soon his life.","}
{"text": ""One man in Henry’s cabinet, Thomas Cromwell, not only supported","}
{"text": ""him in his desire for a divorce but had an idea for realizing it: a complete","}
{"text": ""break with the past. He convinced the king that by severing ties with","}
{"text": ""Rome and making himself the head of a newly formed English church,","}
{"text": ""he could divorce Catherine and marry Anne. By 1531 Henry saw this as","}
{"text": ""the only solution. To reward Cromwell for his simple but brilliant idea,","}
{"text": ""he elevated this son of a blacksmith to the post of royal councillor.By 1534 Cromwell had been named the king’s secretary, and as the","}
{"text": ""power behind the throne he had become the most powerful man in","}
{"text": ""England. But for him the break with Rome went beyond the satisfaction","}
{"text": ""of the king’s carnal desires: He envisioned a new Protestant order in","}
{"text": ""England, with the power of the Catholic Church smashed and its vast","}
{"text": ""wealth in the hands of the king and the government. In that same year he","}
{"text": ""initiated a complete survey of the churches and monasteries of England.","}
{"text": ""And as it turned out, the treasures and moneys that the churches had","}
{"text": ""accumulated over the centuries were far more than he had imagined; his","}
{"text": ""spies and agents came back with astonishing figures.","}
{"text": ""To justify his schemes, Cromwell circulated stories about the","}
{"text": ""corruption in the English monasteries, their abuse of power, their","}
{"text": ""exploitation of the people they supposedly served. Having won","}
{"text": ""Parliament’s support for breaking up the monasteries, he began to seize","}
{"text": ""their holdings and to put them out of existence one by one. At the same","}
{"text": ""time, he began to impose Protestantism, introducing reforms in religious","}
{"text": ""ritual and punishing those who stuck to Catholicism, and who now were","}
{"text": ""called heretics. Virtually overnight, England was converted to a new","}
{"text": ""official religion.","}
{"text": ""A terror fell on the country. Some people had suffered under the","}
{"text": ""Catholic Church, which before the reforms had been immensely","}
{"text": ""powerful, but most Britons had strong ties to Catholicism and to its","}
{"text": ""comforting rituals. They watched in horror as churches were demolished,","}
{"text": ""images of the Madonna and saints were broken in pieces, stained-glass","}
{"text": ""windows were smashed, and the churches’ treasures were confiscated.","}
{"text": ""With monasteries that had succored the poor suddenly gone, the poor","}
{"text": ""now flooded the streets. The growing ranks of the beggar class were","}
{"text": ""further swelled by former monks. On top of all this, Cromwell levied","}
{"text": ""high taxes to pay for his ecclesiastical reforms.","}
{"text": ""Celebrating the turn of the year is an ancient custom. The Romans","}
{"text": ""celebrated the Saturnalia, the festival of Saturn, god of the harvest,","}
{"text": ""between December 17 and 23. It was the most cheerful festival of the","}
{"text": ""year. All work and commerce stopped, and the streets were filled with","}
{"text": ""crowds and a carnival atmosphere. Slaves were temporarily freed, and","}
{"text": ""the houses were decorated with laurel branches. People visited one","}
{"text": ""another, bringing gifts of wax candles and little clay figurines.","}
{"text": ""Long before the birth of Christ, the Jews celebrated an eight-day","}
{"text": ""Festival of Lights [at the same season], and it is believed that the","}
{"text": ""Germanic peoples held a great festival not only at midsummer but also","}
{"text": ""at the winter solstice, when they celebrated the rebirth of the sun andhonored the great fertility gods Wotan and Freyja, Donar (Thor) and","}
{"text": ""Freyr. Even after the Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-337) declared","}
{"text": ""Christianity to be Rome’s official imperial religion, the evocation of light","}
{"text": ""and fertility as an important component of pre-Christian midwinter","}
{"text": ""celebrations could nor be entirely suppressed. In the year 274 the Roman","}
{"text": ""Emperor Aurelian (A.D. 214-275) had established an official cult of the","}
{"text": ""sun-god Mithras, declaring his birthday, December 25, a national","}
{"text": ""holiday. The cult of Mithras, the Aryan god of light, had spread from","}
{"text": ""Persia through Asia Minor to Greece, Rome, and as far as the Germanic","}
{"text": ""lands and Britain. Numerous ruins of his shrines still testify to the high","}
{"text": ""regard in which this god was held, especially by the Roman legions, as a","}
{"text": ""bringer of fertility, peace, and victory. So it was a clever move when, in","}
{"text": ""the year A.D. 354, the Christian church under Pope Liberius (352-366)","}
{"text": ""co-opted the birthday of Mithras and declared December 25 to be the","}
{"text": ""birthday of Jesus Christ.","}
{"text": ""NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG, ANNE-SUSANNE RISCHKE,","}
{"text": ""DECEMBER 25, 1983","}
{"text": ""In 1535 powerful revolts in the North of England threatened to topple","}
{"text": ""Henry from his throne. By the following year he had suppressed the","}
{"text": ""rebellions, but he had also begun to see the costs of Cromwell’s reforms.","}
{"text": ""The king himself had never wanted to go this far—he had only wanted a","}
{"text": ""divorce. It was now Cromwell’s turn to watch uneasily as the king began","}
{"text": ""slowly to undo his reforms, reinstating Catholic sacraments and other","}
{"text": ""rituals that Cromwell had outlawed.","}
{"text": ""Sensing his fall from grace, in 1540 Cromwell decided to regain","}
{"text": ""Henry’s favor with one throw of the dice: He would find the king a new","}
{"text": ""wife. Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour, had died a few years before, and","}
{"text": ""he had been pining for a new young queen. It was Cromwell who found","}
{"text": ""him one: Anne of Cleves, a German princess and, most important to","}
{"text": ""Cromwell, a Protestant. On Cromwell’s commission, the painter Holbein","}
{"text": ""produced a flattering portrait of Anne; when Henry saw it, he fell in love,","}
{"text": ""and agreed to marry her. Cromwell seemed back in favor.","}
{"text": ""Unfortunately, however, Holbein’s painting was highly idealized, and","}
{"text": ""when the king finally met the princess she did not please him in the least.","}
{"text": ""His anger against Cromwell—first for the ill-conceived reforms, now for","}
{"text": ""saddling him with an unattractive and Protestant wife—could no longer","}
{"text": ""be contained. In June of that year, Cromwell was arrested, charged as a","}
{"text": ""Protestant extremist and a heretic, and sent to the Tower. Six weeks later,","}
{"text": ""before a large and enthusiastic crowd, the public executioner cut off his","}
{"text": ""head.Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Thomas Cromwell had a simple idea: He would break up the power and","}
{"text": ""wealth of the Church and lay the foundation for Protestantism in","}
{"text": ""England. And he would do this in a mercilessly short time. He knew his","}
{"text": ""speedy reforms would cause pain and resentment, but he thought these","}
{"text": ""feelings would fade in a few years. More important, by identifying","}
{"text": ""himself with change, he would become the leader of the new order,","}
{"text": ""making the king dependent on him. But there was a problem in his","}
{"text": ""strategy: Like a billiard ball hit too hard against the cushion, his reforms","}
{"text": ""had reactions and caroms he did not envision and could not control.","}
{"text": ""The man who initiates strong reforms often becomes the scapegoat for","}
{"text": ""any kind of dissatisfaction. And eventually the reaction to his reforms","}
{"text": ""may consume him, for change is upsetting to the human animal, even","}
{"text": ""when it is for the good. Because the world is and always has been full of","}
{"text": ""insecurity and threat, we latch on to familiar faces and create habits and","}
{"text": ""rituals to make the world more comfortable. Change can be pleasant and","}
{"text": ""even sometimes desirable in the abstract, but too much of it creates an","}
{"text": ""anxiety that will stir and boil beneath the surface and then eventually","}
{"text": ""erupt.","}
{"text": ""Never underestimate the hidden conservatism of those around you. It","}
{"text": ""is powerful and entrenched. Never let the seductive charm of an idea","}
{"text": ""cloud your reason: Just as you cannot make people see the world your","}
{"text": ""way, you cannot wrench them into the future with painful changes. They","}
{"text": ""will rebel. If reform is necessary, anticipate the reaction against it and","}
{"text": ""find ways to disguise the change and sweeten the poison.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""As a young Communist in the 1920s, Mao Tse-tung understood better","}
{"text": ""than any of his colleagues the incredible odds against a Communist","}
{"text": ""victory in China. With their small numbers, limited funds, lack of","}
{"text": ""military experience, and small arsenal of weapons, the Party had no hope","}
{"text": ""of success unless it won over China’s immense peasant population. But","}
{"text": ""who in the world was more conservative, more rooted in tradition, than","}
{"text": ""the Chinese peasantry? The oldest civilization on the planet had a history","}
{"text": ""that would never loosen its power, no matter how violent the revolution.The ideas of Confucius remained as alive in the 1920s as they had been","}
{"text": ""in the sixth century B.C., when the philosopher was alive. Despite the","}
{"text": ""oppressions of the current system, would the peasantry ever give up the","}
{"text": ""deep-rooted values of the past for the great unknown of Communism?","}
{"text": ""The solution, as Mao saw it, involved a simple deception: Cloak the","}
{"text": ""revolution in the clothing of the past, making it comforting and","}
{"text": ""legitimate in people’s eyes. One of Mao’s favorite books was the very","}
{"text": ""popular medieval Chinese novel The Water Margin, which recounts the","}
{"text": ""exploits of a Chinese Robin Hood and his robber band as they struggle","}
{"text": ""against a corrupt and evil monarch. In China in Mao’s time, family ties","}
{"text": ""dominated over any other kind, for the Confucian hierarchy of father and","}
{"text": ""oldest son remained firmly in place; but The Water Margin preached a","}
{"text": ""superior value—the fraternal ties of the band of robbers, the nobility of","}
{"text": ""the cause that unites people beyond blood. The novel had great","}
{"text": ""emotional resonance for Chinese people, who love to root for the","}
{"text": ""underdog. Time and again, then, Mao would present his revolutionary","}
{"text": ""army as an extension of the robber band in The Water Margin, likening","}
{"text": ""his struggle to the timeless conflict between the oppressed peasantry and","}
{"text": ""an evil emperor. He made the past seem to envelop and legitimize the","}
{"text": ""Communist cause; the peasantry could feel comfortable with and even","}
{"text": ""support a group with such roots in the past.","}
{"text": ""Even once the Party came to power, Mao continued to associate it with","}
{"text": ""the past. He presented himself to the masses not as a Chinese Lenin but","}
{"text": ""as a modern Chuko Liang, the real-life third-century strategist who","}
{"text": ""figures prominently in the popular historical novel The Romance of the","}
{"text": ""Three Kingdoms. Liang was more than a great general—he was a poet, a","}
{"text": ""philosopher, and a figure of stern moral rectitude. So Mao represented","}
{"text": ""himself as a poet-warrior like Liang, a man who mixed strategy with","}
{"text": ""philosophy and preached a new ethics. He made himself appear like a","}
{"text": ""hero from the great Chinese tradition of warrior statesmen.","}
{"text": ""Soon, everything in Mao’s speeches and writings had a reference to an","}
{"text": ""earlier period in Chinese history. He recalled, for example, the great","}
{"text": ""Emperor Ch‘in, who had unified the country in the third century B.C.","}
{"text": ""Ch’in had burned the works of Confucius, consolidated and completed","}
{"text": ""the building of the Great Wall, and given his name to China. Like Ch‘in,","}
{"text": ""Mao also had brought the country together, and had sought bold reforms","}
{"text": ""against an oppressive past. Ch’in had traditionally been seen as a violent","}
{"text": ""dictator whose reign was short; the brilliance of Mao’s strategy was to","}
{"text": ""turn this around, simultaneously reinterpreting Ch’in, justifying his rulein the eyes of present-day Chinese, and using him to justify the violence","}
{"text": ""of the new order that Mao himself was creating.","}
{"text": ""After the failed Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s, a power struggle","}
{"text": ""emerged in the Communist Party in which Mao’s main foe was Lin Piao,","}
{"text": ""once a close friend of his. To make clear to the masses the difference","}
{"text": ""between his philosophy and Lin’s, Mao once again exploited the past: He","}
{"text": ""cast his opponent as representing Confucius, a philosopher Lin in fact","}
{"text": ""would constantly quote. And Confucius signified the conservatism of the","}
{"text": ""past. Mao associated himself, on the other hand, with the ancient","}
{"text": ""philosophical movement known as Legalism, exemplified by the","}
{"text": ""writings of Han-fei-tzu. The Legalists disdained Confucian ethics; they","}
{"text": ""believed in the need for violence to create a new order. They worshiped","}
{"text": ""power. To give himself weight in the struggle, Mao unleashed a","}
{"text": ""nationwide propaganda campaign against Confucius, using the issues of","}
{"text": ""Confucianism versus Legalism to whip the young into a kind of frenzied","}
{"text": ""revolt against the older generation. This grand context enveloped a rather","}
{"text": ""banal power struggle, and Mao once again won over the masses and","}
{"text": ""triumphed over his enemies.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""No people had a more profound attachment to the past than the Chinese.","}
{"text": ""In the face of this enormous obstacle to reform, Mao’s strategy was","}
{"text": ""simple: Instead of struggling against the past, he turned it to his","}
{"text": ""advantage, associating his radical Communists with the romantic figures","}
{"text": ""of Chinese history. Weaving the story of the War of the Three Kingdoms","}
{"text": ""into the struggle between the United States, the Soviet Union, and China,","}
{"text": ""he cast himself as Chuko Liang. As the emperors had, he welcomed the","}
{"text": ""cultlike adoration of the masses, understanding that the Chinese could","}
{"text": ""not function without some kind of father figure to admire. And after he","}
{"text": ""made a terrible blunder with the Great Leap Forward, trying to force","}
{"text": ""modernization on the country and failing miserably, he never repeated","}
{"text": ""his mistake: From then on, radical change had to be cloaked in the","}
{"text": ""comfortable clothes of the past.","}
{"text": ""The lesson is simple: The past is powerful. What has happened before","}
{"text": ""seems greater; habit and history give any act weight. Use this to your","}
{"text": ""advantage. When you destroy the familiar you create a void or vacuum;","}
{"text": ""people fear the chaos that will flood in to fill it. You must avoid stirring","}
{"text": ""up such fears at all cost. Borrow the weight and legitimacy from the past,however remote, to create a comforting and familiar presence. This will","}
{"text": ""give your actions romantic associations, add to your presence, and cloak","}
{"text": ""the nature of the changes you are attempting.","}
{"text": ""It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out,","}
{"text": ""nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle,","}
{"text": ""than to initiate a new order of things.","}
{"text": ""Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Human psychology contains many dualities, one of them being that even","}
{"text": ""while people understand the need for change, knowing how important it","}
{"text": ""is for institutions and individuals to be occasionally renewed, they are","}
{"text": ""also irritated and upset by changes that affect them personally. They","}
{"text": ""know that change is necessary, and that novelty provides relief from","}
{"text": ""boredom, but deep inside they cling to the past. Change in the abstract,","}
{"text": ""or superficial change, they desire, but a change that upsets core habits","}
{"text": ""and routines is deeply disturbing to them.","}
{"text": ""No revolution has gone without a powerful later reaction against it, for","}
{"text": ""in the long run the void it creates proves too unsettling to the human","}
{"text": ""animal, who unconsciously associates such voids with death and chaos.","}
{"text": ""The opportunity for change and renewal seduces people to the side of the","}
{"text": ""revolution, but once their enthusiasm fades, which it will, they are left","}
{"text": ""with a certain emptiness. Yearning for the past, they create an opening","}
{"text": ""for it to creep back in.","}
{"text": ""For Machiavelli, the prophet who preaches and brings change can only","}
{"text": ""survive by taking up arms: When the masses inevitably yearn for the","}
{"text": ""past, he must be ready to use force. But the armed prophet cannot last","}
{"text": ""long unless he quickly creates a new set of values and rituals to replace","}
{"text": ""the old ones, and to soothe the anxieties of those who dread change. It is","}
{"text": ""far easier, and less bloody, to play a kind of con game. Preach change as","}
{"text": ""much as you like, and even enact your reforms, but give them the","}
{"text": ""comforting appearance of older events and traditions.","}
{"text": ""Reigning from A.D. 8 to A.D. 23, the Chinese emperor Wang Mang","}
{"text": ""emerged from a period of great historical turbulence in which the people","}
{"text": ""yearned for order, an order represented for them by Confucius. Some two","}
