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Luigi Speranza -- Grice e Bottiroli: la ragione conversazionale e l’implicatura conversazionale dela seduzione di Ovidio – scuola di Novi Ligure – filosofia ligure -- filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, The Swimming-Pool Library (Novi Ligure). Filosofo ligure. Filosofo italiano. Novi Ligure, Liguria. Grice: “I like Bottiroli – he is an Italianist, rather than a philosopher, but typically in the Italian fashion, he uses philosophical vocabulary – my favourite are his tracts on ‘seduzione,’ ‘desiderio,’ ‘amore,’ ‘sesso,’ which of course is all Plato’s symposium – but he has also explored not just pragmatics, but semantics and syntax – notably with his ‘rigid/flexible’ distinction – Since he is associated with les belles lettres, philosophers in Italy do not take him too seriously, though!” -- Giovanni Bottiroli (Novi Ligure) è un filosofo e professore universitario italiano.   Professore di Teoria della letteratura, da molti anni, a Bergamo. Ha insegnato Retorica e Narrazione, Teoria dell’interpretazione, Estetica, in questa Università. Inoltre, è docente all’IRPA (Istituto di Ricerca di Psicoanalisi applicata), diretto da Massimo Recalcati.  È direttore della rivista “Comparatismi" (rivista della Consulta del SSD “Critica letteraria e Letterature Comparate”). Dal  è Presidente della Consulta di questo settore.  Fa parte del Comitato Scientifico di “Enthymema” e di “Symbolon”, e della Direzione di “L’immagine Riflessa”. Collabora alla rivista “Segnocinema”.  Pensiero Una filosofia della flessibilità Giovanni Bottiroli ha elaborato una nuova prospettiva filosofica che si ispira alla nozione di “flessibilità”, e che egli ha indicato con diverse espressioni: ragione flessibile, pensiero della Metis, pensiero strategico.  Questa prospettiva viene esposta nella forma più ampia e sistematica in La ragione flessibile  e La prova non-ontologica. Dalla filosofia alla letteratura (come modo di pensare) In Teoria dello stile la letteratura viene intesa come modo di pensare e ad essere privilegiato è il suo legame con la filosofia. Il legamenon privo di conflittualitàtra letteratura e filosofia richiede di essere analizzato mediante il concetto di stile, inteso sia come invenzione linguistica sia come “stile di pensiero”. Esemplare, da questo punto di vista, è l’analisi della “Lettera rubata” di Poe, proposta da Lacan negli Scritti  La teoria della letteratura In Che cos'è la teoria della letteratura. Fondamenti e problemi, la teoria della letteratura viene intesa come una disciplina ibrida che deve attingere alle teorie del linguaggio, alle teorie del desiderio e alle teorie dell’interpretazione, ispirandosi principalmente a tre fonti: Saussure, Freud, Heidegger.  L'interpretazione dei testi come conflictual reading L’interpretazione del testo è intesa come un conflictual reading capace di lasciare emergere la pluralità degli stili, il problema dell’identità del soggetto e le dinamiche del desiderio. Il suo orizzonte sono le estetiche conflittuali, a cuiin prospettive assai diversehanno contribuito Nietzsche e Heidegger, Freud e Lacan, ma anche Bachtin. Le riflessioni su questo tema sono confluite in diversi articoli tra cui Il desiderio “effrayant” di Julien Sorel. Un “conflictual reading” per un romanzo di formazione in “Enthymema”, . Altri saggi: Parodia Milano: Scheiwiller (con prefazione di Cesare Segre)  La contraddizione e la differenza. Il materialismo dialettico e la semiotica di Julia Kristeva, Giappichelli, Torino  Interpretazione e strategia, Guerini e associati, Milano Retorica della creatività. Per l'interpretazione e la produzione di testi, Paravia, Torino Figure di pensiero. La svolta retorica in filosofia, Paravia, Torino  Retorica. L'intelligenza figurale nell'arte e nella filosofia, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino Il reggicalze. Come l'abbigliamento diventò seduzione, Gribaudo, Torino Teoria dello stile, La nuova Italia, Firenze Problemi del personaggio (curatela), Bergamo University Press, Bergamo Lacan. Arte linguaggio desiderio, Bergamo University Press, Bergamo Le incertezze del desiderio. Scritti brevi su strategia e seduzione, Ecig, Genova  Che cos'è la teoria della letteratura. Fondamenti e problemi, Einaudi, Torino  La ragione flessibile. Modi d'essere e stili di pensiero, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino  La prova non-ontologica. Per una teoria del Nulla e del “non”, Mimesis, Milano-Udine Voci di Enciclopedia Enciclopedia Einaudi: Eros, Piacere, Pulsione,, Soma/Psiche, (quest’articolo in collaborazione con Guido Ferraro). Enciclopedia Treccani: Letteratura e psicoanalisi, in Appendice Manuale di letteratura italiana. Storia per generi e problemi (diretta da Franco Brioschi e Costanzo Di Girolamo): Il pensiero filosofico e scientifico e La prosa della filosofia e della scienza,  Letteratura europea (Boitani e Fusillo): Letteratura e psicoanalisi,  POMBA, Torino  Articoli di filosofia e di teoria della letteratura (una selezione)  Bachtin, la parodia del possibile, in "Strumenti critici", Il comico inesistente. I regimi figurali nell’opera di Calvino in “Calvino e il comico” (L. Clerici e B. Falcetto), Marcos Y Marcos Sinistra come "bêtise". Il problema degli attriti nel "Dono” di Nabokov in "Strumenti critici”  1Il comico delle articolazioni, in Barbieri B. Perissinotto “Il Comico: approcci semiotici”, Documenti di lavoro Centro Internazionale di Semiotica e Linguistica, Urbino  Introduzione a Flaubert, L’educazione sentimentale, Einaudi, Torino,  V-XXI 2003 Un sogno di Raskolnikov, in “Nel paese dei sogni” (V. Pietrantonio e F. Vittorini), Le Monnier, Firenze, La logica del diviso in "William Wilson" in Fantastico Poe (R. Cagliero, Ombre Corte, Verona) Non sorvegliati e impuniti. Sulla funzione sociale dell’indisciplina, in Forme contemporaneee del totalitarismo (Massimo Recalcati), Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, Metaphors and Modal Mixtures in Metaphors (di Stefano Arduini), Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, Roma, L’identità modale nei romanzi di Kafka. Descrizione di un progetto di ricerca in “Cultura tedesca”, In principio era la bêtise, in Soggettivazione e destino. Saggi intorno al ‘Flaubert’ di Sartre (G. Farina e R. Kirchmayr), Bruno Mondadori, Milano  Ibridare, problema per artisti. Alcune tesi, in “Enthymema”, Dalle somiglianze alle differenze di famiglia, in L’immagine riflessa, L’inganno del cortile centrale. Interpretazione della “Phèdre” come testo diviso, in Ermeneutica letteraria, VIII  Introduzione a “La conversazione infinita” di M. Blanchot, Einaudi, Torino  Lost in styles. Perché nel cognitivismo non c’è abbastanza intelligenza per capire l’intelligenza figurale, in “Lo sguardo”, Il perturbante è l’identità divisa. Un’interpretazione di “Der Sandmann” in Enthymema, The possibility of not coinciding with oneself: a reading of Heidegger as a modal thinker, in The Italian Psychoanalytic Annual, Cortina Editore  Le parole uccidono le cose oppure altre parole? Il linguaggio come perdita e come articolazione agonistica in Per Enza Biagini (A. Brettoni, E. Pellegrini, S. Piazzesi, D. Salvadori), Firenze University Press, Firenze  Liberatore e incatenato: le aporie di Dioniso (e del dionisiaco) da Euripide a Nietzsche in Enthymema, Return to literature. A manifesto in favour of theory and against methodologically reactionary studies (cultural studies etc.) in “Comparatismi”, 3,  1-37  What is alive and what is dead in Jakobson. From codes to styles in Roman Jakobson, linguistica e poetica (E. Esposito, S. Sini e M. Castagneto), Ledizioni, Milano,  Il desiderio “effrayant” di Julien Sorel. Un “conflictual reading” per un romanzo di formazione in Enthymema, Shakespeare e il teatro dell’intelligenza. Dagli errori di Bruto a quelli di René Girard in Metodo,  Il desiderio e i suoi destini: dal rapporto ai modi del rapporto, in A. Badiou, Il sesso l’amore (Federico Leoni e Silvia Lippi), Mimesis, Milano-Udine,  Sade e il desiderio di essere in “aut aut”; To be and not to be. Hamlet’s Identity, in Enthymema, Heart of Darkness e la teoria lacaniana dei registri in Anglistica pisana, The Turn of the Screw. A tale that “turns” in Enthymema, Articoli di cinema (una selezione), I registi sono alleati preziosi. Un'interpretazione di Mulholland Drive di David Lynch, in Segnocinema, Identità come identificazione (nei film e non negli spettatori), in “Imago”, 2  Joe, o le disavventure di una ninfomane (Nymphomaniac di Lars von Trier), in “Segnocinema” Non infantilizzate, vi prego, Ingmar Bergman. Desideri senza magia in “Fanny e Alexander” in Segnocinema, L’arte è un lusso, la fiction una necessità. Žižek e Hitchcock, qualche anno dopo in “Segnocinema”, Scaffai, recensione a Che cos'è la teoria della letteratura? Fondamenti e problemi, in Allegoria, Panella Giuseppe, recensione a Che cos'è la teoria della letteratura? Fondamenti e problemi, in Ermeneutica letterariam Franzini, recensione a La ragione flessibile, in “Enthymema”, Dalmasso Gianfranco, recensione a La ragione flessibile, in “Rivista di Filosofia Neo-Scolastica”, Marco, recensione a La prova non-ontologica, in “Enthymema. B. (database Università degli Studi di Bergamo), su 00.unibg.  Docenti titolari di materiaIrpa Milano, su istitutoirpa.  Comparatismi. Rivista della Consulta di Critica letteraria e Letterature comparate, su ledizioni.  Enthymema, su riviste.unimi.  Curriculum Vitae, su unipa. Franzini, La ragione flessibile di B., in Enthymema, n. 9.  Marco Carmello, Giovanni Bottiroli "La prova non-ontologica. Per una teoria del nulla e del 'non' ", Enthymema, Panella, A proposito di B., "Che cos'è la teoria della letteratura", in Ermeneutica letteraria. Rivista internazionale, Scaffai, Giovanni Bottiroli"Che cos'è la teoria della letteratura. Fondamenti e problemi", in Allegoria, B., Il desiderio "effrayant" di Julien Sorel, in Enthymema, Letteratura e psicoanalisi, su treccani. g00.unibg/ Biografie  Biografie Letteratura  Letteratura Psicologia  Psicologia Filosofo, Filosofi italiani, Accademici italiani, Accademici italiani Professore Novi Ligure. THE ART OF SEDUCTION. GREENE Choose the Right Victim 2 Create a False Sense of Security-Approach Indirectly Send Mixed Signals Appear to Be an Object of Desire- Create Triangles Create a Need-Stir Anxiety and Discontent Master the Art of Insinuation 7 Enter Their Spirit Create Temptation Keep Them in Suspense-What Comes Next? Use the Demonic Power of Words to Sow Confusion Pay Attention to Detail A Penguin Book £ Psychology www.penguin.com THE ART OF SEDUCTION ROBERT GREENE rci A JOOST ELFFERS. Get what you want by manipulating every one's greatest weakness: the desire for pleasure. Seduction is the most subtle, elusive, and effective form of power. It's as evident in John F. Kennedy's hold over the masses as it is in Cleopatra's hold over Antony. Now, the author of the bestselling The 48 Lazes of Pozeer has written a handbook synthesizing the classic literature of seduction from Freud to Kierkegaard and Ovid to Casanova, with cunning strategies illustrated by the successes and failures of characters throughout history. And once again Robert Greene identifies the rules of a timeless, amoral game and explores how to cast a spell, break down resistance, and, ultimately, compel a target to surrender. The Art of Seduction takes us through the characters and qualities of the ten archetypal figures of seduction (including the Siren, the Ideal Lover, the Dandy, the Natural, the Charismatic, and the Star) and the twenty-four maneuvers by which anyone can overcome a victim's futile resistance to the practice of this devastating and timeless art form. Every bit as essential as The 48 Lazes ofPozver, The Art of Seduction is an indispensable primer of persuasion that reveals one of history's greatest weapons and the ultimate form of power. ISBN Poeticize Your Presence Disarm Through Strategic Weakness and Vulnerability Confuse Desire and Reality- The Perfect Illusion i Isolate the Victim, 1 ( Prove Yourself 1 Effect a Regression j 18 Stir Up the \ Transgressive and Taboo Use Spiritual Lures 2 ( Mix Pleasure with Pain 21 Give Them Space to Fall-The ¦ Pursuer Is Pursued f I 22 Use Physical j Lures 13 Master the Art of the Bold i Move Beware ' i of the Aftereffects PENGUIN BOOKS THE ART OF SEDUCTION Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power, has a degree in classical literature. He lives in Los Angeles. Visit his Web site: www.seductionbook.com Joost Elf fers is the producer of Viking Studio's bestselling The Secret Language of Birthdays, The Secret Language of Relationships, as well as Play with Your Food. He lives in New York City. the art of seduction Robert Greene A Joost Elffers Book PENGUIN BOOKS PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell,Victoria 3124, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England First published in the United States of America by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc. 2001 Published in Penguin Books 2003 13579 10 8642 Copyright (c) Robert Greene and Joost Elffers, 2001 All rights reserved Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions in the hst that follows and would be grateful to be notified of any corrections that should appear in any reprint. Greene Robert. The art of seduction / Robert Greene, p. cm. "A Joost Elffers book."  1. Sexual excitement. 2. Sex instruction. 3. Seduction. I.Title. HQ31 .G82 2001 306.7-dc21 2001025868 Printed in the United States of America Set in Bembo Designed by Jaye Zimet with Joost Elffers Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shah not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint excerpts fiom the following copyrighted works: Falling in Love by Francesco Alberoni, translated by Lawrence Venuti. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc. Seduction by Jean Baudrillard, translated by Brian Singer. St. Martin's Press, 1990. Copyright (c) New World Perspectives. 1990. Reprinted by permission of Palgrave. The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by G. H. Me William (Penguin Classics 1972, second edition 1995). Copyright (c) G. H. McWilliam, Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. Warhol by David Bourdon, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. BehindtheMask: OnSexualDemons, SacredMothers, Transvestites, Gangsters and Other Japanese Cultural Heroes by Ian Buruma, Random blouse UK, 1Reprinted with permission. Andreas Capcllanus on Love by Andreas Capellanus. translated by P. G. Walsh. Reprinted by permission of Gerald Duckworth et Co. Ltd. The Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione, translated by George Bull (Penguin Classics 1967, revised edition 1976). Copyright (c) George Bull, Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. Portrait of a Seductress: The World of Natalie Barney by Jean Chalon, translated by Carol Barko, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1979. Reprinted with permission. Lenin: The Man Behind the Mask by Ronald W. Clark, Faber et Faber Ltd., 1988. Reprinted with permission. Pursuit of the Millennium by Norman Cohn. Oxford University Press. Used by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc. Tales from The Thousand and One Nights, translated by N. J. Dawood (Penguin Classics, 1955, revised edition 1973). Translation copyright (c) N. J. Dawood. 1954, 1973. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. Emma, Lady Hamilton by Flora Fraser, Allied A. Knopf, 1987. Copyright (c) 1986 by Flora Fraser. Reprinted by permission. Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron by Nicolas Fraser and Marysa Navarro, W. W Norton et Company, Inc., 1996. Reprinted by permission. The World's Lure: FairWomen, TheirLoves, TheirPower, Their Fates by Alexander von Gleichen-Russwurm. translated by Hannah Waller, Alfied A. Knopf, 1927. Copyright 1927 by Alfred A. Knopf. Inc. Reprinted with permission. The Greek Myths by Robert Graves. Reprinted by permission of Carcanet Press Limited. The Kennedy Obsession: The American Myth ofJFKby John Heilman, Columbia University Press 1997. Reprinted by permission of Columbia University Press. The Odyssey by Homer, translated by E. V Rieu (Penguin Classics). Copyright (c) The Estate of E. V. Rieu, 1946. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. The Life of an Amorous Woman and Other Writings by Ihara Saikaku, translated by Ivan Morris. Copyright (c) 1963 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. "The Seducer's Diary" fiom Either/Or, Part 1 by Spren Kierkegaard, translated by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong. Copyright (c) 1987 by Princeton University Press. Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press. Sirens: Symbols of Seduction by Meri Lao, translated by John Oliphant of Rossie, Park Street Press, Rochester. Vermont, 1998. Reprinted with permission. Lives of the Courtesans by Lynne Lawner, Rizzoli, 1987. Reprinted with permission of the author. The Theatre of Don Juan: A Collection of Plays and Views, 1630-1963 edited with a commentary by Oscar Mandel. Copyright (c) 1963 by the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright (c) renewed 1991 by the University of Nebraska Press. Reprinted by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Don Juan and the Point of Horror by James Mandrell. Reprinted with permission of Penn State University Press. Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant, translated by Douglas Parmee (Penguin Classics, 1975). Copyright (c) Douglas Parmee. 1975. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. The Arts and Secrets of Beauty by Lola Montez, Chelsea House, 1969. Used with permission. The Age of the Crowd by Serge Moscovici. Reprinted with permission ot Cambridge University Press. The Tale ofGenji by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Edward G. Seidensncker, Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. Copyright (c) 1976 by Edward G. Seidensticker. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. The Erotic Poems by Ovid, translated by Peter Green (Penguin Classics, 1982). Copyright (c) Peter Green, 1982. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. The Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Mary M. Innes (Penguin Classics, 1955). Copyright (c) Mary M. Innes, 1955. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. My Sister, My Spouse: A Biography of Lou Andreas-Salome by H. F. Peters, W. W. Norton et Company, Inc., 1962. Reprinted with permission. The. Symposium by Plato, translated by Walter Hamilton (Penguin Classics, 1951). Copyright (c) Walter Hamilton. 1951. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Ltd. The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Plutarch, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert (Penguin Classics, 1960). Copyright (c) Ian Scott-Kilvert, 1960. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Hooks Ltd. Love Declared by Denis de Rougemont, translated by Richard Howard. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc. The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims by Arthur Schopenhauer, translated by T. Bailey Saunders  (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995). Reprinted by permission of the publisher. The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon by Sei Shonagon, translated and edited by Ivan Morris, Columbia  University Press. 1991. Reprinted by permission of Columbia University Press.  Liaison by Joyce Wadler, published by Bantam Books, 1993. Reprinted by permission of the author.  Max Weber: Essays in Sociology by Max Weber,edited and translated by H. H. Certh and C. Wright Mills. Copyright 1946, 1958 by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. Used by permission of Oxford  University Press, Inc. The Game of Hearts: Harriette Wilson et Her Memoirs edited by LesleyBlanch. Copyright (c) 1955 by Lesley Blanch. Reprinted with permission of Simon et Schuster. To the memory ofmyfather Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank Anna Biller for her countlesscontributions to this book: the research, the many discussions, her invaluable help with the text itself, and, last but not least, her knowledge of the art of seduction, of which I have been the happy victim on numerous occasions. I must thank my mother, Laurette, for supporting me so steadfastly throughout this project and for being my most devoted fan. I would like to thank Catherine Leouzon, who some years ago introduced me to Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the world of Valmont. I would like to thank David Frankel, for his deft editing and for his much-appreciated advice; Molly Stern at Viking Penguin, for overseeing the project and helping to shape it; RadhaPancham, for keeping it all organized and being so patient; and Brett Kelly, for moving things along. With heavy heart I would like to pay tribute to my cat Boris, who for thirteen years watched over me as I wrote and whose presence is sorely missed. His successor, Brutus, has proven to be a worthy muse. Finally, I would like to honor my father. Words cannot express how much I miss him and how much he has inspired my work. Contents  Acknowlegments • ix  Preface • xix Part One The Seductive Character The Siren  A man is often secretly oppressed by the role he has to play-by always having to be responsible, in control, and rational. The Siren is the ultimate male fantasy figure because she offers a total release from the limitations of his life. In her presence, which is always heightened and sexually charged, the male feels transported to a realm of pure pleasure. In a world where women are often too timid to project such an image, learn to take control of the male libido by embodying hisfantasy. The Rake page A woman never quite feels desired and appreciated enough. She wants attention, but a man is too often distracted and unresponsive. The Rake is a great female fantasy-figure -w hen he desires a woman, brief though that moment may be, he will go to the ends of the earth for her. He may be disloyal, dishonest, and amoral, but that only adds to his appeal. Stir a woman's repressed longings by adapting the Rake's mix of danger and pleasure. The Ideal Lover Most people have dreams in their youth that get shattered or worn down with age. They find themselves disappointed by people, events, reality, which cannot match their youthful ideals. Ideal Lovers thrive on people's broken dreams, which become lifelong fantasies. You long for romance? Adventure? Lofty spiritual communion? The Ideal Lover reflects your fantasy. He or she is an artist in creating the illusion you require. In a world of disenchantment and baseness, there is limitless seductive power in following the path of the Ideal Lover. The Dandy Most of us feel trapped within the limited roles that the world expects us to play. We are instantly attracted to those who are more fluid than we are-those who create their own persona. Dandies excite us because they cannot be categorized, and hint at a freedom we want for ourselves. They play with masculinity and femininity; they fashion their own physical image, which is always startling. Use the power of the Dandy to create an ambiguous, alluring presence that stirs represseddesires. The Natural. Childhood is the golden paradise we are always consciously or unconsciously trying to re-create. The Natural embodies the longed-for qualities of childhood - spontaneity, sincerity, unpretentiousness. In the presence of Naturals, wefeel at ease, caught up in their playful spirit, transported back to that golden age. Adopt the pose of the Natural to neutralize people's defensiveness and infect them with helpless delight. The Coquette The ability to delay satisfaction is the ultimate art of seduction-while waiting, the victim is held in thrall. Coquettes are the grand masters of the game, orchestrating a back-and-forth movement between hope and frustration. They bait with the promise of reward-the hope of physical pleasure, happiness, fame by association, power-all of which, however, proves elusive; yet this only makes their targets pursue them the more. Imitate the alternating heat and coolness of the Coquette and you will keep the seduced at your heels. The Charmer Charm is seduction without sex. Charmers are consummate manipulators, masking their cleverness by creating a mood of pleasure and comfort. Their method is simple: They deflect attention from themselves and focus it on their target. They understand your spirit, feel your pain, adapt to your moods. In the presence of a Charmer youfeel better about yourself. Learn to cast the Charmer's spell by aiming at people's primary weaknesses: vanity and self-esteem. The Charismatic Charisma is a presence that excites us. It comes from an inner quality - self-confidence, sexual energy, sense of purpose, contentment-that most people lack and want. This quality radiates outward, permeating the gestures of Charismatics, making them seem extraordinary and superior. They learn to heighten their charisma with a piercing gaze, fiery oratory, an air of mystery. Create the charismatic illusion by radiating intensity while remaining detached. The Star Daily life is harsh, and most of us constantly seek escapefrom it infantasies and dreams. Stars feed on this weakness; standing out from others through a distinctive and appealing style, they make us want to watch them. At the same time, they are vague and ethereal, keeping their distance, and letting us imagine more than is there. Their dreamlike quality works on our unconscious. Learn to become an object offascination by projecting the glittering but elusive presence of the Star. The Anti-Seducer Seducers draw you in by the focused, individualized attention they pay to you. Anti-seducers are the opposite: insecure, self-absorbed, and unable to grasp the psychology of another person, they literally repel Anti-Seducers have no self-awareness, and never realize when they are pestering, imposing, talking too much. Root out anti-seductive qualities in yourself and recognize them in others-there is no pleasure or profit in dealing with the Anti-Seducer. The Seducer's Victims-The Eighteen Types Part Two The Seductive Process Phase One: Separation-Stirring Interest and Desire 1 Choose the Right Victim Everything depends on the target of your seduction. Study your prey thoroughly, and choose only those who will prove susceptible to your charms. The right victims are those for whom you can fill a void, who see in you something exotic. They are often isolated or unhappy, or can easily be made so-for the completely contented person is almost impossible to seduce. The perfect victim has some quality that inspires strong emotions in you, making your seductive maneuvers seem more natural and dynamic. The perfect victim allows for the perfect chase. 2 Create a False Sense of Security-Approach Indirectly If you are too direct early on, you risk stirring up a resistance that will never be lowered. At first there must be nothing of the seducer in your manner. The seduction should begin at an angle, indirectly, so that the target only gradually becomes aware of you. Haunt the periphery of your target's life-approach through a third party, or seem to cultivate a relatively neutral relationship, moving gradually from friend to lover. Lull the target into feeling secure, then strike. 3 Send Mixed Signals  Once people are aware of your presence, and perhaps vaguely intrigued, you need to stir theirinterest before it settles on someone else. Most of us are much too obvious - instead, be hard to figure out. Send mixed signals: both tough and tender, both spiritual and earthly, both innocent and cunning. A mix of qualities suggests depth, whichfascinates even as it confuses. An elusive, enigmatic aura will make people want to know more, drawing them into your circle.  Create such a power by hinting at something contradictory within you. 4 Appear to Be an Object of Desire-Create Triangles Few are drawn to the person whom others avoid or neglect; people gather around those who have already attracted interest. To draw your victims closer and make them hungry to possess you, you must create an aura of desirability-of being wanted and courted by many. It will become a point of vanity for them to be the preferred object of your attention, to win you away from a crowd of admirers. Build a reputation that precedes you: If many have succumbed to your charms, there must be a reason. 5 Create a Need-Stir Anxiety and Discontent pA perfectly satisfied person cannot be seduced. Tension and disharmony must be instilled in your targets minds. Stir within them feelings of discontent, an unhappiness with their circumstances and with themselves. The feelings of inadequacy that you create will give you space to insinuate yourself to make them see you as the answer to their problems. Pain and anxiety are the proper precursors to pleasure. Learn to manufacture the need that you can fill. 6 Master the Art of Insinuation Making your targets feel dissatisfied and in need of your attention is essential, but if you are too obvious, they will see through you and grow defensive. There is no known defense, however, against insinuation-the art of planting ideas in people's minds by dropping elusive hints that take root days later, even appearing to them as their own idea. Create a sublanguage - bold statements followed by retraction and apology, ambiguous comments, banal talk combined with alluring glances-that enters the target's unconscious to convey your real meaning. Make everything suggestive. 1 Enter Their Spirit Most people are locked in their own worlds, making them stubborn and hard to persuade. The way to lure them out of their shell and set up your seduction is to enter their spirit. Play by their rules, enjoy what they enjoy, adapt yourself to their moods. In doing so you will stroke their deep-rooted narcissism and lower their defenses. Indulge your targets' every mood and whim, giving them nothing to react against or resist. 8 Create Temptation Lure the target deep into your seduction by creating the proper temptation: a glimpse of the pleasures to come. As the serpent tempted Eve with the promise offorbidden knowledge, you must awaken a desire in your targets that they cannot control. Find that weakness of theirs, that fantasy that has yet to be realized, and hint that you can lead them toward it. The key is to keep it vague. Stimulate a curiosity stronger than the doubts and anxieties that go with it, and they will follow you. Phase Two: Lead Astray-Creating Pleasure and Confusion 9 Keep Them in Suspense-What Comes Next? page 241 The moment people feel they know what to expect from you, your spell on them is broken. More: You have ceded them power. The only way to lead the seduced along and keep the upper hand is to create suspense, a calculated surprise. Doing something they do not expectfrom you will give them a delightful sense of spontaneity-they will not be able to foresee what comes next. You are always one step ahead and in control. Give the victim a thrill with a sudden change of direction. Use the Demonic Power of Words to Sow Confusion It is hard to make people listen; they are consumed with their own thoughts and desires, and have little time for yours. The trick to making them listen is to say what they want to hear, to fill their ears with whatever is pleasant to them. This is the essence of seductive language. Inflame people's emotions with loaded phrases, flatter them, comfort their insecurities, envelop them in sweet words and promises, and not only will they listen to you, they will lose their  will to resist you. 11 Pay Attention to Detail Lofty words of love and grand gestures can be suspicious: Why are you trying so hard to please? The details of a seduction-the subtle gestures, the offhand things you do-are often more charming and revealing. You must learn to distract your victims with a myriad of pleasant little rituals-thoughtful gifts tailored justfor them, clothes and adornments designed to please them, gestures that show the time and attention you are paying them. Mesmerized by what they see, they will not notice what you are really up to. 12 Poeticize Your Presence Important things happen when your targets are alone: The slightest feeling of relief that you are not there, and it is all over. Familiarity and overexposure will cause this reaction. Remain elusive, then. Intrigue your targets by alternating an exciting presence with a cool distance, exuberant moments followed by calculated absences. Associateyourselfwithpoeticimages and objects, so that when they think of you, they begin to see you through an idealized halo. The more you figure in their minds, the more they will envelop you in seductive fantasies.Disarm Through Strategic Weakness and Vulnerability Too much maneuvering on your part may raise suspicion. The best way to cover your tracks is to make the other person feel superior and stronger. If you seem to be weak, vulnerable, enthralled by the other person, and unable to control yourself you will make your actions look more natural, less calculated. Physical weakness -t ears, bashfulness, paleness-will help create the effect. Play the victim, then transform your target's sympathy into love. 14 Confuse Desire and Reality-The Perfect Illusion To compensate for the difficulties in their lives, people spend a lot of their time daydreaming, imagining a future full of adventure, success, and romance. Ifyou can create the illusion that through you they can live out their dreams, you will have them at your mercy. Aim at secret wishes that have been thwarted or repressed, stirring up uncontrollable emotions, clouding their powers of reason. Lead the seduced to a point of confusion in  which they can no longer tell the difference between illusion and reality. 15 Isolate the Victim page 309 An isolated person is weak. By slowly isolating your victims, you make them more vulnerable to your influence. Take them away from their normal milieu, friends, family, home. Give them the sense of being marginalized, in limbo-they are leaving one world behind and entering another. Once isolated like this, they have no outside support, and in their confusion they are easily led astray. Lure the seduced into your lair, where nothing is familiar. Phase Three: The Precipice-Deepening the Effect Through Extreme Measures Prove Yourself page Most people want to be seduced. If they resist your efforts, it is probably because you ham' not gone far enough to allay their doubts-about your motives, the depth of your feelings, and so on. One well-timed action that shows how far you are willing to go to win them over will dispel their doubts. Do not worry about looking foolish or making a mistake-any kind of deed that is self-sacrificing and for your targets' sake will so overwhelm their emotions, they won't notice anything else. 17 Effect a Regression page 333 People who have experienced a certain kind of pleasure in the past will try to repeat or relive it. The deepest-rooted and most pleasurable memories are usually those from earliest childhood, and are often unconsciously associated with a parental figure. Bring your targets back to that point by placing yourself in the oedipal triangle and positioning them as the needy child. Unaware of the cause of their emotional response, they will fall in love with you. 18 Stir Up the Transgressive and Taboo There are always social limits on what one can do. Some of these, the most elemental taboos, go back centuries; others are more superficial, simply defining polite and acceptable behavior. Making your targets feel that you are leading them past either kind of limit is immensely seductive. People yearn to explore their dark side. Once the desire to transgress draws your targets to you, it will be hard for them to stop. Take them farther than they imagined-the shared feeling of guilt and complicity will create a powerful bond. 19 Use Spiritual Lures Everyone has doubts and insecurities-about their body, their self-worth, their sexuality. If your seduction appeals exclusively to the physical, you will stir up these doubts and make your targets self-conscious. Instead, lure them out of their insecurities by making them focus on something sublime and spiritual: a religious experience, a lofty work of art, the occult. Lost in a spiritual mist, the target will feel light and uninhibited. Deepen the effect of your seduction by making its sexual culmination seem like the spiritual union of two souls. 20 Mix Pleasure with Pain  The greatest mistake in seduction is being too nice. At first, perhaps, your kindness is charming, but it soon grows monotonous; you are trying too hard to please, and seem insecure. Instead of overwhelming your targets with niceness, try inflicting some pain. Make them feel guilty and insecure. Instigate a breakup-now a rapprochement, a return to your earlier kindness, will turn them weak at the knees. The lower the lows you create, the greater the highs. To heighten the erotic charge, create the excitement of fear. Phase Four: Moving In for the Kill 21Give Them Space to Fall-The Pursuer Is Pursued  If your targets become too used to you as the aggressor, they will give less of their own energy, and the tension will slacken. You need to wake them up, turn the tables. Once they are under your spell, take a step bach and they will start to come after you. Hint that you are growing bored. Seem interested in someone else. Soon they will want to possess you physically, and restraint will go out the window. Create the illusion that the seducer is being seduced. 22 Use Physical Lures Targets with active minds are dangerous: If they see through your manipulations, they may suddenly develop doubts. Put their minds gently to rest, and waken their dormant senses, by combining a nondefensive attitude with a charged sexual presence. While your cool, nonchalant air is loweringtheirinhibitions,yourglances,voice,and bearing-oozing sex and desire-are getting under their skin and raising their temperature. Never force the physical; instead infect your targets with heat, lure them into lust. Morality, judgment, and concern for the future will all melt away. 23 Master the Art of the Bold Move A moment has arrived: Your victim clearly desires you, but is not ready to admit it openly, let alone act on it. This is the time tothrow aside chivalry,kindness, and coquetry and to overwhelm with a bold move. Don't give the victim time to consider the consequences. Showing hesitation or awkwardness means you are thinking of yourself as opposed to being overwhelmed by the victim's charms. One person must go on the offensive, and it is you. 24 Beware the Aftereffects Danger follows in the aftermath of a successful seduction. After emotions have reached a pitch, they often swing in the opposite direction-toward lassitude, distrust, disappointment. If you are to part, make the sacrifice swift and sudden. If you are to stay in a relationship, beware a flagging of energy, a creeping familiarity that will spoil the fantasy. A second seduction is required. Never let the other person take you for granted-use absence, create pain and conflict, to keep the seduced on tenterhooks. Seductive Environment/Seductive Time  Soft Seduction: How to Sell Anything to the Masses Thousands of years ago, power was mostly gained through physical violence and maintained with brute strength. There was little need for subtlety-a king or emperor had to be merciless. Only a select few had power, but no one suffered under this scheme of things more than women. They had no way to compete, no weapon at their disposal that could make a man do what they wanted-politically, socially, or even in the home. Of course men had one weakness: their insatiable desire for sex. A woman could always toy with this desire, but once she gave in to sex the man was back in control; and if she withheld sex, he could simply look elsewhere-or exert force. What good was a power that was so temporary and frail?Yet women had no choice but to submit to this condition. There were some, though, whose hunger for power was too great, and who, over the years, through much cleverness and creativity, invented a way of turning the dynamic around, creating a more lasting and effective form of power. These women-among them Bathsheba, from the Old Testament; Helen of Troy; the Chinese siren Hsi Shi; and the greatest of them all, Cleopatra-invented seduction. First they would draw a man in with an alluring appearance, designing their makeup and adornment to fashion the image of a goddess come to life. By showing only glimpses of flesh, they would tease a man's imagination, stimulating the desire not just for sex but for something greater: the chance to possess a fantasy figure. Once they had  their victims' interest, these women would lure them away from the mascu line world of war and politics and get them to spend time in the feminine  world-a world of luxury, spectacle, and pleasure. They might also lead  them astray literally, taking them on a journey, as Cleopatra lured Julius  Caesar on a trip down the Nile. Men would grow hooked on these refined,  sensual pleasures-they would fall in love. But then, invariably, the women  would turn cold and indifferent, confusing their victims. Just when the men wanted more, they found their pleasures withdrawn. They would be  forced into pursuit, trying anything to win back the favors they once had tasted and growing weak and emotional in the process. Men who had physical force and all the social power-men like King David, the Trojan Paris, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, King Fu Chai-would find themselves becoming the slave of a woman. In the face of violence and brutality, these women made seduction a Oppression and scorn, thus, were and must have been generally the share of women in emerging societies; this state lasted in all its force until centuries of experience taught them to substitute skill for force. Women at last sensed that, since they were weaker, their only resource was to seduce; they understood that if they were dependent on men through force, men could become dependent on them through pleasure. More unhappy than men, they must have thought and reflected earlier than did men; they were the first to know that pleasure was always beneath the idea that one formed of it, and that the imagination went farther than nature. Once these basic truths were known, they learned first to veil their charms in order to awaken curiosity; they practiced the difficult art of refusing even as they wished to consent; from that moment on, they knew how to set men's imagination afire, they knew how to arouse and direct desires as they pleased: thus did beauty and love come into being; now the lot of women became less harsh, not that they had managed to liberate themselves entirely from the state of oppression to which their weakness condemned them; but, in the state of perpetual war that continues to exist between women and men, one has seen them, with the help of the caresses they have been able to invent, combat ceaselessly, sometimes vanquish, and often more skillfully take advantage of the forces directed against them; sometimes, too, men have turned against women these weapons the women had forged to combat them, and their slavery has become all the harsher for it. -CHODERLOS DE LACLOS, ON THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN, IN THE LIBERTINE READER, FEHER  Much more genius is needed to make love than to command armies.-NINON DEL'ENCLOS Menelaus, if you are really going to kill her, Then my blessing go with you, but you must do it now, Before her looks so twist the strings of your heart That they turn your mind; for her eyes are like armies, And where her glances fall, there cities burn, Until the dust of their ashes is blown By her sighs. I know her, Men elans, \ And so do you. And all those who know her suffer. - HECUBA SPEAKING ABOUT HELEN OF TROY IN EURIPIDES, THE TROJAN WOMEN, sophisticated art, the ultimate form of power and persuasion. They learned to work on the mind first, stimulating fantasies, keeping a man wanting more, creating patterns of hope and despair-the essence of seduction. Their power was not physical but psychological, not forceful but indirect and cunning. These first great seductresses were like military generals planning the destruction of an enemy, and indeed early accounts of seduction often compare it to battle, the feminine version of warfare. For Cleopatra, it was a means of consolidating an empire. In seduction, the woman was no longer a passive sex object; she had become an active agent, a figure of power. With a few exceptions-the Latin poet Ovid, the medieval troubadours-men did not much concern themselves with such a frivolous art as seduction. Then, in the seventeenth century came a great change; men grew interested inseductionasaway to overcome a young woman's resistance to sex. History's first great male seducers-the Duke de Lauzun, the different Spaniards who inspired the Don Juan legend-began to adopt the methods traditionally employed by women. They learned to dazzle with their appearance (often androgynous in nature), to stimulate the imagination, to play the coquette. They also added a new, masculine element to the game: seductive language, for they had discovered a woman's weakness for soft words. These two forms of seduction-the feminine use of appearances and the masculine use of language-would often cross gender lines; Casanova would dazzle a woman with his clothes; Ninon de l'Enclos would charm a man with her words. At the same time that men were developing their version of seduction, others began to adapt the art for social purposes. As Europe's feudal system of government faded into the past, courtiers needed to get their way in court without the use of force. They learned the power to be gained by seducing their superiors and competitors through psychological games, soft words, a little coquetry. As culture became democratized, actors, dandies, and artists came to use the tactics of seduction as a way to charm and win over their audience and social milieu. In the nineteenth century another great change occurred; politicians like Napoleon consciously saw themselves as seducers, on a grand scale. These men depended on the art of seductive oratory, but they also mastered what had once been feminine strategies: staging vast spectacles, using theatrical devices, creating a charged physical presence. All this, they learned, was the essence of charisma-and remains so today. By seducing the masses they could accumulate immense power without the use of force. Today we have reached the ultimate point in the evolution of seduction. Now more than ever, force or bmtality of any kind is discouraged. All areas of social life require the ability to persuade people in a way that does not offend or impose itself. Forms of seduction can be found everywhere, blending male and female strategies. Advertisements insinuate, the soft sell dominates. If we are to change people's opinions-and affecting opinion is basic to seduction-we must act in subtle, subliminal ways. Today no political campaign can work without seduction. Since the era of John F. Kennedy, political figures are required to have a degree of charisma, a fascinating presence to keep their audience's attention, which is half the battle. The film world and media create a galaxy of seductive stars and images. We are saturated in the seductive. But even if much has changed in degree and scope, the essence of seduction is constant: never be forceful or direct; instead, use pleasure as bait, playing on people's emotions, stirring desire and confusion, inducing psychological surrender. In seduction as it is practiced today, the methods of Cleopatra still hold. People are constantly trying to influence us, to tell us what to do, and just as often we tune them out, resisting their attempts at persuasion. There is a moment in our lives, however, when weall act differently-when we are in love. We fall under a kind of spell. Our minds are usually preoccupied with our own concerns; now they become filled with thoughts of the loved one. We grow emotional, lose the ability to think straight, act in foolish ways that we would never do otherwise. If this goes on long enough something inside us gives way: we surrender to the will of the loved one, and to our desire to possess them. Seducers are peoplewho understand the tremendous power contained in such moments of surrender. They analyze what happens when people are in love, study the psychological components of the process-what spurs the imagination, what casts a spell. By instinct and through practice they master the art of making people fall in love. As the first seductresses knew, it is much more effective to create love than lust. A person in love is emotional, pliable, and easilymisled. (The origin of the word "seduction" is the Latin for "to lead astray") A person in lust is harder to control and, once satisfied, may easily leave you. Seducers take their time, create enchantment and the bonds of love, so that when sex ensues it only further enslaves the victim. Creating love and enchantment becomes the model for all seductions-sexual, social, political. A person in love will surrender. It is pointless to try to argue against such power, to imagine that you are not interested in it, or that it is evil and ugly. The harder you try to resist the lure of seduction-as an idea, as a form of power-the more you will find yourself fascinated. The reason is simple: most of us have known the power of having someone fall in love with us. Our actions, gestures, the things we say, all have positive effects on this person; we may not completely understand what we have done right, but this feeling of power is intoxicating. It gives us confidence, which makes us more seductive. We may also experience this in a social or work setting-one day we are in ait elevated mood and people seem more responsive, more charmed by us. These moments of power are fleeting, but they resonate in the memory with great intensity. We want them back. Nobody likes to feel awkward or timid or unable to reach people. The siren call of seduction is irresistible because power is irresistible, and nothing will bring you more power in the modern world than the ability to seduce. Repressing the desire to seduce is a kind of No man hath it in his power to over-rule the deceitfulness of a woman. -MARGUERITE OF NAVARRE This important side-track, by which woman succeeded in evading man's strength and establishing herself in power, has not been given due consideration by historians. From the moment when the woman detached herself from the crowd, an individual finished product, offering delights which could not be obtained by force, but only by flattery .... the reign of love's priestesses was inaugurated. It was a development of far-reaching importance in the history of civilization. . . . Only by the circuitous route of the art of love could woman again assert authority, and this she did by asserting herself at the very point at which she would normally be a slave at the man's mercy. She had discovered the might of lust, the secret of the art of love, the daemonic power of a passion artificially aroused and never satiated. The force tints unchained was thenceforth to count among the most tremendous of the world's forces and at moments to have power even over life and death. The deliberate spellbinding of man's senses was to have a magical effect upon him, opening up an infinitely wider range of sensation and spurring him on as if impelled by an inspired dream. -ALEXANDER VON GLEICHEN- RUSSWURM, THE WORLD'S LURE. TRANSLATED BY HANNAH WALLER The first thing to get in your head is that every single \ Girl can be caught-and that you'll catch her if \ You set your toils right. Birds will sooner fall dumb in \ Springtime, \ Cicadas in summer, or a hunting-dog \ Turn his back on a hare, than a lover's bland inducements \ Can fail with a woman, Even one you suppose \ Reluctant will want it. -OVID, THE ART OF LOVE, The combination of these two elements, enchantment and surrender, is, then, essential to the love which we are discussing. What exists in love is surrender due to enchantment. -JOSE ORTEGA Y GASSET, ON LOVE, TRANSLATED BY TOBY TALBOT What is good?-All that heightens the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself in man. • What is bad?-All that proceeds from weakness. What is happiness?