### Book:sometimes play the penitent: With a sorrowful look, you ask for


### Book:forgiveness from those weaker than you. It is the ploy of the king who


### Book:makes a show of his own sacrifices for the good of the people. Similarly,


### Book:upon occasion you may want to appear as the agent of punishment in


### Book:order to instill fear and trembling in your subordinates. Instead of the


### Book:cat‘s-paw you show your own mighty hand as a threatening gesture. Play


### Book:such a card sparingly. If you play it too often, fear will turn into


### Book:resentment and hatred. Before you know it, such emotions will spark a


### Book:vigorous opposition that will someday bring you down. Get in the habit


### Book:of using a cat’s-paw—it is far safer.LAW 27


### Book:PLAY ON PEOPLE’S NEED TO BELIEVE TO


### Book:CREATE A CULTLIKE FOLLOWING


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the


### Book:focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow.


### Book:Keep your words vague but full of promise ; emphasize enthusiasm over


### Book:rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to


### Book:perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of


### Book:organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring


### Book:you untold power.


### Book:THE SCIENCE OF CHARLATANISM, OR


### Book:HOW TO CREATE A CULT IN FIVE EASY


### Book:STEPS


### Book:In searching, as you must, for the methods that will gain you the most


### Book:power for the least effort, you will find the creation of a cultlike


### Book:following one of the most effective. Having a large following opens up


### Book:all sorts of possibilities for deception; not only will your followers


### Book:worship you, they will defend you from your enemies and will


### Book:voluntarily take on the work of enticing others to join your fledgling cult.


### Book:This kind of power will lift you to another realm: You will no longer


### Book:have to struggle or use subterfuge to enforce your will. You are adored


### Book:and can do no wrong.


### Book:You might think it a gargantuan task to create such a following, but in


### Book:fact it is fairly simple. As humans, we have a desperate need to believe in


### Book:something, anything. This makes us eminently gullible: We simplycannot endure long periods of doubt, or of the emptiness that comes from


### Book:a lack of something to believe in. Dangle in front of us some new cause,


### Book:elixir, get-rich-quick scheme, or the latest technological trend or art


### Book:movement and we leap from the water as one to take the bait. Look at


### Book:history: The chronicles of the new trends and cults that have made a


### Book:mass following for themselves could fill a library. After a few centuries,


### Book:a few decades, a few years, a few months, they generally look ridiculous,


### Book:but at the time they seem so attractive, so transcendental, so divine.


### Book:Always in a rush to believe in something, we will manufacture saints


### Book:and faiths out of nothing. Do not let this gullibility go to waste: Make


### Book:yourself the object of worship. Make people form a cult around you.


### Book:The great European charlatans of the sixteenth and seventeenth


### Book:centuries mastered the art of cultmaking. They lived, as we do now, in a


### Book:time of transformation: Organized religion was on the wane, science on


### Book:the rise. People were desperate to rally around a new cause or faith. The


### Book:charlatans had begun by peddling health elixirs and alchemic shortcuts to


### Book:wealth. Moving quickly from town to town, they originally focused on


### Book:small groups—until, by accident, they stumbled on a truth of human


### Book:nature: The larger the group they gathered around themselves, the easier


### Book:it was to deceive.


### Book:The charlatan would station himself on a high wooden platform (hence


### Book:the term “mountebank”) and crowds would swarm around him. In a


### Book:group setting, people were more emotional, less able to reason. Had the


### Book:charlatan spoken to them individually, they might have found him


### Book:ridiculous, but lost in a crowd they got caught up in a communal mood


### Book:of rapt attention. It became impossible for them to find the distance to be


### Book:skeptical. Any deficiencies in the charlatan’s ideas were hidden by the


### Book:zeal of the mass. Passion and enthusiasm swept through the crowd like a


### Book:contagion, and they reacted violently to anyone who dared to spread a


### Book:seed of doubt. Both consciously studying this dynamic over decades of


### Book:experiment and spontaneously adapting to these situations as they


### Book:happened, the charlatans perfected the science of attracting and holding a


### Book:crowd, molding the crowd into followers and the followers into a cult.


### Book:It was to the charlatan’s advantage that the individuals predisposed to


### Book:credulity should multiply, that the groups of his adherents should enlarge


### Book:to mass proportions, guaranteeing an ever greater scope for his


### Book:triumphs. And this was in fact to occur, as science was popularized, from


### Book:the Renaissance on down through succeeding centuries. With the


### Book:immense growth of knowledge and its spread through printing in modern


### Book:times, the mass of the half educated, the eagerly gullible prey of thequack, also increased, became indeed a majority; real power could be


### Book:based on their wishes, opinions, preferences, and rejections. The


### Book:charlatan’s empire accordingly widened with the modern dissemination


### Book:of knowledge; since he operated on the basis of science, however much


### Book:he perverted it, producing gold with a technique borrowed from


### Book:chemistry and his wonderful balsams with the apparatus of medicine, he


### Book:could not appeal to an entirely ignorant folk. The illiterate would be


### Book:protected against his absurdities by their healthy common sense. His


### Book:choicest audience would be composed of the semiliterate, those who had


### Book:exchanged their common sense for a little distorted information and had


### Book:encountered science and education at some time, though briefly and


### Book:unsuccessfully…. The great mass of mankind has always been


### Book:predisposed to marvel at mysteries, and this was especially true at


### Book:certain historic periods when the secure foundations of life seemed


### Book:shaken and old values, economic or spiritual, long accepted as


### Book:certainties, could no longer be relied upon. Then the numbers of the


### Book:charlatan’s dupes multiplied—the “self killers,” as a seventeenth-century


### Book:Englishman called them.


### Book:THE POWER OF THE CHARLATAN, GRETE DE FRANCESCO,


### Book:1939


### Book:The gimmicks of the charlatans may seem quaint today, but there are


### Book:thousands of charlatans among us still, using the same tried-and-true


### Book:methods their predecessors refined centuries ago, only changing the


### Book:names of their elixirs and modernizing the look of their cults. We find


### Book:these latter-day charlatans in all arenas of life—business, fashion,


### Book:politics, art. Many of them, perhaps, are following in the charlatan


### Book:tradition without having any knowledge of its history, but you can be


### Book:more systematic and deliberate. Simply follow the five steps of


### Book:cultmaking that our charlatan ancestors perfected over the years.


### Book:Step 1: Keep It Vague; Keep It Simple. To create a cult you must first


### Book:attract attention. This you should do not through actions, which are too


### Book:clear and readable, but through words, which are hazy and deceptive.


### Book:Your initial speeches, conversations, and interviews must include two


### Book:elements: on the one hand the promise of something great and


### Book:transformative, and on the other a total vagueness. This combination will


### Book:stimulate all kinds of hazy dreams in your listeners, who will make their


### Book:own connections and see what they want to see.To make your vagueness attractive, use words of great resonance but


### Book:cloudy meaning, words full of heat and enthusiasm. Fancy titles for


### Book:simple things are helpful, as are the use of numbers and the creation of


### Book:new words for vague concepts. All of these create the impression of


### Book:specialized knowledge, giving you a veneer of profundity. By the same


### Book:token, try to make the subject of your cult new and fresh, so that few will


### Book:understand it. Done right, the combination of vague promises, cloudy but


### Book:alluring concepts, and fiery enthusiasm will stir people’s souls and a


### Book:group will form around you.


### Book:Talk too vaguely and you have no credibility. But it is more dangerous


### Book:to be specific. If you explain in detail the benefits people will gain by


### Book:following your cult, you will be expected to satisfy them.


### Book:As a corollary to its vagueness your appeal should also be simple.


### Book:Most people’s problems have complex causes: deep-rooted neurosis,


### Book:interconnected social factors, roots that go way back in time and are


### Book:exceedingly hard to unravel. Few, however, have the patience to deal


### Book:with this; most people want to hear that a simple solution will cure their


### Book:problems. The ability to offer this kind of solution will give you great


### Book:power and build you a following. Instead of the complicated


### Book:explanations of real life, return to the primitive solutions of our


### Book:ancestors, to good old country remedies, to mysterious panaceas.


### Book:Step 2: Emphasize the Visual and the Sensual over the Intellectual.


### Book:Once people have begun to gather around you, two dangers will present


### Book:themselves: boredom and skepticism. Boredom will make people go


### Book:elsewhere ; skepticism will allow them the distance to think rationally


### Book:about whatever it is you are offering, blowing away the mist you have


### Book:artfully created and revealing your ideas for what they are. You need to


### Book:amuse the bored, then, and ward off the cynics.


### Book:THE OW WHO WAS GOD


### Book:Once upon a starless midnight there was an owl who sat on the branch


### Book:of an oak tree. Two ground moles tried to slip quietly by, unnoticed.


### Book:“You!” said the owl. “Who?” they quavered, in fear and astonishment,


### Book:for they could not believe it was possible for anyone to see them in that


### Book:thick darkness. “You two!” said the owl. The moles hurried away and


### Book:told the other creatures of the field and forest that the owl was the


### Book:greatest and wisest of all animals because he could see in the dark and


### Book:because he could answer any question. “I’ll see about that,” said asecretary bird, and he called on the owl one night when it was again very


