The 48 Laws Of Power

artistry

andmakeswhateverone

says

ordoesseemuncontrivedandeffort-

less.”Wealladmiretheachievementofsomeunusual

feat,

butifitisac-

complishednaturally

and

gracefully,

ouradmirationincreasestenfold-—

“whereas...tolaboratwhatoneis

doing

and...tomakebonesover

it,

shows
an
extreme
lack
of
grace

and

causes

everything,

whateverits

worth,

tobediscounted.”

Muchoftheideaof

sprezzalura

camefromtheworldofart.Allthe

great

Renaissanceartists

carefully

kept

theirworksunder

wraps.

Only

the

finished

masterpiece

couldbeshowntothe

public.Michelangelo

forbade

even
popes

toview

his

workin

process.

A

Renaissance

artistwas

always

carefulto

keep

hisstudiosshutto

patrons

and

public

alike,

notoutoffear

of
imitation,

butbecausetoseethe

making

oftheworkswouldmarthe

magic

oftheir

effect,

andtheirstudied

atmosphere

ofeaseandnatural

beauty.

TheRenaissance

painter

Vasari,

alsothefirst

great

art

critic,

ridiculed

theworkofPaolo
Uccello,
whowasobsessed
with
thelawsof

perspective.

TheelfortUccello

spent

on

improving

the

appearance

of

perspective

was

tooobviousinhiswork——itmadehis

paintingsugly

and

labored,

over-

whelmed
by

theelicitoftheireffects.We

have

thesame

response

whenwe

watch

performers

who

put

toomucheffortintotheiract:

Seeing

them

try-

ing

sohardbreakstheillusion.Italsomakesusuncomfortable.

Calm,

graceful

performers,

ontheother

hand,

setusat

ease,creating

theillusion

that

they

arenot

acting

but

being

naturaland

themselves,

evenwhen

everythingthey

are

doing

involveslabor

and

practice.

Theideaof

sprewztum

is

relevanttoallformsof

power,

for

power

dependsvitally

on

appearances

andtheillusions

you

create.Your

public

actionsarelikeartworks:

They

musthavevisual

appeal,

mustcreateantici»

pation,

evenentertain.When

you

revealtheinner

workings

of

your

cre—

ation,
you

become

just

one more mortal

among

others. What is

understandableisnot

awe-inspiring-—we

tellourselves

we

coulddoaswell

if
we
had
the
money

andtime.

Avoid

the

temptation

of

showing

how

clever
you

are-—itisfarmoreclevertoconcealthemechanismsof

your

cleverness.

Talleyrand’sapplication

ofthis

concept

tohis

daily

life

greatly

en»

hancedtheauraof
power

that

surroundedhim.

He

neverlikedtoworktoo

hard,
sohemadeothersdotheworkforhirn—-the

spying,

the

research,

the

detailed

analyses.

Withall this laborathis

disposal,

he himselfnever

seemedtostrain.VVhenhis
spies

revealedthatacertaineventwasaboutto

take

place,

hewouldtalkinsocialconversationasifhesenseditsimmi-

nence.Theresultwas
that

peoplethought

he

was

clairvoyant.

His

short

pithy

statements andwitticisms

always

seemedtosummarizeasituation

perfectly,

but

they

werebasedonmuchresearchand

thought.

'13::thosein

government,

includingNapoleonhimself,Talleyrandgave

the

impression

of
immense
power—an

effect

entirelydependent

onthe

apparent

ease

withwhichhe

accomplished

hisfeats.

There isanotherreason for

concealingyour

shortcutsand tricks:

LAW 30 251