{"text": ""hundred years earlier, however, Emperor Ch’in had ordered the writingsof Confucius burned. A few years later, word had spread that certain","}
{"text": ""texts had miraculously survived, hidden under the scholar’s house. These","}
{"text": ""texts may not have been genuine, but they gave Wang his opportunity:","}
{"text": ""He first confiscated them, then had his scribes insert passages into them","}
{"text": ""that seemed to support the changes he had been imposing on the country.","}
{"text": ""When he released the texts, it seemed that Confucius sanctioned Wang’s","}
{"text": ""reforms, and the people felt comforted and accepted them more easily.","}
{"text": ""Understand: The fact that the past is dead and buried gives you the","}
{"text": ""freedom to reinterpret it. To support your cause, tinker with the facts.","}
{"text": ""The past is a text in which you can safely insert your own lines.","}
{"text": ""A simple gesture like using an old title, or keeping the same number","}
{"text": ""for a group, will tie you to the past and support you with the authority of","}
{"text": ""history. As Machiavelli himself observed, the Romans used this device","}
{"text": ""when they transformed their monarchy into a republic. They may have","}
{"text": ""installed two consuls in place of the king, but since the king had been","}
{"text": ""served by twelve lictors, they retained the same number to serve under","}
{"text": ""the consuls. The king had personally performed an annual sacrifice, in a","}
{"text": ""great spectacle that stirred the public; the republic retained this practice,","}
{"text": ""only transferring it to a special “chief of the ceremony, whom they called","}
{"text": ""the King of the sacrifice.” These and similar gestures satisfied the people","}
{"text": ""and kept them from clamoring for the monarchy’s return.","}
{"text": ""Another strategy to disguise change is to make a loud and public","}
{"text": ""display of support for the values of the past. Seem to be a zealot for","}
{"text": ""tradition and few will notice how unconventional you really are.","}
{"text": ""Renaissance Florence had a centuries-old republic, and was suspicious of","}
{"text": ""anyone who flouted its traditions. Cosimo de’ Medici made a show of","}
{"text": ""enthusiastic support for the republic, while in reality he worked to bring","}
{"text": ""the city under the control of his wealthy family. In form, the Medicis","}
{"text": ""retained the appearance of a republic; in substance, they rendered it","}
{"text": ""powerless. They quietly enacted a radical change, while appearing to","}
{"text": ""safeguard tradition.","}
{"text": ""Science claims a search for truth that would seem to protect it from","}
{"text": ""conservatism and the irrationality of habit: It is a culture of innovation.","}
{"text": ""Yet when Charles Darwin published his ideas of evolution, he faced","}
{"text": ""fiercer opposition from his fellow scientists than from religious","}
{"text": ""authorities. His theories challenged too many fixed ideas. Jonas Salk ran","}
{"text": ""into the same wall with his radical innovations in immunology, as did","}
{"text": ""Max Planck with his revolutionizing of physics. Planck later wrote of the","}
{"text": ""scientific opposition he faced, “A new scientific truth does not triumph","}
{"text": ""by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but ratherbecause its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that","}
{"text": ""is familiar with it.”","}
{"text": ""The answer to this innate conservatism is to play the courtier’s game.","}
{"text": ""Galileo did this at the beginning of his scientific career; he later became","}
{"text": ""more confrontational, and paid for it. So pay lip service to tradition.","}
{"text": ""Identify the elements in your revolution that can be made to seem to","}
{"text": ""build on the past. Say the right things, make a show of conformity, and","}
{"text": ""meanwhile let your theories do their radical work. Play with appearances","}
{"text": ""and respect past protocol. This is true in every arena—science being no","}
{"text": ""exception.","}
{"text": ""Finally, powerful people pay attention to the zeitgeist. If their reform","}
{"text": ""is too far ahead of its time, few will understand it, and it will stir up","}
{"text": ""anxiety and be hopelessly misinterpreted. The changes you make must","}
{"text": ""seem less innovative than they are. England did eventually become a","}
{"text": ""Protestant nation, as Cromwell wished, but it took over a century of","}
{"text": ""gradual evolution.","}
{"text": ""Watch the zeitgeist. If you work in a tumultuous time, there is power","}
{"text": ""to be gained by preaching a return to the past, to comfort, tradition, and","}
{"text": ""ritual. During a period of stagnation, on the other hand, play the card of","}
{"text": ""reform and revolution—but beware of what you stir up. Those who","}
{"text": ""finish a revolution are rarely those who start it. You will not succeed at","}
{"text": ""this dangerous game unless you are willing to forestall the inevitable","}
{"text": ""reaction against it by playing with appearances and building on the past.","}
{"text": ""Authority: He who desires or attempts to reform the government of a","}
{"text": ""state, and wishes to have it accepted, must at least retain the semblance","}
{"text": ""of the old forms; so that it may seem to the people that there has been no","}
{"text": ""change in the institutions, even though in fact they are entirely different","}
{"text": ""from the old ones. For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with","}
{"text": ""appearances, as though they were realities. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-","}
{"text": ""1527)","}
{"text": ""Image: The Cat.","}
{"text": ""Creature of habit, it loves the","}
{"text": ""warmth of the familiar. Upset its","}
{"text": ""routines, disrupt its space, and it will","}
{"text": ""grow unmanageable and psychotic.Placate it by supporting its rituals. If","}
{"text": ""change is necessary, deceive the cat by","}
{"text": ""keeping the smell of the past alive;","}
{"text": ""place objects familiar to it in","}
{"text": ""strategic locations.","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The past is a corpse to be used as you see fit. If what happened in the","}
{"text": ""recent past was painful and harsh, it is self-destructive to associate","}
{"text": ""yourself with it. When Napoleon came to power, the French Revolution","}
{"text": ""was fresh in everyone’s minds. If the court that he established had borne","}
{"text": ""any resemblance to the lavish court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette,","}
{"text": ""his courtiers would have spent all their time worrying about their own","}
{"text": ""necks. Instead, Napoleon established a court remarkable for its sobriety","}
{"text": ""and lack of ostentation. It was the court of a man who valued work and","}
{"text": ""military virtues. This new form seemed appropriate and reassuring.","}
{"text": ""In other words, pay attention to the times. But understand: If you make","}
{"text": ""a bold change from the past, you must avoid at all costs the appearance","}
{"text": ""of a void or vacuum, or you will create terror. Even an ugly recent","}
{"text": ""history will seem preferable to an empty space. Fill that space","}
{"text": ""immediately with new rituals and forms. Soothing and growing familiar,","}
{"text": ""these will secure your position among the masses.","}
{"text": ""Finally, the arts, fashion, and technology would seem to be areas in","}
{"text": ""which power would come from creating a radical rupture with the past","}
{"text": ""and appearing cutting edge. Indeed, such a strategy can bring great","}
{"text": ""power, but it has many dangers. It is inevitable that your innovations will","}
{"text": ""be outdone by someone else. You have little control—someone younger","}
{"text": ""and fresher moves in a sudden new direction, making your bold","}
{"text": ""innovation of yesterday seem tiresome and tame today. You are forever","}
{"text": ""playing catch-up; your power is tenuous and short-lived. You want a","}
{"text": ""power built on something more solid. Using the past, tinkering with","}
{"text": ""tradition, playing with convention to subvert it will give your creations","}
{"text": ""something more than a momentary appeal. Periods of dizzying change","}
{"text": ""disguise the fact that a yearning for the past will inevitably creep back in.","}
{"text": ""In the end, using the past for your own purposes will bring you morepower than trying to cut it out completely—a futile and self-destructive","}
{"text": ""endeavor.LAW 46","}
{"text": ""NEVER APPEAR TOO PERFECT","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of","}
{"text": ""all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent","}
{"text": ""enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to","}
{"text": ""harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and","}
{"text": ""approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""Joe Orton met Kenneth Halliwell at the Royal Academy of Dramatic","}
{"text": ""Arts, London, in 1953, where both had enrolled as acting students. They","}
{"text": ""soon became lovers and moved in together. Halliwell, twenty-five at the","}
{"text": ""time, was seven years older than Orton, and seemed the more confident","}
{"text": ""of the two; but neither had much talent as actors, and after graduating,","}
{"text": ""having settled down together in a dank London apartment, they decided","}
{"text": ""to give up acting and collaborate as writers instead. Halliwell’s","}
{"text": ""inheritance was enough to keep them from having to find work for a few","}
{"text": ""years, and in the beginning, he was also the driving force behind the","}
{"text": ""stories and novels they wrote; he would dictate to Orton, who would type","}
{"text": ""the manuscripts, occasionally interjecting his own lines and ideas. Their","}
{"text": ""first efforts attracted some interest from literary agents, but it sputtered.","}
{"text": ""The promise they had shown was leading nowhere.","}
{"text": ""Eventually the inheritance money ran out, and the pair had to look for","}
{"text": ""work. Their collaborations were less enthusiastic and less frequent. The","}
{"text": ""future looked bleak.","}
{"text": ""In 1957 Orton began to write on his own, but it wasn’t until five years","}
{"text": ""later, when the lovers were jailed for six months for defacing dozens oflibrary books, that he began to find his voice (perhaps not by chance:","}
{"text": ""This was the first time he and Halliwell had been separated in nine","}
{"text": ""years). He came out of prison determined to express his contempt for","}
{"text": ""English society in the form of theatrical farces. He and Halliwell moved","}
{"text": ""back in together, but now the roles were reversed: Orton did the writing","}
{"text": ""while Halliwell put in comments and ideas.","}
{"text": ""In 1964 Joe Orton completed his first full-length play, Entertaining","}
{"text": ""Mr. Sloane. The play made it to London’s West End, where it received","}
{"text": ""brilliant reviews: A great new writer had emerged from nowhere. Now","}
{"text": ""success followed success, at a dizzying pace. In 1966 Orton had a hit","}
{"text": ""with his play Loot, and his popularity soared. Soon commissions came in","}
{"text": ""from all sides, including from the Beatles, who paid Orton handsomely","}
{"text": ""to write them a film script.","}
{"text": ""Everything was pointing upwards, everything except Orton’s","}
{"text": ""relationship with Kenneth Halliwell. The pair still lived together, but as","}
{"text": ""Orton grew successful, Halliwell began to deteriorate. Watching his lover","}
{"text": ""become the center of attention, he suffered the humiliation of becoming a","}
{"text": ""kind of personal assistant to the playwright, his role in what had once","}
{"text": ""been a collaboration growing smaller and smaller. In the 1950s he had","}
{"text": ""supported Orton with his inheritance; now Orton supported him. At a","}
{"text": ""party or among friends, people would naturally gravitate towards Orton","}
{"text": ""—he was charming, and his mood was almost always buoyant. Unlike","}
{"text": ""the handsome Orton, Halliwell was bald and awkward; his defensiveness","}
{"text": ""made people want to avoid him.","}
{"text": ""A greedy man and an envious man met a king. The king said to them,","}
{"text": ""“One of you may ask something of me and I will give it to him, provided","}
{"text": ""I give twice as much to the other. ” The envious person did not want to","}
{"text": ""ask first for he was envious of his companion who would receive twice as","}
{"text": ""much, and the greedy man did not want to ask first since he wanted","}
{"text": ""everything that was to be had. Finally the greedy one pressed the envious","}
{"text": ""one to be the first to make the request. So the envious person asked the","}
{"text": ""king to pluck out one of his eyes.","}
{"text": ""JEWISH PARABLE, THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, SOLOMON","}
{"text": ""SCHIMMEL, 1992","}
{"text": ""An admirer who feels that he cannot be happy by surrendering himself","}
{"text": ""elects to become envious of that which he admires. So he speaks another","}
{"text": ""language—the thing which he really admires is called a stupid, insipid","}
{"text": ""and queer sort of thing. Admiration is happy self-surrender; envy is","}
{"text": ""unhappy self-assertion.SφREN KIERKEGAARD, 1813-1855","}
{"text": ""With Orton’s success the couple’s problems only worsened.","}
{"text": ""Halliwell’s moods made their life together impossible. Orton claimed to","}
{"text": ""want to leave him, and had numerous affairs, but would always end up","}
{"text": ""returning to his old friend and lover. He tried to help Halliwell launch a","}
{"text": ""career as an artist, even arranging for a gallery to show his work, but the","}
{"text": ""show was a flop, and this only heightened Halliwell’s sense of","}
{"text": ""inferiority. In May of 1967, the pair went on a brief holiday together in","}
{"text": ""Tangier, Morocco. During the trip, Orton wrote in his diary, “We sat","}
{"text": ""talking of how happy we felt. And how it couldn’t, surely, last. We’d","}
{"text": ""have to pay for it. Or we’d be struck down from afar by disaster because","}
{"text": ""we were, perhaps, too happy. To be young, good-looking, healthy,","}
{"text": ""famous, comparatively rich and happy is surely going against nature.”","}
{"text": ""Halliwell outwardly seemed as happy as Orton. Inwardly, though, he","}
{"text": ""was seething. And two months later, in the early morning of August 10,","}
{"text": ""1967, just days after helping Orton put the finishing touches to the","}
{"text": ""wicked farce What the Butler Saw (undoubtedly his masterpiece),","}
{"text": ""Kenneth Halliwell bludgeoned Joe Orton to death with repeated blows of","}
{"text": ""a hammer to the head. He then took twenty-one sleeping pills and died","}
{"text": ""himself, leaving behind a note that read, “If you read Orton’s diary all","}
{"text": ""will be explained.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Kenneth Halliwell had tried to cast his deterioration as mental illness, but","}
{"text": ""what Joe Orton’s diaries revealed to him was the truth: It was envy, pure","}
{"text": ""and simple, that lay at the heart of his sickness. The diaries, which","}
{"text": ""Halliwell read on the sly, recounted the couple’s days as equals and their","}
{"text": ""struggle for recognition. After Orton found success, the diaries began to","}
{"text": ""describe Halliwell’s brooding, his rude comments at parties, his growing","}
{"text": ""sense of inferiority. All of this Orton narrated with a distance that","}
{"text": ""bordered on contempt.","}
{"text": ""The diaries made clear Halliwell’s bitterness over Orton’s success.","}
{"text": ""Eventually the only thing that would have satisfied him would have been","}
{"text": ""for Orton to have a failure of his own, an unsuccessful play perhaps, so","}
{"text": ""that they could have commiserated in their failure, as they had done","}
{"text": ""years before. When the opposite happened—as Orton grew only more","}
{"text": ""successful and popular—Halliwell did the only thing that would makethem equals again: He made them equals in death. With Orton’s murder,","}
{"text": ""he became almost as famous as his friend—posthumously.","}
{"text": ""Joe Orton only partly understood his lover’s deterioration. His attempt","}
{"text": ""to help Halliwell launch a career in art registered for what it was: charity","}
{"text": ""and guilt. Orton basically had two possible solutions to the problem. He","}
{"text": ""could have downplayed his own success, displaying some faults,","}
{"text": ""deflecting Halliwell’s envy; or, once he realized the nature of the","}
{"text": ""problem, he could have fled as if Halliwell were a viper, as in fact he was","}
{"text": ""—a viper of envy. Once envy eats away at someone, everything you do","}
{"text": ""only makes it grow, and day by day it festers inside him. Eventually he","}
{"text": ""will attack.","}
{"text": ""It takes great talent and skill to conceal one’s talent and skill","}
{"text": ""LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, 1613-1680","}
{"text": ""ENVY TORMENTS AGLAUROS","}
{"text": ""The goddess Minerva made her way to the house of Envy, a house filthy","}
{"text": ""with dark and noisome slime. It is hidden away in the depths of the","}
{"text": ""valleys, where the sun never penetrates, where no wind blows through; a","}
{"text": ""gloomy dwelling, permeated by numbing chill, ever fireless, ever","}
{"text": ""shrouded in thick darkness. When Minerva reached this spot she stopped","}
{"text": ""in front of the house … and struck the doors with the tip of her spear, and","}
{"text": ""at the blow they flew open and revealed Envy within, busy at a meal of","}
{"text": ""snake’s flesh, the food on which she nourished her wickedness. At the","}
{"text": ""sight, Minerva turned her eyes away. But the other rose heavily from the","}
{"text": ""ground, leaving the half-eaten corpses, and came out with dragging","}
{"text": ""steps. When she saw the goddess in all the brilliance of her beauty, in her","}
{"text": ""flashing armor, she groaned…. Envy’s face was sickly pale, her whole","}
{"text": ""body lean and wasted, and she squinted horribly; her teeth were","}
