### Book:Understand: Everyone is wrapped up in their own narcissistic shell.


### Book:When you try to impose your own ego on them, a wall goes up,


### Book:resistance is increased. By mirroring them, however, you seduce them


### Book:into a kind of narcissistic rapture: They are gazing at a double of their


### Book:own soul. This double is actually manufactured in its entirety by you.


### Book:Once you have used the mirror to seduce them, you have great power


### Book:over them.


### Book:It is worth noting, however, the dangers in the promiscuous use of the


### Book:mirror. In Alcibiades’ presence people felt larger, as if their egos hadbeen doubled. But once he left, they felt empty and diminished, and


### Book:when they saw him mirroring completely different people as totally as he


### Book:had mirrored them, they felt not just diminished but betrayed.


### Book:Alcibiades’ overuse of the Mirror Effect made whole peoples feel used,


### Book:so that he constantly had to flee from one place to another. Indeed


### Book:Alcibiades so angered the Spartans that they finally had him murdered.


### Book:He had gone too far. The Seducer’s Mirror must be used with caution


### Book:and discrimination.


### Book:LORENZO DE’ MEDICI SEDUCES THE POPE


### Book:Lorenzo [de’ Medici] lost no opportunity of increasing the respect which


### Book:Pope Innocent now felt for him and of gaining his friendship, if possible


### Book:his affection. He took the trouble to discover the Pope’s tastes and


### Book:indulged them accordingly. He sent him… casks of his favourite wine….


### Book:He sent him courteous, flattering letters in which he assured him, when


### Book:the Pope was ill, that he felt his sufferings as though they were his own,


### Book:in which he encouraged him with such fortifying statements as “a Pope


### Book:is what he wills to be,” and in which, as though incidentally, he included


### Book:his views on the proper course of papal policies. Innocent was gratified


### Book:by Lorenzo’s attentions and convinced by his arguments…. So


### Book:completely, indeed, did he come to share his opinions that, as the


### Book:disgruntled Ferrarese ambassador put it, “the Pope sleeps with the eyes


### Book:of the Magnificent Lorenzo.”


### Book:THE HOUSE OF MEDICI: ITS RISE AND FALL, CHRISTOPHER


### Book:HIBBERT, 1980


### Book:Observance III


### Book:In 1652 the recently widowed Baroness Mancini moved her family from


### Book:Rome to Paris, where she could count on the influence and protection of


### Book:her brother Cardinal Mazarin, the French prime minister. Of the


### Book:baroness’s five daughters, four dazzled the court with their beauty and


### Book:high spirits. These infamously charming nieces of Cardinal Mazarin


### Book:became known as the Mazarinettes, and soon found themselves invited


### Book:to all the most important court functions.


### Book:One daughter, Marie Mancini, did not share this good fortune, for she


### Book:lacked the beauty and grace of her sisters—who, along with her mother


### Book:and even Cardinal Mazarin, eventually came to dislike her, for they felt


### Book:she spoiled the family image. They tried to persuade her to enter aconvent, where she would be less of an embarrassment, but she refused.


### Book:Instead she applied herself to her studies, learning Latin and Greek,


### Book:perfecting her French, and practicing her musical skills. On the rare


### Book:occasions when the family would let her attend court affairs, she trained


### Book:herself to be an artful listener, sizing people up for their weaknesses and


### Book:hidden desires. And when she finally met the future King Louis XIV, in


### Book:1657 (Louis was seventeen years old, Marie eighteen), she decided that


### Book:to spite her family and uncle, she would find a way to make this young


### Book:man fall in love with her.


### Book:This was a seemingly impossible task for such a plain-looking girl, but


### Book:Marie studied the future king closely. She noticed that her sisters’


### Book:frivolity did not please him, and she sensed that he loathed the scheming


### Book:and petty politicking that went on all around him. She saw that he had a


### Book:romantic nature—he read adventure novels, insisted on marching at the


### Book:head of his armies, and had high ideals and a passion for glory. The court


### Book:did not feed these fantasies of his; it was a banal, superficial world that


### Book:bored him.


### Book:The key to Louis’s heart, Marie saw, would be to construct a mirror


### Book:reflecting his fantasies and his youthful yearnings for glory and romance.


### Book:To begin with she immersed herself in the romantic novels, poems, and


### Book:plays that she knew the young king read voraciously. When Louis began


### Book:to engage her in conversation, to his delight she would talk of the things


### Book:that stirred his soul—not this fashion or that piece of gossip, but rather


### Book:courtly love, the deeds of great knights, the nobility of past kings and


### Book:heroes. She fed his thirst for glory by creating an image of an august,


### Book:superior king whom he could aspire to become. She stirred his


### Book:imagination.


### Book:As the future Sun King spent more and more time in Marie’s presence,


### Book:it eventually became clear that he had fallen in love with the least likely


### Book:young woman of the court. To the horror of her sisters and mother, he


### Book:showered Marie Mancini with attention. He brought her along on his


### Book:military campaigns, and made a show of stationing her where she could


### Book:watch as he marched into battle. He even promised Marie that he would


### Book:marry her and make her queen.


### Book:Wittgenstein had an extraordinary gift for divining the thoughts of the


### Book:person with whom he was engaged in discussion. While the other


### Book:struggled to put his thought into words, Wittgenstein would perceive


### Book:what it was and state it for him. This power of his, which sometimes


### Book:seemed uncanny, was made possible, I am sure, by his own prolonged


### Book:and continuous researches.LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN: A MEMOIR. NORMAN MALCOLM,


### Book:1958


### Book:The doctor should be opaque to his patients, and like a mirror, should


### Book:show them nothing but what is shown to him.


### Book:SIGMUND FREUD, 1856-1939


### Book:Mazarin, however, would never allow the king to marry his niece, a


### Book:woman who could bring France no diplomatic or royal alliances. Louis


### Book:had to marry a princess of Spain or Austria. In 1658 Louis succumbed to


### Book:the pressure and agreed to break off the first romantic involvement of his


### Book:life. He did so with much regret, and at the end of his life he


### Book:acknowledged that he never loved anyone as much as Marie Mancini.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Marie Mancini played the seducer’s game to perfection. First, she took a


### Book:step back, to study her prey. Seduction often fails to get past the first step


### Book:because it is too aggressive; the first move must always be a retreat. By


### Book:studying the king from a distance Marie saw what distinguished him


### Book:from others—his high ideals, romantic nature, and snobbish disdain for


### Book:petty politics. Marie’s next step was to make a mirror for these hidden


### Book:yearnings on Louis’s part, letting him glimpse what he himself could be


### Book:—a godlike king!


### Book:This mirror had several functions: Satisfying Louis’s ego by giving


### Book:him a double to look at, it also focused on him so exclusively as to give


### Book:him the feeling that Marie existed for him alone. Surrounded by a pack


### Book:of scheming courtiers who only had their own self-interest at heart, he


### Book:could not fail to be touched by this devotional focus. Finally Marie’s


### Book:mirror set up an ideal for him to live up to: the noble knight of the


### Book:medieval court. To a soul both romantic and ambitious, nothing could be


### Book:more intoxicating than to have someone hold up an idealized reflection


### Book:of him. In effect it was Marie Mancini who created the image of the Sun


### Book:King—indeed Louis later admitted the enormous part she had played in


### Book:fashioning his radiant self-image.


### Book:This is the power of the Seducer’s Mirror: By doubling the tastes and


### Book:ideals of the target, it shows your attention to his or her psychology, an


### Book:attention more charming than any aggressive pursuit. Find out what sets


### Book:the other person apart, then hold up the mirror that will reflect it andbring it out of them. Feed their fantasies of power and greatness by


### Book:reflecting their ideals, and they will succumb.


### Book:Observance IV


### Book:In 1538, with the death of his mother, Helena, the eight-year-old future


### Book:czar Ivan IV (or Ivan the Terrible) of Russia became an orphan. For the


### Book:next five years he watched as the princely class, the boyars, terrorized


### Book:the country. Now and then, to mock the young Ivan, they would make


### Book:him wear a crown and scepter and place him on the throne. When the


### Book:little boy’s feet dangled over the edge of the chair, they would laugh and


### Book:lift him off it, handing him from man to man in the air, making him feel


### Book:his helplessness compared to them.


### Book:When Ivan was thirteen, he boldly murdered the boyar leader and


### Book:ascended to the throne. For the next few decades he struggled to subdue


### Book:the boyars’ power, but they continued to defy him. By 1575 his efforts to


### Book:transform Russia and defeat its enemies had exhausted him. Meanwhile,


### Book:his subjects were complaining bitterly about his endless wars, his secret


### Book:police, the unvanquished and oppressive boyars. His own ministers


### Book:began to question his moves. Finally he had had enough. In 1564 he had


### Book:temporarily abandoned the throne, forcing his subjects to call him back


### Book:to power. Now he took the strategy a step further, and abdicated.


### Book:To take his place Ivan elevated a general of his, Simeon


### Book:Bekbulatovich, to the throne. But although Simeon had recently


### Book:converted to Christianity, he was by birth a Tartar, and his enthronement


### Book:was an insult to Ivan’s subjects, since Russians looked down on the


### Book:Tartars as inferiors and infidels. Yet Ivan ordered that all Russians,


### Book:including the boyars, pledge obedience to their new ruler. And while


### Book:Simeon moved into the Kremlin, Ivan lived in a humble house on


### Book:Moscow’s outskirts, from which he would sometimes visit the palace,


### Book:bow before the throne, sit among the other boyars, and humbly petition


### Book:Simeon for favors.


### Book:Over time it became clear that Simeon was a kind of king’s double. He


### Book:dressed like Ivan, and acted like Ivan, but he had no real power, since no


### Book:one would really obey him. The boyars at the court who were old enough


### Book:to remember taunting Ivan when he was a boy, by placing him on the


### Book:throne, saw the connection: They had made Ivan feel like a weak


### Book:pretender, so now he mirrored them by placing a weak pretender of his


### Book:own on the throne.For two long years Ivan held the mirror of Simeon up to the Russian


### Book:people. The mirror said: Your whining and disobedience have made me a


### Book:czar with no real power, so I will reflect back to you a czar with no real


### Book:power. You have treated me disrespectfully, so I will do the same to you,


### Book:making Russia the laughingstock of the world. In 1577, in the name of


### Book:the Russian people, the chastised boyars once again begged Ivan to


### Book:return to the throne, which he did. He lived as czar until his death, in


### Book:1584, and the conspiracies, complaining, and second-guessing


### Book:disappeared along with Simeon.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:In 1564, after threatening to abdicate, Ivan had been granted absolute


