DO NOT COMMIT TO ANYONE, BUT BE COURTED BY ALL

If

you^allow

people

^to

feel they possess

you^toany

degree,

you lose all

power

overthem.

By

^not

committing

your

affections, tfwy

^will

only

try^harderto win you^over

Stay aloof

and you

gain

^the

power

^thatcomes

from

^theirat—

tention and

frustrated

^desire.

Play

^the

Virgin Queen:

^{Give them}

hope

^but

never

satisfaction.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

When

Queen

Elizabeth I ascendedthe throne of

England,

ⁱⁿ

1558,

^there

wasmuchto-do about her

finding

^ahusband. TheissuewasdebatedinPar-

liament,

^{and was a.main}

topic

^ofconversationamong

Englishmen

^{of all}

classes; they

^often

disagreed

^{as to}whom she should marry, but everyone

thought

^she should marry ^{as soon as}

possible,

^{for aqueen musthave a}

king,

^andmustbear heirs for the

kingdom.

The debates

raged

^onfor years.

Meanwhile the^most handsome and

eligible

^{bachelorsin therealm-Sir}

Robert

Dudley,

the Earl of

Essex,

^SirWalter

Ra.leigh———vied

^forElizabetlfs hand.She did^not

discourage ^them,

but she seemed^tobeinno

hurry,

^and

her hints^as towhich man

might

be her favorite often contradicted each other. In 1566, Parliament ^{sent a}

delegation

^{to Elizabeth}

urging

^{her to} marry before^shewastoooldtobear children. Shedidnotargue, ^nordid she

discourage

^the

delegation,

but she remained^a

virgin

nonetheless.

The delicate game that Elizabeth

played

^{with hersuitors}

slowly

^made

her the

subject

^ofinnumerable sexual fantasies and the

object

^{of cultish}

worship.

^{The court}

physician,

^Simon

Forman,

^{used his}

diary

^todescribe

his dreams of

deflowering

her. Painters

represented

^{herasDianaandother}

goddesses.

^Thepoet^Edmund

Spenser

^{andotherswrote}

^eulogies

^totheVir-

gin Queen.

^{She wasreferredto as}“tha, wor1d’s

Empresse,”

^{“thatvirtuous}

Virgo”

who rules theworld and setsthe stars in motion.In conversation with

her,

her many male ^suitorswould

employ

bold sexual

innuendo,

^a

darethatElizabeth didnot

discourage.

She did all she could^tostirtheirin terestand

simultaneously keep

^themat

bay.

Throughout Europe, kings

^and

princes

^{knew thata}

marriage

^withEliz- abeth wouldseal^analliance between

England

and any^nation.The

king

^of

Spain

^wooed

^her,

^{asdid the}

prince

of Sweden and the archduke of Austria.

She

politely

refused them all.

Thegreat

diplomatic

^{issue of}Elizabetlfs

day

^was

posed by

^{the revolt}

of the Flemishand Dutch

Lowlands,

^{whichwerethen}

possessions

^of

Spain.

Should

England

^{breakitsalliancewith}

Spain

^{andchooseFranceasitsmain}

ally

^{on the}

^Continent, thereby encouraging

Flemish and Dutch

indepen-

dence?

By

^{1570ithadcometoseemthatanalliance}with Francewould be

England’s

^{wisestcourse. France hadtwo}

eligible

^{menof nobleblood, the}

dukes of

Anjou

^and

Alencon,

brothers of the French

king.

^{Wouldeitherof}

them marry Elizabeth?Bothhad

advantages,

^andElizabeth

kept

^the

hopes

of both alive. Theissuesimmered_{for years.}The duke of

Anjou

^madesev-

eral visits to

England,

^{kissed Elizabeth in}

public,

^{even called her}

by pet

names; she

appeared

^to

^requite

his affections.

Meanwhile,

^{as she flirted}

with the two

brothers,

^a

treaty

^was

signed

^that sealed peace ^between France and

England. By

¹⁵⁸² Elizabeth felt she could break off the

courtship.

^{In the case}of the duke of

Anjou

ⁱⁿ

particular,

^{she did sowith}

great

relief: For the sake of

diplomacy

she had allowed herself ^to be courted

by

^{a man} whose presence she could ^not stand and whom she found

physically repulsive.

Once peace between France and

England

^was

secure,she

dropped

^{theunctuousdukeas}

politely

^{asshe could.}

By

^{this time Elizabeth wastoo old tobear}children. Shewasaccord-

ingly

^{abletolive therest}of her lifeasshe

desired,

and she died the

Virgin Queen.

