UI)GM ENT

130

18

DO NOT BUILD FORTRESSES

TO PROTECT YOURSELF-

TRANSGRESSIONOF THE LAVV

Ch’in Shih

Huang Ti,

^{the first}emperor of China

(221-210 B.C.),

^{was the}

mightiest

^{manof his}

day.

^His

empire

^{wasvasterandmore}

powerful

^than

that of Alexander the Great. He had

conquered

^{all ofthe}

kingdoms

^sur-

rounding

^{his own}

kingdom

^ofChin and unified them into one massive realmcalled China. Butin thelast years^ofhis

life, few,

if anyone,^sawhim.

The emperor livedⁱⁿthemost

magnificent palace

^builttothat

date,

ⁱⁿ the

capital

^of

Hsien-yang.

^The

palace

^had270

pavilions;

all of these^were connected

by

^secret

underground

passageways,

allowing

the emperor ^to

move

through

^the

palace

without anyone

seeing

^{him. He}

slept

^{inadiffer-—}

entroomevery

night,

and anyone who

inadvertently

^{laideyesonhimwas}

instantly

^beheaded.

Only

^{ahandful ofmen knewhis}

whereabouts,

^andif

they

^{revealedit to}anyone,

they,

^too,were

put

^todeath.

Thefirstemperorhad grown ^soterrifiedof humanContactthat when he had toleavethe

palace

he traveled

incognito, disguising

^himselfcare

fully.

^Ononesuch

trip through

^the

provinces,

^he

suddenly

^{died. His}

body

wasborne backtothe

capital

^inthe

emperor’s carriage,

^withacart

packed

with salted fish

trailing

^{behind it to cover} up the smell of the

rotting

corpse-—~no ^{one was to} know of his death. He died

alone,

far from his wives, ^his

family,

^his

^friends,

^{and his} courfiers,

accompanied only by

^a

ministerandahandful of eunuchs.

Interpretation

Shih

Huang

^Tistarted off^asthe

king

^{ofCh’in,afearless}warrior of unbri- dledambition. Writers ofthe timedescribedhimas amanwith “a

waspish

nose,eyes like

slits,

^{thevoice ofa}

jackal,

^{andthe heartofa}

tiger

^orwolf.”

He could be merciful sometimes, ^{but moreoften he “swallowedmen}up withouta

scruple.”

^Itwas

through trickery

^{andviolencethathe}

conquered

the

provinces surrounding

^hisownand created

China, forging

^a

single

^na-

tionand cultureoutof many. He brokeupthe feudal

system,

^andto

keep

an eye ^on the many members of the

royal

families that were scattered

acrossthe realm’svarious

kingdoms,

^{he moved}

^120,000

^ofthemtothe cap- ital, where he housed the most

important

^{couxtiersin the vast}

palace

^of

Hsienyang.

^Heconsolidated the many walls^onthe borders and built them intothe GreatWallofChina. He standardized the

country’s ^laws,

^{its writ-}

ten

language,

^{eventhesize ofits}cartwheels.

As

part

^{of this}process ^of

unification, however,

^{the first}emperor^out- lawed the

writings

^and

teachings

^of

Confucius,

^the

philosopher

^whose

ideason themorallifehad

already

^become

virtually

^a

religion

^{in Chinese}

culture. On Shih

Huang

^Ti’s

^order,

^{thousandsof books}

relating

^{to Confu-}

ciuswere

burned,

^andanyone who

quoted

^{Confuciuswasto}be beheaded.

Thismademany enemiesfor the emperor, and hegrew

constantly ^afraid,

even

paranoid.

The executionsmounted.A

contemporary,

^thewriter Han-

fei-tzu,

noted that “Ch’in has beenvictoriousfor four

generations,

yet^has livedinconstant terrorand

apprehension

^ofdestruction.”

Asthe emperor withdrew

deeper

^and

deeper

^intothe

palace

^to

protect

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I32 LAW I8

himself,

^he

slowly

^lostcontrol of the realm. Eunuchs andministersenacted

political policies

^withouthis

approval

^{or even his}

knowledge; they

^also

plotted against

^him.

By

^the

^end,

^{hewasemperorinname}

only,

^{andwas so}

isolatedthat

barely

anyone knew he had died. ^{He had}

probably

^been

poi-

soned

by

^{the same}

scheming

ministers who

encouraged

his isolation.

Thatiswhatisolation

brings:

^{Retreatintoa.}fortress and you lose^con- tactwith thesourcesof your power. You lose your^earforwhatis

happen- ing

^aroundyou,^aswellasa senseof

proportion.