### Book:powers. But these powers had slowly been chipped away as every sector


### Book:of society—the boyars, the church, the government—vied for more


### Book:control. Foreign wars had exhausted the country, internal bickering had


### Book:increased, and Ivan’s attempts to respond had been met with scorn.


### Book:Russia had turned into a kind of boisterous classroom in which the pupils


### Book:laughed openly at the teacher. If he raised his voice or complained, he


### Book:only met more resistance. He had to teach them a lesson, give them a


### Book:taste of their own medicine. Simeon Bekbulatovich was the mirror he


### Book:used to do so.


### Book:After two years in which the throne had been an object of ridicule and


### Book:disgust, the Russian people learned their lesson. They wanted their czar


### Book:back, conceding to him all the dignity and respect that the position


### Book:should always have commanded. For the rest of his reign, Russia and


### Book:Ivan got along fine.


### Book:Understand: People are locked in their own experiences. When you


### Book:whine about some insensitivity on their part, they may seem to


### Book:understand, but inwardly they are untouched and even more resistant.


### Book:The goal of power is always to lower people’s resistance to you. For this


### Book:you need tricks, and one trick is to teach them a lesson.


### Book:Instead of haranguing people verbally, then, create a kind of mirror of


### Book:their behavior. In doing so you leave them two choices: They can ignore


### Book:you, or they can start to think about themselves. And even if they ignore


### Book:you, you will have planted a seed in their unconscious that will


### Book:eventually take root. When you mirror their behavior, incidentally, do not


### Book:be afraid to add a touch of caricature and exaggeration, as Ivan did byenthroning a Tartar—it is the little spice in the soup that will open their


### Book:eyes and make them see the ridiculousness in their own actions.


### Book:Observance V


### Book:Dr. Milton H. Erickson, a pioneer in strategic psychotherapy, would


### Book:often educate his patients powerfully but indirectly by creating a kind of


### Book:mirror effect. Constructing an analogy to make patients see the truth on


### Book:their own, he would bypass their resistance to change. When Dr.


### Book:Erickson treated married couples complaining of sexual problems, for


### Book:instance, he often found that psychotherapy’s tradition of direct


### Book:confrontation and problem-airing only heightened the spouses’ resistance


### Book:and sharpened their differences. Instead, he would draw a husband and


### Book:wife out on other topics, often banal ones, trying to find an analogy for


### Book:the sexual conflict.


### Book:In one couple’s first session, the pair were discussing their eating


### Book:habits, especially at dinner. The wife preferred the leisurely approach—a


### Book:drink before the meal, some appetizers, and then a small main course, all


### Book:at a slow, civilized pace. This frustrated the husband—he wanted to get


### Book:dinner over quickly and to dig right into the main course, the bigger the


### Book:better. As the conversation continued, the couple began to catch glimpses


### Book:of an analogy to their problems in bed. The moment they made this


### Book:connection, however, Dr. Erickson would change the subject, carefully


### Book:avoiding a discussion of the real problem.


### Book:The couple thought Erickson was just getting to know them and would


### Book:deal with the problem directly the next time he saw them. But at the end


### Book:of this first session, Dr. Erickson directed them to arrange a dinner a few


### Book:nights away that would combine each person’s desire: The wife would


### Book:get the slow meal, including time spent bonding, and the husband would


### Book:get the big dishes he wanted to eat. Without realizing they were acting


### Book:under the doctor’s gentle guidance, the couple would walk into a mirror


### Book:of their problem, and in the mirror they would solve their problems


### Book:themselves, ending the evening just as the doctor had hoped—by


### Book:mirroring the improved dinner dynamics in bed.


### Book:In dealing with more severe problems, such as the schizophrenic’s


### Book:mirror fantasy world of his or her own construction, Dr. Erickson would


### Book:always try to enter the mirror and work within it. He once treated a


### Book:hospital inmate who believed he was Jesus Christ—draping sheets


### Book:around his body, talking in vague parables, and bombarding staff andpatients with endless Christian proselytizing. No therapy or drugs


### Book:seemed to work, until one day Dr. Erickson went up to the young man


### Book:and said, “I understand you have had experience as a carpenter.” Being


### Book:Christ, the patient had to say that he had had such experience, and


### Book:Erickson immediately put him to work building bookcases and other


### Book:useful items, allowing him to wear his Jesus garb. Over the next weeks,


### Book:as the patient worked on these projects, his mind became less occupied


### Book:with Jesus fantasies and more focused on his labor. As the carpentry


### Book:work took precedence, a psychic shift took effect: The religious fantasies


### Book:remained, but faded comfortably into the background, allowing the man


### Book:to function in society.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Communication depends on metaphors and symbols, which are the basis


### Book:of language itself. A metaphor is a kind of mirror to the concrete and


### Book:real, which it often expresses more clearly and deeply than a literal


### Book:description does. When you are dealing with the intractable willpower of


### Book:other people, direct communication often only heightens their resistance.


### Book:This happens most clearly when you complain about people’s


### Book:behavior, particularly in sensitive areas such as their lovemaking. You


### Book:will effect a far more lasting change if, like Dr. Erickson, you construct


### Book:an analogy, a symbolic mirror of the situation, and guide the other


### Book:through it. As Christ himself understood, talking in parables is often the


### Book:best way to teach a lesson, for it allows people to realize the truth on


### Book:their own.


### Book:When dealing with people who are lost in the reflections of fantasy


### Book:worlds (including a host of people who do not live in mental hospitals),


### Book:never try to push them into reality by shattering their mirrors. Instead,


### Book:enter their world and operate inside it, under their rules, gently guiding


### Book:them out of the hall of mirrors they have entered.


### Book:Observance VI


### Book:The great sixteenth-century Japanese tea master Takeno Sho-o once


### Book:passed by a house and noticed a young man watering flowers near his


### Book:front gate. Two things caught Sho-o’s attention—first, the graceful way


### Book:the man performed his task; and, second, the stunningly beautiful rose of


### Book:Sharon blossoms that bloomed in the garden. He stopped and introducedhimself to the man, whose name was Sen no Rikyu. Sho-o wanted to


### Book:stay, but he had a prior engagement and had to hurry off. Before he left,


### Book:however, Rikyu invited him to take tea with him the following morning.


### Book:Sho-o happily accepted.


### Book:When Sho-o opened the garden gate the next day, he was horrified to


### Book:see that not a single flower remained. More than anything else, he had


### Book:come to see the rose of Sharon blossoms that he had not had the time to


### Book:appreciate the day before; now, disappointed, he started to leave, but at


### Book:the gate he stopped himself, and decided to enter Sen no Rikyu’s tea


### Book:room. Immediately inside, he stopped in his tracks and gazed in


### Book:astonishment: Before him a vase hung from the ceiling, and in the vase


### Book:stood a single rose of Sharon blossom, the most beautiful in the garden.


### Book:Somehow Sen no Rikyu had read his guest’s thoughts, and, with this one


### Book:eloquent gesture, had demonstrated that this day guest and host would be


### Book:in perfect harmony.


### Book:Sen no Rikyu went on to become the most famous tea master of all,


### Book:and his trademark was this uncanny ability to harmonize himself with his


### Book:guests’ thoughts and to think one step ahead, enchanting them by


### Book:adapting to their taste.


### Book:One day Rikyu was invited to tea by Yamashina Hechigwan, an


### Book:admirer of the tea ceremony but also a man with a vivid sense of humor.


### Book:When Rikyu arrived at Hechigwan’s home, he found the garden gate


### Book:shut, so he opened it to look for the host. On the other side of the gate he


### Book:saw that someone had first dug a ditch, then carefully covered it over


### Book:with canvas and earth. Realizing that Hechigwan had planned a practical


### Book:joke, he obligingly walked right into the ditch, muddying his clothes in


### Book:the process.


### Book:Apparently horrified, Hechigwan came running out, and hurried Rikyu


### Book:to a bath that for some inexplicable reason stood already prepared. After


### Book:bathing, Rikyu joined Hechigwan in the tea ceremony, which both


### Book:enjoyed immensely, sharing a laugh about the accident. Later Sen no


### Book:Rikyu explained to a friend that he had heard about Hechigwan’s


### Book:practical joke beforehand, “But since it should always be one’s aim to


### Book:conform to the wishes of one’s host, I fell into the hole knowingly and


### Book:thus assured the success of the meeting. Tea is by no means mere


### Book:obsequiousness, but there is no tea where the host and guest are not in


### Book:harmony with one another.” Hechigwan’s vision of the dignified Sen no


### Book:Rikyu at the bottom of a ditch had pleased him endlessly, but Rikyu had


### Book:gained a pleasure of his own in complying with his host’s wish and


### Book:watching him amuse himself in this way.Interpretation


### Book:Sen no Rikyu was no magician or seer—he watched those around him


### Book:acutely, plumbing the subtle gestures that revealed a hidden desire, then


### Book:producing that desire’s image. Although Sho-o never spoke of being


### Book:enchanted by the rose of Sharon blossoms, Rikyu read it in his eyes. If


### Book:mirroring a person’s desires meant falling into a ditch, so be it. Rikyu’s


### Book:power resided in his skillful use of the Courtier’s Mirror, which gave him


### Book:the appearance of an unusual ability to see into other people.


### Book:Learn to manipulate the Courtier’s Mirror, for it will bring you great


### Book:power. Study people’s eyes, follow their gestures—surer barometers of


### Book:pain and pleasure than any spoken word. Notice and remember the


### Book:details—the clothing, the choice of friends, the daily habits, the tossed-


### Book:out remarks—that reveal hidden and rarely indulged desires. Soak it all


### Book:in, find out what lies under the surface, then make yourself the mirror of


### Book:their unspoken selves. That is the key to this power: The other person has


### Book:not asked for your consideration, has not mentioned his pleasure in the


### Book:rose of Sharon, and when you reflect it back to him his pleasure is


### Book:heightened because it is unasked for. Remember: The wordless


### Book:communication, the indirect compliment, contains the most power. No


### Book:one can resist the enchantment of the Courtier’s Mirror.


### Book:Observance VII


### Book:Yellow Kid Weil, con artist extraordinaire, used the Deceiver’s Mirror in


### Book:his most brilliant cons. Most audacious of all was his re-creation of a


### Book:bank in Muncie, Indiana. When Weil read one day that the Merchants


### Book:Bank in Muncie had moved, he saw an opportunity he could not pass up.


### Book:Weil rented out the original Merchants building, which still contained


### Book:bank furniture, complete with teller windows. He bought money bags,


### Book:stenciled a bank’s invented name on them, filled them with steel


### Book:washers, and arrayed them impressively behind the teller windows, along


### Book:with bundles of boodle—real bills hiding newspaper cut to size. For his


### Book:bank’s staff and customers Weil hired gamblers, bookies, girls from local


### Book:bawdy houses, and other assorted confederates. He even had a local thug


### Book:pose as a bank dick.


### Book:Claiming to be the broker for a certificate investment the bank was


### Book:offering, Weil would fish the waters and hook the proper wealthy sucker.


### Book:He would bring this man to the bank and ask to see the president. An“officer” of the bank would tell them that they had to wait, which only


