USE DECOYED OBJECTS OF DESIRE AND RED

HERRINGS TO THROW PEOPLE OFF THE SCENT

If

^atany

point

^{in the}

deception

you

practice people

^{have the}

slightest suspi-

eionastoyour

intentions,

^{allislost. Donot}

give

them the chancetosense

whatyou ^are

up

^{to: Throw them}

off

^{the seen!}

by dragging

^ml

herrings

across the

path.

^Use

false sincerity,

^send

ambiguous signals,

^set

up

^mis—

leading objects 0}’

desire. Unableto

distinguish

^the

genuine fmm thefalse, thrgr

^ccmnat

pick

^outyour^veal

goal.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Over several

weeks,

^{Ninon de}

Lenclos,

^the most infamous courtesan of

seventeentlrcentury ^France,

^listened

patiently

^asthe

Marquis

^de

Sevigné explained

^his

struggles

ⁱⁿ

pursuing

^abeautiful but difficult young^countess.

Ninonwas

sixty~two

^{atthetime,andmorethan}

experienced

^inmattersof

love;

^the

marquis

^{was alad of}

twenty-two, handsome, dashing,

^but

hope lessly inexperienced

^{in romance.} At first Ninonwas amused to hear the

marquis

^{talkabout his}

mistakes,

^but

finally

^{shehad had}

enough.

^Unableto

bear

ineptitude

^inany

^realm,

least of allin

seducing

^{awoman,shedecided}

totake theyoung^manunderher

wing. First, he

^hadtounderstand that this

waswar,andthatthe beautifulcountesswas {citadeltowhich he had to

lay siege

^as

carefully

^asany

general. Every step

^hadtobe

planned

^andexe-

cuted with theutmostattentiontodetail andnuance.

Instructing

^the

marquis

^tostart over,Ninon told himto

approach

^the

countesswith abit of

distance,

^{an air} of nonchalance. Thenexttimethe two were alone

together,

^she

^said,

he would confide in the countess as

wouldafriend butnotva

potential

lover. Thiswastothrowher off thescent.

Thecountesswasno

longer

^{totake his}interest inher for

granted-perhaps

hewas

only

^interestedin

friendship.

Ninon

planned

^{ahead. Once the countess was}

confused,

^{itwould be}

time tomake her

jealous.

^{Atthenextencounter,ata}

major

^fétein

Paris,

^the

marquis

would show up with ^a beautiful young^{woman at}his side. This beautiful young^womanhad

equally

^beautiful

^friends,

^sothat wherever the countesswouldnow seethe

marquis,

he would be surrounded

by

^themost

stunning

young^womenin Paris. Not

only

^{would thecountessbe}

seething

with

jealousy,

^{she wouldcometosee the}

marquis

^{as someonewhowasde-}

sired

by

^others.Itwashard for Ninontomake the

marquis understand,

^but she

patiently explained

^{thata womanwhois interestedinamanwants to}

see that otherwomen areinterested in

him,

^{too. Not}

only

^{does that}

give

him instant

value,

^{itmakes it all the more}

satisfying

^to snatch him from theirclutches.

Once thecountess was

jealous

^but

intrigued,

^{itwould be time to be-}

guile

her. On Ninon’sinstructions,^the

marquis

^{would failtoshow}up^ataf- fairswhere thecountess

expected

^{to see him.}

^Then, suddenly,

^{he would}

appear^atsalons hehadnever

frequented ^before,

but that the countess at-

LAW 3 I7

18 LAW3

tended often. She would be unableto

predict

^{hismoves.Allofthis would}

push

^{herintothestate}of emotional confusion thatisa

prerequisite

^forsum

cessful seduction.

These moves were

executed,

and took several weeks. Ninon moni- tored the

marquis’s

progress:

Through

her network of

spies,

she heard how the countess would

laugh

^a little harder at his witticisms, ^{listen more}

closely

^{tohisstories.}She heard that thecountesswas

suddenly asking

ques- tions about him. Her friends told her that at social affairs the countess would often look up^atthe

marquis, following

^his

steps.

^Ninon

felt

^certain that the young^{woman was}

falling

^{under his}

spell.

^{Itwas amatterof weeks}

now,

maybe

^{a monthortwo, but ifallwent}

smoothly,

the citadel would fall.

Afew

days

^{later the}

marquis

^{was at}the countess’s home.

They

^were

alone.

Suddenly

^{he wasadifferent man:Thistime}

acting

^{onhis ownim—}

pulse,

^{rather than}

following

Ninon’s instructions, he took the ^countess’s hands and told her he was in love with her. The young ^woman seemed

confused,

^{3reaction he didnot}

expect.

^{She became}

polite,

^thenexcused

herself. Fortherestof the

evening

she avoided his eyes,^wasnotthereto say

goodnight

^{tohim. The nextfew times}he visited he^was told shewas

not athome. When she

finally

admitted him

again,

^{the twofeltawkward}

and uncomfortable with each other. The

spell

^wasbroken.

