The 48 Laws Of Power

husbandwouldhesofurioushewouldinsiston
joining

hiswifeintheses-

sionssohecouldsetthedoctor

straight.

Finally,youmay

wellfindcasesinwhich

deliberatelyofferingyourself

as
the

cat’s-paw

will

ultimatelygainyougreatpower.

Thisistheruseofthe

perfect

courtier.Its

symbol

isSirWalter

Raleigh,

whoonce

placed

hisown

cloakonthe

muddyground

sothat

Queen

Elizabethwouldnot

sully

her

shoes.Astheinstrumentthat

protects

amasteror

peer

from

unpleasant

nessor

danger,yougain

immense

respect,

whichsooner

or

laterwill

pay

dividends.Andremember:If

you

canmake

your

assistancesubtleand

gra—

ciousratherthanboastfuland

burdensome,

yourrecompense

willbethat

muchthemore

satisfying

and

powerful.

Image:

TheCat’s-Paw.

It

has

long

clawsto

grab

things.

It

is soft and

padded.

Takeholdofthecat

and use its

paw

to

pluck

things

outofthe

lire,

toclaw

yourenemy,

to

play

withthe

mousebefore

devouring

it.

Sometimes

you

hurtthe

cat,

but most often it

doesn'tfeela

thing.

Authority:

Do

everythingpleasantyourself,everythingunpleas-

am

through

third

parties.Byadopting

thefirstcourse

you

win

favor,

bytaking

thesecond

you

deflectillwill.

lmp()l‘laI1l.

affairs

often

require

rewardsand

punishments.

Let

only

the

good

come

from

you

andtheevilfromothers.

(Baltasar

Graciém,lti0l—l658)

LAW 26 213