The 48 Laws Of Power

When

you

letthisinformation

out,

yougivepeople

ideas

they

canuse

againstyou.

Youlosethe

advantages

of

keeping

silent.

Wetendtowantthe

worldto

know

whatwehavedone--wewantour

vanitygratifiedby

hay»

ing

ourhardworkandcleverness

applauded,

andwe

may

evenwant

sym—

pathy

forthehoursithastakentoreachour

point

of

artistry.

Learnto

controlthis

propensity

to

blab,

foritseffectisoftenthe

opposite

ofwhat

youexpected.

Remember:Themore

mystery

surrounds

your

actions,

the

moreawesome

yourpower

seems,You

appear

tobethe

only

onewhocan

dowhat

you

do--andthe

appearance

of

having

anexclusive isim-

mensely

powerful. Finally,

because

you

achieve

your

accomplishments

with

grace

and

ease,

people

believethat

you

could

always

domoreif

you

triedharder.Thiselicitsnot

only

admirationbutatouchoffear.Your

pow-

ersare

untapped-——no

onecanfathomtheirlimits.

Image:

TheRacehorse.From

up

closewewouldseethe

strain,

theefforttocontrolthe

horse,

the

labored,

painful

breathing.

Butfromthedistancewherewesitand

watch,

it

isall

gracefulness,flyingthrough

theair.

Keep

othersata

distanceand

they

will

only

seetheeasewithwhich

you

move.

Authority:

Forwhateveraction

[nonchalance]

accompanies,

no

matterhowtrivialit

is,

itnot

only

revealstheskillofthe

person

doing

itbutalso

very

oftencausesittobeconsideredfar

greater

thanit

really

is.Thisisbecauseit

makes

theonlookersbelievethat

aman

who

performs

well

withso

much

faxsility

must

possess

even

greater

skillthanhedoes.

(BaldassareCastiglione, 14784529)

REVERSAL

The

secrecy

withwhich

you

surround

your

azztionsmustseem

lighthearted

in

spirit.

Azealtoconceal

your

workcreatesan

unpleasant,

almost

para-

noiar:

impression:you

are

taking

the

game

too

seriously.

Houdiniwascare»

fulto

make

theconcealmentofhistricksseem

a

game,

all

part

of

theshow.

Nevershow

your

workuntilitis

finished,

butif

youput

toomucheffort

into

keeping

itunder

wrapsyou

willbelikethe

painter

Pontormo,

who

spent

thelast

years

ofhislife

hiding

hisfrescoesfromthe

public

eye

and

only

succeeded

in

driving

himselfmad.

Alwayskeepyour

senseofhumor

about

yourself.

Therearealsotimeswhen

revealing

theinner

workings

of

yourpm

jects

can

prove

worthwhile.Itall

depends

on

your

andience’s

taste,

andon

252
—
LAW 30