### Book:Robert Greene


### Book:Joost ElffersPREFACE


### Book:The feeling of having no power over people and events is generally


### Book:unbearable to us—when we feel helpless we feel miserable. No one


### Book:wants less power; everyone wants more. In the world today, however, it


### Book:is dangerous to seem too power hungry, to be overt with your power


### Book:moves. We have to seem fair and decent. So we need to be subtle—


### Book:congenial yet cunning, democratic yet devious.


### Book:This game of constant duplicity most resembles the power dynamic


### Book:that existed in the scheming world of the old aristocratic court.


### Book:Throughout history, a court has always formed itself around the person in


### Book:power—king, queen, emperor, leader. The courtiers who filled this court


### Book:were in an especially delicate position: They had to serve their masters,


### Book:but if they seemed to fawn, if they curried favor too obviously, the other


### Book:courtiers around them would notice and would act against them.


### Book:Attempts to win the master’s favor, then, had to be subtle. And even


### Book:skilled courtiers capable of such subtlety still had to protect themselves


### Book:from their fellow courtiers, who at all moments were scheming to push


### Book:them aside.


### Book:Meanwhile the court was supposed to represent the height of


### Book:civilization and refinement. Violent or overt power moves were frowned


### Book:upon; courtiers would work silently and secretly against any among them


### Book:who used force. This was the courtier’s dilemma: While appearing the


### Book:very paragon of elegance, they had to outwit and thwart their own


### Book:opponents in the subtlest of ways. The successful courtier learned over


### Book:time to make all of his moves indirect; if he stabbed an opponent in the


### Book:back, it was with a velvet glove on his hand and the sweetest of smiles


### Book:on his face. Instead of using coercion or outright treachery, the perfect


### Book:courtier got his way through seduction, charm, deception, and subtle


### Book:strategy, always planning several moves ahead. Life in the court was a


### Book:never-ending game that required constant vigilance and tactical thinking.


### Book:It was civilized war.


### Book:Today we face a peculiarly similar paradox to that of the courtier:


### Book:Everything must appear civilized, decent, democratic, and fair. But if we


### Book:play by those rules too strictly, if we take them too literally, we are


### Book:crushed by those around us who are not so foolish. As the great


### Book:Renaissance diplomat and courtier Niccolò Machiavelli wrote, “Anyman who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the


### Book:great number who are not good.” The court imagined itself the pinnacle


### Book:of refinement, but underneath its glittering surface a cauldron of dark


### Book:emotions—greed, envy, lust, hatred—boiled and simmered. Our world


### Book:today similarly imagines itself the pinnacle of fairness, yet the same ugly


### Book:emotions still stir within us, as they have forever. The game is the same.


### Book:Outwardly, you must seem to respect the niceties, but inwardly, unless


### Book:you are a fool, you learn quickly to be prudent, and to do as Napoleon


### Book:advised: Place your iron hand inside a velvet glove. If, like the courtier


### Book:of times gone by, you can master the arts of indirection, learning to


### Book:seduce, charm, deceive, and subtly outmaneuver your opponents, you


### Book:will attain the heights of power. You will be able to make people bend to


### Book:your will without their realizing what you have done. And if they do not


### Book:realize what you have done, they will neither resent nor resist you.


### Book:Courts are, unquestionably, the seats of politeness and good breeding;


### Book:were they not so, they would be the seats of slaughter and desolation.


### Book:Those who now smile upon and embrace, would affront and stab, each


### Book:other, if manners did not interpose….


### Book:LORD CHESTERFIELD, 1694-1773


### Book:To some people the notion of consciously playing power games—no


### Book:matter how indirect—seems evil, asocial, a relic of the past. They believe


### Book:they can opt out of the game by behaving in ways that have nothing to do


### Book:with power. You must beware of such people, for while they express


### Book:such opinions outwardly, they are often among the most adept players at


### Book:power. They utilize strategies that cleverly disguise the nature of the


### Book:manipulation involved. These types, for example, will often display their


### Book:weakness and lack of power as a kind of moral virtue. But true


### Book:powerlessness, without any motive of self-interest, would not publicize


### Book:its weakness to gain sympathy or respect. Making a show of one’s


### Book:weakness is actually a very effective strategy, subtle and deceptive, in the


### Book:game of power (see Law 22, the Surrender Tactic).


### Book:There is nothing very odd about lambs disliking birds of prey, but this is


### Book:no reason for holding it against large birds of prey that they carry off


### Book:lambs. And when the lambs whisper among themselves, “These birds


### Book:ofprey are evil, and does this not give us a right to say that whatever is


### Book:the opposite of a bird of prey must be good?” there is nothing


### Book:intrinsically wrong with such an argument—though the birds of prey will


### Book:look somewhat quizzically and say, “We have nothing against these good


### Book:lambs; in fact, we love them; nothing tastes better than a tender lamb.”FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, 1844-1900


### Book:Another strategy of the supposed nonplayer is to demand equality in


### Book:every area of life. Everyone must be treated alike, whatever their status


### Book:and strength. But if, to avoid the taint of power, you attempt to treat


### Book:everyone equally and fairly, you will confront the problem that some


### Book:people do certain things better than others. Treating everyone equally


### Book:means ignoring their differences, elevating the less skillful and


### Book:suppressing those who excel. Again, many of those who behave this way


### Book:are actually deploying another power strategy, redistributing people’s


### Book:rewards in a way that they determine.


### Book:Yet another way of avoiding the game would be perfect honesty and


### Book:straightforwardness, since one of the main techniques of those who seek


### Book:power is deceit and secrecy. But being perfectly honest will inevitably


### Book:hurt and insult a great many people, some of whom will choose to injure


### Book:you in return. No one will see your honest statement as completely


### Book:objective and free of some personal motivation. And they will be right:


### Book:In truth, the use of honesty is indeed a power strategy, intended to


### Book:convince people of one’s noble, good-hearted, selfless character. It is a


### Book:form of persuasion, even a subtle form of coercion.


### Book:Finally, those who claim to be nonplayers may affect an air of naïveté,


### Book:to protect them from the accusation that they are after power. Beware


### Book:again, however, for the appearance of naivete can be an effective means


### Book:of deceit (see Law 21, Seem Dumber Than Your Mark). And even


### Book:genuine naivete is not free of the snares of power. Children may be naive


### Book:in many ways, but they often act from an elemental need to gain control


### Book:over those around them. Children suffer greatly from feeling powerless


### Book:in the adult world, and they use any means available to get their way.


### Book:Genuinely innocent people may still be playing for power, and are often


### Book:horribly effective at the game, since they are not hindered by reflection.


### Book:Once again, those who make a show or display of innocence are the least


### Book:innocent of all.


### Book:The only means to gain one’s ends with people are force and cunning.


### Book:Love also. they say; but that is to wait for sunshine, and life needs every


### Book:moment.


### Book:JOHANN VON GOEIHE, 1749-1832


### Book:You can recognize these supposed nonplayers by the way they flaunt


### Book:their moral qualities, their piety, their exquisite sense of justice. But since


### Book:all of us hunger for power, and almost all of our actions are aimed at


### Book:gaining it, the nonplayers are merely throwing dust in our eyes,distracting us from their power plays with their air of moral superiority.


### Book:If you observe them closely, you will see in fact that they are often the


### Book:ones most skillful at indirect manipulation, even if some of them practice


### Book:it unconsciously. And they greatly resent any publicizing of the tactics


### Book:they use every day.


### Book:The arrow shot by the archer may or may not kill a single person. But


### Book:stratagems devised by a wise man can kill even babes in the womb.


### Book:KAUTILYA, INDIAN PHILOSOPHER, THIRD CENTURY B.C.


### Book:If the world is like a giant scheming court and we are trapped inside it,


### Book:there is no use in trying to opt out of the game. That will only render you


### Book:powerless, and powerlessness will make you miserable. Instead of


### Book:struggling against the inevitable, instead of arguing and whining and


### Book:feeling guilty, it is far better to excel at power. In fact, the better you are


### Book:at dealing with power, the better friend, lover, husband, wife, and person


### Book:you become. By following the route of the perfect courtier (see Law 24)


### Book:you learn to make others feel better about themselves, becoming a source


### Book:of pleasure to them. They will grow dependent on your abilities and


### Book:desirous of your presence. By mastering the 48 laws in this book, you


### Book:spare others the pain that comes from bungling with power—by playing


### Book:with fire without knowing its properties. If the game of power is


### Book:inescapable, better to be an artist than a denier or a bungler.


### Book:Learning the game of power requires a certain way of looking at the


### Book:world, a shifting of perspective. It takes effort and years of practice, for


### Book:much of the game may not come naturally. Certain basic skills are


### Book:required, and once you master these skills you will be able to apply the


### Book:laws of power more easily.


### Book:The most important of these skills, and power’s crucial foundation, is


### Book:the ability to master your emotions. An emotional response to a situation


### Book:is the single greatest barrier to power, a mistake that will cost you a lot


### Book:more than any temporary satisfaction you might gain by expressing your


### Book:feelings. Emotions cloud reason, and if you cannot see the situation


### Book:clearly, you cannot prepare for and respond to it with any degree of


### Book:control.


### Book:Anger is the most destructive of emotional responses, for it clouds


### Book:your vision the most. It also has a ripple effect that invariably makes


### Book:situations less controllable and heightens your enemy’s resolve. If you


### Book:are trying to destroy an enemy who has hurt you, far better to keep him


### Book:off-guard by feigning friendliness than showing your anger.Love and affection are also potentially destructive, in that they blind