-The feeling that power increases-that a resistance is overcome. -FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, THE ANTI-CHRIST, HOLLINGDALE hysterical reaction, revealing your deep-down fascination with the process; you are only making your desires stronger. Some day they will come to the surface. To have such power does not require a total transformation in your character or any kind of physical improvement in your looks. Seduction is a game of psychology, not beauty, and it is within the grasp of any person to become a master at the game. All that is required is that you look at the world differently, through the eyes of a seducer. A seducer does not turn the power off and on-every social and personal interaction is seen as a potential seduction. There is never a moment to waste. This is so for several reasons. The power seducers have over a man or woman works in social environments because they have learned how to tone down the sexual element without getting rid of it. We may think we see through them, but they are so pleasant to be around anyway that it does not matter. Trying to divide your life into moments in which you seduce and others in which you hold back will only confuse and constrain you. Erotic desire and love lurk beneath the surface of almost every human encounter; better to give free rein to your skills than to try to use them only in the bedroom. (In fact, the seducer sees the world as his or her bedroom.) This attitude creates great seductive momentum, and with each seduction you gain experience and practice. One social or sexual seduction makes the nextone easier, your confidence growing and making you more alluring. People are drawn to you in greater numbers as the seducer's aura descends upon you. Seducers have a warrior's outlook on life. They see each person as a kind of walled castle to which they are laying siege. Seduction is a process of penetration: initially penetrating the target's mind, their first point of defense. Once seducers have penetrated the mind, making the target fantasize about them, it iseasyto lower resistance and create physical surrender. Seducers do not improvise; they do not leave this process to chance. Like any good general, they plan and strategize, aiming at the target's particular weaknesses. The main obstacle to becoming a seducer is this foolish prejudice we have of seeing love and romance as some kind of sacred, magical realm where things just fall into place, if they are meant to. This might seem romantic and quaint,but it is reallyjust a cover for our laziness. What will seduce a person is the effort we expend on their behalf, showing how much we care, how much they are worth. Leaving things to chance is a recipe for disaster, and reveals that we do not take love and romance very seriously. It was the effort Casanova expended, the artfulness he applied to each affair that made him so devilishly seductive. Falling in love is a matter not of magic but of psychology. Once you understand your target's psychology, and strategize to suit it, you will be better able to cast a "magical" spell. A seducer sees love not as sacred but as warfare, where all is fair. Seducers are never self-absorbed. Their gaze is directed outward, not inward. When they meet someone their first move is to get inside that person's skin, to see the world through their eyes. The reasons for this are several. First, self-absorption is a sign of insecurity; it is anti-seductive. Everyone has insecurities, but seducers manage to ignore them, finding therapy for moments of self-doubt by being absorbed in the world. This gives them a buoyant spirit-we want to be around them. Second, getting into someone's skin, imagining what it is like to be them, helps the seducer gather valuable information, leam what makes that person tick, what will make them lose their ability to think straight and fall into a trap. Armed with such information, they can provide focused and individualized attention-a rare commodity in a world in which most people see us only from behind the screen of their own prejudices. Getting into the targets' skin is the first important tactical move in the war of penetration. Seducers see themselves as providers of pleasure, like bees that gather pollen from some flowers and deliver it to others. As children we mostly devoted our lives to play and pleasure. Adults often have feelings of being cut off from this paradise, of being weighed down by responsibilities. The seducer knows that people are waiting for pleasure-they never get enough of it from friends and lovers, and they cannot get it by themselves. A person who enters their lives offering adventure and romance cannot be resisted. Pleasure is a feeling of being taken past our limits, of being overwhelmed by another person, by an experience. People are dying to be overwhelmed, to let go of their usual stubbornness. Sometimes their resistance to us is a way of saying. Please seduce me. Seducers know that the possibility of pleasure will make a person follow them, and the experience of it will make someone open up, weak to the touch. They also train themselves to be sensitive to pleasure, knowing that feeling pleasure themselves will make it that much easier for them to infect the people around them. A seducer sees all of life as theater, everyone an actor. Most people feel they have constricted roles in life, which makes them unhappy. Seducers, on the other hand, can be anyone and can assume many roles. (The archetype here is the god Zeus, insatiable seducer of young maidens, whose main weapon was the ability to assume the form of whatever person or animal would most appeal to his victim.) Seducers take pleasure in performing and are not weighed down by their identity, or by some need to be themselves, or to be natural. This freedom of theirs, this fluidity in body and spirit, is what makes them attractive. What people lack in life is not more reality but illusion, fantasy, play. The clothes that seducers wear, the places they take you to, their words and actions, are slightly heightened-not overly theatrical but with a delightful edge of unreality, as if the two of you were living out a piece of fiction or were characters in a film. Seduction is a kind of theater in real life, the meeting of illusion and reality. Finally, seducers are completely amoral in their approach to life. It is all a game, an arena for play. Knowing that the moralists, the crabbed repressed types who croak about the evils of the seducer, secretly envy their power, they do not concern themselves with other people's opinions. They do not deal in moral judgments-nothing could be less seductive. Everything is The disaffection, neurosis, anguish and frustration encountered by psychoanalysis comes no doubt from being unable to love or to be loved, from being unable to give or take pleasure, but the radical disenchantment comes from seduction and its failure. Only those who lie completely outside seduction are ill, even if they remain fully capable of loving and making love. Psychoanalysis believes it treats the disorder of sex and desire, but in reality it is dealing with the disorders of seduction. The most serious deficiencies always concern charm and not pleasure, enchantment and not some vital or sexual satisfaction. BAUDR1LLARD, SEDUCTION Whatever is done from love always occurs beyond good and evil. -NIETZSCHE, BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL, KAUFMANN Should anyone here in Rome lack finesse at love- making, \ Let him \ Try me-read my book, and results are guaranteed! \ Technique is the secret. Charioteer, sailor, pliant, fluid, like life itself. Seduction is a form of deception, but people want to be led astray, they yearn to be seduced. If they didn't, seducers would not find so many willing victims. Get rid of any moralizing tendencies, adopt the seducer's playful philosophy, and you will find the rest of the process easy and natural. oarsman, \ All need it. Technique can control \ Love himself. - OVID, THE ART OF LOVE. GREEN The Art of Seduction is designed to arm you with weapons of persuasion and charm, so that those around you will slowly lose their ability to resist without knowing how or why it has happened. It is an art of war for delicate times. Every seduction has two elements that you must analyze and understand: first, yourself and what is seductive about you; and second, your target and the actions that will penetrate their defenses and create surrender. The two sides are equally important. If you strategize without paying attention to the parts of your character that draw people to you, you will be seen as a mechanical seducer, slimy and manipulative. If you rely on your seductive personality without paying attention to the other person, you will make terrible mistakes and limit your potential. Consequently, The Art of Seduction is divided into two parts. The first half, "The Seductive Character," describes the nine types of seducer, plus the Anti-Seducer. Studying these types will make you aware of what is inherently seductive in your character, the basic building block of any seduction. The second half, "The Seductive Process," includes the twenty- four maneuvers and strategies that will instruct you on how to create a spell, break down people's resistance, give movement and force to your seduction, and induce surrender in your target. As a kind of bridge between the two parts, there is a chapter on the eighteen types of victims of a seduction-each of them missing something from their lives, each cradling an emptiness you can fill. Knowing what type you are dealing with will help you put into practice the ideas in both sections. Ignore any part of this book and you will be an incomplete seducer. The ideas and strategies in The Art of Seduction are based on the writings and historical accounts of the most successful seducers in history. The sources include the seducers' own memoirs (by Casanova, Errol Flynn, Natalie Barney, Marilyn Monroe); biographies (of Cleopatra, Josephine Bonaparte, John F. Kennedy, Duke Ellington); handbooks on the subject (most notably Ovid's Art of Love); and fictional accounts of seductions (Choderlos de Laclos's Dangerous Liaisons, Spren Kierkegaard's The Seducer's Diary, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale ofGenji). The heroes and heroines of these literary works are generally modeled on real-life seducers. The strategies they employ reveal the intimate connection between fiction and seduction, creating illusion and leading a person along. In putting the book's lessons into practice, you will be following in the path of the greatest masters of the art. Finally, the spirit that will make you a consummate seducer is the spirit in which you should read this book. The French writer Denis Diderot once wrote, "I give my mind the liberty to follow the first wise or foolish idea that presents itself, just as in the avenue de Foy our dissolute youths follow close on the heels of some strumpet, then leave her to pursue another, attacking all of them and attaching themselves to none. My thoughts are my strumpets." He meant that he let himself be seduced by ideas, following whichever one caught his fancy until a better one came along, his thoughts infused with a kind of sexual excitement. Once you enter these pages, do as Diderot advised: let yourself be lured by the stories and ideas, your mind open and your thoughts fluid. Slowly you will find yourself absorbing the poison through the skin and you will begin to see everything as a seduction, including the way you think and how you look at the world. Most virtue is a demand for greater seduction. -NATALIE BARNEY Part One Seductive Character W e all have the power of attraction-the ability to draw people in and hold them in our thrall. Far from all of us, though, are aware of this inner potential, and we imagine attractiveness instead as a near-mystical trait that a select few are born with and the rest will never command. Yet all we need to do to realize our potential is understand what it is in a person's character that naturally excites people and develop these latent qualities within us. Successful seductions rarely begin with an obvious maneuver or strategic device. That is certain to arouse suspicion. Successful seductions begin with your character, your ability to radiatesome quality that attracts people and stirs their emotions in a way that is beyond their control. Hypnotized by your seductive character, your victims will not notice your subsequent manipulations. It will then be child's play to mislead and seduce them. There are nine seducer types in the world. Each type has a particular character trait that comes from deep within and creates a seductive pull. Siren.': have an abundance of sexual energy and know how touse it. Rakes insatiably adore the opposite sex, and their desire is infectious. Ideal Lovers have an aesthetic sensibility that they apply to romance. Dandies like to play with their image, creating a striking and androgynous allure. Naturals are spontaneous and open. Coquettes are self-sufficient, with a fascinating cool at their core. Charmers want and know how to please-they are social creatures. Charismatics have an unusual confidence in themselves. Stars are ethereal and envelop themselves in mystery. The chapters in this section will take you inside each of the nine types. At least one of the chapters should strike a chord-you will recognize part of yourself. That chapter will be the key to developing your own powers of attraction. Let us say you have coquettish tendencies. The Coquette chapter will show you how to build upon your own self-sufficiency, alternating heat and coldness to ensnare your victims. It will show you how to take your natural qualities further, becoming a grand Coquette, the type we fight over. There is no point in being timid with a seductive quality. We are charmed by an unabashed Rake and excuse his excesses, but a halfhearted Rake gets no respect. Once you have cultivated your dominant character trait, adding some art to what nature has given you, you can then develop a second or third trait, adding depth and mystery to your persona. Finally the section's tenth chapter, on the Anti-Se cluce r, w i 11 make you aware of the opposite potential within you-the power of repulsion. At all cost you must root out any anti-seductive tendencies you may have. Think of the nine types as shadows, silhouettes. Only by stepping into one of them and letting it grow inside you can you begin to develop the seductive character that will bring you limitless power the iren man is often secretly oppressed by the role he has to play-by always having to be responsible, in control, and rational. The Siren is the ultimate male fantasy figure because she offers a total release from the limitations of his life. In her presence, which is always heightened and sexually charged, the male feels transported to a world of pure pleasure. She is dangerous, and in pursuing her energetically the man can lose control over himself something he yearns to do. The Siren is a mirage; she lures men by cultivating a particular appearance and manner. In a world where women are often too timid to project such an image, learn to take control of the male libido by embodying his fantasy. The Spectacular Siren I n the year 48 B.C., Ptolemy XIV of Egypt managed to depose and exile his sister and wife. Queen Cleopatra. He secured the country's borders against her return and began to rule on his own. Later that year, Julius Caesar came to Alexandria to ensure that despite the local power struggles, Egypt would remain loyal to Rome. One night Caesar was meeting with his generals in the Egyptian palace, discussing strategy, when a guard entered to report that a Greek merchant was at the door bearing a large and valuable gift for the Roman leader. Caesar, in the mood for a little fun, gave the merchant permission to enter. The man came in, carrying on his shoulders a large rolled-up carpet. He undid the rope around the bundle and with a snap of his wrists unfurled it-revealing the young Cleopatra, who had been hidden inside, and who rose up half clothed before Caesar and his guests, like Venus emerging from the waves. Everyone was dazzled at the sight of the beautiful young queen (only twenty-one at the time) appearing before them suddenly as if in a dream. They were astounded at her daring and theatricality-smuggled into the harbor at night with only one man to protect her, risking everything on a bold move. No one was more enchanted than Caesar. According to the Roman writer Dio Cassius, "Cleopatra was in the prime of life. She had a delightful voice which could not fail to cast a spell over all who heard it. Such was the charm of her person and her speech that they drew the coldest and most determined misogynist into her toils. Caesar was spellbound as soon as he set eyes on her and she opened her mouth to speak." That same evening Cleopatra became Caesar s lover. Caesar had had numerous mistresses before, to divert him from the rigors of his campaigns. But he had always disposed of them quickly to return to what really thrilled him-political intrigue, the challenges of warfare, the Roman theater. Caesar had seen women try anything to keep him under their spell. Yet nothing prepared him for Cleopatra. One night she would tell him howtogethertheycould revive the glory of Alexander the Great, and rule the world like gods. The next she would entertain him dressed as the goddess Isis, surrounded by the opulence of her court. Cleopatra initiated Caesar in the most decadent revelries, presenting herself as the incarnation of the Egyptian exotic. His life with her was a constant game, as challenging as warfare, for the moment he felt secure with her she In the mean time our good ship, with that perfect wind to drive her, fast approached the Sirens' Isle. But now the breeze dropped, some power lulled the waves, and a breathless calm set in. Rising from their seats my men drew in the sail and threw it into the hold, then sat down at the oars and churned the water white with their blades of polished pine. Meanwhile I took a large round of wax, cut it up small with my sword, and kneaded the pieces with all the strength of my fingers. The wax soon yielded to vigorous treatment and grew warm, for I had the rays of my Lord the Sun to help me. I took each of my men in turn and plugged their ears with it. They then made me a prisoner on my ship by binding me hand and foot, standing me up by the step of the mast and tying the rope's ends to the mast itself. This done, they sat down once more and struck the grey water with their oars. We made good progress and had just come within call of the shore when the Sirens became aware that a ship was swiftly bearing down upon them, and broke into their liquid song.  "Draw near," they sang, "illustrious Odysseus, flower of Achaean chivalry, and bring your ship to rest so that you may hear our voices. No seaman ever sailed his black ship past this spot without listening to the sweet tones that flow from our lips . . • The lovely voices came to me across the water, and my heart was filled with such a longing to listen that with nod and frown I signed to my men to set me free. - HOMER, THE ODYSSEY, BOOK XII, TRANSLATED BY E.V. RIEU The charm of [Cleopatra's ] presence was irresistible, and there was an attraction in her person and talk, together with a peculiar force of character, which pervaded her every word and action, and laid all who associated with her under its spell. It was a delight merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another. -PLUTARCH, MAKERS OF ROME, SCOTT-KILVERT The immediate attraction of a song, a voice, or scent. The attraction of the panther with his perfumed scent . . . According to the ancients, the panther is the only animal who emits a perfumed odor. It uses this scent to draw and capture its victims. But what is it that seduces in a scent? What is it in the song of the Sirens that seduces us, or in the beauty of a face, in the depths would suddenly turn cold or angry and he would have to find a way to regain her favor. The weeks went by. Caesar got rid of all Cleopatra's rivals and found excuses to stay in Egypt. At one point she led him on a lavish historical expedition down the Nile. In a boat of unimaginable splendor-towering fifty-four feet out of the water, including several terraced levels and a pillared temple to the god Dionysus-Caesar became one of the few Romans to gaze on the pyramids. And while he stayed long in Egypt, away from his throne in Rome, all kinds of turmoil erupted throughout the Roman Empire. When Caesar was murdered, in 44 B.C., he was succeeded by a triumvirate of rulers including Mark Antony, a brave soldier who loved pleasure and spectacle and fancied himself a kind of Roman Dionysus. A few years later, while Antony was in Syria, Cleopatra invited him to come meet her in the Egyptian town of Tarsus. There-once she had made him wait for her-her appearance was as startling in its way as her first before Caesar. A magnificent gold barge with purple sails appeared on the river Cydnus. The oarsmen rowed to the accompaniment of ethereal music; all around the boat were beautiful young girls dressed as nymphs and mythological figures. Cleopatra sat on deck, surrounded and fanned by cupids and posed as the goddess Aphrodite, whose name the crowd chanted enthusiastically. Like all of Cleopatra's victims, Antony felt mixed emotions. The exotic pleasures she offered were hard to resist. But he also wanted to tame her-to defeat this proud and illustrious woman would prove his greatness. And so he stayed, and, like Caesar, fell slowly under her spell. She indulged him in all of his weaknesses-gambling, raucous parties, elaborate rituals, lavish spectacles. To get him to come back to Rome, Octavius, another member of the Roman triumvirate, offered him a wife: Octavius's own sister, Octavia, one of the most beautiful women in Rome. Known for her virtue and goodness, she could surely keep Antony away from the "Egyptian whore." The ploy worked for a while, but Antony was unable to forget Cleopatra, and after three years he went back to her. This time it was for good: he had in essence become Cleopatra's slave, granting her immense powers, adopting Egyptian dress and customs, and renouncing the ways o/Rome. Only one image of Cleopatra survives-a barely visible profile on a coin- but we have numerous written descriptions. She had a long thin face and a somewhat pointed nose; her dominant features were her wonderfully large eyes. Her seductive power, however, did not lie in her looks-indeed many among the women of Alexandria were considered more beautiful than she. What she did have above all other women was the ability to distract a man. In reality, Cleopatra was physically unexceptional and had no political power, yet both Caesar and Antony, brave and clever men, saw none of this. What they saw was a woman who constantly transformed herself before their eyes, a one-woman spectacle. Her dress and makeup changed from day to day, but always gave her a heightened, goddesslike appearance. Her voice, which all writers talk of, was lilting and intoxicating. Her words could be banal enough, but were spoken so sweetly that listeners would find themselves remembering not what she said but how she said it. Cleopatra provided constant variety-tributes, mock battles, expeditions, costumed orgies. Everything had a touch of drama and was accomplished with great energy. By the time your head lay on the pillow beside her, your mind was spinning with images and dreams. And just when you thought you had this fluid, larger-than-life woman, she would turn distant or angry, making it clear that everything was on her terms. You never possessed Cleopatra, you worshiped her. In this way a woman who had been exiled and destined for an early death managed to turn it all around and rule Egypt for close to twenty years. From Cleopatra we leam that it is not beauty that makes a Siren but rather a theatrical streak that allows a woman to embody a man's fantasies. A man grows bored with a woman, no matter how beautiful; he yearns for different pleasures, and for adventure. All a woman needs to turn this around is to create the illusion that she offers such variety and adventure. A man is easily deceived by appearances; he has a weakness for the visual. Create the physical presence of a Siren (heightened sexual allure mixed with a regal and theatrical manner) and he is trapped. He cannot grow bored with you yet he cannot discard you. Keep up the distractions, and never let him see who you really are. He will follow you until he drowns. The Sex Siren N orma Jean Mortensen, the future Marilyn Monroe, spent part of her childhood in Los Angeles orphanages. Her days were filled with chores and no play. At school, she kept to herself, smiled rarely, and dreamed a lot. One day when she was thirteen, as she was dressing for school, she noticed that the white blouse the orphanage provided for her was torn, so she had to borrow a sweater from a younger girl in the house. The sweater was several sizes too small. That day, suddenly, boys seemed to gather around her wherever she went (she was extremely well-developed for her age). She wrote in her diary, "They stared at my sweater as if it were a gold mine." The revelation was simple but startling. Previously ignored and even ridiculed by the other students, Norma Jean now sensed a way to gain attention, maybe even power, for she was wildly ambitious. She started to smile more, wear makeup, dress differently. And soon she noticed something equally startling: without her having to say or do anything, boys fell passionately in love with her. "My admirers all said the same thing in different ways," she wrote. "It was my fault, their wanting to kiss me and hug me. Some said it was the way I looked at them-with eyes full of passion. Others said it was my voice that lured them on. Still others said I gave off vibrations that floored them." of an abyss? Seduction lies in the annulment of signs and their meaning, in pure appearance. The eyes that seduce have no meaning, they end in the gaze, as the face with makeup ends in only pure appearance. The scent of the panther is also a meaningless message-and behind the message the panther is invisible, as is the woman beneath her makeup. The Sirens too remained unseen. The enchantment lies in what is hidden.  BAUDRILLARD, DE LA SEDUCTION We're dazzled by feminine adornment, by the surface, \ All gold and jewels: so little of what we observe \ Is the girl herself And where (you may ask) amid such plenty \ Can our object of passion be found? The eye's deceived \ By Love's smart camouflage. - OVID, CURES FOR LOVE. GREEN He was herding his cattle on Mount Gargarus, the highest peak of Ida, when Hermes, accompanied by Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite delivered the golden apple and Zeus's message: "Paris, since you are as handsome as you are wise in affairs of the heart, Zeus commands you to judge which of these goddesses is the fairest. " "So be it," sighed Paris. "But first I beg the losers not to be vexed with me. I am only a human being, liable to make the stupidest mistakes." The goddesses all agreed to abide by his decision. • "Will it be enough to judge them as they are?" Paris asked Hermes, "or they he naked?" • "The rules of the contest are for you to decide," Hermes answered with a discreet smile. • "In that case, will they kindly disrobe?" • Hermes told the goddesses to do so, and politely turned his back.Aphrodite was soon ready, but Athene insisted that she should remove the famous magic girdle, which gave her an unfair advantage by making everyone fall in love withthe wearer. "Very well" said Aphrodite spitefully. "/ will, on condition thatyou remove your helmet-you look hideous without it. " "Now, if you please, 1 must judge you one at a time" announced Paris. . . . Come here, Divine Hera! Will you other two goddesses be good enough to leave us for a while?" • "Examine me conscientiously," said Hera, turning slowly around, and displaying her magnificent figure, "and remember that if you judge me the fairest, 1 will make you lord of all Asia, and the richest man alive. " • "/ am not to be bribed my Lady . . . Very well, thank you. Now I have seen all that I need to see. Come, Divine Athene!" • "Here I am," said Athene, striding purposefully forward. "Listen, Paris, if you have enough common sense to award me the prize, I will make you victorious in all your battles, as well as the handsomest and wisest man in the world." • "/ am a humble A few years later Marilyn was trying to make it in the film business. Producers would tell her the same thing: she was attractive enough in person, but her face wasn't pretty enough for the movies. She was getting work as an extra, and when she was on-screen-even if only for a few seconds-the men in the audience would go wild, and the theaters would erupt in catcalls. But nobody saw any star quality in this. One day in 1949, only twenty-three at the time and her career at a standstill, Monroe met someone at a diner who toldher that a producer casting a new Groucho Marx movie. Love Happy, was looking for an actress for the part of a blond bombshell who could walk by Groucho in a way that would, in his words, "arouse my elderly libido and cause smoke to issue from my ears." Talking her way into an audition, she improvised this walk. "It's Mae West, Theda Bara, and Bo Peep all rolled into one," said Groucho after watching her saunter by. "We shoot the scene tomorrow morning." And so Marilyn created her infamous walk, a walk that was hardly natural but offered a strange mix of innocence and sex. Over the next few years, Marilyn taught herself through trial and error how to heighten the effect she had on men. Her voice had always been attractive-it was the voice of a little girl. But on film it had limitations until someone finally taught her to lower it, giving it the deep, breathy tones that became her seductive trademark, a mix of the little girl and the vixen. Before appearing on set, or even at a party, Marilyn would spend hours before the mirror. Most people assumed this was vanity-she was in love with her image. The truth was that image took hours to create. Marilyn spent years studying and practicing the art of makeup. The voice, the walk, the face and look were all constructions, an act. At the height of her fame, she would get a thrill by going into bars in New York City without her makeup or glamorous clothes and passing unnoticed. Success finally came, but with it came something deeply annoying to her: the studios would only cast her as the blond bombshell. She wanted serious roles, but no one took her seriously for those parts, no matter how hard she downplayed the siren qualities she had built up. One day, while she was rehearsing a scene from The Cherry Orchard, her acting instructor, Michael Chekhov, asked her, "Were you thinking of sex while we played the scene?" When she said no, he continued, "All through our playing of the scene I kept receiving sex vibrations from you. As if you were a woman in the grip of passion. ... I understand your problem with your studio now, Marilyn. You are a woman who gives off sex vibrations-no matter what you are doing or thinking. The whole world has already responded to those vibrations. They come off the movie screens when you are on them." Marilyn Monroe loved the effect her body could have on the male libido. She tuned her physical presence like an instrument, making herself reek of sex and gaining a glamorous, larger-than-life appearance. Other women knewjust as many tricks for heightening their sexual appeal, but what separated Marilyn from them was an unconscious element. Her background had deprived her of something critical: affection. Her deepest need was to feel loved and desired, which made her seem constantly vulnerable, like a little girl craving protection. She emanated this need for love before the camera; it was effortless, coming from somewhere real and deep inside. A look or gesture that she did not intend to arouse desire would do so doubly powerfully just because it was unintended-its innocence was precisely what excited a man. The S ex Siren has a more urgent and immediate effect than the Spectacular Siren does. The incarnation of sex and desire, she does not bother to appeal to extraneous senses, or to create a theatrical buildup. Her time never seems to be taken up by work or chores; she gives the impression that she lives for pleasure and is always available. What separates the Sex Siren from the courtesan or whore is her touch of innocence and vulnerability. The mix is perversely satisfying: it gives the male the critical illusion that he is a protector, the father figure, although it is actually the Sex Siren who controls the dynamic. A woman doesn't have to be born with the attributes of a Marilyn Monroe to fill the role of the Sex Siren. Most of the physical elements are a construction; the key is the air of schoolgirl innocence. While one part of you seems to scream sex, the other part is coy and naive, as if you were incapable of understanding the effect you are having. Your walk, your voice, your manner are delightfully ambiguous-you are both the experienced, desiring woman and the innocent gamine. Your next encounter will be with the Sirens, who bewitch every man that approaches them. For with the music of their song the Sirens cast their spell upon him, as they sit there in a meadow piled high with the moldering skeletons of men, whose withered skin still hangs upon their bones. -CIRCE TO ODYSSEUS, THE ODYSSEY, BOOK XII Keys to the Character The Siren is the most ancient seductress of them all. Her prototype is the goddess Aphrodite-it is her nature to have a mythic quality about her-but do not imagine she is a thing of the past, or of legend and history: she represents a powerful male fantasy of a highly sexual, supremely confident, alluring female offering endless pleasure and a bit of danger. In today's world this fantasy can only appeal the more strongly to the male psyche, for now more than ever he lives in a world that circumscribes his aggressive instincts by making everything safe and secure, a world that offers less chance for adventure and risk than ever before. In the past, a man had some outlets for these drives-warfare, the high seas, political intrigue. In the sexual realm, courtesans and mistresses were practically a social institu- herdsman, not a soldier," said Paris. . . . ".But I promise to consider fairly your claim to the apple. Now you are at liberty to put on your clothes and helmet again. Is Aphrodite ready?" • Aphrodite sidled up to him, and Paris blushed because she came so close that they were almost touching. • "Look carefully, please, pass nothing over. ... By the way, as soon as I saw you, I said to myself: 'Upon my word, there goes the handsomest young man in Phrygia! Why does he waste himself here in the wilderness herding stupid cattle?' Well, why do you, Paris? Why not move into a city and lead a civilized life? What have you to lose by marrying someone like Helen of Sparta, who is as beautiful as I am, and no less passionate? ... I suggest now that you tour Greece with my son Eros as your guide. Once you reach Sparta, he and I will see that Helen falls head over heels in love with you." • "Would you swear to that?" Paris ashed excitedly. • Aphrodite uttered a solemn oath, and Paris, without a second thought, awarded her the golden apple. GRAVES, THE GREEK MYTHS To whom aw I compare the lovely girl, so blessed by fortune, if not to the Sirens, who with their lodestone draw the ships towards them? Thus, I imagine, did Isolde attract many thoughts and hearts that deemed themselves safe from love's disquietude. And indeed these two-anchorless ships and stray thoughts - provide a good comparison. They are both so seldom on a straight course, lie so often in unsure havens, pitching and tossing and heaving to and fro. Just so, in the same way, do aimless desire and random love-longing drift like an anchorless ship. This charming young princess, discreet and courteous Isolde, drew thoughts from the hearts that enshrined them as a lodestone draws in ships to the sound of the Sirens' song. She sang openly and secretly, in through ears and eyes to where many a heart was stirred. The song which she sang openly in this and other places was her own sweet singing and soft sounding of strings that echoed for all to hear through the kingdom of the ears deep down into the heart. But her secret song was her wondrous beauty that stole with its rapturous music hidden and unseen through the windows of the eyes into many noble hearts and smoothed on the magic which took thoughts prisoner suddenly, and, taking them, fettered them with desire! -GOTTFRIED VON STRASSBURG, TRISTAN. HATTO tion, and offered him the variety and the chase that he craved. Without any outlets, his drives turn inward and gnaw at him, becoming all the more volatile for being repressed. Sometimes a powerful man will do the most irrational things, have an affair when it is least called for, just for a thrill, the danger of it all. The irrational can prove immensely seductive, even more so for men, who must always seem so reasonable. If it is seductive power you are after, the Siren is the most potent of all. She operates on a man's most basic emotions, and if she plays her role properly, she can transform a normally strong and responsible male into a childish slave. The Siren operates well on the rigid masculine type-the soldier or hero-just as Cleopatra overwhelmed Mark Antony and Marilyn Monroe Joe DiMaggio. But never imagine that these are the only types the Siren can affect. Julius Caesar was a writer and thinker, who had transferred his intellectual abilities onto the battlefield and into the political arena; the playwright Arthur Miller fell as deeply under Monroe's spell as DiMaggio. The intellectual is often the one most susceptible to the Siren call of pure physical pleasure, because his life so lacks it. The Siren does not have to worry about finding the right victim. Her magic works on one and all. First and foremost, a Siren must distinguish herself from other women. She is by nature a rare thing, mythic, only one to a group; she is also a valuable prize to be wrested away from other men. Cleopatra made herself different through her sense of high drama; the Empress Josephine Bonaparte's device was her extreme languorousness; Marilyn Monroe's was her little-girl quality. Physicality offers the best opportunities here, since a Siren is preeminently a sight to behold. A highly feminine and sexual presence, even to the point of caricature, will quickly differentiate you, since most women lack the confidence to project such an image. Once the Siren has made herself stand out from others, she must have two other critical qualities: the ability to get the male to pursue her so feverishly that he loses control; and a touch of the dangerous. Danger is surprisingly seductive. To get the male to pursue you is relatively simple: a highly sexual presence will do this quite well. But you must not resemble a courtesan or whore, whom the male may pursue only to quickly lose interest in her. Instead, you are slightly elusive and distant, a fantasy come to life. During the Renaissance, the great Sirens, such as Tullia d'Aragona, would act and look like Grecian goddesses-the fantasy of the day. Today you might model yourself on a film goddess-anything that seems larger than life, even awe inspiring. These qualities will make a man chase you vehemently, and the more he chases, the more he will feel that he is acting on his own initiative. This is an excellent way of disguising how deeply youare manipulating him. The notion of danger, challenge, sometimes death, might seem outdated, but danger is critical in seduction. It adds emotional spice and is particularly appealing to men today, who are normally so rational and repressed. Danger is present in the original myth of the Siren. In Homer's Odyssey, the hero Odysseus must sail by the rocks where the Sirens, strange female creatures, sing and beckon sailors to their destruction. They sing of the glories of the past, of a world like childhood, without responsibilities, a world of pure pleasure. Their voices are like water, liquid and inviting. Sailors would leap into the water to join them, and drown; or, distracted and entranced, they would steer their ship into the rocks. To protect his sailors from the Sirens, Odysseus has their ears filled with wax; he himself is tied to the mast, so he can both hear the Sirens and live to tell of it-a strange desire, since the thrill of the Sirens is giving in to the temptation to follow them. Just as the ancient sailors had to row and steer, ignoring all distractions, a man today must work and follow a straight path in life. The call of something dangerous, emotional, unknown is all the more powerful because it is so forbidden. Think of the victims of the great Sirens of history: Paris causes a war for the sake of Helen of Troy, Caesar risks an empire and Antony loses his power and his life for Cleopatra, Napoleon becomes a laughingstock over Josephine, DiMaggio never gets over Marilyn, and Arthur Miller can't write for years. A man is often ruined by a Siren, yet cannot tear himself away. (Many powerful men have a masochistic streak.) An element of danger is easy to hint at, and will enhance your other Siren characteristics-the touch of madness in Marilyn, for example, that pulled men in. Sirens are often fantastically irrational, which is immensely attractive to men who are oppressed by their own reasonableness. An element of fear is also critical: keeping a man at a proper distance creates respect, so that he doesn't get close enough to see through you or notice your weaker qualities. Create such fear by suddenly changing your moods, keeping the man off balance, occasionally intimidating him with capricious behavior. The most important element for an aspiring Siren is always the physical, the Siren's main instrument of power. Physical qualities-a scent, a heightened femininity evoked through makeup or through elaborate or seductive clothing-act all the more powerfully on men because they have no meaning. hi their immediacy they bypass rational processes, having the same effect that a decoy has on an animal, or the movement of a cape on a bull. The proper Siren appearance is often confused with physical beauty, particularly the face. But a beautiful face does not a Siren make: instead it creates too much distance and coldness. (Neither Cleopatra nor Marilyn Monroe, the two greatest Sirens in history, were known for their beautiful faces.) Although a smile and an inviting look are infinitely seductive, they must never dominate your appearance. They are too obvious and direct. The Siren must stimulate a generalized desire, and the best way to do this is by creating an overall impression that is both distracting and alluring. It is not one particular trait, but a combination of qualities: Falling in love with statues and paintings, even making love to them is an ancient fantasy, one of which the Renaissance was keenly aware. Giorgio Vasari, writing in the introductory section of the Lives about art in antiquity, tells how men violated the laws, going into the temples at night and making love with statues of Venus. In the morning, priests would enter the sanctuaries to find stains on the marble figures. -LYNNE LAWNER, LIVES OF THE COURTESANS The voice. Clearly a critical quality, as the legend indicates, the Siren's voice has an immediate animal presence with incredible suggestive power. Perhaps that power is regressive, recalling the ability of the mother's voice to calm or excite her child even before the child understood what she was saying. The Siren must have an insinuating voice that hints at the erotic, more often subliminally than overtly. Almost everyone who met Cleopatra commented on her delightful, sweet-sounding voice, which had a mesmerizing quality. The Empress Josephine, one of the great seductresses of the late eighteenth century, had a languorous voice that men found exotic, and suggestive of her Creole origins. Marilyn Monroe was born with her breathy, childlike voice, but she learned to lower to make it truly seductive. Lauren Bacall's voice is naturally low; its seductive power comes from its slow, suggestive delivery. The Siren never speaks quickly, aggressively, or at a high pitch. Her voice is calm and unhurried, as if she had never quite woken up-or left her bed. Body and adornment. If the voice must lull, the body and its adornment must dazzle. It is with her clothes that the Siren aims to create the goddess effect that Baudelaire described in his essay "In Praise of Makeup": "Woman is well within her rights, and indeed she is accomplishing a kind of duty in striving to appear magical and supernatural. She must astonish and bewitch; an idol, she must adorn herself with gold in order to be adored. She must borrow from all of the arts in order to raise herself above nature, the better to subjugate hearts and stir souls." A Siren who was a genius of clothes and adornment was Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon. Pauline consciously strove for a goddess effect, fashioning hair, makeup, and clothes to evoke the look and air of Venus, the goddess of love. No one in history could boast a more extensive and elaborate wardrobe. Pauline's entrance at a ball in 1798 created an astounding effect. She asked the hostess, Madame Permon, if she could dress at her house, so no one would see her clothes as she came in. When she came down the stairs, everyone stopped dead in stunned silence. She wore the headdress of a bacchante-clusters of gold grapes interlaced in her hair, which was done up in the Greek style. Her Greek tunic, with its gold- embroidered hem, showed off her goddesslike figure. Below her breasts was a girdle of burnished gold, held by a magnificent jewel. "No words can convey the loveliness of her appearance," wrote the Duchess d'Abrantes. "The very room grew brighter as she entered. The whole ensemble was so harmonious that her appearance was greeted with a buzz of admiration which continued with utter disregard of all the other women." The key: everything must dazzle, but must also be harmonious, so that no single ornament draws attention. Your presence must be charged, larger than life, a fantasy come true. Ornament is used to cast a spell and distract. The Siren can also use clothing to hint at the sexual, at times overtly but more often by suggesting it rather than screaming it-that would make you seem manipulative. Related to this is the notion of selective disclosure, the revealing of only a part of the body-but a part that will excite and stir the imagination. In the late sixteenth century. Marguerite de Valois, the infamous daughter of Queen Catherine de Medicis of France, was one of the first women ever to incorporate decolletage in her wardrobe, simply because she had the most beautiful breasts in the realm. For Josephine Bonaparte it was her arms, which she carefully always left bare. Movement and demeanor. In the fifth century B.C., King Kou Chien chose the Chinese Siren Hsi Shih from among all the women of his realm to seduce and destroy his rival Fu Chai, King of Wu; for this purpose, he had the young woman instructed in the arts of seduction. Most important of these was movement-how to move gracefully and suggestively. Hsi Shih learned to give the impression of floating across the floor in her court robes. When she was finally unleashed on Fu Chai, he quickly fell under her spell. She walked and moved like no one he had ever seen. He became obsessed with her tremulous presence, her manner and nonchalant air. Fu Chai fell so deeply in love that he let his kingdom fall to pieces, allowing Kou Chien to march in and conquer it without a fight. The Siren moves gracefully and unhurriedly. The proper gestures, movement, and demeanor for a Siren are like the proper voice: they hint at something exciting, stirring desire without being obvious. Your air must be languorous, as if you had all the time in the world for love and pleasure. Your gestures must have a certain ambiguity, suggesting something both innocent and erotic. Anything that cannot immediately be understood is supremely seductive, and all the more so if it permeates your manner. Symbol: Water. The song of the Siren is liquid and enticing, and the Siren herself is fluid and un- graspable. Like the sea, the Siren lures you with the promise of infinite adventure and pleasure. Forgetting past and future, men follow her far out to sea, where they drown. Dangers. N o matter how enlightened the age, no woman can maintain the image of being devoted to pleasure completely comfortably. And no matter how hard she tries to distance herself from it, the taint of being easy always follows the Siren. Cleopatra was hated in Rome as the Egyptian whore. That hatred eventually lead to her downfall, as Octavius and the Roman army sought to extirpate the stain on Roman manhood that she came to represent. Even so, men are often forgiving when it comes to the Siren's reputation. But danger often lies in the envy she stirs up among other women; much of Rome's hatred for Cleopatra originated in the resentment she provoked among the city's stern matrons. By playing up her innocence, by making herself seem the victim of male desire, the Siren can somewhat blunt the effects of feminine envy. But on the whole there is little she can do-her power comes from her effect on men, and she must learn to accept, or ignore, the envy of other women. Finally, the intense attention that the Siren attracts can prove irritating and worse. Sometimes she will pine for relief from it; sometimes, too, she will want to attract an attention that is not sexual. Also, unfortunately, physical beauty fades; although the Siren effect depends not on a beautiful face but on an overall impression, past a certain age that impression gets hard to project. Both of these factors contributed to the suicide of Marilyn Monroe. It takes a genius on the level of Madame de Pompadour, the Siren mistress of King Louis XV, to make the transition into the role of the spirited older woman who continues to seduce with her nonphysical charms. Cleopatra had such an intellect, and had she lived long enough, she would have remained a potent seductress for many years. The Siren must prepare for age by paying attention early on to the more psychological, less physical forms of coquetry that can continue to bring her power once her beauty starts to fade. the A woman never quite feels desired and appreciated enough. She wants attention, but a man is too often distracted and unresponsive. The Rake is a great female fantasy figure-when he desires a woman, brief though that moment may be, he will go to the ends of the earth for her. He may be disloyal, dishonest, and amoral, but that only adds to his appeal. Unlike the normal, cautious male, the Rake is delightfully unrestrained, a slave to his love of women. There is the added lure of his reputation: so many women have succumbed to him, there has to be a reason. Words are a woman's weakness, and the Rake is a master of seductive language. Stir a woman's repressed longings by adapting the Rake's mix of danger and pleasure. The Ardent Rake. F or the court of Louis XIV, the king's last years were gloomy-he was old, and had become both insufferably religious and personally unpleasant. The court was bored and desperate for novelty. So in 1710, the arrival of a fifteen-year-old lad who was both devilishly handsome and charming had a particularly strong effect on the ladies. His name was Fronsac, the future Duke de Richelieu (his granduncle being the infamous Cardinal Richelieu). He was impudent and witty. The ladies would play with him like a toy, but he would Mss them on the lips in return, his hands wandering far for an inexperienced boy. When those hands strayed up the skirts of a duchess who was not so indulgent, the king was furious, and sent the youth to the Bastille to teach him a lesson. But the ladies who had found him so amusing could not endure his absence. Compared to the stiffs in court, here was someone incredibly bold, his eyes boring into you, his hands quicker than was safe. Nothing could stop him, his novelty was irresistible. The court ladies pleaded and his stay in the Bastille was cut short. Several years later, the young Mademoiselle de Valois was walking in a Paris park with her chaperone, an older woman who never left her side. De Valois's father, the Duke d'Orleans, was determined to protect her, his youngest daughter, from all the court seducers until she could be married off, so he had attached to her this chaperone, a woman of impeccable virtue and sourness. In the park, however, de Valois saw a young man who gave her a look that set her heart on fire. He walked on by, but the look was intense and clear. It was her chaperone who told her his name: the now infamous Duke de Richelieu, blasphemer, seducer, heartbreaker. Someone to avoid at all cost. A few days later, the chaperone took de Valois to a different park, and lo and behold, Richelieu crossed their path again. This time he was in disguise, dressed as a beggar, but the look in his eye was unforgettable. Mademoiselle de Valois returned his gaze: at last something exciting in her drab life. Given her father's sternness, no man had dared approach her. And now this notorious courtier was pursuing her, instead of all the other ladies at court-what a thrill! Soon he was smuggling beautifully written notes to her expressing his uncontrollable desire for her. She responded timidly, but soon the notes were all she was living for. In one of them he promised to arrange everything if she would spend the night with him; imagining it was [After an accident at sect, Don Juan finds himself washed up on a beach, where he is discovered by a young woman.] • TISBEA: Wake up, handsomest of all men, and be yourself again. • D 0 N JUAN: If the sea gives me death, you give me life. But the sea really saved me only to be killed by you. Oh the sea tosses me from one torment to the other, for I no sooner pulled myself from the water than I met this siren - yourself. Why fill my ears with wax, since you kill me with your eyes? I was dying in the sea, but from today I shall die of love. • TISBEA: YOU have abundant breath for a man almost drowned. You suffered much, but who knows what suffering you are preparing for me? . . I found you at my feet all water, and now you are all fire. If you burn when you  are so wet, what will you do when you're dry again? You promise a scorching flame; I hope to God you're not lying. • D O N JUAN: Dear girl, God should have drowned me before I could be charred by you. Perhaps love was wise to drench me before I felt your scalding touch. But your fire is such that even in water I burn. • TISBEA: So cold and yet burning? • DON JUAN: So much fire is in you. • TISBEA: How well you talk! • D O N JUAN: How well you understand! • TISBEA: I hope to God you're not lying. -TIRSO DE MOLINA, THE PLAYBOY OF SEVILLE, SCHIZZANO. MANDEL Pleased with my first success, I determined to profit by this happy reconciliation. I called them impossible to bring such a thing to pass, she did not mind playing along and agreeing to his bold proposal. Mademoiselle de Valois had a chambermaid named Angelique, who dressed her for bed and slept in an adjoining room. One night as the chaperone was knitting, de Valois looked up from the book she was reading to see Angelique carrying her mistress's nightclothes to her room, but for some strange reason Angelique looked back at her and smiled-it was Richelieu,expertly dressed as the maid! De Valois nearly gasped from fright, but caught herself, realizing the danger she was in: if she said anything her family would find out about the notes, and about her part in the whole affair. What could she do? She decided to go to her room and talk the young duke out of his ridiculously dangerous maneuver. She said good night to her chaperone, but once she was in her bedroom, the words she had planned were useless. When she tried to reason with Richelieu, he responded with that look in his eye, and then with his arms around her. She could not yell, but now she was unsure what to do. His impetuous words, his caresses, the danger of it all-her head was whirling, she was lost. What was virtue and her prior boredom compared to an evening with the court's most notorious rake? So while the chaperone knitted away, the duke initiated her into the my dear wives, my faithful rituals of libertinage. companions, the two bemgs Months later, de Valois's father had reason to suspect that Richelieu had chosen to make me happy. i sought to turn their broken through his lines of defense. The chaperone was fired, the precau- heads, and to rouse in tions were doubled. D'Orleans did not realize that to Richelieu such mea- them desires the strength of which I knew and which would drive away any reflections contrary to my plans. The skillful man who knows how to communicate gradually the heat of love to the senses of the most virtuous woman is quite certain of soon being absolute master of her mind and her person; you cannot reflect when you have lost your head; and, moreover, principles of wisdom, however deeply engraved they may be on the mind, are effaced in that moment when the heart yearns only for pleasure: pleasure alone then commands and is obeyed. The man who has had experience of conquests nearly always succeeds where he who is only timid and in love fails. When I had brought my two belles to the state of abandonment in which I sures were a challenge, and he lived for challenges. He bought the house next door under an assumed name and secretly tunneled a trapdoor through the wall adjoining the duke's kitchen cupboard. In this cupboard, over the next few months-until the novelty wore off-de Valois and Richelieu enjoyed endless trysts. Everyone in Paris knew of Richelieu's exploits, for he made it a point to publicize them as loudly as possible. Every week a new story would circulate through the court. A husband had locked his wife in an upstairs room at night, worried the duke was after her; to reach her the duke had crawled in darkness along a thin wooden plank suspended between two upper-floor windows.Two women who lived in the same house, one a widow, the other married and quite religious, had discovered to their mutual horror that the duke was having an affair with both of them at the same time, leaving one in the middle of the night to be with the other. When they confronted him, the duke, always on the prowl for something novel, and a devilish talker, had neither apologized nor backed down, but proceeded to talk them into a menage a trois, playing on the wounded vanity of each woman, who could not stand the thought of him preferring the other. Year after year, the stories of his remarkable seductions spread. One woman admired his audacity and bravery, another his gallantry in thwarting a husband. Women competed for his attention: if he did not want to seduce you, there had to be something wrong with you. To be the target of his attentions became a great fantasy. At one point two ladies fought a pistol duel over the duke, and one of them was seriously wounded. The Duchess d'Orleans, Richelieu's most bitter enemy, once wrote, "If I believed in sorcery I should think that the Duke possessed some supernatural secret, for I have never known a woman to oppose the very least resistance to him." In seduction there is often a dilemma: to seduce you need planning and calculation, but if your victim suspects that you have ulterior motives, she will grow defensive. Furthermore, if you seem to be in control, you will inspire fear instead of desire. The Ardent Rake solves this dilemma in the most artful manner. Of course he must calculate and plan-he has to find a way around the jealous husband, or whatever the obstacle is. It is exhausting work. But by nature, the Ardent Rake also has the advantage of an uncontrollable libido. When he pursues a woman, he really is aglow with desire; the victim senses this and is inflamed, even despite herself. How can she imagine that he is a heartless seducer who will abandon her when he so ardently braves all dangers and obstacles to get to her? And even if she is aware of his rakish past, of his incorrigible amorality, it doesn't matter, because she also sees his weakness. He cannot control himself; he actually is a slave to all women. As such he inspires no fear. The Ardent Rake teaches us a simple lesson: intense desire has a distracting power on a woman, just as the Siren's physical presence does on a man. A woman is often defensive and can sense insincerity or calculation. But if she feels consumed by your attentions, and is confident you will do anything for her, she will notice nothing else about you, or will find a way to forgive your indiscretions. This is the perfect cover for a seducer. The kej| is to show no hesitation, to abandon all restraint, to let yourself go, to show that you cannot control yourself and are fundamentally weak. Do not worry about inspiring mistrust; as long as you are the slave to her charms, she will not think of the aftermath. The Demonic Rake. I n the early 1880s, members of Roman high society began to talk of a young journalist who had arrived on the scene, a certain Gabriele D'Annunzio. This was strange in itself, for Italian royalty had only the deepest contempt for anyone outside their circle, and a newspaper society reporter was almost as low as you could go. Indeed well-born men paid D'Annunzio little attention. He had no money and few connections, coming from a strictly middle-class background. Besides, to them he was downright ugly-short and stocky, with a dark, splotchy complexion and bulging eyes. The men thought him so unappealing they gladly let him mingle with their wives and daughters, certain that their women would be safe with this gargoyle and happy to get this gossip hunter off their hands. No, it was not the men who talked of D'Annunzio; it was their wives. wanted them, I expressed a more eager desire; their eyes lit up; my caresses were returned; and it was plain that their resistance would not delay for more than a few moments the next scene I desired them to play. I proposed thateach should accompany me in turn into a charming closet, next to the room in which we were, which I wanted them to admire. They both remained silent. • "You hesitate?" I said to them. "I will see which of you is the more attached to me. The one who loves me the more will be the first to follow the lover she wishes to convince of her affection. . . I knew my puritan, and I was well aware that, after a few Struggles, she gave herself up completely to the present moment. 'This one appeared to be as agreeable to her as the others we had previously spent together; she forgot that she was sharing me [with Madame Renaud].