### Book:heightened the realism of the con—one always has to wait to see the


### Book:bank president. And as they waited the bank would bustle with banklike


### Book:activity, as call girls and bookies in disguise floated in and out, making


### Book:deposits and withdrawals and tipping their hats to the phony bank dick.


### Book:Lulled by this perfect copy of reality, the sucker would deposit $50,000


### Book:into the fake bank without a worry in the world.


### Book:Over the years Weil did the same thing with a deserted yacht club, an


### Book:abandoned brokerage office, a relocated real estate office, and a


### Book:completely realistic gambling club.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:The mirroring of reality offers immense deceptive powers. The right


### Book:uniform, the perfect accent, the proper props—the deception cannot be


### Book:deciphered because it is enmeshed in a simulation of reality. People have


### Book:an intense desire and need to believe, and their first instinct is to trust a


### Book:well-constructed facade, to mistake it for reality. After all, we cannot go


### Book:around doubting the reality of everything we see—that would be too


### Book:exhausting. We habitually accept appearances, and this is a credulity you


### Book:can use.


### Book:In this particular game it is the first moment that counts the most. If


### Book:your suckers’ suspicions are not raised by their first glance at the


### Book:mirror’s reflection, they will stay suppressed. Once they enter your hall


### Book:of mirrors, they will be unable to distinguish the real from the fake, and


### Book:it will become easier and easier to deceive them. Remember: Study the


### Book:world’s surfaces and learn to mirror them in your habits, your manner,


### Book:your clothes. Like a carnivorous plant, to unsuspecting insects you will


### Book:look like all the other plants in the field.


### Book:Authority: The task of a military operation is to accord deceptively with


### Book:the intentions of the enemy … get to what they want first, subtly


### Book:anticipate them. Maintain discipline and adapt to the enemy…. Thus, at


### Book:first you are like a maiden, so the enemy opens his door; then you are


### Book:like a rabbit on the loose, so the enemy cannot keep you out. (Sun-tzu,


### Book:fourth century B.C.)


### Book:Image: The


### Book:Shield of Perseus. It is pol


### Book:ished into a reflecting mirror.


### Book:Medusa cannot see you, only herown hideousness reflected back at her.


### Book:Behind such a mirror you can de


### Book:ceive, mock, and infuriate. With


### Book:one blow you sever Medusa’s


### Book:unsuspecting head.


### Book:A WARNING: BEWARE OF MIRRORED


### Book:SITUATIONS


### Book:Mirrors contain great power but also dangerous reefs, including the


### Book:mirrored situation—a situation that seems to reflect or closely resemble a


### Book:previous one, mostly in style and surface appearance. You can often back


### Book:into such a situation without fully understanding it, while those around


### Book:you understand it quite well, and compare it and you to whatever


### Book:happened before. Most often you suffer by the comparison, seeming


### Book:either weaker than the previous occupant of your position or else tainted


### Book:by any unpleasant associations that person has left behind.


### Book:In 1864 the composer Richard Wagner moved to Munich at the behest


### Book:of Ludwig II, known variously as the Swan King or the Mad King of


### Book:Bavaria. Ludwig was Wagner’s biggest fan and most generous patron.


### Book:The strength of his support turned Wagner’s head—once established in


### Book:Munich under the king’s protection, he would be able to say and do


### Book:whatever he wanted.


### Book:Wagner moved into a lavish house, which the king eventually bought


### Book:for him. This house was but a stone’s throw from the former home of


### Book:Lola Montez, the notorious courtesan who had plunged Ludwig II’s


### Book:grandfather into a crisis that had forced him to abdicate. Warned that he


### Book:could be infected by this association, Wagner only scoffed—“I am no


### Book:Lola Montez,” he said. Soon enough, however, the citizens of Munich


### Book:began to resent the favors and money showered on Wagner, and dubbed


### Book:him “the second Lola,” or “Lolotte.” He unconsciously began to tread in


### Book:Lola’s footsteps—spending money extravagantly, meddling in matters


### Book:beyond music, even dabbling in politics and advising the king on cabinet


### Book:appointments. Meanwhile Ludwig’s affection for Wagner seemed intense


### Book:and undignified for a king—just like his grandfather’s love for Lola


### Book:Montez.Eventually Ludwig’s ministers wrote him a letter: “Your Majesty now


### Book:stands at a fateful parting of the ways: you have to choose between the


### Book:love and respect of your faithful people and the ‘friendship’ of Richard


### Book:Wagner.” In December of 1865, Ludwig politely asked his friend to leave


### Book:and never return. Wagner had inadvertently placed himself in Lola


### Book:Montez’s reflection. Once there, everything he did reminded the stolid


### Book:Bavarians of that dread woman, and there was nothing he could do about


### Book:it.


### Book:Avoid such association-effects like the plague. In a mirrored situation


### Book:you have little or no control over the reflections and recollections that


### Book:will be connected to you, and any situation beyond your control is


### Book:dangerous. Even if the person or event has positive associations, you will


### Book:suffer from not being able to live up to them, since the past generally


### Book:appears greater than the present. If you ever notice people associating


### Book:you with some past event or person, do everything you can to separate


### Book:yourself from that memory and to shatter the reflection.LAW 45


### Book:PREACH THE NEED FOR CHANGE, BUT


### Book:NEVER REFORM TOO MUCH AT ONCE


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the


### Book:day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is


### Book:traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power,


### Book:or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting


### Book:the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a


### Book:gentle improvement on the past.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:Sometime in the early 1520s, King Henry VIII of England decided to


### Book:divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she had failed to bear


### Book:him a son, and because he had fallen in love with the young and comely


### Book:Anne Boleyn. The pope, Clement VII, opposed the divorce, and


### Book:threatened the king with excommunication. The king’s most powerful


### Book:minister, Cardinal Wolsey, also saw no need for divorce—and his


### Book:halfhearted support of the king cost him his position and soon his life.


### Book:One man in Henry’s cabinet, Thomas Cromwell, not only supported


### Book:him in his desire for a divorce but had an idea for realizing it: a complete


### Book:break with the past. He convinced the king that by severing ties with


### Book:Rome and making himself the head of a newly formed English church,


### Book:he could divorce Catherine and marry Anne. By 1531 Henry saw this as


### Book:the only solution. To reward Cromwell for his simple but brilliant idea,


### Book:he elevated this son of a blacksmith to the post of royal councillor.By 1534 Cromwell had been named the king’s secretary, and as the


### Book:power behind the throne he had become the most powerful man in


### Book:England. But for him the break with Rome went beyond the satisfaction


### Book:of the king’s carnal desires: He envisioned a new Protestant order in


### Book:England, with the power of the Catholic Church smashed and its vast


### Book:wealth in the hands of the king and the government. In that same year he


### Book:initiated a complete survey of the churches and monasteries of England.


### Book:And as it turned out, the treasures and moneys that the churches had


### Book:accumulated over the centuries were far more than he had imagined; his


### Book:spies and agents came back with astonishing figures.


### Book:To justify his schemes, Cromwell circulated stories about the


### Book:corruption in the English monasteries, their abuse of power, their


### Book:exploitation of the people they supposedly served. Having won


### Book:Parliament’s support for breaking up the monasteries, he began to seize


### Book:their holdings and to put them out of existence one by one. At the same


### Book:time, he began to impose Protestantism, introducing reforms in religious


### Book:ritual and punishing those who stuck to Catholicism, and who now were


### Book:called heretics. Virtually overnight, England was converted to a new


### Book:official religion.


### Book:A terror fell on the country. Some people had suffered under the


### Book:Catholic Church, which before the reforms had been immensely


### Book:powerful, but most Britons had strong ties to Catholicism and to its


### Book:comforting rituals. They watched in horror as churches were demolished,


### Book:images of the Madonna and saints were broken in pieces, stained-glass


### Book:windows were smashed, and the churches’ treasures were confiscated.


### Book:With monasteries that had succored the poor suddenly gone, the poor


### Book:now flooded the streets. The growing ranks of the beggar class were


### Book:further swelled by former monks. On top of all this, Cromwell levied


### Book:high taxes to pay for his ecclesiastical reforms.


### Book:Celebrating the turn of the year is an ancient custom. The Romans


### Book:celebrated the Saturnalia, the festival of Saturn, god of the harvest,


### Book:between December 17 and 23. It was the most cheerful festival of the


### Book:year. All work and commerce stopped, and the streets were filled with


### Book:crowds and a carnival atmosphere. Slaves were temporarily freed, and


### Book:the houses were decorated with laurel branches. People visited one


### Book:another, bringing gifts of wax candles and little clay figurines.


### Book:Long before the birth of Christ, the Jews celebrated an eight-day


### Book:Festival of Lights [at the same season], and it is believed that the


### Book:Germanic peoples held a great festival not only at midsummer but also


### Book:at the winter solstice, when they celebrated the rebirth of the sun andhonored the great fertility gods Wotan and Freyja, Donar (Thor) and


