The 48 Laws Of Power

CONTENTS

PREFACE

page

zrrzii

LAW 1

page

I

NEVEROUTSHINETHEMASTER

Always

makethoseabove

youfeelcomfortablysuperior

In

your

desireto

please

or

impress

them,

donot

go

toofar

in

displaying

your

talent:

or

you

mightaccomplish

the

oppasite~»—-inspirefear

and

insecurity.

Make

your

masters

appear

morebrilliantthan

they

areand

you

willattainthe

heightsofpower.

LAW 2

page

8

NEVERPUTTOOMUCHTRUST

IN

FRIENDS,

LEARNHOWTOUSEENEMIES

Be

wary

:.3ffziends——~they

will

betrayyou

more

quickly,forthey

are

easibr

arousedto

envy.'I‘hey

alsobecome

spoiled

and

tyrannical.

Buthirea

formerenemy

andhewillbemore

loyal

thana

friend,

becausehehasmore

to

prove.

In

fact,you

have

moreto

fearfromfriends

than

fitrm

enemies.

Ifyou

have

no

enemies,

find

a

way

to

makethem.

LAW

3

page

16

CONCEALYOURINTENTIONS

Keeppeopleoff-balance

and

inthe

dark

by

never

revealing

the

purpose

behind

your

actions.

Ifthey

haveno

cluewhat

you

are

up

to,

they

cannot

prepare

a

defense.

Guide

themfarenough

downthe

wrongpath,envelop

themin

enough

smoke,

and

by

thetime

thrgv

realize

your

intentions,

itwillbetoolate.

LAW 4

page

31

ALVVAYSSAYLESSTHANNECESSARY

When

you

are

trying

to

impress

people

with

words,

themore

yousay,

themorerommon

you

appear,

andtlwless

incontrol.Even

ifyou

are

sayingsomething

banal,

itwillseem

originalifyou

makeit

vague,open—ended,

and

sphinxlike.Powerfltlpeopleimpress

andintimidate

bysaying

less.Themore

yousay,

themore

likelyyou

areto

say

something

foolish.

LAW 5

/mge

SOMUCHDEPENDSONREPUTATION-—-GUARDITWITHYOURLIFE

Reputation

isthecornerstone

ofpower.Throughreputation

alone

you

canintimidateand

win,"

onceit

slips,

however,

you

are

vulnerable,

andwillbeattackedonallsides.Make

yourreputation

unassailable.

Always

be

akrtto

potential

attacks

and

thwartthem

beforetheyhappen.

Meanwhile,

learn

to

destroyyour

enemies

by

opening

holesintheirown

reputations.

Thenstandasideandlet

publicopinionhang

them.

LAVV 6

page

44

COURTATTENTIONATALLCOST

Everything

is

judgedby

its

appearance;

whatisunseencounts

fornothing:

Neverlet

yourselfget

lost

inthe

crowd,then,

orburiedinoblivion.Standout.He

conspicuous,

atallcost.

Malzeyourselfamagnetof

attention

byappearinglarger,

more

colorful

more

mysterious

thantheblandandtimidmasses.

CONTENTS

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