The 48 Laws Of Power

22
f
LAW 3

infront

ofthem

(a

phony

stock,

a.touted

racehorse),

hemadeits

reality

hardtodoubt.

It

is

important,

of

course,

not

to

go

too

far

inthis

area.

Sin~

cexity

isa

tricky

tool:

Appearoverpassionate

and

you

raise

suspicions.

Be

measuredandbelievableor

your

rusewillseemthe

put-on

thatitis.

Tomake

your

false

sincerity

aneffective

weapon

in

concealingyour

intentions,

espouse

abeliefin

honesty

and

fertlirightness

as

important

so-

cialvalues.Do

thisas

publicly

as

possible.Emphasizeyourposition

on

this

subjectbyoccasionallydivulging

someheartfelt

thought-thoughonly

one

thatis

actuallymeaningless

or

irrelevant,

ofcourse.

Napoleon";

minister

Talleyrand

wasamasterat

takingpeople

intohisconfidence

byrevealing

some

apparent

secret.This

feigned

confidence——a

decoy—-would

then

elicitarealconfidenceontheother

person’spart.

Remember:Thebestdeceiversdo

everythingthey

cantocloaktheir

{roguish

qualities.

They

cultivateanairof

honesty

inoneareato

disguise

their

dishonesty

inothers.

Honesty

is

merely

another

decoy

intheirarsenal

of

weapons.

1

r

I

5.-