[When her turn came ] Madame Renaud responded with a transport that proved her contentment, and she left the sitting only after having repeated continually: "What a man! What a man! He is astonishing! How often you could be happy with him if he were only faithful!" - THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE MARSHAL DUKE OF RICHELIEU, TRANSLATED BY F. S. FLINT His very successes in love, even more than the marvellous voice of this little, bald seducer with a nose like Punch, swept along in his train a whole procession of enamoured women, both opulent and tormented. D'Annunzio had successfully revived the Byronic legend: as he passed by full-breasted women, standing in his way as Boldoni would paint them, strings of pearls anchoring them to life-princesses and actresses, great Russian ladies and even middle- class Bordeaux housewives-they would offer themselves up to him. -PHILIPPE JULLIAN, PRINCE OF AESTHETES: COUNT ROBERT DE MONTESQUIEOU, HAYLOCK AND FRANCIS KING In short, nothing is so sweet as to triumph over the Resistance of a beautiful Person; and in that I have the Ambition of Conquerors, who fly Introduced to D'Annunzio by their husbands, these duchesses and marchionesses would find themselves entertaining this strange-looking man, and when he was alone with them, his manner would suddenly change. Within minutes these ladies would be spellbound. First, he had the most magnificent voice they had ever heard-soft and low, each syllable articulated, with a flowing rhythm and inflection that was almost musical. One woman compared it to the ringing of church bells in the distance. Others said his voice had a "hypnotic" effect. The words that voice spoke were interesting as well-alliterative phrases, charming locutions, poetic images, and a way of offering praise that could melt a woman's heart. D'Annunzio had mastered the art of flattery. He seemed to know each woman's weakness: one he would call a goddess of nature, another an incomparable artist in the making, another a romantic figure out of a novel. A woman's heart would flutter as he described the effect she had on him. Everything was suggestive, hinting at sex or romance. That night she would ponder his words, recalling little in particular that he had said, because he never said anything concrete, but rather the feeling it had given her. The next day she would receive from him a poem that seemed to have been written specifically for her. (In fact he wrote dozens of very similar poems, slightly tailoring each one for its intended victim.) A few years after D'Annunzio began work as a society reporter, he married the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Gallese. Shortly thereafter, with the unshakeable support of society ladies, he began publishing novels and books of poetry. The number of his conquests was remarkable, and also the quality-not only marchionesses would fall at his feet, but great artists, such as the actress Eleanor Duse, who helped him become a respected dramatist and literary celebrity. The dancer Isadora Duncan, another who eventually fell under his spell, explained his magic: "Perhaps the perpetually from victory to m0 st remarkable lover of our time is Gabriele D'Annunzio. And this Victory and can never prevail with themselves to put a bound to their Wishes. Nothing can restrain the Impetuosity of my Desires; I have an Heart for the whole Earth; and like Alexander, I could wish for New Worlds wherein to extend my Amorous Conquests. -MOLIERE, DON JOHN OR THE LIBERTINE. OZELL notwithstanding that he is small, bald, and, except when his face lights up with enthusiasm, ugly But when he speaks to a woman he likes, his face is transfigured, so that he suddenly becomes Apollo. . . . His effect on women is remarkable. The lady he is talking to suddenly feels that her very soul and being are lifted." At the outbreak of World War I, the fifty-two-year-old D'Annunzio joined the army. Although he had no military experience, he had a flair for the dramatic and a burning desire to prove his bravery. He learned to fly and led dangerous but highly effective missions. By the end of the war, he was Italy's most decorated hero. His exploits made him a beloved national figure, and after the war, crowds would gather outside his hotel wherever in Italy he went. He would address them from a balcony, discussing politics, railing against the current Italian government. A witness of one of these speeches, the American writer Walter Starkie, was initially disappointed at the appearance of the famous D'Annunzio on a balcony in Venice; he was short, and looked grotesque. "Little by little, however, I began to sink under the fascination of the voice, which penetrated into my consciousness. . . . Never a hurried, jerky gesture. ... He played upon the emotions of the crowd as a supreme violinist does upon a Stradivarius. The eyes of the thousands were fixed upon him as though hypnotized by his power." Once again, it was the sound of the voice and the poetic connotations of the words that seduced the masses. Arguing that modern Italy should reclaim the greatness of the Roman Empire, D'Annunzio would craft slogans for the audience to repeat, or would ask emotionally loaded questions for them to answer. He flattered the crowd, made them feel they were part of some drama. Everything was vague and suggestive. The issue of the day was the ownership of the city of Fiume, just across the border in neighboring Yugoslavia. Many Italians believed that Italy's reward for siding with the Allies in the recent war should be the annexation of Fiume. D'Annunzio championed this cause, and because of his status as a war hero the army was ready to side with him, although the government opposed any action. In September of 1919, with soldiers rallying around him, D'Annunzio led his infamous march on Fiume. When an Italian general stopped him along the way, and threatened to shoot him, D'Annunzio opened his coat to show his medals, and said in his magnetic voice, "If you must kill me, fire first on this!" The general stood there stunned, then broke into tears. He joined up with D'Annunzio. When D'Annunzio entered Fiume, he was greeted as a liberator. The next day he was declared leader of the Free State of Fiume. Soon he was giving daily speeches from a balcony overlooking the town's main square, holding tens of thousands of people spellbound without benefit of loudspeakers. He initiated all kinds of celebrations and rituals harking back to the Roman Empire. The citizens of Fiume began to imitate him, particularly his sexual exploits; the city became like a giant bordello. His popularity was so high that the Italian government feared a march on Rome, which at that point, had D'Annunzio decided to do it-and he had the support of a large part of the military-might actually have succeeded; D'Annunzio could have beaten Mussolini to the punch and changed the course of history. (He was not a Fascist but a kind of aesthetic socialist.) He decided to stay in Fiume, however, and ruled there for sixteen months before the Italian government finally bombed him out of the city. Seduction is a psychological process that transcends gender, except in a few key areas where each gender has its own weakness. The male is traditionally vulnerable to the visual. The Siren who can concoct the right physical appearance will seduce in large numbers. For women the weakness is language and words: as was written by one of D'Annunzio's victims, the French actress Simone, "How can one explain his conquests except by his extraordinary verbal power, and the musical timbre of his voice, put to the service of exceptional eloquence? For my sex is susceptible to words, bewitched by them, longing to be dominated by them." The Rake is as promiscuous with words as he is with women. He chooses words for their ability to suggest, insinuate, hypnotize, elevate, in- Among the many modes of handling Don Juan's effect on women, the motif of the irresistible hero is worth singling out, for it illustrates a curious change in our sensibility. Don Juan did not become irresistible to women until the Romantic age, and I am disposed to think that it is a trait of the female imagination to make him so. When the female voice began to assert itself and even, perhaps, to dominate in literature, Don Juan evolved to become the women's rather than the man's ideal. . . . Don Juan is now the woman's dream of the perfect lover, fugitive, passionate, daring. He gives her the one unforgettable moment, the magnificent exaltation of the flesh which is too often denied her by the real husband, who thinks that men are gross and women spiritual. To be the fatal Don Juan may be the dream of a few men; but to meet him is the dream of many women. -OSCAR MANDEL,"THE LEGEND OF DON JUAN," THE THEATRE OF DON JUAN feet. The words of the Rake are the equivalent of the bodily adornment of the Siren: a powerful sensual distraction, a narcotic. The Rake's use of language is demonic because it is designed not to communicate or convey information but to persuade, flatter, stir emotional turmoil, much as the serpent in the Garden of Eden used words to lead Eve into temptation. The example of D'Annunzio reveals the link between the erotic Rake, who seduces women, and the political Rake, who seduces the masses. Both depend on words. Adapt the character of the Rake and you will find that the use of words as a subtle poison has infinite applications. Remember: it is the form that matters, not the content. The less your targets focus on what you say, and the more on how it makes them feel, the more seductive your effect. Give your words a lofty, spiritual, literary flavor the better to insinuate desire in your unwitting victims. But what is this force, then, by which Don Juan seduces? It is desire, the energy of sensuous desire. He desires in every woman the whole of womanhood. The reaction to this gigantic passion beautifies and develops the one desired, who flushes in enhanced beauty by his reflection. As the enthusiast's fire with seductive splendor illumines even those who stand in a casual relation to him, so Don Juan transfigures in afar deeper sense every girl. KIERKEGAARD, EITHER/OR Keys to the Character A t first it may seem strange that a man who is clearly dishonest, disloyal, and has no interest in marriage would have any appeal to a woman. But throughout all of history, and in all cultures, this type has had a fatal effect. What the Rake offers is what society normally does not allow women: an affair of pure pleasure, an exciting brush with danger. A woman is often deeply oppressed by the role she is expected to play She is supposed to be the tender, civilizing force in society, and to want commitment and lifelong loyalty. But often her marriages and relationships give her not romance and devotion but routine and an endlessly distracted mate. It remains an abiding female fantasy to meet a man who gives totally of himself, who lives for her, even if only for a while. This dark, repressed side of female desire found expression in the legend of Don Juan. At first the legend was a male fantasy: the adventurous knight who could have any woman he wanted. But in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Don Juan slowly evolved from the masculine adventurer to a more feminized version: a man who lived only for women. This evolution came from women's interest in the story, and was a result of their frustrated desires. Marriage for them was a form of indentured servitude; but Don Juan offered pleasure for its own sake, desire with no strings attached. For the time he crossed your path, you were all he thought about. His desire for you was so powerful that he gave you no time to think or to worry about the consequences. He would come in the night, give you an unforgettable moment, and then vanish. He might have conquered a thousand women before you, but that only made him more interesting; better to be abandoned than undesired by such a man. The great seducers do not offer the mild pleasures that society condones. They touch a person's unconscious, those repressed desires that cry out for liberation. Do not imagine that women are the tender creatures that some people would like them to be. Like men, they are deeply attracted to the forbidden, the dangerous, even the slightly evil. (Don Juan ends by going to hell, and the word "rake" comes from "rakehell," a man who rakes the coals of hell; the devilish component, clearly, is an important part of the fantasy.) Always remember: if you are to play the Rake, you must convey a sense of risk and darkness, suggesting to your victim that she is participating in something rare and thrilling-a chance to play out her own rakish desires. To play the Rake, the most obvious requirement is the ability to let yourself go, to draw a woman into the kind of purely sensual moment in which past and future lose meaning. You must be able to abandon yourself to the moment. (When the Rake Valmont-a character modeled after the Duke de Richelieu-in Laclos' eighteenth-century novel Dangerous Liaisons writes letters that are obviously calculated to have a certain effect on his chosen victim, Madame de Tourvel, she sees right through them; but when his letters really do burn with passion, she begins to relent.) An added benefit of this quality is that it makes you seem unable to control yourself, a display of weakness that a woman enjoys. By abandoning yourself to the seduced, you make them feel that you exist for them alone-a feeling reflecting a truth, though a temporary one. Of the hundreds of women that Pablo Picasso, consummate rake, seduced over the years, most of them had the feeling that they were the only one he truly loved. The Rake never worries about a woman's resistance to him, or for that matter about any other obstacle in his path-a husband, a physical barrier. Resistance is only the spur to his desire, enflaming him all the more. When Picasso was seducing Fran£oise Gilot, in fact, he begged her to resist; he needed resistance to add to the thrill. In any case, an obstacle in your way gives you the opportunity to prove yourself, and the creativity you bring to matters of love. In the eleventh-century Japanese novel The Tale ofGenji, by the court lady Murasaki Shikibu, the Rake Prince Niou is not disturbed by the sudden disappearance of Ukifune, the woman he loves. She has fled because although she is interested in the prince, she is in love with another man; but her absence allows the prince to go to extreme lengths to track her down. His sudden appearance to whisk her away to a house deep in the woods, and the gallantry he displays in doing so, overwhelm her. Remember: if no resistances or obstacles face you, you must create them. No seduction can proceed without them. The Rake is an extreme personality. Impudent, sarcastic, and bitingly witty, he cares nothing for what anyone thinks. Paradoxically, this only makes him more seductive. In the courtlike atmosphere of studio-era Hollywood, when most of the actors behaved like dutiful sheep, the great Rake Errol Flynn stood out in his insolence. He defied the studio chiefs, engaged in the most extreme pranks, reveled in his reputation as Hollywood's supreme seducer-all of which enhanced his popularity. The Rake needs abackdrop of convention-a stultified court, a humdrum marriage, a conservative culture-to shine, to be appreciated for the breath of fresh air he provides. Never worry about going too far: the Rake's essence is that he goes further than anyone else. When the Earl of Rochester, seventeenth-century England's most notorious Rake and poet, abducted Elizabeth Malet, one of the most sought- after young ladies of the court, he was duly punished. But lo and behold, a few years later young Elizabeth, though wooed by the most eligible bachelors in the country, chose Rochester to be her husband. In demonstrating his audacious desire, he made himself stand out from the crowd. Related to the Rake's extremism is the sense of danger, taboo, perhaps even the hint of cruelty about him. This was the appeal of another poet Rake, one of the greatest in history: Lord Byron. Byron disliked any kind of convention, and happily played this up. When he had an affair with his half sister, who bore a child by him, he made sure that all of England knew about it. He could be uncommonly cruel, as he was to his wife. But all of this only made him that much more desirable. Danger and taboo appeal to a repressed side in women, who are supposed to represent a civilizing, moralizing force in culture. Just as a man may fall victim to the Siren through his desire to be free of his sense of masculine responsibility, a woman may succumb to the Rake through her yearning to be free of the constraints of virtue and decency. Indeed it is often the most virtuous woman who falls most deeply in love with the Rake. Among the Rake's most seductive qualities is his ability to make women want to reform him. How many thought they would be the one to tame Lord Byron; how many of Picasso's women thought they would finally be the one with whom he would spend the rest of his life. You must exploit this tendency to the fullest. When caught red-handed in rakishness, fall back on your weakness-your desire to change, and your inability to do so. With so many women at your feet, what can you do? You are the one who is the victim. You need help. Women will jump at this opportunity; they are uncommonly indulgent of the Rake, for he is such a pleasant, dashing figure. The desire to reform him disguises the true nature of their desire, the secret thrill they get from him. When President Bill Clinton was clearly caught out as a Rake, it was women who rushed to his defense, finding every possible excuse for him. The fact that the Rake is so devoted to women, in his own strange way, makes him lovable and seductive to them. Finally, a Rake's greatest asset is his reputation. Never downplay your bad name, or seem to apologize for it. Instead, embrace it, enhance it. It is what draws women to you. There are several things you must be known for: your irresistible attractiveness to women; your uncontrollable devotion to pleasure (this will make you seem weak, but also exciting to be around); your disdain for convention; a rebellious streak that makes you seem dangerous. This last element can be slightly hidden; on the surface, be polite and civil, while letting it be known that behind the scenes you are incorrigible. Duke de Richelieu made his conquests as public as possible, exciting other women's competitive desire to join the club of the seduced. It was by reputation that Lord Byron attracted his willing victims. A woman may feel ambivalent about President Clinton's reputation, but beneath that ambivalence is an underlying interest. Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life's artwork, and you must craft it, hone it, and display it with the care of an artist. Symbol: Fire. The Rake burns with a desire that enflames the woman he is seducing. It is extreme, uncontrollable, and dangerous. The Rake may end in hell, but the flames surrounding him often make him seem that much more desirable to women. Dangers ";e the Siren, the Rake faces the most danger from members of his J _/Dwn sex, who are far less indulgent than women are of his constant skirt chasing. In the old days, a Rake was often an aristocrat, and no matter how many people he offended or even killed, in the end he would go unpunished. Today, only stars and the very wealthy can play the Rake with impunity; the rest of us need to be careful. Elvis Presley had been a shy young man. Attaining early stardom, and seeing the power it gave him over women, he went berserk, becoming a Rake almost overnight. Like many Rakes, Elvis had a predilection for women who were already taken. He found himself cornered by an angry husband or boyfriend on numerous occasions, and came away with a few cuts and bruises. This might seem to suggest that you should step lightly around husbands and boyfriends, especially early on in your career. But the charm of the Rake is that such dangers don't matter to them. You cannot be a Rake by being fearful and prudent; the occasional pummeling is part of the game. Later on, in any case, at the height of Elvis's fame, no husband would dare touch him. The greater danger for the Rake comes not from the violently offended husband but from those insecure men who feel threatened by the Don Juan figure. Although they will not admit it, they envy the Rake's life of pleasure, and like everyone envious, they will attack in hidden ways, often masking their persecutions as morality. The Rake may find his career endangered by such men (or by the occasional woman who is equally insecure, and who feels hurt because the Rake does not want her). There is little the Rake can do to avoid envy; if everyone was as successful in seduction, society would not function. So accept envy as a badge of honor. Don't be naive, be aware. When attacked by a moralist persecutor, do not be taken in by their cmsade; it is motivated by envy, pure and simple. You can blunt it by being less of a Rake, asking forgiveness, claiming to have reformed, but this will damage your reputation, making you seem less lovably rakish. In the end, it is better to suffer attacks with dignity and keep on seducing. Seduction is the source of your power; and you can always count on the infinite indulgence of women. the Ideal lover Most people have dreams in their youth that get shattered or worn down with age. They find themselves disappointed by people, events, reality, which cannot match their youthful ideals. Ideal Lovers thrive on people's broken dreams, which become lifelong fantasies. You long for romance ? Adventure? Lofty spiritual communion? The Ideal Lover reflects your fantasy. He or she is an artist in creating the illusion you require, idealizing your portrait. In a world of disenchantment and baseness, there is limitless seductive power in following the path of the Ideal Lover. The Romantic Ideal O ne evening around 1760, at the opera in the city of Cologne, a beautiful young woman sat in her box, watching the audience. Beside her was her husband, the town burgomaster-a middle-aged man and amiable enough, but dull. Through her opera glasses the young woman noticed a handsome man wearing a stunning outfit. Evidently her stare was noticed, for after the opera the man introduced himself: his name was Giovanni Gi- if at first sight a girl does acomo Casanova. The stranger kissed the woman's hand. She was going to a ball the following night, she told him; would he like to come? "If I might dare to hope, Madame," he replied, "that you will dance only with me." The next night, after the ball, the woman could think only of Casanova. He had seemed to anticipate her thoughts-had been so pleasant, and yet so bold. A few days later he dined at her house, and after her husband had retired for the evening she showed him around. In her boudoir she pointed out a wing of the house, a chapel, just outside her window. Sure enough, as if he had read her mind, Casanova came to the chapel the next day to attend Mass, and seeing her at the theater that evening he mentioned to her that he had noticed a door there that must lead to her bedroom. She not make such a deep impression on a person that she awakens the ideal, then ordinarily the actuality is not especially desirable; but if she does, then no matter how experienced a person is he usually is rather overwhelmed. KIERKEGAARD, THE SEDUCER'S DIARY. HONG AND HONG laughed, and pretended to be surprised. In the most innocent of tones, he said that he would find a way to hide in the chapel the next day-and almost without thinking, she whispered she would visit him there after everyone had gone to bed. So Casanova hid in the chapel's tiny confessional, waiting all day and evening. There were rats, and he had nothing to lie upon; yet when the burgomaster's wife finally came, late at night, he did not complain, but quietly followed her to her room. They continued their trysts for several days. By day she could hardly wait for night: finally something to live for, an adventure. She left him food, books, and candles to ease his long and tedious stays in the chapel-it seemed wrong to use a place of worship for such a purpose, but that only made the affair more exciting. A few days later, however, she had to take a journey with her husband. By the time she got back, Casanova had disappeared, as quickly and gracefully as he had come. Some years later, in London, a young woman named Miss Pauline noticed an ad in a local newspaper. A gentleman was looking for a lady lodger to rent a part of his house. Miss Pauline came from Portugal, and was of the nobility; she had eloped to London with a lover, but he had been A good lover will behave as elegantly at dawn as at any other time. He drags himself out of bed with a look of dismay on his face. The lady urges him on: "Come, my friend, it's getting light. You don't want anyone to find you here." He gives a deep sigh, as if to say that the night has not been nearly long enough and that it is agony to leave. Once up, he does not instantly pull on his trousers. Instead he comes close to the lady and whispers whatever was left unsaid during the night. Even when he is dressed, he still lingers, vaguely pretending to be fastening his sash. • Presently he raises the lattice, and the two lovers stand together m the side door while he tells her how he dreads the coining day, which will keep them apart; then he slips away. The lady watches him go, and this moment of parting will remain among her most charming memories. • Indeed, one's attachment to a man depends largely on the elegance of his leave- taking; When he jumps out of bed, scurries about the room, tightly fastens his trouser sash, rolls up the sleeves of his court cloak, overrobe, or hunting costume, stuffs his belongings into the breast of his robe and then briskly secures the outer sash-one really begins to hate him. PILLOW fBML iO F SEI SHONAGON. TRANSLATED AND forced to return home and she had had to stay on alone for some while before she couldjoin him. Now she was lonely, and had little money, and was depressed by her squalid circumstances-after all, she had been raised as a lady. She answered the ad. The gentleman turned out to be Casanova, and what a gentleman he was. The room he offered was nice, and the rent was low; he asked only for occasional companionship. Miss Pauline moved in. They played chess, went riding, discussed literature. He was so well-bred, polite, and generous. A serious and high-minded girl, she came to depend on their friendship; here was a man she could talk to for hours. Then one day Casanova seemed changed, upset, excited: he confessed that he was in love with her. She was going back to Portugal soon, to rejoin her lover, and this was not what she wanted to hear. She told him he should go riding to calm down. Later that evening she received news: he had fallen from his horse. Feeling responsible for his accident, she rushed to him, found him in bed, and fell into his arms, unable to control herself. The two became lovers that night, and remained so for the rest of Miss Pauline's stay in London. Yet when it came time for her to leave for Portugal, he did not try to stop her; instead, he comforted her, reasoning that each of them had offered the other the perfect, temporary antidote to their loneliness, and that they would be friends for life. Some years later, in a small Spanish town, a young and beautiful girl named Ignazia was leaving church after confession. She was approached by Casanova. Walking her home, he explained that he had a passion for dancing the fandango, and invited her to a ball the following evening. He was so different from anyone in the town, which bored her so-she desperately wanted to go. Her parents were against the arrangement, but she persuaded her mother to act as a chaperone. After an unforgettable evening of dancing (and he danced the fandango remarkably well for a foreigner), Casanova confessed that he was madly in love with her. She replied (very sadly, though) that she already had a fiance. Casanova did not force the issue, but over the next few days he took Ignazia to more dances and to the bullfights. On one of these occasions he introduced her to a friend of his, a duchess, who flirted with him brazenly; Ignazia was terribly jealous. By now she was desperately in love with Casanova, but her sense of duty and religion forbade such thoughts. Finally, after days of torment, Ignazia sought out Casanova and took his hand: "My confessor tried to make me promise to never be alone with you again," she said, "and as I could not, he refused to give me absolution. It is the first time in my life such a thing has happened to me. I have put myself in God's hands. I have made up my mind, so long as you are here, to do all you wish. When to my sorrow you leave Spain, I shall find another confessor. My fancy for you is, after all, only a passing madness." Casanova was perhaps the most successful seducer in history; few women could resist him. His method was simple: on meeting a woman, he would study her, go along with her moods, find out what was missing in her life, and provide it. He made himself the Ideal Lover. The bored burgomaster's wife needed adventure and romance; she wanted someone who would sacrifice time and comfort to have her. For Miss Pauline what was missing was friendship, lofty ideals, serious conversation; she wanted a man of breeding and generosity who would treat her like a lady. For Ignazia, what was missing was suffering and torment. Her life was too easy; to feel truly alive, and to have something real to confess, she needed to sin. In each case Casanova adapted himself to the woman's ideals, brought her fantasy to life. Once she had fallen under his spell, a littleruse or calculation would seal the romance (a day among rats, a contrived fall from a horse, an encounter with another woman to make Ignazia jealous). The Ideal Lover is rare in the modern world, for the role takes effort. You will have to focus intensely on the other person, fathom what she is missing, what he is disappointed by. People will often reveal this in subtle ways: through gesture, tone of voice, a look in the eye. By seeming to be what they lack, you will fit their ideal. To create this effect requires patience and attention to detail. Most people are so wrapped up in their own desires, so impatient, they are incapable of the Ideal Lover role. Let that be a source of infinite opportunity. Be an oasis in the desert of the self-absorbed; few can resist the temptation of following a person who seems so attuned to their desires, to bringing to life their fantasies. And as with Casanova, your reputation as one who gives such pleasure will precede you and make your seductions that much The cultivation of the pleasures of the senses was ever my principal aim in life. Knowing that I was personally calculated to please the fair sex, 1 always strove to make myself agreeable to it. -CASANOVA The Beauty Ideal I n 1730, when Jeanne Poisson was a mere nine years old, a fortune-teller predicted that one day she would be the mistress of Louis XV. The prediction was quite ridiculous, since Jeanne came from the middle class, and it was a tradition stretching back for centuries that the king's mistress be chosen from among the nobility. To make matters worse, Jeanne's father was a notorious rake, and her mother had been a courtesan. Fortunately for Jeanne, one of her mother's lovers was a man of great wealth who took a liking to the pretty girl and paid for her education. Jeanne learned to sing, to play the clavichord, to ride with uncommon skill, to act and dance; she was schooled in literature and history as if she were a boy. The playwright Crebillon instructed her in the art of conversation. During the early 1970s, against a turbulent political backdrop that included the fiasco of American involvement in the Vietnam War and the downfall of President Richard Nixon's presidency in the Watergate scandal, a "me generation" sprang to prominence-and [Andy] Warhol was there to hold up its mirror.Unlike the radicalized protesters of the 1960s who wanted to change all the ills of society, the self- absorbed "me" people sought to improve their bodies and to "get in touch" with their own feelings. They cared passionately about their appearance, health, lifestyle, and bank accounts. Andy catered to their self- centeredness and inflated pride by offering his services as a portraitist. By the end of the decade, he would be internationally recognized as one of the leading portraitists of his era. Warhol offered his clients an irresistible product: a stylish and flattering portrait by a famous artist who was himself a certified celebrity. Conferring an alluring star presence upon even the most celebrated of faces, he transformed his subjects into glamorous apparitions, presenting their faces as he thought they wanted to be seen and remembered. By filtering his sitters' good features through his silkscreens and exaggerating their vivacity, he enabled them to gain entree to a more mythic and rarefied level of existence. The possession of great wealth and power might do for everyday life, but the commissioning of a portrait by Warhol was a sure indication that the sitter intended to secure a posthumous fame as well. Warhol's portraits were not so much realistic documents of contemporary faces as they were designer icons awaiting future devotions. -DAVID BOURDON, WARHOL Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of a man at twice its natural size. -VIRGINIA WOOLF, A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN On top of it all, Jeanne was beautiful, and had a charm and grace that set her apart early on. In 1741, she married a man of the lower nobility. Nowknown as Madame d'Etioles, she could realize a great ambition: she opened a literary salon. All of the great writers and philosophers of the time frequented the salon, many because they were enamored of the hostess. One of these was Voltaire, who became a lifelong friend. Through all Jeanne's success, she never forgot the fortune-teller's prediction, and still believed that she would one day conquer the king's heart. It happened that one of her husband's country estates bordered on King Louis's favorite hunting grounds. She would spy on him through the fence, or find ways to cross his path, always while she happened to be wearing an elegant, yet fetching outfit. Soon the king was sending her gifts of game. When his official mistress died, in 1744, all of the court beauties vied to take her place; but he began to spend more and more time with Madame d'Etioles, dazzled by her beauty and charm. To the astonishment of the court, that same year he made this middle-class woman his official mistress, ennobling her with the title of the Marquise de Pompadour. The king's need for novelty was notorious: a mistress would beguile him with her looks, but he would soon grow bored with her and find someone else. After the shock of his choice of Jeanne Poisson wore off, the courtiers reassured themselves that it could not last-that he had only chosen her for the novelty of having a middle-class mistress. Little did they know that Jeanne s first seduction of the king was not the last seduction she had in mind. As time went by, the king found himself visiting his mistress more and more often. As he ascended the hidden stair that led from his quarters to hers in the palace of Versailles, anticipation of the delights that awaited him at the top would begin to turn his head. First, the room was always warm, and was filled with delightful scents. Then there were the visual delights: Madame de Pompadour always wore a different costume, each one elegant and surprising in its own way. She loved beautiful objects-fine porcelain, Chinese fans, golden flowerpots-and every time he visited, there would be something new and enchanting to see. Her manner was always lighthearted; she was never defensive or resentful. Everything for pleasure. Then there was their conversation: he had never been really able to talk with a woman before, or to laugh, but the marquise could discourse skillfully on any subject, and her voice was a pleasure to hear. And if the conversation waned, she would move to the piano, play a tune, and sing wonderfully. If ever the king seemed bored or sad, Madame de Pompadour would propose some project-perhaps the building of a new country house. He would have to advise in the design, the layout of the gardens, the decor. Back at Versailles, Madame de Pompadour put hersell in charge of the palace amusements, building a private theater for weekly performances under her direction. Actors were chosen from among the courtiers, but the female lead was always played by Madame de Pompadour, who was one of the finest amateur actresses in France. The king became obsessed with this theater; he could barely wait for its performances. Along with this interest came an increasing expenditure of money on the arts, and an involvement in philosophy and literature. A man who had cared only for hunting and gambling was spending less and less time with his male companions and becoming a great patron of the arts. Indeed he stamped a whole era with an aesthetic style, which became known as "Louis Quinze," rivaling the style associated with his illustrious predecessor, Louis XTV. Lo and behold, year after year went by without Louis tiring of his mistress. In fact he made her a duchess, and her power and influence extended well beyond culture into politics. For twenty years, Madame de Pompadour ruled both the court and the king's heart, until her untimely death, in 1764, at the age of forty-three. Louis XV had a powerful inferiority complex. The successor to Louis XTV, the most powerful kingin French history, he had been educated and trained for the throne-yet who could follow his predecessor's act? Eventually he gave up trying, devoting himself instead to physical pleasures, which came to define how he was seen; the people around him knew they could sway him by appealing to the basest parts of his character. Madame de Pompadour, genius of seduction, understood that inside Louis XV was a great man yearning to come out, and that his obsession with pretty young women indicated a hunger for a more lasting kind of beauty. Her first step was to cure his incessant bouts of boredom. It is easy for kings to be bored-everything they want is given to them, and they seldom learn to be satisfied with what they have. The Marquise de Pompadour dealt with this by bringing all sorts of fantasies to life, and creating constant suspense. She had many skills and talents, and just as important, she deployed them so artfully that he never discovered their limits. Once she had accustomed him to more refined pleasures, she appealed to the crushed ideals within him; in the mirror she held up to him, he saw his aspiration to be great, a desire that, in France, inevitably included leadership in culture. His previous series of mistresses had tickled only his sensual desires. In Madame de Pompadour he found a woman who made him feel greatness in himself. The other mistresses could easily be replaced, but he could never find another Madame de Pompadour. Most people believe themselves to be inwardly greater than they outwardly appear to the world. They are full of unrealized ideals; they could be artists, thinkers, leaders, spiritual figures, but the world has crushed them, denied them the chance to let their abilities flourish. This is the key to their seduction-and to keeping them seduced over time. The Ideal Lover knows how to conjure up this kind of magic. Appeal only to people's physical side, as many amateur seducers do, and they will resent you for playing upon their basest instincts. But appeal to their better selves, to a higher standard of beauty, and they will hardly notice that they have been seduced. Make them feel elevated, lofty, spiritual, and your power over them will be limitless. Love brings to light a lover's noble and hidden qualities - his rare and exceptional traits: it is thus liable to be deceptive as to his normal character. NIETZSCHE Keys to the Character E ach of us carries inside us an ideal, either of what we would like to become, or of what we want another person to be for us. This ideal goes back to our earliest years-to what we once felt was missing in our lives, what others did not give to us, what we could not give to ourselves. Maybe we were smothered in comfort, and we long for danger and rebellion. If we want danger but it frightens us, perhaps we look for someone who seems at home with it. Or perhaps our ideal is more elevated-we want to be more creative, nobler, and kinder than we ever manage to be. Our ideal is something we feel is missing inside us. Our ideal may be buried in disappointment, but it lurks underneath, waiting to be sparked. If another person seems to have that ideal quality, or to have the ability to bring it out in us, we fall in love. That is the response to Ideal Lovers. Attuned to what is missing inside you, to the fantasy that will stir you, they reflect your ideal-and you do the rest, projecting on to them your deepest desires and yearnings. Casanova and Madame de Pompadour did not merely seduce their targets into a sexual affair, they made them fall in love. The key to following the path of the Ideal Lover is the ability to observe. Ignore your targets' words and conscious behavior; focus on the tone of their voice, a blush here, a look there-those signs that betray what their words won't say. Often the ideal is expressed in contradiction. King Louis XV seemed to care only about chasing deer and young girls, but that in fact covered up his disappointment in himself; he yearned to have his nobler qualities flattered. Never has there beenabettermoment than now to play the Ideal Lover. That is because we live in a world in which everything must seem elevated and well-intentioned. Power is the most taboo topic of all: although it is the reality we deal with every day in our struggles with people, there is nothing noble, self-sacrificing, or spiritual about it. Ideal Lovers make you feel nobler, make the sensual and sexual seem spiritual and aesthetic. Like all seducers, they play with power, but they disguise their manipulations behind the facade of an ideal. Few people see through them and their seductions last longer. Some ideals resemble Jungian archetypes-they go back a long way in our culture, and their hold is almost unconscious. One such dream is that of the chivalrous knight. In the courtly love tradition of the Middle Ages, a troubadour/knight would find a lady, almost always a married one. and would serve as her vassal. He would go through terrible trials on her behalf, undertake dangerous pilgrimages in her name, suffer awful tortures to prove his love. (This could include bodily mutilation, such as tearing off of fingernails, the cutting of an ear, etc.) He would also write poems and sing beautiful songs to her, for no troubadour could succeed without some kind of aesthetic or spiritual quality to impress his lady. The key to the archetype is a sense of absolutedevotion. A man who will not let matters of warfare, glory, or money intrude into the fantasy of courtship has limitless power. The troubadour role is an ideal because people who do not put themselves and their own interests first are truly rare. For a woman to attract the intense attention of such a man is immensely appealing to her vanity. In eighteenth-century Osaka, a man named Nisan took the courtesan Dewa out walking, first taking care to sprinkle the clover bushes along the path with water, which looked like morning dew. Dewa was greatly moved by this beautiful sight. "I have heard," she said, "that loving couples of deer are wont to lie behind clover bushes. How I should like to see this in real life!" Nisan had heard enough. That very day he had a section of her house torn down and ordered the planting of dozens of clover bushes in what had once been a part of her bedroom. That night, he arranged for peasants to round up wild deer from the mountains and bring them to the house. The next day Dewa awoke to precisely the scene she had described. Once she appeared overwhelmed and moved, he had the clover and deer taken away and the house rebuilt. One of history's most gallant lovers, Sergei Saltykov, had the misfortune to fall in love with one of history's least available women: the Grand Duchess Catherine,future empress of Russia. Catherine's every move was watched over by her husband, Peter, who suspected her of trying to cheat on him and appointed servants to keep an eye on her. She was isolated, unloved, and unable to do anything about it. Saltykov, a handsome young army officer, was determined to be her rescuer. In 1752 he befriended Peter, and also the couple in charge of watching over Catherine. In this way he was able to see her and occasionally exchange a word or two with her that revealed his intentions. He performed the most foolhardy and dangerous maneuvers to be able to see her alone, including diverting her horse during a royal hunt and riding off into the forest with her. He told her how much he sympathized with her plight, and that he would do anything to help her. To be caught courting Catherine would have meant death, and eventually Peter came to suspect that something was up between his wife and Saltykov, though he was never sure. His enmity did not discourage the dashing officer, who just put still more energy and ingenuity into finding ways to arrange secret trysts. The couple were lovers for two years, and Saltykov was undoubtedly the father of Catherine's son Paul, later the emperor of Russia. When Peter finally got rid of him by sending him off to Sweden, news of his gallantry traveled ahead of him, and women swooned to be Ms next conquest. You may not have to go to as much trouble or risk, but you will always be rewarded for actions that reveal a sense of self- sacrifice or devotion. The embodiment of the Ideal Lover for the 1920s was Rudolph Valentino, or at least the image created of him in film. Everything he did-the gifts, the flowers, the dancing, the way he took a woman's hand-showed a scrupulous attention to the details that would signify how much he was thinking of her. The image was of a man who made courtship take time, transforming it into an aesthetic experience. Men hated Valentino, because women now expected them to match the ideal of patience and attentiveness that he represented. Yet nothing is more seductive than patient attentiveness. It makes the affair seem lofty, aesthetic, not really about sex. The power of a Valentino, particularly nowadays, is that people like this are so rare. The art of playing to a woman's ideal has almost disappeared-which only makes it that much more alluring. If the chivalrous lover remains the ideal for women, men often idealize the Madonna/whore, a woman who combines sensuality with an air of spirituality or innocence. Think of the great courtesans of the Italian Renaissance, such as Tullia d'Aragona-essentially a prostitute, like all courtesans, but able to disguise her social role by establishing a reputation as a poet and philosopher. Tullia was what was then known as an "honest courtesan." Honest courtesans would go to church, but they had an ulterior motive: for men, their presence at Mass was exciting. Their houses were pleasure palaces, but what made these homes so visually delightful was their artworks and shelves full of books, volumes of Petrarch and Dante. For the man, the thrill, the fantasy, was to sleep with a woman who was sexual yet had the ideal qualities of a mother and the spirit and intellect of an artist. Where the pure prostitute excited desire but also disgust, the honest courtesan made sex seem elevated and innocent, as if it were happening in the Garden of Eden. Such women held immense power over men. To tMs day they remain an ideal, if for no other reason than that they offer such a range of pleasures. The key is ambiguity-to combine the appearance of sensitivity to the pleasures of the flesh with an air of innocence, spirituality, a poetic sensibility. This mix of the high and the low is immensely seductive. The dynamics of the Ideal Lover have limitless possibilities, not all of them erotic. In politics, Talleyrand essentially played the role of the Ideal Lover with Napoleon, whose ideal in both a cabinet minister and a friend was a man who was aristocratic, smooth with the ladies-allthe things that Napoleon Mmself was not. In 1798, when Talleyrand was the French foreign minister, he hosted a party in Napoleon's honor after the great general's dazzling military victories in Italy. To the day Napoleon died, he remembered tMs party as the best he had ever attended. It was a lavish affair, and Talleyrand wove a subtle message into it by placing Roman busts around the house, and by talking to Napoleon of reviving the imperial glories of ancient Rome. This sparked a glint in the leader's eye, and indeed, a few years later, Napoleon gave himself the title of emperor-a move that only made Talleyrand more powerful. The key to Talleyrand's power was his ability to fathom Napoleon's secret ideal: his desire to be an emperor, a dictator. Talleyrand simply held up a mirror to Napoleon and let him glimpse that possibility. People are always vulnerable to insinuations like this, which stroke their vanity, almost everyone's weak spot. Hint at something for them to aspire to, reveal your faith in some untapped potential you see in them, and you will soon have them eating out of your hand.  If Ideal Lovers are masters at seducing people by appealing to their higher selves, to something lost from their childhood, politicians can benefit by applying this skill on a mass scale, to an entire electorate. This was what John F. Kennedy quite deliberately did with the American public, most obviously in creating the "Camelot" aura around himself. The word "Camelot" was applied to his presidency only after his death, but the romance he consciously projected through his youth and good looks was fully functioning during his lifetime. More subtly, he also played with America's images of its own greatness and lost ideals. Many Americans felt that with the wealth and comfort of the late 1950s had come great losses; ease and conformity had buried the country's pioneer spirit. Kennedy appealed to those lost ideals through the imagery of the New Frontier, which was exemplified by the space race. The American instinct for adventure could find outlets here, even if most of them were symbolic. And there were other calls for public service, such as the creation of the Peace Corps. Through appeals like these, Kennedy resparked the uniting sense of mission that had gone missing in America during the years since World War II. He also attracted to himself a more emotional response than presidents commonly got. People literally fell in love with him and the image. Politicians can gain seductive power by digging into a country's past, bringing images and ideals that have been abandoned or repressed back to the surface. They only need the symbol; they do not really have toworry about re-creating the reality behind it. The good feelings they stir up are enough to ensure a positive response. Symbol: The Portrait Painter. Under his eye, all of yourphysicalimperfectionsdisappear.Hebrings out noble qualities in you, frames you in a myth, makes you godlike, immortalizes you. For his ability to create such fantasies, he is rewarded with great power. Dangers T he main dangers in the role of the Ideal Lover are the consequences that arise if you let reality creep in. You are creating a fantasy that involves an idealization of your own character. And this is a precarious task, for you are human, and imperfect. If your faults are ugly enough, or intrusive enough, they will burst the bubble you have blown, and your target will revile you. Whenever Tullia d'Aragona was caught acting like a common prostitute (when, for instance, she was caught having an affair just for money), she would have to leave town and establish herself elsewhere. The fantasy of her as a spiritual figure was broken. Casanova too faced this danger, but was usually able to surmount it by finding a clever way to break off the relationship before the woman realized that he was not what she had imagined: he would find some excuse to leave town, or, better still, he would choose a victim who was herself leaving town soon, and whose awareness that the affair would be short-lived would make her idealizing of him all the more intense. Reality and long intimate exposure have a way of dulling a person's perfection. The nineteenth-century poet Alfred de Musset was seduced by the writer George Sand, whose larger-than-life character appealed to his romantic nature. But when the couple visited Venice together, and Sand came down with dysentery, she was suddenly no longer an idealized figure but a woman with an unappealing physical problem. De Musset himself showed a whiny, babyish side on this trip, and the lovers separated. Once apart, however, they were able to idealize each other again, and reunited a few months later. When reality intrudes, distance is often a solution. In politics the dangers are similar. Years after Kennedy's death, a string of revelations (his incessant sexual affairs, his excessively dangerous brinkmanship style of diplomacy, etc.) belied the myth he had created. His image has survived this tarnishing; poll after poll shows that he is still revered. Kennedy is a special case, perhaps, in that his assassination made him a martyr, reinforcing the process of idealization that he had already set in motion. But he is not the only example of an Ideal Lover whose attraction survives unpleasant revelations; these figures unleash such powerful fantasies, and there issuchahunger for the myths and ideals they have to sell, that they are often quickly forgiven. Still, it is always wise to be prudent, and to keep people from glimpsing the less-than-ideal side of your character. the Dandy Most of us feel trapped within the limited roles that the world expects us to play. We are instantly attracted to those who are more fluid, more ambiguous, than we are-those who create their own persona. Dandies excite us because they cannot be categorized, and hint at afreedom we wantfor ourselves. They play with masculinity and femininity; they fashion their own physical image, which is always startling; they are mysterious and elusive. They also appeal to the narcissism of each sex: to a woman they are psychologically female, to a man they are male. Dandies fascinate and seduce in large numbers. Use the power of the Dandy to create an ambiguous, alluring presence that stirs repressed desires. The Feminine Dandy W hen the eighteen-year-old Rodolpho Guglielmi emigrated from Italy to the United States in 1913, he came with no particular skills apart from his good looks and his dancing prowess. To put these qualities to advantage, he found work in the thes dansants, the Manhattan dance halls where young girls would go alone or with friends and hire a taxi dancer for a brief thrill. The taxi dancer would expertly twirl them around the dance floor, flirting and chatting, all for a small fee. Guglielmi soon made a name as one of the best-so graceful, poised, and pretty. In working as a taxi dancer, Guglielmi spent a great deal of time around women. He quickly learned what pleased them-how to mirror them in subtle ways, how to put them at ease (but not too much). He began to pay attention to his clothes, creating his own dapper look: he danced with a corset under his shirt to give himself a trim figure, sported a wristwatch (considered effeminate in those days), and claimed to be a marquis. In 1915, he landed a job demonstrating the tango in fancy restaurants, and changed his name to the more evocative Rodolpho di Valentina. A year later he moved to Los Angeles: he wanted to try to make it in Hollywood. Now known as Rudolph Valentino, Guglielmi appeared as an extra in several low-budget pictures. He eventually landed a somewhat larger role in the 1919 film Eyes of Youth, in which he played a seducer, and caught women's attention by how different a seducer he was: his movements were graceful and delicate, his skin so smooth and his face so pretty that when he swooped down on his victim and drowned her protests with a kiss, he seemed more thrilling than sinister. Next came The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, in which Valentino played the male lead, Julio the playboy, and became an overnight sex symbol through a tango sequence in which he seduced a young woman by leading her through the dance. The scene encapsulated the essence of his appeal: his feet smooth and fluid, his poise almost feminine, combined with an air of control. Female members of the audience literally swooned as he raised a married woman's hands to his lips, or shared the fragrance of a rose with his lover. He seemed so much more attentive to women than other men did; but mixed in with this delicacy was a hint of cruelty and menace that drove women wild. In his most famous film. The Sheik, Valentino played an Arab prince (later revealed to be a Scottish lord abandoned in the Sahara as a baby) who rescues a proud English lady in the desert, then conquers her in a manner Once a son was born to Mercury and the goddess Venus, and he was brought up by the naiads in Ida's caves. In his features, it was easy to trace resemblance to his father and to his mother. He was called after them, too, for his name was Hermaphroditus. As soon as he was fifteen, he left his native hills, and Ida where he had been brought up, andfor the sheer joy of travelling visited remote places. . . .He went as far as the cities of Lycia, and on to the Carians, who dwell nearby. In this region he spiedapool of water, so clear that he could see right to the bottom. The water was like crystal, and the edges of the pool were ringed with fresh turf and grass that was always green. A nymph [Salmacis] dwelt there. Often she would gather flowers, and it so happened that she was engaged in this pastime when she caught sight of the boy, Hermaphroditus. As soon as she had seen him, she longed to possess him. She addressed him: "Fair boy, you surely deserve to be thought a god. If you are, perhaps you may be Cupid? ... If there is such a girl [engaged to you], let me enjoy your love in secret: but if there is not, then 1 pray that I may be your bride, and that we may enter upon marriage together." The naiad said no more; but a blush stained the boy's cheeks, for he did not know what love was. Even blushing became him: his cheeks were the colour of ripe apples, hanging in a sunny orchard, like painted ivory or like the moon when, in eclipse, she shows a reddish hue beneath her brightness. . . . Incessantly the nymph demanded at least sisterly kisses, and tried to put her arms round his ivory neck. "Will you stop!" he cried, "orI shall run away and leave this place and you!" Salmacis was afraid: "I yield the spot to you, stranger, I shall not intrude," she said; and, turningfrom him, pretended to go away. . . . The boy, meanwhile, thinking himself unobserved and alone, strolled this way and that on the grassy sward, and dipped his toes in the lapping water-then his feet, up to the ankles. Then, tempted by the enticing coolness of the waters, he quickly stripped his young body of its soft garments. At the sight, Salmacis was spell-bound. She was on fire with passion to possess his naked beauty, and her very eyes flamed with abrilliance like that of the dazzling sun, when his bright disc is reflected in a mirror. . . . She longed to embrace him then, and with difficulty restrained her frenzy. Hermaphroditus, clapping his hollow palms against that borders on rape. When she asks, "Why have you brought me here?," he replies, "Are you not woman enough to know?" Yet she ends up falling in love with him, as indeed women did in movie audiences all over the world, thrilling at his strange blend of the feminine and the masculine. In one scene in The Sheik, the English lady points a gun at Valentino; his response is to point a delicate cigarette holder back at her. She wears pants; he wears long flowing robes and abundant eye makeup. Later films would include scenes of Valentino dressing and undressing, a kind of striptease showing glimpses of his trim body. In almost all of his films he played some exotic period character-a Spanish bullfighter, an Indian rajah, an Arabsheik, a French nobleman-and he seemed to delight in dressing up in jewels and tight uniforms. In the 1920s, women were beginning to play with a new sexual freedom. Instead of waiting for a man to be interested in them, they wanted to be able to initiate the affair, but they still wanted the man to end up sweeping them off their feet. Valentino understood this perfectly. His off-screen life corresponded to his movie image: he wore bracelets on his arm, dressed impeccably, and reportedly was cruel to his wife, and hit her. (His adoring public carefully ignored his two failed marriages and his apparently nonexistent sex life.) When he suddenly died-in New York in August 1926, at the age of thirty-one, from complications after surgery for an ulcer-the response was unprecedented: more than 100,000 people filed by his coffin, many female mourners became hysterical, and the whole nation was spellbound. Nothing like this had happened before for a mere actor. There is a film of Valentino's, Monsieur Beciucciire, in which he plays a total fop, a much more effeminate role than he normally played, and without his usual hint of dangerousness. The film was a flop. Women did not respond to Valentino as a swish. They were thrilled by the ambiguity of a man who shared many of their own feminine traits, yet remained a man. Valentinodressed and played with his physicality like a woman, but his image was masculine. He wooed as a woman would woo if she were a man-slowly, attentively, paying attention to details, setting a rhythm instead of hurrying to a conclusion. Yet when the time came for boldness and conquest, his timing was impeccable, overwhelming his victim and giving her no chance to protest. In his movies, Valentino practiced the same gigolo's art of leading a woman on that he had mastered as a teenager on the dance floor- chatting, flirting, pleasing, but always in control. Valentino remains an enigma to this day. His private life and his character are wrapped in mystery; his image continues to seduce as it did during his lifetime. He served as the model for Elvis Presley, who was obsessedwith this star of the silents, and also for the modern male dandy who plays with gender but retains an edge of danger and cruelty. Seduction was and will always remain the female form of power and warfare. It was originally the antidote to rape and violence. The man who uses this form of power on a woman is in essence turning the game around. employing feminine weapons against her; without losing his masculine identity, the more subtly feminine he becomes the more effective the seduction. Do not be one of those who believe that what is most seductive isbeingdevastatingly masculine. The Feminine Dandy has a much more sinister effect. He lures the woman in with exactly what she wants-a familiar, pleasing, graceful presence. Mirroring feminine psychology, he displays attention to his appearance, sensitivity to detail, a slight coquettishness-but also a hint of male cruelty. Women are narcissists, in love with the charms of their own sex. By showing them feminine charm, a man can mesmerize and disarm them, leaving them vulnerable to a bold, masculine move. The Feminine Dandy can seduce on a mass scale. No single woman really possesses him-he is too elusive-but all can fantasize about doing so. The key is ambiguity: your sexuality is decidedly heterosexual, but your body and psychology float delightfully back and forth between the two poles. I am a woman. Every artist is a woman and should have a taste for other women. Artists who are homosexual cannot be true artists because they like men, and since they themselves are women they are reverting to normality. PICASSO The Masculine Dandy I n the 1870s, Pastor Henrik Gillot was the darling of the St. Petersburg intelligentsia. He was young, handsome, well-read in philosophy and literature, and he preached a kind of enlightened Christianity. Dozens of young girls had crushes on him and would flock to his sermons just to look at him. In 1878, however, he met a girl who changed his life. Her name was Lou von Salome (later known as Lou Andreas-Salome), and she was seventeen; he was forty-two. Salome was pretty, with radiant blue eyes. She had read a lot, particularly for a girl her age, and was interested in the gravest philosophical and religious issues. Her intensity, her intelligence, her responsiveness to ideas cast a spell over Gillot. When she entered his office for her increasingly frequent discussions with him, the place seemed brighter and more alive. Perhaps she was flirting with him, in the unconscious manner of a young girl-yet when Gillot admitted to himself that he was in love with her, and proposed marriage, Salome was horrified. The confused pastor never quite got over Lou von Salome, becoming the first of a long string of famous men to be the victim of a lifelong unfulfilled infatuation with her. In 1882, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was wandering around Italy alone. In Genoa he received a letter from his friend Paul Ree, a Prussian philosopher whom he admired, recounting his discussions with a remarkable young Russian woman, Lou von Salome, in Rome. Salome was his body, dived quickly into the stream. As he raised first one arm and then the other, his body gleamed in the clear water, as if someone had encased anivory statue or white lilies in transparent glass. "I have won! He is mine!" cried the nymph, and flinging aside her garments, plunged into the heart of the pool. The boy fought against her, but she held him, and snatched kisses as he struggled, placing her hands beneath him, stroking his unwilling breast, and clinging to him, now on this side, and now on that.  Finally, in spite of ail his efforts to slip from her grasp, she twined around him, like a serpent when it is being carried off into the air by the king of birds: for, as it hangs from the eagle's beak, the snake coils round his head and talons and with its tail hampers his beating wings.  "You may fight, you rogue, but you will not escape. May the gods grant me this, may no time to come ever separate him from me, or me from him!" Her prayers found favour with the gods: for, as they lay together, their bodies were united and from being two persons they became one. As when a gardener grafts a branch on to a tree, and sees the two unite as they grow, and come to maturity together, so when their limbs met in that clinging embrace the nymph and the boy were no longer two, but a single form, possessed of a dual nature, which could not be called male or female, but seemed to be atonce both and neither. - OVID,METAMORPHOSES, INNES Dandyism is not even, as many unthinking people seem to suppose, an immoderate interest in personal appearance and material elegance. For the true dandy these things are only a symbol oj the aristocratic superiority of his personality. ..." What, then, is this ruling passion that has turned into a creed and created its own skilled tyrants? What is this unwritten constitution that has created so haughty a caste? It is, above all, a burning need to acquire originality, within the apparent bounds of convention. It is a sort of cult of oneself, which can dispense even with what are commonly called illusions. It is the delight in causing astonishment, and the proud satisfaction of never oneself being astonished. BAUDELAIRE, THE DANDY, QUOTED IN VICE: DAVENPORT-HINES In the midst of this display of statesmanship, eloquence, cleverness, and exalted ambition, Alcibiades lived a life of prodigious luxury, drunkenness, debauchery, and insolence. He was effeminate in his dress and would walk through the market-place trailing his long purple robes, and he spent extravagantly. He had the decks of his triremes cut away to allow him to sleep more comfortably, and his bedding was slung on cords, rather than spread on the hard planks. He had a golden shield made for him, which was emblazoned not with any there on holiday with her mother; Ree had managed to accompany her on long walks through the city, unchaperoned, and they had had many conversations. Her ideas on God and Christianity were quite similar to Nietzsche's, and when Ree had told her that the famous philosopher was a friend of his, she had insisted that he invite Nietzsche to join them. In subsequent letters Ree described how mysteriously captivating Salome was, and how anxious she was to meet Nietzsche. The philosopher soon went to Rome. When Nietzsche finally met Salome, he was overwhelmed. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, and during their first long talk those eyes lit up so intensely that he could not help feeling there was something erotic about her excitement. Yet he was also confused: Salome kept her distance, and did not respond to his compliments. What a devilish young woman. A few days later she read him a poem of hers, and he cried; her ideas about life were so like his own. Deciding to seize the moment, Nietzsche proposed marriage. (He did not know that Ree had done so as well.) Salome declined. She was interested in philosophy, life, adventure, not marriage. Undaunted, Nietzsche continued to court her. On an excursion to Lake Orta with Ree, Salome, and her mother, he managed to get the girl alone, accompanying her on a walk up Monte Sacro while the others stayed behind. Apparently the views and Nietzsche's words had the proper passionate effect; in a later letter to her, he described this walk as "the most beautiful dream of my life." Now he was a man possessed: all he could think about was marrying Salome and having her all to himself. A few months later Salome visited Nietzsche in Germany. They took long walks together, and stayed up all night discussing philosophy. She mirrored his deepest thoughts, anticipated his ideas about religion. Yet when he again proposed marriage, she scolded him as conventional: it was Nietzsche, after all, who had developed a philosophical defense of the superman, the man above everyday morality, yet Salome was by nature far less conventional than he was. Her firm, uncompromising manner only deepened the spell she cast over him, as did her hint of cruelty When she finally left him, making it clear that she had no intention of marrying him, Nietzsche was devastated. As an antidote to his pain, he wrote Thus Spake Zarathustra, a book full of sublimated eroticism and deeply inspired by his talks with her. From then on Salome was known throughout Europe as the woman who had broken Nietzsche's heart. Salome moved to Berlin. Soon the city's greatest intellectuals were falling under the spell of her independence and free spirit. The playwrights Gerhart Hauptmann and Franz Wedekind became infatuated with her; in 1897, the great Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke fell in love with her. By that time her reputation was widely known, and she was a published novelist. This certainly played a part in seducing Rilke, but he was also attracted by a kind of masculine energy he found in her that he had never seen in a woman. Rilke was then twenty-two, Salome thirty-six. He wrote her love letters and poems, followed her everywhere, and began an affair with her that was to last several years. She corrected his poetry, imposed discipline on Ms overly romantic verse, inspired ideas for new poems. But she was put off by Ms childish dependence on her, Ms weakness. Unable to stand weakness of any kind, she eventually left him. Consumed by her memory, Rilke long continued to pursue her. In 1926, lying on Ms deathbed, he begged Ms doctors, "Ask Lou what is wrong with me. She is the only one who knows." One man wrote of Salome, "There was something terrifying about her embrace. Looking at you with her radiant blue eyes, she would say, 'The reception of the semen is for me the height of ecstasy.' And she had an insatiable appetite for it. She was completely amoral ... a vampire."TheSwedish psychotherapist Poul Bjerre, one of her later conquests, wrote, "I think Nietzsche was right when he said that Lou was a thoroughly evil woman. Evil however in the Goethean sense: evil that produces good. She may have destroyed lives and marriages but her presence was exciting." The two emotions that almost every male felt in the presence of Lou Andreas-Salome were confusion and excitement-the two prerequisite feelings for any successful seduction. People were intoxicated by her strange mix of the masculine and the feminine; she was beautiful, with a radiant smile and a graceful, flirtatious manner, but her independence and her intensely analytical nature made her seem oddly male. This ambiguity was expressed in her eyes, which were both coquettish and probing. It was confusion that kept men interested and curious: no other woman was like this. They wanted to know more. The excitement stemmed from her ability to stir up repressed desires. She was a complete nonconformist, and to be involved with her was to break all kinds of taboos. Her masculinity made the relationship seem vaguely homosexual; her slightly cruel, slightly domineering streak could stir up masochistic yearnings, as it did in Nietzsche. Salome radiated a forbidden sexuality. Her powerful effect on men-the lifelong infatuations, the suicides(there were several), the periods of intense creativity, the descriptions of her as a vampire or a devil-attest to the obscure depths of the psyche that she was able to reach and disturb. The Masculine Dandy succeeds by reversing the normal pattern of male superiority in matters of love and seduction. A man's apparent independence, Ms capacity for detachment, often seems to give him the upper hand in the dynamic between men and women. A purely feminine woman will arouse desire, but is always vulnerable to the man's capricious loss of interest; a purely masculine woman, on the other hand, will not arouse that interest at all. Follow the path of the Masculine Dandy, however, and you neutralize all a man's powers. Never give completely of yourself; while you are passionate and sexual, always retain an air of independence and self-possession. You might move on to the next man, or so he will think. You have other, more important matters to concern yourself with, such as your work. Men do not know how to fight women who use their own weapons against them; they are intrigued, aroused, and disarmed. Few men can resist the taboo pleasures offered up to them by the Masculine Dandy. ancestral device, but with the figure of Eros armed with a thunderbolt. The leading men of Athens watched all this with disgust andindignation and they were deeply disturbed by his contemptuous and lawless behaviour, which seemed to them monstrous and suggested the habits of a tyrant. The people's feelings towards him have been very aptly expressed by Aristophanes in the line: "They long for him, they hate him, they cannot do without him. . . • The fact was that his voluntary donations, the public shows he supported, his unrivalled to the state, the fame of his ancestry, the power of his oratory and his physical strength and beauty ... all combined to make the Athenians forgive him everything else, and they were constantly finding euphemismsfor his lapses and putting them down to youthful high spirits and honourable ambition. -PLUTARCH, "THE LIFE OF ALCIBIADES," THE RISE AND FALL OF ATHENS: NINE GREEK LIVES, SCOTT-KILVERT Further light-a whole flood of it-is thrown upon this attraction of the male in petticoats for the female, in the diary of the Abbe de Choisy, one of the most brilliant men- women of history, of whom we shall hear a great deal more later. The abbe, a churchman of Paris, was a constant masquerader in female attire. He lived in the days of Louis XIV, and was a great friend of Louis' brother, also addicted to women's clothes. A young girl, Mademoiselle Charlotte, thrown muchinto his company, fell desperately in love with the abbe, and when the affair had progressed to a liaison, the abbe asked her how she came to be won . . . • "/ stood in no need of caution as I should have with a man. I saw nothing but a beautiful woman, and why should I beforbidden to love you? What advantages a woman's dress gives you! The heart of a man is there, and that makes a great impression upon us, and on the other hand, all the charms of the fair sex fascinate us, and prevent us from taking precautions. " -C.J.BULLIET, VENUS CASTINA Beau Brummell was regarded as unbalanced in his passion for daily ablutions. His ritualistic morning toilet took upward of five hours, one hour spent inching himself into his skin-tight buckskin breeches, an hour with the hairdresser and another two hours tying and "creasing down" a series of starched cravats until perfection was achieved. But first of all two hours were spent scrubbing himself with fetish zeal from head to toe in milk, water and eau de Cologne. Beau Brummell said he used only the froth of champagne to polish his Hessian boots. He had 365 snuff boxes, those suitable for summer wear being quite unthinkable in winter, and the fit of hisgloves was achieved by entrusting their cut to two firms-one for the fingers, the other for the thumbs. The seduction emanating from a person of uncertain or dissimulated sex is powerful. -COLETTE Keys to the Character M any of us today imagine that sexual freedom has progressed in recent years-that everything has changed, for better or worse. This is mostly an illusion; a reading of history reveals periods of licentiousness (imperial Rome, late-seventeenth-century England, the "floating world" of eighteenth-century Japan) far in excess of what we are currently experiencing. Gender roles are certainly changing, but they have changed before. Society is in a state of constant flux, but there is something that does not change: the vast majority of people conform to whatever is normal for the time. They play the role allotted to them. Conformity is a constant because humans are social creatures who are always imitating one another. At certain points in history it may be fashionable to be different and rebellious, but if a lot of people are playing that role, there is nothing different or rebellious about it. We should never complain about most people's slavish conformity, however, for it offers untold possibilities of power and seduction to those who are up for a few risks. Dandies have existed in all ages and cultures ( Al- cibiades in ancient Greece, Korechika in late-tenth-century Japan), and wherever they have gone they have thrived on the conformist role playing ofothers.The Dandy displays a true and radical difference from other people, a difference of appearance and manner. Since most of us are secretly oppressed by our lack of freedom, we are drawn to those who are more fluid and flaunt their difference. Dandies seduce socially as well as sexually; groups form around them, their style is wildly imitated, an entire court or crowd will fall in love with them. In adapting the Dandy character for your own purposes, remember that the Dandy is by nature a rare and beautiful flower. Be different in ways that are both striking and aesthetic, never vulgar; poke fun at current trends and styles, go in a novel direction, and be supremely uninterested in what anyone else is doing. Most people are insecure; they will wonder what you are up to, and slowly they will come to admire and imitate you, because you express yourself with total confidence. The Dandy has traditionally been defined by clothing, and certainly most Dandies create a unique visual style. Beau Brummel, the most famous Dandy of all, would spend hours on his toilette, particularly the inimitably styled knot in his necktie, for which he was famous throughout early- nineteenth-century England. But a Dandy's style cannot be obvious, for Dandies are subtle, and never try hard for attention-attention comes to them. The person whoseclothes are flagrantly different has little imagination or taste. Dandies show their difference in the little touches that mark their disdain for convention: Theophile Gautier's red vest, Oscar Wilde's green velvet suit, Andy Warhol's silver wigs. The great English Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli had two magnificent canes, one for morning, one for evening; at noon he would change canes, no matter where he was. The female Dandy works similarly. She may adopt male clothing, say, but if she does, a touch here or there will set her tmly apart: no man ever dressed quite like George Sand. The overtall hat, the riding boots worn on the streets of Paris, made her a sight to behold. Remember, there must be a reference point. If your visual style is totally unfamiliar, people will think you at best an obvious attention-getter, at worst crazy. Instead, create your own fashion sense by adapting and altering prevailing styles to make yourself an object of fascination. Do this right and you will be wildly imitated. The Count d'Orsay, a great London dandy of the 1830s and 1840s, was closely watched by fashionable people; one day, caught in a sudden London rainstorm, he bought a paltrok, a kind of heavy, hooded duffle coat, off the back of a Dutch sailor. The paltrok immediately became the coat to wear. Having people imitate you, of course, is a sign of yourpowers of seduction. The nonconformity of Dandies, however, goes far beyond appearances. It is an attitude toward life that sets them apart; adopt that attitude and a circle of followers will form around you. Dandies are supremely impudent. They don't give a damn about other people, and never try to please. In the court of Louis XTV, the writer La Bruyere noticed that courtiers who tried hard to please were invariably on the way down; nothing was more anti-seductive. As Barbey d'Aurevilly wrote, "Dandies please women by displeasing them." Impudence was fundamental to the appeal of Oscar Wilde. In a London theater one night, after the first performance of one of Wilde's plays, the ecstatic audience yelled for the author to appear onstage. Wilde made them wait and wait, then finally emerged, smoking a cigarette and wearing an expression of total disdain. "It may be bad manners to appear here smoking, but it is far worse to disturb me when I am smoking," he scolded his fans. The Count d'Orsay was equally impudent. At a London club one night, a Rothschild who was notoriously cheap accidentally dropped a gold coin on the floor, then bent down to look for it. The count immediately whipped out a thousand-franc note (worth much more than the coin), rolled it up, lit it like a candle, and got down on all fours, as if to help light the way in the search. Only a Dandy could get away with such audacity. The insolence of the Rake is tied up with his desire to conquer a woman; he cares for nothing else. The insolence of the Dandy, on the other hand, is aimed at society and its conventions. It is not a woman he cares to conquer but a whole group, an entire social world. And since people are generally oppressed by the obligation of always being polite and self-sacrificing, they are delighted to spend time around a person who disdains such niceties. Dandies are masters of the art of living. They live for pleasure, not for work; they surround themselves with beautiful objects and eat and drink Sometimes, however, the tyranny of elegance became altogether insupportable. A Mr. Boothby committed suicide and left a note saying he could no longer endure the ennui of buttoning and unbuttoning. - THE GAME OF HEARTS: HARRIETTE WILSON'S MEMOIRS. LESLEY BLANCH This royal manner which [the dandy] raises to the height of true royalty, the dandy has taken this from women, who alone seem naturally made for such a role. It is a somewhat by using the manner and the method of women that the dandy dominates. And this usurpation of femininity, he makes women themselves approve of this. . . . The dandy has something antinaturaland androgynous about him, which is precisely how he is able to endlessly seduce. LEMAlTRE, LES CONTEMPORAINS with the same relish they show for their clothes. This was how the great Roman writer Petronius, author of the Satyricon, was able to seduce the emperor Nero. Unlike the dull Seneca, the great Stoic thinker and Nero's tutor, Petronius knew how to make every detail of life a grand aesthetic adventure, from a feast to a simple conversation. This is not an attitude you should impose on those around you-you can't make yourself a nuisance- but if you simply seem socially confident and sure of your taste, people will be drawn to you. The key is to make everything an aesthetic choice. Your ability to alleviate boredom by making life an art will make your company highly prized. The opposite sex is a strange country we can never know, and this excites us, creates the proper sexual tension. But it is also a source of annoyance and frustration. Men do not understand how women think, and vice versa; each tries to make the other act more like a member of their own sex. Dandies may never try to please, but in this one area they have a pleasing effect: by adopting psychological traits of the opposite sex, they appeal to our inherent narcissism. Women identified with Rudolph Valentino's delicacy and attention todetailin courtship; men identified with Lou Andreas-Salome's lack of interest in commitment. In the Heian court of eleventh-century Japan, Sei Shonagon, the writer of The Pillow Book, was powerfully seductive for men, especially literary types. She was fiercely independent, wrote poetry with the best, and had a certain emotional distance. Men wanted more from her than just to be her friend or companion, as if she were another man; charmed by her empathy for male psychology, they fell in love with her. This kind of mental transvestism-the ability to enter the spirit of the opposite sex, adapt to their way of thinking, mirror their tastes and attitudes-can be a key element in seduction. It is a way of mesmerizing your victim. According to Freud, the human libido is essentially bisexual; most people are in some way attracted to people of their own sex, but social constraints (varying with culture and historical period) repress these impulses. The Dandy represents a release from such constraints. In several of Shakespeare's plays, a young girl (back then, the female roles in the theater were actually played by male actors) has to go into disguise and dresses up as a boy, eliciting all kinds of sexual interest from men, who later are delighted to find out that the boy is actually a girl. (Think, for example, of Rosalind in As You Like It.)Entertainers such as Josephine Baker (known as the Chocolate Dandy) and Marlene Dietrich would dress up as men in their acts, making themselves wildly popular-among men. Meanwhile the slightly feminized male, the pretty boy, has always been seductive to women. Valentino embodied this quality. Elvis Presley had feminine features (the face, the hips), wore frilly pink shirts and eye makeup, and attracted the attention of women early on. The filmmaker Kenneth Anger said of Mick Jagger that it was "a bisexual charm which constituted an important part of the attraction he had over young girls and which acted upon their unconscious." In Western culture for centuries, in fact, feminine beauty has been far more fetishized than male beauty, so it is understandable that a feminine-looking face like that of Montgomery Clift would have more seductive power than that of John Wayne. The Dandy figure has a place in politics as well. John F. Kennedy was a strange mix of the masculine and feminine, virile in his toughness with the Russians, and in his White House lawn football games, yet feminine in his graceful and dapper appearance. This ambiguity was a large part of his appeal. Disraeli was an incorrigible Dandy in dress and manner; some were suspicious of him as a result, but his courage in not caring what people thought of him also won him respect. And women of course adored him, for women always adore a Dandy. They appreciated the gentleness of his manner, his aesthetic sense, his love of clothes-in other words, his feminine qualities. The mainstay of Disraeli's power was in fact a female fan: Queen Victoria. Do not be misled by the surface disapproval your Dandy pose may elicit. Society may publicize its distrust of androgyny (in Christian theology, Satan is often represented as androgynous), but this conceals its fascination; what is most seductive is often what is most repressed. Leam aplayful dandyism and you will become the magnet for people's dark, unrealized yearnings. The key to such power is ambiguity. In a society where the roles everyone plays are obvious, the refusal to conform to any standard will excite interest. Be both masculine and feminine, impudent and charming, subtle and outrageous. Let other people worry about being socially acceptable; those types are a dime a dozen, and you are after a power greater than they can imagine. Symbol: The Orchid. Its shape and color oddly suggest both sexes, its odor is sweet and decadent -it is a tropical flower of evil. Delicate and highly cultivated, it is prizedfor its rarity; it is unlike any other flower. Dangers T he Dandy's strength, but also the Dandy's problem, is that he or she often works through transgressive feelings relating to sex roles. Although this activity is highly charged and seductive, it is also dangerous, since it touches on a source of great anxiety and insecurity. The greater dangers will often come from your own sex. Valentino had immense appeal for women, but men hated him. He was constantly dogged with accusations of being perversely unmasculine, and this caused him great pain. Salome was equally disliked by women; Nietzsche's sister, and perhaps his closest friend, considered her an evil witch, and led a virulent campaign against her in the press long after the philosopher's death. There is little to be done in the face of resentment like this. Some Dandies try to fight the image they themselves have created, but this is unwise: to prove his masculinity, Valentino would engage in a boxing match, anything to prove his masculinity. He wound up looking only desperate. Better to accept society's occasional gibes with grace and insolence. After all, the Dandies' charm is that they don't really care what people think of them. That is how Andy Warhol played the game: when people tired of his antics or some scandal erupted, instead of trying to defend himself he would simply move on to some new image-decadent bohemian, high-society portraitist, etc.-as if to say, with a hint of disdain, that the problem lay not with him but with other people's attention span. Another danger for the Dandy is the fact that insolence has its limits. Beau Brummel prided himself on two things: his trimness of figure and his acerbic wit. His main social patron was the Prince of Wales, who, in later years, grew plump. One night at dinner, the prince rang for the butler, and Brummel snidely remarked, "Do ring. Big Ben." The prince did not appreciate the joke, had Brummel shown out, and never spoke to him again. Without royal patronage, Brummel fell into poverty and madness. Even a Dandy, then, must measure out his impudence. A true Dandy knows the difference between a theatrically staged teasing of the powerful and a remark that will truly hurt, offend, or insult. It is particularly important to avoid insulting those in a position to injure you. In fact the pose may work best for those who can afford to offend-artists, bohemians, etc. In the work world, you will probably have to modify and tone down your Dandy image. Be pleasantly different, an amusement, rather than a person who challenges the group's conventions and makes others feel insecure. the Natural. Childhood is the golden paradise we are always consciously or unconsciously trying to re-create. The Natural embodies the longed- for qualities of childhood - spontaneity, sincerity, unpretentiousness. In the presence of Naturals, we feel at ease, caught up in their playful spirit, transported back to that golden age. Naturals also make a virtue out of weakness, eliciting our sympathy for their trials, making us want to protect them and help them. As with a child, much of this is natural, but some of it is exaggerated, a conscious seductive maneuver. Adopt the pose of the Natural to neutralize people's natural defensiveness and infect them with helpless delight. Psychological Traits of the Natural. C hildren are not as guileless as we like to imagine. They suffer from feelings of helplessness, and sense early on the power of their naturalcharm to remedy their weakness in the adult world. They learn to play a game: if their natural innocence can persuade a parent to yield to their desires in one instance, then it is something they can use strategically in another instance, laying it on thick at the right moment to get their way. If their vulnerability and weakness is so attractive, then it is something they can use for effect. Why are we seduced by children's naturalness? First, because anything natural has an uncanny effect on us. Since the beginning of time, natural phenomena-such as lightning storms or eclipses-have instilled in human beings an awe tinged with fear. The more civilized we become, the greater the effect such natural events have on us; the modern world surrounds us with so much that is manufactured and artificial that something sudden and inexplicable fascinates us. Children also have this natural power, but because they are unthreatening and human, they are not so much awe inspiring as charming. Most people try to please, but the pleasantness of the child comes effortlessly, defying logical explanation-and what is irrational is often dangerously seductive. More important, a child represents a world from which we have been forever exiled. Because adult life is full of boredom and compromise, we harbor an illusion of childhood as a kind of golden age, even though it can often be a period of great confusion and pain. It cannot be denied, however, that childhood had certain privileges, and as children we had a pleasurable attitude to life. Confronted with a particularly charming child, we often feel wistful: we remember our own golden past, the qualities we have lost and wish we had again. And in the presence of the child, we get a little of that goldenness back. Natural seducers are people who somehow avoided getting certain childish traits drummed out of them by adult experience. Such people can be as powerfully seductive as any child, because it seems uncanny and marvelous that they have preserved such qualities. They are not literally like children, of course;that would make them obnoxious or pitiful. Rather it is the spirit that they have retained. Do not imagine that this childishness is something beyond their control. Natural seducers learn early on the value of retaining a particular quality, and the seductive power it contains; they Long-past ages have a great and often puzzling attraction for men's imagination. Whenever they are dissatisfied with their present surroundings-and this happens often enough-they turn back to the past and hope that they will now be able to prove the truth of the inextinguishable dream of a golden age. They are probably still under the spell of their childhood, which is presented to them by their not impartial memory as a time of uninterrupted bliss. -FREUD. When Hermes was born on Mount Cyllene his mother Maia laid him in swaddling bands on a winnowing fan, but he grew with astonishing quickness into a little boy, and as soon as her back was turned, slipped off and went looking for adventure. Arrived at Pieria, where Apollo was tending a fine herd of cows, he decided to steal them. But, fearing to betrayed by their tracks, he quickly made a number oj shoes from the bark of a fallen oak and tied themuntilplaitedgrassto the feet of the cows, which he then drove off by night the road. Apollo discovered the loss, but Hermes's trick deceived him, and though he went as far as Pylus in his westward search, and to Onchestus in his eastern, he was forced, in the end, to offer a reward for the apprehension of the thief. Silenus and his satyrs, greedy of reward, spread out in different directions to track him down but, for a long while, without success. At last, as a party of them passed through Arcadia, they heard the muffled sound of music such as they had never heard before, and the nymph a cave, told them that a most gifted child had recently been born there, to whom she was acting as nurse: he had constructed an ingenious musical toy from the shell of a tortoise and some cow-gut, with which he had lulled his mother to sleep. • "And from whom did he get the cow-gut?" asked the alert satyrs, noticing two hides stretched outside the cave. "Do you charge the poor child with theft?" asked Cyllene. Harsh words were exchanged. • At that moment Apollo came up, having discovered the thief s identity by observing the suspicious behaviour of a long-winged bird. Entering the cave, he awakened Maia and told her severely that Hermes must restore the stolen cows. Maia pointed to the child, still wrapped in his adapt and build upon those childlike traits that they managed to preserve, exactly as the child learns to play with its natural charm. This is the key. It is within your power to do the same, since there is lurking within all of us a devilish child straining to be let loose. To do this successfully, you have to be able to let go to a degree, since there is nothing less natural than seeming hesitant. Remember the spirit you once had; let it return, without self- consciousness. People are much more forgiving of those who go all the way, who seem uncontrollably foolish, than the halfhearted adult with a childish streak. Remember who you were before you became so polite and self-effacing. To assume the role of the Natural, mentally position yourself in any relationship as the child, the younger one. The following are the main types of the adult Natural. Keep in mind that the greatest natural seducers are often a blend of more than one of these qualities. The innocent. The primary qualities of innocence are weakness and misunderstanding of the world. Innocence is weak because it is doomed to vanish in a harsh, cruel world; the child cannot protect or hold on to its innocence. The misunderstandings come from the child's not knowing about good and evil, and seeing everything through uncorrupted eyes. The weakness of children elicits sympathy, their misunderstandings make us laugh, and nothing is more seductive than a mixture of laughter and sympathy. The adult Natural is not truly innocent-it is impossible to grow up in this world and retain total innocence. Yet Naturals yearn so deeply to hold on to their innocent outlook that they manage to preserve the illusion of innocence. They exaggerate their weakness to elicit the proper sympathy. They act like they still see the world through innocent eyes, which in an adult proves doubly humorous. Much of this is conscious, but to be effective, adult Naturals must make it seem subtle and effortless-if they are seen as trying to act innocent, it will come across as pathetic. It is better for them to communicate weakness indirectly, through looks and glances, or through the situations they get themselves into, rather than anything obvious. Since this type of innocence is mostly an act, it is easily adaptable foryour own purposes. Leam to play up any natural weaknesses or flaws. The imp. Impish children have a fearlessness that we adults have lost. That is because they do not see the possible consequences of their actions-howsome people might be offended, how they might physically hurt themselvesin the process. Imps are brazen, blissfully uncaring. They infect you with their lighthearted spirit. Such children have not yet had their natural energy and spirit scolded out of them by the need to be polite and civil. Secretly, we envy them; we want to be naughty too. Adult imps are seductive because of how different they are from the rest of us. Breaths of fresh air in a cautious world, they go full throttle, as if their impishness were uncontrollable, and thus natural. If you play the part, do not worry about offending people now and then-you are too lovable and inevitably they will forgive you. Just don't apologize or look contrite, for that would break the spell. Whatever you say or do, keep a glint in your eye to show that you do not take anything seriously. The wonder. A wonder child has a special, inexplicable talent: a gift for music, for mathematics, for chess, for sport. At work in the field in which they have such prodigal skill, these children seem possessed, and their actions effortless. If they are artists or musicians, Mozart types, their work seems to spring from some inborn impulse, requiring remarkably little thought. If it is a physical talent that they have, they are blessed with unusual energy, dexterity, and spontaneity. In both cases they seem talented beyond their years. This fascinates us. Adult wonders are often former wonder children who have managed, remarkably, to retain their youthful impulsiveness and improvisational skills. True spontaneity is a delightful rarity, for everything in life conspires to rob us of it-we have to leam to act carefully and deliberately, to think about how we look in other people's eyes. To play the wonder you need some skill that seems easy and natural, along with the ability to improvise. If in fact your skill takes practice, you must hide this and leam to make your work appear effortless. The more you hide the sweat behind what you do, the more natural and seductive it will appear. The undefensive lover. As people get older, they protect themselves against painful experiences by closing themselves off. The price for this is that theygrow rigid, physically and mentally. But children are by nature unprotected and open to experience, and this receptiveness is extremely attractive. In the presence of children we become less rigid, infected with their openness. That is why we want to be around them. Undefensive lovers have somehow circumvented the self-protective process, retaining the playful, receptive spirit of the child. They often manifest this spirit physically: they are graceful, and seem to age less rapidly than other people. Of all the Natural's character qualities, this one is the most useful. Defensiveness is deadly in seduction; act defensive and you'll bring out defensiveness in other people. The undefensive lover, on the other hand, lowers the inhibitions of his or her target, a critical part of seduction. It is important to leam to not react defensively: bend instead of resist, be open to influence from others, and they will more easily fall under your spell. swaddling bands and feigning sleep. "What an absurd charge!" she cried. But Apollo had already recognized the hides. He picked up Hermes, carried him to Olympus, and there formally accused him oftheft, offering the hides as evidence. Zeus, loth to believe that his own newborn son was a thief encouraged him to plead not guilty, but Apollo would not be put off and Hermes, at last, weakened and confessed. • "Very, come with me," he said, "and you may have your herd. I slaughtered only two, and those I cut up into twelve equal portions as a sacrifice to the twelve gods" • "Twelve gods?" asked Apollo. "Who is the twelfth?" • "Your servant, sir" replied Hermes modestly. "I ate no more than my share, though I was very hungry, and duly burned the rest. " The two gods [ Hermes and Apollo] returned to Mount Cyllene, where Hermes greeted his mother and retrieved something that he had hidden underneath a sheepskin. • "What have you there?" asked Apollo. • In answer, Hermes showed his newly- invented tortoise-shell lyre, and played such a ravishing tune on it with the plectrum he had also invented, at the same time singing in praise of Apollo's nobility, intelligence, and generosity, that he was forgiven at once. He led the surprised and delighted Apollo to Pylus, playing all the way, and there gave him the remainder of the cattle, which he had hidden in a cave. • "A bargain!" cried Apollo. "You keep the cows, and I take the lyre. " "Agreed," said Hermes, and they shook hands on it. • . . . Apollo, taking the child back to Olympus, told Zeus all that had happened. Zeus warned Hermes that henceforth he must respect the rights oj property and refrain from telling downright lies; but he could not help being amused. "You seem to be a very ingenious, eloquent, and persuasive godling," he said. • "Then make me your herald, Father," Hermes answered, "and I will he responsible for the safety of all divine property, and never tell lies, though I cannot promise always to tell the whole truth ." • "That would not be expected of you," said Zeus with a smile. . . . Zeus gave him a herald's staff with white ribbons, which everyone was ordered to respect; a round hat against the rain, and winged golden sandals which carried him about with the swiftness of the wind. -GRAVES, THE GREEK MYTHS. A man may meet a woman and be shocked by her ugliness. Soon, if she is natural and unaffected, her expression makes him overlook the fault of her features. He begins to find her charming, it enters his head that she might be loved, and a week later he is living in hope. The following week he has been snubbed into despair, and the week afterwards he has gone mad. -STENDHAL, LOVE. SALE Examples of Natural Seducers 7. As a child growing up in England, Charlie Chaplin spent years in dire poverty, particularly after his mother was committed to an asylum. In his early teens, forced to work to live, he landed ajob in vaudeville, eventually gaining some success as a comedian. But Chaplin was wildly ambitious, and so, in 1910, when he was only nineteen, he emigrated to the United States, hoping to break into the film business. Making his way to Hollywood, he found occasional bit parts, but success seemed elusive: the competition was fierce, and although Chaplin had a repertoire of gags that he had learned in vaudeville, he did not particularly excel at physical humor, a critical part of silent comedy. He was not a gymnast like Buster Keaton. In 1914, Chaplin managed to get the lead in a film short called Making a Living. His role was that of a con artist. In playing around with the costume for the part, he put on a pair of pants several sizes too large, then added a derby hat, enormous boots that he wore on the wrong feet, a walking cane, and a pasted-on mustache. With the clothes, a whole new character seemed to come to life-first the silly walk, then the twirling of the cane, then all sorts of gags. Mack Sennett, the head of the studio, did not find Making a Living very funny, and doubted whether Chaplin had a future in the movies, but a few critics felt otherwise. A review in a trade magazine read, "The clever player who takes the role of a nervy and very nifty sharper in this picture is a comedian of the first water, who acts like one of Nature's own naturals." And audiences also responded-the film made money. What seemed to touch a nerve in Making a Living, setting Chaplin apart from the horde of other comedians working in silent film, was the almost pathetic naivete of the character he played. Sensing he was onto something, Chaplin shaped the role further in subsequent movies, rendering him more and more naive. The key was to make the character seem to see the world through the eyes of a child. In The Bank, he is the bank janitor who daydreams of great deeds while robbers are at work in the building; in The Pawnbroker, he is an unprepared shop assistant who wreaks havoc on a grandfather clock; in Shoulder Arms, he is a soldier in the bloody trenches of World War I, reacting to the horrors of war like an innocent child. Chaplin made sure to cast actors in his films who were physically larger than he was,subliminally positioning them as adult bullies and himself as the helpless infant. And as he went deeper into his character, something strange happened: the character and the real-life man began to merge. Although he had had a troubled childhood, he was obsessed with it. (For his film Easy Street he built a set in Hollywood that duplicated the London streets he had known as a boy.) He mistrusted the adult world, preferring the company of the young, or the young at heart: three of his four wives were teenagers when he married them. More than any other comedian, Chaplin aroused a mix of laughter and sentiment. He made you empathize with him as the victim, feel sorry for him the way you would for a lost dog. You both laughed and cried. And audiences sensed that the role Chaplin played came from somewhere deep inside-that he was sincere, that he was actually playing himself. Within a few years after Making a Living, Chaplin was the most famous actor in the world. There were Chaplin dolls, comic books, toys; popular songs and short stories were written about him; he became a universal icon. In 1921, when he returned to London for the first time since he had left it, he was greeted by enormous crowds, as if at the triumphant return of a great general. The greatest seducers, those who seduce mass audiences, nations,theworld,haveaway of playing on people's unconscious, making them react in a way they can neither understand nor control. Chaplin inadvertently hit on this power when he discovered the effect he could have on audiences by playing up his weakness, by suggesting that he had a child's mind in an adult body. In the early twentieth century, the world was radically and rapidly changing. People were working longer and longer hours at increasingly mechanicaljobs; life was becoming steadily more inhuman and heartless, as the ravages of World War I made clear. Caught in the midst of revolutionary change, people yearned for a lost childhood that they imagined as a golden paradise. An adult child like Chaplin has immense seductive power, for he offers the illusion that life was once simpler and easier, and that for a moment, or for as long as the movie lasts, you can win that life back. In a cruel, amoral world, naivete has enormous appeal. The key is to bring it off with an air of total seriousness, as the straight man does in stand-up comedy. More important, however, is the creation of sympathy. Overt strength and power is rarely seductive-it makes us afraid, or envious. The royal road to seduction is to play up your vulnerability and helplessness. You cannot make this obvious; to seem to be begging for sympathy is toseemneedy,whichisentirely anti-seductive. Do not proclaim yourself a victim or underdog, but reveal it in your manner, in your confusion. A display of "natural" weakness will make you instantly lovable, both lowering people's defenses and making them feel delightfully superior to you. Put yourself in situations that make you seem weak, in which someone else has the advantage; they are the bully, you are the innocent lamb. Without any effort on your part, people will feel sympathy for you. Once people's eyes cloud over with sentimental mist, they will not see how you are manipulating them. "Geographical" escapism has been rendered ineffective by the spread of air routes. What remains is "evolutionary" escapism - a downward course in one's development, back to the ideas and emotions of "golden childhood," which may well be defined as "regress towards infantilism," escape to a personal world of childish ideas. • In a strictly- regulated society, where life follows strictly-defined canons, the urge to escape from the chain of things "established once and for all" must be felt particularly strongly. And the most perfect of them [ comedians] does this with utmost perfection, for he [ Chaplin ] serves this principle . . . through the subtlety of his method which, offering the spectactor an infantile pattern to be imitated, pscyhologically infects him with infantilism and draws him into the "golden age" of the infantile paradise of childhood. EISENSTEIN, "CHARLIE THE KID," FROM NOTES OF A FILM DIRECTOR 2. Emma Crouch, born in 1842 in Plymouth, England, came from a respectable middle-class family. Her father was a composer and music professor who dreamed of success in the world of light opera. Among his many children, Emma was his favorite: she was a delightful child, lively and flirtatious, with red hair and a freckled face. Her father doted on her, and promised her a brilliant future in the theater. Unfortunately Mr. Crouch had a Prince Gortschakojf used to say that she [Cora Pearl] was the last word in luxury, and that he would have tried to steal the sun to satisfy one of her whims. -GUSTAVE CLAUDIN, CORA PEARL CONTEMPORARY Apparently the possession of humor implies the possession of a number of typical habit-systems. The first is an emotional one: the habit of playfulness. Why should one be proud of being playful? For a double reason. First, playfulness connotes childhood and youth. If one can be playful, one still possesses something of the vigor and the joy of young life ..." But there is a deeper implication. To be playful is, in a sense, to befree. When a person is playful, he momentarily disregards the bindingnecessities which compel him, in business and morals, in domestic and community life. What galls us is that the binding necessities do not permit us to shape our world as we please. What we most deeply desire, however, is to create our world for ourselves. Whenever we can do that, even in the slightest degree, we are happy. Now in play we create our own world. OVERSTREET, INFLUENCING HUMAN BEHAVIOR dark side: he was an adventurer, a gambler, and a rake, and in 1849 he abandoned his family and left for America. The Crouches were now in dire straits. Emma was told that her father had died in an accident and she was sent off to a convent. The loss of her father affected her deeply, and as the years went by she seemed lost in the past, acting as if he still doted on her. One day in 1856, when Emma was walking home from church, a well- dressed gentleman invited her home for some cakes. She followed him to his house, where he proceeded to take advantage of her. The next morning this man, a diamond merchant, promised to set her up in a house of her own, treat her well, and give her plenty of money. She took the money but left him, determined to do what she had always wanted: never see her family again, never depend on anyone, and lead the grand life that herfatherhadpromised her. With the money the diamond merchant had given her, Emma bought nice clothes and rented a cheap flat. Adopting the flamboyant name of Cora Pearl, she began to frequent London's Argyll Rooms, a fancy gin palace where harlots and gentlemen rubbed elbows. The proprietor of the Argyll, a Mr. Bignell, took note of this newcomer to his establishment- she was so brazen for a young girl. At forty-five, he was much older than she was, but he decided to be her lover and protector, lavishing her with money and attention. The following year he took her to Paris, which was at the height of its Second Empire prosperity. Cora was enthralled by Paris, and of all its sights, but what impressed her the most was the parade of rich coaches in the Bois de Boulogne. Here the fashionable came to take the air-the empress, the princesses, and, not least the grand courtesans, who had the most opulent carriages of all. This was the way to lead the kind of life Cora's father had wanted for her. She promptly told Bignell that when he went back to London, she would stay on alone. Frequenting all the right places, Cora soon came to the attention of wealthy French gentlemen. They would see her walking the streets in a bright pink dress, to complement her flaming red hair, pale face, and freckles. They would glimpse her riding wildly through the Bois de Boulogne, cracking her whip left and right. They would see her in cafes surrounded by men, her witty insults making them laugh. They also heard of her exploits-of her delight in showing her body to one and all. The elite of Paris society began to court her, particularly the older men who had grown tired of the cold and calculating courtesans, and who admired her girlish spirit. As money began to pour in from her various conquests (the Due de Mornay, heir to the Dutch throne; Prince Napoleon, cousin to the Emperor), Cora spent it on the most outrageous things-a multicolored carriage pulled by a team of cream-colored horses, a rose-marble bathtub with her initials inlaid in gold. Gentlemen vied to be the one who would spoil her the most. An Irish lover wasted his entire fortune on her, in only eight weeks. But money could not buy Cora's loyalty; she would leave a man on the slightest whim. Cora Pearl's wild behavior and disdain for etiquette had all of Paris on edge. In 1864, she was to appear as Cupid in the Offenbach operetta Orpheus in the Underworld. Society was dying to see what she would do to cause a sensation, and soon found out: she came on stage practically naked, except for expensive diamonds here and there, barely covering her. As she pranced on stage, the diamonds fell off, each one worth a fortune; she didnot stoop to pick them up, but let them roll off into the footlights. The gentlemen in the audience, some of whom had given her those diamonds, applauded her wildly. Antics like this made Cora the toast of Paris, and she reigned as the city's supreme courtesan for over a decade, until the Franco- Prussian War of 1870 put an end to the Second Empire. People often mistakenly believe that what makes a person desirable and seductive is physical beauty, elegance, or overt sexuality. Yet Cora Pearl was not dramatically beautiful; her body was boyish, and her style was garish and tasteless. Even so, the most dashing men of Europe vied for her favors, often ruining themselves in the process. It was Cora's spirit and attitude that enthralled them. Spoiled by her father, she imagined that spoiling her was natural-that all men should do the same. The consequence was that, like a child, she never felt she had to try to please. It was Cora's powerful air of independence that made men want to possess her, tame her. She never pretended to be anything more than a courtesan, so the brazenness that in a lady would have been uncivil in her seemed natural and fun. And as with a spoiled child, a man's relationship with her was on her terms. The moment he tried to change that, she lost interest. This was the secret of her astounding success. Spoiled children have an undeservedly bad reputation: while those who are spoiled with material things are indeed often insufferable, those who are spoiled with affection know themselves to be deeply seductive. This becomes a distinct advantage when they grow up. According to Freud (who was speaking from experience, since he was his mother's darling), spoiled children have a confidence that stays with them all their lives. This quality radiates outward, drawing others to them, and, in a circular process, making people spoil them still more. Since their spirit and natural energy were never tamed by a disciplining parent, as adults they are adventurous and bold, and often impish or brazen. The lesson is simple: it may be too late to be spoiled by a parent, but it is never too late to make other people spoil you. It is all in your attitude. People are drawn to those who expect a lot out of life, whereas they tend to disrespect those who are fearful and undemanding. Wild independence has a provocative effect on us: it appeals to us, while also presenting us with a challenge-we want to be the one to tame it, to make the spirited person dependent on us. Half of seduction is stirring such competitive desires. 3. In October of 1925, Paris society was all excited about the opening of the Revue Negre. Jazz, or in fact anything that came from black America, All was quiet again. (Genji slipped the latch open and tried the doors. They had not been bolted. A curtain had been set up just inside, and in the dim light he could make out Chinese chests and otherfurniture scattered in some disorder. He made his way through to her side. She lay by herself, a slight littlefigure. Though vaguely annoyed at being disturbed, she evidently took him forthe woman Chujo until he pulled back the covers. His manner was so gently persuasive thatdevils and demons could not have gainsaid him. She was so small that he lifted her easily. As he passed through the doors to his own room, he came upon Chujo who had been summoned earlier. He called out in surprise. Surprised in turn, Chujo peered into the darkness. The perfume that came from his robes like a cloud of smoke told her who he was. [Chujo] followed after, but Genji was quite unmoved by her pleas. • "Come for her in the morning," he said, sliding the doors closed. • The lady was bathed in perspiration and quite beside herself at the thought of what Chujo, and the others too, would be thinking. Genji had to feel sorry for her. Yet the sweet words poured forth, the whole gam ut of pretty devices for making a woman surrender. . . . • One may imagine that he found many kind promises with which to comfort her. SHIKIBUTHE TALE OF GENJI. SEIDENSTICKER was the latest fashion, and the Broadway dancers and performers who made up the Revue Negre were African-American. On opening night, artists and high society packed the hall. The show was spectacular, as they expected, but nothing prepared them for the last number, performed by a somewhat gawky long-legged woman with the prettiest face: Josephine Baker, a twenty-year-old chorus girl from East St. Louis. She came onstage bare-breasted, wearing a skirt of feathers over a satin bikini bottom, with feathers around her neck and ankles. Although she performed her number, called "Dame Sauvage," with another dancer, also clad in feathers, all eyes were riveted on her: her whole body seemed to come alive in a way the audience had never seen before, her legs moving with the litheness of a cat, her rear end gyrating in patterns that one critic likened to a hummingbird's. As the dance went on, she seemed possessed, feeding off the crowd's ecstatic reaction. And then there was the look on her face: she was having such fun. She radiated a joy that made her erotic dance oddly innocent, even slightly comic. By the following day, word had spread: a star was born. Josephine became the heart of the Revue Negre, and Paris was at her feet. Within a year, her facewas on posters everywhere; there were Josephine Baker perfumes, dolls, clothes; fashionable Frenchwomen were slicking their hair back a la Baker, using a product called Bakerfix. They were even trying to darken their skin. Such sudden fame represented quite a change, for just a few years earlier, Josephine had been a young girl growing up in East St. Louis, one of America's worst slums. She had gone to work at the age of eight, cleaning houses for a white woman who beat her. She had sometimes slept in a rat- infested basement; there had never been heat in the winter. (She had taught herself to dance in her wild fashion to help keep herself warm.) In 1919, Josephine had run away and become a part-time vaudeville performer, landing in New York two years later without money or connections. She had had some success as a clowning chorus girl, providing comic relief with her crossed eyes and screwed-up face, but she hadn't stood out. Then she was invited to Paris. Some other black performers had declined, fearing things might be still worse for them in France than in America, but Josephine jumped at the chance. Despite her success with the Revue Negre, Josephine did not delude herself: Parisians were notoriously fickle. She decided to turn the relationship around. First, she refused to be aligned with any club, and developed a reputation for breaking contracts at will, making it clear that she was ready to leave in an instant. Since childhood she had been afraid of dependenceon anyone; now no one could take her for granted. This only made impresarios chase her and the public appreciate her the more. Second, she was aware that although black culture had become the vogue, what the French had fallen in love with was a kind of caricature. If that was what it took to be successful, so be it, but Josephine made it clear that she did not take the caricature seriously; instead she reversed it, becoming the ultimate Frenchwoman of fashion, a caricature not of blackness but of whiteness. Everything was a role to play-the comedienne, the primitive dancer, the ultrastylish Parisian. And everything Josephine did, she did with such a light spirit, such a lack of pretension, that she continued to seduce the jaded French for years. Her funeral, in 1975, was nationally televised, a huge cultural event. She was buried with the kind of pomp normally reserved only for heads of state. From very early on, Josephine Baker could not stand the feeling of having no control over the world. Yet what could she do in the face of her unpromising circumstances? Some young girls put all their hopes on a husband, but Josephine's father had left her mother soon after she was born,and she saw marriage as something that would only make her more miserable. Her solution was something children often do: confronted with a hopeless environment, she closed herself off in a world of her own making, oblivious to the ugliness around her. This world was filled with dancing, clowning, dreams of great things. Let other people wail and moan; Josephine would smile, remain confident and self-reliant. Almost everyone who met her, from her earliest years to her last, commented on how seductive this quality was. Her refusal to compromise, or to be what she was expected to be, made everything she did seem authentic and natural. A child loves to play, and to create a little self-contained world. When children are absorbed in make believe, they are hopelessly charming. They infuse their imaginings with such seriousness and feeling. Adult Naturals do something similar, particularly if they are artists: they create their own fantasy world, and live in it as if it were the real one. Fantasy is so much more pleasant than reality, and since most people do not have the power or courage to create such a world, they enjoy being around those who do. Remember: the role you were given in life is not the role you have to accept. You can always live out a role of your own creation, a role that fits your fantasy. Learn to playwithyourimage,nevertaking it too seriously. The key is to infuse your play with the conviction and feeling of a child, making it seem natural. The more absorbed you seem in your ownjoy-filled world, the more seductive you become. Do not go halfway: make the fantasy you inhabit as radical and exotic as possible, and you will attract attention like a magnet. 