The 48 Laws Of Power

never

inadvertently

drawattentiontothebothersomeinsectthatwill

go

away

ordieonitsown.If

you

wastetimeand

energy

insuch

entangle

ments,

itis

your

own

fault.Learn

to

play

the

card

ofdisdain

andturn

your

backonwhatcannotharm
you

in

the

long

run.

jusi

thinkwitcast

your

government

$130

millionto

try

to

get

me.Itookthem

over

rough,hillycountry.Szrmetmwrforfifty

milesatastretch

they

hadnowater:

They

had

nothing

butthesunand

mosquitoes.

..And

nothing

was

gainerl.

Ikmcfw

Villa,

1878-1923

OBSERVANCEOFTHE

LAW

Inthe

year

1527,

KingHenry

VIII

of

England

decidedhehadtofind

a

way

to

get

ridofhis

wife,

Catherineof

Aragon.

Catherinehadfailedto

pro-

ducea

son,

amaleheirwhowouldensurethecontinuanceofhis

dynasty,

and

Henrythought

heknew

why:

HehadreadintheBiblethe

passage,

“And

ifamanshalltakehisbrother’s

wife,

itis

anunclean

thing:

hehath

uncoveredhisbrother‘s

nakedness;

they

shallbechildless.”Before

marry

ing

Henry,

Catherinehadmarriedhisolderbrother

Arthur,

butArthur

haddiedfivemonthslater.

Henry

hadwaitedan

appropriate

time,

then

hadmarriedhis

brother’s

widow.

Catherinewasthe

daughter

of

King

Ferdinandand

Queen

Isabellaof

Spain,

and

by

marrying

her

Henry

had

kept

aliveavaluablealliance.

Now,

however,

Catherinehadtoassurehimthatherbrief

marriage

withArthur

hadneverbeenconsummated.Otherwise

Henry

wouldviewtheirrela-

tionship

asincestuousandtheir

marriage

as

nulland

void.Catherinein-

sistedthatshehadremaineda

virginthrough

her

marriage

to

Arthur,

and

Pope

Clement

VII

supported

her

bygiving

his

blessing

tothe

union,

which

hecouldnothavedonehadheconsidereditincestuous.Yetafter

years

of

marriage

to

Henry,

Catherinehadfailedto

produce

a

son,

andinthe

early

1520sshehadentered

menopause.

Tothe

king

thiscould

only

mean

one

thing:

Shehadliedabouther

virginity,

theirunionwas

incesmous,

and

Godhad

punished

them.

Therewasanotherreason

why

Henry

wantedto

get

ridofCatherine:

Hehadfalleninlovewitha

younger

woman,

Anne

Boleyn.

Not

only

was

heinlovewith

her,

butifhe

married

herhecouldstill

hope

tosirea

legiti-

mateson.The

marriage

toCatherinehadtobeannulled.For

this,

how-

ever,

Henry

hadto

apply

totheVatican.But

Pope

Clementwouldnever

annulthe

marriage,

By

thesummerof

1527,

rumors

spreadthroughoutEurope

that

Henry

was

about to

attempt

the

impossible-—to

annul his

marriage against

Clement’s

wishes.Catherine

would

never

abdicate,

let

alone

voluntarily

entera

nunnery,

as

Henry

had

urged

her.But

Henry

hadhisown

strategy:

He

stoppedsleeping

inthesamebedwith

Catherine,

sinceheconsidered

herhis

sister~in-law,

nothislawfulwife.Heinsistedon

calling

herPrincess

thedaiswlzexrethe

C/tie]

wasSeatedand

hay

tltere,chewing

itscud.

Ewrrylzne

Wm‘surethat

thiswassome

grave

portem,

and

urged

that

theoxbesenttoa

yin-

yrmg

(liviner.

Iloweyer,

the

prime

minister.

the

fatherofrlxe

minister

of

the

right,

said,“Anox

hasnodr‘_scrimr'uariorz.

Ithm

leg.r—-(here

is

nowhere

itwon

'1

go.

it

does

notmakesenorIn

deprive

rm

unrlsrpuirl

a ma!

afthe

wretched

(1.:he

needsinorderI!)

attendcourt.

"

He

returnedthewetoits

owner

and

changed

the

matting

onwhichithad

Iain.N0untoward

event

ofany

kind

occurrarl

afterward.

'1‘hey.my

that

ifyou

see

a

prodigy

anddonot

nearitas

such,itschar-

acterasa

prodigy

is

iiertroyed.

ESSAYS

IN

nn.i~m«:ssx

Kenko.

JAPAN,

mum:-zrwmcamunv

LAW 36 303