### Book:Freyr. Even after the Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-337) declared


### Book:Christianity to be Rome’s official imperial religion, the evocation of light


### Book:and fertility as an important component of pre-Christian midwinter


### Book:celebrations could nor be entirely suppressed. In the year 274 the Roman


### Book:Emperor Aurelian (A.D. 214-275) had established an official cult of the


### Book:sun-god Mithras, declaring his birthday, December 25, a national


### Book:holiday. The cult of Mithras, the Aryan god of light, had spread from


### Book:Persia through Asia Minor to Greece, Rome, and as far as the Germanic


### Book:lands and Britain. Numerous ruins of his shrines still testify to the high


### Book:regard in which this god was held, especially by the Roman legions, as a


### Book:bringer of fertility, peace, and victory. So it was a clever move when, in


### Book:the year A.D. 354, the Christian church under Pope Liberius (352-366)


### Book:co-opted the birthday of Mithras and declared December 25 to be the


### Book:birthday of Jesus Christ.


### Book:NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG, ANNE-SUSANNE RISCHKE,


### Book:DECEMBER 25, 1983


### Book:In 1535 powerful revolts in the North of England threatened to topple


### Book:Henry from his throne. By the following year he had suppressed the


### Book:rebellions, but he had also begun to see the costs of Cromwell’s reforms.


### Book:The king himself had never wanted to go this far—he had only wanted a


### Book:divorce. It was now Cromwell’s turn to watch uneasily as the king began


### Book:slowly to undo his reforms, reinstating Catholic sacraments and other


### Book:rituals that Cromwell had outlawed.


### Book:Sensing his fall from grace, in 1540 Cromwell decided to regain


### Book:Henry’s favor with one throw of the dice: He would find the king a new


### Book:wife. Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour, had died a few years before, and


### Book:he had been pining for a new young queen. It was Cromwell who found


### Book:him one: Anne of Cleves, a German princess and, most important to


### Book:Cromwell, a Protestant. On Cromwell’s commission, the painter Holbein


### Book:produced a flattering portrait of Anne; when Henry saw it, he fell in love,


### Book:and agreed to marry her. Cromwell seemed back in favor.


### Book:Unfortunately, however, Holbein’s painting was highly idealized, and


### Book:when the king finally met the princess she did not please him in the least.


### Book:His anger against Cromwell—first for the ill-conceived reforms, now for


### Book:saddling him with an unattractive and Protestant wife—could no longer


### Book:be contained. In June of that year, Cromwell was arrested, charged as a


### Book:Protestant extremist and a heretic, and sent to the Tower. Six weeks later,


### Book:before a large and enthusiastic crowd, the public executioner cut off his


### Book:head.Interpretation


### Book:Thomas Cromwell had a simple idea: He would break up the power and


### Book:wealth of the Church and lay the foundation for Protestantism in


### Book:England. And he would do this in a mercilessly short time. He knew his


### Book:speedy reforms would cause pain and resentment, but he thought these


### Book:feelings would fade in a few years. More important, by identifying


### Book:himself with change, he would become the leader of the new order,


### Book:making the king dependent on him. But there was a problem in his


### Book:strategy: Like a billiard ball hit too hard against the cushion, his reforms


### Book:had reactions and caroms he did not envision and could not control.


### Book:The man who initiates strong reforms often becomes the scapegoat for


### Book:any kind of dissatisfaction. And eventually the reaction to his reforms


### Book:may consume him, for change is upsetting to the human animal, even


### Book:when it is for the good. Because the world is and always has been full of


### Book:insecurity and threat, we latch on to familiar faces and create habits and


### Book:rituals to make the world more comfortable. Change can be pleasant and


### Book:even sometimes desirable in the abstract, but too much of it creates an


### Book:anxiety that will stir and boil beneath the surface and then eventually


### Book:erupt.


### Book:Never underestimate the hidden conservatism of those around you. It


### Book:is powerful and entrenched. Never let the seductive charm of an idea


### Book:cloud your reason: Just as you cannot make people see the world your


### Book:way, you cannot wrench them into the future with painful changes. They


### Book:will rebel. If reform is necessary, anticipate the reaction against it and


### Book:find ways to disguise the change and sweeten the poison.


### Book:OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW


### Book:As a young Communist in the 1920s, Mao Tse-tung understood better


### Book:than any of his colleagues the incredible odds against a Communist


### Book:victory in China. With their small numbers, limited funds, lack of


### Book:military experience, and small arsenal of weapons, the Party had no hope


### Book:of success unless it won over China’s immense peasant population. But


### Book:who in the world was more conservative, more rooted in tradition, than


### Book:the Chinese peasantry? The oldest civilization on the planet had a history


### Book:that would never loosen its power, no matter how violent the revolution.The ideas of Confucius remained as alive in the 1920s as they had been


### Book:in the sixth century B.C., when the philosopher was alive. Despite the


### Book:oppressions of the current system, would the peasantry ever give up the


### Book:deep-rooted values of the past for the great unknown of Communism?


### Book:The solution, as Mao saw it, involved a simple deception: Cloak the


### Book:revolution in the clothing of the past, making it comforting and


### Book:legitimate in people’s eyes. One of Mao’s favorite books was the very


### Book:popular medieval Chinese novel The Water Margin, which recounts the


### Book:exploits of a Chinese Robin Hood and his robber band as they struggle


### Book:against a corrupt and evil monarch. In China in Mao’s time, family ties


### Book:dominated over any other kind, for the Confucian hierarchy of father and


### Book:oldest son remained firmly in place; but The Water Margin preached a


### Book:superior value—the fraternal ties of the band of robbers, the nobility of


### Book:the cause that unites people beyond blood. The novel had great


### Book:emotional resonance for Chinese people, who love to root for the


### Book:underdog. Time and again, then, Mao would present his revolutionary


### Book:army as an extension of the robber band in The Water Margin, likening


### Book:his struggle to the timeless conflict between the oppressed peasantry and


### Book:an evil emperor. He made the past seem to envelop and legitimize the


### Book:Communist cause; the peasantry could feel comfortable with and even


### Book:support a group with such roots in the past.


### Book:Even once the Party came to power, Mao continued to associate it with


### Book:the past. He presented himself to the masses not as a Chinese Lenin but


### Book:as a modern Chuko Liang, the real-life third-century strategist who


### Book:figures prominently in the popular historical novel The Romance of the


### Book:Three Kingdoms. Liang was more than a great general—he was a poet, a


### Book:philosopher, and a figure of stern moral rectitude. So Mao represented


### Book:himself as a poet-warrior like Liang, a man who mixed strategy with


### Book:philosophy and preached a new ethics. He made himself appear like a


### Book:hero from the great Chinese tradition of warrior statesmen.


### Book:Soon, everything in Mao’s speeches and writings had a reference to an


### Book:earlier period in Chinese history. He recalled, for example, the great


### Book:Emperor Ch‘in, who had unified the country in the third century B.C.


### Book:Ch’in had burned the works of Confucius, consolidated and completed


### Book:the building of the Great Wall, and given his name to China. Like Ch‘in,


### Book:Mao also had brought the country together, and had sought bold reforms


### Book:against an oppressive past. Ch’in had traditionally been seen as a violent


### Book:dictator whose reign was short; the brilliance of Mao’s strategy was to


### Book:turn this around, simultaneously reinterpreting Ch’in, justifying his rulein the eyes of present-day Chinese, and using him to justify the violence


### Book:of the new order that Mao himself was creating.


### Book:After the failed Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s, a power struggle


### Book:emerged in the Communist Party in which Mao’s main foe was Lin Piao,


### Book:once a close friend of his. To make clear to the masses the difference


### Book:between his philosophy and Lin’s, Mao once again exploited the past: He


### Book:cast his opponent as representing Confucius, a philosopher Lin in fact


### Book:would constantly quote. And Confucius signified the conservatism of the


### Book:past. Mao associated himself, on the other hand, with the ancient


### Book:philosophical movement known as Legalism, exemplified by the


### Book:writings of Han-fei-tzu. The Legalists disdained Confucian ethics; they


### Book:believed in the need for violence to create a new order. They worshiped


### Book:power. To give himself weight in the struggle, Mao unleashed a


### Book:nationwide propaganda campaign against Confucius, using the issues of


### Book:Confucianism versus Legalism to whip the young into a kind of frenzied


### Book:revolt against the older generation. This grand context enveloped a rather


### Book:banal power struggle, and Mao once again won over the masses and


### Book:triumphed over his enemies.


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:No people had a more profound attachment to the past than the Chinese.


### Book:In the face of this enormous obstacle to reform, Mao’s strategy was


### Book:simple: Instead of struggling against the past, he turned it to his


### Book:advantage, associating his radical Communists with the romantic figures


### Book:of Chinese history. Weaving the story of the War of the Three Kingdoms


### Book:into the struggle between the United States, the Soviet Union, and China,


### Book:he cast himself as Chuko Liang. As the emperors had, he welcomed the


### Book:cultlike adoration of the masses, understanding that the Chinese could


### Book:not function without some kind of father figure to admire. And after he


### Book:made a terrible blunder with the Great Leap Forward, trying to force


### Book:modernization on the country and failing miserably, he never repeated


### Book:his mistake: From then on, radical change had to be cloaked in the


### Book:comfortable clothes of the past.


### Book:The lesson is simple: The past is powerful. What has happened before


### Book:seems greater; habit and history give any act weight. Use this to your


### Book:advantage. When you destroy the familiar you create a void or vacuum;


### Book:people fear the chaos that will flood in to fill it. You must avoid stirring


### Book:up such fears at all cost. Borrow the weight and legitimacy from the past,however remote, to create a comforting and familiar presence. This will


### Book:give your actions romantic associations, add to your presence, and cloak


### Book:the nature of the changes you are attempting.


### Book:It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out,


### Book:nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle,


### Book:than to initiate a new order of things.


### Book:Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527


### Book:KEYS TO POWER


### Book:Human psychology contains many dualities, one of them being that even


### Book:while people understand the need for change, knowing how important it


### Book:is for institutions and individuals to be occasionally renewed, they are


### Book:also irritated and upset by changes that affect them personally. They


### Book:know that change is necessary, and that novelty provides relief from


### Book:boredom, but deep inside they cling to the past. Change in the abstract,


### Book:or superficial change, they desire, but a change that upsets core habits


### Book:and routines is deeply disturbing to them.


### Book:No revolution has gone without a powerful later reaction against it, for


### Book:in the long run the void it creates proves too unsettling to the human


### Book:animal, who unconsciously associates such voids with death and chaos.


### Book:The opportunity for change and renewal seduces people to the side of the


### Book:revolution, but once their enthusiasm fades, which it will, they are left


### Book:with a certain emptiness. Yearning for the past, they create an opening


### Book:for it to creep back in.


### Book:For Machiavelli, the prophet who preaches and brings change can only


### Book:survive by taking up arms: When the masses inevitably yearn for the


### Book:past, he must be ready to use force. But the armed prophet cannot last


### Book:long unless he quickly creates a new set of values and rituals to replace


### Book:the old ones, and to soothe the anxieties of those who dread change. It is


### Book:far easier, and less bloody, to play a kind of con game. Preach change as


### Book:much as you like, and even enact your reforms, but give them the


### Book:comforting appearance of older events and traditions.


### Book:Reigning from A.D. 8 to A.D. 23, the Chinese emperor Wang Mang


### Book:emerged from a period of great historical turbulence in which the people


### Book:yearned for order, an order represented for them by Confucius. Some two


### Book:hundred years earlier, however, Emperor Ch’in had ordered the writingsof Confucius burned. A few years later, word had spread that certain