{"text": ""discoloretl and decayed, her poisonous breast of a greenish hue, and her","}
{"text": ""tongue dripped venom. Only the sight of suffering could bring a smile to","}
{"text": ""her lips. She never knew the comfort of sleep, but was kept constantly","}
{"text": ""awake by care and anxiety, looked with dismay on men’s good fortune,","}
{"text": ""and grew thin at the sight. Gnawing at others, and being gnawed, she","}
{"text": ""was herself her own torment. Minerva, in spite of her loathing, yet","}
{"text": ""addressed her briefly: “Instill your poison into one of Cecrop’s","}
{"text": ""daughters—her name is Aglauros. This is what I require of you. ”","}
{"text": ""Without another word she pushed against the ground with her spear, left","}
{"text": ""the earth, and soared upwards.From the corner of her eye the other watched the goddess out of sight,","}
{"text": ""muttering and angry that Minerva’s plan should be successful. Then she","}
{"text": ""took her staff, all encircled with thorny briars, wrapped herself in dark","}
{"text": ""clouds, and set forth. Wherever she went she trampled down the flowery","}
{"text": ""fields, withered up the grass, seared the treetops, and with her breath","}
{"text": ""tainted the peoples, their cities and their homes, until at length she came","}
{"text": ""to Athens, the home of wit and wealth, peaceful and prosperous. She","}
{"text": ""could scarcely refrain from weeping when she saw no cause for tears.","}
{"text": ""Then entering the chamber of Cecrop’s daughter, she carried out","}
{"text": ""Minerva’s orders. She touched the girl’s breast with a hand dipped in","}
{"text": ""malice, filled her heart with spiky thorns, and breathing in a black and","}
{"text": ""evil poison dispersed it through her very bones, instilling the venom deep","}
{"text": ""in her heart. That the reason for her distress might not be far to seek, she","}
{"text": ""set before Aglauros’ eyes a vision of her sister, of that sister’s fortunate","}
{"text": ""marriage [with the god Mercury], and of the god in all his","}
{"text": ""handsomeness; and she exaggerated the glory of it all. So Aglauros was","}
{"text": ""tormented by such thoughts, and the jealous anger she concealed ate into","}
{"text": ""her heart. Day and night she sighed, unceasingly wretched, and in her","}
{"text": ""utter misery wasted away in a slow decline, as when ice is melted by the","}
{"text": ""fitful sun. The fire that was kindled within her at the thought of her","}
{"text": ""sister’s luck and good fortune was like the burning of weeds which do not","}
{"text": ""burst into flames, but are none the less consumed by smoldering fire.","}
{"text": ""METAMORPHOSES, OVID, 43 B.C.-C. A.D. 18","}
{"text": ""Only a minority can succeed at the game of life, and that minority","}
{"text": ""inevitably arouses the envy of those around them. Once success happens","}
{"text": ""your way, however, the people to fear the most are those in your own","}
{"text": ""circle, the friends and acquaintances you have left behind. Feelings of","}
{"text": ""inferiority gnaw at them; the thought of your success only heightens their","}
{"text": ""feelings of stagnation. Envy, which the philosopher Kierkegaard calls","}
{"text": ""“unhappy admiration,” takes hold. You may not see it but you will feel it","}
{"text": ""someday—unless, that is, you learn strategies of deflection, little","}
{"text": ""sacrifices to the gods of success. Either dampen your brilliance","}
{"text": ""occasionally, purposefully revealing a defect, weakness, or anxiety, or","}
{"text": ""attributing your success to luck; or simply find yourself new friends.","}
{"text": ""Never underestimate the power of envy.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAWThe merchant class and the craft guilds to which medieval Florence","}
{"text": ""owed its prosperity had created a republic that protected them from","}
{"text": ""oppression by the nobility. Since high office could only be held for a few","}
{"text": ""months, no one could gain lasting dominance, and although this meant","}
{"text": ""that the political factions struggled constantly for control, the system","}
{"text": ""kept out tyrants and petty dictators. The Medici family lived for several","}
{"text": ""centuries under this system without making much of a mark. They had","}
{"text": ""modest origins as apothecaries, and were typical middle-class citizens.","}
{"text": ""Not until the late fourteenth century, when Giovanni de’ Medici made a","}
{"text": ""modest fortune in banking, did they emerge as a force to be reckoned","}
{"text": ""with.","}
{"text": ""Upon Giovanni’s death, his son Cosimo took over the family business,","}
{"text": ""and quickly demonstrated his talent for it. The business prospered under","}
{"text": ""his control and the Medicis emerged as one of the preeminent banking","}
{"text": ""families of Europe. But they had a rival in Florence: Despite the city’s","}
{"text": ""republican system, one family, the Albizzis, had managed over the years","}
{"text": ""to monopolize control of the government, forging alliances that allowed","}
{"text": ""them to constantly fill important offices with their own men. Cosimo did","}
{"text": ""not fight this, and in fact gave the Albizzis his tacit support. At the same","}
{"text": ""time, while the Albizzis were beginning to flaunt their power, Cosimo","}
{"text": ""made a point of staying in the background.","}
{"text": ""Eventually, however, the Medici wealth could not be ignored, and in","}
{"text": ""1433, feeling threatened by the family, the Albizzis used their","}
{"text": ""government muscle to have Cosimo arrested on charges of conspiring to","}
{"text": ""overthrow the republic. Some in the Albizzi faction wanted Cosimo","}
{"text": ""executed, others feared this would spark a civil war. In the end they","}
{"text": ""exiled him from Florence. Cosimo did not fight the sentence; he left","}
{"text": ""quietly. Sometimes, he knew, it is wiser to bide one’s time and keep a","}
{"text": ""low profile.","}
{"text": ""Over the next year, the Albizzis began to stir up fears that they were","}
{"text": ""setting up a dictatorship. Meanwhile, Cosimo, using his wealth to","}
{"text": ""advantage, continued to exert influence on Florentine affairs, even from","}
{"text": ""exile. A civil war broke out in the city, and in September of 1434 the","}
{"text": ""Albizzis were toppled from power and sent into exile. Cosimo","}
{"text": ""immediately returned to Florence, his position restored. But he saw that","}
{"text": ""he now faced a delicate situation: If he seemed ambitious, as the Albizzis","}
{"text": ""had, he would stir up opposition and envy that would ultimately threaten","}
{"text": ""his business. If he stayed on the sidelines, on the other hand, he would","}
{"text": ""leave an opening for another faction to rise up as the Albizzis had, and to","}
{"text": ""punish the Medicis for their success.Cosimo solved the problem in two ways: He secretly used his wealth","}
{"text": ""to buy influence among key citizens, and he placed his own allies, all","}
{"text": ""cleverly enlisted from the middle classes to disguise their allegiance to","}
{"text": ""him, in top government positions. Those who complained of his growing","}
{"text": ""political clout were taxed into submission, or their properties were","}
{"text": ""bought out from under them by Cosimo’s banker allies. The republic","}
{"text": ""survived in name only. Cosimo held the strings.","}
{"text": ""While he worked behind the scenes to gain control, however, publicly","}
{"text": ""Cosimo presented another picture. When he walked through the streets","}
{"text": ""of Florence, he dressed modestly, was attended by no more than one","}
{"text": ""servant, and bowed deferentially to magistrates and elder citizens. He","}
{"text": ""rode a mule instead of a horse. He never spoke out on matters of public","}
{"text": ""import, even though he controlled Florence’s foreign affairs for over","}
{"text": ""thirty years. He gave money to charities and maintained his ties to","}
{"text": ""Florence’s merchant class. He financed all kinds of public buildings that","}
{"text": ""fed the Florentines’ pride in their city. When he built a palace for himself","}
{"text": ""and his family in nearby Fiesole, he turned down the ornate designs that","}
{"text": ""Brunelleschi had drawn up for him and instead chose a modest structure","}
{"text": ""designed by Michelozzo, a man of humble Florentine origins. The palace","}
{"text": ""was a symbol of Cosimo’s strategy—all simplicity on the outside, all","}
{"text": ""elegance and opulence within.","}
{"text": ""Cosimo finally died in 1464, after ruling for thirty years. The citizens","}
{"text": ""of Florence wanted to build him a great tomb, and to celebrate his","}
{"text": ""memory with elaborate funeral ceremonies, but on his deathbed he had","}
{"text": ""asked to be buried without “any pomp or demonstration.” Some sixty","}
{"text": ""years later, Machiavelli hailed Cosimo as the wisest of all princes, “for","}
{"text": ""he knew how extraordinary things that are seen and appear every hour","}
{"text": ""make men much more envied than those that are done in deed and are","}
{"text": ""covered over with decency.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""A close friend of Cosimo’s, the bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci, once","}
{"text": ""wrote of him, “And whenever he wished to achieve something, he saw to","}
{"text": ""it, in order to escape envy as much as possible, that the initiative","}
{"text": ""appeared to come from others, and not from him.” One of Cosimo’s","}
{"text": ""favorite expressions was, “Envy is a weed that should not be watered.”","}
{"text": ""Understanding the power envy has in a democratic environment, Cosimo","}
{"text": ""avoided the appearance of greatness. This does not mean that greatnessshould be suffocated, or that only the mediocre should survive; only that","}
{"text": ""a game of appearances must be played. The insidious envy of the masses","}
{"text": ""can actually be deflected quite easily: Appear as one of them in style and","}
{"text": ""values. Make alliances with those below you, and elevate them to","}
{"text": ""positions of power to secure their support in times of need. Never flaunt","}
{"text": ""your wealth, and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought","}
{"text": ""influence. Make a display of deferring to others, as if they were more","}
{"text": ""powerful than you. Cosimo de’ Medici perfected this game; he was a","}
{"text": ""consummate con artist of appearances. No one could gauge the extent of","}
{"text": ""his power—his modest exterior hid the truth.","}
{"text": ""Never be so foolish as to believe that you are stirring up admiration by","}
{"text": ""flaunting the qualities that raise you above others. By making others","}
{"text": ""aware of their inferior position, you are only stirring up “unhappy","}
{"text": ""admiration,” or envy, which will gnaw away at them until they","}
{"text": ""undermine you in ways you cannot foresee. The fool dares the gods of","}
{"text": ""envy by flaunting his victories. The master of power understands that the","}
{"text": ""appearance of superiority over others is inconsequential next to the","}
{"text": ""reality of it.","}
{"text": ""Of all the disorders of the soul, envy is the only one no one confesses to.","}
{"text": ""Plutarch, c. A.D 46-120","}
{"text": ""The envious hides as carefully as the secret, lustful sinner and becomes","}
{"text": ""the endless inventor of tricks and stratagems to hide and mask himself","}
{"text": ""Thus he is able to pretend to ignore the superiority of others which eats","}
{"text": ""up his heart, as ifhe did not see them, nor hear them, nor were aware of","}
{"text": ""them, nor had ever heard of them. He is a master simulator. On the other","}
{"text": ""hand he tries with all his power to connive and thus prevent any form of","}
{"text": ""superiority from appearing in any situation. And if they do, he casts on","}
{"text": ""them obscurity, hypercriticism, sarcasm and calumny like the toad that","}
{"text": ""spits poison from its hole. On the other hand he will raise endlessly","}
{"text": ""insignificant men, mediocre people, and even the inferior in the same","}
{"text": ""type of activities.","}
{"text": ""ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860","}
{"text": ""For not many men, the proverb says, can love a friend who fortune","}
{"text": ""prospers without feeling envy; and about the envious brain, cold poison","}
{"text": ""clings and doubles all the pain life brings him. His own woundings he","}
{"text": ""must nurse, and feels another’s gladness like a curse.","}
{"text": ""AESCHYLUS, c. 525-456 B.C.KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The human animal has a hard time dealing with feelings of inferiority. In","}
{"text": ""the face of superior skill, talent, or power, we are often disturbed and ill","}
{"text": ""at ease; this is because most of us have an inflated sense of ourselves,","}
{"text": ""and when we meet people who surpass us they make it clear to us that","}
{"text": ""we are in fact mediocre, or at least not as brilliant as we had thought.","}
{"text": ""This disturbance in our self-image cannot last long without stirring up","}
{"text": ""ugly emotions. At first we feel envy: If only we had the quality or skill of","}
{"text": ""the superior person, we would be happy. But envy brings us neither","}
{"text": ""comfort nor any closer to equality. Nor can we admit to feeling it, for it","}
{"text": ""is frowned upon socially—to show envy is to admit to feeling inferior.","}
{"text": ""To close friends, we may confess our secret unrealized desires, but we","}
{"text": ""will never confess to feeling envy. So it goes underground. We disguise","}
{"text": ""it in many ways, like finding grounds to criticize the person who makes","}
{"text": ""us feel it: He may be smarter than I am, we say, but he has no morals or","}
{"text": ""conscience. Or he may have more power, but that’s because he cheats. If","}
{"text": ""we do not slander him, perhaps we praise him excessively—another of","}
{"text": ""envy’s disguises.","}
{"text": ""There are several strategies for dealing with the insidious, destructive","}
{"text": ""emotion of envy. First, accept the fact that there will be people who will","}
{"text": ""surpass you in some way, and also the fact that you may envy them. But","}
{"text": ""make that feeling a way of pushing yourself to equal or surpass them","}
{"text": ""someday. Let envy turn inward and it poisons the soul; expel it outward","}
{"text": ""and it can move you to greater heights.","}
{"text": ""Second, understand that as you gain power, those below you will feel","}
{"text": ""envious of you. They may not show it but it is inevitable. Do not naively","}
{"text": ""accept the facade they show you—read between the lines of their","}
{"text": ""criticisms, their little sarcastic remarks, the signs of backstabbing, the","}
{"text": ""excessive praise that is preparing you for a fall, the resentful look in the","}
{"text": ""eye. Half the problem with envy comes when we do not recognize it until","}
{"text": ""it is too late.","}
{"text": ""Finally, expect that when people envy you they will work against you","}
{"text": ""insidiously. They will put obstacles in your path that you will not","}
{"text": ""foresee, or that you cannot trace to their source. It is hard to defend","}
{"text": ""yourself against this kind of attack. And by the time you realize that envy","}
{"text": ""is at the root of a person’s feelings about you, it is often too late: Your","}
{"text": ""excuses, your false humility, your defensive actions, only exacerbate the","}
{"text": ""problem. Since it is far easier to avoid creating envy in the first placethan to get rid of it once it is there, you should strategize to forestall it","}
{"text": ""before it grows. It is often your own actions that stir up envy, your own","}
{"text": ""unawareness. By becoming conscious of those actions and qualities that","}
{"text": ""create envy, you can take the teeth out of it before it nibbles you to death.","}
{"text": ""Kierkegaard believed that there are types of people who create envy,","}
{"text": ""and are as guilty when it arises as those who feel it. The most obvious","}
{"text": ""type we all know: The moment something good happens to them,","}
{"text": ""whether by luck or design, they crow about it. In fact they get pleasure","}
{"text": ""out of making people feel inferior. This type is obvious and beyond hope.","}
{"text": ""There are others, however, who stir up envy in more subtle and","}
{"text": ""unconscious ways, and are partly to blame for their troubles. Envy is","}
{"text": ""often a problem, for example, for people with great natural talent.","}
{"text": ""Sir Walter Raleigh was one of the most brilliant men at the court of","}
{"text": ""Queen Elizabeth of England. He had skills as a scientist, wrote poetry","}
{"text": ""still recognized as among the most beautiful writing of the time, was a","}
{"text": ""proven leader of men, an enterprising entrepreneur, a great sea captain,","}
{"text": ""and on top of all this was a handsome, dashing courtier who charmed his","}
{"text": ""way into becoming one of the queen’s favorites. Wherever he went,","}
{"text": ""however, people blocked his path. Eventually he suffered a terrific fall","}
{"text": ""from grace, leading even to prison and finally the executioner’s axe.","}
{"text": ""Raleigh could not understand the stubborn opposition he faced from","}
{"text": ""the other courtiers. He did not see that he had not only made no attempt","}
{"text": ""to disguise the degree of his skills and qualities, he had imposed them on","}
{"text": ""one and all, making a show of his versatility, thinking it impressed","}
{"text": ""people and won him friends. In fact it made him silent enemies, people","}
{"text": ""who felt inferior to him and did all they could to ruin him the moment he","}
{"text": ""tripped up or made the slightest mistake. In the end, the reason he was","}
{"text": ""executed was treason, but envy will use any cover it finds to mask its","}
{"text": ""destructiveness.","}
{"text": ""The envy elicited by Sir Walter Raleigh is the worst kind: It was","}
{"text": ""inspired by his natural talent and grace, which he felt was best displayed","}
{"text": ""in its full flower. Money others can attain; power as well. But superior","}
