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Law 24: Play The Perfect

Courtie
The 48 Laws Of Power Summary Series

Alexander Emmanual Sandalis · Follow

6 min read · Feb 20, 2017

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LAW24
Judgement

“The perfect courtier

thrives in a world where
everything revolves around
power and political
dexterity. He has mastered
the art of indirection; he
flatters, yields to superiors,
and asserts power over
others in the most oblique
and graceful manner. Learn
and apply the laws of
courtier-ship and there will
be no limit to how far you
can rise in the court.”
A courtier is someone who attends a royal
court as an adviser or companion to the king
or queen. To be a courtier was quite a
dangerous game because they were often
used as a scapegoat. Living the life of a
courtier was like walking life on a tight rope;
courtiers had to learn to master the balance
between pleasing, while not pleasing too
much. It was a dangerous game, but there is a
lot to learn from these magicians of
behaviour.

So how do we make these stories relatable to

the common 21st century man and women?
Think of this law as exemplifying the modern
day workplace and social group.

Your boss = the king.

Your superiors = other nobility.

Your colleagues = other courtiers.

As we continue to the 15 laws of court

politics, reflect on how the following power
and social dynamics can relate to your social
group and workplace.

The Laws Of Court Politics

THELAWSOFCOURTPOLITICS
OlDOSTENTATION
ITISNEVERPRUDENTTOPRATTLEONABOUTYOURSELF
ORCAULTOO TIONTOYOUR

THEMOREYOUTALKABOUTYOURDEEDSTHEMORE
SUSPIC AUSE

BECAREFULINTRUMPETIN YOUROWNACHEIVEMENTS
ANDALWAYSTALKLESSABO YOURSELFTHANABOUT
OTHER PLE

MODESTYISGENEI YPREFERABLE

This idea links to Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions, Law 4:

Always Say Less Than Necessary and even Law 1: Never
Outshine The Master beacuse your ‘master’ in the
workplace is your boss/manager/CEO.

THELAWSOFCOURTPOLITICS
#3:BEFRUGALWITHFLATTERY

ITMAYSEEMTHATYOURSUPERIORSCANNOTGETENOUGH
FLATTERYBUTTOOMUCHOFEVENAGOODTHINGLOSES
ITSVALUE

ITALSOSTIRSUPSUSPICIONAMONGYOURPEERS
LEARNTOFLATTERINDIRECTLYBYDOWNPLAYINGYOUR
OWNCONTRIBUTION

EXAMPLE:TOMAKEYOURMASTERLOOKBETTER

THELAWSOFCOURTPOLITICS
#4:ARRANGETOBENOTICED
NOT DISPI AYYOURSELFTOBRAZENLYETYOU
ALSOGET YOURSELFNOTICE

JOTICEYOUINTHESWA MPOFCOURTIERS

PA PATTENTIONTOYOURPHYSICALAPPERANCETHE
ANDFINDAWAYTOCREATEADISTINCTIVE
ASUBTLYDISTINCTIVE-STYLEANDIMAGE

In the court of Louis XIV, whoever the king decided to look

at rose instantly in the court hierarchy.

THELAWSOFCOURTPOLITICS
#5:ALTERYOURSTYLEANDLANGUAGEACCORDING
TOTHEPERSONYOUAREDEALINGWITH
THEPSEUDO-BELIEFINEQUALITYTHEIDEATHATTALKINGANDACTINGINTHESAME
WAYWITHEVERYONENOMATTERWHATTHEIRRANKMAKESYOUSOMEHOWA
PARAGONOFCIVILIZATIONISATERRIBLEMISTAKE
THOSEBELOWYOUWILLTAKEITASAFORMOFCONDESCENSIONANDTHOSEABOVE
YOUWILLBEOFFENDED

YOUMUSTCHANGEYOURSTYLEANDYOURWAYOFSPEAKINGTOSUITEACHPERSON
THISISNOTIYINGITISACTINGANDACTINGISANART

NEVERASSUMETHATYOURCRITERIAOFBEHAVIOURANDJUDGMENTAREUNIVERSAL
NOTONLYISANINABILITYROADAPTTOANOTHERCULTURETHEHEIGHTOF
BARBARISMITPUTSYOUATADISADVANTAGE

A crucial law that many neglect. Adapt your behavioral

nuisances depending on the context you’re within.