### Book:dark. “How many claws am I holding up?” said the secretary bird.


### Book:“Two,” said the owl, and that was right. “Can you give me another


### Book:expression for ‘that is to say’ or ‘namely?’ ” asked the secretary bird.


### Book:“To wit,” said the owl. “Why does a lover call on his love?” asked the


### Book:secretary bird. “To woo,” said the owl. The secretary bird hastened back


### Book:to the other creatures and reported that the owl was indeed the greatest


### Book:and wisest animal in the world because he could see in the dark and


### Book:because he could answer any question.


### Book:“Can he see in the daytime, too?” asked a red fox. “Yes,” echoed a


### Book:dormouse and a French poodle. “Can he see in the daytime, too?” All


### Book:the other creatures laughed loudly at this silly question, and they set


### Book:upon the red fox and his friends and drove them out of the region. Then


### Book:they sent a messenger to the owl and asked him to be their leader. When


### Book:the owl appeared among the animals it was high noon and the sun was


### Book:shining brightly. He walked very slowly, which gave him an appearance


### Book:of great dignity, and he peered about him with large, staring eyes, which


### Book:gave him an air of tremendous importance. “He’s God!” screamed a


### Book:Plymouth Rock hen. And the others took up the cry “He’s God!” So they


### Book:followed him wherever he went and when he began to bump into things


### Book:they began to bump into things. too. Finally he came to a concrete


### Book:highway and he started up the middle of it and all the other creatures


### Book:followed him. Presently a hawk, who was acting as outrider, observed a


### Book:truck coming toward them at fifty miles an hour, and he reported to the


### Book:secretary bird and the secretary bird reported to the owl. “There’s


### Book:danger ahead, ” said the secretary bird. “To wit?” said the owl. The


### Book:secretary bird told him. “Aren’t you afraid?” He asked. “Who?” said the


### Book:owl calmly, for he could not see the truck. “He’s God!” cried all the


### Book:creatures again, and they were still crying “He’s God!” when the truck


### Book:hit them and ran them down. Some of the animals were merely injured,


### Book:but most of them, including the owl, were killed. Moral: You can fool too


### Book:many of the people too much of the time.


### Book:THE THURBER CARNIVAI , JAMES THURBER , 1894-1961


### Book:The best way to do this is through theater, or other devices of its kind.


### Book:Surround yourself with luxury, dazzle your followers with visual


### Book:splendor, fill their eyes with spectacle. Not only will this keep them from


### Book:seeing the ridiculousness of your ideas, the holes in your belief system, it


### Book:will also attract more attention, more followers. Appeal to all the senses:


### Book:Use incense for scent, soothing music for hearing, colorful charts and


### Book:graphs for the eye. You might even tickle the mind, perhaps by usingnew technological gadgets to give your cult a pseudo-scientific veneer—


### Book:as long as you do not make anyone really think. Use the exotic—distant


### Book:cultures, strange customs—to create theatrical effects, and to make the


### Book:most banal and ordinary affairs seem signs of something extraordinary.


### Book:Step 3: Borrow the Forms of Organized Religion to Structure the


### Book:Group. Your cultlike following is growing; it is time to organize it. Find


### Book:a way both elevating and comforting. Organized religions have long held


### Book:unquestioned authority for large numbers of people, and continue to do


### Book:so in our supposedly secular age. And even if the religion itself has faded


### Book:some, its forms still resonate with power. The lofty and holy associations


### Book:of organized religion can be endlessly exploited. Create rituals for your


### Book:followers; organize them into a hierarchy, ranking them in grades of


### Book:sanctity, and giving them names and titles that resound with religious


### Book:overtones; ask them for sacrifices that will fill your coffers and increase


### Book:your power. To emphasize your gathering’s quasi-religious nature, talk


### Book:and act like a prophet. You are not a dictator, after all; you are a priest, a


### Book:guru, a sage, a shaman, or any other word that hides your real power in


### Book:the mist of religion.


### Book:Step 4: Disguise Your Source of Income. Your group has grown, and


### Book:you have structured it in a churchlike form. Your coffers are beginning to


### Book:fill with your followers’ money. Yet you must never be seen as hungry


### Book:for money and the power it brings. It is at this moment that you must


### Book:disguise the source of your income.


### Book:Your followers want to believe that if they follow you all sorts of good


### Book:things will fall into their lap. By surrounding yourself with luxury you


### Book:become living proof of the soundness of your belief system. Never reveal


### Book:that your wealth actually comes from your followers’ pockets; instead,


### Book:make it seem to come from the truth of your methods. Followers will


### Book:copy your each and every move in the belief that it will bring them the


### Book:same results, and their imitative enthusiasm will blind them to the


### Book:charlatan nature of your wealth.


### Book:Step 5: Set Up an Us-Versus-Them Dynamic. The group is now large


### Book:and thriving, a magnet attracting more and more particles. If you are not


### Book:careful, though, inertia will set in, and time and boredom will


### Book:demagnetize the group. To keep your followers united, you must now dowhat all religions and belief systems have done: create an us-versus-them


### Book:dynamic.


### Book:First, make sure your followers believe they are part of an exclusive


### Book:club, unified by a bond of common goals. Then, to strengthen this bond,


### Book:manufacture the notion of a devious enemy out to ruin you. There is a


### Book:force of nonbelievers that will do anything to stop you. Any outsider


### Book:who tries to reveal the charlatan nature of your belief system can now be


### Book:described as a member of this devious force.


### Book:If you have no enemies, invent one. Given a straw man to react


### Book:against, your followers will tighten and cohere. They have your cause to


### Book:believe in and infidels to destroy.


### Book:OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW


### Book:Observance I


### Book:In the year 1653, a twenty-seven-year-old Milan man named Francesco


### Book:Giuseppe Borri claimed to have had a vision. He went around town


### Book:telling one and all that the archangel Michael had appeared to him and


### Book:announced that he had been chosen to be the capitano generale of the


### Book:Army of the New Pope, an army that would seize and revitalize the


### Book:world. The archangel had further revealed that Borri now had the power


### Book:to see people’s souls, and that he would soon discover the philosopher’s


### Book:stone—a long-sought-after substance that could change base metals into


### Book:gold. Friends and acquaintances who heard Borri explain the vision, and


### Book:who witnessed the change that had come over him, were impressed, for


### Book:Borri had previously devoted himself to a life of wine, women, and


### Book:gambling. Now he gave all that up, plunging himself into the study of


### Book:alchemy and talking only of mysticism and the occult.


### Book:The transformation was so sudden and miraculous, and Borri’s words


### Book:were so filled with enthusiasm, that he began to create a following.


### Book:Unfortunately the Italian Inquisition began to notice him as well—they


### Book:prosecuted anyone who delved into the occult—so he left Italy and


### Book:began to wander Europe, from Austria to Holland, telling one and all that


### Book:“to those who follow me all joy shall be granted.” Wherever Borri stayed


### Book:he attracted followers. His method was simple: He spoke of his vision,


### Book:which had grown more and more elaborate, and offered to “look into”the soul of anyone who believed him (and they were many). Seemingly


### Book:in a trance, he would stare at this new follower for several minutes, then


### Book:claim to have seen the person’s soul, degree of enlightenment, and


### Book:potential for spiritual greatness. If what he saw showed promise, he


### Book:would add the person to his growing order of disciples, an honor indeed.


### Book:The cult had six degrees, into which the disciples were assigned


### Book:according to what Borri had glimpsed in their souls. With work and total


### Book:devotion to the cult they could graduate to a higher degree. Borri—


### Book:whom they called “His Excellency,” and “Universal Doctor”—demanded


### Book:from them the strictest vows of poverty. All the goods and moneys they


### Book:possessed had to be turned over to him. But they did not mind handing


### Book:over their property, for Borri had told them, “I shall soon bring my


### Book:chemical studies to a happy conclusion by the discovery of the


### Book:philosopher’s stone, and by this means we shall all have as much gold as


### Book:we desire.”


### Book:Given his growing wealth, Borri began to change his style of living.


### Book:Renting the most splendid apartment in the city into which he had


### Book:temporarily settled, he would furnish it with fabulous furniture and


### Book:accessories, which he had begun to collect. He would drive through the


### Book:city in a coach studded with jewels, with six magnificent black horses at


### Book:its head. He never stayed too long in one place, and when he


### Book:disappeared, saying he had more souls to gather into his flock, his


### Book:reputation only grew in his absence. He became famous, although in fact


### Book:he had never done a single concrete thing.


### Book:To become the founder of a new religion one must be psychologically


### Book:infallible in one’s knowledge of a certain average type of souls who have


### Book:not yet recognized that they belong together.


### Book:FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, 1844-1900


### Book:Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate


### Book:needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be


### Book:deceived.


### Book:NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, 1469-1527


### Book:From all over Europe, the blind, the crippled, and the desperate came


### Book:to visit Borri, for word had spread that he had healing powers. He asked


### Book:no fee for his services, which only made him seem more marvelous, and


### Book:indeed some claimed that in this or that city he had performed a miracle


### Book:cure. By only hinting at his accomplishments, he encouraged people’s


### Book:imaginations to blow them up to fantastic proportions. His wealth, forexample, actually came from the vast sums he was collecting from his


### Book:increasingly select group of rich disciples; yet it was presumed that he


### Book:had in fact perfected the philosopher’s stone. The Church continued to


### Book:pursue him, denouncing him for heresy and witchcraft, and Borri’s


### Book:response to these charges was a dignified silence; this only enhanced his


### Book:reputation and made his followers more passionate. Only the great are


### Book:persecuted, after all; how many understood Jesus Christ in his own time?


### Book:Borri did not have to say a word—his followers now called the Pope the


### Book:Antichrist.


### Book:And so Borri’s power grew and grew, until one day he left the city of


### Book:Amsterdam (where he had settled for a while), absconding with huge


### Book:sums of borrowed money and diamonds that had been entrusted to him.


### Book:(He claimed to be able to remove the flaws from diamonds through the


### Book:power of his gifted mind.) Now he was on the run. The Inquisition


### Book:eventually caught up with him, and for the last twenty years of his life he


### Book:was imprisoned in Rome. But so great was the belief in his occult powers


### Book:that to his dying day he was visited by wealthy believers, including


### Book:Queen Christina of Sweden. Supplying him with money and materials,


### Book:these visitors allowed him to continue his search for the elusive


### Book:philosopher’s stone. Interpretation


### Book:THE TEMPLE OF HEALTH


### Book:[In the late 1780s] the Scottish quack James Graham… was winning a


### Book:large following and great riches in London…. [Graham] maintained a


### Book:show of great scientific technique. In 1772 … he had visited


### Book:Philadelphia, where he met Benjamin Franklin and became interested in


### Book:the latter’s experiments with electricity. These appear to have inspired


### Book:the apparatus in the “Temple of Health,”


### Book:the fabulous establishment he opened in London for the sale of his


### Book:elixirs…. In the chief room, where he received patients, stood “the


### Book:largest air pump in the world” to assist him in his “philosophical


### Book:investigations” into disease, and also a “stupendous metallic


### Book:conductor,” a richly gilded pedestal surrounded with retorts and vials of


### Book:“etherial and other essences.” … According to J. Ennemoser, who


### Book:published a history of magic in 1844 at Leipzig, Graham’s “house…


### Book:united the useful with the pleasurable. Everywhere the utmost


### Book:magnificence was displayed. Even in the outer court, averred an eye-


### Book:witness, it seemed as though art, invention, and riches had been


### Book:exhausted. On the side walls in the chambers an arc-shaped glow wasprovided by artificial electric light; star rays darted forth; transparent