^{Instead of}

being ^safer,

^you

cut

yourself

off from the kind of

knowledge

^on which your life

depends.

Never enclose

yourself

^{sofarfromthestreetsthat}you^cannothear whatis

happening

around you,

including

^the

plots against

you.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

Louis XIV had the

palace

^ofVersailles builtfor himand his courtinthe

16605,

^{anditwaslike noother}

royal palace

ⁱⁿthe world. AsinEl,

beehive, everything

^{revolvedaround the}

royal

person. He lived surrounded

by

^the

nobility,

^{whowereallotted}

apartments

^{nestledaround}

his,

their closeness to him

dependent

^{ontheirrank. The}

kings

^bedroom

occupied

the literal centerof the

palace

^andwasthe focus of

everyone’s

^attention.

Every

^mom~

ing

^the

king

^was

greeted

^inthisroom

by

^aritual knownasthe lever.

At

eight

^A.M.,the

king's

^first

^valet,

^who

slept

^at the foot of the

royal bed,

^{would awaken His}

Majesty.

Then pages ^would open the door and admit those who had ^a.function in the lever. The order oftheir

entry

^was

precise:

^Firstcamethe

king’s illegitimate

^sonsandhis

grandchildren,

^then the

princes

^and

princesses

^{of the}

^blood,

^{and then his}

physician

^{and sur-}

geon. There^followedthe

grand

ollicers of the

wardrobe,

^the

king’s

^oflicial

reader,

^{and thosein}

charge

^of

entertaining

^the

king‘

^{Nextwouldarrivevar-}

ious

government

^{officials. in}

ascending

^{order of}rank. Last but not least

camethose

attending

^{the [ever}

by special

invitation.

By

the end of thecere»

many, the ^roomwould be

packed

^{with well over ahundred}

royal

^atten»

dams and^visitors.

The

day

^was

organized

^{sothat all the}

palace’s

energy ^wasdirectedat

and

passed through

^the

king.

^Louiswas

constantly

^attended

by

^courtiers

and

officials,

^all

asking

for his advice and

judgment.

^{To all their}

questions

he

usually replied,

^{“Ishallsee.”}

As Saint-Simon

noted,

“If he turned to someone, asked him ^aques-

tion,

^madean

insignificant ^remark,

^the eyes ofall

present

^{wereturned on} this person.^{Itwas a}distinction that^wastalkedof andincreased

prestige.”

There^wasno

possibility

^of

privacy

^inthe

palace,

^{notevenfor the}

king-

every^roomcommunicated with

another,

^andevery

hallway

^{led to}

larger

rooms where groups of nobles

gathered constantly. Everyone’s

^actions

were

interdependent,

^and

nothing

^{and no one}

passed

unnoticed: “The

king

^not

only

^sawtoitthat all the

high nobility

^was

present

^athis

court,”

wrote

Saint—Simon,

^“he demanded thesameofthe minor

nobility.

^{At his}

leverand

voucher,

^athis

meals,

^inhis

gardens

^of

Versailles,

^he

always

^looked

about

him, noticing everything.

^Hewasoffended ifthemost

distinguished

nobles did not live

permanently

^at court, and those ^who showed them- selvesneveror

hardly

^ever,incurred hisfull

displeasure.

^{Ifoneofthese de}

sired

something,

^the

king

would say

proudly:

^{‘I donotknow}

^him,’

^{and the}

judgment

^wasirrevocable.”

Interpretation

LouisXIVcame topower^atthe endofaterrible civilwar, the Fronde.A

principal instigator

^{of thewar}had been the

nobility,

^which

deeply

^resented

the

growing

power^ofthe throne and

yearned

^{for the}

days

^of

feudalism,

when the lordsruledtheirown fiefdomsand the

king

^{had little}

authority

overthem. Thenobleshad lostthe civilwar,but

they

^remaineda

^fractious,

resentful lot.

The construction of

Versailles, then,

^{wasfarmore than} the decadent whim ofa

luxury—1oving king.

^{It served acrucialfunction: The}

king

^could

keep

^an eye and ^{an ear on} everyone and

everything

around him. The

once

proud nobility

^{was reducedto}

squabbling

^overthe

right

^to

help

^the

king put

^{onhisrobesinthe}

morning.

^{Therewas no}

possibility

^hereof

pm?

vacy--no

possibility

of isolation. Louis XIV very

early grasped

^{the truth}

that fora

king

^toisolate himselfis

gravely dangerous.