### Book:you to the often self-serving interests of those whom you least suspect of


### Book:playing a power game. You cannot repress anger or love, or avoid feeling


### Book:them, and you should not try. But you should be careful about how you


### Book:express them, and most important, they should never influence your


### Book:plans and strategies in any way.


### Book:Related to mastering your emotions is the ability to distance yourself


### Book:from the present moment and think objectively about the past and future.


### Book:Like Janus, the double-faced Roman deity and guardian of all gates and


### Book:doorways, you must be able to look in both directions at once, the better


### Book:to handle danger from wherever it comes. Such is the face you must


### Book:create for yourself-one face looking continuously to the future and the


### Book:other to the past.


### Book:I thought to myself with what means, with what deceptions, with how


### Book:many varied arts, with what industry a man sharpens his wits to deceive


### Book:another, and through these variations the world is made more beautiful.


### Book:FRANCESCO VETTORI, CONTEMPORARY AND FRIEND OF


### Book:MACHIAVELLI, EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY


### Book:For the future, the motto is, “No days unalert.” Nothing should catch


### Book:you by surprise because you are constantly imagining problems before


### Book:they arise. Instead of spending your time dreaming of your plan’s happy


### Book:ending, you must work on calculating every possible permutation and


### Book:pitfall that might emerge in it. The further you see, the more steps ahead


### Book:you plan, the more powerful you become.


### Book:The other face of Janus looks constantly to the past—though not to


### Book:remember past hurts or bear grudges. That would only curb your power.


### Book:Half of the game is learning how to forget those events in the past that


### Book:eat away at you and cloud your reason. The real purpose of the


### Book:backward-glancing eye is to educate yourself constantly—you look at


### Book:the past to learn from those who came before you. (The many historical


### Book:examples in this book will greatly help that process.) Then, having


### Book:looked to the past, you look closer at hand, to your own actions and those


### Book:of your friends. This is the most vital school you can learn from, because


### Book:it comes from personal experience.


### Book:There are no principles; there are only events. There is no good and bad,


### Book:there are only circumstances. The superior man espouses events and


### Book:circumstances in order to guide them. If there were principles and fixed


### Book:laws, nations would not change them as we change our shirts and a man


### Book:can not be expected to be wiser than an entire nation.HONORÉ DE BALZAC, 1799-1850


### Book:You begin by examining the mistakes you have made in the past, the


### Book:ones that have most grievously held you back. You analyze them in


### Book:terms of the 48 laws of power, and you extract from them a lesson and an


### Book:oath: “I shall never repeat such a mistake; I shall never fall into such a


### Book:trap again.” If you can evaluate and observe yourself in this way, you can


### Book:learn to break the patterns of the past—an immensely valuable skill.


### Book:Power requires the ability to play with appearances. To this end you


### Book:must learn to wear many masks and keep a bag full of deceptive tricks.


### Book:Deception and masquerade should not be seen as ugly or immoral. All


### Book:human interaction requires deception on many levels, and in some ways


### Book:what separates humans from animals is our ability to lie and deceive. In


### Book:Greek myths, in India’s Mahabharata cycle, in the Middle Eastern epic of


### Book:Gilga mesh, it is the privilege of the gods to use deceptive arts; a great


### Book:man, Odysseus for instance, was judged by his ability to rival the


### Book:craftiness of the gods, stealing some of their divine power by matching


### Book:them in wits and deception. Deception is a developed art of civilization


### Book:and the most potent weapon in the game of power.


### Book:You cannot succeed at deception unless you take a somewhat


### Book:distanced approach to yourself—unless you can be many different


### Book:people, wearing the mask that the day and the moment require. With


### Book:such a flexible approach to all appearances, including your own, you lose


### Book:a lot of the inward heaviness that holds people down. Make your face as


### Book:malleable as the actor’s, work to conceal your intentions from others,


### Book:practice luring people into traps. Playing with appearances and mastering


### Book:arts of deception are among the aesthetic pleasures of life. They are also


### Book:key components in the acquisition of power.


### Book:If deception is the most potent weapon in your arsenal, then patience


### Book:in all things is your crucial shield. Patience will protect you from making


### Book:moronic blunders. Like mastering your emotions, patience is a skill—it


### Book:does not come naturally. But nothing about power is natural; power is


### Book:more godlike than anything in the natural world. And patience is the


### Book:supreme virtue of the gods, who have nothing but time. Everything good


### Book:will happen—the grass will grow again, if you give it time and see


### Book:several steps into the future. Impatience, on the other hand, only makes


### Book:you look weak. It is a principal impediment to power.


### Book:Power is essentially amoral and one of the most important skills to


### Book:acquire is the ability to see circumstances rather than good or evil. Power


### Book:is a game—this cannot be repeated too often—and in games you do not


### Book:judge your opponents by their intentions but by the effect of theiractions. You measure their strategy and their power by what you can see


### Book:and feel. How often are someone’s intentions made the issue only to


### Book:cloud and deceive! What does it matter if another player, your friend or


### Book:rival, intended good things and had only your interests at heart, if the


### Book:effects of his action lead to so much ruin and confusion? It is only


### Book:natural for people to cover up their actions with all kinds of


### Book:justifications, always assuming that they have acted out of goodness.


### Book:You must learn to inwardly laugh each time you hear this and never get


### Book:caught up in gauging someone’s intentions and actions through a set of


### Book:moral judgments that are really an excuse for the accumulation of power.


### Book:It is a game. Your opponent sits opposite you. Both of you behave as


### Book:gentlemen or ladies, observing the rules of the game and taking nothing


### Book:personally. You play with a strategy and you observe your opponent’s


### Book:moves with as much calmness as you can muster. In the end, you will


### Book:appreciate the politeness of those you are playing with more than their


### Book:good and sweet intentions. Train your eye to follow the results of their


### Book:moves, the outward circumstances, and do not be distracted by anything


### Book:else.


### Book:Half of your mastery of power comes from what you do not do, what


### Book:you do not allow yourself to get dragged into. For this skill you must


### Book:learn to judge all things by what they cost you. As Nietzsche wrote, “The


### Book:value of a thing sometimes lies not in what one attains with it, but in


### Book:what one pays for it—what it costs us.” Perhaps you will attain your


### Book:goal, and a worthy goal at that, but at what price? Apply this standard to


### Book:everything, including whether to collaborate with other people or come


### Book:to their aid. In the end, life is short, opportunities are few, and you have


### Book:only so much energy to draw on. And in this sense time is as important a


### Book:consideration as any other. Never waste valuable time, or mental peace


### Book:of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay.


### Book:Power is a social game. To learn and master it, you must develop the


### Book:ability to study and understand people. As the great seventeenth-century


### Book:thinker and courtier Baltasar Gracián wrote: “Many people spend time


### Book:studying the properties of animals or herbs; how much more important it


### Book:would be to study those of people, with whom we must live or die!” To


### Book:be a master player you must also be a master psychologist. You must


### Book:recognize motivations and see through the cloud of dust with which


### Book:people surround their actions. An understanding of people’s hidden


### Book:motives is the single greatest piece of knowledge you can have in


### Book:acquiring power. It opens up endless possibilities of deception,


### Book:seduction, and manipulation.People are of infinite complexity and you can spend a lifetime


### Book:watching them without ever fully understanding them. So it is all the


### Book:more important, then, to begin your education now. In doing so you must


### Book:also keep one principle in mind: Never discriminate as to whom you


### Book:study and whom you trust. Never trust anyone completely and study


### Book:everyone, including friends and loved ones.


### Book:Finally, you must learn always to take the indirect route to power.


### Book:Disguise your cunning. Like a billiard ball that caroms several times


### Book:before it hits its target, your moves must be planned and developed in the


### Book:least obvious way. By training yourself to be indirect, you can thrive in


### Book:the modern court, appearing the paragon of decency while being the


### Book:consummate manipulator.


### Book:Consider The 48 Laws of Power a kind of handbook on the arts of


### Book:indirection. The laws are based on the writings of men and women who


### Book:have studied and mastered the game of power. These writings span a


### Book:period of more than three thousand years and were created in


### Book:civilizations as disparate as ancient China and Renaissance Italy; yet they


### Book:share common threads and themes, together hinting at an essence of


### Book:power that has yet to be fully articulated. The 48 laws of power are the


### Book:distillation of this accumulated wisdom, gathered from the writings of


### Book:the most illustrious strategists (Sun-tzu, Clausewitz), statesmen


### Book:(Bismarck, Talleyrand), courtiers (Castiglione, Gracián), seducers


### Book:(Ninon de Lenclos, Casanova), and con artists (“Yellow Kid” Weil) in


### Book:history.


### Book:The laws have a simple premise: Certain actions almost always


### Book:increase one’s power (the observance of the law), while others decrease


### Book:it and even ruin us (the transgression of the law). These transgressions


### Book:and observances are illustrated by historical examples. The laws are


### Book:timeless and definitive.


### Book:The 48 Laws of Power can be used in several ways. By reading the


### Book:book straight through you can learn about power in general. Although


### Book:several of the laws may seem not to pertain directly to your life, in time


### Book:you will probably find that all of them have some application, and that in


### Book:fact they are interrelated. By getting an overview of the entire subject


### Book:you will best be able to evaluate your own past actions and gain a greater


### Book:degree of control over your immediate affairs. A thorough reading of the


### Book:book will inspire thinking and reevaluation long after you finish it.


### Book:The book has also been designed for browsing and for examining the


### Book:law that seems at that particular moment most pertinent to you. Say youare experiencing problems with a superior and cannot understand why


### Book:your efforts have not lead to more gratitude or a promotion. Several laws


### Book:specifically address the master-underling relationship, and you are


### Book:almost certainly transgressing one of them. By browsing the initial


### Book:paragraphs for the 48 laws in the table of contents, you can identify the


### Book:pertinent law.


### Book:Finally, the book can be browsed through and picked apart for


### Book:entertainment, for an enjoyable ride through the foibles and great deeds


### Book:of our predecessors in power. A warning, however, to those who use the


### Book:book for this purpose: It might be better to turn back. Power is endlessly


### Book:seductive and deceptive in its own way. It is a labyrinth—your mind


### Book:becomes consumed with solving its infinite problems, and you soon


### Book:realize how pleasantly lost you have become. In other words, it becomes


### Book:most amusing by taking it seriously. Do not be frivolous with such a


### Book:critical matter. The gods of power frown on the frivolous; they give


### Book:ultimate satisfaction only to those who study and reflect, and punish


### Book:those who skim the surfaces looking for a good time.


### Book:Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin


### Book:among the great number who are not good. Hence a prince who wants to


### Book:keep his authority must learn how not to be good, and use that


### Book:knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires.


### Book:THE PRINCE, Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527LAW 1


### Book:NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire


### Book:to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents


### Book:or you might accomplish the opposite—inspire fear and insecurity. Make


### Book:your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the


### Book:heights of power.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s finance minister in the first years of his