### Book:glasses of all colors were placed with clever selection and much taste.


### Book:All this, the same eyewitness assures us, was ravishing and exalted the


### Book:imagination to the highest degree.” Visitors were given a printed sheet of


### Book:rules for healthy living. In the Great Apollo Apartment they might join in


### Book:mysterious rituals, accompanied by chants : “Hail, Vital Air, aethereal !


### Book:Magnetic Magic, hail !” And while they hailed the magic of magnetism,


### Book:the windows were darkened, revealing a ceiling studded with electric


### Book:stars and a young and lovely “Rosy Goddess of Health” in a niche….


### Book:Every evening this Temple of Health was crowded with guests; it had


### Book:become the fashion to visit it and try the great twelve-foot bed of state,


### Book:the “Grand Celestial Bed,” said to cure any disease…. This bed,


### Book:according to Ennemoser, “stood in a splendid room, into which a


### Book:cylinder led from an adjoining chamber to conduct the healing


### Book:currents… at the same time all sorts of pleasing scents of strengthening


### Book:herbs and Oriental incense were also brought in through glass tubes.


### Book:The heavenly bed itself rested upon six solid transparent pillars; the


### Book:bedclothes were of purple and sky-blue Atlas silk, spread over a mattress


### Book:saturated with Arabian perfumed waters to suit the tastes of the Persian


### Book:court. The chamber in which it was placed he called the Sanctum


### Book:Sanctorum…. To add to all this, there were the melodious notes of the


### Book:harmonica, soft flutes, agreeable voices, and a great organ.”


### Book:THE POWER OF THE CHARLATAN, GRETE DE FRANCESCO,


### Book:1939


### Book:Before he formed his cult, Borri seems to have stumbled on a critical


### Book:discovery. Tiring of his life of debauchery, he had decided to give it up


### Book:and to devote himself to the occult, a genuine interest of his. He must


### Book:have noticed, however, that when he alluded to a mystical experience


### Book:(rather than physical exhaustion) as the source of his conversion, people


### Book:of all classes wanted to hear more. Realizing the power he could gain by


### Book:ascribing the change to something external and mysterious, he went


### Book:further with his manufactured visions. The grander the vision, and the


### Book:more sacrifices he asked for, the more appealing and believable his story


### Book:seemed to become.


### Book:Remember: People are not interested in the truth about change. They


### Book:do not want to hear that it has come from hard work, or from anything as


### Book:banal as exhaustion, boredom, or depression; they are dying to believe in


### Book:something romantic, otherworldly. They want to hear of angels and out-


### Book:of-body experiences. Indulge them. Hint at the mystical source of some


### Book:personal change, wrap it in ethereal colors, and a cultlike following willform around you. Adapt to people’s needs: The messiah must mirror the


### Book:desires of his followers. And always aim high. The bigger and bolder


### Book:your illusion, the better.


### Book:Observance II


### Book:In the mid-1700s, word spread in Europe’s fashionable society of a Swiss


### Book:country doctor named Michael Schüppach who practiced a different kind


### Book:of medicine: He used the healing powers of nature to perform miraculous


### Book:cures. Soon well-to-do people from all over the Continent, their ailments


### Book:both serious and mild, were making the trek to the alpine village of


### Book:Langnau, where Schüppach lived and worked. Trudging through the


### Book:mountains, these visitors witnessed the most dramatic natural landscapes


### Book:that Europe has to offer. By the time they reached Langnau, they were


### Book:already feeling transformed and on their way to health.


### Book:Schüppach, who had become known as simply the “Mountain


### Book:Doctor,” had a small pharmacy in town. This place became quite a scene:


### Book:Crowds of people from many different countries would cram the small


### Book:room, its walls lined with colorful bottles filled with herbal cures. Where


### Book:most doctors of the time prescribed foul-tasting concoctions that bore


### Book:incomprehensible Latin titles (as medicines often do still), Schüppach’s


### Book:cures had names such as “The Oil of Joy,” “Little Flower’s Heart,” or


### Book:“Against the Monster,” and they tasted sweet and pleasing.


### Book:Visitors to Langnau would have to wait patiently for a visit with the


### Book:Mountain Doctor, because every day some eighty messengers would


### Book:arrive at the pharmacy bearing flasks of urine from all over Europe.


### Book:Schüppach claimed he could diagnose what ailed you simply by looking


### Book:at a sample of your urine and reading a written description of your


### Book:ailment. (Naturally he read the description very carefully before


### Book:prescribing a cure.) When he finally had a spare minute (the urine


### Book:samples took up much of his time), he would call the visitor into his


### Book:office in the pharmacy. He would then examine this person’s urine


### Book:sample, explaining that its appearance would tell him everything he


### Book:needed to know. Country people had a sense for these things, he would


### Book:say—their wisdom came from living a simple, godly life with none of


### Book:the complications of urban living. This personal consultation would also


### Book:include a discussion as to how one might bring one’s soul more into


### Book:harmony with nature.Schüppach had devised many forms of treatment, each profoundly


### Book:unlike the usual medical practices of the time. He was a believer, for


### Book:instance, in electric shock therapy. To those who wondered whether this


### Book:was in keeping with his belief in the healing power of nature, he would


### Book:explain that electricity is a natural phenomenon; he was merely imitating


### Book:the power of lightning. One of his patients claimed to be inhabited by


### Book:seven devils. The doctor cured him with electrical shocks, and as he


### Book:administered these he exclaimed that he could see the devils flying out of


### Book:the man’s body, one by one. Another man claimed to have swallowed a


### Book:hay wagon and its driver, which were causing him massive pains in the


### Book:chest. The Mountain Doctor listened patiently, claimed to be able to hear


### Book:the crack of a whip in the man’s belly, promised to cure him, and gave


### Book:him a sedative and a purgative. The man fell asleep on a chair outside the


### Book:pharmacy. As soon as he awoke he vomited, and as he vomited a hay


### Book:wagon sped past him (the Mountain Doctor had hired it for the


### Book:occasion), the crack of its whip making him feel that somehow he had


### Book:indeed expelled it under the doctor’s care.


### Book:Over the years, the Mountain Doctor’s fame grew. He was consulted


### Book:by the powerful—even the writer Goethe made the trek to his village—


### Book:and he became the center of a cult of nature in which everything natural


### Book:was considered worthy of worship. Schüppach was careful to create


### Book:effects that would entertain and inspire his patients. A professor who


### Book:visited him once wrote, “One stands or sits in company, one plays cards,


### Book:sometimes with a young woman; now a concert is given, now a lunch or


### Book:supper, and now a little ballet is presented. With a very happy effect, the


### Book:freedom of nature is everywhere united with the pleasures of the beau


### Book:monde, and if the doctor is not able to heal any diseases, he can at least


### Book:cure hypochondria and the vapors.”


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Schüppach had begun his career as an ordinary village doctor. He would


### Book:sometimes use in his practice some of the village remedies he had grown


### Book:up with, and apparently he noticed some results, for soon these herbal


### Book:tinctures and natural forms of healing became his specialty. And in fact


### Book:his natural form of healing did have profound psychological effects on


### Book:his patients. Where the normal drugs of the time created fear and pain,


### Book:Schüppach’s treatments were comfortable and soothing. The resulting


### Book:improvement in the patient’s mood was a critical element in the cures hebrought about. His patients believed so deeply in his skills that they


### Book:willed themselves into health. Instead of scoffing at their irrational


### Book:explanations for their ailments, Schüppach used their hypochondria to


### Book:make it seem that he had effected a great cure.


### Book:The case of the Mountain Doctor teaches us valuable lessons in the


### Book:creation of a cultlike following. First, you must find a way to engage


### Book:people’s will, to make their belief in your powers strong enough that they


### Book:imagine all sorts of benefits. Their belief will have a self-fulfilling


### Book:quality, but you must make sure that it is you, rather than their own will,


### Book:who is seen as the agent of transformation. Find the belief, cause, or


### Book:fantasy that will make them believe with a passion and they will imagine


### Book:the rest, worshipping you as healer, prophet, genius, whatever you like.


### Book:Second, Schüppach teaches us the everlasting power of belief in


### Book:nature, and in simplicity. Nature, in reality, is full of much that is


### Book:terrifying—poisonous plants, fierce animals, sudden disasters, plagues.


### Book:Belief in the healing, comforting quality of nature is really a constructed


### Book:myth, a romanticism. But the appeal to nature can bring you great power,


### Book:especially in complicated and stressful times.


### Book:This appeal, however, must be handled right. Devise a kind of theater


### Book:of nature in which you, as the director, pick and choose the qualities that


### Book:fit the romanticism of the times. The Mountain Doctor played the part to


### Book:perfection, playing up his homespun wisdom and wit, and staging his


### Book:cures as dramatic pieces. He did not make himself one with nature;


### Book:instead he molded nature into a cult, an artificial construction. To create


### Book:a “natural” effect you actually have to work hard, making nature


### Book:theatrical and delightfully pagan. Otherwise no one will notice. Nature


### Book:too must follow trends and be progressive.


### Book:Observance III


### Book:In 1788, at the age of fifty-five, the doctor and scientist Franz Mesmer


### Book:was at a crossroads. He was a pioneer in the study of animal magnetism


### Book:—the belief that animals contain magnetic matter, and that a doctor or


### Book:specialist can effect miraculous cures by working on this charged


### Book:substance—but in Vienna, where he lived, his theories had met with


### Book:scorn and ridicule from the medical establishment. In treating women for


### Book:convulsions, Mesmer claimed to have worked a number of cures, his


### Book:proudest achievement being the restoration of sight to a blind girl. But


### Book:another doctor who examined the young girl said she was as blind asever, an assessment with which she herself agreed. Mesmer countered