THELAWSOFCOURTPOLITICS

#7:NEVERAFFECTFRIENDLINESS& MACY
WITHYOU MASTER

EDOESNOTWANTAFRI DFORASUBO

NEVERAR ASYFRIENDLYWAYOR
IFYOUAREO ITERMS-THATHISHISPRERO

IFHECHOOSESTODEALWITHYOUONTHISLEVELASSUME
AWARYCHUMMINESSOTHERWISEERRINTHEOPPOSITE
DIRECTIONANDMAKETHEDISTANCEBETWEENYOUCLAER

H EAWSOFCOURTROLTIO
#9:BEFRUGALINASKINGTHOSEABOVEYOU
FORFAVORS
NOTHINGIRRITATESAMASTERMORETHANHAVINGTOREJECT
SOMEONESREQUESTITSTIRSUPGUILTLANDRESENTMENT
ASKFORFAVORSASRARLEYASPOSSIBLEANDKNOWWHENTO
STOPRATHERTHANMAKINGYOURELETHESUPPLICANTIT
ISALWAYSBETTERTOEARNYOURFAVORSSOTHATTHE
RULERBESTOWSTHEMWILI NGLY
MOSTIMPORTANT:
.!DONOTASKFORFAVORSONANOTHERPERSONSBEHALF
LEASTOFALLAFRIENDS

Close friends may temporarily feign their superficial

feelings to save face whilst building resentment and
distrust as favor upon favor is asked.

If you say anything you loss everything.

THELAWSOFCOURTPOLITICS
#12:BESELFOBSERVANT
YOUNEEDAMIRRORFORYOURACTIONS
THISCANCOMEFROMOTHERPEOPLETELLINGYOUWHATTHEY
SEEINYOUBUTTHATISNOTTHEMOSTTRUSTWORTHYMETHOD

YOUMUSTBETHEMIRRORTRAININGYOURMINDTOTRYTO
SEEYOURSELFASOTHERSSEEYOU
AREYOUACTINGTOOBSEQIOUS?
AREYOUTRYINGTOHARDTOPLEASE?
DOYOUSEEMDESPERATEFORATTENTION?
BEOBSERVANTABOUTYOURSELFANDYOUWILLAVOIDA
MOUTAINOFBLUNDERS

AKA build self awareness. Most can’t see the forest from
the tree’s — they can’t confidently distinguish their
strengths and weaknesses to deploy appropriate tactful
action.

THELAWSOFCOURTPOLITICS
#14:FIT (SPRITOTHETIMES
WEARINGTHE GOISLUDICROUS
UNLESS SOLOrCOURTJESTER
YOURSPIRIT MUSTKEEPUPWITH
THETIMESEV OFENDYOURSENSIBILITIES
BETOOFORW HOWEVERANDNOONEWILL
DERSTAND
ITISNEVERA BOUTTOOMUCHIN
THISAREAYOU STBEINGABLETO
MIMI TIMES

The reversal to this law can be applied within the arts

faculties where creativity and being forward thinking can
be to your advantage.

