OBSERVANCES OF MIRROR EFFECTS Observance I In February of 1815, the emperor Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba, where he had been im...
OBSERVANCES OF MIRROR EFFECTS Observance I In February of 1815, the emperor Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba, where he had been imprisoned by the allied forces of Europe, and returned to Paris in a march that stirred the French nation, rallying troops and citizens of all classes to his side and chasing his successor, King Louis XVIII, off the throne. By March, however, having reestablished hirnself in power, he had to face the fact that France's situation had gravely changed. The country was devastated, he had no allies among the other European nations, and his most loyal and important ministers had deserted hirn or left the country. Only one man remained from the old regime-Joseph Fouche, his former minister of police.
Napoleon had relied on Fouche to do his dirty work throughout his previous reign, but he had never been able to figure his minister out. He kept a corps of agents to spy on all of his ministers, so that he would always have an edge on them, but no one had gotten anything on Fouche. If suspected of some rnisdeed, the minister would not get angry or take the accusation personally-he would submit, nod, srnile, and change colors charneleonlike, adapting to the requirements of the moment. At first this had seemed somewhat pleasant and charming, but after a while it frustrated Napoleon, who feit outdone by this slippery man. At one time or another he had fired all of his most important ministers, including Talleyrand, hut he never touched Fouche. And so, in 1815,
back in power and in need of help, he feit he had no choice but to re appoint Fouche as his minister of police. Several weeks into his new reign, Napoleon's spies told him they bemost not above two or three pounds, can he carry a boy that weighs above fi fty? " "Why, " replied the merchant, "do you make such a wonder at that? As if in a country where one rat can eat a hundred tons ' weight o[ iron, it were such a wonder for an owl to carry a ehild that weighs not overfifty pounds in aW" The friend, upon this, found that the mercharll was no such fool as he took him to be, begged his pardon for the cheat whieh he designed to have put upon him, restored him the value of his iron, and so had his son again. FAHl.ES, PILPAY, INDlA, FOURTH CFNTlJRY When you have come to grips and are striving together with the enemy, and you realize that you cannot advanee, you "soak in " and become one with the enemy. You can win hy applying a suitable technique while you are mutually entangled. ... You can win often decisively with the advantage of knowing how to "soak" into the enemy, whereas, were you to draw apart, you would lose the chance to win. A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, MIYAMOTO MUSASHl, JAPAN, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY LAW 44 379 '1'1 1 1<: F()\ ,1 ,\1) TI IE ,TOIlK One day Mr, Fox decided tu fork Ol/t And invite old Mrs. Sturk Ol/t< The dinner wasn 't elaborateBeing habitl/ally mean, He didn't go in for haute cuh·;ineIn fact it consisted of a shallow plate Of thin grl/el. Within a minI/te Ol/r juker had lapped his plate clean; Meanwhile his gl/est, fishing away with her beak, Got not a morsei in it. To pay him back jiJr this cruel Practical juke, the slork invited The fox to dinner the following week. "I shol/ld be delighled. " He replied; "When it comes to friends I never stand upon pride. " Punctually on the day he ran To his hostess 's house and at onee began Praising everything: "Whal taste! What chiel And Ihe food-done jusl to a turn!" Then sat down wilh a hearty appetite (Foxes are always ready to eal) And savored the delicious sm eil ofmeal. It was minced meat and served-Io serve him right! In a long-necked. narrow-mouthed um. The "lork. easily stooping. Enjoyed her fill With her long bill; His snout, Ihollgh,