^{She leftnodirect}

^heir,

^butruled

through

^a

period

^of

incomparable

peace and cultural

fertility.

^“

Interpretation

Elizabeth had

good

^{reasonnot to}marry:^Shehad witnessedthemistakes of

Mary Queen

^of

^Scots,

^{her cousin.}

Resisting

the idea of

being

^ruled

by

^a

woman,the Scots

expected Mary

^tomany and marry

wisely.

^{To wedafor-}

eigner

^{would be}

unpopular;

^to favor any

particular

noble house would open up terrible rivalries.^Intheend

Mary

^choseLord

Damley,

^aCatholic.

In

doing

^soshe incurred the wrath of Scotland’s

Protestants,

and endless turmoilensued.

Elizabeth knew that

marriage

^{canoften leadtoa}female ru1er’s undo-

ing: By marrying

^and

committing

^{to an}alliance withone

party

^ornation, the queen becomes embroiledⁱⁿconflicts thatarenotof her

choosing,

^con~

flicts which _may

eventually

^{overwhelm her orlead herinto afutile war.}

Also,

^thehusband becomes the de factoruler,^{and often triesto}do away with his wife the queen, ^as

Darnley

^{tried to}

get

^{rid of}

Mary.

^Elizabeth

learned the lessonwell.She hadtwo

goals

^{as aruler:toa‘ ‘old}

marriage

^and

toavoidwar. She

managed

^tocombine these

goals by Lnngling

^the

possi- bility

^of

marriage

^inorderto

forge

alliances. The momentshe committed toany

single

^suitorwould have been themomentshe lost her power. She had to emanate mystery ^and

desirability,

^never

discouraging anyone’s hopes

^butnever

yielding.

Through

^this

lifelong

game of

flirting

^and

withdrawing,

^Elizabeth

dominated the

country

and every^manwho

sought

^toconquer her. As the center ofattention, ^{shewas incontrol.}

Keeping

^her

independence

^above

all,

^Elizabeth

protected

her power and made herself^an

object

^of

worship.

I wouldrather bea

beggar

^and

single

^{thanaqueen andmarried.}

Queenl‘?l1':alzzthI, 15 33-161]?

KEYS 'l‘(..) POWER

Since power

depends greatly

^on appearances, you ^must learn the tricks thatwill enhance your

image. Refusing

^{to committoa}person^orgroup^is

oneof these, When you hold

yourself ^back,

you^incurnotanger^butakind

LAW 20 § 147

148

of

respect.

^You

instantly

^seem

powerful

because you ^make

yourself

^un-

graspable,

^ratherthan

succumbing

^tothegroup,^{or to} the

relationship,

^as

most

people

^{do. Thisaura}of power

only

grows with time: Asyour

reputa-

tionfor

independence

grows, ^more andmore

people

^{willcome todesire}

you,

wanting

^{tobe theonewho}getsyou^tocommit.Desire is likeavirus:If

we seethatsomeoneisdesired

by

^other

people,

^wetendtofind this person desirabletoo.

Themomentyou commit,^the

magic

^isgone.^Youbecome like every-

oneelse.

People

^will tryall kinds ofunderhanded methods to

get

you ^to commit.

They

^will

give

you

gifts,

shower you with

favors,

^{all to} _putyou under

obligation. Encourage

^{the attention,} stimulate theirinterest, ^{but do}

notcommitatany^cost.

Accept

^the

gifts

and favors if you^sodesire,^{but be} careful to maintain your^inner aloofness, You cannot

inadvertently

^allow

yourself

^tofeel

obligated

^toanyone.

Remember, though:

^The

goal

^isnotto

put people ^off,

^{ortomakeitseem}

thatyou^are

incapable

of commitment.Like the

Virgin Queen,

you need^to stir the

pot,

^{excite interest, lure}

people

^{with the}

possibility

^of

having

you.

You havetobendtotheirattention

occasionally,

^{then——butnevertoofar:}

The Greek soldier andstatesmanAlcibiades

played

this game^to per- fection. It^wasAlcibiades who

inspired

and led themassiveAthenian at-

mada that invaded

Sicily

^{in414 BC.WhenenviousAtheniansback home}

tried to

bring

^himdown

by accusing

^{him of}

trumpedup charges,

^{he de-}

fectedtothe enemy, the

Spartans,

^insteadof

facing

^atrial back home.