### Book:reign, was a generous man who loved lavish parties, pretty women, and


### Book:poetry. He also loved money, for he led an extravagant lifestyle. Fouquet


### Book:was clever and very much indispensable to the king, so when the prime


### Book:minister, Jules Mazarin, died, in 1661, the finance minister expected to


### Book:be named the successor. Instead, the king decided to abolish the position.


### Book:This and other signs made Fouquet suspect that he was falling out of


### Book:favor, and so he decided to ingratiate himself with the king by staging


### Book:the most spectacular party the world had ever seen. The party’s


### Book:ostensible purpose would be to commemorate the completion of


### Book:Fouquet’s château, Vaux-le-Vicomte, but its real function was to pay


### Book:tribute to the king, the guest of honor.


### Book:The most brilliant nobility of Europe and some of the greatest minds


### Book:of the time—La Fontaine, La Rochefoucauld, Madame de Sévigné


### Book:attended the party. Molière wrote a play for the occasion, in which he


### Book:himself was to perform at the evening’s conclusion. The party began


### Book:with a lavish seven-course dinner, featuring foods from the Orient never


### Book:before tasted in France, as well as new dishes created especially for thenight. The meal was accompanied with music commissioned by Fouquet


### Book:to honor the king.


### Book:After dinner there was a promenade through the château’s gardens.


### Book:The grounds and fountains of Vaux-le-Vicomte were to be the inspiration


### Book:for Versailles.


### Book:Fouquet personally accompanied the young king through the


### Book:geometrically aligned arrangements of shrubbery and flower beds.


### Book:Arriving at the gardens’ canals, they witnessed a fireworks display,


### Book:which was followed by the performance of Molière’s play. The party ran


### Book:well into the night and everyone agreed it was the most amazing affair


### Book:they had ever attended.


### Book:The next day, Fouquet was arrested by the king’s head musketeer,


### Book:D’Artagnan. Three months later he went on trial for stealing from the


### Book:country’s treasury. (Actually, most of the stealing he was accused of he


### Book:had done on the king’s behalf and with the king’s permission.) Fouquet


### Book:was found guilty and sent to the most isolated prison in France, high in


### Book:the Pyrenees Mountains, where he spent the last twenty years of his life


### Book:in solitary confinement.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Louis XIV, the Sun King, was a proud and arrogant man who wanted to


### Book:be the center of attention at all times; he could not countenance being


### Book:outdone in lavishness by anyone, and certainly not his finance minister.


### Book:To succeed Fouquet, Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a man famous


### Book:for his parsimony and for giving the dullest parties in Paris. Colbert


### Book:made sure that any money liberated from the treasury went straight into


### Book:Louis’s hands. With the money, Louis built a palace even more


### Book:magnificent than Fouquet’s—the glorious palace of Versailles. He used


### Book:the same architects, decorators, and garden designer. And at Versailles,


### Book:Louis hosted parties even more extravagant than the one that cost


### Book:Fouquet his freedom.


### Book:Let us examine the situation. The evening of the party, as Fouquet


### Book:presented spectacle on spectacle to Louis, each more magnificent than


### Book:the one before, he imagined the affair as demonstrating his loyalty and


### Book:devotion to the king. Not only did he think the party would put him back


### Book:in the king’s favor, he thought it would show his good taste, his


### Book:connections, and his popularity, making him indispensable to the king


### Book:and demonstrating that he would make an excellent prime minister.Instead, however, each new spectacle, each appreciative smile bestowed


### Book:by the guests on Fouquet, made it seem to Louis that his own friends and


### Book:subjects were more charmed by the finance minister than by the king


### Book:himself, and that Fouquet was actually flaunting his wealth and power.


### Book:Rather than flattering Louis XIV, Fouquet’s elaborate party offended the


### Book:king’s vanity. Louis would not admit this to anyone, of course—instead,


### Book:he found a convenient excuse to rid himself of a man who had


### Book:inadvertently made him feel insecure.


### Book:Such is the fate, in some form or other, of all those who unbalance the


### Book:master’s sense of self, poke holes in his vanity, or make him doubt his


### Book:pre-eminence.


### Book:When the evening began, Fouquet was at the top of the world.


### Book:By the time it had ended, he was at the bottom.


### Book:Voltaire, 1694-1778


### Book:OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW


### Book:In the early 1600s, the Italian astronomer and mathematician Galileo


### Book:found himself in a precarious position. He depended on the generosity of


### Book:great rulers to support his research, and so, like all Renaissance


### Book:scientists, he would sometimes make gifts of his inventions and


### Book:discoveries to the leading patrons of the time. Once, for instance, he


### Book:presented a military compass he had invented to the Duke of Gonzaga.


### Book:Then he dedicated a book explaining the use of the compass to the


### Book:Medicis. Both rulers were grateful, and through them Galileo was able to


### Book:find more students to teach. No matter how great the discovery, however,


### Book:his patrons usually paid him with gifts, not cash. This made for a life of


### Book:constant insecurity and dependence. There must be an easier way, he


### Book:thought.


### Book:Galileo hit on a new strategy in 1610, when he discovered the moons


### Book:of Jupiter. Instead of dividing the discovery among his patrons—giving


### Book:one the telescope he had used, dedicating a book to another, and so on—


### Book:as he had done in the past, he decided to focus exclusively on the


### Book:Medicis. He chose the Medicis for one reason: Shortly after Cosimo I


### Book:had established the Medici dynasty, in 1540, he had made Jupiter, the


### Book:mightiest of the gods, the Medici symbol—a symbol of a power thatwent beyond politics and banking, one linked to ancient Rome and its


### Book:divinities.


### Book:Galileo turned his discovery of Jupiter’s moons into a cosmic event


### Book:honoring the Medicis’ greatness. Shortly after the discovery, he


### Book:announced that “the bright stars [the moons of Jupiter] offered


### Book:themselves in the heavens” to his telescope at the same time as Cosimo


### Book:II’s enthronement. He said that the number of the moons—four—


### Book:harmonized with the number of the Medicis (Cosimo II had three


### Book:brothers) and that the moons orbited Jupiter as these four sons revolved


### Book:around Cosimo I, the dynasty’s founder. More than coincidence, this


### Book:showed that the heavens themselves reflected the ascendancy of the


### Book:Medici family. After he dedicated the discovery to the Medicis, Galileo


### Book:commissioned an emblem representing Jupiter sitting on a cloud with the


### Book:four stars circling about him, and presented this to Cosimo II as a symbol


### Book:of his link to the stars.


### Book:In 1610 Cosimo II made Galileo his official court philosopher and


### Book:mathematician, with a full salary. For a scientist this was the coup of a


### Book:lifetime. The days of begging for patronage were over.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:In one stroke, Galileo gained more with his new strategy than he had in


### Book:years of begging. The reason is simple: All masters want to appear more


### Book:brilliant than other people.


### Book:They do not care about science or empirical truth or the latest


### Book:invention ; they care about their name and their glory. Galileo gave the


### Book:Medicis infinitely more glory by linking their name with cosmic forces


### Book:than he had by making them the patrons of some new scientific gadget or


### Book:discovery.


### Book:Scientists are not spared the vagaries of court life and patronage. They


### Book:too must serve masters who hold the purse strings. And their great


### Book:intellectual powers can make the master feel insecure, as if he were only


### Book:there to supply the funds—an ugly, ignoble job. The producer of a great


### Book:work wants to feel he is more than just the provider of the financing. He


### Book:wants to appear creative and powerful, and also more important than the


### Book:work produced in his name. Instead of insecurity you must give him


### Book:glory. Galileo did not challenge the intellectual authority of the Medicis


### Book:with his discovery, or make them feel inferior in any way; by literally


### Book:aligning them with the stars, he made them shine brilliantly among thecourts of Italy. He did not outshine the master, he made the master


### Book:outshine all others.


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:Everyone has insecurities. When you show yourself in the world and


### Book:display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy,


### Book:and other manifestations of insecurity. This is to be expected. You cannot


### Book:spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others. With those


### Book:above you, however, you must take a different approach: When it comes


### Book:to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.


### Book:Do not fool yourself into thinking that life has changed much since the


### Book:days of Louis XIV and the Medicis. Those who attain high standing in


### Book:life are like kings and queens: They want to feel secure in their positions,


### Book:and superior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm. It is a


### Book:deadly but common misperception to believe that by displaying and


### Book:vaunting your gifts and talents, you are winning the master’s affection.


### Book:He may feign appreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace


### Book:you with someone less intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as


### Book:Louis XIV replaced the sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert. And


### Book:as with Louis, he will not admit the truth, but will find an excuse to rid


### Book:himself of your presence.


### Book:This Law involves two rules that you must realize. First, you can


### Book:inadvertently outshine a master simply by being yourself. There are


### Book:masters who are more insecure than others, monstrously insecure; you


### Book:may naturally outshine them by your charm and grace.


### Book:No one had more natural talents than Astorre Manfredi, prince of


### Book:Faenza. The most handsome of all the young princes of Italy, he


### Book:captivated his subjects with his generosity and open spirit.


### Book:In the year 1500, Cesare Borgia laid siege to Faenza. When the city


### Book:surrendered, the citizens expected the worst from the cruel Borgia, who,


### Book:however, decided to spare the town: He simply occupied its fortress,


### Book:executed none of its citizens, and allowed Prince Manfredi, eighteen at


### Book:the time, to remain with his court, in complete freedom.


### Book:A few weeks later, though, soldiers hauled Astorre Manfredi away to a


### Book:Roman prison. A year after that, his body was fished out of the River


### Book:Tiber, a stone tied around his neck. Borgia justified the horrible deedwith some sort of trumped-up charge of treason and conspiracy, but the