380 LAW 44 lieved Fouche was in secret contact with ministers of foreign countries, including Metternich of Austria. Mraid that his most valuable minister was betraying hirn to his enemies, Napoleon had to find out the truth before it was too late. He could not confront Fouche directly-in person the man was as slippery as an eel. He needed hard proof. This seemed to come in April, when the emperor's private police captured a Viennese gentleman who had come to Paris to pass information on to Fouche. Ordering the man brought before hirn, Napoleon threatened to shoot hirn then and there unless he confessed; the man broke down and admitted he had given Fouche a letter from Metternich, written in invisible ink, arranging for a secret meeting of special agents in Basel. Napoleon accordingly ordered one of his own agents to infiltrate this meeting. If Fouche was indeed planning to betray hirn, he would finally be caught red-handed and would hang. Napoleon waited impatiently for the agent's return, but to bis bewilderment the agent showed up days later reporting that he had heard nothing that would implicate Fouche in a conspiracy. In fact it seemed that the other agents present suspected Fouche of double-crossing thern, as if he were working for Napoleon all along. Napoleon did not believe this for an instant-Fouche had somehow outwitted hirn again. The following morning Fouche visited Napoleon, and remarked,
"By the way, sire, I never told you that I had a letter from Metternich a few days ago; my mind was so full of things of greater moment. Besides, his emissary omitted to give me the powder needed to make the writing legible .... Here at length is the letter." Sure that Fouche was toying with hirn, Napoleon exploded, "You are a traitor, Fouche! I ought to have you hanged." He continued to harangue Fouche, but could not fire hirn without proof. Fouche only expressed amazement at the emperor's words, but inwardly he smiled, for all along he had been playing a mirroring game. Interpretation Fouche had known for years that Napoleon kept on top of those around hirn by spying on them day and night. The minister had survived this game by having his own spies spy on Napoleon's spies, thus neutralizing any action Napoleon might take against hirn. In the case of the meeting in Basel, he even turned the tables: Knowing about Napoleon's double agent, he set it up so that it would appear as if Fouche were a loyal double agent too. Fouche gained power and flourished in a period of great tumult by mirroring those around hirn. During the French Revolution he was a radical Jacobin; after the Terror he became a moderate republican; and under Napoleon he became a committed imperialist whom Napoleon ennobled and made the duke of Otranto. If Napoleon took up the weapon of digging up dirt on people, Fouche made sure he had the dirt on Napoleon, as weIl as on everyone else. This also allowed hirn to predict the emperor's plans and desires, so that he could echo his boss's sentiments before he had even uttered them. Shielding his actions with a mirror strategy, Fouche could also plot offensive moves without being caught in the act. This is the power of mirroring those around you. First, you give people the feeling that you share their thoughts and goals. Second, if they suspect you have ulterior motives, the mirror shields you from them, preventing them from figuring out your strategy. Eventually this will infuriate and unsettle them. By playing the double, you steal their thunder, suck away their initiative, make them feel helpless. You also gain the ability to choose when and how to unsettle them-another avenue to power. And the mirror saves you mental energy: simply echoing the moves of others gives you the space you need to develop a strategy of your own. Observance 11 Early on in his career, the ambitious statesman and general Alcibiades of Athens (450-404 B.C.) fashioned a formidable weapon that became the source of his power. In every encounter with others, he would sense their moods and tastes, then carefully tailor his words and actions to mirror their inmost desires. He would seduce them with the idea that their values were superior to everyone else's, and that his goal was to model hirnself on them or help them realize their dreams. Few could resist his charm. The first man to fall under his speIl was the philosopher Socrates. Alcibiades represented the opposite of the Socratic ideal of simplicity and uprightness: He lived lavishly and was completely unprincipled. Whenever he met Socrates, however, he mirrored the older man's sobriety, eating simply, accompanying Socrates on long walks, and talking only of philosophy and virtue. Socrates was not completely fooled-he was not unaware of Alcibiades' other life. But that only made hirn vulnerable to a logic that flattered hirn: Only in my presence, he feIt, does this man submit to a virtuous influence; only I have such power over hirn. This feeling intoxicated Socrates, who became Alcibiades' fervent admirer and supporter, one day. even risking his own life to rescue the young man in battle.