Then,

afterthe Atheniansweredefeatedat

Syracuse,

^heleft

Sparta

^for

^Persia,

^even

though

the powerof

Sparta

^{wasnow onthe rise.Now,}

^however,

^{both the}

Athenians and the

Spartans

courted Alcibiades because of his influence withthe

Persians;

^{and thePentans}showered himwith honors because of his power^overthe Athenians and the

Spartans.

^Hemade

promises

^toevery side but committed_{to none,}andintheend he heldallthe cards.

Ifyou

aspire

^to power and

influence, try

the Alcibiades tactic: Put

yourself

ⁱⁿthe middle between

competing

powers. Lureoneside with the

promise

of your

help;

^theother

^side, always wanting

^{to outdoits} enemy, will pursue you^as well. Aseach side viesfor your attention,you will^im-

mediately

^{seem a}person ^of

great

influence and

desirability.

^More power willaccruetoyou than^ifyou had

rashly

^{committedtooneside. To}

perfect

this tacticyou need ^to

keep yourself inwardly

free from emotionalentan-

glements,

^{andtoviewallthose}around you^aspawnsⁱⁿyour^risetothetop.

Youcannotlet

yourself

^{become the}

lackey

for any^cause.

In the midst ofthe 1968 U.S.

presidential ^election, Henry Kissinger

madea

phone

^calltoRichard Nixon’steam.

Kissinger

had been alliedwith Nelson

Rockefeller,

^whohad

unsuccessfully sought

^the

Republican

^nomina-

tion.Now

Kissinger

^offeredto

supply

the Nixon camp with valuable inside informationonthe

negotiations

^forpeace^inVietnamthatwerethen

going

oninParis. Hehada man onthe

negotiating

^team

keeping

him informedof thelatest

developments.

^TheNixonteam

gladly accepted

^hisoffer.

Atthesametime,

however, Kissinger

^also

approached

^{theDemocratic}

nominee, ^Hubert

Humphrey,

and offered his aid. The

Humphrey people

asked him for inside information on Nixon and he

supplied

^{it. “Look,”}

Kissinger

^told

Hurnphrey’s people,

“I’ve hated Nixon for

years.”

^{In fact he}

hadnointerest ineitherside.What he

really

^{wantedwaswhathe}got: ^the

promise

^ofa

high-level

^cabinet post ^{from both Nixon and}

Humphrey.

Whichevermanwonthe

election, Kissingefs

career was secure.

Thewinner, ^ofcourse, ^wasNixon, ^and

Kissinger duly

^{wenton tohis}

cabinetpost.^{Evenso,hewascarefulneverto}appear^toomuchof^aNixon

man. When Nixon was reelected in

1972,

^{menmuch more}

loyal

^{to him}

than

Kissinger

^werefired.

Kissinger

^{wasalso the}

only

^Nixon

high

^officialto

survive

Watergate

^{and serve under the next}

president,

Gerald Ford.

By maintaining

^alittle distance he thrivedinturbulenttimes.

Those who use this

strategy

^{often notice a} strange

phenomenon:

People

^{who rush to the}supportof others tendto

gain

^littlerespect^{in the} process, for their

help

^{is so}

easily obtained,

while those who stand back find themselves

besieged

^with

supplicants.

Their aloofnessis

powerful,

^and

everyone^wantsthemontheir side.

When

Picasso,

^after

early

years ofpoverty,^{hadbecome themostsuc-} cessful aitist intheworld, ^{hedidnotcommithimselfto thisdealerorthat}

dealer, although they

^now

besieged

^{himfrom all}sides with attractive offers and

grand promises. Instead,

^he

appeared

^{tohaveno interestintheirser-}

vices; ^this

technique

^{drove them}

^wild,

^{and as}

they fought

^{over him his}

prices only

^rose.When

Henry Kissinger,

^{as U.S.}secretary^ofstate, wanted toreach détentewith the Soviet

Union,

^hemadenoconcessionsorconcil-

iatory

gestures,but courted Chinainstead.This infuriated and also scared the

Soviets——-they

^were

already politically

isolated and feared further isola tion if the United States and

China,

^,ca.me

together. Kissinger’s

^move

pushed

^themtothe

negotiating

^{table.Thetactichasa}

parallel

^inseduction:

When you^{want to}seduce ^awoman,Stendhal

advises,

^courther sister first.

Stay

^aloofand

people

^willcometo you.It will becomea

challenge

^for

themtowinyouraffections.As

long

^asyou imitate the wise

Virgin Queen

and stimulate their

hopes,

youwillremainamagnet^ofattentionand desire.