### Book:real problem was that he was notoriously vain and insecure. The young


### Book:man was outshining him without even trying. Given Manfredi’s natural


### Book:talents, the prince’s mere presence made Borgia seem less attractive and


### Book:charismatic. The lesson is simple: If you cannot help being charming and


### Book:superior, you must learn to avoid such monsters of vanity. Either that, or


### Book:find a way to mute your good qualities when in the company of a Cesare


### Book:Borgia.


### Book:Second, never imagine that because the master loves you, you can do


### Book:anything you want. Entire books could be written about favorites who


### Book:fell out of favor by taking their status for granted, for daring to outshine.


### Book:In late-sixteenth-century Japan, the favorite of Emperor Hideyoshi was a


### Book:man called Sen no Rikyu. The premier artist of the tea ceremony, which


### Book:had become an obsession with the nobility, he was one of Hideyoshi’s


### Book:most trusted advisers, had his own apartment in the palace, and was


### Book:honored throughout Japan. Yet in 1591, Hideyoshi had him arrested and


### Book:sentenced to death. Rikyu took his own life, instead. The cause for his


### Book:sudden change of fortune was discovered later: It seems that Rikyu,


### Book:former peasant and later court favorite, had had a wooden statue made of


### Book:himself wearing sandals (a sign of nobility) and posing loftily. He had


### Book:had this statue placed in the most important temple inside the palace


### Book:gates, in clear sight of the royalty who often would pass by. To


### Book:Hideyoshi this signified that Rikyu had no sense of limits. Presuming


### Book:that he had the same rights as those of the highest nobility, he had


### Book:forgotten that his position depended on the emperor, and had come to


### Book:believe that he had earned it on his own. This was an unforgivable


### Book:miscalculation of his own importance and he paid for it with his life.


### Book:Remember the following: Never take your position for granted and never


### Book:let any favors you receive go to your head.


### Book:Knowing the dangers of outshining your master, you can turn this Law


### Book:to your advantage. First you must flatter and puff up your master. Overt


### Book:flattery can be effective but has its limits; it is too direct and obvious,


### Book:and looks bad to other courtiers. Discreet flattery is much more


### Book:powerful. If you are more intelligent than your master, for example,


### Book:seem the opposite: Make him appear more intelligent than you. Act


### Book:naive. Make it seem that you need his expertise. Commit harmless


### Book:mistakes that will not hurt you in the long run but will give you the


### Book:chance to ask for his help. Masters adore such requests. A master who


### Book:cannot bestow on you the gifts of his experience may direct rancor and


### Book:ill will at you instead.If your ideas are more creative than your master’s, ascribe them to


### Book:him, in as public a manner as possible. Make it clear that your advice is


### Book:merely an echo of his advice.


### Book:If you surpass your master in wit, it is okay to play the role of the


### Book:court jester, but do not make him appear cold and surly by comparison.


### Book:Tone down your humor if necessary, and find ways to make him seem


### Book:the dispenser of amusement and good cheer. If you are naturally more


### Book:sociable and generous than your master, be careful not to be the cloud


### Book:that blocks his radiance from others. He must appear as the sun around


### Book:which everyone revolves, radiating power and brilliance, the center of


### Book:attention. If you are thrust into the position of entertaining him, a display


### Book:of your limited means may win you his sympathy. Any attempt to


### Book:impress him with your grace and generosity can prove fatal: Learn from


### Book:Fouquet or pay the price.


### Book:In all of these cases it is not a weakness to disguise your strengths if in


### Book:the end they lead to power. By letting others outshine you, you remain in


### Book:control, instead of being a victim of their insecurity. This will all come in


### Book:handy the day you decide to rise above your inferior status. If, like


### Book:Galileo, you can make your master shine even more in the eyes of others,


### Book:then you are a godsend and you will be instantly promoted.


### Book:Image:


### Book:The Stars in the


### Book:Sky. There can be only


### Book:one sun at a time. Never


### Book:obscure the sunlight, or


### Book:rival the sun’s brilliance;


### Book:rather, fade into the sky and


### Book:find ways to heighten


### Book:the master star’s


### Book:intensity.


### Book:Authority: Avoid outshining the master. All superiority is odious, but the


### Book:superiority of a subject over his prince is not only stupid, it is fatal. This


### Book:is a lesson that the stars in the sky teach us—they may be related to the


### Book:sun, and just as brilliant, but they never appear in her company. (Baltasar


### Book:Gracián, 1601-1658)


### Book:REVERSALYou cannot worry about upsetting every person you come across, but


### Book:you must be selectively cruel. If your superior is a falling star, there is


### Book:nothing to fear from outshining him. Do not be merciful—your master


### Book:had no such scruples in his own cold-blooded climb to the top. Gauge his


### Book:strength. If he is weak, discreetly hasten his downfall: Outdo, outcharm,


### Book:outsmart him at key moments. If he is very weak and ready to fall, let


### Book:nature take its course. Do not risk outshining a feeble superior—it might


### Book:appear cruel or spiteful. But if your master is firm in his position, yet you


### Book:know yourself to be the more capable, bide your time and be patient. It is


### Book:the natural course of things that power eventually fades and weakens.


### Book:Your master will fall someday, and if you play it right, you will outlive


### Book:and someday outshine him.LAW 2


### Book:NEVER PUT TOO MUCH TRUST IN FRIENDS,


### Book:LEARN HOW TO USE ENEMIES


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:Be wary of friends—they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily


### Book:aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a


### Book:former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has


### Book:more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from


### Book:enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:In the mid-ninth century A.D., a young man named Michael III assumed


### Book:the throne of the Byzantine Empire. His mother, the Empress Theodora,


### Book:had been banished to a nunnery, and her lover, Theoctistus, had been


### Book:murdered ; at the head of the conspiracy to depose Theodora and


### Book:enthrone Michael had been Michael’s uncle, Bardas, a man of


### Book:intelligence and ambition. Michael was now a young, inexperienced


### Book:ruler, surrounded by in triguers, murderers, and profligates. In this time


### Book:of peril he needed someone he could trust as his councillor, and his


### Book:thoughts turned to Basilius, his best friend. Basilius had no experience


### Book:whatsoever in government and politics—in fact, he was the head of the


### Book:royal stables—but he had proven his love and gratitude time and again.


### Book:To have a good enemy, choose a friend: He knows where to strike.


### Book:DIANF DE POITIERS. 1499-1566. MISTRESS OF HENRI II OF


### Book:FRANCE


### Book:They had met a few years before, when Michael had been visiting the


### Book:stables just as a wild horse got loose. Basilius, a young groom frompeasant Macedonian stock, had saved Michael’s life. The groom’s


