The 48 Laws Of Power

about

him,

noticingeverything.

Hewasoffendedifthemost

distinguished

noblesdidnotlive

permanently

at

court,

andthosewhoshowedthem-

selvesneveror

hardly

ever,

incurredhisfull

displeasure.

Ifoneofthesede

sired

something,

the

king

would

sayproudly:

‘Idonotknow

him,’

andthe

judgment

wasirrevocable.”

Interpretation

LouisXIVcameto

power

attheendofaterriblecivil

war,

theFronde.A

principalinstigator

ofthewarhadbeenthe

nobility,

which

deeply

resented

the

growingpower

ofthethroneand

yearned

forthe

days

of

feudalism,

whenthelords

ruled

theirown

fiefdoms

andthe

king

had

little

authority

overthem.Thenobleshadlostthecivil

war,

but

they

remaineda

fractious,

resentfullot.

Theconstructionof

Versailles,then,

wasfarmorethanthedecadent

whimofa

luxury—1ovingking.

Itserved

acrucial

function:

The

king

could

keep

an

eye

andanear

on

everyone

and

everything

aroundhim.The

once

proudnobility

wasreducedto

squabbling

overthe

right

to

help

the

kingput

onhisrobesinthe

morning.

Therewasno

possibility

hereof

pm?

vacy--nopossibility

ofisolation.LouisXIV

veryearlygrasped

thetruth

thatfora

king

toisolatehimselfis

gravelydangerous.

Inhis

absence,

con-

spiracies

will

springup

likemushroomsafter

rain,

animositieswill

crystal-

lizeinto

factions,

andrebellionwillbreakoutbeforehehasthetimeto

react.Tocombat

this,

sociability

and

openness

mustnot

only

beencour-

aged,they

mustbe

formallyorganized

andchanneled.

TheseconditionsatVersailleslastedforLouis’sentire

reign,

some

fifty

years

ofrelative

peace

and

tranquillity.Through

it

all,

not

a

pindropped

withoutLouis

hearing

it.

Solitudeis

dangerous

to

reason,

without

beingfavorable

tovirtue.. ..

Rememberthat

the

solitary

mortalis

certainly

luxurious,

probabhvsuperstitious,

and

possibly

mad.

Dr.

Sanmeljolirism,

l709m}

784

KEYSTOPOWER

Machiavelli

makes

the

argument

thatin

a

strictlymilitary

senseafortressis

invariably

amistake.Itbecomesa

symbol

of

power's

isolation,

andisan

easytarget

foritsbuilders’enemies.

Designed

todefend

you,

fortressesac—

tually

cut

you

offfrom

help

andcutinto

yourflexibility.Theymayappear

impregnable,

but

once

you

retire

to

one,

everyone

knowswhere

you

are;

anda

siege

doesnothavetosucceedtoturn

your

fortressintoa

prison.

Withtheirsmallandconfined

spaces,

fortressesarealso

extremely

vulnerv

abletothe

plague

and

contagious

diseases,Ina

strategic

sense,

theiso-

lation

ofafortress

provides

no

protection,

and

actually

creates more

problems

thanitsolves.

warmadeso

mmrly

m

l'fi,\‘('inl7lf,’I/M

mimic-

mxmr

of

1.1

.vlE_/V/nrwd

corpse

Ilmlllit'(‘Ins-in.-z

scrutiny

mm‘!havelzzm’

clifficulzy

in

(lowering

{hecheat.Aml

“wt

all

this

might

havel)(’L’Il

endured,ifmrt

ap]1I'I)v('(l,by

themod

rave/l<>r.\'amuml.But

themummerhad

gone

so

for

astou.s'.s‘umethe

typeafzlze

Rm!llmth,

Hisv:'.\'mr1’Wm‘

rlahlrlml

inblood-»am!

lll.\'brourl

blow,

withall

the

['94:/um»:of

the

face,

wuX.x']1riIIklt?til

withthe

scarlet

lwrmr....

,

. .A
throngufzlze

f'i3I'¢llt.'I‘é

atonce/hrew

tin-imelve:mmrlw

black

apartment,

and,

wizittg

the

mummer,

wlzoxeml!

figure

A‘l()0£l

erectand!7llllll)I'll(’.l.)'

withintheshadow

of

the

ebonyrtlmtk,

gaspezl

m

mmltrzra/711'lmrrorul

finding

the

grave

cert»

meanand

¢torp.i‘e-/ilcx‘

mark,

Wl2IClI

they

handledwithsoviolmt

a

l’(l(,l(,‘Pl(f.\',S'.

mitt-nunwd

byanytangibleform.

AndnowwasmtI<m2wl-

edged

the

prrnwrzzrt:of

theRMD:-am.I14-lmd

r‘{)t.Vl£’like 11

Iliirafin

the

izigltl,

Andone

by

one

dropped

therevellersin

thebl47od~herlmver1

halls

I)flll-‘fl!’

rm/pl,

and

dim}mrrlxin(ho

rlespmrirzgpo.v1ur<Iof

his

[all

Andthe

lifeof

Ill?

e'l:on_>.*

(‘lurkwen!

outwiththat

ofrlvc

last

ofthegay.

Andthe

flamesofihe

tripods

ccxpirezl.

Am!Darl<rlc:'.s

and

llecay

andtheRed

Death

heldlllimimhlc

rlnnzinimz(Iverall.

'itll-'

MAsoI1I«,0l«"1‘m»,

RED

nr,A1'u.

EDGARALL.-\NPm;

3809-1849

LAW 18

I32)’