The 48 Laws Of Power

182 LAW'24

MasterYourEmotions.As

an

actor

ina

greatplay,you

mustlearnto

cry

and

laugh

oncommandandwhenitis

appropriate.

Youmustbeableboth

to

disguise

youranger

andfrustrationandtofake

your

contentmentand

agreement.

Youmustbethemasterof

your

ownface,Callit

lying

if

you

like;

butif

youprefer

tonot

play

the

game

andto

always

behonestand

up-

front,

donot

complain

whenotherscall

you

obnoxiousand

arrogant.

Fitthe

Spirit

ofthe Tunes. A

slight

affectationofa

past

eracanbe

charming,

as

long

as

you

choosea

period

atleast

twentyyears

back;

wear-

ing

the

fashionsoften

yearsago

is

ludicrous,

unless

youenjoy

theroleof

court

jester.

Your

spirit

and

way

of

thinking

must

keepup

with

the

times,

evenifthetimesoffend

your

sensibilities.Betoo

forward-thinking,

how-

ever,

andnoonewillunderstand

you.

Itisnevera

good

ideatostandout

toomuchinthis

area;

you

arebestoffatleast

being

abletomimicthe

spirit

ofthetimes.

BeaSourceofPleasure.

Thisis

critical.Itisanobviouslawofhuman

naturethatwewillfleewhatis

unpleasant

and

distasteful,

whilecharmand

the

promise

of

delight

willdrawuslikemothstoaflame.Make

yourself

the

flameand

you

willrisetothe

top.

Sincelifeisotherwisesofullof

unpleas-

antnessand

pleasure

so

scarce,

you

willbeas

indispensable

as

food

and

drink.This

may

seem

obvious,

butwhatisobviousisoften

ignored

orun-

appreciabed.

Thereare

degrees

tothis:Not

everyone

can

play

theroleof

favorite,

fornot

everyone

isblessedwithcharmandwit.Butwecanall

control

our

unpleasantqualities

and

obscurethemwhen

necessary.

Amanwhoknowsthecourtismaster

of

his

gestures,qfhiseyes

and

of

his

face;

heis

pmjrmml,imfienetrable;

hrdiisimulatesbad

offices,

smilesathis

enemies,

amtmlshis

inflation,

disguises

his

passions,

belieshis

heart,

speaks

andacts

against

his

feelings.

jam

deLa

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SCENESOFCOURT

LlFE:

Exemplary

Deedsand

FatalMistakes

Scene 1

Alexanderthe

Great,

conqueror

oftheMediterraneanbasinandtheMid-

dleEast

through

to

India,

had hadthe

great

Aristotleashistutorandmen-

tor,

and

throughout

hisshortlifehe

remaineddevoted

to

philosophy

and

his

master’s

teachings.

Heonce

complained

to

Aristotle

that

during

his

longcampaigns

hehadnoone

with

whomhecoulddiscuss

philosophical

matters.Aristotle

respondedby

suggesting

thathetake

Callisthenes,

a

for-

mer

pupil

ofAristotle’sanda

promising

philosopher

inhisown

right,

along

onthenext

campaign.

AristotlehadschooledCallisthenesintheskillsof

being

a

courtier,

but