### Book:strength and courage had impressed Michael, who immediately raised


### Book:Basilius from the obscurity of being a horse trainer to the position of


### Book:head of the stables. He loaded his friend with gifts and favors and they


### Book:became inseparable. Basilius was sent to the finest school in Byzantium,


### Book:and the crude peasant became a cultured and sophisticated courtier.


### Book:Every time I bestow a vacant office I make a hundred discontented


### Book:persons and one ingrate.


### Book:Louis XIV, 1638-1715


### Book:Now Michael was emperor, and in need of someone loyal. Who could


### Book:he better trust with the post of chamberlain and chief councillor than a


### Book:young man who owed him everything?


### Book:Basilius could be trained for the job and Michael loved him like a


### Book:brother. Ignoring the advice of those who recommended the much more


### Book:qualified Bardas, Michael chose his friend.


### Book:Thus for my own part l have more than once been deceived by the person


### Book:I loved most and of whose love, above everyone else’s, I have been most


### Book:confident. So that I believe that u may be right to love and serve one


### Book:person above all others. according to merit and worth, but never to trust


### Book:so much in this tempting trap of friendship as to have cause to repent of


### Book:it later on.


### Book:BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE, 1478-1529


### Book:Basilius learned well and was soon advising the emperor on all


### Book:matters of state. The only problem seemed to be money—Basiiius never


### Book:had enough. Exposure to the splendor of Byzantine court life made him


### Book:avaricious for the perks of power. Michael doubled, then tripled his


### Book:salary, ennobled him, and married him off to his own mistress, Eudoxia


### Book:Ingerina. Keeping such a trusted friend and adviser satisfied was worth


### Book:any price. But more trouble was to come. Bardas was now head of the


### Book:army, and Basilius convinced Michael that the man was hopelessly


### Book:ambitious. Under the illusion that he could control his nephew, Bardas


### Book:had conspired to put him on the throne, and he could conspire again, this


### Book:time to get rid of Michael and assume the crown himself. Basilius poured


### Book:poison into Michael’s ear until the emperor agreed to have his uncle


### Book:murdered. During a great horse race, Basilius closed in on Bardas in the


### Book:crowd and stabbed him to death. Soon after, Basilius asked that he


### Book:replace Bardas as head of the army, where he could keep control of the


### Book:realm and quell rebellion. This was granted.Now Basilius’s power and wealth only grew, and a few years later


### Book:Michael, in financial straits from his own extravagance, asked him to pay


### Book:back some of the money he had borrowed over the years. To Michael’s


### Book:shock and astonishment, Basilius refused, with a look of such impudence


### Book:that the emperor suddenly realized his predicament: The former stable


### Book:boy had more money, more allies in the army and senate, and in the end


### Book:more power than the emperor himself. A few weeks later, after a night of


### Book:heavy drinking, Michael awoke to find himself surrounded by soldiers.


### Book:Basilius watched as they stabbed the emperor to death. Then, after


### Book:proclaiming himself emperor, he rode his horse through the streets of


### Book:Byzantium, brandishing the head of his former benefactor and best friend


### Book:at the end of a long pike.


### Book:THE SNAKE. THE FARMER. AND THE


### Book:HERON


### Book:A snake chased by hunters asked a farmer to save its life. To hide it from


### Book:its pursuers, the farmer squatted and let the snake crawl into his belly.


### Book:But when the danger had passed and the farmer asked the snake to come


### Book:out, the snake refused. It was warm and safe inside. On his way home,


### Book:the man saw a heron and went up to him and whispered what had


### Book:happened. The heron told him to squat and strain to eject the snake.


### Book:When the snake snuck its head out, the heron caught it, pulled it out, and


### Book:killed it. The farmer was worried that the snake’s poison might still be


### Book:inside him, and the heron told him that the cure for snake poison was to


### Book:cook and eat six white fowl. “You’re a white fowl,” said the farmer.


### Book:“You’ll do for a start.” He grabbed the heron, put it in a bag, and


### Book:carried it home, where he hung it up while he told his wife what had


### Book:happened. “I’m surprised at you, ” said the wife. “The bird does you a


### Book:kindness, rids you of the evil in your belly, saves your life in fact, yet you


### Book:catch it and talk of killing it. She immediately released the heron, and it


### Book:flew away. But on its way, it gouged out her eyes.


### Book:Moral: When you see water flowing uphill, it means that someone is


### Book:repaying a kindness.


### Book:AFRICAN FOLK TALE


### Book:InterpretationMichael III staked his future on the sense of gratitude he thought Basilius


### Book:must feel for him. Surely Basilius would serve him best; he owed the


### Book:emperor his wealth, his education, and his position. Then, once Basilius


### Book:was in power, anything he needed it was best to give to him,


### Book:strengthening the bonds between the two men. It was only on the fateful


### Book:day when the emperor saw that impudent smile on Basilius’s face that he


### Book:realized his deadly mistake.


### Book:He had created a monster. He had allowed a man to see power up


### Book:close—a man who then wanted more, who asked for anything and got it,


### Book:who felt encumbered by the charity he had received and simply did what


### Book:many people do in such a situation: They forget the favors they have


### Book:received and imagine they have earned their success by their own merits.


### Book:At Michael’s moment of realization, he could still have saved his own


### Book:life, but friendship and love blind every man to their interests. Nobody


### Book:believes a friend can betray. And Michael went on disbelieving until the


### Book:day his head ended up on a pike.


### Book:Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.


### Book:Voltaire, 1694-1778


### Book:OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW


### Book:For several centuries after the fall of the Han Dynasty (A.D. 222),


### Book:Chinese history followed the same pattern of violent and bloody coups,


### Book:one after the other. Army men would plot to kill a weak emperor, then


### Book:would replace him on the Dragon Throne with a strong general. The


### Book:general would start a new dynasty and crown himself emperor; to ensure


### Book:his own survival he would kill off his fellow generals. A few years later,


### Book:however, the pattern would resume: New generals would rise up and


### Book:assassinate him or his sons in their turn. To be emperor of China was to


### Book:be alone, surrounded by a pack of enemies—it was the least powerful,


### Book:least secure position in the realm.


### Book:In A.D. 959, General Chao K’uang-yin became Emperor Sung. He


### Book:knew the odds, the probability that within a year or two he would be


### Book:murdered ; how could he break the pattern? Soon after becoming


### Book:emperor, Sung ordered a banquet to celebrate the new dynasty, and


### Book:invited the most powerful commanders in the army. After they had drunk


### Book:much wine, he dismissed the guards and everybody else except thegenerals, who now feared he would murder them in one fell swoop.


### Book:Instead, he addressed them: “The whole day is spent in fear, and I am


### Book:unhappy both at the table and in my bed. For which one of you does not


### Book:dream of ascending the throne? I do not doubt your allegiance, but if by


### Book:some chance your subordinates, seeking wealth and position, were to


### Book:force the emperor’s yellow robe upon you in turn, how could you refuse


### Book:it?” Drunk and fearing for their lives, the generals proclaimed their


### Book:innocence and their loyalty. But Sung had other ideas: “The best way to


### Book:pass one’s days is in peaceful enjoyment of riches and honor. If you are


### Book:willing to give up your commands, I am ready to provide you with fine


### Book:estates and beautiful dwellings where you may take your pleasure with


### Book:singers and girls as your companions.”


### Book:The astonished generals realized that instead of a life of anxiety and


### Book:struggle Sung was offering them riches and security. The next day, all of


### Book:the generals tendered their resignations, and they retired as nobles to the


### Book:estates that Sung bestowed on them.


### Book:There are manv who think therefore that a wise prince ought, when he


### Book:has the chance, to foment astutely some enmity, so that by suppressing It


### Book:he will augment his greatness. Princes, and especially new ones, have


### Book:found more faith and more usefulness in those men, whom at the


### Book:beginning of their power they regarded with suspicion, than in those they


### Book:at first confided in. Pandolfo Petrucci, prince of Siena, governed his


### Book:state more bv those whom he suspected than by others.


### Book:Niccoi o MACHIAVELLI, 1469-1527


### Book:In one stroke, Sung turned a pack of “friendly” wolves, who would


### Book:likely have betrayed him, into a group of docile lambs, far from all


### Book:power.


### Book:Over the next few years Sung continued his campaign to secure his


### Book:rule. In A.D. 971, King Liu of the Southern Han finally surrendered to


### Book:him after years of rebellion. To Liu’s astonishment, Sung gave him a


### Book:rank in the imperial court and invited him to the palace to seal their


### Book:newfound friendship with wine. As King Liu took the glass that Sung


### Book:offered him, he hesitated, fearing it contained poison. “Your subject’s


### Book:crimes certainly merit death,” he cried out, “but I beg Your Majesty to


### Book:spare your subject’s life. Indeed I dare not drink this wine.” Emperor


### Book:Sung laughed, took the glass from Liu, and swallowed it himself. There


### Book:was no poison. From then on Liu became his most trusted and loyal


### Book:friend.At the time, China had splintered into many smaller kingdoms. When


### Book:Ch‘ien Shu, the king of one of these, was defeated, Sung’s ministers


### Book:advised the emperor to lock this rebel up. They presented documents


### Book:proving that he was still conspiring to kill Sung. When Ch’ien Shu came


### Book:to visit the emperor, however, instead of locking him up, Sung honored


### Book:him. He also gave him a package, which he told the former king to open


### Book:when he was halfway home. Ch’ien Shu opened the bundle on his return


### Book:journey and saw that it contained all the papers documenting his


### Book:conspiracy. He realized that Sung knew of his murderous plans, yet had


### Book:spared him nonetheless. This generosity won him over, and he too


### Book:became one of Sung’s most loyal vassals.


### Book:A brahman, a great expert in Veda who has become a great archer as


### Book:well, offers his services to his good friend, who is now the king. The


### Book:brahman cries out when he sees the king, “Recognize me, your friend!”


### Book:The king answers him with contempt and then explains: “Yes, we were


### Book:friends before, but our friendship was based on what power we had…. I


### Book:was friends with you, good brahman, because it served my purpose. No


### Book:pauper is friend to the rich, no fool to the wise, no coward to the brave.


### Book:An old friend—who needs him? It is two men of equal wealth and equal


### Book:birth who contract friendship and marriage, not a rich man and a


### Book:pauper…. An old friend—who needs him?


### Book:THE MAHABHARATA, C. THIRD CENTURY B.C.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:A Chinese proverb compares friends to the jaws and teeth of a dangerous


### Book:animal: If you are not careful, you will find them chewing you up.


### Book:Emperor Sung knew the jaws he was passing between when he assumed


### Book:the throne: His “friends” in the army would chew him up like meat, and


### Book:if he somehow survived, his “friends” in the government would have him


### Book:for supper. Emperor Sung would have no truck with “friends”—he


### Book:bribed his fellow generals with splendid estates and kept them far away.


### Book:This was a much better way to emasculate them than killing them, which


### Book:would only have led other generals to seek vengeance. And Sung would


### Book:have nothing to do with “friendly” ministers. More often than not, they


### Book:would end up drinking his famous cup of poisoned wine.


### Book:Instead of relying on friends, Sung used his enemies, one after the


### Book:other, transforming them into far more reliable subjects. While a friend


### Book:expects more and more favors, and seethes with jealousy, these formerenemies expected nothing and got everything. A man suddenly spared


### Book:the guillotine is a grateful man indeed, and will go to the ends of the


### Book:earth for the man who has pardoned him. In time, these former enemies


### Book:became Sung’s most trusted friends.


### Book:Pick up a bee from kindness, and learn the limitations of kindness.


### Book:SUFI PROVERB


### Book:And Sung was finally able to break the pattern of coups, violence, and


### Book:civil war—the Sung Dynasty ruled China for more than three hundred


### Book:years.


### Book:In a speech Abraham Lincoln delivered at the height of the Civil War,


### Book:he referred to the Southerners as fellow human beings who were in


### Book:error. An elderly lady chastised him for not calling them irreconcilable


### Book:enemies who must be destroyed. “Why, madam,” Lincoln replied,


### Book:“do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:It is natural to want to employ your friends when you find yourself in


### Book:times of need. The world is a harsh place, and your friends soften the


### Book:harshness. Besides, you know them. Why depend on a stranger when you


### Book:have a friend at hand?


### Book:Men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit, because gratitude


### Book:is a burden and revenge a pleasure.


### Book:TACITUS, c. A.D. 55-120


### Book:The problem is that you often do not know your friends as well as you


### Book:imagine. Friends often agree on things in order to avoid an argument.


### Book:They cover up their unpleasant qualities so as to not offend each other.


### Book:They laugh extra hard at each other’s jokes. Since honesty rarely


### Book:strengthens friendship, you may never know how a friend truly feels.


### Book:Friends will say that they love your poetry, adore your music, envy your


### Book:taste in clothes—maybe they mean it, often they do not.


### Book:When you decide to hire a friend, you gradually discover the qualities


### Book:he or she has kept hidden. Strangely enough, it is your act of kindness


### Book:that unbalances everything. People want to feel they deserve their good


### Book:fortune. The receipt of a favor can become oppressive: It means youhave been chosen because you are a friend, not necessarily because you