Interpretation

Ninon de Lenclos knew

everything

^{about theart}of love. The

greatest

^writ-

ers,

thinkers,

^and

politicians

^ofthetimehad been herlovers——menlikeLa

Rochefoucauld, Moliére,

and Richelieu. Seductionwas agame^to

her,

^tobe

practiced

with skill.Asshegot

older,

^{and her}

reputation

grew, the^mostim~

portant

^familiesinFrance would send theirsons tohertobeinstructed in mattersof love.

Ninon knew that men and women are very

different,

^{but when it}

comestoseduction

they

^{feel thesame:}

Deep

^down

^inside, they

^oftensense

when

they

^are

being ^seduced,

^but

they give

^inbecause

they enjoy

^{the feel-}

ing

^of

being

^led

along.

^Itisa

pleasure

^tolet go, and^toallow the other per-

son to detour you ^{into a} strange

country. Everything

ⁱⁿ

^seduction, however, depends

^on

suggestion.

^{Youcannotannounce} your^intentionsor reveal them

directly

ⁱⁿwords. Instead you^mustthrow yourtargets ^offthe

scent.To surrendertoyour

guidance they

^mustbe

appropriately

^confused.

Youhave to scramble your

signals——~appea.r

^{interestedinanotherman or}

woman

(the decoy),

^{then hintat}

being

^{interestedinthe}

target,

^then

feign indifference,

^onandon.Such

patterns

^not

only ^confuse, they

^excite.

Imagine

^this

story

from the countess’s

perspective:

^{Afterafew of the}

marquis’s

moves, she sensed the

marquis

^was

playing

^{some sort}of game, but the game

delighted

her. She didnotknow where he was

leading her,

butsomuch the better. Hismoves

intrigued ^her,

each of them

keeping

^her

waiting

^{for thenextone———sheeven}

enjoyed

^her

jealousy

^and

^confusion,

^for

sometimesany^{emotion is}be-tier thanthe boredomof

security. Perhaps

^the

marquis

had ulteriormotives;^mostmendo. But shewas

willing

^towaitand

see,and

probably

if she had been made^towait

long enough,

^{what hewas}

up^towouldnothavemattered.

Themomentthe

marquis

^utteredthat fatal word“love,” however, ^all

was

changed.

^{Thiswas no}

longer

^agamewith_{moves, it}was anartless show of

passion.

^{His intention was} revealed: He was

seducing

^{her. This} put

everything

^{hehad doneinanew}

light.

All that beforehad been

charming

nowseemed

ugly

^and

conniving;

^thecountess felt embarrassedand used.

Adoor closed that wouldneveropen

again.

Donotbe heldacheat,^eventhough^{2'! is}impossible^tolive

today

^without

being

^one.

Let yourgreatest

cunning

^{lie in}covering upwhat looks likecunning.

l:ia.lm.s'm(}rzu‘iz1u., ^{I 6}/)1 I6 58

OBSERVANCE OFTHE LAW

In1850 the young Otto^von

Bismarck,

^thena

thirty—five—yearvold deputy

ⁱⁿ

thePrussian

parliament,

^wasata

turning point

^{inhiscareer. Theissuesof}

the

day

^{were the} unification of the many ^states

(including Prussia)

^into

which

Germany

^wasthen

divided,

^andawar

against Austria,

^the

powerful neighbor

^tothe south that

hoped

^to

keep

the Germans weak and^at

odds,

even

threatening

^tointervene if

they

^{triedtounite.Prince}

William,

^{next in} linetobe P:ussia’s

king,

^{wasinfavor of}

going

^{to war, andthe}

parliament

ralliedtothe_cause,

prepared

^toback any mobilization of

troops.

^The

only

ones tooppose ^warwerethe

present king,

Frederick William

IV,

^{and his} ministers,^who

preferred

^toappease the

powerful

^Austrians.

Throughout

^{his career,} Bismarck had been a

loyal,

^even

passionate

supporter of Prussian

might

and power. He dreamed ^ofGerman unifica- tion,^of

going

^towar

against

^Austriaand

humiliating

^thecountry^{that forso}

long

^had

kept Germany

^{divided.Aformer}

soldier,

^{hesawwarfareasa}

glo-

riousbusiness.

This,

^after

all,

^{was the man} who years later would say, “The great

questions

^{ofthetimewill be}

^decided,

^not

by speeches

^and

resolutions,

^but

by

^ironand blood.”

Passionate

patriot

^{andlover of}

military glory,

Bismarck nevertheless gave ^a

speech

ⁱⁿ

parliament

^atthe

height

^{of thewarfever}that astonished all who heardit“Woeuntothestatesman,”^he

said,

^{“who makeswarwith-}

outa reasonthat will still be valid when the^warisover!After the_war,you will all look

differently

^atthese

questions.