### Book:that his enemies were out to slander him by winning her over to their


### Book:side. This claim only elicited more ridicule. Clearly the sober-minded


### Book:Viennese were the wrong audience for his theories, and so he decided to


### Book:move to Paris and start again.


### Book:Renting a splendid apartment in his new city, Mesmer decorated it


### Book:appropriately. Stained glass in most of the windows created a religious


### Book:feeling, and mirrors on all the walls produced an hypnotic effect. The


### Book:doctor advertised that in his apartment he would give demonstrations of


### Book:the powers of animal magnetism, inviting the diseased and melancholic


### Book:to feel its powers. Soon Parisians of all classes (but mostly women, who


### Book:seemed more attracted to the idea than men did) were paying for entry to


### Book:witness the miracles that Mesmer promised.


### Book:Inside the apartment, the scents of orange blossom and exotic incense


### Book:wafted through special vents. As the initiates filtered into the salon


### Book:where the demonstrations took place, they heard harp music and the


### Book:lulling sounds of a female vocalist coming from another room. In the


### Book:center of the salon was a long oval container filled with water that


### Book:Mesmer claimed had been magnetized. From holes in the container’s


### Book:metal lid protruded long movable iron rods. The visitors were instructed


### Book:to sit around the container, place these magnetized rods on the body part


### Book:that gave them pains or problems, and then hold hands with their


### Book:neighbors, sitting as close as possible to one another to help the magnetic


### Book:force pass between their bodies. Sometimes, too, they were attached to


### Book:each other by cords.


### Book:THE POWIROI II


### Book:In the town of Tarnopol lived a man by the name of Reb Feivel. One day,


### Book:as he sat in his house deeply-absorbed in his Talmud, he heard a loud


### Book:noise outside. When he went to the window he saw a lot of little


### Book:pranksters. “Up to some new piece of mischief, no doubt.” he thought.


### Book:“Children, run quickly to the synagogue,” he cried, leaning out and


### Book:improvising the first story that occurred to him. “You’ll see there a sea


### Book:monster, and what a monster ! It’s a creature with five feet, three eyes,


### Book:and a beard like that of a goat, only it’s green !”


### Book:And sure enough the children scampered off and Reb Feivel returned to


### Book:his studies. He smiled into his beard as he thought of the trick he had


### Book:played on those little rascals. It wasn’t long before his studies were


### Book:interrupted again, this time by running footsteps. When he went to thewindow he saw several Jews running. “Where are you running ?” he


### Book:called out.


### Book:“To the sonagogue !” answered the Jews. “Haven’t you heard? There’s a


### Book:sea monster, there’s a creature with five legs, three eyes, and a beard like


### Book:that of a goat, only it’s green !” Reb Feivel laughed with glee, thinking of


### Book:the trick he had played, and sat down again to his Talmud. But no sooner


### Book:had he begun to concentrate when suddenly he heard a dinning tumult


### Book:outside. And what did he see? A great crowd of men, women and


### Book:children, all running toward the synagogue. “What’s iep?” he cried,


### Book:sticking his head out of the window.


### Book:“What a question! Why, don’t you know?” they answered. “Right in front


### Book:of the synagogue there’s a sea monster. It’s a creature with five legs,


### Book:three eyes, and a beard like that of a goat, only it’s green!”


### Book:And as the crowd hurried by, Reb Feivel suddenly noticed that the rabbi


### Book:himself was among them.


### Book:“Lord of the world!” he exclaimed. “If the rabbi himself is running with


### Book:them surely there must be something happening. Where there’s smoke


### Book:there’s fire!” Without further thought Reb Feivel grabbed his hat, left his


### Book:house, and also began running. “Who can tell?” he muttered to himself


### Book:as he ran, all out of breath, toward the synagogue.


### Book:A TREASURY OF JEWISH FOLKLORE, NATHAN AUSUBEL, ED.,


### Book:1948


### Book:Mesmer would leave the room, and “assistant magnetizers”—all


### Book:handsome and strapping young men—would enter with jars of


### Book:magnetized water that they would sprinkle on the patients, rubbing the


### Book:healing fluid on their bodies, massaging it into their skin, moving them


### Book:toward a trancelike state. And after a few minutes a kind of delirium


### Book:would overcome the women. Some would sob, some would shriek and


### Book:tear their hair, others would laugh hysterically. At the height of the


### Book:delirium Mesmer would reenter the salon, dressed in a flowing silk robe


### Book:embroidered with golden flowers and carrying a white magnetic rod.


### Book:Moving around the container, he would stroke and soothe the patients


### Book:until calm was restored. Many women would later attribute the strange


### Book:power he had on them to his piercing look, which, they thought, was


### Book:exciting or quieting the magnetic fluids in their bodies.


### Book:Within months of his arrival in Paris, Mesmer became the rage. His


### Book:supporters included Marie-Antoinette herself, the queen of France, wife


### Book:of Louis XVI. As in Vienna, he was condemned by the official faculty of


### Book:medicine, but it did not matter. His growing following of pupils and


### Book:patients paid him handsomely.Mesmer expanded his theories to proclaim that all humanity could be


### Book:brought into harmony through the power of magnetism, a concept with


### Book:much appeal during the French Revolution. A cult of Mesmerism spread


### Book:across the country; in many towns, “Societies of Harmony” sprang up to


### Book:experiment with magnetism. These societies eventually became


### Book:notorious: They tended to be led by libertines who would turn their


### Book:sessions into a kind of group orgy.


### Book:At the height of Mesmer’s popularity, a French commission published


### Book:a report based on years of testing the theory of animal magnetism. The


### Book:conclusion: Magnetism’s effects on the body actually came from a kind


### Book:of group hysteria and autosuggestion. The report was well documented,


### Book:and ruined Mesmer’s reputation in France. He left the country and went


### Book:into retirement. Only a few years later, however, imitators sprang up all


### Book:over Europe and the cult of Mesmerism spread once again, its believers


### Book:more numerous than ever.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Mesmer’s career can be broken into two parts. When still in Vienna, he


### Book:clearly believed in the validity of his theory, and did all he could to prove


### Book:it. But his growing frustration and the disapproval of his colleagues made


### Book:him adopt another strategy. First he moved to Paris, where no one knew


### Book:him, and where his extravagant theories found a more fruitful soil. Then


### Book:he appealed to the French love of theater and spectacle, making his


### Book:apartment into a kind of magical world in which a sensory overload of


### Book:smells, sights, and sounds entranced his customers. Most important, from


### Book:now on he practiced his magnetism only on a group. The group provided


### Book:the setting in which the magnetism would have its proper effect, one


### Book:believer infecting the other, overwhelming any individual doubter.


### Book:Mesmer thus passed from being a confirmed advocate of magnetism to


### Book:the role of a charlatan using every trick in the book to captivate the


### Book:public. The biggest trick of all was to play on the repressed sexuality that


### Book:bubbles under the surface of any group setting. In a group, a longing for


### Book:social unity, a longing older than civilization, cries out to be awakened.


### Book:This desire may be subsumed under a unifying cause, but beneath it is a


### Book:repressed sexuality that the charlatan knows how to exploit and


### Book:manipulate for his own purposes.


### Book:This is the lesson that Mesmer teaches us: Our tendency to doubt, the


### Book:distance that allows us to reason, is broken down when we join a group.The warmth and infectiousness of the group overwhelm the skeptical


### Book:individual. This is the power you gain by creating a cult. Also, by


### Book:playing on people’s repressed sexuality, you lead them into mistaking


### Book:their excited feelings for signs of your mystical strength. You gain untold


### Book:power by working on people’s unrealized desire for a kind of


### Book:promiscuous and pagan unity.


### Book:Remember too that the most effective cults mix religion with science.


### Book:Take the latest technological trend or fad and blend it with a noble cause,


### Book:a mystical faith, a new form of healing. People’s interpretations of your


### Book:hybrid cult will run rampant, and they will attribute powers to you that


### Book:you had never even thought to claim.


### Book:Image: The Magnet. An unseen force draws objects to it, which in turn


### Book:become magnetized themselves, drawing other pieces to them, the


### Book:magnetic power of the whole constantly increasing. But take away the


### Book:original magnet and it all falls apart. Become the magnet, the invisible


### Book:force that attracts people’s imaginations and holds them together. Once


### Book:they have clustered around you, no power can wrest them away.


### Book:Authority: The charlatan achieves his great power by simply opening a


### Book:possibility for men to believe what they already want to believe…. The


### Book:credulous cannot keep at a distance; they crowd around the wonder


### Book:worker, entering his personal aura, surrendering themselves to illusion


### Book:with a heavy solemnity, like cattle. (Grete de Francesco)


### Book:REVERSAL


### Book:One reason to create a following is that a group is often easier to deceive


### Book:than an individual, and turns over to you that much more power. This


### Book:comes, however, with a danger: If at any moment the group sees through


### Book:you, you will find yourself facing not one deceived soul but an angry


### Book:crowd that will tear you to pieces as avidly as it once followed you. The


### Book:charlatans constantly faced this danger, and were always ready to moveout of town as it inevitably became clear that their elixirs did not work


### Book:and their ideas were sham. Too slow and they paid with their lives. In


### Book:playing with the crowd, you are playing with fire, and must constantly


### Book:keep an eye out for any sparks of doubt, any enemies who will turn the


### Book:crowd against you. When you play with the emotions of a crowd, you


### Book:have to know how to adapt, attuning yourself instantaneously to all of


### Book:the moods and desires that a group will produce. Use spies, be on top of


### Book:everything, and keep your bags packed.


### Book:For this reason you may often prefer to deal with people one by one.


### Book:Isolating them from their normal milieu can have the same effect as


### Book:putting them in a group—it makes them more prone to suggestion and


### Book:intimidation. Choose the right sucker and if he eventually sees through


### Book:you he may prove easier to escape than a crowd.LAW 28


### Book:ENTER ACTION WITH BOLDNESS


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and


### Book:hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to


### Book:enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are


### Book:easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one


### Book:honors the timid.


### Book:THE TWO ADVENTURERS


### Book:The path of pleasure never leads to glory! The prodigious achievements


### Book:of Hercules were the result of high adventure, and though there is little,


### Book:either in fable or history, to show that he had any rivals, still it is


### Book:recorded that a knight errant, in company with a fellow adventurer,


### Book:sought his fortune in a romantic country. He had not traveled far when


### Book:his companion observed a post, on which was written the following


### Book:inscription: “Brave adventurer, if you have a desire to discover that


### Book:which has never been seen by any knight errant, you have only to pass


### Book:this torrent, and then take in your arms an elephant of stone and carry it


### Book:in one breath to the summit of this mountain, whose noble head seems


### Book:blended with the sky.” “But,” said the knight’s companion, “the water


### Book:may be deep as well as rapid, and though, notwithstanding, we should


### Book:pass it, why should we be encumbered with the elephant? What a


### Book:ridiculous undertaking!” And philosophically and with nice calculation,


### Book:he observed that the elephant might be carried four steps; but for


### Book:conveying it to the top of the mountain in one breath, that was not in the


### Book:power of a mortal, unless it should


### Book:be the dwarf figure of an elephant, fit only to be placed on the top of a


### Book:stick; and then what honor would there be in such an adventure? “There


### Book:is,” said he, “some deception in this writing. It is an enigma only fit to


### Book:amuse a child. I shall therefore leave you and your elephant.”The reasoner then departed; but the adventurous man rushed with his