4. It was the Festival of the Cherry Blossom at the Heian court, in late- tenth-century Japan. In the emperor's palace, many of the courtiers were drunk, and others were fast asleep, but the young princess Oborozukiyo, the emperor's sister-in-law, was awake and reciting a poem: "What can compare with a misty moon of spring?" Her voice was smooth and delicate. She moved to the door of her apartment to look at the moon. Then, suddenly, she smelled something sweet, and a hand clutched the sleeve of her robe. "Who are you?" she said, frightened. "There is nothing to be afraid of," came a man's voice, and continued with a poem of his own: "Late in the night we enjoy a misty moon. There is nothing misty about the bond between us." Without another word, the man pulled the princess to him and picked her up, carrying her into a gallery outside her room, sliding the door closed behind him. She was terrified, and tried to call for help. In the darkness she heard him say, a little louder now, "Itwilldo you no good. I am always allowed my way. Just be quiet, if you will, please." Now the princess recognized the voice, and the scent: it was Genji, the young son of the late emperor's concubine, whose robes bore a distinctive perfume. This calmed her somewhat, since the man was someone she knew, but on the other hand she also knew of his reputation: Genji was the court's most incorrigible seducer, a man who stopped at nothing. He was drunk, it was near dawn, and the watchmen would soon be on their rounds; she did not want to be discovered with him. But then she began to make out the outlines of his face-so pretty, his look so sincere, without a trace of malice. Then came more poems, recited in that charming voice,the words so insinuating. The images he conjured filled her mind, and distracted her from his hands. She could not resist him. As the light began to rise, Genji got to his feet. He said a few tender words, they exchanged fans, and then he quickly left. The serving women were coming through the emperor's rooms by now, and when they saw Genji scurrying away, the perfume of his robes lingering after him, they smiled, knowing he was up to his usual tricks; but they never imagined he would dare approach the sister of the emperor's wife. In the days that followed, OborozukiyocouldonlythinkofGenji.She knew he had other mistresses, but when she tried to put him out of her mind, a letter from him would arrive, and she would be back to square one. In truth, she had started the correspondence, haunted by his midnight visit. She had to see him again. Despite the risk of discovery, and the fact that her sister Kokiden, the emperor's wife, hated Genji, she arranged for further trysts in her apartment. But one night an envious courtier found them together. Word reached Kokiden, who naturally was furious. She demanded that Genji be banished from court and the emperor had no choice but to agree. Genji went far away, and things settled down. Then the emperor died and his son took over. A kind of emptiness had come to the court: the dozens of women whom Genji had seduced could not endure his absence, and flooded him with letters. Even women who had never known him intimately would weep over any relic he had left behind-a robe, for instance, in which his scent still lingered. And the young emperor missed his jocular presence. And the princesses missed the music he had played on the koto. And Oborozukiyo pined for his midnight visits. Finally even Kokiden broke down, realizing that she could not resist him. So Genji was summoned back to the court. And not only was he forgiven, he was given a hero's welcome; the young emperor himself greeted the scoundrel with tears in his eyes. The story of Genji's life is told in the eleventh-century novel The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu, a woman of the Heian court. The character was most likely based on a real-life man, Fujiwara no Korechika. Indeed another book of the period. The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, describes an encounter between the female author and Korechika, and reveals his incredible charm and his almost hypnotic effect on women. Genji is a Natural, an undefensive lover, a man who has a lifelong obsession with women but whose appreciation of and affection for them makes him irresistible. As he says to Oborozukiyo in the novel, "I am always allowed my way." This self-belief is half of Genji's charm. Resistance does not make him defensive; he retreats gracefully, reciting a little poetry, and as he leaves, the perfume of his robes trailing behind him, his victim wonders why she has been so afraid, and what she is missing by spurning him, and she finds a way to let him know that the next time things will be different. Genji takes nothing seriously or personally, and at the age of forty, an age at which most men of the eleventh century were already looking old and worn, he still seems like a boy. His seductive powers never leave him. Human beings are immenselysuggestible;theirmoods will easily spread to the people around them. In fact seduction depends on mimesis, on the conscious creation of a mood or feeling that is then reproduced by the other person. But hesitation and awkwardness are also contagious, and are deadly to seduction. If in a key moment you seem indecisive or self- conscious, the other person will sense that you are thinking of yourself, instead of being overwhelmed by his or her charms. The spell will be broken. As an undefensive lover, though, you produce the opposite effect: your victim might be hesitant or worried, but confronted with someone so sure and natural, he or she will be caught up in the mood. Like dancing with someone you lead effortlessly across the dance floor, it is a skill you can leam. It is a matter of rooting out the fear and awkwardness that have built up in you over the years, of becoming more graceful with your approach, less defensive when others seem to resist. Often people's resistance is a way of testing you, and if you show any awkwardness or hesitation, you not only will fail the test, but you will risk infecting them with your doubts. Symbol: The Lamb. So soft and endearing. At two days old the lamb can gambol gracefully; within a week it is playing "Follow the Leader." Its weakness is part of its charm. The Lamb is pure innocence, so innocent we want to possess it, even devour it. Dangers A childish quality can be charming but it can also be irritating; the innocent have no experience of the world, and their sweetness can prove cloying. In Milan Kundera's novel The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, the hero dreams that he is trapped on an island with a group of children. Soon their wonderful qualities become intensely annoying to him; after a few days of exposure to them he cannot relate to them at all. The dream turns into a nightmare, and he longs to be back among adults, with real things to do and talk about. Because total childishness can quickly grate, the most seductive Naturals are those who, like Josephine Baker, combine adult experience and wisdom with a childlike manner. It is this mixture of qualities that is most alluring. Society cannot tolerate too many Naturals. Given a crowd of Cora Pearls or Charlie Chaplins, their charm would quickly wear off. In any case it is usually only artists, or people with abundant leisure time, who can afford to go all the way. The best way to use the Natural character type is in specific situations when a touch of innocence or impishness will help lower your target's defenses. A con man plays dumb to make the other person trust him and feel superior. This kind of feigned naturalness has countless applications in daily life, where nothing is more dangerous than looking smarter than the next person; the Natural pose is the perfect way to disguise your cleverness. But if you are uncontrollably childish and cannot turn it off, you run the risk of seeming pathetic, earning not sympathy but pity and disgust. Similarly, the seductive traits of the Natural work best in one who is still young enough for them to seem natural. They are much harder for an older person to pull off. Cora Pearl did not seem so charming when she was still wearing her pink flouncy dresses in her fifties. The Duke of Buckingham, who seduced everyone in the English court in the 1620s (including the homosexual King James I himself), was wondrously childish in looks and manner; but this became obnoxious and off-putting as he grew older, and he eventually made enough enemies that he ended up being murdered. As you age, then, your natural qualities should suggest more the child's open spirit, less an innocence that will no longer convince anyone. the Coquette The ability to delay satisfaction is the ultimate art of seduction-while waiting, the victim is held in thrall. Coquettes are the grand masters of this game, orchestrating a back-and-forth movement between hope and frustration. They bait with the promise of reward-the hope of physical pleasure, happiness, fame by association, power-all ofwhich,however,proves elusive; yet this only makes their targets pursue them the more. Coquettes seem totally self-sufficient: they do not need you, they seem to say, and their narcissism proves devilishly attractive. You want to conquer them but they hold the cards. The strategy of the Coquette is never to offer total satisfaction. Imitate the alternating heat and coolness of the Coquette and you will keep the seduced at your heels. The Hot and Cold Coquette I n the autumn of 1795, Paris was caught up in a strange giddiness. The Reign of Terror that had followed the French Revolution had ended; the sound of the guillotine was gone. The city breathed a collective sigh of relief, and gave way to wild parties and endless festivals. The young Napoleon Bonaparte, twenty-six at the time, had no interest in such revelries. He had made a name for himself as a bright, audacious general who had helped quell rebellion in the provinces, but his ambition was boundless and he burned with desire for new conquests. So when, in October of that year, the infamous thirty-three-year-old widow Josephine de Beauhamais visited his offices, he couldn't help but be confused. Josephine was so exotic, and everything about her was languorous and sensual. (She capitalized on her foreignness-she came from the island of Martinique.)Ontheotherhandshehadareputationasaloose woman, and the shy Napoleon believed in marriage. Even so, when Josephine invited him to one of her weekly soirees, he found himself accepting. At the soiree he felt totally out of his element. All of the city's great writers and wits were there, as well as the few of the nobility who had survived-Josephine herself was a vicomtesse, and had narrowly escaped the guillotine. The women were dazzling, some of them more beautiful than the hostess, but all the men congregated around Josephine, drawn by her graceful presence and queenly manner. Several times she left the men behind and went to Napoleon's side; nothing could have flattered his insecure ego more than such attention. He began to pay her visits. Sometimes she would ignore him, and he would leave in a fit of anger. Yet the next day a passionate letter would arrive from Josephine, and he would rush to see her. Soon he was spending most of his time with her. Her occasional shows of sadness, her bouts of anger or of tears, only deepened his attachment. In March of 1796, Napoleon married Josephine. Two days after his wedding, Napoleon left to lead a campaign in northern Italy against the Austrians. "You are the constant object of my thoughts," he wrote to his wife from abroad. "My imagination exhausts itself in guessing what you are doing." His generals saw him distracted: hewould leave meetings early, spend hours writing letters, or stare at the miniature of Josephine he wore around his neck. He had been driven to this state by the unbearable distance between them and by a slight coldness he now detected There are indeed men who are attached more by resistance than by yielding and who unwittingly prefer a variable sky, now splendid, now black and vexed by lightnings, to love's unclouded blue. Let us not forget that Josephine had to deal with a conqueror and that love resembles war. She did not surrender, she let herself be conquered. Had she been more tender, more attentive, more loving, perhaps Bonaparte would have loved her less. -IMBERT DE SAINT-AMAND, QUOTED IN THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE: NAPOLEON'S ENCHANTRESS. SERGEANT Coquettes know how to please; not how to love, which is why men love them so much. -PIERRE MARIVAUX An absence, the declining of an invitation to dinner, an unintentional, unconscious harshness are of more service than all the cosmetics and fine clothes in the world. -MARCEL PROUST There's also nightly, to the unintiated, \ A peril-not indeed like love or marriage, \ But not the less for this to he depreciated: \ It is-I meant and mean not to disparage \ The show of virtue even in the vitiated - \ Itaddsanoutwardgraceuntotheircarriage - \ But to denounce the amphibious sort of harlot, \ Couleur de rose, who's neither white nor scarlet. \ Such is your cold coquette, who can't say say "no," \And won't say "yes," and keeps you on- and off-ing \ On a lee shore, till it begins to blow - \ Then sees your heart wreck'd with an in her-she wrote infrequently, and her letters lacked passion; nor did she join him in Italy. He had to finish his war fast, so that he could return to her side. Engaging the enemy with unusual zeal, he began to make mistakes. "To live for Josephine!" he wrote to her. "I work to get near you; I kill myself to reach you." His letters became more passionate and erotic; a friend of Josephine's who saw them wrote, "The handwriting [was] almost indecipherable, the spelling shaky, the style bizarre and confused .... What a position for a woman to find herself in-being the motivating force behind the triumphal march of an entire army." Months went by in which Napoleon begged Josephine to come to Italy and she made endless excuses. But finally she agreed to come, and left Paris for Brescia, where he was headquartered. A near encounter with the enemy along the way, however, forced her to detour to Milan. Napoleon was away from Brescia, in battle; when he returned to find her still absent, he blamed his foe GeneralWiirmser and swore revenge. For the next few months he seemed to pursue two targets with equal energy: Wiirmser and Josephine. His wife was never where she was supposed to be: "I reach Milan, rush to your house, having thrown aside everything in order to clasp you in my arms. You are not there!" Napoleon would turn angry and jealous, but when he finally caught up with Josephine, the slightest of her favors melted his heart. He took long rides with her in a darkened carriage, while his generals fumed-meetings were missed, orders and strategies improvised. "Never," he later wrote to her, "has a woman been in such complete mastery of another's heart." And yet their time together was so short. During a campaign that lasted almost a year, Napoleon spent a mere fifteen nights with his new bride. inward scoffing. \ This works a world of sentimental woe, \ And sends new Werters yearly to the coffin; \ But yet is merely innocent flirtation, \ Not quite adultery, but adulteration. -LORD BYRON, THE COLD COQUETTE Napoleon later heard rumors that Josephine had taken a lover while he was in Italy. His feelings toward her cooled, and he himself took an endless series of mistresses. Yet Josephine was never really concerned about this threat to her power over her husband; a few tears, some theatrics, a little coldness on her part,andheremained her slave. In 1804, he had her crowned empress, and had she born him a son, she would have remained empress to the end. When Napoleon lay on his deathbed, the last word he uttered was "Josephine." There is a way to represent one's cause and in doing so to treat the audience in such a cool and condescending manner that they are bound to notice one is not doing it to please them. The principle should always be not to makeconcessions to those who don't have anything to give but who have everything to gain from us. We can wait During the French Revolution, Josephine had come within minutes of losing her head on the guillotine. The experience left her without illusions, and with two goals in mind: to live a life of pleasure, and to find the man who could best supply it. She set her sights on Napoleon early on. He was young, and had a brilliant future. Beneath his calm exterior, Josephine sensed, he was highly emotional and aggressive, but this did not intimidate her-it only revealed his insecurity and weakness. He would be easy to enslave. First, Josephine adapted to his moods, charmed him with her feminine grace, warmed him with her looks and manner. He wanted to possess her. And once she had aroused this desire, her power lay in postponing its satisfaction, withdrawing from him, frustrating him. In fact thetortureofthechasegave Napoleon a masochistic pleasure. He yearned to subdue her independent spirit, as if she were an enemy in battle. People are inherently perverse. An easy conquest has a lower value than a difficult one; we are only really excited by what is denied us, by what we cannot possess in full. Your greatest power in seduction is your ability to turn away, to make others come after you, delaying their satisfaction. Most people miscalculate and surrender too soon, worried that the other person will lose interest, or that giving the other what he or she wants will grant the giver a kind of power. The truth is the opposite: once you satisfy someone, you no longer have the initiative, and you open yourself to the possibility that he or she will lose interest at the slightest whim. Remember: vanity is critical in love. Make your targets afraid that you may be withdrawing, that you may not really be interested, and you arouse their innate insecurity, their fear that as you have gotten to know them they have become less exciting to you. These insecurities are devastating. Then, once you have made them uncertain of you and of themselves, reignite their hope, making them feel desired again. Hot and cold, hot and cold-such coquetry is perversely pleasurable, heightening interest and keeping the initiative on your side. Never be put off by your target's anger; it is a sure sign of enslavement. She who would long retain her power must use her lover ill. -OVID The Cold Coquette I n 1952, the writer Truman Capote, a recent success in literary and social circles, began to receive an almost daily barrage of fan mail from a young man named Andy Warhol. An illustrator for shoe designers, fashion magazines, and the like, Warhol made pretty, stylized drawings, some of which he sent to Capote, hoping the author would include them in one of his books. Capote did not respond. One day he came home to find Warhol talking to his mother, with whom Capote lived. And Warhol began to telephone almost daily. Finally Capote put an end to all this: "He seemed one of those hopeless people that you just know nothing's ever going to happen to. Just a hopeless, born loser," the writer later said. Ten years later, Andy Warhol, aspiring artist, had his first one-man show at the Stable Gallery in Manhattan. On the walls were a series of silkscreened paintings based on the Campbell's soup can and the Coca-Cola bottle. At the opening and at the party afterward, Warhol stood to the side, staring blankly, talking little. What a contrast he was to the older generation of artists, the abstract expressionists-mostly hard-drinking womanizers full of bluster and aggression, big talkers who had dominated the art scene for theprevious fifteen years. And what a change from the Warhol who had badgered Capote, and art dealers and patrons as well. The critics were both until they are begging on their knees even if it takes a very long time. -FREUD, IN A LETTER TO A PUPIL, QUOTED IN PAUL ROAZEN, FREUD AND HIS FOLLOWERS When her time was come, that nymph most fair broughtforth a child with whom one could have fallen in love even in his cradle, and she called him Narcissus. Cephisus's child had reached his sixteenth year, and could be counted as at once boy and man. Many lads and many girls fell in love with him, but his soft young body housed a pride so unyielding that none of those boys or girls dared to touch him. One day, as he was driving timid deer into his nets, he was seen by that talkative nymph who cannot stay silent when another speaks, but yet has not learned to speak first herself. Her name is Echo, and she always answers back. So when she saw Narcissus wandering through the lonely countryside, Echo fell in love with him and followed secretly in his steps. The more closely she followed, the nearer was the fire which scorched her: just as sulphur, smeared round the tops of torches, is quickly kindled when aflame is brought near it. How often she wished to make flattering overtures to him,to approach him with tender pleas! • The boy, by chance, had wandered away from his faithful band of comrades, and he called out: "Is there anybody here?" Echo answered: "Here!" Narcissus stood still in astonishment. looking round in every direction. He looked behind him, and when no one appeared, cried again: "Why are you avoiding me?" But all he heard were his own words echoed back. Still he persisted, deceived by what he took to be another's voice, and said, "Come here, and let us meet!" Echo answered: "Let us meet!" Never again would she reply more willingly to any sound. To make good her words she came out of the wood and made to throw her arms round the neck she loved: but he fled from her, crying as he did so, "Away with these embraces! I would die before I would have you touch me!" Thus scorned, she concealed herself in the woods, hiding her shamedface in the shelter of the leaves, and ever since that day she dwells in lonely caves. Yet still her love remained firmly rooted in her heart, and was increased by the pain of having been rejected. Narcissus had played with her affections, treating her as he had previously treated other spirits of the waters and the woods, and his male admirers too. Then one of those he had scorned raised up his hands to heaven and prayed: "May he himselffall in lovewith another, as we have done with him! May he too be unable to gain his loved one!" Nemesis heard and granted his righteous prayer. Narcissus, wearied with hunting in the heat of the day, lay down here [by a clear pool]: for he was attracted by the beauty of the place, and by the spring. While he sought to quench his thirst, another thirst grew baffled and intrigued by the coldness of Warhol's work; they could not figure out how the artist felt about his subjects. What was his position? What was he trying to say? When they asked, he would simply reply, "I just do it because I like it," or, "I love soup." The critics went wild with their interpretations: "An art like Warhol's is necessarily parasitic upon the myths of its time," one wrote; another, "The decision not to decide is a paradox that is equal to an idea which expresses nothing but then gives it dimension." The show was a huge success, establishing Warhol as a leading figure in a new movement, pop art. In 1963, Warhol rented a large Manhattan loft space that he called the Factory, and that soon became the hub of a large entourage-hangers-on, actors, aspiring artists. Here, particularly at night, Warhol would simply wander about, or stand in a corner. People would gather around him, fight for his attention, throw questions at him, and he would answer, in his noncommittal way. But no one could get close to him, physically or mentally; he would not allow it. At the same time, if he walked by you without giving you his usual "Oh, hi," you were devastated. He hadn't noticed you; perhaps you were on the way out. Increasingly interested in filmmaking, Warhol cast his friends in his movies. In effect he was offering them a kind of instant celebrity (their "fifteen minutes of fame"-the phrase is Warhol's). Soon people were competing for roles. He groomed women in particular for stardom; Edie Sedgwick, Viva, Nico. Just being around him offered a kind of celebrity by association. The Factory became the place to be seen, and stars like Judy Garland and Tennessee Williams would go to parties there, rubbing elbows with Sedgwick, Viva, and the bohemian lower echelons whom Warhol had befriended. People began sending limos to bring him to parties of their own; his presence alone was enough to turn a social evening into a scene- even though he would pass through in near silence, keeping to himself and leaving early. In 1967, Warhol was asked to lecture at various colleges. He hated to talk, particularly about his own art; "The less something has to say," he felt, "the more perfect it is." But the money was good and Warhol always found it hard to say no. His solution was simple; he asked an actor, AllenMidgette, to impersonate him. Midgette was dark-haired, tan, part Cherokee Indian. He did not resemble Warhol in the least. But Warhol and friends covered his face with powder, sprayed his brown hair silver, gave him dark glasses, and dressed him in Warhol's clothes. Since Midgette knew nothing about art, his answers to students' questions tended to be as short and enigmatic as Warhol's own. The impersonation worked. Warhol may have been an icon, but no one really knew him, and since he often wore dark glasses, even his face was unfamiliar in any detail. The lecture audiences were far enough away to be teased by the thought of his presence, and no one got dose enough to catch the deception. He remained elusive. Early on in life, Andy Warhol was plagued by conflicting emotions: he desperately wanted fame, but he was naturally passive and shy "I've always had a conflict," he later said, "because I'm shy and yet I like to take up a lot of personal space. Mom always said, 'Don't be pushy, but let everyone know you're around.' " At first Warhol tried to make himself more aggressive, straining to please and court. It didn't work. After ten futile years he stopped trying and gave in to his own passivity-only to discover the power that withdrawal commands. Warhol began this process inhisartwork,whichchangeddramaticallyintheearly1960s.His new paintings of soup cans, green stamps, and other widely known images did not assault you with meaning; in fact their meaning was totally elusive, which only heightened their fascination. They drew you in by their immediacy, their visual power, their coldness. Having transformed his art, Warhol also transformed himself: like his paintings, he became pure surface. He trained himself to hold himself back, to stop talking. The world is full of people who try, people who impose themselves aggressively. They may gain temporary victories, but the longer they are around, the more people want to confound them. They leave no space around themselves, and without space there can be no seduction. Cold Coquettes create space by remaining elusive and making others pursue them. Their coolness suggests a comfortable confidence that is exciting to be around, even though it may not actually exist; their silence makes you want to talk. Their self-containment, their appearance of having no need for other people, only makes us want to do things for them, hungry for the slightest sign of recognition and favor. Cold Coquettes may be maddening to deal with-never committing but never saying no, never allowing closeness-but more often than not we find ourselves coming back to them, addicted to the coldness they project. Remember; seduction is a process of drawing people in, making them want to pursue and possess you. Seem distant and people will go mad to win your favor. Humans, like nature, hate a vacuum, and emotional distance and silence make them strain to fill up the empty space with words and heat of their own. Like Warhol, stand back and let them fight over you. [Narcissistic] women have the greatest fascination for men. The charm of a child lies to a great extent in his narcissism, his self-sufficiency and inaccessibility, just as does the charm of certain animals which seem not to concern themselves about us, such as cats. ... It is as if we envied them their power of retaining a blissful state of mind-an unassailable libido-position which we ourselves have since abandoned. FREUD in him, and as he drank, he was enchanted by the beautiful reflection that he saw. He fell in love with an insubstantial hope, mistaking a mere shadow for a real body. Spellbound by his own self, he remained there motionless, with fixed gaze, like a statue carved from Parian marble. Unwittingly, he desired himself, and was himself the object of his own approval, at once seeking and sought, himself kindling the flame with which he burned. How often did he vainly kiss the treacherous pool, how often plunge his arms deep in the waters, as he tried to clasp the neck he saw! But he could not lay hold upon himself. He did not know what he was looking at, but was fired by the sight, and excited by the very illusion that deceived his eyes. Poor foolish boy, why vainly grasp at the fleeting image that eludes you? The thing you are seeking does not exist: only turn aside and you will lose what you love. What you see is but the shadow cast by your reflection; in itself it is nothing. It comes with you, and lasts while you are there; it will go when you go, if go you can. He laid down his weary head on the green grass, and death closed the eyes which so admired their owner's beauty. Even then, when he was received into the abode of the dead, he kept looking at himself in the waters of the Styx. His sisters, the nymphs of the spring, mourned for him, and cut off their hair in tribute to their brother. The wood nymphs mourned him too, and Echo sang her refrain to their lament. The pyre, the tossing torches, and the bier, were now being prepared, but his body was nowhere to be found. Instead of his corpse, they discovered a flower with a circle of white petals round a yellow centre. - OVID .METAMORPHOSES, INNES Selfishness is one of the qualities apt to inspire love. -NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE The Socrates whom you see has a tendency to fall in love with good-looking young men, and is always in their society and in an ecstasy about them...but once you see beneath the surface you will discover a degree of self-control of which you can hardly form a notion, gentlemen. He spends his whole life pretending and playing with people, and I doubt whether anyone has ever seen the treasures which are revealed when he grows serious and exposes what he keeps inside. Believing that he was serious in his admiration of my charms, I supposed that a wonderful piece ofgood luck had befallen me; I should now be able, in return for my favours, to find out all that Socrates knew; for you must know that there was no limit to the pride that I felt in my good looks. With this end in view I sent away my attendant, whom hitherto I had always kept with me in my encounters with Socrates, and left myself alone with him. I must tell you the whole truth; attend carefully, and do you, Keys to the Character A ccording to the popular concept, Coquettes are consummate teases, experts at arousing desire through a provocative appearance or an alluring attitude. But the real essence of Coquettes is in fact their ability to trap people emotionally, and to keep their victims in their clutches long after that first titillation of desire. This is the skill that puts them in the ranks of the most effective seducers. Their success may seem somewhat odd, since they are essentially cold and distant creatures; should you ever get to know one well, you will sense his or her inner core of detachment and self- love. It may seem logical that once you become aware of this quality you will see through the Coquette's manipulations and lose interest, but more often we see the opposite. After years of Josephine's coquettish games, Napoleon was well aware of how manipulative she was. Yet this conqueror of kingdoms, this skeptic and cynic, could not leave her. To understand the peculiar power of the Coquette, you must first understand a critical property of love and desire: the more obviously you pursue a person, the more likely you are to chase them away. Too much attention can be interesting for a while, but it soon grows cloying and finally becomes claustrophobic and frightening. It signals weakness and neediness, an unseductive combination. How often we make this mistake, thinking our persistent presence will reassure. But Coquettes have an inherent understanding of this particular dynamic. Masters of selective withdrawal, they hint at coldness, absenting themselves at times to keep their victim off balance, surprised, intrigued. Their withdrawals make them mysterious, and we build them up in our imaginations. (Familiarity, on the other hand, undermines what we have built.) A bout of distance engages the emotions further; instead of making us angry, it makes us insecure. Perhaps they don't really like us, perhaps we have lost their interest. Once our vanity is at stake, we succumb to the Coquette just to prove we are still desirable. Remember: the essence of the Coquette lies not in the tease and temptation but in the subsequent step back, the emotional withdrawal. That is the key to enslaving desire. To adopt the power of the Coquette, you must understand one other quality: narcissism. Sigmund Freud characterized the "narcissistic woman" (most often obsessed with her appearance) as the type with the greatest effect on men. As children, he explains, we pass through a narcissistic phase that is immensely pleasurable. Happily self-contained and self-involved, we have little psychic need of other people. Then, slowly, we are socialized and taught to pay attention to others-but we secretly yearn for those blissful early days. The narcissistic woman reminds a man of that period, and makes him envious. Perhaps contact with her will restore that feeling of selfinvolvement. A man is also challenged by the female Coquette's independence-he wants to be the one to make her dependent, to burst her bubble. It is far more likely, though, that he will end up becoming her slave, givingher incessant attention to gain her love, and failing. For the narcissistic woman is not emotionally needy; she is self-sufficient. And this is surprisingly seductive. Self-esteem is critical in seduction. (Your attitude toward yourself is read by the other person in subtle and unconscious ways.) Low self-esteem repels, confidence and self-sufficiency attract. The less you seem to need other people, the more likely others will be drawn to you. Understand the importance of this in all relationships and you will find your neediness easier to suppress. But do not confuse self-absorption with seductive narcissism. Talking endlessly about yourself is eminently anti-seductive, revealing not self-sufficiency but insecurity. The Coquette is traditionally thought of as female, and certainly the strategy was for centuries one of the few weapons women had to engage and enslave a man's desire. One ploy of the Coquette is the withdrawal of sexual favors, and we see women using this trick throughout history: the great seventeenth-century French courtesan Ninon de l'Enclos was desired by all the preeminent men of France, but only attained real power when she made it clear that she would no longer sleep with a man as part of her duty. This drove her admirers to despair, which she knew how to make worse by favoring a man temporarily, granting him access to her body for a few months, then returning him to the pack of the unsatisfied. Queen Elizabeth I of England took coquettishness to the extreme, deliberately arousing the desires of her courtiers but sleeping with none of them. Long a tool of social power for women, coquettishness was slowly adapted by men, particularly the great seducers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries who envied the power of such women. One seventeenth-century seducer, the Due de Lauzun, was a master at exciting a woman, then suddenly acting aloof. Women went wild over him. Today, coquetry is genderless. In a world that discourages direct confrontation, teasing, coldness, and selective aloofness are a form of indirect power that brilliantly disguises its own aggression. The Coquette must first and foremost be able to excite the target of his or her attention. The attraction can be sexual, the lure of celebrity, whatever it takes. At the same time, the Coquette sends contrary signals that stimulate contrary responses, plunging the victim into confusion. The eponymous heroine of Marivaux's eighteenth-century French novel Marianne is the consummate Coquette. Going to church, she dresses tastefully, but leaves her hair slightly uncombed. In the middle of the service she seems to notice this error and starts to fix it, revealing her bare arm as she does so; such things were not to be seen in an eighteenth-century church, and all male eyes fix on her for that moment. The tension is much more powerful than if she were outside, or were tartily dressed. Remember: obvious flirting will reveal your intentions too clearly. Better to be ambiguous and even contradictory, frustrating at the same time that you stimulate. The great spiritual leader liddu Krishnamurti was an unconscious coquette. Revered by theosophists as their "World Teacher," Krishnamurti was also a dandy. He loved elegant clothing and was devilishly handsome. At the Socrates, pull me up if anything I say is false. I allowed myself to be alone with him, I say, gentlemen, and I naturally supposed that he would embark on conversation of the type that a lover usually addresses to his darling when they are tete-a-tete, and I was glad. Nothing of the kind; he spent the day with me in the sort of talk which is habitual with him, and then left me and went away. Next I invited him to train with me in the gymnasium, and I accompanied him there, believing that I should succeed with him now. He took exercise and wrestled with me frequently, with no one else present, but I need hardly say that I was no nearer my goal. Finding that this was no good either, I resolved to make a direct assault on him, and not to give up what I had onceundertaken;I felt that I must get to the bottom of the matter. So I invited him to dine with me, behaving just like a lover who has designs upon his favourite. He was in no hurry to accept this invitation, but at last he agreed to come. The first time he came he rose to go away immediately after dinner, and on that occasion I was ashamed and let him go. But I returned to the attack, and this time I kept him in conversation after dinnerfar into the night, and then, when he wanted to be going, I compelled him to stay, on the plea that it was too late for him to go. • So he betook himself to rest, using as a bed the couch on which he had reclined at dinner, next to mine, and there was nobody sleeping in the room but ourselves. •... I swear by all the gods in heaven thatfor anything that had happened between us when I got up after sleeping with Socrates, I might have been sleeping with my father or elder brother. • What do you suppose to have been my state of mind after that? On the one hand 1 same time, he practiced celibacy, and had a horror of being touched. In 1929 he shocked theosophists around the world by proclaiming that he was not a god or even a guru, and did not want any followers. This only heightened his appeal: women fell in love with him in great numbers, and his advisers grew even more devoted. Physically and psychologically, Krishnamurti was sending contrary signals. While preaching a generalized love and acceptance, in his personal life he pushed people away His attractiveness and his obsession with his appearance might have gained him attention but by themselves would not have made women fall in love with him; his lessons of realized that I had been slighted, but on the other I felt a reverence for Socrates' character, his self-control and couragehe result was that I could neither bring myself to be angry with him and tear myself away from his society, nor find a way of subduing him to my will. ... I was utterly disconcerted, and wandered about in a state celibacy and spiritual virtue would have created disciples but not physical love. The combination of these traits, however, both drew people in and frustrated them, a coquettish dynamic that created an emotional and physical attachment to a man who shunned such things. His withdrawal from the world had the effect of only heightening the devotion of his followers. Coquetry depends on developing a pattern to keep the other person off balance. The strategy is extremely effective. Experiencing a pleasure once, we yearn to repeat it; so the Coquette gives us pleasure, then withdraws it.The alternation of heat and cold is the most commonpattern,andhasseveralvariations.TheeighthcenturyChineseCoquetteYang Kuei-Fei to- of enslavement to the man tally enslaved the Emperor Ming Huang through a pattern of kindness and the like of which has never bitterness: having charmed him with kindness, she would suddenly get angry, blaming him harshly for the slightest mistake. Unable to live without alcibiades, quoted in ^ p] easure s b e gave him, the emperor would turn the court upside down PLATO, THE SYMPOSIUM to please her when she was angry or upset. Her tears had a similar effect: what had he done, why was she so sad? He eventually ruined himself and his kingdom trying to keep her happy. Tears, anger, and the production of guilt are all the tools of the Coquette. A similar dynamic appears in a lover's quarrel: when a couple fights, then reconciles, the joys of reconciliation only make the attachment stronger. Sadness of any sort is also seductive, particularly if it seems deep-rooted, even spiritual, rather than needy or pathetic-it makes people come to you. Coquettes are never jealous-that would undermine their image of fundamental self-sufficiency. But they are masters at inciting jealousy: by paying attention to a third party, creating a triangle of desire, they signal to their victims that they may not be that interested. This triangulation is extremely seductive, in social contexts as well as erotic ones. Interested in narcissistic women, Freud was a narcissist himself, and his aloofness drove his disciples crazy. (They even had a name for it-his "god complex.") Behaving like a kind of messiah, too lofty for petty emotions, Freud always maintained a distance between himself and his students, hardly ever inviting them over for dinner, say, and keeping his private life shrouded in mystery. Yet he would occasionally choose an acolyte to confide in-Carl Jung, Otto Rank, Lou Andreas-Salome. The result was that his disciples went berserk trying to win his favor, to be the one he chose. Their jealousy when he suddenly favored one of them only increased his power over them. People's natural insecurities are heightened in group settings; by maintaining aloofness, Coquettes start a competition to win their favor. If the ability to use third parties to make targets jealous is a critical seductive skill, Sigmund Freud was a grand Coquette. All of the tactics of the Coquette have been adapted by political leaders to make the public fall in love. While exciting the masses, these leaders remain inwardly detached, which keeps them in control. The political scientist Roberto Michels has even referred to such politicians as Cold Coquettes. Napoleon played the Coquette with the French: after the grand successes of the Italian campaign had made him a beloved hero, he left France to conquer Egypt, knowing that in his absence the government would fall apart, the people would hunger for his return, and their love would serve as the base for an expansion of his power. After exciting the masses with a rousing speech, Mao Zedong would disappear from sight for days on end, making himself an object of cultish worship. And no one was more of a Coquette than Yugoslav leader losef Tito, who alternated between distance from and emotional identification with his people. All of these political leaders were confirmed narcissists. In times of trouble, when people feel insecure, the effect of such political coquetry is even more powerful. It is important to realize that coquetry is extremely effective on a group, stimulatingjealousy, love, and intense devotion. If you play such a role with a group, remember to keep an emotional and physical distance. This will allow you to cry and laugh on command, project self-sufficiency, and with such detachment you will be able play people's emotions like a piano. Symbol: The Shadow. It cannot be grasped. Chase your shadow and it will flee; turn your back on it and it will follow you. It is also a person's dark side, the thing that makes them mysterious. After they have given us pleasure, the shadow oftheir withdrawal makes us yearn for their return, much as clouds make us yearn for the sun. Dangers C oquettes face an obvious danger: they play with volatile emotions. Every time the pendulum swings, love shifts to hate. So they must orchestrate everything carefully. Their absences cannot be too long, their bouts of anger must be quickly followed by smiles. Coquettes can keep their victims emotionally entrapped for a long time, but over months or years the dynamic can begin to prove tiresome. Jiang Qing, later known as Madame Mao, used coquettish skills to capture the heart of Mao Tse-tung, but after ten years the quarreling, the tears and the coolness became intensely irritating, and once irritation proved stronger than love, Mao was able to detach. Josephine, a more brilliant Coquette, was able to adapt, by spending a whole year without playing coy or withdrawing from Napoleon. Timing is everything. On the other hand, though, the Coquette stirs up powerful emotions, and breakups often prove temporary. The Coquette is addictive: after the failure of the social plan Mao called the Great Leap Forward, Madame Mao was able to reestablish her power over her devastated husband. The Cold Coquette can stimulate a particularly deep hatred. Valerie Solanas was a young woman who fell under Andy Warhol's spell. She had written aplay that amused him, and she was given the impression he might turn it into a film. She imagined becoming a celebrity. She also got involved in the feminist movement, and when, in June 1968, it dawned on her that Warhol was toying with her, she directed her growing rage at men on him and shot him three times, nearly killing him. Cold Coquettes may stimulate feelings that are not so much erotic as intellectual, less passion and more fascination. The hatred they can stir up is all the more insidious and dangerous, for it may not be counterbalanced by a deep love. They must realize the limits of the game, and the disturbing effects they can have on less stable people. the Charmer Charm is seduction without sex. Charmers are consummate manipulators, masking their cleverness by creating a mood of pleasure and comfort. Their method is simple: they deflect attentionfrom themselves andfocus it on their target. They understand your spirit, feel your pain, adapt to your moods. In the presence of a Charmer you feel better about yourself. Charmers do not argue or fight, complain, or pester -w hat could be more seductive? By drawing you in with their indulgence they make you dependent on them, and their power grows. Learn to cast the Charmer's spell by aiming at people's primary weaknesses: vanity and self-esteem. The Art of Charm S exuality is extremely disruptive. The insecurities and emotions it stirs up can often cut short a relationship that would otherwise be deeper and longer lasting. The Charmer's solution is to fulfill the aspects of sexuality that are so alluring and addictive-the focused attention, the boosted self-esteem, the pleasurable wooing, the understanding (real or illusory)-but subtract the sex itself. It's not that the Charmer represses or discourages sexuality; lurking beneath the surface of any attempt at charm is a sexual tease, a possibility. Charm cannot exist without a hint of sexual tension. It cannot be maintained, however, unless sex is kept at bay or in the background. The word "charm" comes from the Latin carmen, a song, but also an incantation tied to the casting of a magical spell. The Charmer implicitly grasps this history, casting a spell by giving people something that holds their attention, that fascinates them. And the secret to capturing people's attention, while lowering their powers of reason, is to strike at the things they have the least control over: their ego, their vanity, and their selfesteem. As Benjamin Disraeli said, "Talk to a man about himself and he will listen for hours." The strategy can never be obvious; subtlety is the Charmer's great skill. If the target is to be kept from seeing through the Charmer's efforts, and fromgrowingsuspicious, maybe even tiring of the attention, a light touch is essential. The Charmer is like a beam of light that doesn't play directly on a target but throws a pleasantly diffused glow over it. Charm can be applied to a group as well as to an individual: a leader can charm the public. The dynamic is similar. The following are the laws of charm, culled from the stories of the most successful charmers in history. Birds are taken with pipes that imitate their own voices, and men with those sayings that are most agreeable to their own opinions. BUTLER Make your target the center of attention. Charmers fade into the background; their targets become the subject of their interest. To be a Charmer you have to leam to listen and observe. Let your targets talk, revealing themselves in the process. As you find out more about them-their strengths, and more important their weaknesses-you can individualize your attention, appealing to their specific desires and needs, tailoring your flatteries to their insecurities. By adapting to their spirit and empathizing with their woes, you can make them feel bigger and better, validating their sense of self-worth. Make them the star of the show and they will become Go with the bough, you'll bend it; \ Use brute force, it'll snap. \ Go with the current: that's how to swimacross rivers -\Fightingupstream's no good. \ Goeasy with lions or tigers ifyou aim to tame them; \ The bull gets inured to the plough by slow degrees. So, yield if she shows resistance: \ That way you'll win in the end. fust be sure to play The part she allots you. Censure the things she censures, \ Endorse her endorsements, echo her every word, \ Pro or con, and laugh whenever she laughs; remember, \ If she weeps, to weep too: take your cue \ From her every expression. Suppose she's playing a board game, \ Then throw the dice carelessly, move \ Your pieces all wrong. Don't jib at a slavish task like holding \ Her mirror: slavish or not, such attentions please. . . . -OVID, THE ART OF LOVE. addicted to you and grow dependent on you. On a mass level, make gestures of self-sacrifice (no matter how fake) to show the public that you share their pain and are working in their interest, self-interest being the public form of egotism. Disraeli was asked to dinner, and came in green velvet trousers, with a canary waistcoat, buckle shoes, and lace cuffs. His appearance at first proved disquieting, but on leaving the table the guests remarked to each other that the wittiest talker at the luncheon-party was the man in the yellow waistcoat. Benjamin had made great advances in social conversation since the days of Murray's dinners. Faithful to his method, he noted the stages: "Do not talk too much at present; do not try to talk. But whenever you speak, speak with self-possession. Speak in a subdued tone, and always look at the person whom you are addressing. Before one can engage in general conversation with any effect, there is a certain acquaintance with trifling but amusing subjects which must be first attained. You will soon pick up sufficient by listening and observing. Never argue. In society nothing must be discussed; give only results. If any person differ from you, bow turn the conversation. In society never think; always be on the watch, or you will miss many and say many disagreeable things. Talk to women, talk to women as much as you can. This is the best school. This is the way to gain fluency, because you need not care what you say, and had better not be sensible. They, too, will rally you on many points, Be a source of pleasure. No one wants to hear about your problems and troubles. Listen to your targets' complaints, but more important, distract them from their problems by giving them pleasure. (Do this often enough and they will fall under your spell.) Being lighthearted and fun is always more charming than being serious and critical. An energetic presence is likewise more charming than lethargy, which hints at boredom,an enormous social taboo; and elegance and style will usually win out over vulgarity, since most people like to associate themselves with whatever they think elevated and cultured. In politics, provide illusion and myth rather than reality. Instead of asking people to sacrifice for the greater good, talk of grand moral issues. An appeal that makes people feel good will translate into votes and power. Bring antagonism into harmony. The court is a cauldron of resentment and envy, where the sourness of a single brooding Cassius can quickly turn into a conspiracy. The Charmer knows how to smooth out conflict. Never stir up antagonisms that will prove immune to your charm; in the face of those who are aggressive, retreat, let them have their little victories. Yielding and indulgence will charm the fight out of any potential enemies. Never criticize people overtly-that will make them insecure, and resistant to change. Plant ideas, insinuate suggestions. Charmed by your diplomatic skills, people will not notice your growing power. Lull your victims into ease and comfort. Charm is like the hypnotist's trick with the swinging watch: the more relaxed the target, the easier it is to bend him or her to your will. The key to making your victims feel comfortable is to mirror them, adapt to their moods. People are narcissists- they are drawn to those most similar to themselves. Seem to share their values and tastes, to understand their spirit, and they will fall under your spell. This works particularly well if you are an outsider: showing that you share the values of your adopted group or country (you have learned their language, you prefer their customs, etc.) is immensely charming, since for you this preference is a choice, not a question of birth. Never pester or be overly persistent-these uncharming qualities will disrupt the relaxation you need to cast your spell. Show calm and self-possession in the face of adversity. Adversity and setbacks actually provide the perfect setting for charm. Showing a calm, un- mffled exterior in the face of unpleasantness puts people at ease. You seem patient, as if waiting for destiny to deal you a better card-or as if you were confident you could charm the Fates themselves. Never show anger, ill temper, or vengefulness, all disruptive emotions that will make people defensive. In the politics of large groups, welcome adversity as a chance to show the charming qualities of magnanimity and poise. Let others get flutered and upset-the contrast will redound to your favor. Never whine, never complain, never try to justify yourself. Make yourself useful. If done subtly, your ability to enhance the lives of others will be devilishly seductive. Your social skills will prove important here: creating a wide network of allies will give you the power to link people up with each other, which will make them feel that by knowing you they can make their lives easier. This is something no one can resist. Follow-through is key: so many people will charm by promising a person great things-a better job, a new contact, a big favor-but if they do not follow through they make enemies instead of friends. Anyone can make a promise; what sets you apart, and makes you charming, is your ability to come through in the end, following up your promise with a definite action. Conversely, if someone does you a favor, show your gratitude concretely. In a world of bluff and smoke, real action and true helpfulness are perhaps the ultimate charm. Examples of Charmers 1. In the early 1870s, Queen Victoria of England had reached a low point in her life. Her beloved husband. Prince Albert, had died in 1861, leaving her more than grief stricken. In all of her decisions she had relied on his advice; she was too uneducated and inexperienced to do otherwise, or so everyone made her feel. In fact, with Albert's death, political discussions and policy issues had come to bore her to tears. Now Victoria gradually withdrew from the public eye. As a result, the monarchy became less popular and therefore lesspowerful.In1874,theConservativeParty came to power, and its leader, the seventy-year-old Benjamin Disraeli, became prime minister. The protocol of his accession to his seat demanded that he come to the palace for a private meeting with the queen, who was fifty-five at the time. Two more unlikely associates could not be imagined: Disraeli, who was Jewish by birth, had dark skin and exotic features by English standards; as a young man he had been a dandy, his dress bordering on the flamboyant, and he had written popular novels that were romantic or even Gothic in style. The queen, on the other hand, was dour and stubborn, formal in manner and simple in and as they are women you will not be offended. Nothing is of so much importance and of so much use to a young man entering life as to be well criticised by women." -ANDRE MAUROIS, DISRAELI. MILES You know what charm is: a way of getting the answer yes without having asked any clear question.CAMUS A speech that carries its audience along with it and is applauded is often less suggestive simply because it is clear that it sets out to be persuasive. People talking together influence each other in close proximity by means of the tone of voice they adopt and the way they look at each other and not only by the kind oflanguage they use. We are right to call a good conversationalist a charmer in the magical sense of the word. -TARDE, L'OPINION ET LA FOULE. QUOTED IN SERGE MOSCOVICI, THE AGE OF THE CROWD Wax, a substance naturally hard and brittle, can be made soft by the application of a little warmth, so that it will take any shape you please. In the same way, by being polite andfriendly, you can make people pliable and obliging, even though they are apt to be crabbed and malevolent. Hence politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax. - SCHOPENHAUER, COUNSELS AND MAXIMS, SAUNDERS Never explain. Never complain. -DISRAELI taste. To please her, Disraeli was advised, he should curb his natural elegance; but he disregarded what everyone had told him and appeared before her as a gallant prince, falling to one knee, taking her hand, and kissing it, saying, "I plight my troth to the kindest of mistresses." Disraeli pledged that his work now was to realize Victoria's dreams. He praised her qualities so fulsomely that she blushed; yet strangely enough, she did not find him comical or offensive, but came out of the encounter smiling. Perhaps she should give this strange man a chance, she thought, and she waited to see what he would do next. Victoria soon began receiving reports from Disraeli-on parliamentary debates, policy issues, and so forth-that were unlike anything other ministers had written. Addressing her as the "Faery Queen," and giving the monarchy's various enemies all kinds of villainous code names, he filled his notes with gossip. In a note about a new cabinet member, Disraeli wrote, "He is more than six feet four inches in stature; like St. Peter's at Rome no one is at first aware of his dimensions. But he has the sagacity of the elephant as well as its form." The minister's blithe, informal spirit bordered on disrespect, but the queen was enchanted. She read his reports voraciously, and almost without her realizing it, her interest in politics was rekindled. At the start of their relationship, Disraeli sent the queen all of his novels as a gift. She in return presented him with the one book she had written. Journal of Our Life in the Highlands. From then on he would toss out in his letters and conversations with her the phrase, "We authors." The queen would beam with pride. She would overhear him praising her to others- her ideas, common sense, and feminine instincts, he said, made her the equal of Elizabeth I. He rarely disagreed with her. At meetings with other ministers, he would suddenly turn and ask her for advice. In 1875, when Disraeli managed tofinagle the purchase of the Suez Canal from the debt- ridden khedive of Egypt, he presented his accomplishment to the queen as if it were a realization of her own ideas about expanding the British Empire. She did not realize the cause, but her confidence was growing by leaps and bounds. Victoria once sent flowers to her prime minister. He later returned the favor, sending primroses, a flower so ordinary that some recipients might have been insulted; but his gift came with a note: "Of all the flowers, the one that retains its beauty longest, is sweet primrose." Disraeli was enveloping Victoria in a fantasy atmosphere in which everything was a metaphor, and the simplicity of the flower of course symbolized the queen-and also the relationship between the two leaders. Victoria fell for the bait; primroses were soon her favorite flower. In fact everything Disraeli did now met with her approval. She allowed him to sit in her presence, an unheard- of privilege. The two began to exchange valentines every February. The queen would ask people what Disraeli had said at a party; when he paid a little too much attention to Empress Augusta of Germany, she grew jealous. The courtiers wondered what had happened to the stubborn, formal woman they had known-she was acting like an infatuated girl. In 1876, Disraeli steered through Parliament a bill declaring Queen Victoria a "Queen-Empress." The queen was beside herself with joy. Out of gratitude and certainly love, she elevated this Jewish dandy and novelist to the peerage, making him Earl of Beaconsfield, the realization of a lifelong dream. Disraeli knew how deceptive appearances can be: people were always judging him by his face and by his clothes, and he had learned never to do the same to them. So he was not deceived by Queen Victoria's dour, sober exterior. Beneath it, he sensed, was a woman who yearned for a man to appeal to her feminine side, a woman who was affectionate, warm, even sexual. The extent to which this side of Victoria had been repressed merely revealed the strength of the feelings he would stir once he melted her reserve. Disraeli's approach was to appeal to two aspects of Victoria's personality that other people had squashed: her confidence and her sexuality. He was a master at flattering a person's ego. As one English princess remarked, "When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England." Disraeli worked his magic with a delicate touch, insinuating an atmosphere of amusement and relaxation, particularly in relation to politics. Once the queen's guard was down, he made that mood a little warmer, a little more suggestive, subtly sexual- though of course without overt flirtation. Disraeli made Victoria feel desirable as a woman and gifted as a monarch. How could she resist? How could she deny him anything? Our personalities are often molded by how we are treated: if a parent or spouse is defensive or argumentative in dealing with us, we tend to respond the same way. Never mistake people's exterior characteristics for reality, for the character they show on the surface may be merely a reflection of the people with whom they have been most in contact, or a front disguising its own opposite. A gruff exterior may hide a person dying for warmth; a repressed, sober-looking type may actually be struggling to conceal uncontrollable emotions. That is the key to charm-feeding what has been repressed or denied. By indulging the queen, by making himself a source of pleasure, Disraeli was able to soften a woman who had grown hard and cantankerous. Indulgence is a powerful tool of seduction: it is hard to be angry or defensive with someone who seems to agree with your opinions and tastes. Charmers may appear to be weaker than their targets but in the end they are the more powerful side because they have stolen the ability to resist. 