The 48 Laws Of Power

causeneedlessoffense.To

play

the

gameproperly,you

mustseeminter-

estedinother

people‘sproblems,

evensometimes

appear

totaketheirside.

Butwhile
you

makeoutward

gestures

of

support,you

mustmaintain

your

inner
energy

and

sanitybykeepingyour

emotions

disengaged.

Nomatter

howhard

peopletry

to

pullyou

in,

neverlet

your

interestintheiraffairs

and

pettysquabblesgobeyond

thesurface.Givethem

gifts,

listen

with

a

sympathetic

look,

even

occasionallyplay

thecharmer-—but

inwardlykeep

boththe

friendlykings

andthe

perfidious

Borgias

atarm’s

length.By

refus~

ing

tocommitandthus

maintaining

yourautonomyyou

retaintheinitia-

tive: Your moves

stay

matters of

your

own

choosing,

not defensive

reactionstothe

push-and~pu1l

ofthosearound

you.

Slownessto

pick

upyour

weapons

canbea

weapon

itself,

especially

if

you

letother

people

exhaustthemselves

fighting,

thentake

advantage

of

theirexhaustion.Inancient
China,
the

kingdom

ofChinonceinvadedthe

kingdom

of

Hsing.

Huan,

therulerofa

nearbyprovince,thought

he

should

rushto

Hsing’s

defense,

buthis

advisercounseled

him

towait:

“Hsing

isnot

yet

going

to

ruin,”

he

said,

“andChinisnot

yet

exhausted.If

Chinisnot

exhausted,

[we]

cannotbecome

very

influential.

Moreover,

the

meritof

supporting

astatein

danger

isnotas

great

asthevirtueof

reviving

aruinedone.”Theadviser’s

argument

wonthe

day,

andashehad

pre-

dicted,

Huan

laterhadthe

glory

both

of

rescuingHsing

fromthebrink

of

destructionandthenof

conquering

anexhaustedChin.He

stayed

outof

the

fighting

untiltheforces

engaged

inithadworneachother

down,

at

which

point

itwassafeforhimtointervene.

Thatiswhat

holding

backfromthe

fray

allows

you:

timeto

position

yourselfto

take

advantage

of

thesituation

onceonesidestartsto

lose.

You

canalsotakethe

game

a

step

further,

bypromisingyoursupport

toboth

sidesinaconflictwhile

maneuvering

sothattheonetocomeoutaheadin

the

struggle

is

you.

ThiswaswhatCastn1ccio

Castracani,

ruleroftheItalian

townofLuccainthefourteenth

century,

didwhenhehad

designs

onthe

townofPistoia.A

siege

wouldhavebeen

expensive,costing

bothlivesand

money,

butCastruccioknewthat

Pistoia

containedtworival

factions,

the

Blacksandthe

Whites,

whichhatedoneanother.He

negotiated

withthe

Blacks,

promising

to

help

them

against

the

Whites;then,

withouttheir

knowledge,

he

promised

the Whiteshe would

help

them

against

the

Blacks.AndCastruccio

kept

his

promiseswhe

sentan

army

toa

Black-

controlled

gate

tothe

city,

whichthesentxiesofcourse welcomedin.

Meanwhileanotherofhisarmiesentered

through

aWhite—control1ed

gate.

Thetwoarmiesunitedinthe

middle,

occupied

the

town,

killedtheleaders

ofboth

factions,

ended

theinternal

war,

and

tookPistoiaforCastruccio.

Preservingyourautonomygivesyouoptions

when

people

cometo

blows—~you

can

play

the

mediator,

brokerthe

peace,

while

reallysecuring

your

owninterests.Youcan

pledgesupport

toonesideandtheother

may

havetocourt

you

witha

higher

bid.

Or,

like

Castruccio,

you

can

appear

to

takeboth

sides,

then

play

the

antagonistsagainst

eachother.

Dftentimes

whenaconflictbreaks

out,

you

are

tempted

to

sidewith

the

strongerparty,

ortheonethatoffers

you

apparent

advantages

inanal-

THEPliltlliOFE'\'\"Y

Whilea

poor

woman

stoodinthemarker-

placesellingcheeses,

(1

catcame

along

and

carried

offu

cheese.A

dog

sawthe

pilferer

and

Iried

tolakethe

cheese

awayfrom

him.

Thecatstood

up

lathe

dog.

So

theypitched

intoeachother.The

dog

barkedand

mapped;

the

ca!

spa:

and

scratched,

but

they

could

bring

thebattle

tonodecision,

“Let's

go

tothe

fox

and

havehim

referee

the

mailer,"

thecat

finally

suggested.

“Agreed,

"

saidthe

dog.

So

they

wen!Inthe

fox.

The

fox

listenedtotheir

arguments

with

ajurli~

ciausair.

“Foolish

animals,"

he

chidedthem,

“why

carry

onlikethat?

If

both

ofyou

are

willing,

I'll

divide

thecheesein

twoand

you’ll

bothbe

satisfied.

"

“/lgrecrl.

"saiddie

cut

andthe

dog.

50 the

fax

tookouthis

knife

andcuttheltheese

in

two,

but,instead

of

czuting

it

lengthwise,

he‘

Cutitinthewidth.

"Mylmlfis

smaller!"

protested

the

dog.

The

for

looked

judi-

ciouslythrough

his

.s'pectarle.r

atthe

dog's

share,

"You're

right,quite

right!"

hedecided.

Sohewentandbit

off

a

pieceofrhe

catk

share.

“Thatwillmakeit

evem”'hesaid.

Whenthecm‘sawwhat

Ihe

fox

didshe

began

10

yowl:

LAW

20

153