The 48 Laws Of Power

theissue

trfhlsaffurr

withus.Wemust

keep

ourstores

full

[eatat

any

timewebewithout

resources. 50 wemust

halveour

daily

ration:

and

keep

the

saving

in

reserve.

"

Hededucted

2,000sheep,

200

cows‘,

andctI00

camels,

and

sintilarlyevery

twoor

three

days

reducedthe

ration.Mosesthen

know

that

the

promise

of

TheTruthwasnear

tofulfillntenz.for

exces-

sive

economy

isQ

sign

of

declineand.1bad

omen.Thematters

of

tradition

say

that

on

rite

day

whenPharaoh

wasdrowned

only

two

ewes

hadbeenkilledin

hiskitchen.

Nothittg

isbetterI/um

generosity.

..

.

Ifa

man

isrichand

desires,

withoufa

royal

charter;

toactlikea

lord;ifize

wantsmentohumble

tiwrrwllvrrs

before

him,

10 reverehimandcall

himlordand

prince,

thentellhim

everyday

to

spread

atablewith

vicluals.Allthosewho

have

acquired

renown

inthe

world,

have

gained

it

mainly

throughhospitality,

whilethe

miscrly

and

twttriczousare

despised

inbothworlds,

THEBOOKor

GOVER.‘-‘MEN’?on

RULESHmKINGS.

NtzAMAL—MuLK,

l:LEVI:N'l‘H(‘ENIURY

340 LAW 40

withthe

marquis

to

use,

Aretinohadnow

bought

thisman’s

indebtedness,

too,

andheinturnwould

help

Aretinowhenhecould.Thecircleofinflu-

encewas

growing

wider.Timeand

again,

Aretinowasabletocashinon

theimmense

politicalpower

ofthe

marquis,

whoalso

helped

him

in

his

many

courtromances.

Eventually,

however,

the

relationship

became

strained,

as Aretino

cametofeelthatthe

marquis

shouldhave

requited

his

generosity

better.

Buthewouldnotlowerhimselfto

begging

or

whining:

Since

the

exchange

of

gifts

betweenthetwomenhadmadethem

equals,

it

would

notseem

right

to

bringupmoney.

He

simply

withdrewfromthe

marquis’s

circleand

huntedforother

wealthyprey,

settling

firstontheFrench

king

Francis,

thenthe

Medicis,

theDukeof

Urbino,

Emperor

Charles

V,

andmore.In

the

end,

havingmanypatrons

meanthedidnothavetobowto

any

of

them,

andhis

power

seemed

comparable

tothatof

a

great

lord.

Interpretation

Aretinounderstoodtwofundamental

properties

of

money:

First,

thatithas

tocirculateto

bringpower.

What

money

should

buy

isnotlifeless

objects

but

power

over

people.Bykeepingmoney

inconstant

circulation,

Aretino

bought

an

ever—expanding

circle

of

influencethat

in

theendmorethan

compensated

himforhis

expenses.

Second,

Aretinounderstoodthe

key

property

ofthe

gift.

To

give

a

gift

isto

imply

that

you

andthe

recipient

are

equals

atthe

very

least,

orthat

you

are

the

recipient’ssuperior.

A

gift

also

involves

an

indebtedness

or

obligation;

when

friends,

for

instance,

offer

yousomething

for

free,

you

can

besure

theyexpectsomething

in

return,

andthatto

get

it

they

are

making

you

feelindebted.

(The

mechanism

may

or

may

notbe

entirely

consciousontheir

paxt,

butthisishowit

works.)

Aretinoavoidedsuchencumbrancesonhisfreedom.Instead

of

acting

likea

menial

who

expects

the

powerful

to

pay

his

way

in

life,

heturnedthe

whole

dynamic

around;

insteadof

being

indebted tothe

powerful,

he

madethe

powerful

indebtedtohim.Thiswasthe

point

ofhis

gift-giving,

a

ladderthatcarriedhimtothe

highest

sociallevels.

By

theendofhislifehe

hadbecomethemostfamouswriterin

Europe.

Understand:

Moneymay

determine

powerrelationships,

butthosere-

lationships

neednot

depend

ontheamountof

moneyyou

have;

they

also

depend

onthe

way

you

useitPowerful

people

give

freely,buying

influ-

enceratherthem

things.

If

youaccept

theinferior

position

because

you

havenofortune

yet,youmay

find

yourself

init

forever.

Play

thetrickthat

Aretino

played

on

Ita.ly’saristocracy:Imagineyourself

an

equal.Play

the

lord,

give

freely,openyour

doors,

circulate

your

money,

andcreatethefa-

cadeof

powerthrough

an

alchemy

thattransforms

money

intoinfluence.

Observance

II

SoonafterBaron

James

RothschildmadehisfortuneinParisinthe

early

1820s,

hefacedhismostintractable

problem:

Howcould

ajew

and3.Ger

man,

atotaloutsidertoFrench

society,

winthe

respect

ofthe

xenophobic

French

upper

classes?Rothschild

was

amanwho

understood

power--—he