Theme: Institution

CHAPTER STRUCTURE OF 48 LAWS, USING ONE CHAPTER

(I am a fan of this model, and would like to extend Propertarianism into this format, and add examples in multiple forms of literature. So that the unification of every system of thought is more obvious)

#3 – CONCEAL YOUR INTENTIONS. (<<< LAW )

(EXPLANATION >>> )

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

TRANSGRESSION (<<<VIA NEGATIVA)

The Marquis de Sevigne was young and inexperienced in the art of love. He confided in the infamous courtesan of seventeenth-century France, Ninon de Lenclos, to instruct him on how to seduce a difficult young countess. She made him follow a plan over a number of weeks, where the Marquis would be appearing in public always surrounded by beautiful women, in the very places the countess would be expected to see him. He was supposed to assume an air of nonchalance. This increased the jealousy of the young countess, who was not sure of his interest in her. One day the Marquis, unable to control his passion, broke from Ninon’s plan, and blurted out to the countess that he loved her. After this admission, the countess no longer found him interesting and avoided him.

OBSERVANCE (<<< VIA POSITIVA)

Otto von Bismarck was a deputy in the Prussian parliament at a time when many fellow deputies thought it was possible to go to war against Austria and defeat it.

Bismarck knew the Prussian army was not prepared, so he devised a clever way to keep the war at bay. He publicly stated his praises for the Austrians and talked about the madness of war. Many deputies changed their votes. Had Bismarck announced his real intentions, arguing it was better to wait now and fight later, he would not have won. Most Prussians wanted to go to war at that moment and mistakenly believed their army to be superior to the Austrians. Had he gone to the king his sincerity would have been doubted. By giving misleading statements about wanting peace and concealing his true purpose, Bismarck’s speech catapulted him to the position of prime minister. He later led the country to war against the Austrians at the right time, when he felt the Prussian army was more capable.

WISDOM (<<< ACTIONS)

• Use decoyed objects of desire and red herrings to throw people off scent.

• Use smoke screens (a poker face) to disguise your actions.

• False sincerity is one powerful tool that will send your rivals on a wild goose chase.

• Publicly declare your false intentions to give misleading signals.

• A noble gesture can be a smoke screen to hide your true intentions.

• Blend in and people will be less suspicious.

REMEMBER

It takes patience and humility to dull your brilliant colors, to put on the mask of the inconspicuous. Do not despair at having to wear such a bland mask-—it is often your unreadability that draws people to you and makes you appear a person of power.

AUTHORITY

Have you ever heard of a skillful general, who intends to

surprise a citadel, announcing his plan to his enemy? Conceal your

purpose and hide your progress; do not disclose the extent of your

designs until they cannot be opposed, until the combat is over. Win

the victory before you declare the war. In a word, imitate those war-

like people whose designs are not known except by the ravaged country through which they have passed. (Ninon de Lenclos, 1623-1706)

REVERSAL (<<< REVERSAL – JUST LIKE IT SAYS)

No smoke screen, red herring, false sincerity, or any other diversionary device will succeed in concealing your intentions if you already have an established reputation for deception. And as you get older and achieve success, it often becomes increasingly difficult to disguise your cunning.

Everyone knows you practice deception; persist in playing naive and you run the risk of seeming the rankest hypocrite, which will severely limit your room to maneuver. In such cases it is better to own up, to appear the honest rogue, or, better, the repentant rogue. Not only will you be admired for your frankness, but, most wonderful and strange of all, you will be able to continue your stratagems.

As P. T. Barnum, the nineteenth-century king of humbuggery, grew

older, he learned to embrace his reputation as a grand deceiver. At one point he organized a buffalo hunt in New jersey, complete with Indians and a few imported buffalo. He publicized the hunt as genuine, but it came off as so completely fake that the crowd, instead of getting angry and asking for their money back, was greatly amused. They knew Barnum pulled tricks all the time; that was the secret of his success, and they loved him for it. Learning a lesson from this affair, Barnum stopped concealing all of his

devices, even revealing his deceptions in a tell-all autobiography. As

Kierkegaard wrote, “The world wants to be deceived.”

Finally, although it is wiser to divert attention from your purposes by

presenting a bland, familiar exterior, there are times when the colorful, conspicuous gesture is the right diversionary tactic. The great charlatan mountebanks of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe used humor and entertainment to deceive their audiences. Dazzled by a great show, the public would not notice the charlatans’ real intentions. Thus the star charlatan himself would appear in town in a night-black coach drawn by black horses. Clowns, tightrope walkers, and star entertainers would accompany

him, pulling people in to his demonstrations of elixirs and quack potions. The charlatan made entertainment seem like the business of the day; the business of the day was actually the sale of the elixirs and quack potions.

Spectacle and entertainment, clearly, are excellent devices to conceal your intentions, but they cannot be used indefinitely. The public grows tired and suspicious, and eventually catches on to the trick. And indeed the charlatans had to move quickly from town to town, before word spread that the potions were useless and the entertainment a trick. Powerful people with bland exteriors, on the other hand—the Talleyrands, the Rothschilds, the Selassies—can practice their deceptions in the same place throughout their lifetimes. Their act never wears thin, and rarely causes suspicion. The colorful smoke screen should be used cautiously, then, and

only when the occasion is right.

(IMAGERY – IN POETIC VERSE >>> )

Image: A Sheep’s Skin.

A sheep never marauds,

a sheep never deceives,

a sheep is magnificently

dumb and docile. With a

sheepskin on his back,

a fox can pass right

into the chicken coop.