The 48 Laws Of Power

most

spirited

courtesanofthetimeandher

presence

hadbeen

greatly

missed.

Ninon’s

followers

quickly

discovered,however,

thatshehad

changed

herold

way

of

doingthings,

andhadset

up

a

new

system

of

options.

The

dukes,

seigneurs,

and

princes

whowantedto

pay

forherservicescould

continuetodo

so,

but

they

wereno

longer

incontrol-—shewould

sleep

withthemwhenshe

wanted,

according

toherwhim. Alltheir

money

bought

themwasa

possibility.

Ifitwasher

pleasure

to

sleep

withthem

only

oncea

month,

sobe

it.

ThosewhodidnotwanttobewhatNinoncalleda

payeur

could

join

the

large

and

growing

group

ofmenshecalledher

martyrs--men

whovis—

itedher

apartmentprincipally

forher

friendship,

her

biting

wit,

herlute-

playing,

and the

company

of themost vibrantminds ofthe

period,

including

Moliere,

La

Rochefoucauld,

and

Saint~Evremond.The

martyrs,

too,however,

entertaineda

possibility:

Shewould

regularly

selectfrom

thema

fiwori,

amanwhowouldbecomeherloverwithout

having

to

pay,

andtowhomshewouldabandonherself

completely

foras

long

assheso

desired-—«a

week,

afew

months,

rarelylonger.

A

payeur

couldnotbecomea

favori,

buta

martyr

hadno

guarantee

of

becoming

one,

andindeedcould

remain

disappointed

for

anentirelifetime.

The

poet

Charleval,

forexamv

pie,

never

enjoyed

Ninon’s

favors,

butnever

stopped

coming

tovisit--he

didnotwanttodowithouther

company.

Aswordofthis

system

reached

polite

French

society,

Ninonbecame

the

object

of

intense

hostility.

Herreversalofthe

position

ofthecourtesan

scandalizedthe

queen

mother

andher

court.Muchtotheir

horror,

how-

ever,

itdidnot

discourage

hermalesuitors—indeedit

only

increasedtheir

numbersandintensifiedtheirdesire,Itbecameanhonortobea

payeur,

helping

Ninontomaintainher

lifestyle

andher

glittering

salon,

accompa-

nying

hersometimestothe

theater,

and

sleeping

with

her

whenshechose.

Evenmore

distinguished

were

the

martyrs,enjoying

her

company

without

paying

foritand

maintaining

the

hope,

however

remote,

ofsome

day

be-

coming

her

fizvorz‘.

That

possibilityspurred

on

many

a

young

nobleman,

as

word

spread

thatnone

among

thecourtesanscould

surpass

Ninoninthe

artoflove.

Andsothemarriedandthe

single,

theoldandthe

young,

en-

teredherwebandchoseoneofthetwo

optionspresented

to

them,

bothof

which

amply

satisfiedher.

Interpretation

Thelifeofthecourtesan

entailedthe

possibility

ofa

power

thatwasdenied

amarried

woman,

butitalsohadobvious

perils.

The

man

who

paid

for

the

courtesaxfsservicesinessenceowned

her,

determining

whenhecould

pos-

sessherand

when,

later

on,

hewouldabandonher.Asshe

grew

older,

her

options

narrowed,

asfewermenchoseher.Toavoidalifeof

poverty

she

hadtoamassher

fortunewhileshewas

young.

Thecourtesan’s

legendary

greed,

then,

reflecteda

practicalnecessity,yet

alsolessenedher

allure,

sincetheillusionof

being

desiredis

important

to

men,

whoareoftenalien-

dcrcd.

"Surelyyou

reiziember?Youowe

me:1

pmo}"gr>Id.

andI

havecomeIn

collectit.

"

“Youare

a

perferr

liar,

sir/"exclaimedthe

king.

“Iowe

you

no

money!

"

“A

perfect

liar,

umI?

”

saidthe

poor

man.

“Than

give

methe

goldenappl::.’"

The

king.realizing

that

themanwas

trying

to

Nickhim.started

to

hedge

“No,

no.’Yz>uareno!bi

Har!”

“Then

gwc

methe

pot

ofgmldyou

owe

me,

sire"saidtheman.

The

king

.\'(lWthe

dilemma.Hehanded

overthe

golden

apple.

AmtesznxnFOLK-TALES

ANDi~ABi.es,

Rrvrou)

BY

CH/\Rl,ESDowmszo.

1993

LAW3} $15