### Book:eyes closed across the water; neither depth nor violence prevented him.


### Book:and according to the inscription he saw the elephant lying on the


### Book:opposite bank.


### Book:He took it and carried it to the top of the hill, where he saw a town. A


### Book:shriek from the elephant alarmed the people of the city, who rose in


### Book:arms; but the adventurer, nothing daunted, was determined to die a hero.


### Book:The people, however, were awed by his presence, and he was astonished


### Book:to hear them proclaim him successor to their king, who had recently


### Book:died. Great enterprises are only achieved by adventurous spirits. They


### Book:who calculate with too great nicety every difficulty and obstacle which is


### Book:likely to lie in their way, lose that time in hesitation, which the more


### Book:daring seize and render available to the loftiest purposes.


### Book:FABLES. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, 1621-1695


### Book:BOLDNESS AND HESITATION: A Brief Psychological Comparison


### Book:Boldness and hesitation elicit very different psychological responses in


### Book:their targets: Hesitation puts obstacles in your path, boldness eliminates


### Book:them. Once you understand this, you will find it essential to overcome


### Book:your natural timidity and practice the art of audacity. The following are


### Book:among the most pronounced psychological effects of boldness and


### Book:timidity.


### Book:The Bolder the Lie the Better. We all have weaknesses, and our efforts


### Book:are never perfect. But entering action with boldness has the magical


### Book:effect of hiding our deficiencies. Con artists know that the bolder the lie,


### Book:the more convincing it becomes. The sheer audacity of the story makes it


### Book:more credible, distracting attention from its inconsistencies. When


### Book:putting together a con or entering any kind of negotiation, go further than


### Book:you planned. Ask for the moon and you will be surprised how often you


### Book:get it.


### Book:Lions Circle the Hesitant Prey. People have a sixth sense for the


### Book:weaknesses of others. If, in a first encounter, you demonstrate your


### Book:willingness to compromise, back down, and retreat, you bring out the


### Book:lion even in people who are not necessarily bloodthirsty. Everything


### Book:depends on perception, and once you are seen as the kind of person who


### Book:quickly goes on the defensive, who is willing to negotiate and be


### Book:amenable, you will be pushed around without mercy.Boldness Strikes Fear; Fear Creates Authority. The bold move makes


### Book:you seem larger and more powerful than you are. If it comes suddenly,


### Book:with the stealth and swiftness of a snake, it inspires that much more fear.


### Book:By intimidating with a bold move, you establish a precedent: in every


### Book:subsequent encounter, people will be on the defensive, in terror of your


### Book:next strike.


### Book:Going Halfway with Half a Heart Digs the Deeper Grave. If you enter


### Book:an action with less than total confidence, you set up obstacles in your


### Book:own path. When a problem arises you will grow confused, seeing options


### Book:where there are none and inadvertently creating more problems still.


### Book:Retreating from the hunter, the timid hare scurries more easily into his


### Book:snares.


### Book:Hesitation Creates Gaps, Boldness Obliterates Them. When you take


### Book:time to think, to hem and haw, you create a gap that allows others time to


### Book:think as well. Your timidity infects people with awkward energy, elicits


### Book:embarrassment. Doubt springs up on all sides.


### Book:Boldness destroys such gaps. The swiftness of the move and the


### Book:energy of the action leave others no space to doubt and worry. In


### Book:seduction, hesitation is fatal—it makes your victim conscious of your


### Book:intentions. The bold move crowns seduction with triumph: It leaves no


### Book:time for reflection.


### Book:Audacity Separates You from the Herd. Boldness gives you presence


### Book:and makes you seem larger than life. The timid fade into the wallpaper,


### Book:the bold draw attention, and what draws attention draws power. We


### Book:cannot keep our eyes off the audacious—we cannot wait to see their next


### Book:bold move.


### Book:OBSERVANCES OF THE LAW


### Book:Observance IIn May of 1925, five of the most successful dealers in the French scrap-


### Book:metal business found themselves invited to an “official” but “highly


### Book:confidential” meeting with the deputy director general of the Ministry of


### Book:Post and Telegraphs at the Hotel Crillon, then the most luxurious hotel in


### Book:Paris. When the businessmen arrived, it was the director general himself,


### Book:a Monsieur Lustig, who met them in a swank suite on the top floor.


### Book:The businessmen had no idea why they had been summoned to this


### Book:meeting, and they were bursting with curiosity. After drinks, the director


### Book:explained. “Gentlemen,” he said, “this is an urgent matter that requires


### Book:complete secrecy. The government is going to have to tear down the


### Book:Eiffel Tower.” The dealers listened in stunned silence as the director


### Book:explained that the tower, as recently reported in the news, desperately


### Book:needed repairs. It had originally been meant as a temporary structure (for


### Book:the Exposition of 1889), its maintenance costs had soared over the years,


### Book:and now, in a time of a fiscal crisis, the government would have to spend


### Book:millions to fix it. Many Parisians considered the Eiffel Tower an eyesore


### Book:and would be delighted to see it go. Over time, even the tourists would


### Book:forget about it—it would live on in photographs and postcards.


### Book:“Gentlemen,” Lustig said, “you are all invited to make the government


### Book:an offer for the Eiffel Tower.”


### Book:He gave the businessmen sheets of government stationery filled with


### Book:figures, such as the tonnage of the tower’s metal. Their eyes popped as


### Book:they calculated how much they could make from the scrap. Then Lustig


### Book:led them to a waiting limo, which brought them to the Eiffel Tower.


### Book:Flashing an official badge, he guided them through the area, spicing his


### Book:tour with amusing anecdotes. At the end of the visit he thanked them and


### Book:asked them to have their offers delivered to his suite within four days.


### Book:Several days after the offers were submitted, one of the five, a


### Book:Monsieur P., received notice that his bid was the winner, and that to


### Book:secure the sale he should come to the suite at the hotel within two days,


### Book:bearing a certified check for more than 250,000 francs (the equivalent


### Book:today of about $1,000,000)—a quarter of the total price. On delivery of


### Book:the check, he would receive the documents confirming his ownership of


### Book:the Eiffel Tower. Monsieur P. was excited—he would go down in history


### Book:as the man who had bought and torn down the infamous landmark. But


### Book:by the time he arrived at the suite, check in hand, he was beginning to


### Book:have doubts about the whole affair. Why meet in a hotel instead of a


### Book:government building? Why hadn’t he heard from other officials? Was


### Book:this a hoax, a scam? As he listened to Lustig discuss the arrangementsfor the scrapping of the tower, he hesitated, and contemplated backing


### Book:out.


### Book:Suddenly, however, he realized that the director had changed his tone.


### Book:Instead of talking about the tower, he was complaining about his low


### Book:salary, about his wife’s desire for a fur coat, about how galling it was to


### Book:work hard and be unappreciated. It dawned on Monsieur P. that this high


### Book:government official was asking for a bribe. The effect on him, though,


### Book:was not outrage but relief. Now he was sure that Lustig was for real,


### Book:since in all of his previous encounters with French bureaucrats, they had


### Book:inevitably asked for a little greasing of the palm. His confidence


### Book:restored, Monsieur P. slipped the director several thousand francs in bills,


### Book:then handed him the certified check. In return he received the


### Book:documentation, including an impressive-looking bill of sale. He left the


### Book:hotel, dreaming of the profits and fame to come.


### Book:Over the next few days, however, as Monsieur P. waited for


### Book:correspondence from the government, he began to realize that something


### Book:was amiss. A few telephone calls made it clear that there was no deputy


### Book:director general Lustig, and there were no plans to destroy the Eiffel


### Book:Tower: He had been bilked of over 250,000 francs!


### Book:Monsieur P. never went to the police. He knew what kind of reputation


### Book:he would get if word got out that he had fallen for one of the most


### Book:absurdly audacious cons in history. Besides the public humiliation, it


### Book:would have been business suicide.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Had Count Victor Lustig, con artist extraordinaire, tried to sell the Arc de


### Book:Triomphe, a bridge over the Seine, a statue of Balzac, no one would have


### Book:believed him. But the Eiffel Tower was just too large, too improbable to


### Book:be part of a con job. In fact it was so improbable that Lustig was able to


### Book:return to Paris six months later and “resell” the Eiffel Tower to a


### Book:different scrap-iron dealer, and for a higher price—a sum in francs


### Book:equivalent today to over $1,500,000!


### Book:Largeness of scale deceives the human eye. It distracts and awes us,


### Book:and is so self-evident that we cannot imagine there is any illusion or


### Book:deception afoot. Arm yourself with bigness and boldness—stretch your


### Book:deceptions as far as they will go and then go further. If you sense that the


### Book:sucker has suspicions, do as the intrepid Lustig did: Instead of backing


### Book:down, or lowering his price, he simply raised his price higher, by askingfor and getting a bribe. Asking for more puts the other person on the


### Book:defensive, cuts out the nibbling effect of compromise and doubt, and


### Book:overwhelms with its boldness.


### Book:Always set to work without misgivings on the score of imprudence. Fear


### Book:of failure in the mind of a performer is, for an onlooker, already evidence


### Book:of failure…. Actions are dangerous when there is doubt as to their


### Book:wisdom; it would be safer to do nothing.


### Book:BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658


### Book:THE STORY OF HUH SAENG


### Book:In a lowly thatched cottage in the Namsan Valley there lived a poor


### Book:couple, Mr. and Mrs. Huh Saeng. The husband confined himself for


### Book:seven years and only read books in his cold room…. One day his wife, all


### Book:in tears, said to him: “Look here, my good man! What is the use of all


### Book:your book reading? I have spent my youth in washing and sewing for


### Book:other people and yet I have no spare jacket or skirt to wear and I have


### Book:had no food to eat during the past three days. I am hungry and cold. I


### Book:can stand it no more!” … Hearing these words, the middle-aged scholar


### Book:closed his book… rose to his feet and… without saying another word, he


### Book:went out of doors…. Arriving in the heart of the city, he slopped a


### Book:passing gentleman. “Hello, my friend! Who is the richest man in town?”


### Book:“Poor countryman! Don’t you know Bvôn-ssi, the millionaire? His


### Book:glittering tile-roofed house pierced by twelve gates is just over there.”


### Book:Huh Saeng bent his steps to the rich man’s house. Having entered the btg


### Book:gate, he flung the guest-room door open and addressed the host:“I need


### Book:10,000 yang for capital for my commercial business and I want you to


### Book:lend me the money.” “Alright, sir. Where shall I send the money?”


### Book:“To the Ansông Market in care of a commission merchant.” “Very well.


### Book:sir. I will draw on Kim, who does the biggest commission business in the


### Book:Ansông Market. You’ll get the money there.” “Good-bye. sir.” When Huh


### Book:Saeng was gone, all the other guests in the room asked Bvôn-ssi why he


### Book:gave so much money to a beggarlike stranger whose family name was


### Book:unknown to him. But the rich man replied with a triumphant face: “Even


### Book:though he was in ragged clothes, he spoke clearly to the point without


### Book:betraying shame or inferiority, unlike common people who want to


### Book:borrow money for a bad debt. Such a man as he is either mad or self-


### Book:confident in doing business. But judging from his dauntless eyes and


### Book:booming voice he is an uncommon man with a superhuman brain,


### Book:worthy of my trust. I know money and I know men. Money often makes aman small, but a man like him makes big money. I am only glad to have


