The 48 Laws Of Power

Understanding

thefoolishnessof

alienating

thosebelow

him,

deRetzdid

everything

hecouldto

downplay

hismeritand

emphasize

theroleofluck

inhis
success.
To

putpeople

at

ease,

he

acted

humbly

and

deferentially,

asif

nothing

had

changed.

(In

reality,

of

course,

henow

had

muchmore

power

than

before.)

Hewrotethatthesewise

policies“produced

a

good

effect,

by

lessening

the

envy

whichwasconceived

against

me,

whichisthe

greatest

of

allsecrets.”FollowdeRetz’s

example.Subtlyemphasize

how

luckyyou

have
been,

tomake

yourhappiness

seemmoreattainabletoother

people,

andtheneedfor
envy

lessacute.

But

becarefulnottoaffect

a

false

modesty

that

people

can

easily

see

through.

Thiswill

only

makethemmoreenvious.

Theacthastobe

good;yourhumility,

and

your

openness

tothose

you

have

left
behind,

havetoseem

genuine.Any

hintof

insincerity

will

only

make

your

newstatusmore

oppressive.

Remember:

Despiteyour

elevated

posi»

tion,
itwilldo
you

no

good

toalienate

your

former

peers.

Power

requires

a

wideandsolid
support
base,
which
envy

can

silentlydestroy.

Political

power

of

any

kindcreates

envy,

andoneofthebest

ways

to

deflectitbeforeittakesrootistoseemunambitious.WhenIvantheTerri-

ble

died,

BorisGodunovknewhewasthe

only

oneonthescenewhocould

lead
Russia.Butif
he

sought

the

positioneagerly,

he

would

stir

upenvy

and

suspicion

among

the

boyars,

soherefusedthe

crown,

notoncebut

severaltimes.Hemade

people

insistthathetakethethrone.

George

Wash-

ington

usedthesame

strategy

to

great

effect,

firstin

refusing

to

keep

the

po-

sitionofCommanderinChiefoftheAmerican

army,

secondin

resisting

the

presidency.

In

bothcases

he

madehimselfmore

popular

than

ever.

People

cannot

envy

the

power

that

they

themselveshave

given

a

person

whodoesnotseemtodesireit.

According

totheElizabethanstatesmanandwriterSirFrancis

Bacon,

thewisest

policy

ofthe

powerful

istocreateakindof

pity

for

themselves,

as

iftheir

responsibilities

wereaburdenanda

sacrifice.

Howcanone

envy

amanwhohastaken

ona

heavy

loadforthe

public

interest?

Disguiseyour

power

asa.kindofself—sacrificeratherthanasourceof

happiness

and

you

makeitseemlessenviable.

Emphasizeyour

troublesand

you

turna

poten-

tial

danger(envy)

intoasourceofmoral

support(pity).

Asimilar

ploy

isto

hint

that

yourgood

fortune

will

benefitthose

around

you.

To

dothis

you

may

needto

openyourpursestrings,

like

Cimon,

a

wealthygeneral

inan-

cientAthenswho

gavelavishly

inallkindsof

ways

to

preventpeople

from

resenting

theinfluencehehad

bought

inAthenian

politics.

He

paid

a

high

price

tocleflecttheir

envy,

butintheenditsavedhimfromostracismand

banishment

fromthe

city.

The

painter

J.

M.W.Turnerdevisedanother

way

of

giving

todeflect

the

envy

ofhisfellow

artists,

whichhe

recognized

ashis

greatest

obstacleto

hissuccess.

Noticing

thathis

incomparable

colorskillsmadethemafraidto

hang

their

paintings

next

tohis

in

exhibitions,

he

realizedthat

theirfear

wouldturnto

envy,

andwould

eventually

makeitharderforhimtofind

galleries

toshowin.On

occasion,then,

Turnerisknowntohave

temporar-

ilydampened

thecolorsinhis

paintings

withsoottoearnhimthe

goodwill

ofhis

colleagues.

one

afhis

mentohave

themernbarkrd.He

himself

retzwzodIn

Rome.

...The

Lguruitityof

marbleswas

iirnnrnse,

so

rluu,

spread

over

the

piazza.they

werethe

admiration

ofull

anda

joy

tothe

pope.

who

heaped

1'mmeu.s'ura!:Ie

flzvarrupon

MiL'helzm-

gala;

andwhenhe

began

towork

upon

them

again

and

again

wemtoseehimat

his

house,

andtalkedto

hm:abzzm‘thetomb

andother

(hing:

as

with

hisown

brother.

Andinorderthathe

mighr

more

easilygo

(0

him,

the

pope

ordered

I11!!! 11

drawbririge

shouldbethrown

arrnszr

from

theCorri-

cloretothe

rooms

of

Michelangelo.

by

which

he

might

visithimin

private.

There

many

and

frequentfax.-ar.r

were

the

cause

(asoften

is

thecareat

court)of

much

envy,and,after

the

envy,of

e!z4l.'14r‘.\:\'

per,\'r'('mion,

sizx(.'¢’

Brumame,

thearchitect.

whowasloved

by

the

pope,

made

him

Change

hismindaslothe

monument

byIelling

him.asis‘said

by

the

vulgar,

Ihrrtitis

unlucky

tobuild(mes

tombinonciv

lifetime,

andotherrules,Fearus

wellaser:

vy

slirnulaled

Bramanm

f<:r1ize;u.:lg»

men!

Ilf/Wit?/1t’[llI1[;'£’I0

hurl

exposcclmany

of

hiserrors....Now

imcuxzxchehadno

doubtchar

Michelan-

gelo

knewrlmrr:errors

ofhir,

he

alwayssought

toremovehim

from

R0011’,

or.atleaxl.to

deprive

him

0/‘the

LAW 46

407