{"text": ""intelligence, good looks, charm—these are qualities no one can acquire.","}
{"text": ""The naturally perfect have to work the most to disguise their brilliance,","}
{"text": ""displaying a defect or two to deflect envy before it takes root. It is a","}
{"text": ""common and naive mistake to think you are charming people with your","}
{"text": ""natural talents when in fact they are coming to hate you.","}
{"text": ""JOSEPH AND HIS COATNow Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was","}
{"text": ""the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors…. And his","}
{"text": ""brothers envied him…. And when they saw him afar off, they conspired","}
{"text": ""against him to slay him. And now they said to one another, “Behold, this","}
{"text": ""dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him","}
{"text": ""into some pit, and we shall say, some evil beast hath devoured him; and","}
{"text": ""we shall see what will become of his dreams”","}
{"text": ""OLD TESTAMENT, GENESIS 37:3—20","}
{"text": ""THE TRAGEDY OF THE TOMB","}
{"text": ""[When Pope Julius first saw Michelangelo’s design for his tomb] it","}
{"text": ""pleased him so much that he at once sent him to Carrara to quarry the","}
{"text": ""necessary marbles, instructing Alamanno Salviati, of Florence, to pay","}
{"text": ""him a thousand ducats for this purpose. Michelangelo stayed in these","}
{"text": ""mountains more than eight months with two workmen and his horse, and","}
{"text": ""without any other provision except food…. Enough marbles quarried and","}
{"text": ""chosen, he took them to the sea-coast, and left one of his men to have","}
{"text": ""them embarked. He himself returned to Rome.","}
{"text": ""… The quantity of marbles was immense, so that, spread over the piazza,","}
{"text": ""they were the admiration of all and a joy to the pope, who heaped","}
{"text": ""immeasurable favors upon Michelangelo: and when he began to work","}
{"text": ""upon them again and again went to see him at his house, and talked to","}
{"text": ""him about the tomb and other things as with his own brother. And in","}
{"text": ""order that he might more easily go to him, the pope ordered that a","}
{"text": ""drawbridge should be thrown across from the Corridore to the rooms of","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo, by which he might visit him in private.","}
{"text": ""These many and frequent favors were the cause (as often is the case at","}
{"text": ""court) of much envy, and, after the envy, of endless persecution, since","}
{"text": ""Bramante, the architect, who was loved by the pope, made him change","}
{"text": ""his mind as to the monument by telling him, as is said by the vulgar, that","}
{"text": ""it is unlucky to build one’s tomb in one’s lifetime, and other tales. Fear as","}
{"text": ""well as envy stimulated Bramante, for the judgment of Michelangelo had","}
{"text": ""exposed many of his errors…. Now because he had no doubt that","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo knew these errors of his, he always sought to remove him","}
{"text": ""from Rome, or, at least, to deprive him of the favor of the pope, and of","}
{"text": ""the glory and usefulness that he might have acquired by his industry. He","}
{"text": ""succeeded in the matter of the tomb. There is no doubt that if","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo had been allowed to finish it, according to his first design,having so large a field in which to show his worth, no other artist,","}
{"text": ""however celebrated (be it said without envy) could have wrested from","}
{"text": ""him the high place he would have held.","}
{"text": ""VITA DI MICHELANGELO, ASCANIO CONDIVI, 1553","}
{"text": ""A great danger in the realm of power is the sudden improvement in","}
{"text": ""fortune—an unexpected promotion, a victory or success that seems to","}
{"text": ""come out of nowhere. This is sure to stir up envy among your former","}
{"text": ""peers.","}
{"text": ""When Archbishop de Retz was promoted to the rank of cardinal, in","}
{"text": ""1651, he knew full well that many of his former colleagues envied him.","}
{"text": ""Understanding the foolishness of alienating those below him, de Retz did","}
{"text": ""everything he could to downplay his merit and emphasize the role of","}
{"text": ""luck in his success. To put people at ease, he acted humbly and","}
{"text": ""deferentially, as if nothing had changed. (In reality, of course, he now","}
{"text": ""had much more power than before.) He wrote that these wise policies","}
{"text": ""“produced a good effect, by lessening the envy which was conceived","}
{"text": ""against me, which is the greatest of all secrets.” Follow de Retz’s","}
{"text": ""example. Subtly emphasize how lucky you have been, to make your","}
{"text": ""happiness seem more attainable to other people, and the need for envy","}
{"text": ""less acute. But be careful not to affect a false modesty that people can","}
{"text": ""easily see through. This will only make them more envious. The act has","}
{"text": ""to be good; your humility, and your openness to those you have left","}
{"text": ""behind, have to seem genuine. Any hint of insincerity will only make","}
{"text": ""your new status more oppressive. Remember: Despite your elevated","}
{"text": ""position, it will do you no good to alienate your former peers. Power","}
{"text": ""requires a wide and solid support base, which envy can silently destroy.","}
{"text": ""Political power of any kind creates envy, and one of the best ways to","}
{"text": ""deflect it before it takes root is to seem unambitious. When Ivan the","}
{"text": ""Terrible died, Boris Godunov knew he was the only one on the scene","}
{"text": ""who could lead Russia. But if he sought the position eagerly, he would","}
{"text": ""stir up envy and suspicion among the boyars, so he refused the crown,","}
{"text": ""not once but several times. He made people insist that he take the throne.","}
{"text": ""George Washington used the same strategy to great effect, first in","}
{"text": ""refusing to keep the position of Commander in Chief of the American","}
{"text": ""army, second in resisting the presidency. In both cases he made himself","}
{"text": ""more popular than ever. People cannot envy the power that they","}
{"text": ""themselves have given a person who does not seem to desire it.","}
{"text": ""According to the Elizabethan statesman and writer Sir Francis Bacon,","}
{"text": ""the wisest policy of the powerful is to create a kind of pity forthemselves, as if their responsibilities were a burden and a sacrifice.","}
{"text": ""How can one envy a man who has taken on a heavy load for the public","}
{"text": ""interest? Disguise your power as a kind of self-sacrifice rather than a","}
{"text": ""source of happiness and you make it seem less enviable. Emphasize your","}
{"text": ""troubles and you turn a potential danger (envy) into a source of moral","}
{"text": ""support (pity). A similar ploy is to hint that your good fortune will","}
{"text": ""benefit those around you. To do this you may need to open your purse","}
{"text": ""strings, like Cimon, a wealthy general in ancient Athens who gave","}
{"text": ""lavishly in all kinds of ways to prevent people from resenting the","}
{"text": ""influence he had bought in Athenian politics. He paid a high price to","}
{"text": ""deflect their envy, but in the end it saved him from ostracism and","}
{"text": ""banishment from the city.","}
{"text": ""The painter J. M. W. Turner devised another way of giving to deflect","}
{"text": ""the envy of his fellow artists, which he recognized as his greatest","}
{"text": ""obstacle to his success. Noticing that his incomparable color skills made","}
{"text": ""them afraid to hang their paintings next to his in exhibitions, he realized","}
{"text": ""that their fear would turn to envy, and would eventually make it harder","}
{"text": ""for him to find galleries to show in. On occasion, then, Turner is known","}
{"text": ""to have temporarily dampened the colors in his paintings with soot to","}
{"text": ""earn him the goodwill of his colleagues.","}
{"text": ""To deflect envy, Gracian recommends that the powerful display a","}
{"text": ""weakness, a minor social indiscretion, a harmless vice. Give those who","}
{"text": ""envy you something to feed on, distracting them from your more","}
{"text": ""important sins. Remember: It is the reality that matters. You may have to","}
{"text": ""play games with appearances, but in the end you will have what counts:","}
{"text": ""true power. In some Arab countries, a man will avoid arousing envy by","}
{"text": ""doing as Cosimo de Medici did by showing his wealth only on the inside","}
{"text": ""of his house. Apply this wisdom to your own character.","}
{"text": ""Beware of some of envy’s disguises. Excessive praise is an almost","}
{"text": ""sure sign that the person praising you envies you; they are either setting","}
{"text": ""you up for a fall—it will be impossible for you to live up to their praise","}
{"text": ""—or they are sharpening their blades behind your back. At the same","}
{"text": ""time, those who are hypercritical of you, or who slander you publicly,","}
{"text": ""probably envy you as well. Recognize their behavior as disguised envy","}
{"text": ""and you keep out of the trap of mutual mud-slinging, or of taking their","}
{"text": ""criticisms to heart. Win your revenge by ignoring their measly presence.","}
{"text": ""Do not try to help or do favors for those who envy you; they will think","}
{"text": ""you are condescending to them. Joe Orton’s attempt to help Halliwell","}
{"text": ""find a gallery for his work only intensified his lover’s feelings of","}
{"text": ""inferiority and envy. Once envy reveals itself for what it is, the onlysolution is often to flee the presence of the enviers, leaving them to stew","}
{"text": ""in a hell of their own creation.","}
{"text": ""Finally, be aware that some environments are more conducive to envy","}
{"text": ""than others. The effects of envy are more serious among colleagues and","}
{"text": ""peers, where there is a veneer of equality. Envy is also destructive in","}
{"text": ""democratic environments where overt displays of power are looked","}
{"text": ""down upon. Be extrasensitive in such environments. The filmmaker","}
{"text": ""Ingmar Bergman was hounded by Swedish tax authorities because he","}
{"text": ""stood out in a country where standing out from the crowd is frowned on.","}
{"text": ""It is almost impossible to avoid envy in such cases, and there is little you","}
{"text": ""can do but accept it graciously and take none of it personally. As","}
{"text": ""Thoreau once said, “Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay.”","}
{"text": ""Did ever anybody seriously confess to envy? Something there is in it","}
{"text": ""universally felt to be more shameful than even felonious crime. And not","}
{"text": ""only does everybody disown it, but the better sort are inclined to","}
{"text": ""incredulity when it is in earnest imputed to an intelligent man. But since","}
{"text": ""lodgment is in the heart not the brain, no degree of intellect supplies a","}
{"text": ""guarantee against it.","}
{"text": ""BILLY BUDD, HERMAN MELVILLE, 1819-1891","}
{"text": ""Image: A Garden of Weeds. You may not","}
{"text": ""feed them but they spread as you water","}
{"text": ""the garden. You may not see how, but","}
{"text": ""they take over, tall and ugly, pre","}
{"text": ""venting anything beautiful from","}
{"text": ""flourishing. Before it is too late,","}
{"text": ""do not water indiscrimi","}
{"text": ""nately. Destroy the weeds","}
{"text": ""of envy by giving them","}
{"text": ""nothing to feed on.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Upon occasion, reveal a harmless defect in your character. For","}
{"text": ""the envious accuse the most perfect of sinning by having no sins. They","}
{"text": ""become an Argus, all eyes for finding fault with excellence—it is their","}
{"text": ""only consolation. Do not let envy burst with its own venom—affect some","}
{"text": ""lapse in valor or intellect, so as to disarm it beforehand. You thus wave","}
{"text": ""your red cape before the Horns of Envy, in order to save your","}
{"text": ""immortality. (Baltasar Gracian, 1601-1658)","}
{"text": ""Know how to triumph over envy and malice. Here contempt, although","}
{"text": ""prudent, counts, indeed, for little; magnanimity is better. A good word","}
{"text": ""concerning one who speaks evil of you cannot be praised too highly:there is no revenge more heroic than that brought about by those merits","}
{"text": ""and attainments which frustrate and torment the envious. Every stroke of","}
{"text": ""good fortune is a further twist of the rope round the neck of the ill-","}
{"text": ""disposed and the heaven of the envied is hell for the envious. To convert","}
{"text": ""your good fortune into poison for your enemies is held to be the most","}
{"text": ""severe punishment you can inflict on them. The envious man dies not","}
{"text": ""only once but as many times as the person he envies lives to hear the","}
{"text": ""voice of praise; the eternity of the latter’s fame is the measure of the","}
{"text": ""former’s punishment: the one is immortal in his glory, the latter in his","}
{"text": ""misery. The trumpet of fame which sounds immortality for the one","}
{"text": ""heralds death for the other, who is sentenced to be choked to death on his","}
{"text": ""own envy.","}
{"text": ""BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""The reason for being careful with the envious is that they are so indirect,","}
{"text": ""and will find innumerable ways to undermine you. But treading carefully","}
{"text": ""around them will often only make their envy worse. They sense that you","}
{"text": ""are being cautious, and it registers as yet another sign of your superiority.","}
{"text": ""That is why you must act before envy takes root.","}
{"text": ""Once envy is there, however, whether through your fault or not, it is","}
{"text": ""sometimes best to affect the opposite approach: Display the utmost","}
{"text": ""disdain for those who envy you. Instead of hiding your perfection, make","}
{"text": ""it obvious. Make every new triumph an opportunity to make the envious","}
{"text": ""squirm. Your good fortune and power become their living hell. If you","}
{"text": ""attain a position of unimpeachable power, their envy will have no effect","}
{"text": ""on you, and you will have the best revenge of all: They are trapped in","}
{"text": ""envy while you are free in your power.","}
{"text": ""This is how Michelangelo triumphed over the venomous architect","}
{"text": ""Bramante, who turned Pope Julius against Michelangelo’s design for his","}
{"text": ""tomb. Bramante envied Michelangelo’s godlike skills, and to this one","}
{"text": ""triumph—the aborted tomb project—he thought to add another, by","}
{"text": ""pushing the pope to commission Michelangelo to paint the murals in the","}
{"text": ""Sistine Chapel. The project would take years, during which","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo would accomplish no more of his brilliant sculptures.Furthermore, Bramante considered Michelangelo not nearly as skilled in","}
{"text": ""painting as in sculpture. The chapel would spoil his image as the perfect","}
{"text": ""artist.","}
{"text": ""Michelangelo saw the trap and wanted to turn down the commission,","}
{"text": ""but he could not refuse the pope, so he accepted it without complaint.","}
{"text": ""Then, however, he used Bramante’s envy to spur him to greater heights,","}
{"text": ""making the Sistine Chapel his most perfect work of all. Every time","}
{"text": ""Bramante heard of it or saw it, he felt more oppressed by his own envy—","}
{"text": ""the sweetest and most lasting revenge you can exact on the envious.LAW 47","}
{"text": ""DO NOT GO PAST THE MARK YOU AIMED","}
{"text": ""FOR; IN VICTORY, LEARN WHEN TO STOP","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat","}
{"text": ""of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you","}
{"text": ""had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you","}
{"text": ""defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute","}
{"text": ""for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it,","}
{"text": ""stop.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""In 559 B.C., a young man named Cyrus gathered an immense army from","}
{"text": ""the scattered tribes of Persia and marched against his grandfather","}
{"text": ""Astyages, king of the Medes. He defeated Astyages with ease, had","}
{"text": ""himself crowned king of Medea and Persia, and began to forge the","}
{"text": ""Persian Empire. Victory followed victory in quick succession. Cyrus","}
{"text": ""defeated Croesus, ruler of Lydia, then conquered the Ionian islands and","}
{"text": ""other smaller kingdoms; he marched on Babylon and crushed it. Now he","}
{"text": ""was known as Cyrus the Great, King of the World.","}
{"text": ""After capturing the riches of Babylon, Cyrus set his sights on the east,","}
{"text": ""on the half-barbaric tribes of the Massagetai, a vast realm on the Caspian","}
{"text": ""Sea. A fierce warrior race led by Queen Tomyris, the Massagetai lacked","}
{"text": ""the riches of Babylon, but Cyrus decided to attack them anyway,","}
{"text": ""believing himself superhuman and incapable of defeat. The Massagetai","}
{"text": ""would fall easily to his vast armies, making his empire immense.In 529 B.C., then, Cyrus marched to the wide river Araxes, gateway to","}
{"text": ""the kingdom of the Massagetai. As he set up camp on the western bank,","}
{"text": ""he received a message from Queen Tomyris: “King of the Medes,” she","}
{"text": ""told him, “I advise you to abandon this enterprise, for you cannot know","}
{"text": ""if in the end it will do you any good. Rule your own people, and try to","}
{"text": ""bear the sight of me ruling mine. But of course you will refuse my","}
{"text": ""advice, as the last thing you wish for is to live in peace.” Tomyris,","}
{"text": ""confident of her army’s strength and not wishing to delay the inevitable","}
{"text": ""battle, offered to withdraw the troops on her side of the river, allowing","}
{"text": ""Cyrus to cross its waters safely and fight her army on the eastern side, if","}
{"text": ""that was his desire.","}
{"text": ""Cyrus agreed, but instead of engaging the enemy directly he decided","}