### Book:helped a big man do big business.”


### Book:BEHIND THE SCENES OF ROYAL PALACES IN KOREA, HA TAE-


### Book:HUNG, 1983


### Book:Observance II


### Book:On his deathbed in 1533, Vasily III, the Grand Duke of Moscow and


### Book:ruler of a semi-united Russia, proclaimed his three-year-old son, Ivan IV,


### Book:as his successor. He appointed his young wife, Helena, as regent until


### Book:Ivan reached his majority and could rule on his own. The aristocracy—


### Book:the boyars—secretly rejoiced: For years the dukes of Moscow had been


### Book:trying to extend their authority over the boyars’ turf. With Vasily dead,


### Book:his heir a mere three years old, and a young woman in charge of the


### Book:dukedom, the boyars would be able to roll back the dukes’ gains, wrest


### Book:control of the state, and humiliate the royal family.


### Book:Aware of these dangers, young Helena turned to her trusted friend


### Book:Prince Ivan Obolensky to help her rule. But after five years as regent she


### Book:suddenly died—poisoned by a member of the Shuisky family, the most


### Book:fearsome boyar clan. The Shuisky princes seized control of the


### Book:government and threw Obolensky in prison, where he starved to death.


### Book:At the age of eight, Ivan was now a despised orphan, and any boyar or


### Book:family member who took an interest in him was immediately banished or


### Book:killed.


### Book:And so Ivan roamed the palace, hungry, ill clothed, and often in hiding


### Book:from the Shuiskys, who treated him roughly when they saw him. On


### Book:some days they would search him out, clothe him in royal robes, hand


### Book:him a scepter, and set him on the throne—a kind of mock ritual in which


### Book:they lampooned his royal pretensions. Then they would shoo him away.


### Book:One evening several of them chased the Metropolitan—the head of the


### Book:Russian church—through the palace, and he sought refuge in Ivan’s


### Book:room; the boy watched in horror as the Shuiskys entered, hurled insults,


### Book:and beat the Metropolitan mercilessly.


### Book:Ivan had one friend in the palace, a boyar named Vorontsov who


### Book:consoled and advised him. One day, however, as he, Vorontsov, and the


### Book:newest Metropolitan conferred in the palace refectory, several Shuiskys


### Book:burst in, beat up Uorontsov, and insulted the Metropolitan by tearing and


### Book:treading on his robes. Then they banished Vorontsov from Moscow.Throughout all this Ivan maintained a strict silence. To the boyars it


### Book:seemed that their plan had worked: The young man had turned into a


### Book:terrified and obedient idiot. They could ignore him now, even leave him


### Book:alone. But on the evening of December 29, 1543, Ivan, now thirteen,


### Book:asked Prince Andrei Shuisky to come to his room. When the prince


### Book:arrived, the room was filled with palace guards. Young Ivan then pointed


### Book:his finger at Andrei and ordered the guards to arrest him, have him


### Book:killed, and throw his body to the bloodhounds in the royal kennel. Over


### Book:the next few days Ivan had all of Andrei’s close associates arrested and


### Book:banished. Caught off-guard by his sudden boldness, the boyars now


### Book:stood in mortal terror of this youth, the future Ivan the Terrible, who had


### Book:planned and waited for five years to execute this one swift and bold act


### Book:that would secure his power for decades to come.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:The world is full of boyars—men who despise you, fear your ambition,


### Book:and jealously guard their shrinking realms of power. You need to


### Book:establish your authority and gain respect, but the moment the boyars


### Book:sense your growing boldness, they will act to thwart you. This is how


### Book:Ivan met such a situation: He lay low, showing neither ambition nor


### Book:discontent. He waited, and when the time came he brought the palace


### Book:guards over to his side. The guards had come to hate the cruel Shuiskys.


### Book:Once they agreed to Ivan’s plan, he struck with the swiftness of a snake,


### Book:pointing his finger at Shuisky and giving him no time to react.


### Book:Negotiate with a boyar and you create opportunities for him. A small


### Book:compromise becomes the toehold he needs to tear you apart. The sudden


### Book:bold move, without discussion or warning, obliterates these toeholds, and


### Book:builds your authority. You terrify doubters and despisers and gain the


### Book:confidence of the many who admire and glorify those who act boldly.


### Book:Observance III


### Book:In 1514 the twenty-two-year-old Pietro Aretino was working as a lowly


### Book:assistant scullion to a wealthy Roman family. He had ambitions of


### Book:greatness as a writer, to enflame the world with his name, but how could


### Book:a mere lackey hope to realize such dreams?


### Book:That year Pope Leo X received from the king of Portugal an embassy


### Book:that included many gifts, most prominent among them a great elephant,the first in Rome since imperial times. The pontiff adored this elephant


### Book:and showered it with attention and gifts. But despite his love and care,


### Book:the elephant, which was called Hanno, became deathly ill. The pope


### Book:summoned doctors, who administered a five-hundred-pound purgative to


### Book:the elephant, but all to no avail. The animal died and the pope went into


### Book:mourning. To console himself he summoned the great painter Raphael


### Book:and ordered him to create a life-sized painting of Hanno above the


### Book:animal’s tomb, bearing the inscription, “What nature took away, Raphael


### Book:has with his art restored.”


### Book:Over the next few days, a pamphlet circulated throughout Rome that


### Book:caused great merriment and laughter. Entitled “The Last Will and


### Book:Testament of the Elephant Hanno,” it read, in part, “To my heir the


### Book:Cardinal Santa Croce, I give my knees, so that he can imitate my


### Book:genuflections…. To my heir Cardinal Santi Quattro, I give my jaws, so


### Book:that he can more readily devour all of Christ’s revenues…. To my heir


### Book:Cardinal Medici, I give my ears, so that he can hear everyone’s


### Book:doings….” To Cardinal Grassi, who had a reputation for lechery, the


### Book:elephant bequeathed the appropriate, oversized part of his own anatomy.


### Book:On and on the anonymous pamphlet went, sparing none of the great in


### Book:Rome, not even the pope. With each one it took aim at their best-known


### Book:weakness. The pamphlet ended with verse, “See to it that Aretino is your


### Book:friend / For he is a bad enemy to have. / His words alone could ruin the


### Book:high pope / So God guard everyone from his tongue.”


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:With one short pamphlet, Aretino, son of a poor shoemaker and a servant


### Book:himself, hurled himself to fame. Everyone in Rome rushed to find out


### Book:who this daring young man was. Even the pope, amused by his audacity,


### Book:sought him out and ended up giving him a job in the papal service. Over


### Book:the years he came to be known as the “Scourge of Princes,” and his


### Book:biting tongue earned him the respect and fear of the great, from the king


### Book:of France to the Hapsburg emperor.


### Book:Fear, which always magnifies objects, gives a body to all their fancies,


### Book:which takes for its form whatever they conceive to exist in their enemies’


### Book:thoughts; so that fearful persons seldom fail to fall into real


### Book:inconveniences, occasioned by imaginary dangers…. And the duke,


### Book:whose predominant character was to be always full of fear and of


### Book:distrust, was, of all men I have ever seen, the most capable of falling intofalse steps, by the dread he had of falling into them; being in that like


### Book:unto hares.


### Book:CARDINAL DE RETZ, 1613-1679


### Book:The Aretino strategy is simple: When you are as small and obscure as


### Book:David was, you must find a Goliath to attack. The larger the target, the


### Book:more attention you gain. The bolder the attack, the more you stand out


### Book:from the crowd, and the more admiration you earn. Society is full of


### Book:those who think daring thoughts but lack the guts to print and publicize


### Book:them. Voice what the public feels—the expression of shared feelings is


### Book:always powerful. Search out the most prominent target possible and sling


### Book:your boldest shot. The world will enjoy the spectacle, and will honor the


### Book:underdog—you, that is—with glory and power.


### Book:1111. BOY AND


### Book:A boy playing in the fields got stung by a nettle. He ran home to his


### Book:mother, telling her that he had but touched that nasty weed, and it had


### Book:stung him. “It was just your touching it, my boy,” said the mother, “that


### Book:caused it to sting you; the next time you meddle with a nettle, grasp it


### Book:tightly, and it will do you no hurt.”


### Book:Do boldly what you do at all.


### Book:FABLES, AESOP. SIXTH CENTURY B.C.


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:Most of us are timid. We want to avoid tension and conflict and we want


### Book:to be liked by all. We may contemplate a bold action but we rarely bring


### Book:it to life. We are terrified of the consequences, of what others might think


### Book:of us, of the hostility we will stir up if we dare go beyond our usual


### Book:place.


### Book:Although we may disguise our timidity as a concern for others, a


### Book:desire not to hurt or offend them, in fact it is the opposite—we are really


### Book:self-absorbed, worried about ourselves and how others perceive us.


### Book:Boldness, on the other hand, is outer-directed, and often makes people


### Book:feel more at ease, since it is less self-conscious and less repressed.This can be seen most clearly in seduction. All great seducers succeed


