The 48 Laws Of Power

The

logistics

ofthe

conwere

quitesimple.

MonthsbeforeArnold

and

Slackannouncedthe
“discovery”

ofthediamond

mine,

they

traveledto

Europe,

where

theypurchased

somereal

gems

foraround

$12,000

(part

of

the

moneythey

hadsavedfromtheir

days

as

goldminers).

They

then

saltedthe “mine” withthese

gems,

whichthe first

expertdugup

and

brought

toSanFrancisco.The

jewelers

whohad

appraised

these

stones,

in»

cludingTiffany

himself,

had

gottencaughtup

inthefeverandhad

grossly

overestimatedtheirvalue.ThenRalston

gave

the

prospectors

$l00,000

as

security,

and

immediately

aftertheir

trip

toNewYork

theysimply

wentto

Amsterdam,

where

they

bought

sacksofuncut

gems,

before

ramming

to

San

Francisco.

Thesecondtime

they

saltedthe

mine,

therewere

many

more

jewels

to

be

found.

Theeffectivenessofthe

scheme,however,

restednotontrickslike

thesebutonthefactthatArnoldandSlack

played

their

parts

to

perfection.

Ontheir

trip

toNew

York,

where

they

mingled

withmillionairesand

ty—

coons,

theyplayedup

their

clodhopperimage,wearingpants

andcoatsa

sizeor

twotoo

small

and

acting

incredulous

at

everythingthey

sawinthe

big

city.

Noonebelieved

that

these

countrysimpletons

could

possibly

be

conning

themost

devious,

unscrupulous

financiersofthe

time.

Andonce

Harpending,

Ralston,

andevenRothschild

accepted

themine’s

existence,

anyone

whodoubteditwas

questioning

the

intelligence

oftheworld’smost

successful

businessmen.

Inthe

end,

Harpending’sreputation

wasminedandheneverrecov-

ered;

Rothschildlearnedhislessonandneverfellforanother

con;

Slack

tookhis

money

and

disappeared

from

view,

nevertobefound.Arnold

simply

wenthometo

Kentucky.

After

all,

hissaleofhis

miningrights

had

been

legitimate;

the

buyers

hadtakenthebest

advice,

andiftheminehad

runout

of

diamonds,

that

wastheir

problem.

Arnold

used

the

money

to

greatly

enlarge

hisfarmand

openup

abankofhisown.

KEYS

TOPOWER

The

feeling

thatsomeoneelseismore

intelligent

thanweareisalmostin-

tolerable.We

usuallytry

to

justify

itindifierent

ways:

“He

only

hasbook

knowledge,

whereasIhavereal

knowledge.”

“Her

parents

paid

forherto

get

a

good

education.If

myparents

hadhadasmuch

money,

ifIhadbeen

as

privileged.

. ..”“He’snotassmartashethinks.”Lastbut
notleast:
“She

may

knowhernarrowlittlefieldbetterthanI

do,

but

beyond

thatshe’sre-

ally

notsmartatall.EvenEinsteinwasabooboutside

physics.”

Givenhow

important

theideaof

intelligence

istomost

people’s

van-

ity,

itiscriticalnever

inadvertently

toinsultor

impugn

a

person’s

brain

power.

That

is

an

unforgivable

sin.Butif

you

can

makethis

iron

rulework

for

you,

it

opensup

allsortsof

avenuesof

deception.Sublirninally

reassure

people

that

they

aremore

intelligent

than

you

are,

oreventhat

you

area

bitofa

moron,

and

you

canrun

rings

aroundthem.The

feeling

ofintellee

tual

superiorityyougive

themwilldisarmtheir

suspiciorrmuscles.

In 1865 thePrussiancouncillorOttovonBismarckwantedAustriato

LAW 21

;

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