{"text": ""to play a trick. The Massagetai knew few luxuries. Once Cyrus had","}
{"text": ""crossed the river and made his camp on the eastern side, he set the table","}
{"text": ""for an elaborate banquet, full of meat, delicacies, and strong wine. Then","}
{"text": ""he left his weakest troops in the camp and withdrew the rest of the army","}
{"text": ""to the river. A large Massagetai detachment soon attacked the camp and","}
{"text": ""killed all of the Persian soldiers in a fierce battle. Then, overwhelmed by","}
{"text": ""the fabulous feast that had been left behind, they ate and drank to their","}
{"text": ""hearts’ content. Later, inevitably, they fell asleep. The Persian army","}
{"text": ""returned to the camp that night, killing many of the sleeping soldiers and","}
{"text": ""capturing the rest. Among the prisoners was their general, a youth named","}
{"text": ""Spargapises, son of Queen Tomyris.","}
{"text": ""When the queen learned what had happened, she sent a message to","}
{"text": ""Cyrus, chiding him for using tricks to defeat her army. “Now listen to","}
{"text": ""me,” she wrote, “and I will advise you for your own good: Give me back","}
{"text": ""my son and leave my country with your forces intact, and be content","}
{"text": ""with your triumph over a third part of the Massagetai. If you refuse, I","}
{"text": ""swear by the sun our master to give you more blood than you can drink,","}
{"text": ""for all your gluttony.” Cyrus scoffed at her: He would not release her","}
{"text": ""son. He would crush these barbarians.","}
{"text": ""HELL CO","}
{"text": ""Two cockerels fought on a dungheap. One cockerel was the stronger: he","}
{"text": ""vanquished the other and drove him from the dungheap. All the hens","}
{"text": ""gathered around the cockerel, and began to laud him. The cockerel","}
{"text": ""wanted his strength and glory to be known in the next yard. He flew on","}
{"text": ""top of the barn, flapped his wings, and crowed in a load voice: “Look at","}
{"text": ""me, all of you. I am a victorious cockerel. No other cockerel in the worldhas such strength as I. ” The cockerel had not finished, when an eagle","}
{"text": ""killed him, seized him in his claws, and carried him to his nest.","}
{"text": ""FABLES. LEO TOLSIOY. 1828-1910","}
{"text": ""The queen’s son, seeing he would not be released, could not stand the","}
{"text": ""humiliation, and so he killed himself. The news of her son’s death","}
{"text": ""overwhelmed Tomyris. She gathered all the forces that she could muster","}
{"text": ""in her kingdom, and whipping them into a vengeful frenzy, engaged","}
{"text": ""Cyrus’s troops in a violent and bloody battle. Finally, the Massagetai","}
{"text": ""prevailed. In their anger they decimated the Persian army, killing Cyrus","}
{"text": ""himself.","}
{"text": ""After the battle, Tomyris and her soldiers searched the battlefield for","}
{"text": ""Cyrus’s corpse. When she found it she cut off his head and shoved it into","}
{"text": ""a wineskin full of human blood, crying out, “Though I have conquered","}
{"text": ""you and live, yet you have ruined me by treacherously taking my son.","}
{"text": ""See now—I fulfill my threat: You have your fill of blood.” After Cyrus’s","}
{"text": ""death, the Persian Empire quickly unraveled. One act of arrogance undid","}
{"text": ""all of Cyrus’s good work.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more","}
{"text": ""dangerous.","}
{"text": ""Cyrus had built his great empire on the ruins of a previous one. A","}
{"text": ""hundred years earlier, the powerful Assyrian Empire had been totally","}
{"text": ""destroyed, its once splendid capital of Nineveh but ruins in the sand. The","}
{"text": ""Assyrians had suffered this fate because they had pushed too far,","}
{"text": ""destroying one city-state after another until they lost sight of the","}
{"text": ""purposes of their victories, and also of the costs. They overextended","}
{"text": ""themselves and made many enemies who were finally able to band","}
{"text": ""together and destroy them.","}
{"text": ""Cyrus ignored the lesson of Assyria. He paid no heed to the warnings","}
{"text": ""of oracles and advisers. He did not worry about offending a queen. His","}
{"text": ""many victories had gone to his head, clouding his reason. Instead of","}
{"text": ""consolidating his already vast empire, he pushed forward. Instead of","}
{"text": ""recognizing each situation as different, he thought each new war would","}
{"text": ""bring the same result as the one before as long as he used the methods he","}
{"text": ""knew: ruthless force and cunning.Understand: In the realm of power, you must be guided by reason. To","}
{"text": ""let a momentary thrill or an emotional victory influence or guide your","}
{"text": ""moves will prove fatal. When you attain success, step back. Be cautious.","}
{"text": ""When you gain victory, understand the part played by the particular","}
{"text": ""circumstances of a situation, and never simply repeat the same actions","}
{"text": ""again and again. History is littered with the ruins of victorious empires","}
{"text": ""and the corpses of leaders who could not learn to stop and consolidate","}
{"text": ""their gains.","}
{"text": ""THE SEQUENCE OF CROSS-EXAMINATION","}
{"text": ""In all your cross-examinations …, most important of all, let me repeat","}
{"text": ""the injunction to be ever on the alert for a good place to stop. Nothing","}
{"text": ""can be more important than to close your examination with a triumph. So","}
{"text": ""many lawyers succeed in catching a witness in a serious contradiction;","}
{"text": ""but, not satisfied with this, go on asking questions, and taper off their","}
{"text": ""examination until the effect upon the jury of their former advantage is","}
{"text": ""lost altogether.","}
{"text": ""THE ART OF CROSS-EXAMINATION, FRANCIS L. WELLMAN,","}
{"text": ""1913","}
{"text": ""THE OVERREACHING GENERAL","}
{"text": ""We read of many instances of this kind; for the general who by his valor","}
{"text": ""has conquered a state for his master, and won great glory for himself by","}
{"text": ""his victory over the enemy, and has loaded his soldiers with rich booty,","}
{"text": ""acquires necessarily with his own soldiers, as well as with those of the","}
{"text": ""enemy and with the subjects of the prince, so high a reputation, that his","}
{"text": ""very victory may become distasteful, and a cause for apprehension to his","}
{"text": ""prince. For as the nature of men is ambitious as well as suspicious, and","}
{"text": ""puts no limits to one’s good fortune, it is not impossible that the","}
{"text": ""suspicion that may suddenly be aroused in the mind of the prince by the","}
{"text": ""victory of the general may have been aggravated by some haughty","}
{"text": ""expressions or insolent acts on his part; so that the prince will naturally","}
{"text": ""be made to think of securing himself against the ambition of his general.","}
{"text": ""And to do this, the means that suggest themselves to him are either to","}
{"text": ""have the general killed, or to deprive him of that reputation which he has","}
{"text": ""acquired with the prince’s army and the people, by using every means to","}
{"text": ""prove that the general’s victory was not due to his skill and courage, butto chance and the cowardice of the enemy, or to the sagacity of the other","}
{"text": ""captains who were with him in that action.","}
{"text": ""NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI, 1469-1527","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""No single person in history has occupied a more delicate and precarious","}
{"text": ""position than the king’s mistress. She had no real or legitimate power","}
{"text": ""base to fall back on in times of trouble; she was surrounded by packs of","}
{"text": ""envious courtiers eagerly anticipating her fall from grace; and finally,","}
{"text": ""since the source of her power was usually her physical beauty, for most","}
{"text": ""royal mistresses that fall was inevitable and unpleasant.","}
{"text": ""King Louis XV of France began to keep official mistresses in the early","}
{"text": ""days of his reign, each woman’s good fortune rarely lasting more than a","}
{"text": ""few years. But then came Madame de Pompadour, who, when she was a","}
{"text": ""middle-class child of nine named Jeanne Poisson, had been told by a","}
{"text": ""fortune-teller that she would someday be the king’s favorite. This","}
{"text": ""seemed an absurd dream, since the royal mistress almost always came","}
{"text": ""from the aristocracy. Jeanne nevertheless believed herself destined to","}
{"text": ""seduce the king, and doing so became her obsession. She applied herself","}
{"text": ""to the talents the king’s favorite had to have—music, dancing, acting,","}
{"text": ""horseback riding—and she excelled in every one of them. As a young","}
{"text": ""woman, she married a man of the lower nobility, which gave her an","}
{"text": ""entrée to the best salons in Paris. Word quickly spread of her beauty,","}
{"text": ""talent, charm, and intelligence.","}
{"text": ""Jeanne Poisson became close friends with Voltaire, Montesquieu, and","}
{"text": ""other great minds of the time, but she never lost sight of the goal she had","}
{"text": ""set herself as a girl: to capture the heart of the king. Her husband had a","}
{"text": ""chateau in a forest where the king would often go hunting, and she began","}
{"text": ""to spend a lot of time there. Studying his movements like a hawk, she","}
{"text": ""would make sure he would “happen” to come upon her while she was","}
{"text": ""out walking in her most alluring dress, or riding in her splendid coach.","}
{"text": ""The king began to take note of her, making her gifts of the game he","}
{"text": ""caught in the hunt.","}
{"text": ""In 1744 Louis’s current mistress, the Duchesse de Chateauroux, died.","}
{"text": ""Jeanne went on the offensive. She placed herself everywhere he wouldbe: at masked balls at Versailles, at the opera, wherever their paths would","}
{"text": ""cross, and wherever she could display her many talents: dancing,","}
{"text": ""singing, riding, coquetry. The king finally succumbed to her charms, and","}
{"text": ""in a ceremony at Versailles in September of 1745, this twenty-four-year-","}
{"text": ""old daughter of a middle-class banking agent was officially inaugurated","}
{"text": ""as the king’s mistress. She was given her own room in the palace, a room","}
{"text": ""the king could enter at any time via a hidden stairway and back door.","}
{"text": ""And because some of the courtiers were angry that he had chosen a","}
{"text": ""woman of low origins, he made her a marquise. From now on she would","}
{"text": ""be known as Madame de Pompadour.","}
{"text": ""The king was a man whom the slightest feeling of boredom would","}
{"text": ""oppress out of proportion. Madame de Pompadour knew that keeping","}
{"text": ""him under her spell meant keeping him amused. To that end she put on","}
{"text": ""constant theatrical productions at Versailles, in which she starred. She","}
{"text": ""organized elaborate hunting parties, masked balls, and whatever else it","}
{"text": ""would take to keep him diverted outside the bedroom. She became a","}
{"text": ""patroness of the arts, and the arbiter of taste and fashion for all of France.","}
{"text": ""Her enemies at the court only grew in number with each new success,","}
{"text": ""but Madame de Pompadour thwarted them in a totally novel way for a","}
{"text": ""king’s mistress: with extreme politeness. Snobs who resented her for her","}
{"text": ""low birth she won over with charm and grace. Most unusual of all, she","}
{"text": ""befriended the queen, and insisted that Louis XV pay more attention to","}
{"text": ""his wife, and treat her more kindly. Even the royal family begrudgingly","}
{"text": ""gave her their support. To crown her glory, the king made her a duchess.","}
{"text": ""Her sway was felt even in politics: Indeed she became the untitled","}
{"text": ""minister of foreign affairs.","}
{"text": ""In 1751, when Madame de Pompadour was at the height of her power,","}
{"text": ""she experienced her worst crisis. Physically weakened by the","}
{"text": ""responsibilities of her position, she found it increasingly difficult to meet","}
{"text": ""the king’s demands in bed. This was usually the point at which the","}
{"text": ""mistress would meet her end, struggling to maintain her position as her","}
{"text": ""beauty faded. But Madame de Pompadour had a strategy: She","}
{"text": ""encouraged the king to set up a kind of brothel, Pare aux Cerfs, on the","}
{"text": ""grounds of Versailles. There the middle-aged king could have liaisons","}
{"text": ""with the most beautiful young girls in the realm.","}
{"text": ""Madame de Pompadour knew that her charm and her political acumen","}
{"text": ""had made her indispensable to the king. What did she have to fear from a","}
{"text": ""sixteen-year-old who had none of her power and presence? What did it","}
{"text": ""matter if she lost her position in the bedroom, as long as she remainedthe most powerful woman in France? To secure that position she became","}
{"text": ""still closer friends with the queen, with whom she started attending","}
{"text": ""church. Although her enemies at the court conspired to have her toppled","}
{"text": ""from her official position as king’s mistress, the king kept her on, for he","}
{"text": ""needed her calming effect. It was only when her part in the disastrous","}
{"text": ""Seven Years’ War drew much criticism on her that she slowly withdrew","}
{"text": ""from public affairs.","}
{"text": ""Madame de Pompadour’s health had always been delicate, and she","}
{"text": ""died at the age of forty-three, in 1764. Her reign as mistress had lasted an","}
{"text": ""unprecedented twenty years. “She was regretted by all,” wrote the Duc","}
{"text": ""de Croy, “for she was kindly and helpful to everyone who approached","}
{"text": ""her.”","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""Aware of the temporariness of her power, the king’s mistress would often","}
{"text": ""go into a kind of frenzy after capturing the king: She would try to","}
{"text": ""accumulate as much money as possible to protect her after her inevitable","}
{"text": ""fall. And to extend her reign as long as possible, she would be ruthless","}
{"text": ""with her enemies in the court. Her situation, in other words, seemed to","}
{"text": ""demand from her a greed and vindictiveness that would often be her","}
{"text": ""undoing. Madame de Pompadour succeeded where all others had failed","}
{"text": ""because she never pressed her good fortune. Instead of bullying the","}
{"text": ""courtiers from her powerful position as the king’s mistress, she tried to","}
{"text": ""win their support. She never revealed the slightest hint of greed or","}
{"text": ""arrogance. When she could no longer perform her physical duties as","}
{"text": ""mistress, she did not fret at the thought of someone replacing her in bed.","}
{"text": ""She simply applied some strategy—she encouraged the king to take","}
{"text": ""young lovers, knowing that the younger and prettier they were, the less","}
{"text": ""of a threat they posed, since they could not compare to her in charm and","}
{"text": ""sophistication and would soon bore the monarch.","}
{"text": ""A man who was famous as a tree climber was guiding someone in","}
{"text": ""climbing a tall tree. He ordered the man to cut the top branches, and,","}
{"text": ""during this time, when the man seemed to be in great danger, the expert","}
{"text": ""said nothing. Only when the man was coming down and had reached the","}
{"text": ""height of the eaves did the expert call out, “Be careful! Watch your step","}
{"text": ""coming down!” I asked him, “Why did you say that? At that height hecould jump the rest of the way if he chose.” “That’s the point, ”said the","}
{"text": ""expert. “As long as the man was up at a dizzy height and the branches","}
{"text": ""were threaening to break, he himself was so afraid I said nothing.","}
{"text": ""Mistakes are always made when people get to the easy places.” This","}
{"text": ""man belonged to the lowest class, but his words were in perfect accord","}
{"text": ""with the precepts of the sages. In football too, they say that after you","}
{"text": ""have kicked out of a difficult place and you think the next one will be","}
{"text": ""easier you are sure to miss the ball.","}
{"text": ""ESSAYS IN IDLENESS, KENKO, JAPAN, FOURTEENTH CENTURY","}
{"text": ""Success plays strange tricks on the mind. It makes you feel","}
{"text": ""invulnerable, while also making you more hostile and emotional when","}
{"text": ""people challenge your power. It makes you less able to adapt to","}
{"text": ""circumstance. You come to believe your character is more responsible","}
{"text": ""for your success than your strategizing and planning. Like Madame de","}
{"text": ""Pompadour, you need to realize that your moment of triumph is also a","}
{"text": ""moment when you have to rely on cunning and strategy all the more,","}
{"text": ""consolidating your power base, recognizing the role of luck and","}
{"text": ""circumstance in your success, and remaining vigilant against changes in","}
{"text": ""your good fortune. It is the moment of victory when you need to play the","}
{"text": ""courtier’s game and pay more attention than ever to the laws of power.","}
{"text": ""The greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory.","}
{"text": ""Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""Power has its own rhythms and patterns. Those who succeed at the game","}
{"text": ""are the ones who control the patterns and vary them at will, keeping","}
{"text": ""people off balance while they set the tempo. The essence of strategy is","}
{"text": ""controlling what comes next, and the elation of victory can upset your","}
{"text": ""ability to control what comes next in two ways. First, you owe your","}
{"text": ""success to a pattern that you are apt to try to repeat. You will try to keep","}
{"text": ""moving in the same direction without stopping to see whether this is still","}
{"text": ""the direction that is best for you. Second, success tends to go to your","}
{"text": ""head and make you emotional. Feeling invulnerable, you make","}
{"text": ""aggressive moves that ultimately undo the victory you have gained.The lesson is simple: The powerful vary their rhythms and patterns,","}