Image:

The

Virgin Queen.

The centerofattention, desire, ^and

worship.

^Never

succumbing

^{toonesuitororthe}

other,

^the

Virgin Queen keeps

them all

revolving

^around

herlike

planets,

^{unable to}

leaveher orbitbut^never

getting

any closer

toher.

Authority:

^{Do not commit}

yourself

^to

anybody

^or any

thing,

^{for thatistobea}

slave,

^a slavetoevery^{man.. . . Above}

all, keep yourself

^{free ofcom-}

mitments and

obligations——

they

^are the device of another togetyou ^into his power. ^{. . .}

(Baltasar

Gracian,

1601-1658)

LAW 20 149

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‘/50 , LAW2n

PART 11: DO NOT C.(.)MMl'1‘ TO ANYONE—- STAY ABOVE THE FRAY

Donotlet

people drag

^youintotheir

petty fights

^and

squabbles.

^Seeminter-

ested and

suppcwtive,

^but

find

^away ^tomnain

neutral;

^{let others do the}

fighting

^whileyou^stand

back,

^{watchandwait. When the}

fighting patties

am

good

^andtired

thvy

^{will be}

ripe for

^the

picking.

^{Youcanmake ita}

prac- tice,

ⁱⁿ

fact,

^tostir

up quarrels

^betweenother

people,

^andthen

offer

^tomedi-

ate,

gaining power

^asthe

go-between.

OBSERVANCEOF THE LAW

Inthe late fifteenth

century,

^the

strongest city~states

ⁱⁿ

Italy-——Venice,

^Flo-

rence,

Rome,

^andMilan~—-foundthemselves

constantly squabbling.

^Hover-

ing

above their

struggles

^{werethe nationsofFrance and}

Spain, ready

^to

grab

^whatever

they

could from theweakenedItalian powers. And

trapped

in the middle ^was the small state of

Mantua,

^ruled

by

the young Duke Gianfrancesco

Gonzaga.

^{Mantua was}

strategically

^{located in northern}

Italy,

^{and itseemed}

only

^{amatteroftime before oneof}the powers swal- loweditup^anditceasedtoexistasan

independent kingdom.

Gonzaga

^{was afiercewarriorandaskilledcommanderof}

troops,

^and he becameakindof_mercenzuy

general

for whatever side

paid

him best. In the year

1490,

he married Isabella

d’Este, daughter

of the ruler of another small Italian

duchy,

Ferrara. Since he now

spent

^{mostof his time} away iron

Mantua,

^{itfelltoIsabellatoruleinhis stead.}

lsabellzfs

firsttruetestasruler^camein

1498,

^when

King

Louis XII of Francewas

preparing

^armiestoattack Milan. In their usual

perfidious

^fash«

ion, the ^{Italianstates}

immediately

^{lookedfor ways to}

profit

^{fromMila.n’s}

difficulties.

Pope

^AlexanderVI

promised

^{not tointervene,}

thereby giving

theFrenchcarteblanche. TheVenefians

signaled

^that

they

^wouldnot

help Milan,

^{either—andin}

exchange

^for

^this, they hoped

^theFrench would

give

them Mantua.Theruler of

Milan,

^Lodovico

Sforza, suddenly

^{found him-}

self alone andabandoned. He turnedto Isabella

d’Este,

^{oneof hisclosest} friends

(also

^{rumoredtobe his}

lover),

^and

begged

^herto

persuade

^Duke

Gonzaga

^tocometohis aid. Isabella

tried,

^{but herhusband}

balked,

^{for he}

sawSforza’s causeas

hopeless.

^{Andso, in}

^1499,

^Louis

swooped

^downon

Milan and tookitwithease.

Isabellanow faced a dilemma: If she

stayed loyal

^to

^Lodovico,

^the

Frenchwouldnowmove

against

^{her. But}

if, instead,

she allied herselfwith

France,

^{she wouldmakeenemieselsewhere in}

Italy, compromising

^Man-

tuaonceLouis

eventually

withdrew. Andifshe lookedtoVeniceorRome for

help, they

^would

simply

^swallowup Mantua under the cloak of

coming

to her aid. Yet shehadtodo

something.

^The

mighty king

^{of Francewas}

breathing

down her neck: She decided to befxiend

him,

^{as she had be~}

friended Lodovico Sforzabefore him——-with

alluring gifts, witty, intelligent letters,

^{and the}

possibility

^ofher company, for Isabella^{was famous as a}

womanof

incomparable beauty

^{and charm.}

In 1500 Louisinvited Isabellatoagreat party^inMilantocelebrate his

victory.