Will you then have the courage

toturn tothepeasant

contemplating

the ashes of hisfarm,^tothemanwho has been

crippled,

^{tothe father whohaslost his children?” Not}

only

^did

Bismarck go ^ontotalk ofthe madness of this_war,

but,

_strangest^of

all,

^he

praised

^Austriaand defended heractions.This went

against everything

^he

had stood for. The consequences ^were immediate. Bismarck was

against

the wa.r——what could this

possibly

^{mean? Other}

deputies

^were

confused,

and severalofthem

changed

^theirvotes.

Eventually

^the

king

^{and hisminis-}

terswonout, and^warwasaverted.

A fewweeksafter Bisma.rck’s infamous

speech,

^the

king, grateful

^that

LAW 3 19

20 LAW 3

he had

spoken

for peace, madehimacabinetminister.A few years later he became the Prussian

premier.

^Inthis role he

eventually

^{led his}

country

^and

a.

peace-loving king

^{intoa war}

against Austria, crushing

^{the former}

empire

and

establishing

^a German state, with Prussia^atitshead.

lnterpretation

At the time of his

speech

ⁱⁿ

^1850,

Bismarck made several calculations.

First,

^{he sensedthatthe Prussian}

military,

^{which hadnot}

kept

pace with other

European

armies,^was

unready

for war--that

Austria,

ⁱⁿ

fact, might

very wellwin,^adisastrousresultforthefuture.

Second,

^{ifthewar werelost} and Bismarck had

supported

^{it, his careerwould be}

gravely jeopardized.

The

king

^{and his} conservative ministers wanted peace; Bismarckwanted power. The^{answer wasto}throw

people

^{off thescent}

by supporting

^acause

he

cletested, saying things

^{he would}

laugh

^{atif said}

by

^{another. A whole}

country

^{wasfooled. Itwas}because of Bismarck’s

speech

^{that the}

king

^made

himaminister,^at

position

from which he

quickly

^rosetobe

prime

^minister,

attaining

the power ^to

strengthen

the Prussian

military

^and

accomplish

what he had wanted all

along:

the humiliation of Austriaandthe unifica»

tionof

Germany

under Prussia’s

leadership.

Bismarckwas

certainly

^oneofthe clevereststatesmanwhoever

lived,

amasterof

strategy

^and

deception.

^Noone

suspected

^{what hewas}up^toin thiscase. Had he announced his realintentions,

arguing

^{thatitwasbetter}

towaitnowand

fight later,

^{he wouldnothave wonthe}

argument,

^since

most Prussians wantedwar at thatmomentand

mistakenly

believed that their army ^was

superior

^tothe Austrians. Had he

played

up ^to the

king, asking

^{tobe madea}minister in

exchange

^for

supporting

peace, he would not have succeeded either: The

king

would have distrusted his ambition and doubted his

sincerity.

By being completely

^{insincere and}

sending misleading signals,

^how-

ever, he deceived everyone, concealed his purpose, and attained every-

thing

he wanted. Suchisthe power of

hiding

yourintentions.

KEYS TO POWER

Most

people

^areopen^books.

They

say what

they ^feel,

^{blurtouttheir}

opin-

ionsatevery

opportunity,

^and

constantly

reveal their

plans

^andintentions.

They

do this forseveralreasons.

First,

^itis easy and natural^to

always

^want

totalk about one’s

feelings

^and

plans

^forthe future. It takes efforttocontrol your

tongue

^andmonitorwhat you reveal.

Second,

_many^{believe that}

by being

honest and open

they

^are

winning people's

^{hearts and}

showing

^their

good nature.They

^are

greatly

^deluded.

Honesty

^is

actually

^{abluntinstru-}

ment, which bloodies ^more than it cuts. Your

honesty

^is

likely

^{to offend}

people;

^{it ismuch more}

prudent

^totailor your

words, telling people

^what

they

^wanttohear ratherthanthecoarseand

ugly

truth of whatyou^feelor think. More

important, by being unabashedly

open you make

yourself

^so

predictable

and familiar thatit isalmost

impossible

^to

respect

^orfearyou, and power will^notaccruetoaperson who^cannot

inspire

^{suchemotions.}

Ifyou yearn forpower,

quickly lay honesty ^aside,

^andtrain

yourself

ⁱⁿ

the artof

concealing

yourintentions. Master theartand you will

always

have the upper hand. Basic ^{to an}

ability

^to conceal one’s intentions is a

simple

tmth about human nature: Our first instinct is to

always

^trust ap- pearances. We^cannotgo^around

doubting

^the

reality

^{of whatwe see and}

hear—-constantly imagining

that appearances concealed

something

^else

would exhaust and

terrify

^us.This fact makesit

relatively

easy^to conceal one’s intentions.

