Chapter One
LAW
1
NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER
JUDGMENT
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior.In your desire to please and impress them, do not go toofar in displaying your talents or you might accomplishthe opposite--inspire fear and insecurity. Make yourmasters appear more brilliant than they are and you willattain the heights of power.
TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW
Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV's finance minister in the first years of his reign,was a generous man who loved lavish parties, pretty women, and poetry.He also loved money, for he led an extravagant lifestyle. Fouquet wasclever and very much indispensable to the king, so when the prime minister,Jules Mazarin, died, in 1661, the finance minister expected to benamed the successor. Instead, the king decided to abolish the position. Thisand other signs made Fouquet suspect that he was falling out of favor, andso he decided to ingratiate himself with the king by staging the mostspectacular party the world had ever seen. The party's ostensible purposewould be to commemorate the completion of Fouquet's chateau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, but its real function was to pay tribute to the king, the guest ofhonor.
The most brilliant nobility of Europe and some of the greatest mindsof the time--La Fontaine, La Rochefoucauld, Madame de Sevigne--attended the party. Moliere wrote a play for the occasion, in which hehimself was to perform at the evening's conclusion. The party began with alavish seven-course dinner, featuring foods from the Orient never beforetasted in France, as well as new dishes created especially for the night.The meal was accompanied with music commissioned by Fouquet tohonor the king.
After dinner there was a promenade through the chateau's gardens.The grounds and fountains of Vaux-le-Vicomte were to be the inspirationfor Versailles.
Fouquet personally accompanied the young king through the geometricallyaligned arrangements of shrubbery and flower beds. Arriving at thegardens' canals, they witnessed a fireworks display, which was followed bythe performance of Moliere's play. The party ran well into the night andeveryone agreed it was the most amazing affair they had ever attended.
The next day, Fouquet was arrested by the king's head musketeer,D'Artagnan. Three months later he went on trial for stealing from thecountry's treasury. (Actually, most of the stealing he was accused of he haddone on the king's behalf and with the king's permission.) Fouquet wasfound guilty and sent to the most isolated prison in France, high in thePyrenees Mountains, where he spent the last twenty years of his life in solitaryconfinement.
Interpretation
Louis XIV, the Sun King, was a proud and arrogant man who wanted to bethe center of attention at all times; he could not countenance being outdonein lavishness by anyone, and certainly not his finance minister. Tosucceed Fouquet, Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a man famous for hisparsimony and for giving the dullest parties in Paris. Colbert made surethat any money liberated from the treasury went straight into Louis'shands. With the money, Louis built a palace even more magnificent thanFouquet's--the glorious palace of Versailles. He used the same architects,decorators, and garden designer. And at Versailles, Louis hosted partieseven more extravagant than the one that cost Fouquet his freedom.
Let us examine the situation. The evening of the party, as Fouquet presentedspectacle on spectacle to Louis, each more magnificent than the onebefore, he imagined the affair as demonstrating his loyalty and devotion tothe king. Not only did he think the party would put him back in the king'sfavor, he thought it would show his good taste, his connections, and hispopularity, making him indispensable to the king and demonstrating thathe would make an excellent prime minister. Instead, however, each newspectacle, each appreciative smile bestowed by the guests on Fouquet,made it seem to Louis that his own friends and subjects were morecharmed by the finance minister than by the king himself, and that Fouquetwas actually flaunting his wealth and power. Rather than flattering LouisXIV, Fouquet's elaborate party offended the king's vanity. Louis would notadmit this to anyone, of course--instead, he found a convenient excuse torid himself of a man who had inadvertently made him feel insecure.
Such is the fate, in some form or other, of all those who unbalance themaster's sense of self, poke holes in his vanity, or make him doubt hispreeminence.
OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW
In the early 1600s, the Italian astronomer and mathematician Galileofound himself in a precarious position. He depended on the generosity ofgreat rulers to support his research, and so, like all Renaissance scientists,he would sometimes make gifts of his inventions and discoveries to theleading patrons of the time. Once, for instance, he presented a militarycompass he had invented to the Duke of Gonzaga. Then he dedicated abook explaining the use of the compass to the Medicis. Both rulers weregrateful, and through them Galileo was able to find more students to teach.No matter how great the discovery, however, his patrons usually paid himwith gifts, not cash. This made for a life of constant insecurity anddependence. There must be an easier way, he thought.