### Book:are deserving. There is almost a touch of condescension in the act of


### Book:hiring friends that secretly afflicts them. The injury will come out


### Book:slowly: A little more honesty, flashes of resentment and envy here and


### Book:there, and before you know it your friendship fades. The more favors and


### Book:gifts you supply to revive the friendship, the less gratitude you receive.


### Book:Ingratitude has a long and deep history. It has demonstrated its powers


### Book:for so many centuries, that it is truly amazing that people continue to


### Book:underestimate them. Better to be wary. If you never expect gratitude


### Book:from a friend, you will be pleasantly surprised when they do prove


### Book:grateful.


### Book:The problem with using or hiring friends is that it will inevitably limit


### Book:your power. The friend is rarely the one who is most able to help you;


### Book:and in the end, skill and competence are far more important than friendly


### Book:feelings. (Michael III had a man right under his nose who would have


### Book:steered him right and kept him alive: That man was Bardas.)


### Book:PROI LING BY OUR \111


### Book:King Hiero chanced upon a time, speaking with one of his enemies, to be


### Book:told in a reproachful manner that he had stinking breath. Whereupon the


### Book:good king, being somewhat dismayed in himself, as soon as he returned


### Book:home chided his wife, “How does it happen that you never told me of this


### Book:problem?” The woman, being a simple, chaste. and harmless dame, said,


### Book:“Sir, l had thought all men breath had smelled so.” Thus it is plain that


### Book:faults that are evident to the senses, gross and corporal, or otherwise


### Book:notorious to the world, we know by our enemies sooner than by our


### Book:friends and familiars.


### Book:PLUTARCH, C. A.D. 46-120


### Book:All working situations require a kind of distance between people. You


### Book:are trying to work, not make friends; friendliness (real or false) only


### Book:obscures that fact. The key to power, then, is the ability to judge who is


### Book:best able to further your interests in all situations. Keep friends for


### Book:friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.


### Book:Your enemies, on the other hand, are an untapped gold mine that you


### Book:must learn to exploit. When Talleyrand, Napoleon’s foreign minister,


### Book:decided in 1807 that his boss was leading France to ruin, and the time


### Book:had come to turn against him, he understood the dangers of conspiring


### Book:against the emperor; he needed a partner, a confederate—what friend


### Book: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


### Book:him assassinated. He knew that their former hatred would create an


### Book:opportunity for an emotional reconciliation. He knew that Fouché would


### Book:expect nothing from him, and in fact would work to prove that he was


### Book:worthy of Talleyrand’s choice; a person who has something to prove will


### Book:move mountains for you. Finally, he knew that his relationship with


### Book:Fouché would be based on mutual self-interest, and would not be


### Book:contaminated by personal feeling. The selection proved perfect; although


### Book:the conspirators did not succeed in toppling Napoleon, the union of such


### Book:powerful but unlikely partners generated much interest in the cause;


### Book:opposition to the emperor slowly began to spread. And from then on,


### Book:Talleyrand and Fouché had a fruitful working relationship. Whenever


### Book:you can, bury the hatchet with an enemy, and make a point of putting


### Book:him in your service.


### Book:As Lincoln said, you destroy an enemy when you make a friend of


### Book:him. In 1971, during the Vietnam War, Henry Kissinger was the target of


### Book:an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt, a conspiracy involving, among


### Book:others, the renowned antiwar activist priests the Berrigan brothers, four


### Book:more Catholic priests, and four nuns. In private, without informing the


### Book:Secret Service or the Justice Department, Kissinger arranged a Saturday-


### Book:morning meeting with three of the alleged kidnappers. Explaining to his


### Book:guests that he would have most American soldiers out of Vietnam by


### Book:mid-1972, he completely charmed them. They gave him some “Kidnap


### Book:Kissinger” buttons and one of them remained a friend of his for years,


### Book:visiting him on several occasions. This was not just a onetime ploy:


### Book:Kissinger made a policy of working with those who disagreed with him.


### Book:Colleagues commented that he seemed to get along better with his


### Book:enemies than with his friends.


### Book:Without enemies around us, we grow lazy. An enemy at our heels


### Book:sharpens our wits, keeping us focused and alert. It is sometimes better,


### Book:then, to use enemies as enemies rather than transforming them into


### Book:friends or allies.


### Book:Mao Tse-tung saw conflict as key in his approach to power. In 1937


### Book:the Japanese invaded China, interrupting the civil war between Mao’s


### Book:Communists and their enemy, the Nationalists.


### Book:Fearing that the Japanese would wipe them out, some Communist


### Book:leaders advocated leaving the Nationalists to fight the Japanese, and


### Book:using the time to recuperate. Mao disagreed: The Japanese could not


### Book:possibly defeat and occupy a vast country like China for long. Once they


### Book:left, the Communists would have grown rusty if they had been out ofcombat for several years, and would be ill prepared to reopen their


### Book:struggle with the Nationalists. To fight a formidable foe like the


### Book:Japanese, in fact, would be the perfect training for the Communists’


### Book:ragtag army. Mao’s plan was adopted, and it worked: By the time the


### Book:Japanese finally retreated, the Communists had gained the fighting


### Book:experience that helped them defeat the Nationalists.


### Book:Years later, a Japanese visitor tried to apologize to Mao for his


### Book:country’s invasion of China. Mao interrupted, “Should I not thank you


### Book:instead?” Without a worthy opponent, he explained, a man or group


### Book:cannot grow stronger.


### Book:Mao’s strategy of constant conflict has several key components. First,


### Book:be certain that in the long run you will emerge victorious. Never pick a


### Book:fight with someone you are not sure you can defeat, as Mao knew the


### Book:Japanese would be defeated in time. Second, if you have no apparent


### Book:enemies, you must sometimes set up a convenient target, even turning a


### Book:friend into an enemy. Mao used this tactic time and again in politics.


### Book:Third, use such enemies to define your cause more clearly to the public,


### Book:even framing it as a struggle of good against evil. Mao actually


### Book:encouraged China’s disagreements with the Soviet Union and the United


### Book:States; without clear-cut enemies, he believed, his people would lose any


### Book:sense of what Chinese Communism meant. A sharply defined enemy is a


### Book:far stronger argument for your side than all the words you could possibly


### Book:put together.


### Book:Never let the presence of enemies upset or distress you—you are far


### Book:better off with a declared opponent or two than not knowing where your


### Book:real enemies lie. The man of power welcomes conflict, using enemies to


### Book:enhance his reputation as a surefooted fighter who can be relied upon in


### Book:times of uncertainty.


### Book:Image: The Jaws of Ingratitude. Knowing what would happen if you put


### Book:a finger in the mouth of a lion, you would stay clear of it. With friends


### Book:you will have no such caution, and if you hire them, they will eat you


### Book:alive with ingratitude.


### Book:Authority: Know how to use enemies for your own profit. You must


### Book:learn to grab a sword not by its blade, which would cut you, but by the


### Book:handle, which allows you to defend yourself. The wise man profits more


### Book:from his enemies, than a fool from his friends. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-


### Book:1658)REVERSAL


### Book:Although it is generally best not to mix work with friendship, there are


### Book:times when a friend can be used to greater effect than an enemy. A man


### Book:of power, for example, often has dirty work that has to be done, but for


### Book:the sake of appearances it is generally preferable to have other people do


### Book:it for him; friends often do this the best, since their affection for him


### Book:makes them willing to take chances. Also, if your plans go awry for


### Book:some reason, you can use a friend as a convenient scapegoat. This “fall


### Book:of the favorite” was a trick often used by kings and sovereigns: They


### Book:would let their closest friend at court take the fall for a mistake, since the


### Book:public would not believe that they would deliberately sacrifice a friend


### Book:for such a purpose. Of course, after you play that card, you have lost


### Book:your friend forever. It is best, then, to reserve the scapegoat role for


### Book:someone who is close to you but not too close.


### Book:Finally, the problem about working with friends is that it confuses the


### Book:boundaries and distances that working requires. But if both partners in


### Book:the arrangement understand the dangers involved, a friend often can be


### Book:employed to great effect. You must never let your guard down in such a


### Book:venture, however; always be on the lookout for any signs of emotional


### Book:disturbance such as envy and ingratitude. Nothing is stable in the realm


### Book:of power, and even the closest of friends can be transformed into the


### Book:worst of enemies.LAW 3


### Book:CONCEAL YOUR INTENTIONS


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose


### Book:behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot


### Book:prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop


### Book:them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it


### Book:will be too late.PART I: USE DECOYED OBJECTS OF


### Book:DESIRE AND RED HERRINGS TO THROW


### Book:PEOPLE OFF THE SCENT


### Book:If at any point in the deception you practice people have the slightest


### Book:suspicionas to your intentions, all is lost. Do not give them the chance to


### Book:sense what you are up to: Throw them off the scent by dragging red


### Book:herrings across the path. Use false sincerity, send ambiguous signals, set


### Book:up misleading objects of desire. Unable to distinguish the genuine from


### Book:the false, they cannot pick out your real goal.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:Over several weeks, Ninon de Lenclos, the most infamous courtesan of


