The 48 Laws Of Power

TRANSGRESSIONOFTHELAW

Inthe
mid—ninth
century
A.l.).,

a

young

man

namedMichaelIII

assumed

thethroneofthe

ByzantineEmpire.

His

mother,

the

Empress

Theodora,

hadbeenbanishedtoa
nunnery,

andher

lover,Theoctistus,

hadbeenmur-

dered;
attheheadofthe

conspiracy

to

depose

Theodoraandenthrone

Michael
hadbeen
Michael’s

uncle,Bardas,

aman

of

intelligence

anda:mbi~

tion.
Michaelwasnowa

young,inexperienced

ruler,

surrounded

by

in»

triguers,

murderers,

and

profligates.

In this time of

peril

he needed

someonehecouldtrustashis
councillor,
andhis

thoughts

turnedtoBasil~

ius,

hisbestfriend.Basiliushadno

experience

whatsoeverin

government

and
politics——-in
fact,

hewastheheadof

the

royal

stables——buIhehad

proven

hisloveand

gratitude

timeand

again.

They

hadmetafew

years

before,

whenMichael

hadbeen

visiting

the

stables
just

asawildhorse

got

loose.

Basilius,

a.

younggroom

from

peasant

Macedonian

stock,

hadsavedMichael’slife.The

gmom’sstrength

and

courage

had

impressed

Michael,

who

immediately

raisedBasiliusfromthe

obscurity

of

being

a

horsetrainertothe

position

ofheadof

thestables.He

loadedhis
friend
with

gifts

andfavors

and

they

became

inseparable.

Basil-

iuswassenttothefinestschoolin

Byzantium,

andthecrude

peasant

be—

cameaculturedand

sophisticated

courtier.

Now

Michaelwas

emperor,

andinneedofsomeone

loyal.

Whocould

hebettertrustwiththe
post

ofchamberlain

andchiefcouncillor

than

a

young

manwhoowedhim

everything?

Basiliuscouldbetrainedforthe

job

andMichaellovedhimlikea

brother.

Ignoring

theadviceofthosewhorecommendedthemuchmore

qualified

Bardas,

Michaelchose

his

friend.

Basiliuslearned

welland

wassoon

advising

the

emperor

on

allmatters

ofstate.The

only

problem

seemedtobe

money-——Basilius

neverhad

enough.

Exposure

tothe

splendor

of

Byzantine

courtlifemadehimavari-

ciousforthe

perks

of

power.

Michael

doubled,

then

tripled

his

salary,

en-

nobled

him,

andmarriedhimofftohis

own

mistress,

Eudoxia

Ingerina.

Keeping

such

a

trustedfriendandadvisersatisfiedwasworth

anyprice.

Butmoretroublewastocome.Bardaswasnowheadofthe

army,

and

Basilius

convincedMichaelmatthemanwas

hopelessly

ambitious.Under

theillusionthathecouldcontrolhis

nephew,

Bardashad

conspired

to

put

himon

the

throne,

andhecould

conspireagain,

this

time

to

get

ridof

Michael and assume the crownhimself. Basilius

poured poison

into

Michael’searuntilthe

emperoragreed

tohavehisunclemurdered.

During

a

great

horse

race,

BasiliusclosedinonBardasinthecrowdandstabbed

himtodeath.Soon

after,

Basiliusaskedthathe

replace

Bardasasheadof

the

army,

where

he

could

keep

controloftherealm

and

quell

rebellion.

Thiswas

granted.

NowBasilius’s

power

andwealth

onlygrew,

andafew

years

later

Michael,

infinancialstraitsfromhisown

extravagance,

askedhimto

pay

backsomeofthe

money

hehadborrowedover

the

years.

ToMichael’s

shockand

astonishment,

Basilius

refused,

with

alookofsuch

impudence

Tohavea

goodenemy,

choosea

/rierld.'

He

knowswheretomike.

DIANEDEPomrns,

l499~»l566,Mismessor

HENRIIIor

Fnawcr,

Every

mm:Ibestowa

vacant

ajffice

:7make 52

hundreddiscontented

persons

andone

ingraze.

LOUIS

XIV,

1638-1715

Thus

formy

own

part

Ihavemorethanomze

been(leroived

by

the

person

I

loved

moss

and

of

whose

love.

above‘

everyone

else

Cr,

Ihavebeenmost

r:/on}?

denr.So

thatI

believe

thatit

may

be/viggizt

to

lovearzd¥€efi‘/reone

person

aboveallothers,

according

tomeritand

worth.butneverto

trust.\'0muchin this

temptingtrapof/'n'eml-

ship

astohavecauseto

repent

of

itlateran.

BALDASSARF,

CASTIGLIONE,

1*-178452‘)

LAW 2 9