The 48 Laws Of Power

202 LAW 20

portance

of

appearances

ashe

did,

Ts’aoTs’aodidnothesitateforamo-

ment:He

shopped

aroundforthemostconvenient

head

andhaditserved

upimmediately.

Occasional

mistakes are inevitable——the

world

is

just

too

nnpre

diciable.

People

of

power,

however.

areundonenot

by

themistakes

they

make,

but

by

the

waythey

dealwiththem.Like

surgeons,

they

mustcut

away

thetumorwith

speed

and

finality.

Excusesand

apologies

aremuch

too

blunttools

forthis

delicate

operation;

the

powerful

avoidthem.

By

apologizingyouopenup

allsortsofdoubtsabout

yourcompetence,your

intentions,

any

othermistakes

youmay

nothaveconfessed.Excuses

satisfy

nooneand

apologies

make

everyone

uncomfortable.Themistakedoes

notvanishwithan

apology;

it

deepens

andtesters.Bettertocutitoffin-

stantly,

distractattentionfrom

yourself,

andfocusattentiononaconve

nient

scapegoat

before

people

havetimeto

ponderyourresponsibility

or

your

possible

incompetence.

Iwouldrather

betray

thewholeworldthanlettheworld

betray

me.

(.‘u7mul'13"ua

'I‘5’ao,

1:.A12.155-220

OBSERVANCEOFTHELAW 11

Forseveral

years

Cesare

Borgia

campaigned

to

gain

controlof

largeparts

of

Italy

inthenameofhis

father,

Pope

Alexander.Inthe

year

I500he

managed

totake

Romagna,

innorthern

Italy.

The

region

hadfor

years

beenruled

by

aseries

of

greedy

masterswhohad

plundered

itswealthfor

themselves.Without

police

or

anydisciplining

force,

ithaddescended

into

lawlessness,

wholeareas

being

ruled

by

robbers and

feuding

families.

Toestablish

order,

Cesare

appointed

alieutenant

general

ofthe

region-—

Remixro

de

Oreo,

“acruel and

vigorous

man,”

according

to Niccolo

Machiavelli.Cesare

gave

theOrco

absolute

powers.

With

energy

and

violence,

deOrcoestablisheda

severe,

brutal

justice

in

Rornagna,

andsoonriditofalmostallofitslawlesselements.But

in

his

zealhesometimeswenttoo

far,

andaftera

couple

of

years

thelocal

popu-

lation

resented

andevenhatedhim.InDecemberof

1502,

Cesare

tookdc»

cisive

action.Hefirst

letit

beknownthathe

hadnot

approved

ofdeOrco’s

cruelandviolent

deeds,

whichstemmedfromthelieutenanfsbrutal

na-

ture.

Then,

onDecember

22,

he

imprisoned

cleDrcointhetownofCe-

sena,

andthe

day

afterChristmasthe

townspeople

awoketofinda

strange

spectacle

inthemiddleofthe

piazza:

doOrco’sheadless

body,

dressedina

lavishsuitwith

a

purplecape,

thehead

impaled

besideiton

a

pike,

the

bloody

knifeandexecutioner’sblocklaidoutbesidethehead.AsMachi-

avelliconcludedhiscommentsonthe

affair,

“The

ferocity

ofthissceneleft

the

people

atoncestunnedandsatisfied.”

Interpretation

Cesare

Borgia

wasamaster

player

inthe

game

of

power.Alwaysplanning

severalmoves

ahead,

hesethis

opponents

thecleverest

traps.

Forthis

MachiavellihonoredhimaboveallothersinThePrince.