### Book:seventeenth-century France, listened patiently as the Marquis de Sevigné


### Book:explained his struggles in pursuing a beautiful but difficult young


### Book:countess. Ninon was sixty-two at the time, and more than experienced in


### Book:matters of love; the marquis was a lad of twenty-two, handsome,


### Book:dashing, but hopelessly inexperienced in romance. At first Ninon was


### Book:amused to hear the marquis talk about his mistakes, but finally she had


### Book:had enough. Unable to bear ineptitude in any realm, least of all in


### Book:seducing a woman, she decided to take the young man under her wing.


### Book:First, he had to understand that this was war, and that the beautiful


### Book:countess was a citadel to which he had to lay siege as carefully as any


### Book:general. Every step had to be planned and executed with the utmost


### Book:attention to detail and nuance.


### Book:Instructing the marquis to start over, Ninon told him to approach the


### Book:countess with a bit of distance, an air of nonchalance. The next time the


### Book:two were alone together, she said, he would confide in the countess as


### Book:would a friend but not a potential lover. This was to throw her off the


### Book:scent. The countess was no longer to take his interest in her for granted


### Book:—perhaps he was only interested in friendship.Ninon planned ahead. Once the countess was confused, it would be


### Book:time to make her jealous. At the next encounter, at a major fête in Paris,


### Book:the marquis would show up with a beautiful young woman at his side.


### Book:This beautiful young woman had equally beautiful friends, so that


### Book:wherever the countess would now see the marquis, he would be


### Book:surrounded by the most stunning young women in Paris. Not only would


### Book:the countess be seething with jealousy, she would come to see the


### Book:marquis as someone who was desired by others. It was hard for Ninon to


### Book:make the marquis understand, but she patiently explained that a woman


### Book:who is interested in a man wants to see that other women are interested


### Book:in him, too. Not only does that give him instant value, it makes it all the


### Book:more satisfying to snatch him from their clutches.


### Book:Once the countess was jealous but intrigued, it would be time to


### Book:beguile her. On Ninon’s instructions, the marquis would fail to show up


### Book:at affairs where the countess expected to see him. Then, suddenly, he


### Book:would appear at salons he had never frequented before, but that the


### Book:countess attended often. She would be unable to predict his moves. All


### Book:of this would push her into the state of emotional confusion that is a


### Book:prerequisite for successful seduction.


### Book:These moves were executed, and took several weeks. Ninon


### Book:monitored the marquis’s progress: Through her network of spies, she


### Book:heard how the countess would laugh a little harder at his witticisms,


### Book:listen more closely to his stories. She heard that the countess was


### Book:suddenly asking questions about him. Her friends told her that at social


### Book:affairs the countess would often look up at the marquis, following his


### Book:steps. Ninon felt certain that the young woman was falling under his


### Book:spell. It was a matter of weeks now, maybe a month or two, but if all


### Book:went smoothly, the citadel would fall.


### Book:A few days later the marquis was at the countess’s home. They were


### Book:alone. Suddenly he was a different man: This time acting on his own


### Book:impulse, rather than following Ninon’s instructions, he took the


### Book:countess’s hands and told her he was in love with her. The young woman


### Book:seemed confused, a reaction he did not expect. She became polite, then


### Book:excused herself. For the rest of the evening she avoided his eyes, was not


### Book:there to say good-night to him. The next few times he visited he was told


### Book:she was not at home. When she finally admitted him again, the two felt


### Book:awkward and uncomfortable with each other. The spell was broken.


### Book:InterpretationNinon de Lenclos knew everything about the art of love. The greatest


### Book:writ ers, thinkers, and politicians of the time had been her lovers—men


### Book:like La Rochefoucauld, Molière, and Richelieu. Seduction was a game to


### Book:her, to be practiced with skill. As she got older, and her reputation grew,


### Book:the most important families in France would send their sons to her to be


### Book:instructed in matters of love.


### Book:Ninon knew that men and women are very different, but when it


### Book:comes to seduction they feel the same: Deep down inside, they often


### Book:sense when they are being seduced, but they give in because they enjoy


### Book:the feeling of being led along. It is a pleasure to let go, and to allow the


### Book:other person to detour you into a strange country. Everything in


### Book:seduction, however, depends on suggestion. You cannot announce your


### Book:intentions or reveal them directly in words. Instead you must throw your


### Book:targets off the scent. To surrender to your guidance they must be


### Book:appropriately confused. You have to scramble your signals—appear


### Book:interested in another man or woman (the decoy), then hint at being


### Book:interested in the target, then feign indifference, on and on. Such patterns


### Book:not only confuse, they excite.


### Book:Imagine this story from the countess’s perspective: After a few of the


### Book:marquis’s moves, she sensed the marquis was playing some sort of game,


### Book:but the game delighted her. She did not know where he was leading her,


### Book:but so much the better. His moves intrigued her, each of them keeping


### Book:her waiting for the next one—she even enjoyed her jealousy and


### Book:confusion, for sometimes any emotion is better than the boredom of


### Book:security. Perhaps the marquis had ulterior motives; most men do. But she


### Book:was willing to wait and see, and probably if she had been made to wait


### Book:long enough, what he was up to would not have mattered.


### Book:The moment the marquis uttered that fatal word “love,” however, all


### Book:was changed. This was no longer a game with moves, it was an artless


### Book:show of passion. His intention was revealed: He was seducing her. This


### Book:put everything he had done in a new light. All that before had been


### Book:charming now seemed ugly and conniving; the countess felt embarrassed


### Book:and used. A door closed that would never open again.


### Book:Do not be held a cheat, even though it is impossible to live today without


### Book:being one.


### Book:Let your greatest cunning lie in covering up what looks like cunning.


### Book:Ballasar Gracián, 1601-1658OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW


### Book:In 1850 the young Otto von Bismarck, then a thirty-five-year-old deputy


### Book:in the Prussian parliament, was at a turning point in his career. The issues


### Book:of the day were the unification of the many states (including Prussia) into


### Book:which Germany was then divided, and a war against Austria, the


### Book:powerful neighbor to the south that hoped to keep the Germans weak and


### Book:at odds, even threatening to intervene if they tried to unite. Prince


### Book:William, next in line to be Prussia’s king, was in favor of going to war,


### Book:and the parliament rallied to the cause, prepared to back any mobilization


### Book:of troops. The only ones to oppose war were the present king, Frederick


### Book:William IV, and his ministers, who preferred to appease the powerful


### Book:Austrians.


### Book:Throughout his career, Bismarck had been a loyal, even passionate


### Book:supporter of Prussian might and power. He dreamed of German


### Book:unification, of going to war against Austria and humiliating the country


### Book:that for so long had kept Germany divided. A former soldier, he saw


### Book:warfare as a glorious business.


### Book:This, after all, was the man who years later would say, “The great


### Book:questions of the time will be decided, not by speeches and resolutions,


### Book:but by iron and blood.”


### Book:Passionate patriot and lover of military glory, Bismarck nevertheless


### Book:gave a speech in parliament at the height of the war fever that astonished


### Book:all who heard it. “Woe unto the statesman,” he said, “who makes war


### Book:without a reason that will still be valid when the war is over! After the


### Book:war, you will all look differently at these questions. Will you then have


### Book:the courage to turn to the peasant contemplating the ashes of his farm, to


### Book:the man who has been crippled, to the father who has lost his children?”


### Book:Not only did Bismarck go on to talk of the madness of this war, but,


### Book:strangest of all, he praised Austria and defended her actions. This went


### Book:against everything he had stood for. The consequences were immediate.


### Book:Bismarck was against the war—what could this possibly mean? Other


### Book:deputies were confused, and several of them changed their votes.


### Book:Eventually the king and his ministers won out, and war was averted.


### Book:A few weeks after Bismarck’s infamous speech, the king, grateful that


### Book:he had spoken for peace, made him a cabinet minister. A few years later


### Book:he became the Prussian premier. In this role he eventually led his country


### Book:and a peace-loving king into a war against Austria, crushing the former


### Book:empire and establishing a mighty German state, with Prussia at its head.Interpretation


### Book:At the time of his speech in 1850, Bismarck made several calculations.


### Book:First, he sensed that the Prussian military, which had not kept pace with


### Book:other European armies, was unready for war—that Austria, in fact, might


### Book:very well win, a disastrous result for the future. Second, if the war were


### Book:lost and Bismarck had supported it, his career would be gravely


### Book:jeopardized. The king and his conservative ministers wanted peace;


### Book:Bismarck wanted power. The answer was to throw people off the scent


### Book:by supporting a cause he detested, saying things he would laugh at if said


### Book:by another. A whole country was fooled. It was because of Bismarck’s


### Book:speech that the king made him a minister, a position from which he


### Book:quickly rose to be prime minister, attaining the power to strengthen the


### Book:Prussian military and accomplish what he had wanted all along: the


### Book:humiliation of Austria and the unification of Germany under Prussia’s


### Book:leadership.


### Book:Bismarck was certainly one of the cleverest statesman who ever lived,


### Book:a master of strategy and deception. No one suspected what he was up to


### Book:in this case. Had he announced his real intentions, arguing that it was


### Book:better to wait now and fight later, he would not have won the argument,


### Book:since most Prussians wanted war at that moment and mistakenly believed


### Book:that their army was superior to the Austrians. Had he played up to the


### Book:king, asking to be made a minister in exchange for supporting peace, he


### Book:would not have succeeded either: The king would have distrusted his


### Book:ambition and doubted his sincerity.


### Book:By being completely insincere and sending misleading signals,


### Book:however, he deceived everyone, concealed his purpose, and attained


### Book:everything he wanted. Such is the power of hiding your intentions.


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:Most people are open books. They say what they feel, blurt out their


### Book:opinions at every opportunity, and constantly reveal their plans and


### Book:intentions. They do this for several reasons. First, it is easy and natural to


### Book:always want to talk about one’s feelings and plans for the future. It takes


### Book:effort to control your tongue and monitor what you reveal. Second, many


### Book:believe that by being honest and open they are winning people’s heartsand showing their good nature.They are greatly deluded. Honesty is


### Book:actually a blunt instrument, which bloodies more than it cuts. Your


### Book:honesty is likely to offend people; it is much more prudent to tailor your


### Book:words, telling people what they want to hear rather than the coarse and


### Book:ugly truth of what you feel or think. More important, by being


### Book:unabashedly open you make yourself so predictable and familiar that it is


### Book:almost impossible to respect or fear you, and power will not accrue to a


### Book:person who cannot inspire such emotions.


### Book:If you yearn for power, quickly lay honesty aside, and train yourself in


### Book:the art of concealing your intentions. Master the art and you will always


### Book:have the upper hand. Basic to an ability to conceal one’s intentions is a


### Book:simple truth about human nature: Our first instinct is to always trust


### Book:appearances. We cannot go around doubting the reality of what we see


### Book:and hear—constantly imagining that appearances concealed something


### Book:else would exhaust and terrify us. This fact makes it relatively easy to


### Book:conceal one’s intentions. Simply dangle an object you seem to desire, a


### Book:goal you seem to aim for, in front of people’s eyes and they will take the


### Book:appearance for reality. Once their eyes focus on the decoy, they will fail


### Book:to notice what you are really up to. In seduction, set up conflicting


### Book:signals, such as desire and indifference, and you not only throw them off


### Book:the scent, you inflame their desire to possess you.


### Book:A tactic that is often effective in setting up a red herring is to appear to


### Book:support an idea or cause that is actually contrary to your own sentiments.


### Book:(Bismarck used this to great effect in his speech in 1850.) Most people


### Book:will believe you have experienced a change of heart, since it is so


### Book:unusual to play so lightly with something as emotional as one’s opinions


### Book:and values. The same applies for any decoyed object of desire: Seem to


### Book:want something in which you are actually not at all interested and your


### Book:enemies will be thrown off the scent, making all kinds of errors in their


### Book:calculations.


### Book:During the War of the Spanish Succession in 1711, the Duke of


### Book:Marlborough, head of the English army, wanted to destroy a key French


### Book:fort, because it protected a vital thoroughfare into France. Yet he knew


### Book:that if he destroyed it, the French would realize what he wanted—to


### Book:advance down that road. Instead, then, he merely captured the fort, and


### Book:garrisoned it with some of his troops, making it appear as if he wanted it


### Book:for some purpose of his own. The French attacked the fort and the duke


### Book:let them recapture it. Once they had it back, though, they destroyed it,


### Book:figuring that the duke had wanted it for some important reason. Now thatthe fort was gone, the road was unprotected, and Marlborough could