^{In his}

absence,

^con-

spiracies

^will

spring

up like mushrooms afterrain, animositieswill

crystal-

lizeinto

factions,

and rebellion will break ^outbefore he has the time to react. To combat

this, sociability

^andopenness ^{must not}

only

^{be encour-}

aged, they

^mustbe

formally organized

and channeled.

These conditionsatVersailleslastedfor Louis’sentire

reign,

^some

fifty

yearsofrelative peace and

tranquillity. Through

^it

all,

^{not a}

pin dropped

withoutLouis

hearing

^it.

Solitudeis

dangerous

^{to reason,without}

beingfavorable

^{tovirtue. . . .}

Rememberthatthe

solitary

^{mortal is}

certainly

^luxurious,

probabhv

superstitious,^and

possibly

^mad.

Dr. Sanmeljolirism, ^{l 709m}784}

KEYSTO POWER

Machiavellimakestheargument^thatina

strictly military

^{sense afortressis}

invariably

^amistake. It becomes a

symbol

^of

power's ^isolation,

^{andis an}

easy

target

^{foritsbuilders’enemies.}

Designed

^todefend you, fortresses^ac—

tually

^cutyou^{off from}

help

^{andcut into}your

flexibility. They

may appear

impregnable,

^butonceyou^{retire toone,} everyone knows where you^are;

anda

siege

^{does not have to succeedto turn}yourfortress into a

prison.

With theirsmall andconfined_spaces,fortressesare also

extremely

^vulnerv

able to the

plague

^and

contagious

diseases, In a

strategic

^{sense, the iso-} lation of ^a fortress

provides

^no

protection,

^and

actually

^{creates more}

problems

^{thanitsolves.}

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EDGAR ALL.-\NPm;

3809-1849

LAW 18 I32)’

l 34 LAW 18

Because humansaresocialcreatures

by

nature, power

depends

^{on so-}

cial interactionand circulation.Tomake

yourself powerful

^youmust

place yourself

^{atthecenter of}

things,

^{asLouis XIV did at}Versailles. All

activity

should revolve around _{you, and}you should be ^aware of

everything hap- pening

^onthe street, and _{of anyone}who

might

^be

hatching plots against

you. The

danger

^formost

people

^comeswhen

they

feel threatened.Insuch times

they

^{tend to retreat and close}

^ranks,

^{to find}

security

^{in a kind of}

fortress. In

doing

^so,

^however, they

^{come to}

rely

for information ^{on a} smaller and smaller

circle,

^{and lose}

perspective

^{on events around them.}

They

^lose

maneuverability

and become easy

targets,

^{and their isolation} makes them

paranoid.

^{As in}warfare andmostgames of

strategy,

^isolation

often

precedes

defeat and death.

Inmomentsof

uncertainty

^and

danger,

you need^to

fight

this desireto turninward.

Instead,

^make

yourself

^more

accessible,

^{seekoutoldallies and} makenewones,force

yourself

^{intomoreandmore}different circles. This has been the trick of

powerful people

for centuries.

The Roman statesmanCicero wasborninto the lower

nobility,

^and

had little chance of power unless he

managed

^{tomake a}

place

for himself among the aristocrats who controlled the

city.

He succeeded

brilliantly, identifying

everyone with influence and

figuring

^outhow

they

^{were con-}

nectedtooneanother. He

mingled everywhere,

knew everyone, ^andhad such a vastnetwork of connections that an enemy here could

easily

^be

counterbalanced

by

^an

ally

^there,

TheFrenchstatesman

Talleyrand played

the game the ^sameway. Al-

though

^{he camefromone} of the oldest aristocraticfamiliesin

France,

^he madea

point

^of

always staying

ⁱⁿtouch with whatwas

happening

^inthe

streetsof

Paris, allowing

^himtoforeseetrends and troubles. Heevengot^a

certain

pleasure

^outof

mingling

^with

shady

^criminal

types,

^who

supplied

him with valuable information.

Every

^{timetherewas acrisis,atransitionof}

power--the

^endofthe

Directory,

the fall of

Napoleon,

^{the abdicationof}

Louis XVIII-~he was able to survive and even

thrive,

^{because henever}

closedhimself up^inasmall circle but

always forged

connections with the

neworder.

This law

pertains

^to

kings

and queens, and ^to those of the

highest

power: The^momentyoulosecontactwith your

people, seeking security

ⁱⁿ

isolation,

^rebellionis

brewing.

