The 48 Laws Of Power

Image:

The

jaws

of

Ingrzttitude.

Knowing

whatwould

happen

if
youput

a

finger

in

themouthofa
lion,

you

would

stay

clear
of it.

VVith friends

you

will have

no such

caution,

and

if

you

hire

them,

they

will

eat

you

alivewith

ingratitude.

Au

t

hori

ty

:

Know how to use

enemiesfor

your

own

profit.

Youmustlearnto

grab

at

swordnot

by

its

blade,

whichwould

cut

you,

but

by

the

handle,

whichallows

you

todefend

yourself.

Thewiseman

profits

morefromhis

enemies,

thanafoolfromhisfriends.

(BaltasarGraciz'1n,

1 6 0

1

—

1 6 5

8)

REVERSAL

Although

itis

generally

bestnottomixwork

with

friendship,

thereare

timeswhenafriendcanbeusedto

greater

effectthanan

enemy.

Amanof

power,

for

example,

oftenhas

dirty

workthathastobe

done,

butforthe

sakeof

appearances

itis

generallypreferable

tohaveother

people

doitfor

him;

friendsoftendothisthe

best,

sincetheirafiectionforhim

makesthem

willing

totakechances.

Also,

if

yourplansgoawry

forsome

reason,

you

canuse

a

friendas

a

convenient

scapegoat.

This“fallofthefavorite”wasa

trickoftenused

bykings

and

sovereigns:

They

wouldlettheirclosestfriend

atcourttakethefallfora

mistake,

sincethe

public

wouldnotbelievethat

they

would

deliberately

sacrifice

a

friendfor

sucha

purpose.

Of

course,

after

youplay

that

card,

you

havelost

your

friendforever.Itis

best,then,

to

reservethe

scapegoat

roleforsomeonewhoiscloseto

you

butnottoo

close.

Finally,

the

problem

about

working

withfriendsisthatitconfusesthe

boundariesanddistancesthat

workingrequires.

Butifboth

partners

inthe

arrangement

understandthe

dangers

involved,

afriend

often

can

beem-

ployed

to

great

effect.

You

must

neverlet

yourguard

downinsuchaven-

ture,however;

always

be on

the

lookoutfor

anysigns

ofemotional

disturbancesuchas

envy

and

ingratitude.

Nothing

isstableintherealmof

power,

andeventheclosestoffriendscanbetransformedintotheworstof

enernies.

LAW

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