### Book:texts had miraculously survived, hidden under the scholar’s house. These


### Book:texts may not have been genuine, but they gave Wang his opportunity:


### Book:He first confiscated them, then had his scribes insert passages into them


### Book:that seemed to support the changes he had been imposing on the country.


### Book:When he released the texts, it seemed that Confucius sanctioned Wang’s


### Book:reforms, and the people felt comforted and accepted them more easily.


### Book:Understand: The fact that the past is dead and buried gives you the


### Book:freedom to reinterpret it. To support your cause, tinker with the facts.


### Book:The past is a text in which you can safely insert your own lines.


### Book:A simple gesture like using an old title, or keeping the same number


### Book:for a group, will tie you to the past and support you with the authority of


### Book:history. As Machiavelli himself observed, the Romans used this device


### Book:when they transformed their monarchy into a republic. They may have


### Book:installed two consuls in place of the king, but since the king had been


### Book:served by twelve lictors, they retained the same number to serve under


### Book:the consuls. The king had personally performed an annual sacrifice, in a


### Book:great spectacle that stirred the public; the republic retained this practice,


### Book:only transferring it to a special “chief of the ceremony, whom they called


### Book:the King of the sacrifice.” These and similar gestures satisfied the people


### Book:and kept them from clamoring for the monarchy’s return.


### Book:Another strategy to disguise change is to make a loud and public


### Book:display of support for the values of the past. Seem to be a zealot for


### Book:tradition and few will notice how unconventional you really are.


### Book:Renaissance Florence had a centuries-old republic, and was suspicious of


### Book:anyone who flouted its traditions. Cosimo de’ Medici made a show of


### Book:enthusiastic support for the republic, while in reality he worked to bring


### Book:the city under the control of his wealthy family. In form, the Medicis


### Book:retained the appearance of a republic; in substance, they rendered it


### Book:powerless. They quietly enacted a radical change, while appearing to


### Book:safeguard tradition.


### Book:Science claims a search for truth that would seem to protect it from


### Book:conservatism and the irrationality of habit: It is a culture of innovation.


### Book:Yet when Charles Darwin published his ideas of evolution, he faced


### Book:fiercer opposition from his fellow scientists than from religious


### Book:authorities. His theories challenged too many fixed ideas. Jonas Salk ran


### Book:into the same wall with his radical innovations in immunology, as did


### Book:Max Planck with his revolutionizing of physics. Planck later wrote of the


### Book:scientific opposition he faced, “A new scientific truth does not triumph


### Book:by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but ratherbecause its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that


### Book:is familiar with it.”


### Book:The answer to this innate conservatism is to play the courtier’s game.


### Book:Galileo did this at the beginning of his scientific career; he later became


### Book:more confrontational, and paid for it. So pay lip service to tradition.


### Book:Identify the elements in your revolution that can be made to seem to


### Book:build on the past. Say the right things, make a show of conformity, and


### Book:meanwhile let your theories do their radical work. Play with appearances


### Book:and respect past protocol. This is true in every arena—science being no


### Book:exception.


### Book:Finally, powerful people pay attention to the zeitgeist. If their reform


### Book:is too far ahead of its time, few will understand it, and it will stir up


### Book:anxiety and be hopelessly misinterpreted. The changes you make must


### Book:seem less innovative than they are. England did eventually become a


### Book:Protestant nation, as Cromwell wished, but it took over a century of


### Book:gradual evolution.


### Book:Watch the zeitgeist. If you work in a tumultuous time, there is power


### Book:to be gained by preaching a return to the past, to comfort, tradition, and


### Book:ritual. During a period of stagnation, on the other hand, play the card of


### Book:reform and revolution—but beware of what you stir up. Those who


### Book:finish a revolution are rarely those who start it. You will not succeed at


### Book:this dangerous game unless you are willing to forestall the inevitable


### Book:reaction against it by playing with appearances and building on the past.


### Book:Authority: He who desires or attempts to reform the government of a


### Book:state, and wishes to have it accepted, must at least retain the semblance


### Book:of the old forms; so that it may seem to the people that there has been no


### Book:change in the institutions, even though in fact they are entirely different


### Book:from the old ones. For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with


### Book:appearances, as though they were realities. (Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-


### Book:1527)


### Book:Image: The Cat.


### Book:Creature of habit, it loves the


### Book:warmth of the familiar. Upset its


### Book:routines, disrupt its space, and it will


### Book:grow unmanageable and psychotic.Placate it by supporting its rituals. If


### Book:change is necessary, deceive the cat by


### Book:keeping the smell of the past alive;


### Book:place objects familiar to it in


### Book:strategic locations.


### Book:REVERSAL


### Book:The past is a corpse to be used as you see fit. If what happened in the


### Book:recent past was painful and harsh, it is self-destructive to associate


### Book:yourself with it. When Napoleon came to power, the French Revolution


### Book:was fresh in everyone’s minds. If the court that he established had borne


### Book:any resemblance to the lavish court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette,


### Book:his courtiers would have spent all their time worrying about their own


### Book:necks. Instead, Napoleon established a court remarkable for its sobriety


### Book:and lack of ostentation. It was the court of a man who valued work and


### Book:military virtues. This new form seemed appropriate and reassuring.


### Book:In other words, pay attention to the times. But understand: If you make


### Book:a bold change from the past, you must avoid at all costs the appearance


### Book:of a void or vacuum, or you will create terror. Even an ugly recent


### Book:history will seem preferable to an empty space. Fill that space


### Book:immediately with new rituals and forms. Soothing and growing familiar,


### Book:these will secure your position among the masses.


### Book:Finally, the arts, fashion, and technology would seem to be areas in


### Book:which power would come from creating a radical rupture with the past


### Book:and appearing cutting edge. Indeed, such a strategy can bring great


### Book:power, but it has many dangers. It is inevitable that your innovations will


### Book:be outdone by someone else. You have little control—someone younger


### Book:and fresher moves in a sudden new direction, making your bold


### Book:innovation of yesterday seem tiresome and tame today. You are forever


### Book:playing catch-up; your power is tenuous and short-lived. You want a


### Book:power built on something more solid. Using the past, tinkering with


### Book:tradition, playing with convention to subvert it will give your creations


### Book:something more than a momentary appeal. Periods of dizzying change


### Book:disguise the fact that a yearning for the past will inevitably creep back in.


### Book:In the end, using the past for your own purposes will bring you morepower than trying to cut it out completely—a futile and self-destructive


### Book:endeavor.LAW 46


### Book:NEVER APPEAR TOO PERFECT


### Book:JUDGMENT


### Book:Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of


### Book:all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent


### Book:enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to


### Book:harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and


### Book:approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.


### Book:TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW


### Book:Joe Orton met Kenneth Halliwell at the Royal Academy of Dramatic


### Book:Arts, London, in 1953, where both had enrolled as acting students. They


### Book:soon became lovers and moved in together. Halliwell, twenty-five at the


### Book:time, was seven years older than Orton, and seemed the more confident


### Book:of the two; but neither had much talent as actors, and after graduating,


### Book:having settled down together in a dank London apartment, they decided


### Book:to give up acting and collaborate as writers instead. Halliwell’s


### Book:inheritance was enough to keep them from having to find work for a few


### Book:years, and in the beginning, he was also the driving force behind the


### Book:stories and novels they wrote; he would dictate to Orton, who would type


### Book:the manuscripts, occasionally interjecting his own lines and ideas. Their


### Book:first efforts attracted some interest from literary agents, but it sputtered.


### Book:The promise they had shown was leading nowhere.


### Book:Eventually the inheritance money ran out, and the pair had to look for


### Book:work. Their collaborations were less enthusiastic and less frequent. The


### Book:future looked bleak.


### Book:In 1957 Orton began to write on his own, but it wasn’t until five years


### Book:later, when the lovers were jailed for six months for defacing dozens oflibrary books, that he began to find his voice (perhaps not by chance:


### Book:This was the first time he and Halliwell had been separated in nine


### Book:years). He came out of prison determined to express his contempt for


### Book:English society in the form of theatrical farces. He and Halliwell moved


### Book:back in together, but now the roles were reversed: Orton did the writing


### Book:while Halliwell put in comments and ideas.


### Book:In 1964 Joe Orton completed his first full-length play, Entertaining


### Book:Mr. Sloane. The play made it to London’s West End, where it received


### Book:brilliant reviews: A great new writer had emerged from nowhere. Now


### Book:success followed success, at a dizzying pace. In 1966 Orton had a hit


### Book:with his play Loot, and his popularity soared. Soon commissions came in


### Book:from all sides, including from the Beatles, who paid Orton handsomely


### Book:to write them a film script.


### Book:Everything was pointing upwards, everything except Orton’s


### Book:relationship with Kenneth Halliwell. The pair still lived together, but as


### Book:Orton grew successful, Halliwell began to deteriorate. Watching his lover


### Book:become the center of attention, he suffered the humiliation of becoming a


### Book:kind of personal assistant to the playwright, his role in what had once


### Book:been a collaboration growing smaller and smaller. In the 1950s he had


### Book:supported Orton with his inheritance; now Orton supported him. At a


### Book:party or among friends, people would naturally gravitate towards Orton


### Book:—he was charming, and his mood was almost always buoyant. Unlike


### Book:the handsome Orton, Halliwell was bald and awkward; his defensiveness


### Book:made people want to avoid him.


### Book:A greedy man and an envious man met a king. The king said to them,


### Book:“One of you may ask something of me and I will give it to him, provided


### Book:I give twice as much to the other. ” The envious person did not want to


### Book:ask first for he was envious of his companion who would receive twice as


### Book:much, and the greedy man did not want to ask first since he wanted


### Book:everything that was to be had. Finally the greedy one pressed the envious


### Book:one to be the first to make the request. So the envious person asked the


### Book:king to pluck out one of his eyes.


### Book:JEWISH PARABLE, THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, SOLOMON


### Book:SCHIMMEL, 1992


### Book:An admirer who feels that he cannot be happy by surrendering himself


### Book:elects to become envious of that which he admires. So he speaks another


### Book:language—the thing which he really admires is called a stupid, insipid


### Book:and queer sort of thing. Admiration is happy self-surrender; envy is


### Book:unhappy self-assertion.SφREN KIERKEGAARD, 1813-1855


### Book:With Orton’s success the couple’s problems only worsened.


### Book:Halliwell’s moods made their life together impossible. Orton claimed to


### Book:want to leave him, and had numerous affairs, but would always end up


### Book:returning to his old friend and lover. He tried to help Halliwell launch a


### Book:career as an artist, even arranging for a gallery to show his work, but the


### Book:show was a flop, and this only heightened Halliwell’s sense of


### Book:inferiority. In May of 1967, the pair went on a brief holiday together in


### Book:Tangier, Morocco. During the trip, Orton wrote in his diary, “We sat


### Book:talking of how happy we felt. And how it couldn’t, surely, last. We’d


### Book:have to pay for it. Or we’d be struck down from afar by disaster because


### Book:we were, perhaps, too happy. To be young, good-looking, healthy,


### Book:famous, comparatively rich and happy is surely going against nature.”


### Book:Halliwell outwardly seemed as happy as Orton. Inwardly, though, he


### Book:was seething. And two months later, in the early morning of August 10,


### Book:1967, just days after helping Orton put the finishing touches to the


### Book:wicked farce What the Butler Saw (undoubtedly his masterpiece),


### Book:Kenneth Halliwell bludgeoned Joe Orton to death with repeated blows of


### Book:a hammer to the head. He then took twenty-one sleeping pills and died


### Book:himself, leaving behind a note that read, “If you read Orton’s diary all


### Book:will be explained.”


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:Kenneth Halliwell had tried to cast his deterioration as mental illness, but


### Book:what Joe Orton’s diaries revealed to him was the truth: It was envy, pure


### Book:and simple, that lay at the heart of his sickness. The diaries, which


### Book:Halliwell read on the sly, recounted the couple’s days as equals and their


### Book:struggle for recognition. After Orton found success, the diaries began to


### Book:describe Halliwell’s brooding, his rude comments at parties, his growing


### Book:sense of inferiority. All of this Orton narrated with a distance that


### Book:bordered on contempt.


### Book:The diaries made clear Halliwell’s bitterness over Orton’s success.


### Book:Eventually the only thing that would have satisfied him would have been


### Book:for Orton to have a failure of his own, an unsuccessful play perhaps, so


### Book:that they could have commiserated in their failure, as they had done


### Book:years before. When the opposite happened—as Orton grew only more


### Book:successful and popular—Halliwell did the only thing that would makethem equals again: He made them equals in death. With Orton’s murder,