2. In 1971, the American financier andDemocratic Party power-playerAverell Harriman saw his life drawing to a close. He was seventy-nine, his wife of many years, Marie, had just died, and with the Democrats out of office Ms political career seemed over. Feeling old and depressed, he resigned himself to spending his last years with Ms grandchildren in quiet retirement. A few months after Marie's death, Harriman was talked into attending a Washington party. There he met an old friend, Pamela ChurcMll, whom he had known during World War II, in London, where he had been sent as a personal envoy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was twenty-one at the time, and was the wife of Winston Churchill's son Randolph. There had certainly been more beautiful women in the city, but none had been more pleasant to be around: she was so attentive, listening to Ms problems, befriending Ms daughter (they were the same age), and calming him whenever he saw her. Marie had remained in the States, and Randolph was in the army, so wMle bombs rained on London Averell and Pamela had begun an affair. And in the many years since the war, she had kept in touch with Mm: he knew about the breakup of her marriage, and about her endless series of affairs with Europe's wealthiest playboys. Yet he had not seen her since Ms return to America, and to Ms wife. What a strange coincidence to run into her at this particular moment in Ms life. At the party Pamela pulled Harriman out of his shell, laughing at Ms jokes and getting him to talk about London in the glory days of the war. He felt Ms old power returning-it was as if he were charming her. A few days later she dropped in on him at one of Ms weekend homes. Harriman was one of the wealthiest men in the world, but was no lavish spender; he and Marie had lived a Spartan life. Pamela made no comment, but when she invited him to her own home, he could not help but notice the brightness and vibrancy of her life-flowers everywhere, beautiful linens on the bed, wonderful meals (she seemed to know all of Ms favorite foods). He had heard of her reputation as a courtesan and understood the lure of Ms wealth, yet being around her was invigorating, and eight weeks after that party, he married her. Pamela did not stop there. She persuaded her husband to donate the art that Marie had collected to the National Gallery. She got him to part with some of Ms money-a trust fund for her son Winston, new houses, constant redecorations. Her approach was subtle and patient; she made him somehow feel good about giving her what she wanted. Within a few years, hardly any traces of Marie remained in their life. Harriman spent less time with Ms childrenandgrandchildren. He seemed to be going through a second youth. In Washington, politicians and their wives viewed Pamela with suspicion. They saw through her, and were immune to her charm, or so they thought. Yet they always came to the frequent parties she hosted, justifying themselves with the thought that powerful people would be there. Everything at these parties was calibrated to create a relaxed, intimateatmosphere. No one felt ignored: the least important people would find themselves talking to Pamela, opening up to that attentive look of hers. She made them feel powerful and respected. Afterward she would send them a personal note or gift, often referring to something they had mentioned in conversation. The wives who had called her a courtesan and worse slowly changed their minds. The men found her not only beguiling but useful- her worldwide contacts were invaluable. She could put them in touch with exactly the right person without them even having to ask. The Harrimans' parties soon evolved into fundraising events for the Democratic Party. Put at their ease, feeling elevated by the aristocratic atmosphere Pamela created and the sense of importance she gave them, visitors would empty their wallets without realizing quite why. This, of course, was exactly what all the men in her life had done. In 1986, Averell Harriman died. By then Pamela was powerful and wealthy enough that she no longer needed a man. In 1993, she was named the U.S. ambassador to France, and easily transferred her personal and social charm into the world of political diplomacy. She was still working when she died, in 1997. We often recognize Charmers as such; we sense their cleverness. (Surely Harriman must have realized that his meeting with Pamela Churchill in 1971 was no coincidence.) Nevertheless, we fall under their spell. The reason is simple: the feeling that Charmers provide is so rare as to be worth the price we pay. The world is full of self-absorbed people. In their presence, we know that everything in our relationship with them is directed toward themselves- their insecurities, their neediness, their hunger for attention. That reinforces our own egocentric tendencies; we protectively close ourselves up. It is a syndrome that only makes us the more helpless with Charmers. First, they don't talk much about themselves, which heightens their mystery and disguises their limitations. Second, they seem to be interested in us, and their interest is so delightfully focused that we relax and open up to them. Finally, Charmers are pleasant to be around. They have none of most people's ugly qualities-nagging, complaining, self-assertion. They seem to know what pleases. Theirs is a diffused warmth; union without sex. (You may think a geisha is sexual as well as charming; her power, however, lies not in the sexual favors she provides but in her rare self-effacing attentiveness.) Inevitably, we become addicted, and dependent. And dependence is the source of the Charmer's power. People who are physically beautiful, and who play on their beauty to create a sexually charged presence, have little power in the end; the bloom of youth fades, there is always someone younger and more beautiful, and in any case people tire of beauty without social grace. But they never tire of feeling their self-worth validated. Leam the power you can wield by making the other person feel like the star. The key is to diffuse your sexual presence: create a vaguer, more beguiling sense of excitement through a generalized flirtation, a socialized sexuality that is constant, addictive, and never totally satisfied. 3. In December of 1936, Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Chinese Nationalists, was captured by a group of his own soldiers who were angry with his policies: instead of fighting the Japanese, who had just invaded China, he was continuing his civil war against the Communist armies of Mao Zedong. The soldiers saw no threat in Mao-Chiang had almost annhilated the Communists. In fact, they believed he should join forces with Mao against the common enemy-it was the only patriotic thing to do. The soldiers thought by capturing him they could compel Chiang to change his mind, but he was a stubborn man. Since Chiang was the main impediment to a unified war against the Japanese, the soldiers contemplated having him executed, or turned over to the Communists. As Chiang lay in prison, he could only imagine the worst. Several days later he received a visit from Zhou Enlai-a former friend and now a leading Communist. Politely and respectfully, Zhou argued for a united front: Communists and Nationalists against the Japanese. Chiang could not begin to hear such talk; he hated the Communists with a passion, and became hopelessly emotional. To sign an agreement with the Communists in these circumstances, he yelled, would be humiliating, and would lose me all honor among my own army. It's out of the question. Kill me if you must. Zhou listened, smiled, said barely a word. As Chiang's rant ended he told the Nationalist general that a concern for honor was something he understood, but that the honorable thing for them to do was actually to forget their differences and fight the invader. Chiang could lead both armies. Finally, Zhou said that under no circumstances would he allow his fellow Communists, or anyone for that matter, to execute such a great man as Chiang Kai-shek. The Nationalist leader was stunned and moved.The next day, Chiang was escorted out of prison by Communist guards, transferred to one of his own army's planes, and sent back to his own headquarters. Apparently Zhou had executed this policy on his own, for when word of it reached the other Communist leaders, they were outraged: Zhou should have forced Chiang to fight the Japanese, or else should have ordered his execution-to release him without concessions was the height of pusillanimity, and Zhou would pay. Zhou said nothing and waited. A few months later, Chiang signed an agreement to halt the civil war and join with the Communists against the Japanese. He seemed to have come to his decision on his own, and his army respected it-they could not doubt his motives. Working together, the Nationalists and the Communists expelled the Japanese from China. But the Communists, whom Chiang had previously almost destroyed, took advantage of this period of collaboration to regain strength. Once the Japanese had left, they turned on the Nationalists, who, in 1949, were forced to evacuate mainland China for the island of Formosa, now Taiwan. Now Mao paid a visit to the Soviet Union. China was in terrible shape and in desperate need of assistance, but Stalin was wary of theChinese, and lectured Mao about the many mistakes he had made. Mao argued back. Stalin decided to teach the young upstart a lesson; he would give China nothing. Tempers rose. Mao sent urgently for Zhou Enlai who arrived the next day and went right to work. In the long negotiating sessions, Zhou made a show of enjoying his hosts' vodka. He never argued, and in fact agreed that the Chinese had made many mistakes, had much to learn from the more experienced Soviets: "Comrade Stalin," he said, "we are the first large Asian country tojoin the socialist camp under your guidance." Zhou had come prepared with all kinds of neatly drawn diagrams and charts, knowing the Russians loved such things. Stalin warmed up to him. The negotiations proceeded, and a few days after Zhou's arrival, the two parties signed a treaty of mutual aid- a treaty far more useful to the Chinese than to the Soviets. In 1959, China was again in deep trouble. Mao's Great Leap Forward, an attempt to spark an overnight industrial revolution in China, had been a devastating failure. The people were angry: they were starving while Beijing bureaucrats lived well. Many Beijing officials, Zhou among them, returned to their native towns to try to bring order. Most of them managed by bribes-by promising all kinds of favors-but Zhou proceeded differently: he visited his ancestral graveyard, where generations of his familywere buried, and ordered that the tombstones be removed and the coffins buried deeper. Now the land could be farmed for food. In Confucian terms (and Zhou was an obedient Confucian), this was sacrilege, but everyone knew what it meant: Zhou was willing to suffer personally. Everyone had to sacrifice, even the leaders. His gesture had immense symbolic impact. When Zhou died, in 1976, an unofficial and unorganized outpouring of public grief caught the government by surprise. They could not understand how a man who had worked behind the scenes, and had shunned the adoration of the masses, could have won such affection. The capture of Chiang Kai-shek was a turning point in the civil war. To execute him might have been disastrous: it had been Chiang who had held the Nationalist army together, and without him it could have broken up into factions, allowing the Japanese to overrun the country. To force him to sign an agreement would have not helped either: he would have lost face before his army, would never have honored the agreement, and would have done everything he could to avenge his humiliation. Zhou knew that to execute or compel a captive will only embolden your enemy, and will have repercussions you cannot control. Charm, on the other hand, is a manipulative weapon that disguises its own manipulativeness, letting you gain a victory without stirring the desire for revenge. Zhou worked on Chiang perfectly, paying him respect, playing the inferior, letting him pass from the fear of execution to the relief of unexpected release. The general was allowed to leave with his dignity intact. Zhou knew all this would soften him up, planting the seed of the idea that perhaps the Communists were not so bad after all, and that he could change Ms mind about them without looking weak, particularly if he did so independently rather than while he was in prison. Zhou applied the same philosophy to every situation: play the inferior, unthreatening and humble. What will this matter if in the end you get what you want: time to recover from a civil war, a treaty, the good will of the masses. Time is the greatest weapon you have. Patiently keep in mind a longterm goal and neither person nor army can resist you. And charm is the best way of playing for time, of widening your options in any situation. Through charm you can seduce your enemy into backing off, giving you the psychological space to plot an effective counterstrategy. The key is to make other people emotional while you remain detached. They may feel grateful, happy, moved, arrogant-it doesn't matter, as long as they feel. An emotional person is a distracted person. Give them what they want, appeal to their self-interest, make them feel superior to you. When a baby has grabbed a sharp kmfe, do not try to grab it back; instead, stay calm, offer candy, and the baby will drop the kmfe to pick up the tempting morsel you offer. 4. In 1761, Empress Elizabeth of Russia died, and her nephew ascended to the throne as Czar Peter III. Peter had always been a little boy at heart-he played with toy soldiers long past the appropriate age-and now, as czar, he could finally do whatever he pleased and the world be damned. Peter concluded a treaty with Frederick the Great that was Mghly favorable to the foreign ruler (Peter adored Frederick, and particularly the disciplined way Ms Prussian soldiers marched). This was a practical debacle, but in matters of emotion and etiquette, Peter was even more offensive: he refused to properly mourn Ms aunt the empress, resuming his war games and parties a few days after the funeral. What a contrast he was to Ms wife, Catherine. She was respectful during the funeral, was still wearing black months later, and could be seen at all hours beside Elizabeth's tomb, praying and crying. She was not even Russian, but a German princess who had come east to marry Peter in 1745 without speaking a word of the language. Even the lowest peasant knew that Catherine had converted to the Russian Orthodox Church, and had learned to speak Russian with incredible speed, and beautifully. At heart, they thought, she was more Russian than all of those fops in the court. During these difficult months, wMle Peter offended almost everyone in the country, Catherine discreetly kept a lover, Gregory Orlov, a lieutenant in the guards. It was through Orlov that word spread of her piety, her patriotism, her worthiness for rule; how much better to follow such a woman than to serve Peter. Late into the night, Catherine and Orlov would talk, and he would tell her the army was behind her and would urge her to stage a coup. She would listen attentively, but would always reply that tMs was not the time for such things. Orlov wondered to himself: perhaps she was too gentle and passive for such a great step. Peter's regime was repressive, and the arrests and executions piled up. He also grew more abusive toward his wife, threatening to divorce her and marry his mistress. One drunken evening, driven to distraction by Catherine's silence and his inability to provoke her, he ordered her arrest. The news spread fast and Orlov hurried to warn Catherine that she would be imprisoned or executed unless she acted fast. This time Catherine did not argue; she put on her simplest mourning gown, left her hair half undone, followed Orlov to a waiting carriage, and rushed to the army barracks. Here the soldiers fell to the ground, kissing the hem of her dress-they had heard so much about her but had never seen her in person, and she seemed to them like a statue of the Madonna come to life. They gave her an army uniform, marveling at how beautiful she looked in men's clothes, and set off under Orlov's command for the Winter Palace. The procession grew as it passed through the streets of St. Petersburg. Everyone applauded Catherine, everyone felt that Peter should be dethroned. Soon priests arrived to give Catherine their blessing, making the people even more excited. And through it all, she was silent and dignified, as if all were in the hands of fate. When news reached Peter of this peaceful rebellion, he grew hysterical, and agreed to abdicate that very night. Catherine became empress without a single battle or even a single gunshot. As a child, Catherine was intelligent and spirited. Since her mother had wanted a daughter who was obedient rather than dazzling, and who would therefore make a better match, the child was subjected to a constant barrage of criticism, against which she developed a defense: she learned to seem to defer to other people totally as a way to neutralize their aggression. If she was patient and did not force the issue, instead of attacking her they would fall under her spell. When Catherine came to Russia-at the age of sixteen, without a friend or ally in the country-she applied the skills she had learned in dealing with her difficult mother. In the face of all the court monsters- the imposing Empress Elizabeth, her own infantile husband, the endless schemers and betrayers-she curtseyed, deferred, waited, and charmed. She had long wanted to rule as empress, and knew how hopeless her husband was. But what good would it do to seize power violently, laying a claim that some would certainly see as illegitimate, and then have to worry endlessly that she would be dethroned in turn? No, the moment had to be ripe, and she had to make the people carry her into power. It was a feminine style ofrevolution: by being passive and patient, Catherine suggested that she had no interest in power. The effect was soothing-charming. There will always be difficult people for us to face-the chronically insecure, the hopelessly stubborn, the hysterical complainers. Your ability to disarm these people will prove an invaluable skill. You do have to be careful, though: if you are passive they will run all over you; if assertive you will make their monstrous qualities worse. Seduction and charm are the most effective counterweapons. Outwardly, be gracious. Adapt to their every mood. Enter their spirit. Inwardly, calculate and wait: your surrender is a strategy, not a way of life. When the time comes, and it inevitably will, the tables will turn. Their aggression will land them in trouble, and that will put you in a position to rescue them, regaining superiority. (You could also decide that you had had enough, and consign them to oblivion.) Your charm has prevented them from foreseeing this or growing suspicious. A whole revolution can be enacted without a single act of violence, simply by waiting for the apple to ripen and fall. Symbol: The Mirror. Your spirit holds a mirror up to others. When they see you they see themselves: their values, their tastes, even their flaws. Their lifelong love affair with their own image is comfortable and hypnotic; so feed it. No one ever sees what is behind the mirror. Dangers T here are those who are immune to a Charmer; particularly cynics, and confident types who do not need validation. These people tend to view Charmers as slippery and deceitful, and they can make problems for you. The solution is to do what most Charmers do by nature: befriend and charm as many people as possible. Secure your power through numbers and you will not have to worry about the few you cannot seduce. Catherine the Great's kindness to everyone she met created a vast amount ofgood will that paid off later. Also, it is sometimes charming to reveal a strategic flaw. There is one person you dislike? Confess it openly, do not try to charm such an enemy, and people will think you more human, less slippery. Disraeli had such a scapegoat with his great nemesis, William Gladstone. The dangers of political charm are harder to handle; your conciliatory, shifting, flexible approach to politics will make enemies out of everyone who is a rigid believer in a cause. Social seducers such as Bill Clinton and Henry Kissinger could often win over the most hardened opponent with their personal charm, but they could not be everywhere at once. Many members of the English Parliament thought Disraeli a shifty conniver; in person his engaging manner could dispel such feelings, but he could not address the entire Parliament one-on-one. In difficult times, when people yearn for something substantial and firm, the political charmer may be in danger. As Catherine the Great proved, timing is everything. Charmers must know when to hibernate and when the times are ripe for their persuasive powers. Known for their flexibility, they should sometimes be flexible enough to act inflexibly. Zhou Enlai, the consummate chameleon, could play the hard-core Communist when it suited him. Never become the slave to your own powers of charm; keep it under control, something you can turn off and on at will. Charisma is a presence that excites us. It comes from an inner quality - self-confidence, sexual energy, sense ofpurpose, contentment-that most people lack and want. This quality radiates outward, permeating the gestures of Charismatics, making them seem extraordinary and superior, and making us imagine there is more to them than meets the eye: they are gods, saints, stars. Charismatics can learn to heighten their charisma with a piercing gaze, fiery oratory, an air of mystery. They can seduce on a grand scale. Learn to create the charismatic illusion by radiating intensity while remaining detached. Charisma and Seduction C harisma is seduction on a mass level. Charismatics make crowds of people fall in love with them, then lead them along. The process of making them fall in love is simple and follows a path similar to that of a one-on-one seduction. Charismatics have certain qualities that are powerfully attractive and that make them stand out. This could be their selfbelief, their boldness, their serenity. They keep the source of these qualities mysterious. They do not explain where their confidence or contentment comes from, but it can be felt by everyone; it radiates outward, without the appearance of conscious effort. The face of the Charismatic is usually animated,full of energy, desire, alertness-the look of a lover, one that is instantly appealing, even vaguely sexual. We happily follow Charismatics because we like to be led, particularly by people who promise adventure or prosperity. We lose ourselves in their cause, become emotionally attached to them, feel more alive by believing in them-we fall in love. Charisma plays on repressed sexuality, creates an erotic charge. Yet the origins of the word lie not in sexuality but in religion, and religion remains deeply embedded in modern charisma. Thousands of years ago, people believed in gods and spirits, but few could ever say that they had witnessed a miracle, a physical demonstration of divine power. A man, however, who seemed possessed by a divine spirit-speaking in tongues, ecstatic raptures, the expression of intense visions-would stand out as one whom the gods had singled out. And this man, a priest or a prophet, gained great power over others. What made the Hebrews believe in Moses, follow him out of Egypt, and remain loyal to him despite their endless wandering in the desert? The look in his eye, his inspired and inspiring words, the face that literally glowed when he came down from Mount Sinai-all these things gave him the appearance of having direct communication with God, and were the source of his authority. And these were what was meant by "charisma," a Greek word referring to prophets and to Christ himself. In early Christianity, charisma was a gift or talent vouchsafed by God's grace and revealing His presence. Most of the great religions were founded by a Charismatic, a person who physically displayed the signs of God's favor. Over the years, the world became more rational. Eventually people came to hold power not by divine right but because they won votes, or proved their competence. The great early-twentieth-century German soci- "Charisma" shall be understood to refer to an extraordinary quality of a person, regardless of whether this quality is actual, alleged or presumed. "Charismatic authority," hence, shall refer to a rule over men, whether predominately extern l or predominately internal, to which the governed submit because of their belief in the extraordinary quality of the specific person. -WEBER, FROM WEBER: ESSAYS IN SOCIOLOGY. GERTH MILLS And the Lord said to Moses, "Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." And he was there with the Lordforty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked them. And afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses's face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. -EXODUS  ologist Max Weber, however, noticed that despite our supposed progress, there were more Charismatics than ever. What characterized a modern Charismatic, according to Weber, was the appearance of an extraordinary quality in their character, the equivalent of a sign of God's favor. How else to explain the power of a Robespierre or a Lenin? More than anything it was the force of their magnetic personalities that made these men stand out and was the source of their power. They did not speak of God but of a great cause, visions of a future society. Their appeal was emotional; they seemed possessed. And their audiences reacted as euphorically as earlier audiences had to a prophet. When Lenin died, in 1924, a cult formed around his memory, transforming the communist leader into a deity. Today, anyone who has presence, who attracts attention when he or she enters a room, is said to possess charisma. But even these less-exalted types reveal a trace of the quality suggested by the word's original meaning. Their charisma is mysterious and inexplicable, never obvious. They have an unusual confidence. They have a gift-often a smoothness with language-that makes them stand out from the crowd. They express a vision. We may not realize it, but in their presence we have a kind of religious experience: we believe in these people, without having any rational evidence for doing so. When trying to concoct an effect of charisma, never forget the religious source of its power. You must radiate an inward quality that has a saintly or spiritual edge to it. Your eyes must glow with the fire of a prophet. Your charisma must seem natural, as if it came from something mysteriously beyond your control, a gift of the gods. In our rational, disenchanted world, people crave a religious experience, particularly on a group level. Any sign of charisma plays to this desire to believe in something. And there is nothing more seductive than giving people something to believe in and follow. Charisma must seem mystical, but that does not mean you cannot learn certain tricks that will enhance the charisma you already possess, or will give you the outward appearance of it. The following are basic qualities that will help create the illusion of charisma: Purpose. If people believe you have a plan, that you know where you are going, they will follow you instinctively. The direction does not matter: pick a cause, an ideal, a vision and show that you will not sway from your goal. People will imagine that your confidence comes from somethingreal--just as the ancient Hebrews believed Moses was in communion with God, simply because he showed the outward signs. Purposefulness is doubly charismatic in times of trouble. Since most people hesitate before taking bold action (even when action is what is required), single-minded self-assurance will make you the focus of attention. People will believe in you through the simple force of your character. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt came to power amidst the Depression, much of the public had little faith he could turn things around. But in his first few months in office he displayed such confidence, such decisiveness and clarity in dealing with the country's many problems, that the public began to see him as their savior, someone with intense charisma. Mystery. Mystery lies at charisma's heart, but it is a particular kind of mystery-a mystery expressed by contradiction. The Charismatic may be both proletarian and aristocratic (Mao Zedong), both cruel and kind (Peter the Great), both excitable and icily detached (Charles de Gaulle), both intimate and distant (Sigmund Freud). Since most people are predictable, the effect of these contradictions is devastatingly charismatic. They make you hard to fathom, add richness to your character, make people talk about you. It is often better to reveal your contradictions slowly and subtly-if you throw them out one on top of the other, people may think you have an erratic personality. Show your mysteriousness gradually and word will spread. You must also keep people at arm's length, to keep them from figuring you out. Another aspect of mystery is a hint of the uncanny. The appearance of prophetic or psychic gifts will add to your aura. Predict things authoritatively and people will often imagine that what you have said hascome true. Saintliness. Most of us must compromise constantly to survive; saints do not. They must live out their ideals without caring about the consequences. The saintly effect bestows charisma. Saintliness goes far beyond religion: politicians as disparate as George Washington and Lenin won saintly reputations by living simply, despite their power-by matching their political values to their personal lives. Both men were virtually deified after they died. Albert Einstein too had a saintly aura-childlike, unwilling to compromise, lost in his own world. The key is that you must already have some deeply held values; that part cannot be faked, at least not without risking accusations of charlatanry that will destroy your charisma in the long run. The next step is to show, as simply and subtly as possible, that you live what you believe. Finally, the appearance of being mild and unassuming can eventually turn into charisma, as long as you seem completely comfortable with it. The source of Harry Truman's charisma, and even of Abraham Lincoln's, was to appear to be an Everyman. That devil of a man exercises a fascination on me that I cannot explain even to myself and in such a degree that, though I fear neither God nor devil, when I am in his presence I am ready to tremble like a child, and he could make me go through the eye of a needle to throw myself into the fire. -GENERAL VANDAMME, ON BONAPARTE [The masses ] have never thirsted after truth. They demand illusions, and cannot do without them. They constantly give what is unreal precedence over what is real; they are almost as strongly influenced by what is untrue as by what is true. They have an evident tendency not to distinguish between the two. -FREUD. Eloquence. A Charismatic relies on the power of words. The reason is simple: words are the quickest way to create emotional disturbance. They can uplift, elevate, stir anger, without referring to anything real. During the Spanish Civil War, Dolores Gomez Ibarruri, known as La Pasionaria, gave pro-Communist speeches that were so emotionally powerful as to determine several key moments in the war. To bring off this kind of eloquence, it helps if the speaker is as emotional, as caught up in words, as the audience is. Yet eloquence can be learned: the devices La Pasionaria used- catchwords, slogans, rhythmic repetitions, phrases for the audience to repeat-can easily be acquired. Roosevelt, a calm, patrician type, was able to make himself a dynamic speaker, both through his style of delivery, which was slow and hypnotic, and through his brilliant use of imagery, alliteration, and biblical rhetoric. The crowds at his rallies were often moved to tears. The slow, authoritative style is often more effective than passion in the long run, for it is more subtly spellbinding, and less tiring. Theatricality. A Charismatic is larger than life, has extra presence. Actors have studied this kind of presence for centuries; they know how to stand on a crowded stage and command attention. Surprisingly, it is not the actor who screams the loudest or gestures the most wildly who works this magic best, but the actor who stays calm, radiating self-assurance. The effect is ruined by trying too hard. It is essential to be self-aware, to have the ability to see yourself as others see you. De Gaulle understood that self-awareness was key to his charisma; in the most turbulent circumstances-the Nazi occupation of France, the national reconstruction after World War II, an army rebellion in Algeria-he retained an Olympian composure that played beautifully against the hysteria of his colleagues. When he spoke, no one could take their eyes off him. Once you know how to command attention this way, heighten the effect by appearing in ceremonial and ritual events that are full of exciting imagery, making you look regal and godlike. Flamboyancy has nothing to do with charisma-it attracts the wrong kind of attention. Uninhibitedness. Most people are repressed, and have little access to their unconscious-a problem that creates opportunities for the Charismatic, who can become a kind of screen on which others project their secret fantasies and longings. You will first have to show that you are less inhibited than your audience-that you radiate a dangerous sexuality, have no fear of death, are delightfully spontaneous. Even a hint of these qualities will make people think you more powerful than you are. In the 1850s a bohemian American actress, Adah Isaacs Menken, took the world by storm through her unbridled sexual energy, and her fearlessness. She would appear on stage half-naked, performing death-defying acts; few women could dare such things in the Victorian period, and a rather mediocre actress became a figure of cultlike adoration. An extension of your being uninhibited is a dreamlike quality in your work and character that reveals your openness to your unconscious. It was the possession of this quality that transformed artists like Wagner and Picasso into charismatic idols. Its cousin is a fluidity of body and spirit; while the repressed are rigid, Charismatics have an ease and an adaptability that show their openness to experience. Fervency. You need to believe in something, and to believe in it strongly enough for it to animate all your gestures and make your eyes light up. This cannot be faked. Politicians inevitably lie to the public; what distinguishes Charismatics is that they believe their own lies, which makes them that much more believable. A prerequisite for fiery belief is some great cause to rally around-a crusade. Become the rallying point for people's discontent, and show that you share none of the doubts that plague normal humans. In 1490, the Florentine Girolamo Savonarola railed at the immorality of the pope and the Catholic Church. Claiming to be divinely inspired, he became so animated during his sermons that hysteria would sweep the crowd. Savonarola developed such a following that he briefly took over the city, until the pope had him captured and burned at the stake. People believed in him because of the depth of his conviction. His example has more relevance today than ever: people are more and more isolated, and long for communal experience. Let your own fervent and contagious faith, in virtually anything, give them something to believe in. Vulnerability. Charismatics display a need for love and affection. They are open to their audience, and in fact feed off its energy; the audience in turn is electrified by the Charismatic, the current increasing as it passes back and forth. This vulnerableside to charisma softens the self-confident side, which can seem fanatical and frightening. Since charisma involves feelings akin to love, you in turn must reveal your love for your followers. This was a key component to the charisma that Marilyn Monroe radiated on camera. "I knew I belonged to the Public," she wrote in her diary, "and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else. The Public was the only family, the only Prince Charming and the only home I had ever dreamed of." In front of a camera, Monroe suddenly came to life, flirting with and exciting her unseen public. If the audience doesnot sense this quality in you they will turn away from you. On the other hand, you must never seem manipulative or needy. Imagine your public as a single person whom you are trying to seduce-nothing is more seductive to people than the feeling that they are desired. Adventurousness. Charismatics are unconventional. They have an air of adventure and risk that attracts the bored. Be brazen and courageous in your actions-be seen taking risks for the good of others. Napoleon made sure his soldiers saw him at the cannons in battle. Lenin walked openly on the streets, despite the death threats he had received. Charismatics thriveintroubledwaters;acrisissituationallowsthemtoflaunt their daring, which enhances their aura. John F. Kennedy came to life in dealing with the Cuban missile crisis, Charles de Gaulle when he confronted rebellion in 102 In such conditions, where half the battle was hand- to-hand, concentrated into a small space, the spirit and example of the leader countedfor much. When we remember this, it becomes easier to understand the astonishing dfect of Joan's presence upon the French troops. Her position as a leader was a unique one. She was not a professional soldier; she was not really a soldier at all; she was not even a man. She was ignorant of war. She was a girl dressed up. But she believed, and had made others willing to believe, that she was the mouthpiece of God. • On Friday, April 29th, 1429, the news spread in Orleans that a force, led by the Pucelle of Domremy, was on its way to the relief of the city, a piece of news which, as the chronicler remarks, comforted them greatly.-VITA SACKVILLE-WEST, SAINTJOAN OF ARC Algeria. They needed these problems to seem charismatic, and in fact some have even accused them of stirring up situations (Kennedy through his brinkmanship style of diplomacy, for instance) that played to their love of adventure. Show heroism to give yourself a charisma that will last you alifetime.Conversely, the slightest sign of cowardice or timidity will ruin whatever charisma you had. Magnetism. If any physical attribute is crucial in seduction, it is the eyes. They reveal excitement, tension, detachment, without a word being spoken. Indirect communication is critical in seduction, and also in charisma. The demeanor of Charismatics may be poised and calm, but their eyes are magnetic; they have a piercing gaze that disturbs their targets' emotions, exerting force without words or action. Fidel Castro's aggressive gaze can reduce his opponents to silence. When Benito Mussolini was challenged, he would roll his eyes, showing the whites in a way that frightened people. President Kusnasosro Sukarno of Indonesia had a gaze that seemed as if it could have read thoughts. Roosevelt could dilate his pupils at will, making his stare both hypnotizing and intimidating. The eyes of the Charismatic never show fear or nerves. All of these skills are acquirable. Napoleon spent hours in front of a mirror, modeling his gaze on that of the great contemporary actor Talma. The key is self-control. The look does not necessarily have to be aggressive; it can also show contentment. Remember: your eyes can emanate charisma, but they can also give you away as a faker. Do not leave such an important attribute to chance. Practice the effect you desire. Genuine charisma thus means the ability to internally generate and externally express extreme excitement, an ability which makes one the object of intense attention and unre- flective imitation by others. -LI AH GREENFIELD Charismatic Types-Historical Examples The miraculous prophet. In the year 1425, Joan of Arc, a peasant girl from the French village of Domremy, had her first vision: "I was in my thirteenth year when God sent a voice to guide me." The voice was that of Saint Michael and he came with a message from God: Joan had been chosen to rid France of the English invaders who now ruled most of the country, and of the resulting chaos and war. She was also to restore the French crown to the prince-the Dauphin, later Charles VII-who was its rightful heir. Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret also spoke to Joan. Her visions were extraordinarily vivid: she saw Saint Michael, touched him, smelled him. The Charismatic • 103 At first Joan told no one what she had seen; for all anyone knew, she was a quiet farm girl. But the visions became even more intense, and so in 1429 she left Domremy, determined to realize the mission for which God had chosen her. Her goal was to meet Charles in the town of Chinon, where he had established his court in exile. The obstacles were enormous: Chinon was far, thejourney was dangerous, and Charles, even if she reached him, was a lazy and cowardly young man who was unlikely to crusade against the English. Undaunted, she moved from village to village, explaining her mission to soldiers and asking them to escort her to Chinon. Young girls with religious visions were a dime a dozen at the time, and there was nothing in Joan's appearance to inspire confidence; one soldier, however, Jean de Metz, was intrigued with her. What fascinated him was the detail of her visions: she would liberate the besieged town of Orleans, have the king crowned at the cathedral in Reims, lead the army to Paris; she knew how she would be wounded, and where; the words she attributed to Saint Michael were quite unlike the language of a farm girl; and she was so calmly confident, she glowed with conviction. De Metz fell under her spell. He swore allegiance and set out with her for Chinon. Soon others offered assistance, too, and word reached Charles of the strange young girl on her way to meet him.On the 350-mile road to Chinon, accompanied only by a handful of soldiers, through a land infested with warring bands, Joan showed neither fear nor hesitation. The journey took several months. When she finally arrived, the Dauphin decided to meet the girl who had promised to restore him to his throne, despite the adviceof his counselors; but he was bored, and wanted amusement, and decided to play a trick on her. She was to meet him in a hall packed with courtiers; to test her prophetic powers, he disguised himself as one of these men, and dressed another man as the prince. Yet when Joan arrived, to the amazement of the crowd, she walked straight up to Charles and curtseyed: "The King of Heaven sends me to you with the message that you shall be the lieutenant of the King of Heaven, who is the king of France." In the talk that followed, Joan seemed to echo Charles's most private thoughts, while once again recounting in extraordinary detail the feats she would accomplish. Days later, this indecisive, flighty man declared himself convinced and gave her his blessing to lead a French army against the English. Miracles and saintliness aside, Joan of Arc had certain basic qualities that made her exceptional. Her visions were intense; she could describe them in such detail that they had to be real. Details have that effect: they lend a sense of reality to even the most preposterous statements. Furthermore, in a time of great disorder, she was supremely focused, as if her strength came from somewhere unworldly. She spoke with authority, and she predicted things people wanted: the English would be defeated, prosperity would return. She also had a peasant's earthy common sense. She had surely heard descriptions of Charles on the road to Chinon; once at court, she could Amongst the surplus population living on the margin of society [in the Middle Ages ] there was always a strong tendency to take as leader a layman, or maybe an apostatefriar or monk, who imposed himself not simply as a holy man but as a prophet or even as a living god. On the strength of inspirations or revelations for which he claimed divine origin this leader would decree for his followers a communal mission of vast dimensions and world-shaking importance. The conviction of having such a mission, of being divinely appointed to carry out a prodigious task, provided the disoriented and the frustrated with new bearings and new hope. It gave them not simply a place in the world but a unique and resplendent place. A fraternity of this kind felt itself an elite, set infinitely apartfrom and above ordinary mortals, sharing also in his miraculous powers. COHN, THE PURSUIT OF THE MILLENNIUM "How peculiar [Rasputin's] eyes are," confesses a woman who had made efforts to resist his influence. She goes on to say that every time she met him she was always amazed afresh at the power of his glance, which it was impossible to withstand for any considerable time. There was something oppressive inthis kind and gentle, but at the same time sly and cunning, glance; people were helpless under the spell of the powerful will which could be felt in his whole being. However tired you might be of this charm, and however much you wanted to escape it, somehow or other you always found yourself attracted back and held. • A young girl who had heard of the strange new saint camefrom her province to the capital, and visited him in search of edification and spiritual instruction. She had never seen either him or a portrait of him before, and met him for the first time in his house. When he came up to her and spoke to her, she thought him like one of the peasant preachers she had often seen in her own country home. His gentle, monastic gaze and the plainly parted light brown hair around the worthy simple face, all at first inspired her confidence. But when he came nearer to her, shefelt immediately that another quite different man, mysterious, crafty, and corrupting, looked out from behind the eyes that radiated goodness and gentleness. • He sat down opposite her, edged quite close up to her, and his light blue eyes changed color, and became deep and have sensed the trick he was playing on her, and could have confidently picked out his pampered face in the crowd. The following year, her visions abandoned her, and her confidence as well-shemade many mistakes, leading to her capture by the English. She was indeed human. We may no longer believe in miracles, but anything that hints at strange, unworldly, even supernatural powers will create charisma. The psychology is the same: you have visions of the future, and of the wondrous things you can accomplish. Describe these things in great detail, with an air authority, and suddenly you stand out. And if your prophecy-of prosperity, say-is just what people want to hear, they are likely to fall under spell and to see later events as a confirmation of your predictions. Exhibit remarkable confidence and people will think your confidence comes from real knowledge. You will create a self-fulfilling prophecy: people's belief in you will translate into actions that help realize your visions. Any hint of success will make them see miracles, uncanny powers, the glow of charisma. The authentic animal. One day in 1905, the St. Petersburg salon of Countess Ignatiev was unusually full. Politicians, society ladies, and courtiers had all arrived early to await the remarkable guest of honor: Grigori Efimovich Rasputin, a forty-year-old Siberian monk who had made a name for himself throughout Russia as a healer, perhaps a saint. When Rasputinarrived, few could disguise their disappointment: his face was ugly, his hair was stringy,hewas gangly and awkward. They wondered why they had come. But then Rasputin approached them one by one, wrapping his big hands around their fingers and gazing deep into their eyes. At first his gaze was unsettling: as he looked them up and down, he seemed to be probing andjudging them. Yet suddenly his expression would change, and kindness, joy, and understanding would radiate from his face. Several of the ladies he actually hugged, in a most effusive manner. This startling contrast had profound effects. The mood in the salon soon changed from disappointment to excitement. Rasputin's voice was so calm and deep; his language was coarse, yet the ideas it expressed were delightfully simple, and had the ring of great spiritual truth. Then, just as the guests were beginning to relax with this dirty-looking peasant, his mood suddenly changed to anger: "I know you, I can read your souls. You are all too pampered. . . . These fine clothes and arts of yours are useless and pernicious. Men must learn to humble themselves! You must be simpler, far, far simpler. Only then will God come nearer to you." The monk's face grew animated, his pupils expanded, he looked completely different. How impressive that angry look was, recalling Jesus throwing the moneylenders from the temple. Now Rasputin calmed down, returned to being gracious, but the guests already saw him as someone strange and remarkable. Next, in a performance he would soon repeat in salons throughout the city, he led the guests in a folk song, and as they sang, he began to dance, a strange uninhibited dance of his own design, and as he danced, he circled the most attractive women there, and with his eyes invited them to join him. The dance turned vaguely sexual; as his partners fell under his spell, he whispered suggestive comments in their ears. Yet none of them seemed to be offended. Over the next few months, women from every level of St. Petersburg society visited Rasputin in his apartment. He would talk to them of spiritual matters, but then without warning he would turn sexual, murmuring the crassest come-ons. He would justify himself through spiritual dogma: how can you repent if you have not sinned? Salvation only comes to those who go astray. One of the few who rejected his advances was asked by a friend, "How can one refuse anything to a saint?" "Does a saint need sinful love?" she replied. Her friend said, "He makes everything that comes near him holy. I have already belonged to him, and I am proud and happy to have done so." "But you are married! What does your husband say?" "He considers it a very great honor. If Rasputin desires a woman we all think it a blessing and a distinction, our husbands as well as ourselves." Rasputin's spell soon extended over Czar Nicholas and more particularly over his wife, the Czarina Alexandra, after he apparently healed their son from a life-threatening injury. Within a few years, he had become the most powerful man in Russia, with total sway over the royal couple. People are more complicated than the masks they wear in society. The man who seems so noble and gentle is probably disguising a dark side, which often come out in strange ways; if his nobility and refinement are in fact a put-on, sooner or later the truth will out, and his hypocrisy will disappoint and alienate. On the other hand, we are drawn to people who seem more comfortably human, who do not bother to disguise their contradictions. This was the source of Rasputin's charisma. A man so authentically himself, so devoid of self-consciousness or hypocrisy, was immensely appealing. His wickedness and saintliness were so extreme that it made him seem larger than life. The result was a charismatic aura that was immediate and preverbal; it radiated from his eyes, and from the touch of his hands. Most of us are a mix of the devil and the saint, the noble and the ignoble, and we spend our lives trying to repress the dark side. Few of us can give free rein to both sides, as Rasputin did, but we can create charisma to a smaller degree by ridding ourselves of self-consciousness, and of the discomfort most of us feel about our complicated natures. You cannot help being the way you are, so be genuine. That is what attracts us to animals: beautiful and cruel, they have no self-doubt. That quality is doubly fascinating in humans. Outwardly people may condemn your dark side, but it is not virtue alone that creates charisma; anything extraordinary will do. Do not apologize or go halfway. The more unbridled you seem, the more magnetic the effect. dark. A keen glance reached her from the comer of his eyes, bored into her, and held her fascinated. A leaden heaviness overpowered her limbs as his great wrinkled face, distorted with desire, came closer to hers. She felt his hot breath on her cheeks, and saw how his eyes, burning from the depths of their sockets, furtively roved over her helpless body, until he dropped his lids with a sensuous expression. His voice had fallen to a passionate whisper, and he murmured strange, voluptuous words in her ear. • Just as she was on the point of abandoning herself to her seducer, a memory stirred in her dimly and as if from some far distance; she recalled that she had come to ask him about God. FULOP-MILLER, RASPUTIN: THE HOLY DEVIL By its very nature, the existence of charismaticauthority is specifically unstable. The holder may forego his charisma; he may feel "forsaken by his God," as Jesus did on the cross; he may prove to his that "virtue is gone out of him." It is then that his mission is extinguished, and hope waits and searches for a new holder of charisma. WEBER: ESSAYS IN SOCIOLOGY. GERTH AND WRIGHT MILLS The demonic performer. Throughout his childhood Elvis Presley was thought a strange boy who kept pretty much to himself. In high school in Memphis, Tennessee, he attracted attention with his pompadoured hair and sideburns, his pink and black clothing, but people who tried to talk to him found nothing there-he was either terribly bland or hopelessly shy. At the school prom, he was the only boy who didn't dance. He seemed lost in a private world, in love with the guitar he took everywhere. At the Ellis Auditorium, at the end of an evening of gospel music or wrestling, the concessions manager would often find Elvis onstage, miming a performance and taking bows before an imaginary audience. Asked to leave, he would quietly walk away. He was a very polite young man. In 1953, just out of high school, Elvis recorded his first song, in a local studio. The record was a test, a chance for him to hear his own voice. A year later the owner of the studio, Sam Phillips, called him in to record two blues songs with a couple of professional musicians. They worked for hours, but nothing seemed to click; Elvis was nervous and inhibited. Then, near the end of the evening, giddy with exhaustion, he suddenly let loose and started to jump around like a child, in a moment of complete selfabandon. The other musicians joined in, the song getting wilder and wilder. Phillips's eyes lit up-he had something here. A month later Elvis gave his first public performance, outdoors in a Memphis park. He was as nervous as he had been at the recording session, and could only stutter when he had to speak; but once he broke into song, the words came out. The crowd responded excitedly, rising to peaks at certain moments. Elvis couldn't figure out why. "I went over to the manager after the song," he later said, "and I asked him what was making the crowd go nuts. He told me, 'I'm not really sure, but I think that every time you wiggle your left leg, they start to scream. Whatever it is, just don't stop.' A single Elvis recorded in 1954 became a hit. Soon he was in demand. Going onstage filled him with anxiety and emotion, so much so that he became a different person, as if possessed. "I've talked to some singers and they get a little nervous, but they say their nerves kind of settle down they get into it. Mine never do. It's sort of this energy something maybe like sex." Over the next few months he discovered more gestures and sounds-twitching dance movements, a more tremulous voice-that made the crowds go crazy, particularly teenage girls. Within a year he had become the hottest musician in America. His concerts were exercises in mass hysteria. Elvis Presley had a dark side, a secret life. (Some have attributed it to the death, at birth, of his twin brother.) This dark side he deeply repressed as a young man; it included all kinds of fantasies which he could only give in to when he was alone, although his unconventional clothing may also have been a symptom of it. When he performed, though, he was able to let these demons loose. They came out as a dangerous sexual power. Twitching, androgynous, uninhibited, he was a man enacting strange fantasies before the public. The audience sensed this and was excited by it. It wasn't a flamboyant style and appearance that gave Elvis charisma, but rather the electrifying expression of his inner turmoil. A crowd or group of any sort has a unique energy. Just below the surface is desire, a constant sexual excitement that has to be repressed because it is socially unacceptable. If you have the ability to rouse those desires, the crowd will see you as having charisma. The key is learning to access your own unconscious, as Elvis did when he let go. You are full of an excitement that seems to come from some mysterious inner source. Your uninhibitedness will invite other people to open up, sparking a chain reaction: their excitement in turn will animate you still more. The fantasies you bring to the surface do not have to be sexual-any social taboo, anything repressed and yearning for an outlet, will suffice. Make this felt in your recordings, your artwork, your books. Social pressure keeps people so repressed that they will be attracted to your charisma before they have even met you in person. The Savior. In March of 1917, the Russian parliament forced the country's ruler. Czar Nicholas, to abdicate and established a provisional government. Russia was in rums. Its participation in World War I had been a disaster; famine was spreading widely, the vast countryside was riven by looting and lynch law, and soldiers were deserting from the army en masse. Politically the country was bitterly divided; the main factions were the right, the social democrats, and the left-wing revolutionaries, and each of these groups was itself afflicted by dissension. Into this chaos came the forty-seven-year-old Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. A Marxist revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik Communist party, he had suffered a twelve-year exile in Europe until, recognizing the chaos overcoming Russia as the chance he had long been waiting for, he had hurried back home. Now he called for the country to end its participation in the war and for an immediate socialist revolution. In the first weeks after his arrival, nothing could have seemed more ridiculous. As a man, Lenin looked unimpressive; he was short and plain-featured. He had also spent years away in Europe, isolated from his people and immersed in reading and intellectual argument. Most important, his party was small, representing only a splinter group within the loosely organized left coalition. Few took him seriously as a national leader. Undaunted, Lenin went to work. Wherever he went, he repeated the same simple message; end the war, establish the rule of the proletariat, abolish private property, redistribute wealth. Exhausted with the nation's endless political infighting and the complexity of its problems, people began to listen. Lenin was so determined, so confident. He never lost his cool. In the midst of a raucous debate, he would simply and logically debunk each one of his adversaries' points. Workers and soldiers were im- He is their god. He leads them like a thing \ Made by some other deity than nature, \ That shapes man better; and they follow him \ Against us brats with no less confidence \ Than boys pursuing summer butterflies \ Or butchers killing flies. . .S HAKES PE ARE, CORIOLANUS The roof did lift as Presley came onstage. He sang for twenty-five minutes while the audience erupted like Mount Vesuvius. "I never saw such excitement and screaming in my entire life, ever before or since," said I film director Hal ] Kanter. As an observer, he describ-ed being