### Book:through effrontery. Casanova’s boldness was not revealed in a daring


### Book:approach to the woman he desired, or in intrepid words to flatter her; it


### Book:consisted in his ability to surrender himself to her completely and to


### Book:make her believe he would do anything for her, even risk his life, which


### Book:in fact he sometimes did. The woman on whom he lavished this attention


### Book:understood that he held nothing back from her. This was infinitely more


### Book:flattering than compliments. At no point during the seduction would he


### Book:show hesitation or doubt, simply because he never felt it.


### Book:Part of the charm of being seduced is that it makes us feel engulfed,


### Book:temporarily outside of ourselves and the usual doubts that permeate our


### Book:lives. The moment the seducer hesitates, the charm is broken, because


### Book:we become aware of the process, of their deliberate effort to seduce us,


### Book:of their self-consciousness. Boldness directs attention outward and keeps


### Book:the illusion alive. It never induces awkwardness or embarrassment. And


### Book:so we admire the bold, and prefer to be around them, because their self-


### Book:confidence infects us and draws us outside our own realm of inwardness


### Book:and reflection.


### Book:HOW IOBL.


### Book:But with those who have made an impression upon your heart, I have


### Book:noticed that you are timid. This quality might affect a bourgeoise, but


### Book:you must attack the heart of a woman of the world with other weapons….


### Book:I tell you on behalf of women: there is not one of us who does not prefer


### Book:a little rough handling to too much consideration. Men lose through


### Book:blundering more hearts than virtue saves. The more timidity a lover


### Book:shows with us the more it concerns our pride to goad him on; the more


### Book:respect he has for our resistance, the more respect we demand of him.


### Book:We would willingly say to you men: “Ah, in pity’s name do not suppose


### Book:us to be so very virtuous; you are forcing us to have too much of it….”


### Book:We are continually struggling to hide the fact that we have permitted


### Book:ourselves to be loved. Put a woman in a position to say that she has


### Book:yielded only to a species of violence, or to surprise: persuade her that


### Book:you do not undervalue her, and I will answer for her heart….A little more


### Book:boldness on your part would put you both at your ease. Do you


### Book:remember what M. de la Rochefoucauld told you lately: “A reasonable


### Book:man in love may act like a madman, but he should not and cannot act


### Book:like an idiot.”LIFE, LETTERS, AND EPICUREAN PHILOSOPHY OF NINON DE


### Book:LENCLOS, NINON DE LENCLOS, 1620-1705


### Book:Few are born bold. Even Napoleon had to cultivate the habit on the


### Book:battlefield, where he knew it was a matter of life and death. In social


### Book:settings he was awkward and timid, but he overcame this and practiced


### Book:boldness in every part of his life because he saw its tremendous power,


### Book:how it could literally enlarge a man (even one who, like Napoleon, was


### Book:in fact conspicuously small). We also see this change in Ivan the


### Book:Terrible: A harmless boy suddenly transforms himself into a powerful


### Book:young man who commands authority, simply by pointing a finger and


### Book:taking bold action.


### Book:You must practice and develop your boldness. You will often find uses


### Book:for it. The best place to begin is often the delicate world of negotiation,


### Book:particularly those discussions in which you are asked to set your own


### Book:price. How often we put ourselves down by asking for too little. When


### Book:Christopher Columbus proposed that the Spanish court finance his


### Book:voyage to the Americas, he also made the insanely bold demand that he


### Book:be called “Grand Admiral of the Ocean.” The court agreed. The price he


### Book:set was the price he received—he demanded to be treated with respect,


### Book:and so he was. Henry Kissinger too knew that in negotiation, bold


### Book:demands work better than starting off with piecemeal concessions and


### Book:trying to meet the other person halfway. Set your value high, and then, as


### Book:Count Lustig did, set it higher.


### Book:Understand: If boldness is not natural, neither is timidity. It is an


### Book:acquired habit, picked up out of a desire to avoid conflict. If timidity has


### Book:taken hold of you, then, root it out. Your fears of the consequences of a


### Book:bold action are way out of proportion to reality, and in fact the


### Book:consequences of timidity are worse. Your value is lowered and you


### Book:create a self-fulfilling cycle of doubt and disaster. Remember: The


### Book:problems created by an audacious move can be disguised, even


### Book:remedied, by more and greater audacity.


### Book:Image: The Lion and the


### Book:Hare. The lion creates no


### Book:gaps in his way—his


### Book:movements are too


### Book:swift, his jaws too quick


### Book:and powerful. The


### Book:timid hare will do any


### Book:thing to escape danger,but in its haste to


### Book:retreat and flee, it backs


### Book:into traps, hops smack


### Book:into its enemies’ jaws.


### Book:Authority: I certainly think that it is better to be impetuous than cautious,


### Book:for fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to


### Book:conquer her by force; and it can be seen that she lets herself be overcome


### Book:by the bold rather than by those who proceed coldly. And therefore, like


### Book:a woman, she is always a friend to the young, because they are less


### Book:cautious, fiercer, and master her with greater audacity. (Niccolò


### Book:Machiavelli, 1469-1527)


### Book:REVERSAL


### Book:Boldness should never be the strategy behind all of your actions. It is a


### Book:tactical instrument, to be used at the right moment. Plan and think ahead,


### Book:and make the final element the bold move that will bring you success. In


### Book:other words, since boldness is a learned response, it is also one that you


### Book:learn to control and utilize at will. To go through life armed only with


### Book:audacity would be tiring and also fatal. You would offend too many


### Book:people, as is proven by those who cannot control their boldness. One


### Book:such person was Lola Montez; her audacity brought her triumphs and led


### Book:to her seduction of the king of Bavaria. But since she could never rein in


### Book:her boldness, it also led to her downfall—in Bavaria, in England,


### Book:wherever she turned. It crossed the border between boldness and the


### Book:appearance of cruelty, even insanity. Ivan the Terrible suffered the same


### Book:fate: When the power of boldness brought him success, he stuck to it, to


### Book:the point where it became a lifelong pattern of violence and sadism. He


### Book:lost the ability to tell when boldness was appropriate and when it was


### Book:not.


### Book:Timidity has no place in the realm of power; you will often benefit,


### Book:however, by being able to feign it. At that point, of course, it is no longertimidity but an offensive weapon: You are luring people in with your


### Book:show of shyness, all the better to pounce on them boldly later.LAW 29


### Book:PLAN ALL THE WAY TO THE END


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all


### Book:the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might


### Book:reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the


### Book:end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know


### Book:when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by


### Book:thinking far ahead.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:In 1510 a ship set out from the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the


### Book:Dominican Republic) for Venezuela, where it was to rescue a besieged


### Book:Spanish colony. Several miles out of port, a stowaway climbed out of a


### Book:provision chest: Vasco Núñez de Balboa, a noble Spaniard who had


### Book:come to the New World in search of gold but had fallen into debt and had


### Book:escaped his creditors by hiding in the chest.


### Book:There are very few men—and they are the exceptions—who are able to


### Book:think and feel beyond the present moment.


### Book:CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ, 1780-1831


### Book:Balboa had been obsessed with gold ever since Columbus had


### Book:returned to Spain from his voyages with tales of a fabulous but as yet


### Book:undiscovered kingdom called El Dorado. Balboa was one of the first


### Book:adventurers to come in search of Columbus’s land of gold, and he had


### Book:decided from the beginning that he would be the one to find it, throughsheer audacity and single-mindedness. Now that he was free of his


### Book:creditors, nothing would stop him.


### Book:Unfortunately the ship’s owner, a wealthy jurist named Francisco Fer


### Book:nández de Enciso, was furious when told of the stowaway, and he


### Book:ordered that Balboa be left on the first island they came across. Before


### Book:they found any island, however, Enciso received news that the colony he


### Book:was to rescue had been abandoned. This was Balboa’s chance. He told


### Book:the sailors of his previous voyages to Panama, and of the rumors he had


### Book:heard of gold in the area. The excited sailors convinced Enciso to spare


### Book:Balboa’s life, and to establish a colony in Panama. Weeks later they


### Book:named their new settlement “Darien.”


### Book:Darien’s first governor was Enciso, but Balboa was not a man to let


### Book:others steal the initiative. He campaigned against Enciso among the


### Book:sailors, who eventually made it clear that they preferred him as governor.


### Book:Enciso fled to Spain, fearing for his life. Months later, when a


### Book:representative of the Spanish crown arrived to establish himself as the


### Book:new, official governor of Darien, he was turned away. On his return


### Book:voyage to Spain, this man drowned; the drowning was accidental, but


### Book:under Spanish law, Balboa had murdered the governor and usurped his


### Book:position.


### Book:Balboa’s bravado had got him out of scrapes before, but now his hopes


### Book:of wealth and glory seemed doomed. To lay claim to El Dorado, should


### Book:he discover it, he would need the approval of the Spanish king—which,


### Book:as an outlaw, he would never receive. There was only one solution.


### Book:Panamanian Indians had told Balboa of a vast ocean on the other side of


### Book:the Central American isthmus, and had said that by traveling south upon


### Book:this western coast, he would reach a fabulous land of gold, called by a


### Book:name that to his ears sounded like “Biru.” Balboa decided he would


### Book:cross the treacherous jungles of Panama and become the first European


### Book:to bathe his feet in this new ocean. From there he would march on El


### Book:Dorado. If he did this on Spain’s behalf, he would obtain the eternal


### Book:gratitude of the king, and would secure his own reprieve—only he had to


### Book:act before Spanish authorities came to arrest him.


### Book:THE TWO FROGS


### Book:Two frogs dwelt in the same pool. The pool being dried up under the


### Book:summer’s heat, they left it, and set out together to seek another home. As


### Book:they went along they chanced to pass a deep well, amply supplied with


### Book:water, on seeing which one of the frogs said to the other: “Let us descendand make our abode in this well, it will furnish us with shelter and