Simply dangle

^an

object

^{you seem to}

^desire,

^a

goal

^you

seemtoaim

for,

^{infront of}

people’s

eyes^and

they

^willtakethe appearance for

reality.

Once their eyes focus^onthe

decoy, they

^{will failtonoticewhat}

you^are

really

up^to.In

seduction,

^setup

conflictinghsignals,

^suchasdesire

and

indiiference,

^and_you^not

only

throw them off the scent, you inflame their desiretopossess you.

Atacticthatisoften effectivein

setting

up^ared

herring

^{is to}appear^to

support

^{anideaor causethatis}

actually contrary

^toyour ^ownsentiments.

(Bismarck

^{used thisto}

great

^effectinhis

speech

ⁱⁿ

1850.)

^Most

people

^will

believe you have

experienced

^a

change

^of

^heart,

^{since itis sounusual to}

play

^so

lightly

^with

something

^{as emotional asone’s}

opinions

and values.

The same

applies

^forany

decoyed object

^{of desire: Seemto want some-}

thing

ⁱⁿwhich you^are

actually

^{not at}all interested and your^enemieswill be thrown oil thescent.

making

all kinds oferrorsintheircalculations.

During

^{the Warofthe}

Spanish

^{Succession in}

^1711,

^{the DukeofMarl-}

borough,

head of the

English

army, wanted ^to

destroy

^a

key

^French

^fort,

becauseit

protected

^avital

thoroughfare

^{intoFrance.Yethe knewthat ifbe}

destroyed

^it,the French would realize what he wanted-to advance down that road.

Instead, then,

^he

merely captured

^thefort,and

garrisoned

^itwith

someofhistroops,

making

^itappear^{asifhe wanteditforsome}purpose^of hisown. The French attacked the fort and the duke let them

recapture

^it.

Once

they

^hadit

back, though, they destroyed

^it,

figuring

that the duke had wanteditforsome

important

^reason.Now that the fortwasgone, the road

was

unprotected,

^and

Marlborough

^could

easily

^{marchintoFrance,}

Use this tacticin the

following

^manner: Hide your^{intentions not}

by closing

up

(with

the risk of

appearing

^{secretive,and}

making people suspi- cious)

^but

by talking endlessly

about your desires and

goals—~just

^notyour

real ones. You will kill three birds with one stone: You appear

friendly,

open,and

trusting;

you conceal yourintentions; and you sendyour^rivals

on

timeconsuming wild~goose

^chases.

Another

powerful

^toolin

throwing people

^{oh’ thescentisfalsesincer-}

ity. People easily

^mjstake

sincerity

^for

honesty.

Remember-their firstin stinctis to trust appearances, and ^since

they

^value

honesty

^{and want to}

believein the

honesty

of those around

them, they

^will

rarely

doubt you^or

see

through

your ^act.

Seeming

^tobelieve what you say

gives

your words great

weight.

^Thisishow

Iago

deceived and

destroyed

Othello: Given the

depth

^ofhisemotions,^the

apparent sincerity

^{of hisconcerns}about Desde—

rnona’s

supposed infidelity,

^{how could Othello} distrust him? This is also how the

great

^{con artist} Yellow Kid Weil

pulled

^{the wool over suckers’}

eyes:

Seeming

^tobelieveso

deeply

^{in the}

decayed object

^hewas

dangling

LAW 3 ,2]

22

f

^{LAW 3}

in front of them

(a phony stock,

^a.touted

racehorse),

^{he made its}

reality

hardtodoubt.It is

important,

^ofcourse, not togo^toofar inthis^area.Sin~

cexity

^{is a}

tricky

^tool:

Appear overpassionate

^andyou raise

suspicions.

^Be

measuredand believableoryour^rusewillseemthe

put-on

^{thatit is.}

To make your false

sincerity

^aneffective weapon ⁱⁿ

concealing

your intentions, _espouse^abeliefin

honesty

^and

fertlirightness

^as

important

^so-

cial values. Do this^as

publicly

^as

possible. Emphasize

your

position

^onthis

subject by occasionally divulging

^{someheartfelt}

thought-though only

^one

thatis

actually meaningless

^or

irrelevant,

^ofcourse.

Napoleon";

^minister

Talleyrand

^{wasamaster at}

taking people

^{intohisconfidence}

by revealing

some

apparent

^{secret. This}

feigned

confidence——a

decoy—-would

^then

elicit^areal confidenceonthe other

person’s part.

Remember: The best deceivers do

everything they

^cantocloak their

{roguish qualities. They

^{cultivateanairof}

honesty

^{in one areato}

disguise

their

dishonesty

^inothers.

Honesty

^is

merely

^another

decoy

ⁱⁿtheir arsenal of weapons.

1 r I 5.-

PARTII: USE SMOKE SCREENS TO