### Book:easily march into France.


### Book:Use this tactic in the following manner: Hide your intentions not by


### Book:closing up (with the risk of appearing secretive, and making people


### Book:suspicious) but by talking endlessly about your desires and goals—just


### Book:not your real ones. You will kill three birds with one stone: You appear


### Book:friendly, open, and trusting; you conceal your intentions; and you send


### Book:your rivals on time-consuming wild-goose chases.


### Book:Another powerful tool in throwing people off the scent is false


### Book:sincerity. People easily mistake sincerity for honesty. Remember—their


### Book:first instinct is to trust appearances, and since they value honesty and


### Book:want to believe in the honesty of those around them, they will rarely


### Book:doubt you or see through your act. Seeming to believe what you say


### Book:gives your words great weight. This is how Iago deceived and destroyed


### Book:Othello: Given the depth of his emotions, the apparent sincerity of his


### Book:concerns about Desde mona’s supposed infidelity, how could Othello


### Book:distrust him? This is also how the great con artist Yellow Kid Weil pulled


### Book:the wool over suckers’ eyes: Seeming to believe so deeply in the


### Book:decoyed object he was dangling in front of them (a phony stock, a touted


### Book:racehorse), he made its reality hard to doubt. It is important, of course,


### Book:not to go too far in this area. Sincerity is a tricky tool: Appear


### Book:overpassionate and you raise suspicions. Be measured and believable or


### Book:your ruse will seem the put-on that it is.


### Book:To make your false sincerity an effective weapon in concealing your


### Book:intentions, espouse a belief in honesty and forthrightness as important


### Book:social values. Do this as publicly as possible. Emphasize your position


### Book:on this subject by occasionally divulging some heartfelt thought—though


### Book:only one that is actually meaningless or irrelevant, of course. Napoleon’s


### Book:minister Talleyrand was a master at taking people into his confidence by


### Book:revealing some apparent secret. This feigned confidence—a decoy—


### Book:would then elicit a real confidence on the other person’s part.


### Book:Remember: The best deceivers do everything they can to cloak their


### Book:roguish qualities. They cultivate an air of honesty in one area to disguise


### Book:their dishonesty in others. Honesty is merely another decoy in their


### Book:arsenal of weapons.PART II: USE SMOKE SCREENS TO


### Book:DISGUISE YOUR ACTIONS


### Book:Deception is always the best strategy, but the best deceptions require a


### Book:screen of smoke to distract people attention from your real purpose. The


### Book:bland exterior—like the unreadable poker face—is often the perfect


### Book:smoke screen, hiding your intentions behind the comfortable and


### Book:familiar. If you lead the sucker down a familiar path, he won’t catch on


### Book:when you lead him into a trap.


### Book:OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW I


### Book:In 1910, a Mr. Sam Geezil of Chicago sold his warehouse business for


### Book:close to $1 million. He settled down to semiretirement and the managing


### Book:of his many properties, but deep inside he itched for the old days of deal-


### Book:making. One day a young man named Joseph Weil visited his office,


### Book:wanting to buy an apartment he had up for sale. Geezil explained the


### Book:terms: The price was $8,000, but he only required a down payment of


### Book:$2,000. Weil said he would sleep on it, but he came back the following


### Book:day and offered to pay the full $8,000 in cash, if Geezil could wait a


### Book:couple of days, until a deal Weil was working on came through. Even in


### Book:semiretirement, a clever businessman like Geezil was curious as to how


### Book:Weil would be able to come up with so much cash (roughly $150,000


### Book:today) so quickly. Weil seemed reluctant to say, and quickly changed the


### Book:subject, but Geezil was persistent. Finally, after assurances of


### Book:confidentiality, Weil told Geezil the following story.


### Book:THE KING OF ISRAEL IGNS WORSHIP OF


### Book:THE


### Book:Then Jehu assembled all the people, and said to them, “Ahab served


### Book:Ba‘al a little; but Jehu will serve him much more. Now therefore call to


### Book: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


### Book:missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy


### Book:the worshippers of Ba’al. And Jehu ordered, “Sanctify a solemn


### Book:assembly for Ba‘al. ”So they proclaimed it. And Jehu sent throughout all


### Book:Israel; and all the worshippers of Ba’al came, so that there was not a


### Book:man left who did not come. And they entered the house of Ba‘al, and the


### Book:house of Ba’al was filled from one end to the other…. Then Jehu went


### Book:into the house of Ba‘al … and he said to the worshippers of Ba’al,


### Book:“Search, and see that there is no servant of the LORD here among you,


### Book:but only the worshippers of Ba‘al.“Then he went in to offer sacrifices


### Book:and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside, and


### Book:said, ”The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to


### Book:escape shall forfeit his life.“ So as soon as he had made an end of


### Book:offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers,


### Book:”Go in and slay them; let not a man escape. ” So when they put them to


### Book:the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the


### Book:inner room of the house of Ba’al and they brought out the pillar that was


### Book:in the house of Ba‘al and burned it. And they demolished the pillar of


### Book:Ba’al and demolished the house of Ba‘al, and made it a latrine to this


### Book:day. Thus Jehu wiped out Ba’al from Israel.


### Book:OLD TESTAMENT, 2 KINGS 10:18-28


### Book:Weil’s uncle was the secretary to a coterie of multimillionaire


### Book:financiers. These wealthy gentlemen had purchased a hunting lodge in


### Book:Michigan ten years ago, at a cheap price. They had not used the lodge for


### Book:a few years, so they had decided to sell it and had asked Weil’s uncle to


### Book:get whatever he could for it. For reasons—good reasons—of his own, the


### Book:uncle had been nursing a grudge against the millionaires for years; this


### Book:was his chance to get back at them. He would sell the property for


### Book:$35,000 to a set up man (whom it was Weil’s job to find). The financiers


### Book:were too wealthy to worry about this low price. The set-up man would


### Book:then turn around and sell the property again for its real price, around


### Book:$155,000. The uncle, Weil, and the third man would split the profits from


### Book:this second sale. It was all legal and for a good cause—the uncle’s just


### Book:retribution.


### Book:Geezil had heard enough: He wanted to be the set-up buyer. Weil was


### Book:reluctant to involve him, but Geezil would not back down: The idea of a


### Book:large profit, plus a little adventure, had him champing at the bit. Weil


### Book:explained that Geezil would have to put up the $35,000 in cash to bring


### Book:the deal off. Geezil, a millionaire, said he could get the money with a


### Book:snap of his fingers. Weil finally relented and agreed to arrange a meetingbetween the uncle, Geezil, and the financiers, in the town of Galesburg,


### Book:Illinois.


### Book:On the train ride to Galesburg, Geezil met the uncle—an impressive


### Book:man, with whom he avidly discussed business. Weil also brought along a


### Book:companion, a somewhat paunchy man named George Gross. Weil


### Book:explained to Geezil that he himself was a boxing trainer, that Gross was


### Book:one of the promising prizefighters he trained, and that he had asked


### Book:Gross to come along to make sure the fighter stayed in shape. For a


### Book:promising fighter, Gross was unimpressive looking—he had gray hair


### Book:and a beer belly—but Geezil was so excited about the deal that he didn’t


### Book:really think about the man’s flabby appearance.


### Book:Once in Galesburg, Weil and his uncle went to fetch the financiers


### Book:while Geezil waited in a hotel room with Gross, who promptly put on his


### Book:boxing trunks. As Geezil half watched, Gross began to shadowbox.


### Book:Distracted as he was, Geezil ignored how badly the boxer wheezed after


### Book:a few minutes of exercise, although his style seemed real enough. An


### Book:hour later, Weil and his uncle reappeared with the financiers, an


### Book:impressive, intimidating group of men, all wearing fancy suits. The


### Book:meeting went well and the financiers agreed to sell the lodge to Geezil,


### Book:who had already had the $35,000 wired to a local bank.


### Book:This minor business now settled, the financiers sat back in their chairs


### Book:and began to banter about high finance, throwing out the name “J. P.


### Book:Morgan” as if they knew the man. Finally one of them noticed the boxer


### Book:in the corner of the room. Weil explained what he was doing there. The


### Book:financier countered that he too had a boxer in his entourage, whom he


### Book:named. Weil laughed brazenly and exclaimed that his man could easily


### Book:knock out their man. Conversation escalated into argument. In the heat


### Book:of passion, Weil challenged the men to a bet. The financiers eagerly


### Book:agreed and left to get their man ready for a fight the next day.


### Book:As soon as they had left, the uncle yelled at Weil, right in front of


### Book:Geezil; They did not have enough money to bet with, and once the


### Book:financiers discovered this, the uncle would be fired. Weil apologized for


### Book:getting him in this mess, but he had a plan: He knew the other boxer


### Book:well, and with a little bribe, they could fix the fight. But where would the


### Book:money come from for the bet? the uncle replied. Without it they were as


### Book:good as dead. Finally Geezil had heard enough. Unwilling to jeopardize


### Book:his deal with any ill will, he offered his own $35,000 cash for part of the


### Book:bet. Even if he lost that, he would wire for more money and still make a


### Book:profit on the sale of the lodge. The uncle and nephew thanked him. With


### Book: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


### Book:rehearse the fix in the hotel room, his mind reeled at the killing he was


### Book:going to make from both the boxing match and the sale of the lodge.


### Book:The fight took place in a gym the next day. Weil handled the cash,


### Book:which was placed for security in a locked box. Everything was