stunned by "an exhibition of public mass hysteria ... a tidal wave of adoration surging up from 9,000 people, over the wall of police flanking the stage, up over the flood-lights, to the performer and beyond him, lifting him to frenzied heights of response." -A DESCRIPTION OFPRESLEY'S CONCERT AT THE HAYRIDE THEATER, SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA, DECEMBER 17, 1956, IN PETER WHITMER, THE INNER ELVIS: A PSYCHOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY OF ELVIS AARON PRESLEY No one could so fire others with theif plans, no one could so impose his will and conquer by force of his personality as this seemingly so ordinary and somewhat coarse man who lacked any obvious sources of charm. . . . Neither Plekhanov nor Martov nor anyone else possessed the secret radiating from Lenin of positively hypnotic effect upon people-I would even say, domination of them. Plekhanov was treated with deference, Martov was loved, but Lenin alone was followed unhesitatingly as the only indisputable leader. For only Lenin represented that rare phenomenon, especially rare in Russia, of a man of iron will and indomitable energy who combines fanatical faith in the movement, the cause, with no less faith in himself. POTRESOV, QUOTED IN DANKWARTA. RUSTOW, ED.. PHILOSOPHERS AND KINGS: STUDIES IN LEADERSHIP "I had hoped to see the mountain eagle of our party, the great man, great physically as well as politically. I had fancied Lenin as a giant, stately and imposing. Mow great was my disappointment to see a most ordinary-looking man, below average height, in no way, literally in no way distinguishable from ordinary mortals. STALIN, ON MEETING LENIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1905,QUOTED IN RONALD W. CLARK, LENIN :THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK pressed by his firmness. Once, in the midst of a brewing riot, Lenin amazed his chauffeur by jumping onto the running board of his car and directing the way through the crowd, at considerable personal risk. Told that his ideas had nothing to do with reality, he would answer, "So much the worse for reality!" Allied to Lenin's messianic confidence in his cause was his ability to organize. Exiled in Europe, his party had been scattered and diminished; in keeping them together he had developed immense practical skills. In front of a large crowd, he was a also powerful orator. His speech at the First All- Russian Soviet Congress made a sensation; either revolution or a bourgeois government, he cried, but nothing in between-enough of this compromise in which the left was sharing. At a time when other politicians were scrambling desperately to adapt to the national crisis, and seemed weak in the process, Lenin was rock stable. His prestige soared, as did the membership of the Bolshevik party Most astounding of all was Lenin's effect on workers, soldiers, and peasants. He would address these common people wherever he found them-in the street, standing on a chair, his thumbs in his lapel, his speech an odd mix of ideology, peasant aphorisms, and revolutionary slogans. They would listen, enraptured. When Lenin died, in 1924-seven years after single- handedly opening the way to the October Revolution of 1917, which had swept him and the Bolsheviks into power-these same ordinary Russians went into mourning. They worshiped at his tomb, where his body was preserved on view; they told stories about him, developing a body of Lenin folklore; thousands of newborn girls were christened "Ninel," Lenin backwards. This cult of Lenin assumed religious proportions. There all kinds of misconceptions about charisma, which, paradoxically, only add to its mystique. Charisma has little to do with an exciting physical appearance or a colorful personality, qualities that elicit short-term interest. Particularly in times of trouble, people are not looking for entertainment- they want security, a better quality of life, social cohesion. Believe it or not, a plain-looking man or woman with a clear vision, a quality of single- mindedness, and practical skills can be devastatingly charismatic, provided it matched with some success. Never underestimate the power of success in enhancing one's aura. But in a world teeming with compromisers and fudgers whose indecisiveness only creates more disorder, one clear-minded soul will be a magnet of attention-will have charisma. One on one, or in a Zurich cafe before the revolution, Lenin had little or no charisma. (His confidence was attractive, but many found his strident manner irritating.) He won charisma when he was seen as the man who could save the country. Charisma is not a mysterious quality that inhabits you outside your control; it is an illusion in the eyes of those who see you as having what they lack. Particularly in times of trouble, you can enhance that illusion through calmness, resolution, and clear-minded practicality. It also helps to have a seductivelysimple message. Call it the Savior Syndrome: once people imagine you can save them from chaos, they will fall in love with you, like a person who melts in the arms of his or her rescuer. And mass love equals charisma. How else to explain the love ordinary Russians felt for a man as emotionless and unexciting as Vladimir Lenin. The guru. According to the beliefs of the Theosophical Society, every two thousand years or so the spirit of the World Teacher, Lord Maitreya, inhabits the body of a human. First there was Sri Krishna, born two thousand years before Christ; then there was Jesus himself; and at the start of the twentieth century another incarnation was due. One day in 1909, the theosophist Charles Leadbeater saw a boy on an Indian beach and had an epiphany: this fourteen-year-old lad, Jiddu Krishnamurti, would be the Teacher's next vehicle. Leadbeater was struck by the simplicity of the boy, who seemed to lack the slightest trace of selfishness. The members of the Theosophical Society agreed with his assessment and adopted this scraggly underfed youth, whose teachers had repeatedly beaten him for stupidity. They fed and clothed him and began his spiritual instruction. The scruffy urchin turned into a devilishly handsome young man. In 1911, the theosophists formed the Order of the Star in the East, a group intended to prepare the way for the coming of the World Teacher. Krishnamurti was made head of the order. He was taken to England, where his education continued, and everywhere he went he was pampered and revered. His air of simplicity and contentment could not help but impress. Soon Krishnamurti began to have visions. In 1922 he declared, "I have drunk at the fountain of Joy and eternal Beauty. I am God-intoxicated." Over the next few years he had psychic experiences that the theosophists interpreted as visits from the World Teacher. But Krishnamurti had actually had a different kind of revelation: the truth of the universe came from within. No god, no guru, no dogma could ever make one realize it. He himself was no god or messiah, but just another man. The reverence that he was treated with disgusted him. In 1929, much to his followers' shock, he disbanded the Order of the Star and resigned from the Theosophical . And so Krishnamurti became a philosopher, determined to spread the truth he had discovered: you must be simple, removing the screen of language and past experience. Through these means anyone could attain contentment of the kind that radiated from Krishnamurti. The theosophists abandoned him but his following grew larger than ever. In California, where he spent much of his time, the interest in him verged onculticadoration. The poet Robinson Jeffers said that whenever Krishnamurti entered a room you could feel a brightness filling the space. The writer Aldous Huxley met him in Los Angeles and fell under his spell. Hearing him speak, he wrote: "It was like listening to the discourse of the Buddha- such power, such intrinsic authority." The man radiated enlightenment. The actor John Barrymore asked him to play the role of Buddha in a film. Tirst and foremost there can be no prestige without mystery, for familiarity breeds contempt. ...In the design, the demeanor and the mental operations of a leader there must always be a "something" which others cannot altogether fathom, which puzzles them, stirs them, and rivets their attention ... to hold in reserve some piece of secret knowledge which may any moment intervene, and the more effectively from being in the nature of a surprise. The latent faith of the masses will do the rest. Once the leader has been fudged capable of adding the weight of his personality to the known factors of any situation, the ensuing hope and confidence will add immensely to the faith reposed in him. -CHARLES DE GAULLE, THE OF THE SWORD. IN DAVID SCHOENBRUN, THE THREE LIVES OF CHARLES DE GAULLE Only a month after Evita's death, the newspaper vendors' union put forwardher name for canonization, and although this gesture was an isolated one and was never taken seriously by the Vatican, the idea of Evita's holiness remained with many people and was reinforced by the publication of devotional literature subsidized by government; by the renaming of cities, schools, and subway stations; and by the stamping of medallions, the casting of busts, and the issuing of ceremonial stamps. The time of the evening news broadcast was changedfrom 8:30 pm. to 8:25 P.M., the time when Evita had "passed into immortality," and each month there were torch-lit processions on the twenty-sixth of the month, the day of her death. On the first anniversary of her death, La Prensa printed a about one of its readers seeing Evita's face in the face of the moon, and after this there were more such sightings reported in the newspapers. For the most part, official publications stopped short of claiming sainthood for her, but their restraint was not always convincing. In the calendar for 1953 of the Buenos Aires newspaper vendors, as in other unofficial images, she was depicted in the traditional blue robes of the Virgin, her hands crossed, her sad head to one side and surrounded by a halo. -NICHOLAS FRASER AND MARYSA NAYARRO. EVITA (Krishnamurti politely declined.) When he visited India, hands would reach outfrom the crowd to try to touch him through the open car window. People prostrated themselves before him. Repulsed by all this adoration, Krishnamurti grew more and more detached. He even talked about himself in the third person. In fact, the ability to disengage from one's past and view the world anew was part of his philosophy, yet once again the effect was the opposite of what he expected: the affection and reverence people felt for him only grew. His followers fought jealously for signs of his favor. Women in particular fell deeply in love with him, although he was a lifelong celibate. Krishnamurti had no desire to be a guru or a Charismatic, but he inadvertently discovered a law of human psychology that disturbed him. People do not want to hear that your power comes from years of effort or discipline. They prefer to think that it comes from your personality, your character, something you were born with. They also hope that proximity to the guru or Charismatic will make some of that power rub off on them. They did not want to have to read Krishnamurti's books, or to spend years practicing his lessons-they simply wanted to be near him, soak up his aura, hear him speak, feel the light that entered the room with him. Krishnamurti advocated simplicity as a way of opening up to the truth, but his own simplicity justallowedpeople to see what they wanted in him, attributing powers to him that he not only denied but ridiculed. This is the guru effect, and it is surprisingly simple to create. The aura you are after is not the fiery one of most Charismatics, but one of incandescence, enlightenment. An enlightened person has understood something that makes him or her content, and this contentment radiates outward. That is the appearance you want: you do not need anything or anyone, you are fulfilled. People are naturally drawn to those who emit happiness; maybe they can catch it from you. The less obvious you are, the better: let people conclude that you are happy, rather than hearing it from you. Let them see it in your unhurried manner, your gentle smile, your ease and comfort. Keep your words vague, letting people imagine what they will. Remember: being aloof and distant only stimulates the effect. People will fight for the slightest sign of your interest. A guru is content and detached-a deadly Charismatic combination. The drama saint. It began on the radio. Throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s, Argentine women would hear the plaintive, musical voice of Eva Duarte in one of the lavishly produced soap operas that were so popular at the time. She never made you laugh, but how often she could make you cry-with the complaints of a betrayed lover, or the last words of Marie Antoinette. The very thought of her voice made you shiver with emotion. And she was pretty, with her flowing blond hair and her serious face, which was often on the covers of the gossip magazines. In 1943, those magazines published a most exciting story: Eva had begun an affair with one of the most dashing men in the new military government. Colonel Juan Peron. Now Argentines heard her doing propaganda spots for the government, lauding the "New Argentina" that glistened in the future. And finally, this fairy tale story reached its perfect conclusion: in 1945 Juan and Eva married, and the following year, the handsome colonel, after many trials and tribulations (including a spell in prison, from which he was freed by the efforts of his devoted wife) was elected president. He was a champion of th edescamisados -the "shirtless ones," the workers and the poor, just as his wife was. Only twenty-six at the time, she had grown up in poverty herself. Now that this star was the first lady of the republic, she seemed to change. She lost weight, most definitely; her outfits became less flamboyant, even downright austere; and that beautiful flowing hair was now pulled back, rather severely. It was a shame-the young star had grown up. But as Argentines saw more of the new Evita, as she was now known, her new look affected them more strongly. It was the look of a saintly, serious woman, one who was indeed what her husband called the "Bridge of Love" between himself and his people. She was now on the radio all the time, and listening to her was as emotional as ever, but she also spoke magnificently in public. Her voice was lower and her delivery slower; she stabbed the air with her fingers, reached out as if to touch the audience. And her words pierced you to the core: "I left my dreams by the wayside in order to watch over the dreams of others. ... I now place my soul at the side of the soul of my people. I offer them all my energies so that my body may be a bridge erected toward the happiness of all. Pass over it ... toward the supreme destiny of the new fatherland." It was no longer only through magazines and the radio that Evita made herself felt. Almost everyone was personally touched by her in some way. Everyone seemed to know someone who had met her, or who had visited her in her office, where a line of supplicants wound its way through the hallways to her door. Behind her desk she sat, so calm and full of love. Film crews recorded her acts of charity: to a woman who had lost everything, Evita would give a house; to one with a sick child, free care in the finest hospital. She worked so hard, no wonder rumor had it that she was ill. And everyone heard of her visits to the shanty towns and to hospitals for the poor, where, against the wishes of her staff, she would kiss people with all kinds of maladies (lepers, syphilitic men, etc.) on the cheek. Once an assistant appalled by this habit tried to dab Evita's lips with alcohol, to sterilize them. This saint of a woman grabbed the bottle and smashed it against the wall. Yes, Evita was a saint, a living madonna. Her appearance alone could heal the sick. And when she died of cancer, in 1952, no outsider to Argentina could possibly understand the sense of grief and loss she left behind. For some, the country never recovered. As for me, I have the gift of electrifying men. -NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, IN PIETER GEYL, NAPOLEON: FORAND AGAINST I do not pretend to be a divine man, but I do believe in divine guidance, divine power, and divine prophecy. I am not educated, nor am I an expert in any particular field-but I am sincere and my sincerity is my credentials. -MALCOLM X, QUOTED IN EUGENE VICTORWOLFENSTEIN, THE VICTIMS OF DEMOCRACY: MALCOLM X AND THIS BLACK REVOLUTION Most of us live in a semi-somnambulistic state: we do our daily tasks and the days fly by. The two exceptions to this are childhood and those moments when we are in love. In both cases, ouremotions are more engaged, more open and active. And we equate feeling emotional with feeling more alive. A public figure who can affect people's emotions, who can make them feel communal sadness, joy, or hope, has a similar effect. An appeal to the emotions is far more powerful than an appeal to reason. Eva Peron knew this power early on, as a radio actress. Her tremulous voice could make audiences weep; because of this, people saw in her great charisma. She never forgot the experience. Her every public act was framed in dramatic and religious motifs. Drama is condensed emotion, and the Catholic religion is a force that reaches into your childhood, hits you where you cannot help yourself. Evita's uplifted arms, her staged acts of charity, her sacrifices for the common folk-all this went straight to the heart. It was not her goodness alone that was charismatic, although the appearance of goodness is alluring enough. It was her ability to dramatize her goodness. You must leam to exploit the two great purveyors of emotion: drama and religion. Drama cuts out the useless and banal in life, focusing on moments of pity and terror; religion deals with matters of life and death. Make your charitable actions dramatic, give your loving words religious import, bathe everything in rituals and myths going back to childhood. Caughtupintheemotions you stir, people will see over your head the halo of charisma. The deliverer. In Harlem in the early 1950s, few African-Americans knew much about the Nation of Islam, or ever stepped into its temple. The Nation preached that white people were descended from the devil and that someday Allah would liberate the black race. This doctrine had little meaning for Harlemites, who went to church for spiritual solace and turned in practical matters to their local politicians. But in 1954, a new minister for the Nation of Islam arrived in Harlem. The minister's name was Malcolm X, and he was well-read and eloquent, yet his gestures and words were angry. Word spread: whites had lynched Malcolm's father. He had grown up in a juvenile facility, then had survived as a small-time hustler before being arrested for burglary and spending six years in prison. His short life (he was only twenty-nine at the time) had been one long run-in with the law, yet look at him now-so confident and educated. No one had helped him; he had done it all on his own. Harlemites began to see Malcolm X everywhere, handing out fliers, addressing the young. He would stand outside their churches, and as the congregation dispersed, he would point to the preacher and say, "He represents the white man's god; I represent the black man's god." The curious began to come to hear him preach at a Nation of Islam temple. He would ask them to look at the actual conditions of their lives: "When you get through looking at where you live, then . . . take a walk across Central Park," he would tell them. "Look at the white man's apartments. Look at his Wall Street!" His words were powerful, particularly coming from a minister. In 1957, a young Muslim in Harlem witnessed the beating of a drunken black man by several policemen. When the Muslim protested, the police pummeled him senseless and carted him off to jail. An angry crowd gathered outside the police station, ready to riot. Told that only Malcolm X could forestall violence, the police commissioner brought him in and told him to break up the mob. Malcolm refused. Speaking more temperately, the commissioner begged him to reconsider. Malcolm calmly set conditions for his cooperation: medical care for the beaten Muslim, and proper punishment for the police officers. The commissioner reluctantly agreed. Outside the station, Malcolm explained the agreement and the crowd dispersed. In Harlem and around the country, he was an overnight hero- finally a man who took action. Membership in his temple soared. Malcolm began to speak all over the United States. He never read from a text; looking out at the audience,hemade eye contact, pointed his finger. His anger was obvious, not so much in his tone-he was always controlled and articulate-as in his fierce energy, the veins popping out on his neck. Many earlier black leaders had used cautious words, and had asked their followers to deal patiently and politely with their social lot, no matter how unfair. What a relief Malcolm was. He ridiculed the racists, he ridiculed the liberals, he ridiculed the president; no white person escaped his scorn. If whites were violent, Malcolm said, the language of violence should be spoken back to them, for it was the only language they understood. "Hostility is good!" he cried out. "It's been bottled up too long." In response to the growing popularity of the nonviolent leader Martin Luther King, Ir., Malcolm said, "Anybody can sit. An old woman can sit. A coward can sit. ... It takes a man to stand." Malcolm X had a bracing effect on many who felt the same anger he did but were frightened to express it. At his funeral-he was assassinated in 1965, at one of his speeches-the actor Ossie Davis delivered the eulogy before a large and emotional crowd: "Malcolm," he said, "was our own black shining prince." Malcolm X was a Charismatic of Moses' kind: he was a deliverer. The power of this sort of Charismatic comes from his or her expression of dark emotions that have built up over years of oppression. In doing so, the deliverer provides an opportunity for the release of bottled-up emotions by other people-of the hostility masked by forced politeness and smiles. Deliverers have to be one of the suffering crowd, only more so: their pain must be exemplary. Malcolm's personal history was an integral part of his charisma. His lesson-that blacks should help themselves, not wait for whites to lift them up-meant a great deal more because of his own years in prison, and because he had followed his own doctrine by educating himself, lifting himself up from the bottom. The deliverer must be a living example of personal redemption. The essence of charisma is an overpowering emotion that communicates itself in your gestures. In your tone of voice, in subtle signs that are the more powerful for being unspoken. You feel something more deeply than others, and no emotion is more powerful and more capable of creating a charismatic reaction than hatred, particularly if it comes from deep- rooted feelings of oppression. Express what others are afraid to express and they will see great power in you. Say what they want to say but cannot. Never be afraid of going too far. If you represent a release from oppression, you have the leeway to go still farther. Moses spoke of violence, of destroying every last one of his enemies. Language like this brings the oppressed together and makes them feel more alive. This is not, however, something that is uncontrollable on your part. Malcolm X felt rage from early on, but only in prison did he teach himself the art of oratory, and how to channel his emotions. Nothing is more charismatic than the sense that someone is struggling with great emotion rather than simply giving in to it. The Olympian actor. On lanuary 24, 1960 an insurrection broke out in Algeria, then still a French colony. Led by right-wing French soldiers, its purpose was to forestall the proposal of President Charles de Gaulle to grant Algeria the right of self-determination. If necessary, the insurrectionists would take over Algeria in the name of France. For several tense days, the seventy-year-old de Gaulle maintained a strange silence. Then on lanuary 29, at eight in the evening, he appeared on French national television. Before he had uttered a word, the audience was astonished, for he wore his old uniform from World War II, a uniform that everyone recognized and that created a strong emotional response. De Gaulle had been the hero of the resistance, the savior of the country at its darkest moment. But that uniform had not been seen for quite some time. Then de Gaulle spoke, reminding his public, in his cool and confident manner, of all they had accomplished together in liberating France from the Germans. Slowly he moved from these charged patriotic issues to the rebellion in Algeria, and the affront it presented to the spirit of the liberation. He finished his address by repeating his famous words of lune 18, 1940: "Once again I call all Frenchmen, wherever they are, whatever they are, to reunite with France. Vive la Republique! Vive la France!" The speech had two purposes. It showed that de Gaulle was determined not to give an inch to the rebels, and it reached for the heart of all patriotic Frenchmen, particularly in the army. The insurrection quickly died, and no one doubted the connection between its failure and de Gaulle's performance on television. The following year, the French voted overwhelmingly in favor of Alself-determination. On April 11, 1961, de Gaulle gave a press conference in which he made it clear that France would soon grant the country full independence. Eleven days later, French generals in Algeria issued a communique stating that they had taken over the country and declaring a state of siege. This was the most dangerous moment of all: faced with Algeria's imminent independence, these right-wing generals would go all the way. A civil war could break out, toppling de Gaulle's government. The following night, de Gaulleappearedonceagain on television, once again wearing his old uniform. He mocked the generals, comparing them to a South American junta. He talked calmly and sternly. Then, suddenly, at the very end of the address, his voice rose and even trembled as he called out to the audience: "Francoises, Frangais, aidez-moi!" ("Frenchwomen, Frenchmen, help me!") It was the most stirring moment of all his television appearances. French soldiers in Algeria, listening on transistor radios, were overwhelmed. The next day they held a mass demonstration in favor of de Gaulle. Two days later the generals surrendered. On July 1, 1962, de Gaulle proclaimed Algeria's independence. In 1940, after the German invasion of France, de Gaulle escaped to England to recruit an army that would eventually return to France for the liberation. At the beginning, he was alone, and his mission seemed hopeless. But he had the support of Winston Churchill, and with Churchill's blessing he gave a series of radio talks that the BBC broadcast to France. His strange, hypnotic voice, with its dramatic tremolos, would enter French living rooms in the evenings. Few of his listeners even knew what he looked like, but his tone was so confident, so stirring, that he recruited a silent army of believers. In person, de Gaulle was a strange, brooding man whose confident manner couldjust as easily irritate as win over. But over the radio that voice had intense charisma. De Gaulle was the first great master of modern media, for he easily transferred his dramatic skills to television, where his iciness, his calmness, his total self-possession, made audiences feel both comforted and inspired. The world has grown more fractured. A nation no longer conies together on the streets or in the squares; it is brought together in living rooms, where people watching television all over the country can simultaneously be alone and with others. Charisma must now be communicable over the airwaves or it has no power. But it is in some ways easier to project on television, both because television makes a direct one-on-one appeal (the Charismatic seems to address you ) and because charisma is fairly easy to fake for the few moments you spend in front of the camera. As de Gaulle understood, when appearing on television it is best to radiate calmness and control, to use dramatic effects sparingly. De Gaulle's overall iciness made doubly effective the brief moments in which he raised his voice, or let loose a biting joke. By remaining calm and underplaying it, he hypnotized his audience. (Your face can express much more if your voice is less strident.) He conveyed emotion visually-the uniform, the setting-and through the use of certain charged words:the liberation, Joan of Arc. The less he strained for effect, the more sincere he appeared. All this must be carefully orchestrated. Punctuate your calmness with surprises; rise to a climax; keep things short and terse. The only thing that cannot be faked is self-confidence, the key component to charisma since the days of Moses. Should the camera lights betray your insecurity, all the tricks in the world will not put your charisma back together again. Symbol: The Lamp. Invisible to the eye, a current flowing through a wire in a glass vessel generates a heat that turns into candescence. All we see is the glow. In the prevailing darkness, the Lamp lights the way. Dangers O n a pleasant May day in 1794, the citizens of Paris gathered in a park for the Festival of the Supreme Being. The focus of their attention was Maximilien de Robespierre, head of the Committee of Public Safety, and the man who had thought up the festival in the first place. The idea was simple; to combat atheism, "to recognize the existence of a Supreme Being and the Immortality of the Soul as the guiding forces of the universe." It was Robespierre's day of triumph. Standing before the masses in his sky-blue suit and white stockings, he initiated the festivities. The crowd adored him; after all, he had safeguarded the purposes of the French Revolution through theintensepoliticking that had followed it. The year before, he had initiated the Reign of Terror, which cleansed the revolution of its enemies by sending them to the guillotine. He had also helped guide the country through a war against the Austrians and the Prussians. What made crowds, and particularly women, love him was his incorruptible virtue (he lived very modestly), his refusal to compromise, the passion for the revolution that was evident in everything he did, and the romantic language of his speeches, which could not fail to inspire. He was a god. The day was beautiful and augured a great future for the revolution. Two months later, on July 26, Robespierre delivered a speech that he thought would ensure his place in history, for he intended to hint at the end of the Terror and a new era for France. Rumor also had it that he was to call for a last handful of people to be sent to the guillotine, a final group that threatened the safety of the revolution. Mounting the rostrum to address the country's governing convention, Robespierre wore the same clothes he had worn on the day of the festival. The speech was long, almost three hours, and included an impassioned description of the values and virtues he had helped protect. There was also talk of conspiracies, treacery, unnamed enemies. The response was enthusiastic, but a little less so than usual. The speech had tired many representatives. Then a lone voice was heard, that of a man named Bourdon, who spoke against printing Robespierre's speech, a veiled sign of disapproval. Suddenly others stood up on all sides, and accused him of vagueness: he had talked of conspiracies and threats without naming the guilty. Asked to be specific, he refused, preferring to name names later on. The next day Robespierre stood to defend his speech, and the representatives shouted him down. A few hours later, he was the one sent to the guillotine. On July 28, amid a gathering of citizens who seemed to be in an even more festive mood than at the Festival of the Supreme Being, Robespierre's head fell into the basket, to resounding cheers. The Reign of Terror was over. Many of those who seemed to admire Robespierre actually harbored a gnawing resentment of him-he was so virtuous, so superior, it was oppressive. Some of these men had plotted against him, and were waiting for the slightest sign of weakness-which appeared on that fateful day when he gave his last speech. In refusing to name his enemies, he had shown either a desire to end the bloodshed or a fear that they would strike at him before he could have them killed. Fed by the conspirators, this one spark turned into fire. Within two days, first a governing body and then a nation turned against a Charismatic who two months before had been revered. Charisma is as volatile as the emotions it stirs. Most often it stirs sentiments of love. But such feelings are hard to maintain. Psychologists talk of "erotic fatigue"-the moments after love in which you feel tired of it, resentful. Reality creeps in, love turns to hate. Erotic fatigue is a threat to all Charismatics. The Charismatic often wins love by acting the savior, rescuing people from some difficult circumstance, but once they feel secure, charisma is less seductive to them. Charismatics need danger and risk. They are not plodding bureaucrats; some of them deliberately keep danger going, as de Gaulle and Kennedy were wont to do, or as Robespierre did through the Reign of Terror. But people tire of this, and at your first sign of weakness they turn on you. The love they showed before will be matched by their hatred now. The only defense is to master your charisma. Your passion, your anger, your confidence make you charismatic, but too much charisma for too long creates fatigue, and a desire for calmness and order. The better kind of charisma is created consciously and is kept under control. When you need to you can glow with confidence and fervor, inspiring the masses. But when the adventure is over, you can settle into a routine, turning the heat,out, but down. (Robespierre may have been planning that move, but it came a day too late.) People will admire your self-control and adaptability. Their love affair with you will move closer to the habitual affection of a man and wife. You will even have the leeway to look a little boring, a little simple-a role that can also seem charismatic, if played correctly. Remember: charisma depends on success, and the best way to maintain success, after the initial charismatic rush, is to be practical and even cautious. Mao Zedong was a distant, enigmatic man who for many had an awe-inspiring charisma. He suffered many setbacks that would have spelled the end of a less clever man, but after each reversal he retreated, becoming practical, tolerant, flexible; at least for a while. This protected him from the dangers of a counterreaction. There is another alternative: to play the armed prophet. According to Machiavelli, although a prophet may acquire power through his charismatic personality, he cannot long survive without the strength to back it up. He needs an army. The masses will tire of him; they will need to be forced. Being an armed prophet may not literally involve arms, but it demands a forceful side to your character, which you can back up with action. Unfortunately this means being merciless with your enemies for as long as you retain power. And no one creates more bitter enemies than the Charismatic. Finally, there is nothing more dangerous than succeeding a Charismatic. These characters are unconventional, and their rule is personal in style, ing stamped with the wildness of their personalities. They often leave chaos in their wake. The one who follows after a Charismatic is left with a mess, which the people, however, do not see. They miss their inspirer and blame the successor. Avoid this situation at all costs. If it is unavoidable, do not try to continue what the Charismatic started; go in a new direction. By being practical, trustworthy, and plain-speaking, you can often generate a strange kind of charisma through contrast. That was how Harry Truman not only survived the legacy of Roosevelt but established his own type of charisma. Daily life is harsh, and most of us constantly seek escape from it in fantasies and dreams. Stars feed on this weakness; standing outfrom others through a distinctive and appealing style, they make us want to watch them. At the same time, they are vague and ethereal, keeping their distance, and letting us imagine more than is there. Their dreamlike quality works on our unconscious; we are not even aware how much we imitate them. Learn to become an object offascination by projecting the glittering but elusive presence of the Star. The Fetishistic Star O ne day in 1922, in Berlin, Germany, a casting call went out for the part of a voluptuous young woman in a film called Tragedy of Love. Of the hundreds of struggling young actresses who showed up, most would do anything to get the casting director's attention, including exposing themselves. There was one young woman in the line, however, who was simply dressed, and performed none of the other girls' desperate antics. Yet she stood out anyway. The girl carried a puppy on a leash, and had draped an elegant necklace around the puppy's neck. The casting director noticed her immediately. He watched her as she stood in line, calmly holding the dog in her arms and keeping to herself. When she smoked a cigarette, her gestures were slow and suggestive. He was fascinated by her legs and face, the sinuous way she moved, the hint of coldness in her eyes. By the time she had come to the front, he had already cast her. Her name was Marlene Dietrich. By 1929, when the Austrian-American director Josef von Sternberg arrived in Berlin to begin work on the film The Blue Angel, the twenty- seven-year-old Dietrich was well known in the Berlin film and theater world. The Blue Angel was to be about a woman called Lola-Lola who preys sadistically on men, and all of Berlin's best actresses wanted the part-except, apparently, Dietrich, who made it known that she thought the role demeaning; von Sternberg should choose from the other actresses he had in mind. Shortly after arriving in Berlin, however, von Sternberg attended a performance of a musical to watch a male actor he was considering for The Blue Angel The star of the musical was Dietrich, and as soon as she came onstage, von Sternberg found that he could not take his eyes off her. She stared at him directly, insolently, like a man; and then there were those legs, and the way she leaned provocatively against the wall. Von Sternberg forgot about the actor he had come to see. He had found his Lola-Lola. Von Sternberg managed to convince Dietrich to take the part, and immediately he went to work, molding her into the Lola of his imagination. He changed her hair, drew a silver line down her nose to make it seem thinner, taught her to look at the camera with the insolence he had seen onstage. When filming began, he created a lighting systemjust for her-a light that tracked her wherever she went, and was strategically heightened by gauze and smoke. Obsessed with his "creation," he followed her everywhere. No one else could go near her. The cool, brightface which didn't ask for anything, which simply existed, waiting-it was an empty face, he thought; a face that could change with any wind of expression. One could dream into it anything. It was like a beautiful empty house waiting for carpets and pictures. It had all possibilities-it could become a palace or a brothel. It depended on the one who fdled it. How limited by comparison was all that was already completed and labeled. - ERICH MARIA REMARQUE, ON MARLENE DIETRICH, ARCH OF TRIUMPH Marlene Dietrich is not an actress, like Sarah Bernhardt; she is a myth, like Phryne. -ANDRE: MALRAUX, QUOTED IN EDGAR MORIN, THE STARS. TRANSLATED BY RICHARD HOWARD When Pygmalion saw these women, living such wicked lives, he was revolted by the many faults which nature has implanted in thefemale sex, and long lived a bachelor existence, without any wife to share his home. But meanwhile, with marvelous artistry, he skillfully carved a snowy ivory statue. He made it lovelier than any woman born, and fell in love with his own creation. The statue had all the appearance of a real girl, so that it seemed to be alive, to want to move, did not modesty forbid. So cleverly did his art conceal its art. Pygmalion gazed in wonder, and in his heart there rose a passionate love for this image of a human form. Often he ran his hands over the work, feeling it to see whether it was flesh or ivory, and would not yet admit thativory was all it was. He kissed the statue, and imagined that it kissed him back, spoke to it and embraced it, and thought he felt his fingers sink into the limbs he touched, so that he was afraid lest a bruise appear where he had pressed the flesh. Sometimes he addressed it in flattering speeches, sometimes brought the kind of presents that girls enjoy. . . . He dressed the limbs of his statue in woman's robes, and put rings on its fingers, long necklaces round its neck. . . . All this finery became the image well, but it was no less lovely unadorned. Pygmalion then placed the statue on a couch that was covered with cloths of Tynan purple, laid its head to rest on soft down pillows, as if it could appreciate them, and called it his bedfellow. • The festival of Venus, which is celebrated with the greatest The Blue Angel was a huge success in Germany. Audiences were fascinated with Dietrich: that cold, brutal stare as she spread her legs over a stool, baring her underwear; her effortless way of commanding attention on screen. Others besides von Sternberg became obsessed with her. A man dying of cancer. Count Sascha Kolowrat, had one last wish: to see Marlene's legs in person. Dietrich obliged, visiting him in the hospital and lifting up her skirt; he sighed and said "Thank you. Now I can die happy." Soon Paramount Studios brought Dietrich to Hollywood, where everyone was quickly talking about her. At a party, all eyes would turn toward her when she came into the room. She would be escorted by the most handsome men in Hollywood, and would be wearing an outfit both beautiful and unusual-gold-lame pajamas, a sailor suit with a yachting cap. The next day the look would be copied by women all over town; next it would spread to magazines, and a whole new trend would start. The real object of fascination, however, was unquestionably Dietrich's face. What had enthralled von Sternberg was her blankness-with a simple lighting trick he could make that face do whatever he wanted. Dietrich eventually stopped working with von Sternberg, but never forgot what he had taught her. One night in 1951, the director Fritz Lang, who was about to direct her in the film Rancho Notorious, was driving past his office when he saw a light flash in the window. Fearing a burglary, he got out of his car, crept up the stairs, and peeked through the crack in the door: it was Diet- rich taking pictures of herself in the mirror, studying her face from every angle. Marlene Dietrich had a distance from her own self: she could study her face, her legs, her body, as if she were someone else. This gave her the ability to mold her look, transforming her appearance for effect. She could pose in just the way that would most excite a man, her blankness letting him see her according to his fantasy, whether of sadism, voluptuousness, or danger. And every man who met her, or who watched her on screen, fantasized endlessly about her. The effect worked on women as well; in the words of one writer, she projected "sex without gender." But this selfdistance gave her a certain coldness, whether on film or in person. She was like a beautiful object, something to fetishize and admire the way we admire a work of art. The fetish is an object that commands an emotional response and that makes us breathe life into it. Because it is an object we can imagine whatever we want to about it. Most people are too moody, complex, and reactive to let us see them as objects that we can fetishize. The power of the Fetishistic Star comes from an ability to become an object, and notjust any object but an object we fetishize, one that stimulates a variety of fantasies. Fetishistic Stars are perfect, like the statue of a Greek god or goddess. The effect is startling, and seductive. Its principal requirement is self-distance. If you see yourself as an object, then others will too. An ethereal, dreamlike air will heighten the effect. You are a blank screen. Float through life noncommittally and people will want to seize you and consume you. Of all the parts of your bodythat draw this fetishistic attention, the strongest is the face; so learn to tune your face like an instrument, making it radiate a fascinating vagueness for effect. And since you will have to stand out from other Stars in the sky, you will need to develop an attention-getting style. Dietrich was the great practitioner of this art; her style was chic enough to dazzle, weird enough to enthrall. Remember, your own image and presence are materials you can control. The sense that you are engaged in this kind of play will make people see you as superior and worthy of imitation. She had such natural poise . . . such an economy of gesture, that she became as absorbing as a Modigliani. She had the one essential star quality: she could be magnificent doing nothing. -BERLIN ACTRESS LILI DARVAS ON MARLENE DIETRICH The Mythic Star O n July 2, 1960, a few weeks before that year's Democratic National Convention, former President Harry Truman publicly stated that John F. Kennedy-who had won enough delegates to be chosen his party's candidate for the presidency-was too young and inexperienced for the job. Kennedy's response was startling: he called a press conference, to be televised live, and nationwide, on July 4. The conference's drama was heightened by the fact that he was away on vacation, so that no one saw or heard from him until the event itself. Then, at the appointed hour, Kennedy strode into the conference room like a sheriff entering Dodge City. He began by stating that he had run in all of the state primaries, at considerable expense of money and effort, and had beaten his opponents fairly and squarely. Who was Truman to circumvent the democratic process? "This is a young country," Kennedy went on, his voice getting louder, "founded by young men . . . and still young in heart. The world is changing, the old ways will not do, . . . It is time for a new generation of leadership to cope with new problems and new opportunities." Even Kennedy's enemies agreed that his speech that day was stirring. He turned Truman's challenge around: the issue was not his inexperience but the older generation's monopoly on power. His style was as eloquent as his words, for his performance evoked films of the time-Alan Ladd in Shane confronting the corrupt older ranchers, or James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. Kennedy even resembled Dean, particularly in his air of cool detachment. A few months later, now approved as the Democrats' presidential candidate, Kennedy squared off against his Republican opponent, Richard Nixon, in their first nationally televised debate. Nixon was sharp; he knew pomp all through Cyprus, was now in progress, andheifers, their crooked horns gildedfor the occasion, had fallen at the altar as the axe struck their snowy necks. Smoke was rising from the incense, when Pygmalion, having made his offering, stood by the altar and timidly prayed, saying: "If you gods can give all things, may I have as my wife, I pray-"henot dare to say: "the ivory maiden," but finished: "one like the golden Venus, present at her festival in person, understood what his prayers meant, and as a sign that the gods were kindly disposed, the flames burned up three times, shooting a tongue of fire into the air. When Pygmalion returned home, he made straight for the statue of the girl he loved, leaned over the couch, and kissed her. She seemed : he laid his lips on hers again, and touched her breast with his hands-at his touch the ivory lost its hardness, and grew soft. -OVID,METAMORPHOSES, TR ANS L ATEDB YM AR YM .INNES [John F.] Kennedy brought to television news and photojournalism the components most prevalent in the world of film: star quality and mythic story. his telegenic looks, skills at self presentation, heroic fantasies, and creative intelligence, Kennedy was brilliantly prepared to project a major screen persona. He appropriated the discourses of mass culture, especially of Hollywood, and transferred them to the news. By this strategy he made the news like dreams and like the movies-a realm in which images played out scenarios that accorded with the viewer's deepest yearnings. Never appearing in an actual fdm, but rather turning the television apparatus into his screen, he became the greatest movie star of the twentieth century. -JOHN HELLMANN, THE KENNEDY OBSESSION: THE MYTH OF JFK But we have seen that, considered as a total the stars repeats, in its own proportions, the history of the gods. Before the gods (before the stars) the mythical universe (the screen) was peopled with specters or phantoms with the glamour and magic of the double. • Several of these presences have progressively assumed body and substance, have taken form, amplified, and flowered into gods andgoddesses. And even as certain major gods of the ancient pantheons metamorphose themselves into hero-gods of salvation, the star-goddesses humanize and become new mediators between the fantastic world of dreams and man's daily life on earth. The heroes of the movies are, in an obviously attenuated way, mythological heroes in this of becoming divine. The star is the actor or actress who absorbs some of the heroic - i.e., divinized and mythic-substance of the hero or heroine of theenriches this substance by the answers to the questions and debated with aplomb,quotingstatisticson the accomplishments of the Eisenhower administration, in which he had served as vice-president. But beneath the glare of the cameras, on black and white television, he was a ghastly figure-his five o'clock shadow covered up with powder, streaks of sweat on his brow and cheeks, his face drooping with fatigue, his eyes shifting and blinking, his body rigid. What was he so worried about? The contrast with Kennedy was startling. If Nixon looked only at his opponent, Kennedy looked out at the audience, making eye contact with his viewers, addressing them in their living rooms as no politician had ever done before. If Nixon talked data and niggling points of debate, Kennedy spoke of freedom, of building a new society, of recapturing America's pioneer spirit. His manner was sincere and emphatic. His words were not specific, but he made his listeners imagine a wonderful future. The day after the debate, Kennedy's poll numbers soared miraculously, and wherever he went he was greeted by crowds of young girls, screaming andjumping. His beautiful wife Jackie by his side, he was a kind of democratic prince. Now his television appearances were events. He was in due course elected president, and his inaugural address, also broadcast on television, was stirring. It was a cold and wintry day. In the background, Eisenhower sat huddled in coat and scarf, looking old and beaten. But Kennedy stood hatless and coatless to address the nation: "I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it-and the glow from that fire can truly light the world." Over the months to come Kennedy gave innumerable live press conferences before the TV cameras, something no previous president had dared. Facing the firing squad of lenses and questions, he was unafraid, speaking coolly and slightly ironically. What was going on behind those eyes, that smile? People wanted to know more about him. The magazines teased its readers with information-photographs of Kennedy with his wife and children, or playing football on the White House lawn, interviews creating a sense of him as a devoted family man, yet one who mingled as an equal with glamorous stars. The images all melted together-the space race, the Peace Corps, Kennedy facing up to the Soviets during the Cuban missile crisis just as he had faced up to Truman. After Kennedy was assassinated, Jackie said in an interview that before he went to bed, he would often play the soundtracks to Broadway musicals, and his favorite of these was Camelot, with its lines, "Don't let it be forgot / that once there was a spot / For one brief shining moment / That was known as Camelot." There would be great presidents again, Jackie said, but never "another Camelot." The name "Camelot" seemed to stick, making Kennedy's thousand days in office resonate as myth. Kennedy's seduction of the American public was conscious and calculated. It was also more Hollywood than Washington, which was not surprising: Kennedy's father, Joseph, had once been a movie producer, and Kennedy himself had spent time in Hollywood, hobnobbing with actors and trying to figure out what made them stars. He was particularly fascinated with Gary Cooper, Montgomery Clift, and Cary Grant; he often called Grant for advice. Hollywood had found ways to unite the entire country around certain themes, or myths-often the great American myth of the West. The great stars embodied mythic types: John Wayne the patriarch, Clift the Promethean rebel, Jimmy Stewart the noble hero, Marilyn Monroe the siren. These were not mere mortals but gods and goddesses to be dreamed and fantasized about. All of Kennedy's actions were framed in the conventions of Hollywood. He did not argue with his opponents, he confronted them dramatically. He posed, and in visually fascinating ways-whether with his wife,withhis children, or alone onstage. He copied the facial expressions, the presence, of a Dean or a Cooper. He did not discuss policy details but waxed eloquent about grand mythic themes, the kind that could unite a divided nation. And all this was calculated for television, for Kennedy mostly existed as a televised image. That image haunted our dreams. Well before his assassination, Kennedy attracted fantasies of America's lost innocence with his call for a renaissance of the pioneer spirit, a New Frontier. Of all the character types, the Mythic Star is perhaps the most powerful of all. People are divided by all kinds of consciously recognized categories- race, gender, class, religion, politics. It is impossible, then, to gain power on a grand scale, or to win an election, by drawing on conscious awareness; an appeal to any one group will only alienate another. Unconsciously, however, there is much we share. All of us are mortal, all of us know fear, all of us have been stamped with the imprint of parent figures; and nothing conjures up this shared experience more than myth. The patterns of myth, born out of warring feelings of helplessness on the one hand and thirst for on the other, are deeply engraved in us all. Mythic Stars are figures of myth come to life. To appropriate their power, you must first study their physical presence-how they adoptadistinctive style, are cool and visually arresting. Then you must assume the pose of a mythic figure; the rebel, the wise patriarch, the adventurer. (The pose of a Star who has struck one of these mythic poses might do the trick.) these connections vague; they should never be obvious to the conscious mind. Your words and actions should invite interpretation beyond surface appearance; you should seem to be dealing not with specific, nitty-gritty issues and details but with matters of life and death, love and hate, authority and chaos. Your opponent, similarly, should be framed not merely as an enemy for reasons of ideology or competition but as a villain, a demon. People are hopelessly susceptible to myth, so make yourself the hero of a great drama. And keep your distance-let people identify with you without being able to touch you. They can only watch and dream. his or her own contribution. When we speak of the myth of the star, we mean first of all the process of divinization which the movie actor undergoes, a process that makes him the idol of crowds. -EDGAR MORIN, THE STARS, TRANSLATED BY RICHARD HOWARD Age: 22, Sex: female, Nationality: British, Profession: medical student "[Deanna Durbin] became my first and only screen idol. I wanted to be as much like her as possible,both in my manners andclothes. Whenever I was to get a new dress, I would find from my collection a particularly nice picture of Deanna and ask for a dress she was wearing. I did my hair as much like hers as 1 could manage. If I found myself in any annoying or aggravating situation . . . I found myself wondering what Deanna would do and modified my own reactions accordingly. ..." • Age: 26, Sex: female, Nationality: British "I only fell in once with a movie actor. It was Conrad Veidt. His magnetism and his personality got me. His voice and gestures fascinated me. I hated him, feared him, loved him. When he died it seemed to me that a vital part of my died too, and my world of dreams was bare. " -J. P. MAYER, BRITISH CINEMAS AND THEIR AUDIENCES The savage worships idols of wood and stone; the civilized man, idols of flesh and blood. -GEORGE BERNARD SHAW When the eye's rays some clear, well- polished object-be it burnished steel or glass or water, a brilliant stone, or other polished and gleaming substance having luster, glitter, and sparkle . . . those rays of the eye are reflected back, and the observer then beholds himself and obtains an ocular vision of his own person. This is what you see when you look into a mirror; in that situation you are as it were looking at yourself through the eyes of another. HAZM, THE RING OF THE DOVE:A TREATISE ON THE ART AND PRACTICE OF ARAB, ARBERRY The only important constellation of collective seduction produced by modern times [is] that of film stars or cinema idols. . . . They were our only myth in an age incapable of generating great myths or figures of seduction comparable to those of mythology or art. • The cinema's power lives in its myth. Its stones, its psychological portraits, its imagination or realism, the meaningful impressions it leaves-these are all secondary. Only the myth is powerful, and at the heart of the cinematographic myth lies seduction-that of the renowned seductive figure, a man or woman (but Jack's life had more to do with myth, magic, legend, saga, and story than with political theory or political science. -JACQUELINE KENNEDY, A WEEK AFTER JOHN KENNEDY'S DEATH Keys to the Character Seduction is a form of persuasion that seeks to bypass consciousness, stirring the unconscious mind instead. The reason for this is simple: we are so surrounded by stimuli that compete for our attention, bombarding us with obvious messages, and by people who are overtly political and manipulative, that we are rarely charmed or deceived by them. We have grown increasingly cynical. Try to persuade a person by appealing to their consciousness, by saying outright what you want, by showing all your cards, and what hope do you have? You are just one more irritation to be tuned out. To avoid this fate you must learn the art of insinuation, of reaching the unconscious. The most eloquent expression of the unconscious is the dream, which is intricately connected to myth; waking from a dream, we are often haunted by its images and ambiguous messages. Dreams obsess us because they mix the real and the unreal. They are filled with real characters, and often deal with real situations, yet they are delightfully irrational, pushing realities to the extremes of delirium. If everything in a dream were realistic, it would have no power over us; if everything were unreal, we would feel less involved in its pleasures and fears. Its fusion of the two is what makes it haunting. This is what Freud called the "uncanny": something that seems simultaneously strange and familiar. We sometimes experience the uncanny in waking life-in a deja vu, a miraculous coincidence, a weird event that recalls a childhood experience. People can have a similar effect. The gestures, the words, the very being of men like Kennedy or Andy Warhol, for example, evoke both the real and the unreal: we may not realize it (and how could we, really), but they are like dream figures to us. They have qualities that anchor them in reality- sincerity, playfulness, sensuality-but at the same time their aloofness, their superiority, their almost surreal quality makes them seem like something out of a movie. These types have a haunting, obsessive effect on people. Whether in public or in private, they seduce us, making us want to possess them both physically and psychologically. But how can we possess a person from a dream, or a movie star or political star, or even one of those real-life fascinators, like a Warhol, who may cross our path? Unable to have them, we become obsessed with them-they haunt our thoughts, our dreams, our fantasies. We imitate them unconsciously. The psychologist Sandor Fer- enczi calls this "introjection": another person