The 48 Laws Of Power

large

sumsof

money

butanother

year

ofhislifeinthe

pursuit,

he

managed

to
put

allofthecon

n'ng’s

leadersbehindbars.Evensomehedidn’tcatch

had
grown

soterrifiedofhimthat

they

tooturnedthemselvesin.

Afterfive

years

of

hunting,

Norfleethad

single-handedlydestroyed

the

country’slargest

confederationofconartists.Theefiort

bankrupted

him

andminedhis

marriage,

buthediedasatisfiedman.

Interpretation

Mostmen
accept

thehumiliationof

being

connedwithasenseof

resigna-

tion.

They

learntheir

lesson,

recognizing

thatthereisno

such

thing

as

a

free
lunch,
andthat

they

have

usually

been

brought

down

by

theirown

greed

for

easymoney.Some,however,

refusetotaketheirmedicine.In

steadof

reflecting

ontheirown

gullibility

and

avarice,

they

see

themselves

as

totally

innocentvictims.

Menlikethis

may

seemtobecrusadersfor

justice

and

honesty,

but

they

are

actuallyimmoderately

insecure.

Being

fooled,

being

conned,

has

activatedtheir
self-doubt,
and

they

are

desperate

to

repair

the

damage.

Werethe
mortgage

onN0rfleet’s

ranch,

the

collapse

ofhis

marriage,

and

the
years

of

borrowingmoney

and

living

in

cheap

hotelsworthhis

revenge

overhisembarrassmentat

being

fleeced?

Tothe

Norfleetsofthe

world,

overcoming

theirembarrassmentisworth

anyprice.

All

people

have

insecurities,

andoftenthebest

way

todeceiveasucker

isto

playupon

hisinsecurities.Butintherealmof

power,everything

isa

question

of

degree,

andthe

person

whois

decidedly

moreinsecurethan

the
average

mortal

presentsgreatdangers.

Bewarned:If

you

practice

de~

ception

or

trickery

of

any

sort,

studyyour

markwell.Some

people’s

inse-

curity

and

egofragility

cannottoleratethe

slightest

offense.Toseeif

you

are

dealing

withsucha

type,

testthem

first—make,

say,

amild

joke

attheir

expense.

Aconfident

person

will

laugh;

an

overly

insecureonewill

reactas

if

personally

insulted.If

yoususpectyou

are

dealing

withthis

type,

findan-

othervictim.

Transgression

III

Inthefifth

century

B.C.,

Ch’ung-erh,

the

prince

ofCh’in

(inpresent-day

China),

hadbeenforcedintoexile.Helived

modestly——even,

sometimes,

in

poverty—waiting

forthetimewhenhecouldreturnhomeandresume

his

princely

life.Oncehewas

passingthrough

thestateof

Cheng,

where

the

ruler,

not

knowing

whohe

was,

treatedhim

rudely.

Ther1.1ler’s

minis-

ter,

Shu

Chan,

sawthisand

said,

“Thismanis

a

worthyprince.May

Your

Highness

treathimwith

greatcourtesy

and

thereby

place

himunderan

obligation!”

Butthe

ruler,

abletosee

only

the

prince’slowly

station,

ig-

noredthisadviceandinsultedthe

princeagain.

ShuChan

again

warned

his

master,

saying,

“IfYour

Highness

cannottreat

Ch’ung~erh

withcour-

tesy,you

should

put

him

to

death,

toavoid

calamity

inthefuture.”The

ruler

only

scoffed.

Years

later,

the

prince

was

finally

abletoreturn

home,

hiscircum-

stances

greatlychanged.

Hedidnot

forget

whohadbeenkindto

him,

and

LAW 19 I41