{"text": ""change course, adapt to circumstance, and learn to improvise. Rather","}
{"text": ""than letting their dancing feet impel them forward, they step back and","}
{"text": ""look where they are going. It is as if their bloodstream bore a kind of","}
{"text": ""antidote to the intoxication of victory, letting them control their emotions","}
{"text": ""and come to a kind of mental halt when they have attained success. They","}
{"text": ""steady themselves, give themselves the space to reflect on what has","}
{"text": ""happened, examine the role of circumstance and luck in their success. As","}
{"text": ""they say in riding school, you have to be able to control yourself before","}
{"text": ""you can control the horse.","}
{"text": ""Luck and circumstance always play a role in power. This is inevitable,","}
{"text": ""and actually makes the game more interesting. But despite what you may","}
{"text": ""think, good luck is more dangerous than bad luck. Bad luck teaches","}
{"text": ""valuable lessons about patience, timing, and the need to be prepared for","}
{"text": ""the worst; good luck deludes you into the opposite lesson, making you","}
{"text": ""think your brillliance will carry you through. Your fortune will inevitably","}
{"text": ""turn, and when it does you will be completely unprepared.","}
{"text": ""According to Machiavelli, this is what undid Cesare Borgia. He had","}
{"text": ""many triumphs, was actually a clever strategist, but had the bad luck to","}
{"text": ""have good luck: He had a pope for a father. Then, when he had bad luck","}
{"text": ""for real—his father’s death—he was unprepared for it, and the many","}
{"text": ""enemies he had made devoured him. The good luck that elevates you or","}
{"text": ""seals your success brings the moment for you to open your eyes: The","}
{"text": ""wheel of fortune will hurtle you down as easily as up. If you prepare for","}
{"text": ""the fall, it is less likely to ruin you when it happens.","}
{"text": ""People who have a run of success can catch a kind of fever, and even","}
{"text": ""when they themselves try to stay calm, the people below them often","}
{"text": ""pressure them to go past their mark and into dangerous waters. You have","}
{"text": ""to have a strategy for dealing with these people. Simply preaching","}
{"text": ""moderation will make you look weak and small-minded; seeming to fail","}
{"text": ""to follow up on a victory can lessen your power.","}
{"text": ""When the Athenian general and statesman Pericles led a series of","}
{"text": ""naval campaigns around the Black Sea in 436 B.C., his easy triumphs en-","}
{"text": ""flamed the Athenians’ desire for more. They dreamed of conquering","}
{"text": ""Egypt, overrunning Persia, sailing for Sicily. On the one hand Pericles","}
{"text": ""reined in these dangerous emotions by warning of the perils of hubris.","}
{"text": ""On the other hand he fed them by fighting small battles that he knew he","}
{"text": ""could win, creating the appearance that he was preserving the","}
{"text": ""momentum of success. The skill with which Pericles played this game is","}
{"text": ""revealed by what happened when he died: The demagogues took over,pushed Athens into invading Sicily, and in one rash move destroyed an","}
{"text": ""empire.","}
{"text": ""The rhythm of power often requires an alternation of force and","}
{"text": ""cunning. Too much force creates a counterreaction; too much cunning,","}
{"text": ""no matter how cunning it is, becomes predictable. Working on behalf of","}
{"text": ""his master, the shogun Oda Nobunaga, the great sixteenth-century","}
{"text": ""Japanese general (and future emperor) Hideyoshi once engineered a","}
{"text": ""stunning victory over the army of the formidable General Yoshimoto.","}
{"text": ""The shogun wanted to go further, to take on and crush yet another","}
{"text": ""powerful enemy, but Hideyoshi reminded him of the old Japanese","}
{"text": ""saying: “When you have won a victory, tighten the strings of your","}
{"text": ""helmet.” For Hideyoshi this was the moment for the shogun to switch","}
{"text": ""from force to cunning and indirection, setting his enemies against one","}
{"text": ""another through a series of deceptive alliances. In this way he would","}
{"text": ""avoid stirring up needless opposition by appearing overly aggressive.","}
{"text": ""When you are victorious, then, lie low, and lull the enemy into inaction.","}
{"text": ""These changes of rhythm are immensely powerful.","}
{"text": ""People who go past the mark are often motivated by a desire to please","}
{"text": ""a master by proving their dedication. But an excess of effort exposes you","}
{"text": ""to the risk of making the master suspicious of you. On several occasions,","}
{"text": ""generals under Philip of Macedon were disgraced and demoted","}
{"text": ""immediately after leading their troops to a great victory; one more such","}
{"text": ""victory, Philip thought, and the man might become a rival instead of an","}
{"text": ""underling. When you serve a master, it is often wise to measure your","}
{"text": ""victories carefully, let ting him get the glory and never making him","}
{"text": ""uneasy. It is also wise to establish a pattern of strict obedience to earn his","}
{"text": ""trust. In the fourth century B.C., a captain under the notoriously severe","}
{"text": ""Chinese general Wu Ch‘i charged ahead before a battle had begun and","}
{"text": ""came back with several enemy heads. He thought he had shown his fiery","}
{"text": ""enthusiasm, but Wu Ch’i was unimpressed. “A talented officer,” the","}
{"text": ""general said with a sigh as he ordered the man beheaded, “but a","}
{"text": ""disobedient one.”","}
{"text": ""Another moment when a small success can spoil the chances for a","}
{"text": ""larger one may come if a master or superior grants you a favor: It is a","}
{"text": ""dangerous mistake to ask for more. You will seem insecure—perhaps","}
{"text": ""you feel you did not deserve this favor, and have to grab as much as you","}
{"text": ""can when you have the chance, which may not come again. The proper","}
{"text": ""response is to accept the favor graciously and withdraw. Any subsequent","}
{"text": ""favors you should earn without having to ask for them.Finally, the moment when you stop has great dramatic import. What","}
{"text": ""comes last sticks in the mind as a kind of exclamation point. There is no","}
{"text": ""better time to stop and walk away than after a victory. Keep going and","}
{"text": ""you risk lessening the effect, even ending up defeated. As lawyers say of","}
{"text": ""cross-examination, “Always stop with a victory.”","}
{"text": ""Image: Icarus Falling","}
{"text": ""from the Sky. His father","}
{"text": ""Daedalus fashions wings","}
{"text": ""of wax that allow the","}
{"text": ""two men to fly out of","}
{"text": ""the labyrinth and","}
{"text": ""escape the Minotaur.","}
{"text": ""Elated by the tri","}
{"text": ""umphant escape","}
{"text": ""and the feeling of","}
{"text": ""flight, Icarus soars","}
{"text": ""higher and high","}
{"text": ""er, until the sun","}
{"text": ""melts the wings","}
{"text": ""and he hurtles","}
{"text": ""to his death.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Princes and republics should content themselves with victory,","}
{"text": ""for when they aim at more, they generally lose. The use of insulting","}
{"text": ""language toward an enemy arises from the insolence of victory, or from","}
{"text": ""the false hope of victory, which latter misleads men as often in their","}
{"text": ""actions as in their words; for when this false hope takes possession of the","}
{"text": ""mind, it makes men go beyond the mark, and causes them to sacrifice a","}
{"text": ""certain good for an uncertain better. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""As Machiavelli says, either destroy a man or leave him alone entirely.","}
{"text": ""Inflicting half punishment or mild injury will only create an enemy","}
{"text": ""whose bitterness will grow with time, and who will take revenge. When","}
{"text": ""you beat an enemy, then, make your victory complete. Crush him into","}
{"text": ""nonexis tence. In the moment of victory, you do not restrain yourselffrom crushing the enemy you have defeated, but rather from needlessly","}
{"text": ""advancing against others. Be merciless with your enemy, but do not","}
{"text": ""create new enemies by overreaching.","}
{"text": ""There are some who become more cautious than ever after a victory,","}
{"text": ""which they see as just giving them more possessions to worry about and","}
{"text": ""protect. Your caution after victory should never make you hesitate, or","}
{"text": ""lose momentum, but rather act as a safeguard against rash action. On the","}
{"text": ""other hand, momentum as a phenomenon is greatly overrated. You create","}
{"text": ""your own successes, and if they follow one upon the other, it is your own","}
{"text": ""doing. Belief in momentum will only make you emotional, less prone to","}
{"text": ""act strategically, and more apt to repeat the same methods. Leave","}
{"text": ""momentum for those who have nothing better to rely upon.LAW 48","}
{"text": ""ASSUME FORMLESSNESS","}
{"text": ""JUDGMENT","}
{"text": ""By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack.","}
{"text": ""Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself","}
{"text": ""adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no","}
{"text": ""law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and","}
{"text": ""formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything","}
{"text": ""changes.","}
{"text": ""In martial arts, it is important that strategy be unfathomable, that form","}
{"text": ""be concealed, and that movements be unexpected, so that preparedness","}
{"text": ""against them be impossible. What enables a good general to win without","}
{"text": ""fail is always having unfathomable wisdom and a modus operandi that","}
{"text": ""leaves no tracks. Only the formless cannot be affected. Sages hide in","}
{"text": ""unfathomability, so their feelings cannot be observed; they operate in","}
{"text": ""formlessness, so their lines cannot be crossed.","}
{"text": ""THE BOOK OF THE HUAINAN MASTERS, CHINA, SECOND","}
{"text": ""CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""By the eighth century B.C., the city-states of Greece had grown so large","}
{"text": ""and prosperous that they had run out of land to support their expanding","}
{"text": ""populations. So they turned to the sea, establishing colonies in Asia","}
{"text": ""Minor, Sicily, the Italian peninsula, even Africa. The city-state of Sparta,","}
{"text": ""however, was landlocked and surrounded by mountains. Lacking access","}
{"text": ""to the Mediterranean, the Spartans never became a seafaring people;","}
{"text": ""instead they turned on the cities around them, and, in a series of brutal,violent conflicts lasting more than a hundred years, managed to conquer","}
{"text": ""an immense area that would provide enough land for their citizens. This","}
{"text": ""solution to their problem, however, brought a new, more formidable one:","}
{"text": ""How could they maintain and police their conquered territories? The","}
{"text": ""subordinate peoples they ruled now outnumbered them ten to one. Surely","}
{"text": ""this horde would take a horrible revenge on them.","}
{"text": ""Sparta’s solution was to create a society dedicated to the art of war.","}
{"text": ""Spartans would be tougher, stronger, and fiercer than their neighbors.","}
{"text": ""This was the only way they could ensure their stability and survival.","}
{"text": ""When a Spartan boy reached the age of seven, he was taken from his","}
{"text": ""mother and placed in a military club where he was trained to fight and","}
{"text": ""underwent the strictest discipline. The boys slept on beds of reeds; they","}
{"text": ""were allotted only one outer garment to wear for an entire year. They","}
{"text": ""studied none of the arts; indeed, the Spartans banned music, and","}
{"text": ""permitted only slaves to practice the crafts that were necessary to sustain","}
{"text": ""them. The only skills the Spartans taught were those of warfare. Children","}
{"text": ""seen as weaklings were left to die in a cavern in the mountains. No","}
{"text": ""system of money or trading was allowed in Sparta; acquired wealth, they","}
{"text": ""believed, would sow selfishness and dissension, weakening their warrior","}
{"text": ""discipline. The only way a Spartan could earn a living was through","}
{"text": ""agriculture, mostly on state-owned lands, which slaves, called helots,","}
{"text": ""would work for him.","}
{"text": ""The Spartans’ single-mindedness allowed them to forge the most","}
{"text": ""powerful infantry in the world. They marched in perfect order and fought","}
{"text": ""with incomparable bravery. Their tight-knit phalanxes could vanquish an","}
{"text": ""army ten times their size, as they proved in defeating the Persians at","}
{"text": ""Thermopylae. A Spartan column on the march would strike terror in the","}
{"text": ""enemy; it seemed to have no weaknesses. Yet although the Spartans","}
{"text": ""proved themselves mighty warriors, they had no interest in creating an","}
{"text": ""empire. They only wanted to keep what they had already conquered and","}
{"text": ""to defend it against invaders. Decades would pass without a single","}
{"text": ""change in the system that had succeeded so well in preserving Sparta’s","}
{"text": ""status quo.","}
{"text": ""THE DOC WITH THE CROPPED EARS","}
{"text": ""“What crime have I committed that I should be thus mutilated by my own","}
{"text": ""master?” pensively exclaimed Jowler, a young mastiff. “Here’s a pretty","}
{"text": ""condition for a dog of my pretentions! How can I show my face among","}
{"text": ""my friends? Oh! king of beasts, or rather their tyrant, who would dare totreat you thus?” His complaints were not unfounded, for that very","}
{"text": ""morning his master, despite the piercing shrieks of our young friend, had","}
{"text": ""barbarously cut off his long pendent ears. Jowler expected nothing less","}
{"text": ""than to give up the ghost. As he advanced in years, he perceived that he","}
{"text": ""gained more than he had lost by his mutilation; for, being naturally","}
{"text": ""inclined to fight with others, he would often have returned home with this","}
{"text": ""part disfigured in a hundred places. A quarrelsome dog always has his","}
{"text": ""ears lacerated. The less we leave others to lay hold of the better. When","}
{"text": ""one has but one point to defend, it should be protected for fear of","}
{"text": ""accident. Take for example Master Jowler, who, being armed with a","}
{"text": ""spiked collar, and having about as much ear as a bird, a wolf would be","}
{"text": ""puzzled to know where to tackle him.","}
{"text": ""FABLES. JEAN DE LA FOMTAINE, 1621-1695","}
{"text": ""At the same time that the Spartans were evolving their warlike culture,","}
{"text": ""another city-state was rising to equal prominence: Athens. Unlike Sparta,","}
{"text": ""Athens had taken to the sea, not so much to create colonies as for","}
{"text": ""purposes of trade. The Athenians became great merchants; their","}
{"text": ""currency, the famous “owl coins,” spread throughout the Mediterranean.","}
{"text": ""Unlike the rigid Spartans, the Athenians responded to every problem","}
{"text": ""with consummate creativity, adapting to the occasion and creating new","}
{"text": ""social forms and new arts at an incredible pace. Their society was in","}
{"text": ""constant flux. And as their power grew, they came to pose a threat to the","}
{"text": ""defense-minded Spartans.","}
{"text": ""In 431 B.C., the war that had been brewing between Athens and","}
{"text": ""Sparta for so long finally erupted. It lasted twenty-seven years, but after","}
{"text": ""many twists of fortune, the Spartan war machine finally emerged","}
{"text": ""victorious. The Spartans now commanded an empire, and this time they","}
{"text": ""could not stay in their shell. If they gave up what they had gained, the","}
{"text": ""beaten Athenians would regroup and rise against them, and the long war","}
{"text": ""would have been fought for naught.","}
{"text": ""After the war, Athenian money poured into Sparta. The Spartans had","}
{"text": ""been trained in warfare, not politics or economics; because they were so","}
{"text": ""unaccustomed to it, wealth and its accompanying ways of life seduced","}
{"text": ""and overwhelmed them. Spartan governors were sent to rule what had","}
{"text": ""been Athenian lands; far from home, they succumbed to the worst forms","}
{"text": ""of corruption. Sparta had defeated Athens, but the fluid Athenian way of","}
{"text": ""life was slowly breaking down its discipline and loosening its rigid order.","}
{"text": ""And Athens, meanwhile, was adapting to losing its empire, managing to","}
{"text": ""thrive as a cultural and economic center.Confused by a change in its status quo, Sparta grew weaker and","}
{"text": ""weaker. Some thirty years after defeating Athens, it lost an important","}
{"text": ""battle with the city-state of Thebes. Almost overnight, this once mighty","}
{"text": ""nation collapsed, never to recover.","}
{"text": ""Interpretation","}
{"text": ""In the evolution of species, protective armor has almost always spelled","}
{"text": ""disaster. Although there are a few exceptions, the shell most often","}
{"text": ""becomes a dead end for the animal encased in it; it slows the creature","}
{"text": ""down, making it hard for it to forage for food and making it a target for","}
{"text": ""fast-moving predators. Animals that take to the sea or sky, and that move","}
{"text": ""swiftly and unpredictably, are infinitely more powerful and secure.","}
{"text": ""In facing a serious problem—controlling superior numbers—Sparta","}
{"text": ""reacted like an animal that develops a shell to protect itself from the","}
{"text": ""environment. But like a turtle, the Spartans sacrificed mobility for safety.","}
{"text": ""They managed to preserve stability for three hundred years, but at what","}
{"text": ""cost? They had no culture beyond warfare, no arts to relieve the tension,","}
{"text": ""a constant anxiety about the status quo. While their neighbors took to the","}
{"text": ""sea, learning to adapt to a world of constant motion, the Spartans","}
{"text": ""entombed themselves in their own system. Victory would mean new","}