A conclusive quote that ties all these mini-laws

together:

Scenes Of Court Life: Exemplary Deeds

& Fatal Mistakes

S
cene 1

“Alexander the Great, conqueror of the

Mediterranean basin and the Middle East through
to India, had the great Aristotle as his tutor and
mentor, and throughout his short life he remained
devoted to philosophy and his master teachings.
He once complained to Aristotle as his mentor he
had no one with whom he could discuss
philosophical matters. Aristotle responded by
suggesting that he take Callisthenes, a former
pupil of Aristotle and a promising philosopher in
his own right, along on the next campaign.
Aristotle had schooled Callisthenes in the skills of
being a courtier, but the young man secretly
scoffed at them. He believed in pure philosophy,
in unadorned words, in speaking the naked truth.
If Alexander loved learning so much, Callisthenes
thought, he could not object to one who spoke his
mind. During one of Alexander’s major
campaigns, Callisthenes spoke his mind one too
many times and Alexander had him put to death.”

Aristotle (right) in discussion with Alexander the Great

(left).

Interpretation
“In court, honesty is a fool’s game. Never be so
self-absorbed as to believe that the master is
interested in your criticisms of him, no matter how
accurate they are.”
Callisthenes broke many of the previous mini
laws, such as: ‘#5: Alter Your Style & Language
According To The Person You Are Dealing
With’ and most importantly ‘#8: Never
Criticize Those Above You Directly.’
Callisthenes arrogance and dogma blinded
him as he contradicted both laws which
ended in his death.

S
cene 3

“French architect Jules Mansart received

commissions to design minor additions to the
Versailles for King Louis XIV. The courtier Saint-
Simon described Mansart’s technique in dealing
with the king: “His particular skill was to show the
king’s plans that purposely included something
imperfect about them, often dealing with the
gardens, which were not Mansarts specialty. The
king, as Mansart expected would put his finger
exactly on the problem and propose how to solve
it, at which point Mansart would exclaim for all to
hear that he would never have seen the problem
that the king had so masterfully found and solved;
he would burst with admiration, confessing the
next king was but a lowly pupil. Mansart received
received a prestigious royal commission:
Although he was less talented and experienced
than a number of other French designers, he was
to take charge of the enlargement of Versailles.
He was the king’s architect from then on.”

Louis XIV (left) and Jules Mansart (right) in front of the

Versailles.

Interpretation
“Mansart has seen how many royal craftsman in
the service of Louis XIV had lost their positions,
not through lack of talent but through a costly
social blunder. He would not make that mistake.
Mansart always strove to make Louis feel better
about himself, to feed the king’s vanity as publicly
as possible.”

“Never imagine that skill and talent are all that

matter. In court the courtiers art is more
important than his talent; never spend so much
time on your studies that you neglect your social
skills. And the greatest skill of all is the ability to
make the master look more talented than those
around him.”
Mansart executed ‘#12: Be Self Observant’ and
‘#3: Be Frugal With Flattery’ as he was aware
and intelligent enough to not overdo his
flattery and compliments. By downplaying
his own contributions he made the king feel
larger than he was.

Scene 7
(Covered in part 2 here)

Scene 11

“Winston Churchill was an amateur artist, and

after World War II his paintings become collectors
items. The American publisher Henry Luce,
(creator of Time and Life magazines) kept one of
Churchills landscapes hanging in his private
office. On a tour through the United States ,
Churchill visited Luce in his office, and the two
men looked at the painting together. The
publisher re-marked, “It’s a good picture, but I
think it needs something in the foreground — a
sheep, perhaps.” Much to Luce’s horror,
Churchill’s secretary called the publisher the next
day and asked him to have the painting sent to
England. Luce did so, mortified that he had
perhaps offended the former prime minister. A
few days later the painting was shipped back, but
slightly altered: a single sheep now grazed
peacefully in the foreground.”

Interpretation
Churchill was a very powerful man, but so
was Luce. A slight equality lay between them.
“What did Churchill have to fear from an
American publisher? Why bow to the
criticism of a dilettante?” Consider the
following.

Churchill left his ego at the door and didn’t bat an eye,
unlike many kings may have hundreds of years ago.

Originally Posted

History
160 Politics 48 Laws Of Power

Philosophy Life Lessons

160

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Written by Alexander Emmanual

Sandalis
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Self-reflective writings & book summaries on philosophy,

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