The 48 Laws Of Power

170 LAW 22

REVERSAI.

The

point

of

surrendering

istosave

your

hideforalaterdatewhen

you

canreassert

yourself.

Itis

precisely

toavoid

martyrdom

thatonesurren-

ders,

buttherearetimeswhenthe

enemy

willnot

relent,

and

martyrdom

seemsthe

onlyway

out

Furthermore,

if

you

are

willing

to

die,

others

may

gainpower

and

inspiration

from

yourexample.

Yet

martyrdom,

surrender’s

reversal,

isa.

messy,

inexact

tactic,

andis

asviolentasthe

aggression

itcombats.For

every

famous

martyr

thereare

thousandsmorewhohave

inspired

neithera

religion

nora

rebellion,

so

that

if

martyrdom

doessometimes

grant

a

certain

power,

it

does

so

unpre-

dictably.

More

important,you

willnot

bearound

to

enjoy

that

power,

such

asitis.Andthereis

finally

something

selfishand

arrogant

about

martyrs,

asif

they

felttheirfollowerswereless

important

thantheirown

glory,

When

power

deserts

you,

itisbestto

ignore

thisLaw’sreversal.Leave

martyrdom

alone: The

pendulum

will

swing

back

yourwayeventually,

and

you

should

stay

alivetoseeit.