Galileo hit on a new strategy in 1610, when he discovered the moonsof Jupiter. Instead of dividing the discovery among his patrons--givingone the telescope he had used, dedicating a book to another, and so on--ashe had done in the past, he decided to focus exclusively on the Medicis. Hechose the Medicis for one reason: Shortly after Cosimo I had establishedthe Medici dynasty, in 1540, he had made Jupiter, the mightiest of thegods, the Medici symbol--a symbol of a power that went beyond politicsand banking, one linked to ancient Rome and its divinities.
Galileo turned his discovery of Jupiter's moons into a cosmic eventhonoring the Medicis' greatness. Shortly after the discovery, he announcedthat "the bright stars [the moons of Jupiter] offered themselves in the heavens"to his telescope at the same time as Cosimo II's enthronement. Hesaid that the number of the moons--four--harmonized with the number ofthe Medicis (Cosimo II had three brothers) and that the moons orbitedJupiter as these four sons revolved around Cosimo I, the dynasty's founder.More than coincidence, this showed that the heavens themselves reflectedthe ascendancy of the Medici family. After he dedicated the discovery tothe Medicis, Galileo commissioned an emblem representing Jupiter sittingon a cloud with the four stars circling about him, and presented this toCosimo II as a symbol of his link to the stars.
In 1610 Cosimo II made Galileo his official court philosopher andmathematician, with a full salary. For a scientist this was the coup of alifetime. The days of begging for patronage were over.
Interpretation
In one stroke, Galileo gained more with his new strategy than he had inyears of begging. The reason is simple: All masters want to appear morebrilliant than other people.
They do not care about science or empirical truth or the latest invention;they care about their name and their glory. Galileo gave the Medicisinfinitely more glory by linking their name with cosmic forces than he hadby making them the patrons of some new scientific gadget or discovery.
Scientists are not spared the vagaries of court life and patronage. Theytoo must serve masters who hold the purse strings. And their great intellectualpowers can make the master feel insecure, as if he were only there tosupply the funds--an ugly, ignoble job. The producer of a great workwants to feel he is more than just the provider of the financing. He wants toappear creative and powerful, and also more important than the work producedin his name. Instead of insecurity you must give him glory. Galileodid not challenge the intellectual authority of the Medicis with his discovery,or make them feel inferior in any way; by literally aligning them withthe stars, he made them shine brilliantly among the courts of Italy. He didnot outshine the master, he made the master outshine all others.
KEYS TO POWER
Everyone has insecurities. When you show yourself in the world and displayyour talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy, andother manifestations of insecurity. This is to be expected. You cannot spendyour life worrying about the petty feelings of others. With those above you,however, you must take a different approach: When it comes to power,outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.
Do not fool yourself into thinking that life has changed much since thedays of Louis XIV and the Medicis. Those who attain high standing in lifeare like kings and queens: They want to feel secure in their positions, andsuperior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm. It is a deadlybut common misperception to believe that by displaying and vauntingyour gifts and talents, you are winning the master's affection. He may feignappreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace you with someoneless intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as Louis XIV replacedthe sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert. And as with Louis, he willnot admit the truth, but will find an excuse to rid himself of your presence.
This Law involves two rules that you must realize. First, you caninadvertently outshine a master simply by being yourself. There are masterswho are more insecure than others, monstrously insecure; you may naturallyoutshine them by your charm and grace.
No one had more natural talents than Astorre Manfredi, prince ofFaenza. The most handsome of all the young princes of Italy, he captivatedhis subjects with his generosity and open spirit.
In the year 1500, Cesare Borgia laid siege to Faenza. When the citysurrendered, the citizens expected the worst from the cruel Borgia, who,however, decided to spare the town: He simply occupied its fortress, executednone of its citizens, and allowed Prince Manfredi, eighteen at thetime, to remain with his court, in complete freedom.
A few weeks later, though, soldiers hauled Astorre Manfredi away to aRoman prison. A year after that, his body was fished out of the RiverTiber, a stone tied around his neck. Borgia justified the horrible deed withsome sort of trumped-up charge of treason and conspiracy, but the realproblem was that he was notoriously vain and insecure. The young manwas outshining him without even trying. Given Manfredi's natural talents,the prince's mere presence made Borgia seem less attractive and charismatic.The lesson is simple: If you cannot help being charming and superior,you must learn to avoid such monsters of vanity. Either that, or find away to mute your good qualities when in the company of a Cesare Borgia.