Leonardo da Vinci builtan enormous mechanical lion for the af- fair: When the lion

opened

^its

mouth,

^it

spewed

^fresh

^lilies,

^the

symbols

^of

French

royalty.

^{At the}

party

^{Isabellawore one} of her celebrated dresses

(she

^had

by

^{far the}

largest

wardrobe of any of the Italian

princesses),

^and

just

^{asshe had}

hoped,

^shecharmed and

captivated ^Louis,

^who

ignored

^all

the other ladies

vying

^{for hisattention.Shesoonbecame hisconstantcom-}

panion,

^andin

exchange

^forher

friendship

^he

pledged

^to

protect

^Mantua’s

independence

from Venice.

As ^one

danger receded, however, another,

^more

worrying

^onearose, this time from the

south,

^{in the form ofCesare}

Borgia Starting

ⁱⁿ

1500, Borgia

had marched

steadily northward, gobbling

up all the small

king-

domsinhis

path

^{inthenameof his}

father, Pope

Alexander. Isabella under»

stood Cesare

perfectly:

^{He could be neither tnisted 1101' in} any way offended.He hadtobe

cajoled

^and

kept

^atarm’s

length.

^Isabella

began by sending

^him

gifts——falcons, prize dogs, perfumes,

and dozens of

masks,

which she knew he

always

^worewhen he walkedthestreetsofRome. She sentmessengers with

flattering greetings (although

these messengers also acted as her

spies).

^{At one}

point

Cesare asked if he could house ^some

troops

^{inMantua;Isabella}

managed

^todissuade him

politely, knowing

^full

well that once the

troops

^were

quartered

^{in the}

city, they

^{would never}

leave.

Even while Isabella was

charming ^Cesare,

she convinced everyone aroundhertotake care never toutter aharsh word about

him,

^sincehe had

spies everywhere

^{and would use the}

slightest pretext

^{for invasion.}

When Isabella hada

child,

^sheasked Cesaretobe the

godfather.

^Sheeven

dangled

^{in front ofhim the}

possibility

^{of a}

marriage

^betweenher

family

and his. Somehowit all

worked,

^for

although

elsewhere he seized every-

thing

^{in his}

path,

^he

spared

^Mantua.

In 1503 Cesare’s

father, Alexander, died,

^andafewyears later the^new pope,

Julius II,

^{went towarto} drive the French troops ^from

Italy.

^When

the ruler of

Fe1rara——Alfonso,

Isabella’s brother—sided with the

French, Julius

^decidedtoattack and humblehim. Once

again

Isabella found herself inthe middle: the pope ^{on one}

side,

the French and her brother onthe other. She darednot

ally

herself with

either,

^buttooffend either would be

equally

disastrous.

Again

^she

played

the double game^atwhich she had be-

come soexpert.^{On theonehand she}gother husband

Gonzaga

^to

fight

^for

the pope,

knowing

^{he would not}

fight

very hard. On the other she let French

troops

pass

through

^{Mantua to come to Ferrara’s aid. While she}

publicly complained

that the French had “invaded” her

territory,

^she

pri- vately supplied

them with valuable information. To make the invasion

plausible

^to

Julius,

^sheevenhad the French

pretend

^to

plunder

^Mantua.It

workedonce

again:

The pope left Mantua alone.

In

1513,

^aftera

lengthy siege, Julius

^{defeated Ferrara,}and the French troopswithdrew. Worn out

by

^the

effort,

the pope died^afew months later.

With his

death,

^the

nightmarish cycle

^ofbattlesand

petty squabbles began

to

repeat

^itself.

leisurely /keding^onthe

dead kites andcrows.

and thenleft^theplace Italy andhearty, observing,"The Ivmk hem?/it by^Ilze1]M(lI‘I‘tf].¥

of^(hemighty."

INDIAN EARLF3

Menofgreat^abilities

areslow:0 act.for^{it is}

easierInavoidncca«

.s'irm.rforcommiltirzg yourself^{thanto(‘only}

wellnut(If^acommit-

mml.Such 0L'L'llSf07lS testyourjudgmeut;^itis safer^{toavoid them} thantoemerge victurr

nusfrom^{them. One} obligation^loadstoa greater^one.and you mmevery^neurtnthe brink0/'di.m.\'ter.

BALTASARGR/u'1A:\‘.

16014658

LAW 20 I51