The Athenians considered Alcibiades their greatest orator, for he had an uncanny ability to tune in to his audience's aspirations, and mirror their desires. He made his greatest speeches in support of the invasion of Sicily, which he thought would bring great wealth to Athens and limitless glory to hirnself. The speeches gave expression to young Athenians' thirst to conquer lands for themselves, rather than living off the victories of their ancestors. But he also tailored his words to reflect older men's nostalgia for the glory years when Athens led the Greeks against Persia, and then went on to create an empire. All Athens now dreamed of conquering Sicily; Alcibiades' plan was approved, and he was made the expedition's commander. While Alcibiades was leading the invasion of Sicily, however, certain Athenians fabricated charges against hirn of profaning sacred statues. He knew his enemies would have hirn executed if he retumed horne, so at the last minute he deserted the Athenian fleet and defected to Athens's bitter enemy, Sparta. The Spartans welcomed this great man to their side, but they knew his reputation and were wary of hirn. Alcibiades loved luxury; the Spartans were a warrior people who worshipped austerity, and they were afraid he would corrupt their youth. But much to their relief, the AIheinfi the wronfi shape ami size, He had to return to his den Empty·hellied, tai! drafifiinfi, ears drooping, As red in the face as a fox who 's been caufiht by a hen. SELECTEf) FAHLES, JEAN DE LA FONTAINF, 1 621-1695 '1'11 1'. 1'1 ·HI.()I � f:/) U:Tn: H When I wish to find out how wise, or how stupid, or how fiood, or how wicked is any one, or what are his thoufihts at the moment, I fashion the expression of my face, as accurately as possible, in accordance with the expression oI his, and then wait to see what thoufihts or sentiments arise in my miml or heart, as if to match or correspond with the expression. EDGAR ALLAN POE, 1809- 1 849 LAW 44 381 1 .0KI·:\ZO IlE' \l EI)I(:1 SEIH n, TIII·: POPE Lorenzo [de ' Medici! lost no opportunily of increasing the respect which Pope {nnocent now feit for hirn and of gaining his friendship. if possible his affection. He took the trouble to discover the Pope:, tastes and indulged thern accordingly.
He sent hirn ... casks of his favourile wine .. He sent hirn courteous. flattering letters in wh ich he assured hirn. when the Pope was ill. that he feit his sufferings as thOl'lih they were his own. in which he encouraged hirn with such fortifyinli statements as Ha Pope is what he wills to be. " and in which, as though incidentally. he included his views on the proper course of papal policies. {nnocent was gratified by Lorenzo's attentions and convinced by his arguments .... So cornpletely, indeed, did he corne to share his opinions that. as the di.wruntled Ferrarese arnbassador put it. Hthe Pope sleeps wilh the eyes of the Magnificent Lorenzo . .. TIIE 1I0lJSE OF MElJICI: rJ S RISE AND FALL. CHRISTOPHER HIRBERT. 1 980 382 LAW 44 cibiades who arrived in Sparta was not at all what they expected: He wore his hair untrimmed (as they did) , took cold baths, ate coarse bread and black broth, and wore simple clothes.
To the Spartans this signified that he had come to see their way of life as superior to the Athenian; greater than they were, he had chosen to be a Spartan rather than being born one, and should thus be honored above all others. They fell under his speIl and gave hirn great powers. Unfortunately Alcibiades rarely knew how to rein in his charm-he managed to seduce the king of Sparta's wife and make her pregnant. When this became public he once more had to flee for his life. This time Alcibiades defected to Persia, where he suddenly went from Spartan simplicity to embracing the lavish Persian lifestyle down to the last detail. It was of course immensely flattering to the Persians to see a Greek of Alcibiades' stature prefer their culture over his own, and they showered hirn with honors, land, and power. Once seduced by the mirror, they failed to notice that behind this shield Alcibiades was playing a double game, secretly helping the Athenians in their war with Sparta and thus reingratiating hirnself with the city to which he desperately wanted to return, and which welcomed hirn back with open arms in 408 B.C. Interpretation Early in his political career, Alcibiades made a discovery that changed his whole approach to power: He had a colorful and forceful personality, but when he argued his ideas strongly with other people he would win over a few while at the same time alienating many more. The secret to gaining ascendancy over large numbers, he came to believe, was not to impose his colors but to absorb the colors of those around hirn, like a chameleon. Once people fell for the trick, the deceptions he went on to practice would be invisible to them. Understand: Everyone is wrapped up in their own narcissistic shell.