Second, never imagine that because the master loves you, you can doanything you want. Entire books could be written about favorites who fellout of favor by taking their status for granted, for daring to outshine. Inlate-sixteenth-century Japan, the favorite of Emperor Hideyoshi was a mancalled Sen no Rikyu. The premier artist of the tea ceremony, which had becomean obsession with the nobility, he was one of Hideyoshi's mosttrusted advisers, had his own apartment in the palace, and was honoredthroughout Japan. Yet in 1591, Hideyoshi had him arrested and sentencedto death. Rikyu took his own life, instead. The cause for his sudden changeof fortune was discovered later: It seems that Rikyu, former peasant andlater court favorite, had had a wooden statue made of himself wearing sandals(a sign of nobility) and posing loftily. He had had this statue placed inthe most important temple inside the palace gates, in clear sight of the royaltywho often would pass by. To Hideyoshi this signified that Rikyu hadno sense of limits. Presuming that he had the same rights as those of thehighest nobility, he had forgotten that his position depended on the emperor,and had come to believe that he had earned it on his own. This wasan unforgivable miscalculation of his own importance and he paid for itwith his life. Remember the following: Never take your position forgranted and never let any favors you receive go to your head.
Knowing the dangers of outshining your master, you can turn this Lawto your advantage. First you must flatter and puff up your master. Overtflattery can be effective but has its limits; it is too direct and obvious, andlooks bad to other courtiers. Discreet flattery is much more powerful. Ifyou are more intelligent than your master, for example, seem the opposite:Make him appear more intelligent than you. Act naive. Make it seem thatyou need his expertise. Commit harmless mistakes that will not hurt you inthe long run but will give you the chance to ask for his help. Masters adoresuch requests. A master who cannot bestow on you the gifts of his experiencemay direct rancor and ill will at you instead.
If your ideas are more creative than your master's, ascribe them tohim, in as public a manner as possible. Make it clear that your advice ismerely an echo of his advice.
If you surpass your master in wit, it is okay to play the role of the courtjester, but do not make him appear cold and surly by comparison. Tonedown your humor if necessary, and find ways to make him seem the dispenserof amusement and good cheer. If you are naturally more sociableand generous than your master, be careful not to be the cloud that blockshis radiance from others. He must appear as the sun around which everyonerevolves, radiating power and brilliance, the center of attention. If youare thrust into the position of entertaining him, a display of your limitedmeans may win you his sympathy. Any attempt to impress him with yourgrace and generosity can prove fatal: Learn from Fouquet or pay the price.
In all of these cases it is not a weakness to disguise your strengths ifin the end they lead to power. By letting others outshine you, you remainin control, instead of being a victim of their insecurity. This will all come inhandy the day you decide to rise above your inferior status. If, like Galileo,you can make your master shine even more in the eyes of others, then youare a godsend and you will be instantly promoted.
Authority: Avoid outshining the master. All superiority is odious, but thesuperiority of a subject over his prince is not only stupid, it is fatal. Thisis a lesson that the stars in the sky teach us--they may be related to the sun,and just as brilliant, but they never appear in her company. (BaltasarGracian, 1601-1658)
REVERSAL
You cannot worry about upsetting every person you come across, but youmust be selectively cruel. If your superior is a falling star, there is nothingto fear from outshining him. Do not be merciful--your master had no suchscruples in his own cold-blooded climb to the top. Gauge his strength. If heis weak, discreetly hasten his downfall: Outdo, outcharm, outsmart him atkey moments. If he is very weak and ready to fall, let nature take its course.Do not risk outshining a feeble superior--it might appear cruel or spiteful.But if your master is firm in his position, yet you know yourself to be themore capable, bide your time and be patient. It is the natural course ofthings that power eventually fades and weakens. Your master will fallsomeday, and if you play it right, you will outlive and someday outshinehim.
Continues...
Excerpted from The 48 Laws of Powerby Robert Greene Copyright © 2000 by Robert Greene. Excerpted by permission.
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