{"text": ""lands to govern, which they did not want; defeat would mean the end of","}
{"text": ""their military machine, which they did not want, either. Only stasis","}
{"text": ""allowed them to survive. But nothing in the world can remain stable","}
{"text": ""forever, and the shell or system you evolve for your protection will","}
{"text": ""someday prove your undoing.","}
{"text": ""In the case of Sparta, it was not the armies of Athens that defeated it,","}
{"text": ""but the Athenian money. Money flows everywhere it has the opportunity","}
{"text": ""to go; it cannot be controlled, or made to fit a prescribed pattern. It is","}
{"text": ""inherently chaotic. And in the long run, money made Athens the","}
{"text": ""conqueror, by infiltrating the Spartan system and corroding its protective","}
{"text": ""armor. In the battle between the two systems, Athens was fluid and","}
{"text": ""creative enough to take new forms, while Sparta could grow only more","}
{"text": ""rigid until it cracked.","}
{"text": ""This is the way the world works, whether for animals, cultures, or","}
{"text": ""individuals. In the face of the world’s harshness and danger, organisms","}
{"text": ""of any kind develop protection—a coat of armor, a rigid system, a","}
{"text": ""comforting ritual. For the short term it may work, but for the long term it","}
{"text": ""spells disaster. People weighed down by a system and inflexible ways ofdoing things cannot move fast, cannot sense or adapt to change. They","}
{"text": ""lumber around more and more slowly until they go the way of the","}
{"text": ""brontosaurus. Learn to move fast and adapt or you will be eaten.","}
{"text": ""The best way to avoid this fate is to assume formlessness. No predator","}
{"text": ""alive can attack what it cannot see.","}
{"text": ""OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW","}
{"text": ""When World War II ended and the Japanese, who had invaded China in","}
{"text": ""1937, had finally been thrown out, the Chinese Nationalists, lead by","}
{"text": ""Chiang Kai-shek, decided the time had come to annihilate the Chinese","}
{"text": ""Communists, their hated rivals, once and for all. They had almost","}
{"text": ""succeeded in 1935, forcing the Communists into the Long March, the","}
{"text": ""grueling retreat that had greatly diminished their numbers. Although the","}
{"text": ""Communists had recovered somewhat during the war against Japan, it","}
{"text": ""would not be difficult to defeat them now. They controlled only isolated","}
{"text": ""areas in the countryside, had unsophisticated weaponry, lacked any","}
{"text": ""military experience or training beyond mountain fighting, and controlled","}
{"text": ""no important parts of China, except areas of Manchuria, which they had","}
{"text": ""managed to take after the Japanese retreat. Chiang decided to commit his","}
{"text": ""best forces in Manchuria. He would take over its major cities and from","}
{"text": ""those bases would spread through this northern industrial region,","}
{"text": ""sweeping the Communists away. Once Manchuria had fallen the","}
{"text": ""Communists would collapse.","}
{"text": ""In 1945 and ’46 the plan worked perfectly: The Nationalists easily","}
{"text": ""took the major Manchurian cities. Puzzlingly, though, in the face of this","}
{"text": ""critical campaign, the Communist strategy made no sense. When the","}
{"text": ""Nationalists began their push, the Communists dispersed to Manchuria’s","}
{"text": ""most out-of-the-way comers. Their small units harassed the Nationalist","}
{"text": ""armies, ambushing them here, retreating unexpectedly there, but these","}
{"text": ""dispersed units never linked up, making them hard to attack. They would","}
{"text": ""seize a town only to give it up a few weeks later. Forming neither rear","}
{"text": ""guards nor vanguards, they moved like mercury, never staying in one","}
{"text": ""place, elusive and formless.","}
{"text": ""One seductive and ultimately always fatal path has been the development","}
{"text": ""of protective armor. An organism can protect itself by concealment, by","}
{"text": ""swiftness in flight, by effective counterattack, by uniting for attack anddefense with other individuals of its species and also by encasing itself","}
{"text": ""within bony plates and spines…. Almost always the experiment of armor","}
{"text": ""failed. Creatures adopiing it tended to become unwieldy. They had to","}
{"text": ""move relatively slowly. Hence they were forced to live mainly on","}
{"text": ""vegetable food; and thus in general they were at a disadvantage as","}
{"text": ""compared with foes living on more rapidly “profitable” animal food:","}
{"text": ""The repeated failure of protective armor shows that, even at a somewhat","}
{"text": ""low evolutionary level, mind triumphed over mere matter. It is this sort of","}
{"text": ""triumph which has been supremely exemplified in Man.","}
{"text": ""SCIENI IFIC THEORY AND RELIGION, E. W. BARNES, 1933","}
{"text": ""The Nationalists ascribed this to two things: cowardice in the face of","}
{"text": ""superior forces and inexperience in strategy. Mao Tse-tung, the","}
{"text": ""Communist leader, was more a poet and philosopher than a general,","}
{"text": ""whereas Chiang had studied warfare in the West and was a follower of","}
{"text": ""the German military writer Carl von Clausewitz, among others.","}
{"text": ""Yet a pattern did eventually emerge in Mao’s attacks. After the","}
{"text": ""Nationalists had taken the cities, leaving the Communists to occupy what","}
{"text": ""was generally considered Manchuria’s useless space, the Communists","}
{"text": ""started using that large space to surround the cities. If Chiang sent an","}
{"text": ""army from one city to reinforce another, the Communists would encircle","}
{"text": ""the rescuing army. Chiang’s forces were slowly broken into smaller and","}
{"text": ""smaller units, isolated from one another, their lines of supply and","}
{"text": ""communication cut. The Nationalists still had superior firepower, but if","}
{"text": ""they could not move, what good was it?","}
{"text": ""A kind of terror overcame the Nationalist soldiers. Commanders","}
{"text": ""comfortably remote from the front lines might laugh at Mao, but the","}
{"text": ""soldiers had fought the Communists in the mountains, and had come to","}
{"text": ""fear their elusiveness. Now these soldiers sat in their cities and watched","}
{"text": ""as their fast-moving enemies, as fluid as water, poured in on them from","}
{"text": ""all sides. There seemed to be millions of them. The Communists also","}
{"text": ""encircled the soldiers’ spirits, bombarding them with propaganda to","}
{"text": ""lower their morale and pressure them to desert.","}
{"text": ""The Nationalists began to surrender in their minds. Their encircled and","}
{"text": ""isolated cities started collapsing even before being directly attacked; one","}
{"text": ""after another fell in quick succession. In November of 1948, the","}
{"text": ""Nationalists surrendered Manchuria to the Communists—a humiliating","}
{"text": ""blow to the technically superior Nationalist army, and one that proved","}
{"text": ""decisive in the war. By the following year the Communists controlled all","}
{"text": ""of China.Interpretation","}
{"text": ""The two board games that best approximate the strategies of war are","}
{"text": ""chess and the Asian game of go. In chess the board is small. In","}
{"text": ""comparison to go, the attack comes relatively quickly, forcing a decisive","}
{"text": ""battle. It rarely pays to withdraw, or to sacrifice your pieces, which must","}
{"text": ""be concentrated at key areas. Go is much less formal. It is played on a","}
{"text": ""large grid, with 361 intersections—nearly six times as many positions as","}
{"text": ""in chess. Black and white stones (one color for each side) are placed on","}
{"text": ""the board’s intersections, one at a time, wherever you like. Once all your","}
{"text": ""stones (52 for each side) are on the board, the object is to isolate the","}
{"text": ""stones of your opponent by encircling them.","}
{"text": ""The sage neither seeks to follow the ways of the ancients nor estahlishes","}
{"text": ""any fixed standard for all times but examines the things of his age and","}
{"text": ""then prepares to deal with them. There was in Sung a man, who tilled a","}
{"text": ""field in which there stood the trunk of a tree. Once a hare, while running","}
{"text": ""fast, rushed against the trunk, broke its neck, and died. Thereupon the","}
{"text": ""man cast his plough aside and watched that tree, hoping that he would","}
{"text": ""get another hare. Yet he never caught another hare and was himself","}
{"text": ""ridiculed by the people of Sung. Now supposing somebody wanted to","}
{"text": ""govern the people of the present age with the policies of the early kings,","}
{"text": ""he would be doing exactly the same thing as that man who watched the","}
{"text": ""tree.","}
{"text": ""HAN-FEI-TZU, CHINESE PHILOSOPHFR, THIRD CENTURY B.C.","}
{"text": ""A game of go—called wei-chi in China—can last up to three hundred","}
{"text": ""moves. The strategy is more subtle and fluid than chess, developing","}
{"text": ""slowly; the more complex the pattern your stones initially create on the","}
{"text": ""board, the harder it is for your opponent to understand your strategy.","}
{"text": ""Fighting to control a particular area is not worth the trouble: You have to","}
{"text": ""think in larger terms, to be prepared to sacrifice an area in order","}
{"text": ""eventually to dominate the board. What you are after is not an","}
{"text": ""entrenched position but mobility. With mobility you can isolate the","}
{"text": ""opponent in small areas and then encircle them. The aim is not to kill off","}
{"text": ""the opponent’s pieces directly, as in chess, but to induce a kind of","}
{"text": ""paralysis and collapse. Chess is linear, position oriented, and aggressive;","}
{"text": ""go is nonlinear and fluid. Aggression is indirect until the end of the","}
{"text": ""game, when the winner can surround the opponent’s stones at an","}
{"text": ""accelerated pace.Chinese military strategists have been influenced by go for centuries.","}
{"text": ""Its proverbs have been applied to war time and again; Mao Tse-tung was","}
{"text": ""an addict of wei-chi, and its precepts were ingrained in his strategies. A","}
{"text": ""key wei-chi concept, for example, is to use the size of the board to your","}
{"text": ""advantage, spreading out in every direction so that your opponent cannot","}
{"text": ""fathom your movements in a simple linear way.","}
{"text": ""“Every Chinese,” Mao once wrote, “should consciously throw himself","}
{"text": ""into this war of a jigsaw pattern” against the Nationalists. Place your","}
{"text": ""men in a jigsaw pattern in go, and your opponent loses himself trying to","}
{"text": ""figure out what you are up to. Either he wastes time pursuing you or, like","}
{"text": ""Chiang Kai-shek, he assumes you are incompetent and fails to protect","}
{"text": ""himself. And if he concentrates on single areas, as Western strategy","}
{"text": ""advises, he becomes a sitting duck for encirclement. In the wei-chi way","}
{"text": ""of war, you encircle the enemy’s brain, using mind games, propaganda,","}
{"text": ""and irritation tactics to confuse and dishearten. This was the strategy of","}
{"text": ""the Communists—an apparent formlessness that disoriented and terrified","}
{"text": ""their enemy.","}
{"text": ""Where chess is linear and direct, the ancient game of go is closer to","}
{"text": ""the kind of strategy that will prove relevant in a world where battles are","}
{"text": ""fought indirectly, in vast, loosely connected areas. Its strategies are","}
{"text": ""abstract and multidimensional, inhabiting a plane beyond time and space:","}
{"text": ""the strategist’s mind. In this fluid form of warfare, you value movement","}
{"text": ""over position. Your speed and mobility make it impossible to predict","}
{"text": ""your moves; unable to understand you, your enemy can form no strategy","}
{"text": ""to defeat you. Instead of fixing on particular spots, this indirect form of","}
{"text": ""warfare spreads out, just as you can use the large and disconnected","}
{"text": ""nature of the real world to your advantage. Be like a vapor. Do not give","}
{"text": ""your opponents anything solid to attack; watch as they exhaust","}
{"text": ""themselves pursuing you, trying to cope with your elusiveness. Only","}
{"text": ""formlessness allows you to truly surprise your enemies—by the time","}
{"text": ""they figure out where you are and what you are up to, it is too late.","}
{"text": ""When you want to fight us, we don’t let you and you can’t find us. But","}
{"text": ""when","}
{"text": ""we want to fight you, we make sure that you can’t get away and we hit","}
{"text": ""you","}
{"text": ""squarely … and wipe you out…. The enemy advances, we retreat; the","}
{"text": ""enemy","}
{"text": ""camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we","}
{"text": ""pursue.","}
{"text": ""Mao Tse-tung, 1893-1976General Rommel surpassed Patton as a creative intellect…. Rommel","}
{"text": ""shunned military formalism. He made no fixed plans beyond those","}
{"text": ""intended for the initial clash; thereafter, he tailored his tactics to meet","}
{"text": ""specific situations as they arose. He was a lightning-fast decision-maker,","}
{"text": ""physically maintaining a pace that matched his active mentality. In a","}
{"text": ""forbidding sea of sand, he operated in a free environment. Once Rommel","}
{"text": ""ruptured the British lines in Africa, he had the whole northern part of the","}
{"text": ""continent opened to him. Comparatively free from the hamstringing","}
{"text": ""authority of Berlin, disregarding orders even from Hitler himself on","}
{"text": ""occasion, Rommel implemented one successful operation after another","}
{"text": ""until he had most of North Africa under his control and Cairo trembling","}
{"text": ""at his feet.","}
{"text": ""THE ART OF WINNING WARS, JAMES MRAZEK, 1968","}
{"text": ""KEYS TO POWER","}
{"text": ""The human animal is distinguished by its constant creation of forms.","}
{"text": ""Rarely expressing its emotions directly, it gives them form through","}
{"text": ""language, or through socially acceptable rituals. We cannot communicate","}
{"text": ""our emotions without a form.","}
{"text": ""The forms that we create, however, change constantly—in fashion, in","}
{"text": ""style, in all those human phenomena representing the mood of the","}
{"text": ""moment. We are constantly altering the forms we have inherited from","}
{"text": ""previous generations, and these changes are signs of life and vitality.","}
{"text": ""Indeed, the things that don’t change, the forms that rigidify, come to look","}
{"text": ""to us like death, and we destroy them. The young show this most clearly:","}
{"text": ""Uncomfortable with the forms that society imposes upon them, having","}
{"text": ""no set identity, they play with their own characters, trying on a variety of","}
{"text": ""masks and poses to express themselves. This is the vitality that drives the","}
{"text": ""motor of form, creating constant changes in style.","}
{"text": ""The powerful are often people who in their youth have shown","}
{"text": ""immense creativity in expressing something new through a new form.","}
{"text": ""Society grants them power because it hungers for and rewards this sort of","}
{"text": ""newness. The problem comes later, when they often grow conservative","}
{"text": ""and possessive. They no longer dream of creating new forms; their","}
{"text": ""identities are set, their habits congeal, and their rigidity makes them easy","}
{"text": ""targets. Everyone knows their next move. Instead of demanding respectthey elicit boredom: Get off the stage! we say, let someone else, someone","}
{"text": ""younger, entertain us. When locked in the past, the powerful look","}
{"text": ""comical—they are overripe fruit, waiting to fall from the tree.","}
{"text": ""Power can only thrive if it is flexible in its forms. To be formless is not","}
{"text": ""to be amorphous; everything has a form—it is impossible to avoid. The","}
{"text": ""formlessness of power is more like that of water, or mercury, taking the","}
{"text": ""form of whatever is around it. Changing constantly, it is never","}
{"text": ""predictable. The powerful are constantly creating form, and their power","}
{"text": ""comes from the rapidity with which they can change. Their formlessness","}
{"text": ""is in the eye of the enemy who cannot see what they are up to and so has","}
{"text": ""nothing solid to attack. This is the premier pose of power: ungraspable,","}
{"text": ""as elusive and swift as the god Mercury, who could take any form he","}
{"text": ""pleased and used this ability to wreak havoc on Mount Olympus.","}
{"text": ""Human creations evolve toward abstraction, toward being more","}
{"text": ""mental and less material. This evolution is clear in art, which, in this","}
{"text": ""century, made the great discovery of abstraction and conceptualism; it","}
{"text": ""can also be seen in politics, which over time have become less overtly","}
{"text": ""violent, more complicated, indirect and cerebral. Warfare and strategy","}
{"text": ""too have followed this pattern. Strategy began in the manipulation of","}
{"text": ""armies on land, positioning them in ordered formations; on land, strategy","}
{"text": ""is relatively two dimensional, and controlled by topography. But all the","}
{"text": ""great powers have eventually taken to the sea, for commerce and","}
{"text": ""colonization. And to protect their trading lanes they have had to learn","}
{"text": ""how to fight at sea. Maritime warfare requires tremendous creativity and","}
{"text": ""abstract thinking, since the lines are constantly shifting. Naval captains","}
{"text": ""distinguish themselves by their ability to adapt to the literal fluidity of","}
{"text": ""the terrain and to confuse the enemy with an abstract, hard-to-anticipate","}
{"text": ""form. They are operating in a third dimension: the mind.","}
{"text": ""CHARACTER ARMOR","}
{"text": ""To carry out the instinctual inhibition demanded by the modern world","}
{"text": ""and to be able to cope with the energy stasis which results from this","}
{"text": ""inhibition, the ego has to undergo a change. The ego, i.e., that part of the","}
