The 48 Laws Of Power

heading

in,

they

neverknewifhewouldattackfromtheleftor

the

right,

for

hedividedhis
army

intotwo

wings--and

iftherebelsretreatedfromone

wingthey

foundthemselves

facing

theother.Thisisaclassictrial

lawyer’s

technique:

The

lawyer

leadsthewitnessestodecidebetweentwo

possible

explanations

ofan

event,

bothofwhich

poke

aholeintheir

story.They

havetoanswerthe

lawyer’squestions,

butwhatever

theysaythey

hurt

themselves.The

key

tothismoveisto

strike

quickly:Deny

thevictimthe

timetothinkofan
escape.

As

theywriggle

betweenthehornsofthe

dilemma,

theydig

theirown

grave.

Understand:
In

yourstruggles

with

your

rivals,

itwilloftenbe

necessary

for
you

tohurtthem.Andif

you

are

clearly

the

agent

oftheir

punishment,

expect

a

counterat1ack——expectrevenge.

If,however,

they

seemtothem-

selaestobethe

agents

oftheirown

misfortune,

they

willsubmit

quietly.

WhenIvanleftMoscowforhisrural

village,

thecitizens

asking

himtore-

turn

agreed

tohisdemandforabsolute

power.

Overthe

years

to

come,

they

resentedhimlessfortheterrorheunleashedonthe

country,

because,

alterall,

they

had

granted

himhis

power

themselves.This

is

why

itisal

waysgood

toallow

your

victimstheirchoiceof

poison,

andtocloak

your

involvementin
providing

ittothemasfaras

possible.

Image:

The Horns of

the Bull. The bull

backs

you

intothecor»

nerwithits homs—~not

a

single

horn,

which

you

might

be abletoes-

cape,

buta

pair

ofhorns

that

trapyou

withintheir

hold.Run

right

orrun

lefl—either

w

a

y y

ou

moveintotheir

piercing

ends and are

gored.

Authority:

Forthewoundsand

every

otherevilthatmeninllict

upon

them-

selves

spontaneously,

andoftheirown

choice,

areinthe

long

runless

painful

than

thoseinflicted

by

others.

(Niccolo

Machiavelli,140'9—~1527)

LAW

3]

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