The 48 Laws Of Power

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way,bybeilzgpolite

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peopleplirzlilc

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even

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ARTHUR

S(‘ll()PFNHAUl:R,

1788-1860

130 LAW 23

themore

suspicion

you

cause.Youalsostir

up

enough

envy

among

your

peers

toinduce

treachery

and

backstabbing.

Be

careful,

everso

careful,

in

trumpetingyour

own

achievements,

and

always

talklessabout

yourself

thanaboutother

people.Modesty

is

generallypreferable.

PracticeNonchalance.Neverseemtobe

working

toohard.Yourtalent

must

appear

toflow

naturally,

withaneasethatmakes

people

take

you

for

a

genius

ratherthanaworkaholic.Evenwhen

something

demandsalotof

sweat,

makeitlook

effortless——peopleprefer

tonotsee

your

bloodand

toil,

whichisanotherform

of

ostentation.

It

isbetterforthemtomarvel

at

how

gracefullyyou

haveachieved

youraccomplishment

thantowonder

why

it

tooksomuchwork.

Be

Frugal

with

Flattery.

It

may

seemthat

yoursuperiors

cannot

get

enoughflattery,

buttoomuchofeven

a

goodthing

losesitsvalue.Italso

stirs

upsuspicionamongyourpeers.

Learntoflatter

indirectly—by

down-

playingyour

own

contribution,

for

example,

tomake

your

masterlookbet-

ter.

Arrange

toBeNoticed.There

is

a.

paradox:

Youcannot

displayyourself

too

brazenly,yetyou

mustalso

getyourself

noticed.InthecourtofLouis

XIV,

whoeverthe

king

decidedtolookatrose

instantly

inthecourthierar-

chy.

Youstandnochanceof

rising

iftherulerdoesnotnotice

you

inthe

swamp

ofcourtiers.

This

task

requires

much

art.It

isoften

initially

amatter

of

being

seen,

intheliteralsense.

Pay

attentionto

yourphysicalappear-

ance,then,

andfinda

way

tocreateadis1inctive—-a

subtlydistinctive-style

and

image.

AlterYour

Style

and

LanguageAccording

tothe

Person

YouAre

Dealing

With.

The

pseudo-belief

in

equa.lity——the

ideathat

talking

and

acting

thesame

way

with

everyone,

nomatterwhattheir

rank,

makes

you

somehowa

paragon

ofcivilization—isaterriblemistake.Thosebelow

you

willtakeitasaformof

condescension,

whichit

is,

andthoseabove

you

will

be

ofiended,

althoughtheymay

notadmitit.Youmust

changeyourstyle

and

yourway

of

speaking

tosuiteach

person.

Thisisnot

lying,

it

is

acting,

and

acting

isan

art,

nota

gift

fromGod.Learntheart.Thisisalsotruefor

the

greatvariety

ofculturesfoundinthemoderncourt:Neverassumethat

your

criteria

ofbehaviorand

judgment

areuniversal.Not

only

isaninabil-

ity

to

adapt

toanother

culture

the

height

of

barbarism,

it

putsyou

atadis-

advantage.

NeverBetheBearerofBadNews. The

king

killsthe

messenger

who

brings

badnews:Thisisaclichebutthereistruthtoit.Youmust

struggle

andif

necessary

lieandcheattobesurethatthelotofthebearerofbad

newsfallson

a

colleague,

never

on

you.Bringonlygood

news

and

your

approach

will

gladden

your

master.