probably
findthatallofthemhavesome
application,
andthatinfact
they
areinterrelated.
Bygetting
anoverviewoftheentire
subject
you
willbest
beabletoevaluate
your
own
past
actionsand
gain
a
greaterdegree
ofcon-
trolover
your
immediateaffairs.A
thoroughreading
ofthebookwillin»
spirethinking
andreevaluation
long
after
you
finishit.
Thebookhasalsobeen
designed
for
browsing
andfor
examining
the
lawthatseemsatthat
particular
momentmost
pertinent
to
you.
Sayyou
are
experiencingproblems
witha
superior
andcannotunderstand
why
your
effortshavenotleadtomore
gratitude
ora
promotion.
Severallaws
specifically
address
the
master-underlingrelationship,
and
you
are
almost
certainlytransgressing
oneofthem.
Bybrowsing
theinitial
paragraphs
for
the 48 lawsinthetableof
contents,
you
can
identify
the
pertinent
law.
Finally,
the
bookcanbe
browsed
through
and
pickedapart
forenter-
tainrnent.
foran
enjoyable
ride
through
thefoiblesand
great
deedsofour
predecessors
in
power.
A
warning,
however,
tothosewhouse
the
bookfor
this
purpose:
It
might
bebettertotumback.Poweris
endlessly
seductive
and
deceptive
initsown
way.
Itisa
1abyrinth—your
mindbecomescon-
sumedwith
solving
ifsinfinite
problems,
and
you
soonrealizehow
pleas-
antly
lost
you
havebecome.Inother
words,
itbecomesmost
amusingby
taking
it
seriously.
Donotbefrivolouswithsuchacriticalmatter.The
gods
of
power
frownonthe
frivolous;
theygive
ultimatesatisfaction
only
to
thosewho
study
and
reflect,
and
punish
thosewhoskimthesurfaceslook-
ing
fora
good
time.
Any
manwhotriestobe
good
allthe
time
isboundto
cometoruin
among
the
great
number
whoarenot
good.
Hence:2
prince
whowants
to
keep
his
authority
must[mmhownot tobe
good,
andusethat
knowledge,
or
rgfiain wing
it,
as
necessityrequires.
THE
PRINCE,
Niu.-011)
Machiavelli,
7469- 7527
PREFACE cmciii