### Book:he became almost as famous as his friend—posthumously.


### Book:Joe Orton only partly understood his lover’s deterioration. His attempt


### Book:to help Halliwell launch a career in art registered for what it was: charity


### Book:and guilt. Orton basically had two possible solutions to the problem. He


### Book:could have downplayed his own success, displaying some faults,


### Book:deflecting Halliwell’s envy; or, once he realized the nature of the


### Book:problem, he could have fled as if Halliwell were a viper, as in fact he was


### Book:—a viper of envy. Once envy eats away at someone, everything you do


### Book:only makes it grow, and day by day it festers inside him. Eventually he


### Book:will attack.


### Book:It takes great talent and skill to conceal one’s talent and skill


### Book:LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, 1613-1680


### Book:ENVY TORMENTS AGLAUROS


### Book:The goddess Minerva made her way to the house of Envy, a house filthy


### Book:with dark and noisome slime. It is hidden away in the depths of the


### Book:valleys, where the sun never penetrates, where no wind blows through; a


### Book:gloomy dwelling, permeated by numbing chill, ever fireless, ever


### Book:shrouded in thick darkness. When Minerva reached this spot she stopped


### Book:in front of the house … and struck the doors with the tip of her spear, and


### Book:at the blow they flew open and revealed Envy within, busy at a meal of


### Book:snake’s flesh, the food on which she nourished her wickedness. At the


### Book:sight, Minerva turned her eyes away. But the other rose heavily from the


### Book:ground, leaving the half-eaten corpses, and came out with dragging


### Book:steps. When she saw the goddess in all the brilliance of her beauty, in her


### Book:flashing armor, she groaned…. Envy’s face was sickly pale, her whole


### Book:body lean and wasted, and she squinted horribly; her teeth were


### Book:discoloretl and decayed, her poisonous breast of a greenish hue, and her


### Book:tongue dripped venom. Only the sight of suffering could bring a smile to


### Book:her lips. She never knew the comfort of sleep, but was kept constantly


### Book:awake by care and anxiety, looked with dismay on men’s good fortune,


### Book:and grew thin at the sight. Gnawing at others, and being gnawed, she


### Book:was herself her own torment. Minerva, in spite of her loathing, yet


### Book:addressed her briefly: “Instill your poison into one of Cecrop’s


### Book:daughters—her name is Aglauros. This is what I require of you. ”


### Book:Without another word she pushed against the ground with her spear, left


### Book:the earth, and soared upwards.From the corner of her eye the other watched the goddess out of sight,


### Book:muttering and angry that Minerva’s plan should be successful. Then she


### Book:took her staff, all encircled with thorny briars, wrapped herself in dark


### Book:clouds, and set forth. Wherever she went she trampled down the flowery


### Book:fields, withered up the grass, seared the treetops, and with her breath


### Book:tainted the peoples, their cities and their homes, until at length she came


### Book:to Athens, the home of wit and wealth, peaceful and prosperous. She


### Book:could scarcely refrain from weeping when she saw no cause for tears.


### Book:Then entering the chamber of Cecrop’s daughter, she carried out


### Book:Minerva’s orders. She touched the girl’s breast with a hand dipped in


### Book:malice, filled her heart with spiky thorns, and breathing in a black and


### Book:evil poison dispersed it through her very bones, instilling the venom deep


### Book:in her heart. That the reason for her distress might not be far to seek, she


### Book:set before Aglauros’ eyes a vision of her sister, of that sister’s fortunate


### Book:marriage [with the god Mercury], and of the god in all his


### Book:handsomeness; and she exaggerated the glory of it all. So Aglauros was


### Book:tormented by such thoughts, and the jealous anger she concealed ate into


### Book:her heart. Day and night she sighed, unceasingly wretched, and in her


### Book:utter misery wasted away in a slow decline, as when ice is melted by the


### Book:fitful sun. The fire that was kindled within her at the thought of her


### Book:sister’s luck and good fortune was like the burning of weeds which do not


### Book:burst into flames, but are none the less consumed by smoldering fire.


### Book:METAMORPHOSES, OVID, 43 B.C.-C. A.D. 18


### Book:Only a minority can succeed at the game of life, and that minority


### Book:inevitably arouses the envy of those around them. Once success happens


### Book:your way, however, the people to fear the most are those in your own


### Book:circle, the friends and acquaintances you have left behind. Feelings of


### Book:inferiority gnaw at them; the thought of your success only heightens their


### Book:feelings of stagnation. Envy, which the philosopher Kierkegaard calls


### Book:“unhappy admiration,” takes hold. You may not see it but you will feel it


### Book:someday—unless, that is, you learn strategies of deflection, little


### Book:sacrifices to the gods of success. Either dampen your brilliance


### Book:occasionally, purposefully revealing a defect, weakness, or anxiety, or


### Book:attributing your success to luck; or simply find yourself new friends.


### Book:Never underestimate the power of envy.


### Book:OBSERVANCE OF THE LAWThe merchant class and the craft guilds to which medieval Florence


### Book:owed its prosperity had created a republic that protected them from


### Book:oppression by the nobility. Since high office could only be held for a few


### Book:months, no one could gain lasting dominance, and although this meant


### Book:that the political factions struggled constantly for control, the system


### Book:kept out tyrants and petty dictators. The Medici family lived for several


### Book:centuries under this system without making much of a mark. They had


### Book:modest origins as apothecaries, and were typical middle-class citizens.


### Book:Not until the late fourteenth century, when Giovanni de’ Medici made a


### Book:modest fortune in banking, did they emerge as a force to be reckoned


### Book:with.


### Book:Upon Giovanni’s death, his son Cosimo took over the family business,


### Book:and quickly demonstrated his talent for it. The business prospered under


### Book:his control and the Medicis emerged as one of the preeminent banking


### Book:families of Europe. But they had a rival in Florence: Despite the city’s


### Book:republican system, one family, the Albizzis, had managed over the years


### Book:to monopolize control of the government, forging alliances that allowed


### Book:them to constantly fill important offices with their own men. Cosimo did


### Book:not fight this, and in fact gave the Albizzis his tacit support. At the same


### Book:time, while the Albizzis were beginning to flaunt their power, Cosimo


### Book:made a point of staying in the background.


### Book:Eventually, however, the Medici wealth could not be ignored, and in


### Book:1433, feeling threatened by the family, the Albizzis used their


### Book:government muscle to have Cosimo arrested on charges of conspiring to


### Book:overthrow the republic. Some in the Albizzi faction wanted Cosimo


### Book:executed, others feared this would spark a civil war. In the end they


### Book:exiled him from Florence. Cosimo did not fight the sentence; he left


### Book:quietly. Sometimes, he knew, it is wiser to bide one’s time and keep a


### Book:low profile.


### Book:Over the next year, the Albizzis began to stir up fears that they were


### Book:setting up a dictatorship. Meanwhile, Cosimo, using his wealth to


### Book:advantage, continued to exert influence on Florentine affairs, even from


### Book:exile. A civil war broke out in the city, and in September of 1434 the


### Book:Albizzis were toppled from power and sent into exile. Cosimo


### Book:immediately returned to Florence, his position restored. But he saw that


### Book:he now faced a delicate situation: If he seemed ambitious, as the Albizzis


### Book:had, he would stir up opposition and envy that would ultimately threaten


### Book:his business. If he stayed on the sidelines, on the other hand, he would


### Book:leave an opening for another faction to rise up as the Albizzis had, and to


### Book:punish the Medicis for their success.Cosimo solved the problem in two ways: He secretly used his wealth


### Book:to buy influence among key citizens, and he placed his own allies, all


### Book:cleverly enlisted from the middle classes to disguise their allegiance to


### Book:him, in top government positions. Those who complained of his growing


### Book:political clout were taxed into submission, or their properties were


### Book:bought out from under them by Cosimo’s banker allies. The republic


### Book:survived in name only. Cosimo held the strings.


### Book:While he worked behind the scenes to gain control, however, publicly


### Book:Cosimo presented another picture. When he walked through the streets


### Book:of Florence, he dressed modestly, was attended by no more than one


### Book:servant, and bowed deferentially to magistrates and elder citizens. He


### Book:rode a mule instead of a horse. He never spoke out on matters of public


### Book:import, even though he controlled Florence’s foreign affairs for over


### Book:thirty years. He gave money to charities and maintained his ties to


### Book:Florence’s merchant class. He financed all kinds of public buildings that


### Book:fed the Florentines’ pride in their city. When he built a palace for himself


### Book:and his family in nearby Fiesole, he turned down the ornate designs that


### Book:Brunelleschi had drawn up for him and instead chose a modest structure


### Book:designed by Michelozzo, a man of humble Florentine origins. The palace


### Book:was a symbol of Cosimo’s strategy—all simplicity on the outside, all


### Book:elegance and opulence within.


### Book:Cosimo finally died in 1464, after ruling for thirty years. The citizens


### Book:of Florence wanted to build him a great tomb, and to celebrate his


### Book:memory with elaborate funeral ceremonies, but on his deathbed he had


### Book:asked to be buried without “any pomp or demonstration.” Some sixty


### Book:years later, Machiavelli hailed Cosimo as the wisest of all princes, “for


### Book:he knew how extraordinary things that are seen and appear every hour


### Book:make men much more envied than those that are done in deed and are


### Book:covered over with decency.”


### Book:Interpretation


### Book:A close friend of Cosimo’s, the bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci, once


### Book:wrote of him, “And whenever he wished to achieve something, he saw to


### Book:it, in order to escape envy as much as possible, that the initiative


### Book:appeared to come from others, and not from him.” One of Cosimo’s


### Book:favorite expressions was, “Envy is a weed that should not be watered.”


### Book:Understanding the power envy has in a democratic environment, Cosimo


### Book:avoided the appearance of greatness. This does not mean that greatnessshould be suffocated, or that only the mediocre should survive; only that


### Book:a game of appearances must be played. The insidious envy of the masses


### Book:can actually be deflected quite easily: Appear as one of them in style and


### Book:values. Make alliances with those below you, and elevate them to


### Book:positions of power to secure their support in times of need. Never flaunt


### Book:your wealth, and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought


### Book:influence. Make a display of deferring to others, as if they were more


### Book:powerful than you. Cosimo de’ Medici perfected this game; he was a


### Book:consummate con artist of appearances. No one could gauge the extent of


### Book:his power—his modest exterior hid the truth.


### Book:Never be so foolish as to believe that you are stirring up admiration by


### Book:flaunting the qualities that raise you above others. By making others


### Book:aware of their inferior position, you are only stirring up “unhappy


### Book:admiration,” or envy, which will gnaw away at them until they


### Book:undermine you in ways you cannot foresee. The fool dares the gods of


### Book:envy by flaunting his victories. The master of power understands that the


### Book:appearance of superiority over others is inconsequential next to the


### Book:reality of it.


### Book:Of all the disorders of the soul, envy is the only one no one confesses to.


### Book:Plutarch, c. A.D 46-120


### Book:The envious hides as carefully as the secret, lustful sinner and becomes


### Book:the endless inventor of tricks and stratagems to hide and mask himself


### Book:Thus he is able to pretend to ignore the superiority of others which eats


### Book:up his heart, as ifhe did not see them, nor hear them, nor were aware of


### Book:them, nor had ever heard of them. He is a master simulator. On the other


### Book:hand he tries with all his power to connive and thus prevent any form of


### Book:superiority from appearing in any situation. And if they do, he casts on


### Book:them obscurity, hypercriticism, sarcasm and calumny like the toad that


### Book:spits poison from its hole. On the other hand he will raise endlessly


### Book:insignificant men, mediocre people, and even the inferior in the same


### Book:type of activities.


### Book:ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, 1788-1860


### Book:For not many men, the proverb says, can love a friend who fortune


### Book:prospers without feeling envy; and about the envious brain, cold poison


### Book:clings and doubles all the pain life brings him. His own woundings he


### Book:must nurse, and feels another’s gladness like a curse.


### Book:AESCHYLUS, c. 525-456 B.C.KEYS TO POWER


### Book:The human animal has a hard time dealing with feelings of inferiority. In


### Book:the face of superior skill, talent, or power, we are often disturbed and ill


### Book:at ease; this is because most of us have an inflated sense of ourselves,


### Book:and when we meet people who surpass us they make it clear to us that


### Book:we are in fact mediocre, or at least not as brilliant as we had thought.


### Book:This disturbance in our self-image cannot last long without stirring up


### Book:ugly emotions. At first we feel envy: If only we had the quality or skill of


### Book:the superior person, we would be happy. But envy brings us neither


### Book:comfort nor any closer to equality. Nor can we admit to feeling it, for it


### Book:is frowned upon socially—to show envy is to admit to feeling inferior.


### Book:To close friends, we may confess our secret unrealized desires, but we


### Book:will never confess to feeling envy. So it goes underground. We disguise


### Book:it in many ways, like finding grounds to criticize the person who makes


### Book:us feel it: He may be smarter than I am, we say, but he has no morals or


### Book:conscience. Or he may have more power, but that’s because he cheats. If


### Book:we do not slander him, perhaps we praise him excessively—another of


### Book:envy’s disguises.


### Book:There are several strategies for dealing with the insidious, destructive


### Book:emotion of envy. First, accept the fact that there will be people who will


### Book:surpass you in some way, and also the fact that you may envy them. But


### Book:make that feeling a way of pushing yourself to equal or surpass them


### Book:someday. Let envy turn inward and it poisons the soul; expel it outward


### Book:and it can move you to greater heights.


### Book:Second, understand that as you gain power, those below you will feel


### Book:envious of you. They may not show it but it is inevitable. Do not naively


### Book:accept the facade they show you—read between the lines of their


### Book:criticisms, their little sarcastic remarks, the signs of backstabbing, the


### Book:excessive praise that is preparing you for a fall, the resentful look in the


### Book:eye. Half the problem with envy comes when we do not recognize it until


### Book:it is too late.


### Book:Finally, expect that when people envy you they will work against you


### Book:insidiously. They will put obstacles in your path that you will not


### Book:foresee, or that you cannot trace to their source. It is hard to defend


### Book:yourself against this kind of attack. And by the time you realize that envy


### Book:is at the root of a person’s feelings about you, it is often too late: Your


### Book:excuses, your false humility, your defensive actions, only exacerbate the


### Book:problem. Since it is far easier to avoid creating envy in the first placethan to get rid of it once it is there, you should strategize to forestall it