{"text": ""person that is exposed to danger, becomes rigid, as we say, when it is","}
{"text": ""continually subjected to the same or similar conflicts between need and a","}
{"text": ""fear-inducing outer world. It acquires in this process a chronic,","}
{"text": ""automatically functioning mode of reaction, i.e., its “character.” It is as","}
{"text": ""if the affective personality armored itself, as if the hard shell it develops","}
{"text": ""were intended to deflect and weaken the blows of the outer world as wellas the clamoring of the inner needs. This armoring makes the person less","}
{"text": ""sensitive to unpleasure, but also restricts his libidinal and aggressive","}
{"text": ""motility and thus reduces his capacity for achievement and pleasure. We","}
{"text": ""say the ego has become less flexible and more rigid, and that the abiliry","}
{"text": ""to regulate the energy economy depends on the extent of the armoring.","}
{"text": ""WILHELM REICH, 1897-1957","}
{"text": ""Back on land, guerrilla warfare too demonstrates this evolution toward","}
{"text": ""abstraction. T. E. Lawrence was perhaps the first modern strategist to","}
{"text": ""develop the theory behind this kind of warfare, and to put it into practice.","}
{"text": ""His ideas influenced Mao, who found in his writings an uncanny Western","}
{"text": ""equivalent to wei-chi. Lawrence was working with Arabs fighting for","}
{"text": ""their territory against the Turks. His idea was to make the Arabs blend","}
{"text": ""into the vast desert, never providing a target, never collecting together in","}
{"text": ""one place. As the Turks scrambled to fight this vaporous army, they","}
{"text": ""spread themselves thin, wasting energy in moving from place to place.","}
{"text": ""They had the superior firepower but the Arabs kept the initiative by","}
{"text": ""playing cat and mouse, giving the Turks nothing to hold on to,","}
{"text": ""destroying their morale. “Most wars were wars of contact…. Ours should","}
{"text": ""be a war of detachment,” Lawrence wrote. “We were to contain the","}
{"text": ""enemy by the silent threat of a vast unknown desert, not disclosing","}
{"text": ""ourselves till we attacked.”","}
{"text": ""This is the ultimate form of strategy. The war of engagement has","}
{"text": ""become far too dangerous and costly; indirection and elusiveness yield","}
{"text": ""far better results at a much lower cost. The main cost, in fact, is mental—","}
{"text": ""the thinking it takes to align your forces in scattered patterns, and to","}
{"text": ""undermine the minds and psychology of your opponents. And nothing","}
{"text": ""will infuriate and disorient them more than formlessness. In a world","}
{"text": ""where wars of detachment are the order of the day, formlessness is","}
{"text": ""crucial.","}
{"text": ""The first psychological requirement of formlessness is to train yourself","}
{"text": ""to take nothing personally. Never show any defensiveness. When you act","}
{"text": ""defensive, you show your emotions, revealing a clear form. Your","}
{"text": ""opponents will realize they have hit a nerve, an Achilles’ heel. And they","}
{"text": ""will hit it again and again. So train yourself to take nothing personally.","}
{"text": ""Never let anyone get your back up. Be like a slippery ball that cannot be","}
{"text": ""held: Let no one know what gets to you, or where your weaknesses lie.","}
{"text": ""Make your face a formless mask and you will infuriate and disorient","}
{"text": ""your scheming colleagues and opponents.","}
{"text": ""One man who used this technique was Baron James Rothschild. A","}
{"text": ""German Jew in Paris, in a culture decidedly unfriendly to foreigners,Rothschild never took any attack on him personally or showed he had","}
{"text": ""been hurt in any way. He furthermore adapted himself to the political","}
{"text": ""climate, whatever it was—the stiffly formal Restoration monarchy of","}
{"text": ""Louis XVIII, the bourgeois reign of Louis-Philippe, the democratic","}
{"text": ""revolution of 1848, the upstart Louis-Napoleon crowned emperor in","}
{"text": ""1852. Rothschild accepted them one and all, and blended in. He could","}
{"text": ""afford to appear hypocritical or opportunistic because he was valued for","}
{"text": ""his money, not his politics; his money was the currency of power. While","}
{"text": ""he adapted and thrived, outwardly never showing a form, all the other","}
{"text": ""great families that had begun the century immensely wealthy were ruined","}
{"text": ""in the period’s complicated shifts and turns of fortune. Attaching","}
{"text": ""themselves to the past, they revealed their embrace of a form.","}
{"text": ""Throughout history, the formless style of ruling has been most adeptly","}
{"text": ""practiced by the queen who reigns alone. A queen is in a radically","}
{"text": ""different position from a king; because she is a woman, her subjects and","}
{"text": ""courtiers are likely to doubt her ability to rule, her strength of character.","}
{"text": ""If she favors one side in some ideological struggle, she is said to be","}
{"text": ""acting out of emotional attachment. Yet if she represses her emotions and","}
{"text": ""plays the authoritarian, in the male fashion, she arouses worse criticism","}
{"text": ""still. Either by nature or by experience, then, queens tend to adopt a","}
{"text": ""flexible style of governing that in the end often proves more powerful","}
{"text": ""than the more direct, male form.","}
{"text": ""Two female leaders exemplifying the formless style of rule are Queen","}
{"text": ""Elizabeth of England and Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. In the","}
{"text": ""violent wars between Catholics and Protestants, Elizabeth steered a","}
{"text": ""middle course. She avoided alliances that would commit her to one side,","}
{"text": ""and that over time would harm the country. She managed to keep her","}
{"text": ""country at peace until it was strong enough for war. Her reign was one of","}
{"text": ""the most glorious in history because of her incredible capacity to adapt","}
{"text": ""and her flexible ideology.","}
{"text": ""Catherine the Great too evolved an improvisatory style of governing.","}
{"text": ""After she deposed her husband, Emperor Peter II, taking sole control of","}
{"text": ""Russia in 1762, no one thought she would survive. But she had no","}
{"text": ""preconceived ideas, no philosophy or theory to dictate her policies.","}
{"text": ""Although a foreigner (she came from Germany), she understood Russia’s","}
{"text": ""moods, and how it was changing over the years. “One must govern in","}
{"text": ""such a way that one’s people think they themselves want to do what one","}
{"text": ""commands them to do,” she said, and to do this she had to be always a","}
{"text": ""step ahead of their desires and to adapt to their resistance. By neverforcing the issue, she reformed Russia in a strikingly short period of","}
{"text": ""time.","}
{"text": ""This feminine, formless style of ruling may have emerged as a way of","}
{"text": ""prospering under difficult circumstances, but it has proved immensely","}
{"text": ""seductive to those who have served under it. Being fluid, it is relatively","}
{"text": ""easy for its subjects to obey, for they feel less coerced, less bent to their","}
{"text": ""ruler’s ideology. It also opens up options where an adherence to a","}
{"text": ""doctrine closes them off. Without committing to one side, it allows the","}
{"text": ""ruler to play one enemy off another. Rigid rulers may seem strong, but","}
{"text": ""with time their inflexibility wears on the nerves, and their subjects find","}
{"text": ""ways to push them from the stage. Flexible, formless rulers will be much","}
{"text": ""criticized, but they will endure, and people will eventually come to","}
{"text": ""identify with them, since they are as their subjects are—changing with","}
{"text": ""the wind, open to circumstance.","}
{"text": ""Despite upsets and delays, the permeable style of power generally","}
{"text": ""triumphs in the end, just as Athens eventually won victory over Sparta","}
{"text": ""through its money and its culture. When you find yourself in conflict","}
{"text": ""with someone stronger and more rigid, allow them a momentary victory.","}
{"text": ""Seem to bow to their superiority. Then, by being formless and adaptable,","}
{"text": ""slowly insinuate yourself into their soul. This way you will catch them","}
{"text": ""off guard, for rigid people are always ready to ward off direct blows but","}
{"text": ""are helpless against the subtle and insinuating. To succeed at such a","}
{"text": ""strategy you must play the chameleon—conform on the surface, while","}
{"text": ""breaking down your enemy from the inside.","}
{"text": ""For centuries the Japanese would accept foreigners graciously, and","}
{"text": ""appeared susceptible to foreign cultures and influences. Joao Rodriguez,","}
{"text": ""a Portuguese priest who arrived in Japan in 1577 and lived there for","}
{"text": ""many years, wrote, “I am flabbergasted by the Japanese willingness to","}
{"text": ""try and accept everything Portuguese.” He saw Japanese in the streets","}
{"text": ""wearing Portuguese clothing, with rosary beads at their necks and","}
{"text": ""crosses at their hips. This might seem like a weak, mutable culture, but","}
{"text": ""Japan’s adaptability actually protected the country from having an alien","}
{"text": ""culture imposed by military invasion. It seduced the Portuguese and","}
{"text": ""other Westerners into believing the Japanese were yielding to a superior","}
{"text": ""culture when actually the foreign culture’s ways were merely a fashion to","}
{"text": ""be donned and doffed. Under the surface, Japanese culture thrived. Had","}
{"text": ""the Japanese been rigid about foreign influences and tried to fight them","}
{"text": ""off, they might have suffered the injuries that the West inflicted on","}
{"text": ""China. That is the power of formlessness—it gives the aggressor nothing","}
{"text": ""to react against, nothing to hit.In evolution, largeness is often the first step toward extinction. What is","}
{"text": ""immense and bloated has no mobility, but must constantly feed itself.","}
{"text": ""The unintelligent are often seduced into believing that size connotes","}
{"text": ""power, the bigger the better.","}
{"text": ""In 483 B.C., King Xerxes of Persia invaded Greece, believing he","}
{"text": ""could conquer the country in one easy campaign. After all, he had the","}
{"text": ""largest army ever assembled for one invasion—the historian Herodotus","}
{"text": ""estimated it at over more than five million. The Persians planned to build","}
{"text": ""a bridge across the Hellespont to overrun Greece from the land, while","}
{"text": ""their equally immense navy would pin the Greek ships in harbor,","}
{"text": ""preventing their forces from escaping to sea. The plan seemed sure, yet","}
{"text": ""as Xerxes prepared the invasion, his adviser Artabanus warned his","}
{"text": ""master of grave misgivings: “The two mightiest powers in the world are","}
{"text": ""against you,” he said. Xerxes laughed—what powers could match his","}
{"text": ""gigantic army? “I will tell you what they are,” answered Artabanus. “The","}
{"text": ""land and the sea.” There were no safe harbors large enough to receive","}
{"text": ""Xerxes’ fleet. And the more land the Persians conquered, and the longer","}
{"text": ""their supply lines stretched, the more ruinous the cost of feeding this","}
{"text": ""immense army would prove.","}
{"text": ""Thinking his adviser a coward, Xerxes proceeded with the invasion.","}
{"text": ""Yet as Artabanus predicted, bad weather at sea decimated the Persian","}
{"text": ""fleet, which was too large to take shelter in any harbor. On land,","}
{"text": ""meanwhile, the Persian army destroyed everything in its path, which","}
{"text": ""only made it impossible to feed, since the destruction included crops and","}
{"text": ""stores of food. It was also an easy and slow-moving target. The Greeks","}
{"text": ""practiced all kinds of deceptive maneuvers to disorient the Persians.","}
{"text": ""Xerxes’ eventual defeat at the hands of the Greek allies was an immense","}
{"text": ""disaster. The story is emblematic of all those who sacrifice mobility for","}
{"text": ""size: The flexible and fleet of foot will almost always win, for they have","}
{"text": ""more strategic options. The more gigantic the enemy, the easier it is to","}
{"text": ""induce collapse.","}
{"text": ""The need for formlessness becomes greater the older we get, as we","}
{"text": ""grow more likely to become set in our ways and assume too rigid a form.","}
{"text": ""We become predictable, always the first sign of decrepitude. And","}
{"text": ""predictability makes us appear comical. Although ridicule and disdain","}
{"text": ""might seem mild forms of attack, they are actually potent weapons, and","}
{"text": ""will eventually erode a foundation of power. An enemy who does not","}
{"text": ""respect you will grow bold, and boldness makes even the smallest animal","}
{"text": ""dangerous.The late-eighteenth-century court of France, as exemplified by Marie-","}
{"text": ""Antoinette, had become so hopelessly tied to a rigid formality that the","}
{"text": ""average Frenchman thought it a silly relic. This depreciation of a","}
{"text": ""centuries-old institution was the first sign of a terminal disease, for it","}
{"text": ""represented a symbolic loosening of the people’s ties to monarchy. As","}
{"text": ""the situation worsened, Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI grew only","}
{"text": ""more rigid in their adherence to the past—and quickened their path to the","}
{"text": ""guillotine. King Charles I of England reacted similarly to the tide of","}
{"text": ""democratic change brewing in England in the 1630s: He disbanded","}
{"text": ""Parliament, and his court rituals grew increasingly formal and distant. He","}
{"text": ""wanted to return to an older style of ruling, with adherence to all kinds of","}
{"text": ""petty protocol. His rigidity only heightened the desire for change. Soon,","}
{"text": ""of course, he was swept up in a devastating civil war, and eventually he","}
{"text": ""lost his head to the executioner’s axe.","}
{"text": ""As you get older, you must rely even less on the past. Be vigilant lest","}
{"text": ""the form your character has taken makes you seem a relic. It is not a","}
{"text": ""matter of mimicking the fashions of youth—that is equally worthy of","}
{"text": ""laughter. Rather your mind must constantly adapt to each circumstance,","}
{"text": ""even the inevitable change that the time has come to move over and let","}
{"text": ""those of younger age prepare for their ascendancy. Rigidity will only","}
{"text": ""make you look uncannily like a cadaver.","}
{"text": ""Never forget, though, that formlessness is a strategic pose. It gives you","}
{"text": ""room to create tactical surprises; as your enemies struggle to guess your","}
{"text": ""next move, they reveal their own strategy, putting them at a decided","}
{"text": ""disadvantage. It keeps the initiative on your side, putting your enemies in","}
{"text": ""the position of never acting, constantly reacting. It foils their spying and","}
{"text": ""intelligence. Remember: Formlessness is a tool. Never confuse it with a","}
{"text": ""go-with-the-flow style, or with a religious resignation to the twists of","}
{"text": ""fortune. You use formlessness, not because it creates inner harmony and","}
{"text": ""peace, but because it will increase your power.","}
{"text": ""Finally, learning to adapt to each new circumstance means seeing","}
{"text": ""events through your own eyes, and often ignoring the advice that people","}
{"text": ""constantly peddle your way. It means that ultimately you must throw out","}
{"text": ""the laws that others preach, and the books they write to tell you what to","}
{"text": ""do, and the sage advice of the elder. “The laws that govern circumstances","}
{"text": ""are abolished by new circumstances,” Napoleon wrote, which means that","}
{"text": ""it is up to you to gauge each new situation. Rely too much on other","}
{"text": ""people’s ideas and you end up taking a form not of your own making.","}
{"text": ""Too much respect for other people’s wisdom will make you depreciateyour own. Be brutal with the past, especially your own, and have no","}
{"text": ""respect for the philosophies that are foisted on you from outside.","}
{"text": ""Image: Mercury. The winged messenger,","}
{"text": ""god of commerce, patron saint of thieves,","}
{"text": ""gamblers, and all those who deceive through","}
{"text": ""swiftness. The day Mercury was born he invented","}
{"text": ""the lyre; by that evening he had stolen the cattle of","}
{"text": ""Apollo. He would scour the world, assuming","}
{"text": ""whatever form he desired. Like the liquid metal","}
{"text": ""named after him, he embodies the elusive,","}
{"text": ""the ungraspable—the power of formlessness.","}
{"text": ""Authority: Therefore the consummation of forming an army is to arrive","}
{"text": ""at formlessness. Victory in war is not repetitious, but adapts its form","}
{"text": ""endlessly…. A military force has no constant formation, water has no","}
{"text": ""constant shape: The ability to gain victory by changing and adapting","}
{"text": ""according to the opponent is called genius. (Sun-tzu, fourth century B.C.)","}
{"text": ""REVERSAL","}
{"text": ""Using space to disperse and create an abstract pattern should not mean","}
{"text": ""forsaking the concentration of your power when it is valuable to you.","}
{"text": ""Formlessness makes your enemies hunt all over for you, scattering their","}
{"text": ""own forces, mental as well as physical. When you finally engage them,","}
{"text": ""though, hit them with a powerful, concentrated blow. That is how Mao","}
{"text": ""succeeded against the Nationalists: He broke their forces into small,","}
{"text": ""isolated units, which he then could easily overwhelm with a strong","}
{"text": ""attack. The law of concentration prevailed.","}
{"text": ""When you play with formlessness, keep on top of the process, and","}
{"text": ""keep your long-term strategy in mind. When you assume a form and goon the attack, use concentration, speed, and power. As Mao said, When","}
{"text": ""we fight you, we make sure you can’t get away.""}