^Never

imagine yourself

^{soelevatedthat}you

can affordto cut

yourself

^{off fromeventhe} lowest echelons.

By retreating

to a

fortress,

you make

yourself

^an easytargetfor your

plotting subjects,

who viewyour isolation^{as an}insult andareasonfor rebellion.

Since humansare suchsocialcreatures, ^itfollows that the socialarts

that makeus

pleasant

^{tobe aroundcanbe}

practiced only by

^constantex-

posure and circulation. The^moreyou^{arein contact}with

others,

^themore

graceful

^andateaseyou become.

Isolation,

^{onthe other}

hand, engenders

anawkwardnessinyourgestures,^{andleadsto further}

isolation,

^as

people

start

avoidmg

you.

In 1545 Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici decided thatto ensuretheimmor-

tality

^{of hisnamehewouldcommissionfrescoesforthemain}

chapel

^ofthe

church of San LorenzoinFlorence. He had manygreat

painters

^{to choose}

from,

^{andinthe end he}

picked jacopo

^daPontonno.

Getting

^{on in}years, Pontormowantedtomakethese frescoes hischefd’oeuvreand

legacy.

^His

first decision^wastoclosethe

chapel

^{off with}

^walls, partitions,

and blinds.

He wantednoonetowitnessthe creation ofhis

masterpiece,

^ortostealhis

ideas. He would outdo

Michelangelo

himself. When ^some young ^men brokeinto the

chapel

^outof

curiosity, jacopo

^{sealeditoffevenfurther.}

Pontormo filled the

chape1’s ceiling

with biblical scenes—the

Creation,

Adam and

Eve,

^Noah's

ark,

^{onandon. Atthe}

top

^{of the}middle will he

painted

^Christinhis

majesty, raising

^{the dead}

onjudgment Day.

^Theartist

worked ^on the

chapel

^foreleven years,

rarely leaving

^{it, sincehe had de—}

veloped

^a

phobia

^{for human contact and was afraid his}ideas would be stolen.

Ponrormo died before

completing

^the

^frescoes,

^{andnoneof themhas}

survived. But the

great

Renaissancewriter

Vasari,

^{afriend ofPontormds} who saw the frescoes

shortly

after the artist’s

death,

^lefta

description

^of

what

they

looked like. There was a total lack of

proportion.

^Scenes

bumped against

^scenes,

figures

^inonestory

being juxtaposed

^withthosein

another,

ⁱⁿ

maddening

numbers. Pontormo had become obsessed with de»

tallbut had lost any^senseof the overall

composition.

Vasari left off his de~

scription

of the frescoes

by writing

^{that ifhe}

continued,

^“IthinkIwould go mad and become

entangled

^{in this}

painting, just

^{as I} believe that in the eleven years of^time

jacopo spent

^{onit, he}

entangled

himself andanyone else who^sawit.” Instead of

crowning

^{Pontormo’scareer,} the work became his

undoing.

Thesefrescoeswerevisual

equivalents

^{of theeffects ofisolationonthe}

human mind:^alossof

proportion,

^{anobsessionwith}detail combined with

an

inability

^toseethe

larger picture,

^akindofextravagant

ugliness

^thatno

longer

communicates.

Clearly,

isolation is^as

deadly

^{forthecreativeartsas}

for the social arts.

Shakespeare

^{is the most famous writer in}

history

^be-

cause, ^{as a} dramatist for the

popular stage,

^he

opened

himself up ^to the masses,

making

^{his workaccessibleto}

people

^nomatterwhattheir educa- tionand^taste.Artists whohole themselves upⁱⁿtheirfortresslosea sense

of

proportion,

^theirwork

communicating only

^to their small circle. Such artremainscornered and

powerless.

Finally,

^sincepower^isahuman creation,^{it is}

inevitably

^increased

by

Contact with other

people.

^{Instead of}

falling

^into the fortress

mentality,

view the world in the

following

^{manner: It is like avast}

Versailles,

^with every^room

communicating

with another. You needtobe

permeable,

^able

to floatin and outof different circles and mix with different

types.

^That kind of

mobility

^{and socialcontactwill}

protect

you from

plotters,

^{who will}

be unable to

keep

^secretsfromyou, and from yourenemies, ^{who willbe} unabletoisolate you from your allies.

Always

^{onthe move,youmixand}

mingle

^{intheroomsof the}

palace,

^never

sitting

^or

settling

^inone

place.

^No

hunter^canfixhis aim^onsucha

svvifbmoving

^creature.

LAW18 135