### Book:before it grows. It is often your own actions that stir up envy, your own


### Book:unawareness. By becoming conscious of those actions and qualities that


### Book:create envy, you can take the teeth out of it before it nibbles you to death.


### Book:Kierkegaard believed that there are types of people who create envy,


### Book:and are as guilty when it arises as those who feel it. The most obvious


### Book:type we all know: The moment something good happens to them,


### Book:whether by luck or design, they crow about it. In fact they get pleasure


### Book:out of making people feel inferior. This type is obvious and beyond hope.


### Book:There are others, however, who stir up envy in more subtle and


### Book:unconscious ways, and are partly to blame for their troubles. Envy is


### Book:often a problem, for example, for people with great natural talent.


### Book:Sir Walter Raleigh was one of the most brilliant men at the court of


### Book:Queen Elizabeth of England. He had skills as a scientist, wrote poetry


### Book:still recognized as among the most beautiful writing of the time, was a


### Book:proven leader of men, an enterprising entrepreneur, a great sea captain,


### Book:and on top of all this was a handsome, dashing courtier who charmed his


### Book:way into becoming one of the queen’s favorites. Wherever he went,


### Book:however, people blocked his path. Eventually he suffered a terrific fall


### Book:from grace, leading even to prison and finally the executioner’s axe.


### Book:Raleigh could not understand the stubborn opposition he faced from


### Book:the other courtiers. He did not see that he had not only made no attempt


### Book:to disguise the degree of his skills and qualities, he had imposed them on


### Book:one and all, making a show of his versatility, thinking it impressed


### Book:people and won him friends. In fact it made him silent enemies, people


### Book:who felt inferior to him and did all they could to ruin him the moment he


### Book:tripped up or made the slightest mistake. In the end, the reason he was


### Book:executed was treason, but envy will use any cover it finds to mask its


### Book:destructiveness.


### Book:The envy elicited by Sir Walter Raleigh is the worst kind: It was


### Book:inspired by his natural talent and grace, which he felt was best displayed


### Book:in its full flower. Money others can attain; power as well. But superior


### Book:intelligence, good looks, charm—these are qualities no one can acquire.


### Book:The naturally perfect have to work the most to disguise their brilliance,


### Book:displaying a defect or two to deflect envy before it takes root. It is a


### Book:common and naive mistake to think you are charming people with your


### Book:natural talents when in fact they are coming to hate you.


### Book:JOSEPH AND HIS COATNow Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was


### Book:the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors…. And his


### Book:brothers envied him…. And when they saw him afar off, they conspired


### Book:against him to slay him. And now they said to one another, “Behold, this


### Book:dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him


### Book:into some pit, and we shall say, some evil beast hath devoured him; and


### Book:we shall see what will become of his dreams”


### Book:OLD TESTAMENT, GENESIS 37:3—20


### Book:THE TRAGEDY OF THE TOMB


### Book:[When Pope Julius first saw Michelangelo’s design for his tomb] it


### Book:pleased him so much that he at once sent him to Carrara to quarry the


### Book:necessary marbles, instructing Alamanno Salviati, of Florence, to pay


### Book:him a thousand ducats for this purpose. Michelangelo stayed in these


### Book:mountains more than eight months with two workmen and his horse, and


### Book:without any other provision except food…. Enough marbles quarried and


### Book:chosen, he took them to the sea-coast, and left one of his men to have


### Book:them embarked. He himself returned to Rome.


### Book:… The quantity of marbles was immense, so that, spread over the piazza,


### Book:they were the admiration of all and a joy to the pope, who heaped


### Book:immeasurable favors upon Michelangelo: and when he began to work


### Book:upon them again and again went to see him at his house, and talked to


### Book:him about the tomb and other things as with his own brother. And in


### Book:order that he might more easily go to him, the pope ordered that a


### Book:drawbridge should be thrown across from the Corridore to the rooms of


### Book:Michelangelo, by which he might visit him in private.


### Book:These many and frequent favors were the cause (as often is the case at


### Book:court) of much envy, and, after the envy, of endless persecution, since


### Book:Bramante, the architect, who was loved by the pope, made him change


### Book:his mind as to the monument by telling him, as is said by the vulgar, that


### Book:it is unlucky to build one’s tomb in one’s lifetime, and other tales. Fear as


### Book:well as envy stimulated Bramante, for the judgment of Michelangelo had


### Book:exposed many of his errors…. Now because he had no doubt that


### Book:Michelangelo knew these errors of his, he always sought to remove him


### Book:from Rome, or, at least, to deprive him of the favor of the pope, and of


### Book:the glory and usefulness that he might have acquired by his industry. He


### Book:succeeded in the matter of the tomb. There is no doubt that if


### Book:Michelangelo had been allowed to finish it, according to his first design,having so large a field in which to show his worth, no other artist,


### Book:however celebrated (be it said without envy) could have wrested from


### Book:him the high place he would have held.


### Book:VITA DI MICHELANGELO, ASCANIO CONDIVI, 1553


### Book:A great danger in the realm of power is the sudden improvement in


### Book:fortune—an unexpected promotion, a victory or success that seems to


### Book:come out of nowhere. This is sure to stir up envy among your former


### Book:peers.


### Book:When Archbishop de Retz was promoted to the rank of cardinal, in


### Book:1651, he knew full well that many of his former colleagues envied him.


### Book:Understanding the foolishness of alienating those below him, de Retz did


### Book:everything he could to downplay his merit and emphasize the role of


### Book:luck in his success. To put people at ease, he acted humbly and


### Book:deferentially, as if nothing had changed. (In reality, of course, he now


### Book:had much more power than before.) He wrote that these wise policies


### Book:“produced a good effect, by lessening the envy which was conceived


### Book:against me, which is the greatest of all secrets.” Follow de Retz’s


### Book:example. Subtly emphasize how lucky you have been, to make your


### Book:happiness seem more attainable to other people, and the need for envy


### Book:less acute. But be careful not to affect a false modesty that people can


### Book:easily see through. This will only make them more envious. The act has


### Book:to be good; your humility, and your openness to those you have left


### Book:behind, have to seem genuine. Any hint of insincerity will only make


### Book:your new status more oppressive. Remember: Despite your elevated


### Book:position, it will do you no good to alienate your former peers. Power


### Book:requires a wide and solid support base, which envy can silently destroy.


### Book:Political power of any kind creates envy, and one of the best ways to


### Book:deflect it before it takes root is to seem unambitious. When Ivan the


### Book:Terrible died, Boris Godunov knew he was the only one on the scene


### Book:who could lead Russia. But if he sought the position eagerly, he would


### Book:stir up envy and suspicion among the boyars, so he refused the crown,


### Book:not once but several times. He made people insist that he take the throne.


### Book:George Washington used the same strategy to great effect, first in


### Book:refusing to keep the position of Commander in Chief of the American


### Book:army, second in resisting the presidency. In both cases he made himself


### Book:more popular than ever. People cannot envy the power that they


### Book:themselves have given a person who does not seem to desire it.


### Book:According to the Elizabethan statesman and writer Sir Francis Bacon,


### Book:the wisest policy of the powerful is to create a kind of pity forthemselves, as if their responsibilities were a burden and a sacrifice.


### Book:How can one envy a man who has taken on a heavy load for the public


### Book:interest? Disguise your power as a kind of self-sacrifice rather than a


### Book:source of happiness and you make it seem less enviable. Emphasize your


### Book:troubles and you turn a potential danger (envy) into a source of moral


### Book:support (pity). A similar ploy is to hint that your good fortune will


### Book:benefit those around you. To do this you may need to open your purse


### Book:strings, like Cimon, a wealthy general in ancient Athens who gave


### Book:lavishly in all kinds of ways to prevent people from resenting the


### Book:influence he had bought in Athenian politics. He paid a high price to


### Book:deflect their envy, but in the end it saved him from ostracism and


### Book:banishment from the city.


### Book:The painter J. M. W. Turner devised another way of giving to deflect


### Book:the envy of his fellow artists, which he recognized as his greatest


### Book:obstacle to his success. Noticing that his incomparable color skills made


### Book:them afraid to hang their paintings next to his in exhibitions, he realized


### Book:that their fear would turn to envy, and would eventually make it harder


### Book:for him to find galleries to show in. On occasion, then, Turner is known


### Book:to have temporarily dampened the colors in his paintings with soot to


### Book:earn him the goodwill of his colleagues.


### Book:To deflect envy, Gracian recommends that the powerful display a


### Book:weakness, a minor social indiscretion, a harmless vice. Give those who


### Book:envy you something to feed on, distracting them from your more


### Book:important sins. Remember: It is the reality that matters. You may have to


### Book:play games with appearances, but in the end you will have what counts:


### Book:true power. In some Arab countries, a man will avoid arousing envy by


### Book:doing as Cosimo de Medici did by showing his wealth only on the inside


### Book:of his house. Apply this wisdom to your own character.


### Book:Beware of some of envy’s disguises. Excessive praise is an almost


### Book:sure sign that the person praising you envies you; they are either setting


### Book:you up for a fall—it will be impossible for you to live up to their praise


### Book:—or they are sharpening their blades behind your back. At the same


### Book:time, those who are hypercritical of you, or who slander you publicly,


### Book:probably envy you as well. Recognize their behavior as disguised envy


### Book:and you keep out of the trap of mutual mud-slinging, or of taking their


### Book:criticisms to heart. Win your revenge by ignoring their measly presence.


### Book:Do not try to help or do favors for those who envy you; they will think


### Book:you are condescending to them. Joe Orton’s attempt to help Halliwell


### Book:find a gallery for his work only intensified his lover’s feelings of


### Book:inferiority and envy. Once envy reveals itself for what it is, the onlysolution is often to flee the presence of the enviers, leaving them to stew


### Book:in a hell of their own creation.


### Book:Finally, be aware that some environments are more conducive to envy


### Book:than others. The effects of envy are more serious among colleagues and


### Book:peers, where there is a veneer of equality. Envy is also destructive in


### Book:democratic environments where overt displays of power are looked


### Book:down upon. Be extrasensitive in such environments. The filmmaker


### Book:Ingmar Bergman was hounded by Swedish tax authorities because he


### Book:stood out in a country where standing out from the crowd is frowned on.


### Book:It is almost impossible to avoid envy in such cases, and there is little you


### Book:can do but accept it graciously and take none of it personally. As


### Book:Thoreau once said, “Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay.”


### Book:Did ever anybody seriously confess to envy? Something there is in it


### Book:universally felt to be more shameful than even felonious crime. And not


### Book:only does everybody disown it, but the better sort are inclined to


### Book:incredulity when it is in earnest imputed to an intelligent man. But since


### Book:lodgment is in the heart not the brain, no degree of intellect supplies a


### Book:guarantee against it.


### Book:BILLY BUDD, HERMAN MELVILLE, 1819-1891


### Book:Image: A Garden of Weeds. You may not


### Book:feed them but they spread as you water


### Book:the garden. You may not see how, but


### Book:they take over, tall and ugly, pre


### Book:venting anything beautiful from


### Book:flourishing. Before it is too late,


### Book:do not water indiscrimi


### Book:nately. Destroy the weeds


### Book:of envy by giving them


### Book:nothing to feed on.


### Book:Authority: Upon occasion, reveal a harmless defect in your character. For


### Book:the envious accuse the most perfect of sinning by having no sins. They


### Book:become an Argus, all eyes for finding fault with excellence—it is their


### Book:only consolation. Do not let envy burst with its own venom—affect some


### Book:lapse in valor or intellect, so as to disarm it beforehand. You thus wave


### Book:your red cape before the Horns of Envy, in order to save your


### Book:immortality. (Baltasar Gracian, 1601-1658)


### Book:Know how to triumph over envy and malice. Here contempt, although


### Book:prudent, counts, indeed, for little; magnanimity is better. A good word


### Book:concerning one who speaks evil of you cannot be praised too highly:there is no revenge more heroic than that brought about by those merits


### Book:and attainments which frustrate and torment the envious. Every stroke of


### Book:good fortune is a further twist of the rope round the neck of the ill-


### Book:disposed and the heaven of the envied is hell for the envious. To convert


### Book:your good fortune into poison for your enemies is held to be the most


### Book:severe punishment you can inflict on them. The envious man dies not


### Book:only once but as many times as the person he envies lives to hear the


### Book:voice of praise; the eternity of the latter’s fame is the measure of the


### Book:former’s punishment: the one is immortal in his glory, the latter in his


### Book:misery. The trumpet of fame which sounds immortality for the one


### Book:heralds death for the other, who is sentenced to be choked to death on his


### Book:own envy.


### Book:BALTASAR GRACIÁN, 1601-1658


### Book:REVERSAL


### Book:The reason for being careful with the envious is that they are so indirect,


### Book:and will find innumerable ways to undermine you. But treading carefully


### Book:around them will often only make their envy worse. They sense that you


### Book:are being cautious, and it registers as yet another sign of your superiority.


### Book:That is why you must act before envy takes root.


### Book:Once envy is there, however, whether through your fault or not, it is


### Book:sometimes best to affect the opposite approach: Display the utmost


### Book:disdain for those who envy you. Instead of hiding your perfection, make


### Book:it obvious. Make every new triumph an opportunity to make the envious


### Book:squirm. Your good fortune and power become their living hell. If you


### Book:attain a position of unimpeachable power, their envy will have no effect