When you try to impose your own ego on them, a wall goes up, resistance is increased. By mirroring them, however, you seduce them into a kind of narcissistic rapture: They are gazing at a double of their own soul. This double is actually manufactured in its entirety by you. Once you have used the mirror to seduce them, you have great power over them. It is worth noting, however, the dangers in the promiscuous use of the mirror. In Alcibiades' presence people feIt larger, as if their egos had been doubled. But once he left, they feIt empty and diminished, and when they saw hirn mirroring completely different people as totally as he had mirrored them, they feIt not just diminished but betrayed. Alcibiades' overuse of the Mirror Effect made whole peoples feel used, so that he constantly had to flee from one place to another. Indeed Alcibiades so angered the Spartans that they finally had hirn murdered. He had gone too far. The Seducer's Mirror must be used with caution and discrimination. Observance 111 In 1652 the recently widowed Baroness Mancini moved her family frorn Rome to Paris, where she could count on the influence and protection of her brother Cardinal Mazarin, the French prime minister. Of the baroness's five daughters, four dazzled the court with their beauty and high spirits. These infamously charming nieces of Cardinal Mazarin became known as the Mazarinettes, and soon found themselves invited to all the most important court functions. One daughter, Marie Mancini, did not share this good fortune, for she lacked the beauty and grace of her sisters-who, along with her mother and even Cardinal Mazarin, eventually came to dislike her, for they feit she spoiled the family image. They tried to persuade her to enter a convent, where she would be less of an embarrassment, but she refused. Instead she applied herself to her studies, learning Latin and Greek, perfecting her French, and practicing her musical skills. On the rare occasions when the family would let her attend court affairs, she trained herself to be an artful listen er, sizing people up for their weaknesses and hidden desires. And when she finally met the future King Louis XIV, in 1657 (Louis was seventeen years old, Marie eighteen), she decided that to spite her family and unde, she would find a way to make this young man fall in love with her. This was a seemingly impossible task for such a plain-Iooking girl, but Marie studied the future king dosely. She noticed that her sisters' frivolity did not please hirn, and she sensed that he loathed the scheming and petty politicking that went on all around hirn. She saw that he had a romantic nature-he read adventure novels, insisted on marching at the head of his armies, and had high ideals and a passion for glory. The court did not feed these fantasies of his; it was a banal, superficial world that bored hirn.
The key to Louis's heart, Marie saw, would be to construct a mirror reflecting his fantasies and his youthful yearnings for glory and romance. To begin with she immersed herself in the romantic novels, poems, and plays that she knew the young king read voraciously. When Louis began to engage her in conversation, to his delight she would talk of the things that stirred his soul-not this fashion or that piece of gossip, but rather courtly love, the deeds of great knights, the nobility of past kings and heroes. She fed his thirst for glory by creating an image of an august, superior king whom he could aspire to become. She stirred his imagination. As the future Sun King spent more and more time in Marie's presence, it eventually became dear that he had fallen in love with the least likely young woman of the court. To the horror of her sisters and mother, he showered Marie Mancini with attention. He brought her along on his military campaigns, and made a show of stationing her where she could watch as he marched into battle. He even promised Marie that he would marry her and make her queen. Mazarin, however, would never allow the king to marry his niece, a woman who could bring France no diplomatie or royal alliances. Louis had to marry a princess of Spain or Austria. In 1658 Louis succumbed to the pressure and agreed to break off the first romantic involvement of his life. He did so with much regret, and at the end of his life he acknowledged that he never loved anyone as much as Marie Mancini.
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