### Book:food.” The other replied with greater caution: “But suppose the water


### Book:should fail us, how can we get out again from so great a depth?” Do


### Book:nothing without a regard to the consequences.


### Book:FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.


### Book:In 1513, then, Balboa set out, with 190 soldiers. Halfway across the


### Book:isthmus (some ninety miles wide at that point), only sixty soldiers


### Book:remained, many having succumbed to the harsh conditions—the blood-


### Book:sucking insects, the torrential rainfall, fever. Finally, from a mountaintop,


### Book:Balboa became the first European to lay eyes on the Pacific Ocean. Days


### Book:later he marched in his armor into its waters, bearing the banner of


### Book:Castile and claiming all its seas, lands, and islands in the name of the


### Book:Spanish throne.


### Book:Look to the end, no matter what it is you are considering. Often enough,


### Book:God gives a man a glimpse of happiness, and then utterly ruins him.


### Book:THE HISTORIES, HERODOTUS, FIFTH CENTURY B.C.


### Book:Indians from the area greeted Balboa with gold, jewels, and precious


### Book:pearls, the like of which he had never seen. When he asked where these


### Book:had come from, the Indians pointed south, to the land of the Incas. But


### Book:Balboa had only a few soldiers left. For the moment, he decided, he


### Book:should return to Darien, send the jewels and gold to Spain as a token of


### Book:good will, and ask for a large army to aid him in the conquest of El


### Book:Dorado.


### Book:When news reached Spain of Balboa’s bold crossing of the isthmus,


### Book:his discovery of the western ocean, and his planned conquest of El


### Book:Dorado, the former criminal became a hero. He was instantly proclaimed


### Book:governor of the new land. But before the king and queen received word


### Book:of his discovery, they had already sent a dozen ships, under the command


### Book:of a man named Pedro Arias Dávila, “Pedrarias,” with orders to arrest


### Book:Balboa for murder and to take command of the colony. By the time


### Book:Pedrarias arrived in Panama, he had learned that Balboa had been


### Book:pardoned, and that he was to share the governorship with the former


### Book:outlaw.


### Book:All the same, Balboa felt uneasy. Gold was his dream, El Dorado his


### Book:only desire. In pursuit of this goal he had nearly died many times over,


### Book:and to share the wealth and glory with a newcomer would be intolerable.


### Book:He also soon discovered that Pedrarias was a jealous, bitter man, and


### Book:equally unhappy with the situation. Once again, the only solution forBalboa was to seize the initiative by proposing to cross the jungle with a


### Book:larger army, carrying ship-building materials and tools. Once on the


### Book:Pacific coast, he would create an armada with which to conquer the


### Book:Incas. Surprisingly enough, Pedrarias agreed to the plan—perhaps


### Book:sensing it would never work. Hundreds died in this second march


### Book:through the jungle, and the timber they carried rotted in the torrential


### Book:rains. Balboa, as usual, was undaunted—no power in the world could


### Book:thwart his plan—and on arriving at the Pacific he began to cut down


### Book:trees for new lumber. But the men remaining to him were too few and


### Book:too weak to mount an invasion, and once again Balboa had to return to


### Book:Darien.


### Book:Pedrarias had in any case invited Balboa back to discuss a new plan,


### Book:and on the outskirts of the settlement, the explorer was met by Francisco


### Book:Pizarro, an old friend who had accompanied him on his first crossing of


### Book:the isthmus. But this was a trap: Leading one hundred soldiers, Pizarro


### Book:surrounded his former friend, arrested him, and returned him to


### Book:Pedrarias, who tried him on charges of rebellion. A few days later


### Book:Balboa’s head fell into a basket, along with those of his most trusted


### Book:followers. Years later Pizarro himself reached Peru, and Balboa’s deeds


### Book:were forgotten.


### Book:THE KING. THE SUFI. AND THE SURGEON


### Book:In ancient times a king of Tartary was out walking with some of his


### Book:noblemen. At the roadside was an abdal (a wandering Sufi), who cried


### Book:out: “Whoever will give me a hundred dinars, I will give him some good


### Book:advice.” The king stopped, and said: “Abdal, what is this good advice


### Book:for a hundred dinars?” “Sir,” answered the abdal, “order the sum to be


### Book:given to me, and I will tell it you immediately.” The king did so,


### Book:expecting to hear something extraordinary. The dervish said to him: “My


### Book:advice is this: Never begin anything until you have reflected what will be


### Book:the end of it.” At this the nobles and everyone else present laughed,


### Book:saying that the abdal had been wise to ask for his money in advance. But


### Book:the king said: “You have no reason to laugh at the good advice this


### Book:abdal has given me. No one is unaware of the fact that we should think


### Book:well before doing anything. But we are daily guilty of not remembering,


### Book:and the consequences are evil. I very much value this dervish’s advice. ”


### Book:The king decided to bear the advice always in his mind, and commanded


### Book:it to be written in gold on the walls and even engraved on his silver


### Book:plate.Not long afterward a plotter desired to kill the king. He bribed the royal


### Book:surgeon with a promise of the prime ministership if he thrust a poisoned


### Book:lancet into the king’s arm. When the time came to let some of the king’s


### Book:blood, a silver basin was placed to catch the blood. Suddenly the


### Book:surgeon became aware of the words engraved upon it: “Never begin


### Book:anything until you have reflected what will be the end of it. ” It was only


### Book:then that he realized that if the plotter became king he could have the


### Book:surgeon killed instantly, and would not need to fulfill his bargain.


### Book:The king, seeing that the surgeon was now trembling, asked him what


### Book:was wrong with hun. And so he confessed the truth, at that very moment.


### Book:The plotter was seized; and the king sent for all the people who had been


### Book:present when the abdal gave his advice, and said to them: “Do you still


### Book:laugh at the dervish?”


### Book:CARAVAN OF DREAMS. IDRIES SHAH, 1968


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Most men are ruled by the heart, not the head. Their plans are vague, and


### Book:when they meet obstacles they improvise. But improvisation will only


### Book:bring you as far as the next crisis, and is never a substitute for thinking


### Book:several steps ahead and planning to the end.


### Book:Balboa had a dream of glory and wealth, and a vague plan to reach it.


### Book:Yet his bold deeds, and his discovery of the Pacific, are largely forgotten,


### Book:for he committed what in the world of power is the ultimate sin: He went


### Book:part way, leaving the door open for others to take over. A real man of


### Book:power would have had the prudence to see the dangers in the distance—


### Book:the rivals who would want to share in the conquests, the vultures that


### Book:would hover once they heard the word “gold.” Balboa should have kept


### Book:his knowledge of the Incas secret until after he had conquered Peru. Only


### Book:then would his wealth, and his head, have been secure. Once Pedrarias


### Book:arrived on the scene, a man of power and prudence would have schemed


### Book:to kill or imprison him, and to take over the army he had brought for the


### Book:conquest of Peru. But Balboa was locked in the moment, always reacting


### Book:emotionally, never thinking ahead.


### Book:What good is it to have the greatest dream in the world if others reap


### Book:the benefits and the glory? Never lose your head over a vague, open-


### Book:ended dream—plan to the end.OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW


### Book:In 1863 the Prussian premier Otto von Bismarck surveyed the


### Book:chessboard of European power as it then stood. The main players were


### Book:England, France, and Austria. Prussia itself was one of several states in


### Book:the loosely allied German Federation. Austria, dominant member of the


### Book:Federation, made sure that the other German states remained weak,


### Book:divided and submissive. Bismarck believed that Prussia was destined for


### Book:something far greater than servant boy to Austria.


### Book:This is how Bismarck played the game. His first move was to start a


### Book:war with lowly Denmark, in order to recover the former Prussian lands


### Book:of Schleswig-Holstein. He knew that these rumblings of Prussian


### Book:independence might worry France and England, so he enlisted Austria in


### Book:the war, claiming that he was recovering Schleswig-Holstein for their


### Book:benefit. In a few months, after the war was decided, Bismarck demanded


### Book:that the newly conquered lands be made part of Prussia. The Austrians of


### Book:course were furious, but they compromised: First they agreed to give the


### Book:Prussians Schleswig, and a year later they sold them Holstein. The world


### Book:began to see that Austria was weakening and that Prussia was on the rise.


### Book:Bismarck’s next move was his boldest: In 1866 he convinced King


### Book:William of Prussia to withdraw from the German Federation, and in


### Book:doing so to go to war with Austria itself. King William’s wife, his son


### Book:the crown prince, and the princes of the other German kingdoms


### Book:vehemently opposed such a war. But Bismarck, undaunted, succeeded in


### Book:forcing the conflict, and Prussia’s superior army defeated the Austrians


### Book:in the brutally short Seven Weeks War. The king and the Prussian


### Book:generals then wanted to march on Vienna, taking as much land from


### Book:Austria as possible. But Bismarck stopped them—now he presented


### Book:himself as on the side of peace. The result was that he was able to


### Book:conclude a treaty with Austria that granted Prussia and the other German


### Book:states total autonomy. Bismarck could now position Prussia as the


### Book:dominant power in Germany and the head of a newly formed North


### Book:German Confederation.


### Book:The French and the English began to compare Bismarck to Attila the


### Book:Hun, and to fear that he had designs on all of Europe. Once he had


### Book:started on the path to conquest, there was no telling where he would stop.


### Book:And, indeed, three years later Bismarck provoked a war with France.


### Book:First he appeared to give his permission to France’s annexation of


### Book:Belgium, then at the last moment he changed his mind. Playing a cat-and-mouse game, he infuriated the French emperor, Napoleon III, and


### Book:stirred up his own king against the French. To no one’s surprise, war


### Book:broke out in 1870. The newly formed German federation enthusiastically


### Book:joined in the war on France, and once again the Prussian military


### Book:machine and its allies destroyed the enemy army in a matter of months.


### Book:Although Bismarck opposed taking any French land, the generals


### Book:convinced him that Alsace-Lorraine would become part of the


### Book:federation.


### Book:Now all of Europe feared the next move of the Prussian monster, led


### Book:by Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor.” And in fact a year later Bismarck


### Book:founded the German Empire, with the Prussian king as the newly


### Book:crowned emperor and Bismarck himself a prince. But then something


### Book:strange happened: Bismarck instigated no more wars. And while the


### Book:other European powers grabbed up land for colonies in other continents,


### Book:he severely limited Germany’s colonial acquisitions. He did not want


### Book:more land for Germany, but more security. For the rest of his life he


### Book:struggled to maintain peace in Europe and to prevent further wars.


### Book:Everybody assumed he had changed, mellowing with the years. They


### Book:had failed to understand: This was the final move of his original plan.


### Book:He who asks fortune-tellers the future unwittingly forfeits an inner


### Book:intimation of coming events that is a thousand times more exact than


### Book:anything they may say.


### Book:WALTER BENJAMIN, 1892-1940


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:There is a simple reason why most men never know when to come off


### Book:the attack: They form no concrete idea of their goal. Once they achieve


### Book:victory they only hunger for more. To stop—to aim for a goal and then


### Book:keep to it—seems almost inhuman, in fact; yet nothing is more critical to


### Book:the maintenance of power. The person who goes too far in his triumphs


### Book:creates a reaction that inevitably leads to a decline. The only solution is