The 48 Laws Of Power

Themanwhointend;

[0make1111.:

fortune

in

thisanciem

capfmlof

theworld

[Rome]

mam

beachameleon
.m.s'cep-

rible

ofreflecting

the

colors

afthe

azmo~

sphere

thatmrrnunzls

him—-(1Proteus

apt

to

assume

everyfomz,

everyshape.

Hemust

be

supple,

flexible,

insinuating,

close,

inscrutable,

often

base,

sometimes

sincere.

somesimes

perfidious,

alwaysconcealing

a

par!of

his

knowledge,

indulging

inbutone

tone

of

voice,

patient,

a

perfect

master

ofhis

UWII

COIJIUEHGIICE’,

05‘

coldaticewhen

any

othermanwouldbeall

fire;

and

ifunforzw

rrdtely
heisnot
religious

atheart—a

very

commonoccurrence

for

asoul

possessing

theabove

requisites-

hemusthave

religion

inhis

mind,

thatisto

Say,

onhis

face,

onhis

lips,

inhis

manners;

he

must

sufferquie1l_v,if

he beanhonest

man,

the

necessityofknow-

inghimself

anarmnz

hypocrite.

Theman

whoxesou!would

loathesucha

life

shouldleaveRomeand

seekhis

fortune

else-

where.Idonotknow

whetherIam

praising

or

excusingmyself’,

but

of

allthose

quahtiex

I

possesred

butone-

namely,flexibility.

MEMOIRS,

GIOVANNI

CASANOVA,

17254798

192 LAW 25

OBSERVANCEOFTHELAWI

Julius

Caesarmadehisfirst

significant

markonRoman

society

in 65

B.C.,

whenheassumedthe

post

of

aedile,

theofficialin

charge

of

grain

distribu-

tionand

publicgames.

He

began

hisentranceintothe

public

eyebyorga~

nizing

aseriesof

carefully

craftedandwell~timed

spectac|es——wi1d—beast

hunts,

extravagantgladiator

shows,

theatricalcontests.Onseveralocca-

sions,

he

paid

forthese

spectacles

out

of

his

own

pocket.

Tothecommon

man,

Julius

Caesarbecame

indelibly

associatedwiththesemuclrloved

events.Ashe

slowly

rosetoattainthe

position

of

consul,

his

popularity

among

themassesservedasthefoundationofhis

power.

Hehadcreated

an

image

ofhimselfasa

greatpublic

showman.

In 49

B.C.,

Romewasonthe

brinkof

a

civilwarbetweenrival

leaders,

Caesarand

Pompey.

Atthe

height

ofthe

tension,Caesar,

anaddictofthe

stage,

attendedatheatrical

performance,

and

afterward,

lostin

thought,

he

wanderedinthedarknessbacktohis

camp

atthe

Rubicon,

therivetthat

divides

Italy

from

Gaul,

wherehehadbeen

campaigning.

Tomarchhis

army

backinto

Italy

acrosstheRubiconwould

meanthe

beginning

ofa

warwith

Pompey.

BeforehisstaffCaesar

argued

both

sides,

forming

the

options

likean

actoron

stage,

a.

precursor

ofHamlet.

Finally,

to

put

his

soliloquy

toan

end,

he

pointed

toa

seemingly

innocent

appaxition

atthe

edge

ofthe

river——a

very

tallsoldier

blasting

a

callona

trumpet,

then

going

across

a

bridge

overtheRubicon————a.nd

pronounced,

“Letus

accept

thisasa

sign

fromtheGodsandfollowwhere

they

beckon,

in

vengeance

onourdouble»

dealing

enemies.Thedieiscast.”Allofthishe

spokeportentously

anddra-

matically,gesturing

towardtheriverand

looking

his

generals

inthe

eye.

Heknewthatthese

generals

wereuncertainintheir

support,

buthisora-

tory

overwhelmedthemwithasenseofthedramaofthe

moment,

andof

theneedtoseizethetime.Amore

prosaicspeech

wouldneverhavehad

thesameeffect.The

generals

ralliedtohis

cause;

Caesarandhis

army

crossedtheRubiconand

by

the

followingyear

had

vanquishedPompey,

making

CaesardictatorofRome.

In

warfare,

Caesar

alwaysplayed

the

leading

manwith

gusto.

Hewas

asskilledahorsemanas

any

ofhis

soldiers,

andtook

pride

in

outdoing

theminfeatsof

bravery

andendurance,He enteredbattleastzidethe

strongest

mount,

sothathissoldierswouldseehiminthe

thick

of

battle,

urging

them

on,

alwayspositioning

himselfinthe

center,

a

godlikesymbol

of

power

andamodelforthemtofollow,

Of

allthe

armies

in

Rome,

Cae-

sar’swasthemostdevotedand

loyal.

His

soldiers,

likethecommon

people

whohadattendedhis

entertainments,

hadcometo

identify

withhimand

withhiscause.

Afterthedefeatof

Pompey,

the

entertainments

grew

inscale.

Nothing

likethemhadeverbeenseeninRome.

Thechariotracesbecamemore

spectacular,

the

gladiatorfights

more

dramatic,

asCaesar

stagedfights

to

thedeath

among

theRoman

nobility.

He

organized

enormousmocknaval

battlesonanartificiallake.

Plays

were

performed

in

every

Romanward.A