becomes part of our ego, we internalize their character. That is the insidious seductive power of a Star, a power you can appropriate by making yourself into a cipher, a mix of the real and the unreal. Most people are hopelessly banal; that is, far too real. What you need to do is etherealize yourself. Your words and actions seem to come from your unconscious-have a certain looseness to them. You hold yourself back, occasionally revealing a trait that makes people wonder whether they really know you. The Star is a creation of modern cinema. That is no surprise: film recreates the dream world. We watch a movie in the dark, in a semisomno- lent state. The images are real enough, and to varying degrees depict realistic situations, but they are projections, flickering lights, images-we know they are not real. It as if we were watching someone else's dream. It was the cinema, not the theater, that created the Star. On a theater stage, actors are far away, lost in the crowd, too real in their bodily presence. What enabled film to manufacture the Star was the close-up, which suddenly separates actors from their contexts, filling your mind with their image. The close-up seems to reveal something not so much about the character they are playing but about themselves. We glimpse something of Greta Garbo herself when we look so closely into her face. Never forget this while fashioning yourself as a Star. First, you must have such a large presence that you can fill your target's mind the way a close-up fills the screen. You must have a style or presence that makes you stand out from everyone else. Be vague and dreamlike, yet not distant or absent-you don't want people to be unable to focus on or remember you. They have to be seeing you in their minds when you're not there. Second, cultivate a blank, mysterious face, the center that radiates Starness. This allows people to read into you whatever they want to, imagining they can see yourcharacter, even your soul. Instead of signaling moods and emotions, instead of emoting or overemoting, the Star draws in interpretations. That is the obsessive power in the face of Garbo or Dietrich, or even of Kennedy, who molded his expressions on James Dean's. A living thing is dynamic and changing while an object or image is passive, but in its passivity it stimulates our fantasies. A person can gain that power by becoming a kind of object. The great eighteenth-century charlatan Count Saint-Germain was in many ways a precursor of the Star. He would suddenly appear in town, no one knew from where; he spoke many languages, but his accent belonged to no single country. Nor was it clear how old he was-not young, clearly, but his face had a healthy glow. The count only went out at night. He always wore black, and also spectacular jewels. Arriving at the court of Louis XV, he was an instant sensation; he reeked wealth, but no one knew its source. He made the king and Madame de Pompadour believe he had fantastic powers, including even the ability to turn base matter into gold (the gift of the Philosopher's Stone), but he never made any great claims for himself; it was all insinuation. He never said yes or no, only perhaps. He would sit down for dinner but was never seen eating. He once gave Madame de Pompadour a gift of candies in a box that changed color and aspect depending on how she held it; this entrancing object, she said, reminded her of the count himself. Saint- Germain painted the strangest paintings anyone had ever seen-the colors above all a woman) linked to the ravishing but specious power of the cinematographic image itself. The star is by no means an ideal or sublime being: she is artificial. .Her presence serves to submerge all sensibility and expression beneath a ritual fascination with the void, beneath ecstasy of her gaze and the nullity of her smile. This is how she achieves mythical status and becomes subject to collective rites of sacrificial adulation. • The ascension of the cinema idols, the masses' divinities, was and remains a central story of modern times. There is no point in dismissing it as merely the dreams of mystified masses. It is a seductive occurrence. ..." To be sure, seduction in the age of the masses is no longer like that of. . . Les Liaisons Dangereuses or The Seducer's Diary, nor for that matter, like that found in ancient mythology, which undoubtedly contains the stories richest in seduction. In these seduction is hot, while that of our modern idols is cold, being at the intersection of two cold mediums, that of the image and that of the masses. The great stars or seductresses neverdazzle because of their talent or intelligence, but because of their absence. They are dazzling in their nullity, and in their coldness-the coldness of makeup and ritual hieraticism. These great seductive effigies are our masks, our Eastern Island statues. -BAUDRILLARD, SEDUCTION. TRANSLATED BY BRIAN SINGER If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and fdms and me, and there I am. There's nothing behind it. -ANDY WARHOL, QUOTED IN STEPHEN KOCH, STARGAZER: THE UFE. WORLD et FILMS OF ANDY WARHOL were so vibrant that when he paintedjewels, people thought they were real. Painters were desperate to know his secrets but he never revealed them. He would leave town as he had entered, suddenly and quietly. His greatest admirer was Casanova, who met him and never forgot him. When he died, no one believed it; years, decades, a century later, people were certain he was hiding somewhere. A person with powers like his never dies. The count had all the Star qualities. Everything about him was ambiguous and open to interpretation. Colorful and vibrant, he stood out from the crowd. People thought he was immortal, just as a star seems neither to age nor to disappear. His words were like his presence-fascinating, diverse, strange, their meaning unclear. Such is thepower you can command by transforming yourself into a glittering object. Andy Warhol too obsessed everyone who knew him. He had a distinctive style-those silver wigs-and his face was blank and mysterious. People never knew what he was thinking; like his paintings, he was pure surface. In the quality of their presence Warhol and Saint-Germain recall the great trompe l'oeil paintings of the seventeenth century, or the prints of M. C. Escher-fascinating mixtures of realism and impossibility, which make people wonder if they are real or imaginary. A Star must stand out, and this may involve a certain dramatic flair, of the kind that Dietrich revealed in her appearances at parties. Sometimes, though, a more haunting, dreamlike effect can be created by subtle touches: the way you smoke a cigarette, a vocal inflection, a way of walking. It isoften the little things that get under people's skin, and make them imitate you-the lock of hair over Veronica Lake's right eye, Cary Grant's voice, Kennedy's ironic smile. Although these nuances may barely register to the conscious mind, subliminally they can be as attractive as an object with a striking shape or odd color. Unconsciously we are strangely drawn to things that have no meaning beyond their fascinating appearance. Stars make us want to know more about them. You must learn to stirpeople's curiosity by letting them glimpse something in your private life, something that seems to reveal an element of your personality. Let them fantasize and imagine. A trait that often triggers this reaction is a hint of spirituality, which can be devilishly seductive, like James Dean's interest in Eastern philosophy and the occult. Hints of goodness and big-heartedness can have a similar effect. Stars are like the gods on Mount Olympus, who live for love and play. The things you love-people, hobbies, animals- reveal the kind of moral beauty that people like to see in a Star. Exploit this desire by showing people peeks of your private life, the causes you fight for, the person you are in love with (for the moment). Another way Stars seduce is by making us identify with them, giving us a vicarious thrill. This was what Kennedy did in his press conference about Truman: in positioning himself as a young man wronged by an older man, evoking an archetypal generational conflict, he made young people identify with him. (The popularity in Hollywood movies of the figure of the disaffected, wronged adolescent helped him here.) The key is to represent a type, as Jimmy Stewart represented the quintessential middle-American, Cary Grant the smooth aristocrat. People of your type will gravitate to you, identify with you, share your joy or pain.The attraction must be unconscious, conveyed not in your words but in your pose, your attitude. Now more than ever, people are insecure, and their identities are in flux. Help them fix on a role to play in life and they will flock to identify with you. Simply make your type dramatic, noticeable, and easy to imitate. The power you have in influencing people's sense of self in this manner is insidious and profound. Remember: everyone is a public performer. People never know exactly what you think or feel; they judge you on your appearance. You are an actor. And the most effective actors have an inner distance: like Dietrich, they can mold their physical presence as if they perceived it from the outside. This inner distance fascinates us. Stars are playful about themselves, always adjusting their image, adapting it to the times. Nothing is more laughable than an image that was fashionable ten years ago but isn't any more. Stars must always renew their luster or face the worst possible fate: oblivion. Symbol: The Idol. A piece of stone can'ed into the shape of a god, perhaps glittering with gold and jewels. The eyes of the worshippers fill the stone with life, imagining it to have real powers. Its shape allows them to see what they want to see-a god-but it is actually just a piece of stone. The god lives in their imaginations. Dangers Starscreateillusions that are pleasurable to see. The danger is that people tire of them-the illusion no longer fascinates-and turn to another Star. Let this happen and you will find it very difficult to regain your place in the galaxy. You must keep all eyes on you at any cost. Do not worry about notoriety, or about slurs on your image; we are remarkably forgiving of our Stars. After the death of President Kennedy, all kinds of unpleasant truths came to light about him-the endless affairs, the addiction to risk and danger. None of this diminished his appeal, and in fact the public still considers him one of America's greatest presidents. Errol Flynn faced many scandals, including a notorious rape case; they only enhanced his rakish image. Once people have recognized a Star, any kind of publicity, even bad, simply feeds the obsession. Of course you can go too far: people like a Star to have a transcendent beauty, and too much human frailty will eventually disillusion them. But bad publicity is less of a danger than disappearing for too long, or growing too distant. You cannot haunt people's dreams if they never see you. At the same time, you cannot let the public get too familiar with you, or let your image become predictable. People will turn against you in an instant if you begin to bore them, for boredom is the ultimate social evil. Perhaps thegreatest danger Stars face is the endless attention they elicit. Obsessive attention can become disconcerting and worse. As any attractive woman can attest, it is tiring to be gazed at all the time, and the effect can be destructive, as is shown by the story of Marilyn Monroe. The solution is to develop the kind of distance from yourself that Dietrich had-take the attention and idolatry with a grain of salt, and maintain a certain detachment from them. Approach your own image playfully. Most important, never become obsessed with the obsessive quality of people's interest in you. in the anti-O jeducer Seducers draw you in by the focused, individualized attention they pay to you. Anti-Seducers are the opposite: insecure, self-absorbed, and unable to grasp the psychology of another person, they literally repel. Anti- Seducers have no self-awareness, and never realize when they are pestering, imposing, talking too much. They lack the subtlety to create the promise of pleasure that seduction requires. Root out anti-seductive qualities in yourself, and recognize them in others-there is no pleasure or profit dealing with the Anti-Seducer. Typology of the Anti-Seducers Anti-Seducers come in many shapes and kinds, but almost all of them share a single attribute, the source of their repellence: insecurity. We are all insecure, and we suffer for it. Yetwe are able to surmount these feelings at times; a seductive engagement can bring us out of our usual selfabsorption, and to the degree that we seduce or are seduced, we feel charged and confident. Anti-Seducers, however, are insecure to such a degree that they cannot be drawn into the seductive process. Their needs, their anxieties, their self-consciousness close them off. They interpret the slightest ambiguity on your part as a slight to their ego; they see the merest hint of withdrawal as a betrayal, and are likely to complain bitterly about it. It seems easy: Anti-Seducers repel, so be repelled-avoid them. Unfortunately, however, many Anti-Seducers cannot be detected as such at first glance. They are more subtle, and unless you are careful they will ensnare you in a most unsatisfying relationship. You must look for clues to their self-involvement and insecurity: perhaps they are ungenerous, or they argue with unusual tenacity, or are excessively judgmental. Perhaps they lavish you with undeserved praise, declaring their love before knowing anything about you. Or, most important, they pay no attention to details. Since they cannot see what makes you different, they cannot surprise you with nu- anced attention. It is critical to recognize anti-seductive qualities not only in others but also in ourselves. Almost all of us have one or two of the Anti-Seducer's qualities latent in our character, and to the extent that we can consciously root them out, we become more seductive. A lack of generosity, for instance, need not signal an Anti-Seducer if it is a person's only fault, but an ungenerous person is seldom truly attractive. Seduction implies opening yourself up, even if only for the purposes of deception; being unable to give by spending money usually means being unable to give in general. Stamp ungenerosity out. It is an impediment to power and a gross sin in seduction. It is best to disengage from Anti-Seducers early on, before they sink their needy tentacles into you, so learn to read the signs. These are the main types. Count Lodovico then remarked with a smile: "I promise you that our sensible courtier will never act so stupidly to gain a woman's favor." • Cesare Gonzaga replied: "Nor so stupidly as a gentleman I remember, of some repute, whom to spare men's blushes I don't wish to mention by name. " • "Well, at least tell us what he did," said the Duchess. • Then Cesare continued: "He was loved by a very great lady, and at her request he came secretly to the town where she was. After he had seen her and enjoyed her company for as long as she would let him in the time, he sighed and wept bitterly, to show the anguish he was suffering at having to leave her, and hebegged her never to forget him; and then he added that she should pay for his lodging at the inn, since it was she who had sent for him and he thought it only right, therefore, that he shouldn't be involved in any expense over the journey." • At this, all the ladies began to laugh and to say that the man concerned hardly deserved the name of gentleman; and many of the men felt as ashamed as he should have been, had he ever had the sense to recognize such disgraceful behavior for what it was. -BALDASSARE CAST1GL10NE, THE BOOK OF THE COURTIER. The Brute. If seduction is a kind of ceremony or ritual, part of the pleasure is its duration-the time it takes, the waiting that increases anticipation. Brutes have no patience for such things; they are concerned only with their own pleasure, never with yours. To be patient is to show that you are thinking of the other person, which never fails to impress. Impatience has the opposite effect: assuming you are so interested in them you have no reason to wait, Brutes offend you with their egotism. Underneath that egotism, too, there is often a gnawing sense of inferiority, and if you spurn them or make them wait, they overreact. If you suspect you are dealing with a Brute, do a test-make that person wait. His or her response will tell you everything you need to know. Let us see now how love is diminished. This happens through the easy accessibility of its consolations, through one's being able to see and converse lengthily with a lover, through a lover's unsuitable garb and gait, and by the sudden onset of poverty. Another cause of diminution of love is the realization of the notoriety of one's lover, and accounts of his miserliness, bad character, and general wickedness; also any affair with another woman, even if it involves no feelings of love. Love is also diminished if a woman realizes that her lover is foolish and undisceming, or if she sees him going too far in demands of love, giving no thought to his partner's modesty nor wishing to pardon her blushes. A faithful lover ought to choose the harshest pains of love rather than by his demands cause his partner embarrassment, or take pleasure in spurning her modesty; for one who thinks only of the outcome of his own pleasure, and ignores the welfare of his partner, should be called a traitor rather than a lover. • Love also suffers decrease if the woman realizes that her lover is fearful in war, The Suffocator. Suffocators fall in love with you before you are even half- aware of their existence. The trait is deceptive-you might think they have found you overwhelming-but the fact is they suffer from an inner void, a deep well of need that cannot be filled. Never get involved with Suffocators; they are almost impossible to free yourself from without trauma. They cling to you until you are forced to pull back, whereupon they smother you with guilt. We tend to idealize a loved one, but love takes time to develop. Recognize Suffocators by how quickly they adore you. To be so admired may give a momentary boost to your ego, but deep inside you sense that their intense emotions are not related to anything you have done. Tmst these instincts. A subvariant of the Suffocator is the Doormat, a person who slavishly imitates you. Spot these types early on by seeing whether they are capable of having an idea of their own. An inability to disagree with you is a bad sign. The Moralizer. Seduction is a game, and should be undertaken with a light heart. All is fair in love and seduction; morality never enters the picture. The character of the Moralizer, however, is rigid. These are people who follow fixed ideas and try to make you bend to their standards. They want to change you, to make you a better person, so they endlessly criticize and judge-that is their pleasure in life. In truth, their moral ideas stem from their own unhappiness, and mask their desire to dominate those around them. Their inability to adapt and to enjoy makes them easy to recognize; their mental rigidity mayalso be accompanied by a physical stiffness. It is hard not to take their criticisms personally so it is better to avoid their presence and their poisoned comments. The Tightwad. Cheapness signals more than a problem with money. It is a sign of something constricted in a person's character-something that keeps them from letting go or taking a risk. It is the most anti-seductive trait of all, and you cannot allow yourself to give in to it. Most tightwads do not realize they have a problem; they actually imagine that when they give someone some paltry crumb, they are being generous. Take a hard look at yourself-you are probably cheaper than you think. Try giving more freely of both your money and yourself and you will see the seductive potential in selective generosity. Of course you must keep your generosity under control. Giving too much can be a sign of desperation, as if you were trying to buy someone. The Bumbler. Bumblers are self-conscious, and their self-consciousness heightens your own. At first you may think they are thinking about you, and so much so that it makes them awkward. In fact they are only thinking of themselves-worrying about how they look, or about the consequences for them of their attempt to seduce you. Their worry is usually contagious: soon you are worrying too, about yourself. Bumblers rarely reach the final stages of a seduction, but if they get that far, they bungle that too. In seduction, the key weapon is boldness, refusing the target the time to stop and think. Bumblers have no sense of timing. You might find it amusing to try to train or educate them, but if they are still Bumblers past a certain age, the case is probably hopeless-they are incapable of getting outside themselves. or sees that he has no patience, or is stained with the vice of pride. There is nothing which appears more appropriate to the character of any lover than to be clad in the adornment of humility, utterly untouched by the nakedness of pride. • Then too the prolixity of a fool or a madman often diminishes love. There arc many keen to prolong their crazy words in the presence of a woman, thinking that they please her if they employ foolish, ill-judged language, but infact they are strangely deceived. Indeed, he who thinks that his foolish behavior pleases a wise woman suffers from the greatest poverty of sense. -ANDREAS CAPELLANUS,"HOW LOVE IS DIMINISHED," The Windbag. The most effective seductions are driven by looks, indirect actions, physical lures. Words have a place, but too much talk will generally break the spell, heightening surface differences and weighing things down. People who talk a lot most often talk about themselves. They have never acquired that inner voice that wonders. Am I boring you? To be a Windbag is to have a deep-rooted selfishness. Never interrupt or argue with these types-that only fuels their windbaggery. At all costs leam to control your own tongue. The Reactor. Reactors are far too sensitive, not to you but to their own egos. They comb your every word and action for signs of a slight to their vanity. If you strategically back off, as you sometimes must in seduction, they will brood and lash out at you. They are prone to whining and complaining, two very anti-seductive traits. Test them by telling a gentlejoke or story at their expense: we should all be able to laugh at ourselves a little, but the Reactor cannot. You can read the resentment in their eyes. Erase any reactive qualities in your own character-they unconsciously repel people. The Vulgarian. Vulgarians are inattentive to the details that are so important in seduction. You can see this in their personal appearance-their Real men \ Shouldn't primp their good looks. . . . \ Keep pleasantly clean, take exercise, work up an outdoor \ Tan; make quite sure that your toga fits \ And doesn't show spots; don't lace your shoes too tightly \ Or ignore any rusty buckles, or slop \ Around in too large a fitting. Don't let some incompetent barber \ Ruin your looks: both hair andbeard demand \ Expert attention. Keep your nails pared, and dirt-free; \ Don't let those long hairs sprout \ In your nostrils, make sure your breath is never offensive, \ Avoid the rank male stench \ That wrinkles noses. ... \ I was about to warn you [women] against rank goatish armpits \ And bristling hair on your legs, \ But I'm not instructing hillbilly girls from the Caucasus, \ Or Mysian river-hoydens-so what need \ To remind you not to let your teeth get all discolored \ Through neglect, or forget to wash \ Your hands every morning? You know how to brighten your complexion \ With powder, add rouge to a bloodless face, \ Skillfully block in the crude outline of an eyebrow, \ Stick a patch on one flawless cheek. \ You don't shrink from lining your eyes with dark mascara \ Or a touch of Cilician saffron. . . . \ But don't let your lover find all those jars and bottles \ On your dressing- table: the best \ Makeup remains unobtrusive. A face so thickly plastered \ With pancake it runs down your sweaty neck \ Is bound to create repulsion. And that goo from unwashed fleeces - \ Athenian maybe, but my dear, the smell !- \ That's used for face-cream: avoid it. When you have company \ Don't dab stuff on your pimples, don't start cleaning your teeth: \ The result may be attractive, but the process is sickening. . . . - OVID, THE ART OF LOVE. clothes are tasteless by any standard-and in their actions: they do not know that it is sometimes better to control oneself and refuse to give in to one's impulses. Vulgarians will blab, saying anything in public. They have no sense of timing and are rarely in harmony with your tastes. Indiscretion is a sure sign of the Vulgarian (talking to others of your affair, for example); it may seem impulsive, but its real source is their radical selfishness, their inability to see themselves as others see them. More than just avoiding Vulgarians, you must make yourself their opposite-tact, style, and attention to detail are all basic requirements of a seducer. Examples of the Anti-Seducer 1. Claudius, the step-grandson of the great Roman emperor Augustus, was considered something of an imbecile as a young man, and was treated badly by almost everyone in his family. His nephew Caligula, who became emperor in A.D. 37, made it a sport to torture him, making him run around the palace at top speed as penance for his stupidity, having soiled sandals tied to his hands at supper, and so on. As Claudius grew older, he seemed to become even more slow-witted, and while all of his relatives lived under the constant threat of assassination, he was left alone. So it came as a great surprise to everyone, including Claudius himself, that when, in AD. 41, a cabal of soldiers assassinated Caligula, they also proclaimed Claudius emperor. Having no desire to rule, he delegated most of the governing to confidantes (a group of freed slaves) and spent his time doing what he loved best: eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring. Claudius's wife, Valeria Messalina, was one of the most beautiful women in Rome. Although he seemed fond of her, Claudius paid her no attention, and she started to have affairs. At first she was discreet, but over the years, provoked by her husband's neglect, she became more and more debauched. She had a room built for her in the palace where she entertained scores of men, doing her best to imitate the most notorious prostitute in Rome, whose name was written on the door. Any man who refused her advances was put to death. Almost everyone in Rome knew about these frolics, but Claudius said nothing; he seemed oblivious. So great was Messalina's passion for her favorite lover, Gaius Silius, that she decided to marry him, although both of them were married already. While Claudius was away, they held a wedding ceremony, authorized by a marriage contract that Claudius himself had been tricked into signing. After the ceremony, Gaius moved into the palace. Now the shock and disgust of the whole city finally forced Claudius into action, and he ordered theexecution of Gaius and of Messalina's other lovers-but not of Messalina herself. Nevertheless, a gang of soldiers, inflamed by the scandal, hunted her down and stabbed her to death. When this was reported to the emperor, he merely ordered more wine and continued his meal. Several nights later, to the amazement of his slaves, he asked why the empress was not joining him for dinner. Nothing is more infuriating than being paid no attention. In the process of seduction, you may have to pull back at times, subjecting your target to moments of doubt. But prolonged inattention will not only break the seductive spell, it can create hatred. Claudius was an extreme of this behavior. His insensitivity was created by necessity: in acting like an imbecile, he hid his ambition and protected himself among dangerous competitors. But the insensitivity became second nature. Claudius grew slovenly, and no longer noticed what was going on around him. His inattentiveness had a profound effect on his wife: How, she wondered, can a man, especially a physically unappealing man like Claudius, not notice me, or care about my affairs with other men? But nothing she did seemed to matter to him. Claudius marks the extreme, but the spectrum of inattention is wide. A lot of people pay too little attention to the details, the signals another person gives. Their senses are dulled by work, by hardship, by self-absorption. We often see this turning off the seductive charge between two people, notably between couples who have been together for years. Carried further, it will stir angry, bitter feelings. Often, the one who has been cheated on by a partner started the dynamic by patterns of inattention. 2. In 1639, a French army besieged and took possession of the Italian city of Turin. Two French officers, the Chevalier (later Count) de Grammont and his friend Matta, decided to turn their attention to the city's beautiful women. The wives of some of Turin's most illustrious men were more than susceptible-their husbands were busy, and kept mistresses of their own. The wives' only requirement was that the suitor play by the mles of gallantry. The chevalier and Matta were quick to find partners, the chevalier choosing the beautiful Mademoiselle de Saint-Germain, who was soon to be betrothed, and Matta offering his services to an older and more experienced woman, Madame de Senantes. The chevalier took to wearing green, Matta blue, these being their ladies' favorite colors. On the second day of their courtships the couples visited a palace outside the city. The chevalier was all charm, making Mademoiselle de Saint-Germain laugh uproariously at his witticisms, but Matta did not fare so well; he had no patience for this gallantry business, and when he and Madame de Senantes took a stroll, he squeezed her hand and boldly declared his affections. The lady of course was aghast, and when they got back to Turin she left without looking at him. Unaware that he had offended her, Matta imagined that she was overcome with emotion, and felt rather pleased with himself. But the Chevalier de Grammont, wondering why the pair had parted, visited Madame de Senantes and asked her how it went. She told him the truth-Matta had dispensed with the formalities and was ready to bed her. The chevalier But if, like the winter cat upon the hearth, the lover clings when he is dismissed, and cannot bear to go, certain means must be taken to make him understand; and these should be progressively ruder and ruder, until they touch him to the quick of his flesh. • She should refuse him the bed, and jeer at him, and make him angry; she should stir up her mother's enmity against him; she should treat him with an obvious lack of candor, and spread herself in long considerations about his ruin; his departure should be openly anticipated, his tastes and desires should be thwarted, his poverty outraged; she should let him see that she is in sympathy with another man, she should blame him with harsh words on every occasion; she should tell lies about him to her parasites, she should interrupt his sentences, and send him on frequent errands away from the house. She should seek occasions of quarrel, and make him the victim of a thousand domestic perfidies; she should rack her brains to vex him; she should play with the glances of another in his presence, and give herself up to reprehensible profligacy before his face; she should leave the house as often as possible, and let it be seen that she has no real need to do so. All these means are good for showing a man the door. -EASTERN LOVE, VOLUME II: THE HARLOT'S BREVIARY OF KSHEMENDRA, MATHERS Just as ladies do love men which be valiant and bold under arms, so likewise do they love such as be of like sort in love; and the man which is cowardly and over and above respectful toward them, will never win their good favor. Not that they would have them so overweening, bold, and presumptuous, as that they should by main force lay them on the floor; but rather they desire in them a certain hardy modesty, or perhaps better a certain modest hardihood. For while themselves are not exactly wantons, and will neither solicit a man nor yet actually offer their favors, yet do they know well how to rouse the appetites and passions, and prettily alluretothe skirmish in such wise that he which doth not take occasion by theforelock and join encounter, and that without the least awe of rank and greatness, without a scruple of conscience or a fear or any sort of hesitation, he verily is a fool and a spiritless poltroon, and one which doth merit to be forever abandoned of kind fortune. • I have heard of two honorable gentlemen and comrades, for the which two very honorable ladies, and of by no means humble quality, made tryst one day at Paris to go walking in a garden. Being come thither, each lady did separate apart onefrom the other, each alone with her own cavalier, each in a several alley of the garden, that was so close covered in with a fair trellis of boughs as that daylight could really scarce penetrate there at all, and the coolness of the place was very grateful. laughed and thought to himself how differently he would manage affairs if he were the one wooing the lovely Madame. Over the next few days Matta continued to misread the signs. He did not pay a visit to Madame de Senantes's husband, as custom required. He did not wear her colors. When the two went riding together, he went chasing after hares, as if they were the more interesting prey, and when he took snuff he failed to offer her some. Meanwhile he continued to make hisoverforward advances.FinallyMadamehadhadenough,andcomplainedtohim directly. Matta apologized; he had not realized his errors. Moved by his apology, the lady was more than ready to resume the courtship-but a few days later, after a few trifling stabs at wooing, Matta once again assumed that she was ready for bed. To his dismay, she refused him as before. "I do not think that [women] can be mightily offended," Matta told the chevalier, "if one sometimes leaves off trifling, to come to the point." But Madame de Senantes would have nothing more to do with him, and the Chevalier de Grammont, seeing an opportunity he could not pass by, took advantage of her displeasure by secretly courting her properly, and eventually winning the favors that Matta had tried to force. There is nothing more anti-seductive than feeling that someone has assumed that you are theirs, that you cannot possibly resist them. The slightest appearance of this kind of conceit is deadly to seduction; you must prove yourself, take your time, win your target's heart. Perhaps you fear that he or she will be offended by a slower pace, or will lose interest. It is more likely, however, that your fear reflects your own insecurity, and insecurity is always anti-seductive. In truth, the longer you take, the more you show the depth of your interest, and the deeper the spell you create. In a world of few formalities and ceremony, seduction is one of the few remnants from the past that retains the ancient patterns. It is a ritual, and its rites must be observed. Haste reveals not the depth of your feelings but the degree of your self-absorption. It may be possible sometimes to hurry someone into love, but you will only be repaid by the lack of pleasure this kind of love affords. If you are naturally impetuous, do what you can to disguise it. Strangely enough, the effort you spend on holding yourself back may be read by your target as deeply seductive. 3. In Paris in the 1730s lived a young man named Meilcotp\ who was just of an age to have his first affair. His mother's friend Madame de Lursay, a widow of around forty, was beautiful and charming, but had a reputation for being untouchable; as a boy, Meilcour had been infatuated with her, but never expected his love would be returned. So it was with great surprise and excitement that he realized that now that he was old enough, Madame de Lursay's tender looks seemed to indicate a more than motherly interest in him. The Anti-Seducer • 139 For two months Meilcour trembled in de Lursay's presence. He was afraid of her, and did not know what to do. One evening they were discussing a recent play. How well one character had declared his love to a woman, Madame remarked. Noting Meilcour's obvious discomfort, she went on, "If I am not mistaken, a declaration can only seem such an embarrassing matter because you yourself have one to make." Madame de Lursay knew full well that she was the source of the young man's awkwardness, but she was a tease; you must tell me, she said, with whom you are in love. Finally Meilcour confessed: it was indeed Madame whom he desired. His mother's friend advised him to not think of her that way, but she also sighed, and gave him a long and languid look. Her words said one thing, her eyes another-perhaps she was not as untouchable as he had thought. As the evening ended, though, Madame de Lursay said she doubted his feelings would last, and she left young Meilcour troubled that she had said nothing about reciprocating his love. Over the next few days, Meilcour repeatedly asked de Lursay to declare her love for him, and she repeatedly refused. Eventually the young man decided his cause was hopeless, and gave up; but a few nights later, at a soiree at her house, her dress seemed more enticing than usual, and her looks at him stirred his blood. He returned them, and followed her around, while she took care to keep a bit of distance, lest others sense what was happening. Yet she also managed to arrange that he could stay without arousing suspicion when the other visitors left. When they were finally alone, she made him sit beside her on the sofa. He could barely speak; the silence was uncomfortable. To get him talking she raised the same old subject; his youth would make his love for her a passing fancy. Instead of denying it he looked dejected, and continued to keep a polite distance, so that she finally exclaimed, with obvious bony, "If it were known that you were here with my consent, that I had voluntarily arranged it with you . . . what might not people say? And yet how wrong they would be, for no one could be more respectful than you are." Goaded into action, Meilcour grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye. She blushed and told him he should go, but the way she arranged herself on the sofa and looked back at him suggested he should do the opposite. Yet Meilcour still hesitated: she had told him to go, and if he disobeyed she might cause a scene, and might never forgive him; he would have made a fool of himself, and everyone, including his mother, would hear of it. He soon got up, apologizing for his momentary boldness. Her astonished and somewhat cold look meant he had indeed gone too far, he imagined, and he said goodbye and left. Meilcour and Madame de Lursay appear in the novel The Wayward Head and Heart, written in 1738 by Crebillon fils, who based his characters on libertines he knew in the France of the time. For Crebillon fils, seduction is all about signs-about being able to send them and read them. This is not Now one of the twain was a bold man, and well knowing how the party had been madefor something else than merely to walk and take the air, and judging by his lady's face, which he saw to be all a-fire, that she had longings to taste other fare than the muscatels that hung on the trellis, as also by her hot, wanton, and wild speech, he did promptly seize on so fair an opportunity. So catching hold of her without the least ceremony, he did lay her on a little couch that was there made of turf and clods of earth, and did very pleasantly work his will of her, without her ever uttering a word but only: "Heavens! Sir, what are you at? Surely you be the maddest and strangest fellow ever was! If anyone comes, whatever will they say? Great heavens! get out!" But the gentleman, without disturbing himself, did so well continue what he had begun that he did finish, and she to boot, with such content as that after taking three or four turns up and down the alley, they did presently start afresh. Anon, coming forth into another, open, alley, they did see in another part of the garden the other pair, who were walking about together just as they had left them at first. Whereupon the lady,wellcontent,didsay to the gentleman in the like condition, "I verily believe so and so hath played the silly prude, and hath given his lady no other entertainment but only words, fine speeches, and promenading." • Afterward when allfour were come together, the two ladies did fall to asking one another 140 how it had fared with each. Then the one which was well content did reply she was exceeding well, indeed she was; indeedfor the nonce she could scarce be better. The other, which was ill content, did declare for her part she had had to with the biggestfool and most coward lover she had ever seen; and all the time the two gentlemen could see them laughing together as they walked and crying out: "Oh! the silly fool! the shamefaced poltroon and coward!" At this the successful gallant said to his companion: "Hark to our ladies, which do cry out at you, and mock you sore. You will find you have overplayed the prude and coxcomb this bout." So much he did allow; but there was no more time to remedy his error, for opportunity gave him no other handle to seize her by. -SEIGNEUR DE BRANTOME, LIVES OF FAIR et GALLANT LADIES. because sexuality is repressed and requires speaking in code. It is rather because wordless communication (through clothes, gestures, actions) is the most pleasurable, exciting, and seductive form of language. In Crebillon fils's novel, Madame de Lursay is an ingenious seductress who finds it exciting to initiate young men. But even she cannot overcome the youthful stupidity of Meilcour, who is incapable of reading her sigas because he is absorbed in his own thoughts. Later in the story, she does manage to educate him, but in real life there are many who cannot be educated. They are too literal and insensitive to the details that contain seductive power. They do not so much repel as irritate and infuriate you by their constant misinterpretations, always viewing life from behind screen of their ego and unable to see things as they really are. Meilcour is so caught up in himself he cannot see that Madame is expecting him to make the bold move to which she will have to succumb. His hesitation shows that he is thinking of himself, not of her; that he is worrying about how he will look, not feeling overwhelmed by her charms. Nothing could be more anti-seductive. Recognize such types, and if they are past the young age that would give them an excuse, do not entangle yourself in their awkwardness-they will infect you with doubt. 4. In the Heian court of late-tenth-century lapan, the young nobleman Kaoru, purported son of the great seducer Genji himself, had had nothing but misfortune in love. He had become infatuated with a young princess, Oigimi, who lived in a dilapidated home in the countryside, her father having fallen on hard times. Then one day he had an encounter with Oigimi's sister, Nakanokimi, that convinced him she was the one he actually loved. Confused, he returned to court, and did not visit the sisters for some time. Then their father died, followed shortly thereafter by Oigimi herself. Now Kaoru realized his mistake: he had loved Oigimi all along, and she had died out of despair that he did not care for her. He would never meet like again; she was all he could think about. When Nakanokimi, her father and sister dead, came to live at court, Kaoru had the house where Oigimi and her family had lived turned into a shrine. One day, Nakanokimi, seeing the melancholy into which Kaoru had fallen, told him that there was a third sister, Ukifune, who resembled his beloved Oigimi and lived hidden away in the countryside. Kaoru came to life-perhaps he had a chance to redeem himself, to change the past. But how could he meet this woman? There came a time when he visited the shrine to pay his respects to the departed Oigimi, and heard that the mystea glimpse of her through the crack in a door. The sight of her took his breath away; although she was a plain-looking country girl, in Kaoru's eyes she was the living incarnation of Oigimi. Her voice, meanwhile, was like The Anti-Seducer • 141 the voice of Nakanokimi, whom he had loved as well. Tears welled up in his eyes. A few months later Kaoru managed to find the house in the mountains where Ukifune lived. He visited her there, and she did not disappoint. "I once had a glimpse of you through a crack in a door," he told her, and "you have been very much on my mind ever since." Then he picked her up in his arms and carried her to a waiting carriage. He was taking her back to the shrine, and the journey there brought back to him the image of Oigimi; again his eyes clouded with tears. Looking at Ukifune, he silently compared her to Oigimi-her clothes were less nice but she had beautiful hair. When Oigimi was alive, she and Kaoru had played the koto together, so once at the shrine he had kotos brought out. Ukifune did not play as well as Oigimi had, and her manners were less refined. Not to worry-he would give her lessons, change her into a lady. But then, as he had done with Oigimi, Kaoru returned to court, leaving Ukifune languishing at the shrine. Some time passed before he visited her again; she had improved, was more beautiful than before, but he could not stop thinking of Oigimi. Once again he left her, promising to bring her to court, but more weeks passed, and finallyhereceived the news that Ukifune had disappeared, last seen heading toward a river. She had most likely committed suicide. At the funeral ceremony for Ukifune, Kaoru was wracked with guilt: why had he not come for her earlier? She deserved a better fate. Kaoru and the others appear in the eleventh-century Japanese novel The Tale of Genji, by the noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu. The characters are based on people the author knew, but Kaoru's type appears in every culture and period: these are men and women who seem to be searching for an ideal partner. The one they have is never quite right; at first glance a person excites them, but they soon see faults, and when a new person crosses their path, he or she looks better and the first person is forgotten. These types often try to work on the imperfect mortal who has excited them, to improve them culturally and morally. But this proves extremely unsatisfactory for both parties. The truth about this type is not that they are searching for an ideal but that they are hopelessly unhappy with themselves. You may mistake their dissatisfaction for a perfectionist's high standards, but in point of fact nothing will really satisfy them, for their unhappiness is deep-rooted. You can recognize them by their past, which will be littered with short-lived, stormy romances. Also, they will tend to compare you to others, and to try to remake you. You may not realize at first what you have gotten into, but people like this will eventually prove hopelessly anti-seductive because they cannot see your individual qualities. Cut the romance off before it happens. These types are closet sadists and will torture you with their unreachable goals. 5. In 1762, in the city of Turin, Italy, Giovanni Giacomo Casanova made the acquaintance of one Count A.B., a Milanese gentleman who seemed to like him enormously. The count had fallen on hard times and Casanova lent him some money. In gratitude, the count invited Casanova to stay with him and his wife in Milan. His wife, he said, was from Barcelona, and was admired far and wide for her beauty. He showed Casanova her letters, which had an intriguing wit; Casanova imagined her as a prize worth seducing. He went to Milan. Arriving at the house of Count A.B., Casanova found that the Spanish lady was certainly beautiful, but that she was also quiet and serious. Something about her bothered him. As he was unpacking his clothes, the countess saw a stunning red dress, trimmed with sable, among his belongings. It was a gift, Casanova explained, for any Milanese lady who won his heart. The following evening at dinner, the countess was suddenly more friendly, teasing and bantering with Casanova. She described the dress as a bribe-he would use it to persuade a woman to give in to him. On the contrary, said Casanova, he only gave gifts afterward, as tokens of his appreciation. That evening, in a carriage on the way back from the opera, she asked him if a wealthy friend of hers could buy the dress, and when he said no, she was clearly vexed. Sensing her game, Casanova offered to give her the sable dress if she was kind to him. This only made her angry, and they quarreled. Finally Casanova had had enough of the countess's moods: he sold the dress for 15,000 francs to her wealthy friend, who in turn gave it to her, as she had planned all along. But to prove his lack of interest in money, Casanova told the countess he would give her the 15,000 francs, no strings attached. "You are a very bad man," she said, "but you can stay, you amuse me." She resumed her coquettish manner, but Casanova was not fooled. "It is not my fault, madame, if your charms have so little power over me," he told her. "Here are 15,000 francs to console you." He laid the money on a table and walked out, leaving the countess fuming and vowing revenge. When Casanova first met the Spanish lady, two things about her repelled him. First, her pride: rather than engaging in the give-and-take of seduction, she demanded a man's subjugation. Pride can reflect self-assurance, signaling that you will not abase yourself before others. Just as often, though, it stems from an inferiority complex, which demands that others abase themselves before you. Seduction requires an openness to the other person, a willingness to bend and adapt. Excessive pride, without anything to justify it, is highly anti-seductive. The second quality that disgusted Casanova was the countess's greed: her coquettish little games were designed only to get the dress-she had no interest in romance. For Casanova, seduction was a lighthearted game that people played for their mutual amusement. In his scheme of things, it was fine if a woman wanted money and gifts as well; he could understand that desire, and he was a generous man. But he also felt that this was a desire a The Anti-Seducer • 143 woman should disguise-she should create the impression that what she was after was pleasure. The person who is obviously angling for money or other material reward can only repel. If that is your intention, if you are looking for something other than pleasure-for money, for power-never show it. The suspicion of an ulterior motive is anti-seductive. Never let anything break the illusion. 6. In 1868, Queen Victoria of England hosted her first private meeting with the country's new prime minister, William Gladstone. She had met him before, and knew his reputation as a moral absolutist, but this was to be a ceremony, an exchange of pleasantries. Gladstone, however, had no patience for such things. At that first meeting he explained to the queen his theory of royalty: the queen, he believed, had to play an exemplary role in England-a role she had lately failed to live up to, for she was overly private. This lecture set a bad tone for the future, and things only got worse: soon Victoria was receiving letters from Gladstone, addressing the subject in even greater depth. Half of them she never bothered to read, and soon she was doing everything she could to avoid contact with the leader of her government; if she had to see him, she made the meeting as brief as possible. To that end, she never allowed him to sit down in her presence, hoping that a man his age would soon tire and leave. For once he got going on a subject dear to his heart, he did not notice your look of disinterest or the tears in your eyes from yawning. His memoranda on even the simplest of issues would have to be translated into plain English for her by a member of her staff. Worst of all, Gladstone argued with her, and his arguments had a way of making her feel stupid. She soon learned to nod her head and appear to agree with whatever abstract point he was trying to make. In a letter to her secretary, referringtoherselfin the third person, she wrote, "She always felt in [Gladstone's] manner an overbearing obstinacy and imperiousness . . . which she never experienced from anyone else, and which she found most disagreeable." Over the years, these feelings hardened into an unwaning hatred. As the head of the Liberal Party, Gladstone had a nemesis, Benjamin Disraeli, the head of the Conservative Party. He considered Disraeli amoral, a devilish Jew. At one session of Parliament, Gladstone tore into his rival, scoring point after point as he described where his opponents policies would lead. Growing angry as he spoke (as usually happened when he talked of Disraeli), he pounded the speaker's table with such force that pens and papers went flying. Through all of this Disraeli seemed half-asleep. When Gladstone had finished, he opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and calmly walked up to the table. "The right honorable gentleman," he said, "has spoken with much passion, much eloquence, and much- ahem - violence." Then, after a drawn-out pause, he continued, "But the damage can be repaired"-and he proceeded to gather up everything that had fallen from the table and put them back in place. The speech that followed was all the more masterful for its calm and ironic contrast to Gladstone's. The members of Parliament were spellbound, andallof them agreed he had won the day. If Disraeli was the consummate social seducer and charmer, Gladstone was the Anti-Seducer. Of course he had supporters, mostly among the more puritanical elements of society-he twice defeated Disraeli in a general election. But he found it hard to broaden his appeal beyond the circle of believers. Women in particular found him insufferable. Of course they had no vote at the time, so they were little political liability; but Gladstone had no patience for a feminine point of view. A woman, he felt, had to learn to see things as a man did, and it was his purpose in life to educate those he felt were irrational or abandoned by God. It did not take long for Gladstone to wear on anyone's nerves. That is the nature of people who are convinced of some truth, but have no patience for a different perspective or for dealing with someone else's psychology. These types are bullies, and in the short term they often get their way, particularly among the less aggressive. But they stir up a lot of resentment and unspoken antipathy, which eventually trips them up. People see through their righteous moral stance, which is most often a cover for a power play-morality is a form of power. A seducer never seeks to persuade directly, never parades his or her morality, neverlecturesorimposes.Everythingissubtle,psychological,andindirect.Symbol: The Crab. In a harsh world, the crab survives by its hardened shell, by the threat of its pincers, and by burrowing into the sand. No one dares get too close. But the Crab cannot surprise its enemy and has little mobility. Its defensive strength is its supreme limitation. Uses of Anti-Seduction T he best way to avoid entanglements with Anti-Seducers is to recognize them right away and give them a wide berth, but they often deceive us. Involvements with these types are painful, and are hard to disengage from, because the more emotional response you show, the more engaged you seem to be. Do not get angry-that may only encourage them or exacerbate their anti-seductive tendencies. Instead, act distant and indifferent, pay no attention to them, make them feel how little they matter to you. The best antidote to an Anti-Seducer is often to be anti-seductive yourself. Cleopatra had a devastating effect on every man who crossed her path. Octavius-the future Emperor Augustus, and the man who would defeat and destroy Cleopatra's lover Mark Antony-was well aware of her power, and defended himself against it by being always extremely amiable with her, courteous to the extreme, but never showing the slightest emotion, whether of interest or dislike. In other words, he treated her as if she were any other woman. Facing this front, she could not sink her hooks into him. Octavius made anti-seduction his defense against the most irresistible woman in history. Remember: seduction is a game of attention, of slowly filling the other person's mind with your presence. Distance and inattention will create the opposite effect, and can be used as a tactic when the need arises. Finally, if you really want to "anti-seduce," simply feign the qualities listed at the beginning of the chapter. Nag; talk a lot, particularly about yourself; dress against the other person's tastes; pay no attention to detail; suffocate, and so on. A word of warning: with the arguing type, the Windbag, never talk back too much. Words will only fan the flames. Adopt the Queen Victoria strategy: nod, seem to agree, then find an excuse to cut the conversation short. This is the only defense. the seducer's Victims- The Eighteen Types The people around you are all potential victims of a seduction, but first you must know what type of victim you are dealing with. Victims are categorized by what they feel they are missing in life - adventure, attention, romance, a naughty experience, mental or physical stimulation, etc. Once you identify their type, you have the necessary ingredients for a seduction: you will be the one to give them what they lack and cannot get on their own. In studying potential victims, learn to see the reality behind the appearance. A timid person may yearn to play the star; a prude may long for a transgressive thrill. Never try to seduce your own type. ooo o o o Victim Theory N obody in this world feels whole and complete. We all sense some gap in our character, something we need or want but cannot get on our own. When we fall in love, it is often with someone who seems to fill that gap. The process is usually unconscious and depends on luck: we wait for the right person to cross our path, and when we fall for them we hope they return our love. But the seducer does not leave such things to chance. Look at the people around you. Forget their social exterior, their obvious character traits; look behind all of that, focusing on the gaps, the missing pieces in their psyche. That is the raw material of any seduction. Pay close attention to their clothes, their gestures, their offhand comments, the things in their house, certain looks in their eyes; get them to talk about their past, particularly past romances. And slowly the outline of those missing pieces will come into view. Understand: people are constantly giving out signals as to what they lack. They long for completeness, whether the illusion of it or the reality, and if it has to come from another person, that person has tremendous power over them. We may call them victims of a seduction, but they are almost always willing victims. This chapter outlines the eighteen types of victims, each one of which has a dominant lack. Although your target may well reveal the qualities of more than one type, there is usually a common need that ties them together. Perhaps you see someone as both a New Prude and a Crushed Star, but what is common to both is a feeling of repression, and therefore a desire to be naughty, along with a fear of not being able or daring enough. In identifying your victim's type, be careful to not be taken in by outward appearances. Both deliberately and unconsciously, we often develop a social exterior designed specifically to disguise our weaknesses and lacks. For instance, you may think you are dealing with someone who is tough and cynical, without realizing that deep inside they have a soft sentimental core. They secretly pine for romance. And unless you identify their type and the emotions beneath their toughness, you lose the chance to truly seduce them. Most important: expunge the nasty habit of thinking that other people have the same lacks you do. You may crave comfort and security, but in giving comfort and security to someone else, on the assumption they must want them as well, you are more likely smothering and pushing them away. Never try to seduce someone who is of your own type.Youwill be like two puzzles missing the same parts. 149 150 The Eighteen Types The Reformed Rake or Siren. People of this type were once happy-go- lucky seducers who had their way with the opposite sex. But the day came when they were forced to give this up-someone corraled them into a relationship, they were encountering too much social hostility, they were getting older and decided to settle down. Whatever the reason, you can be sure they feel some resentment and a sense of loss, as if a limb were missing. We are always trying to recapture pleasures we experienced in the past, but the temptation is particularly great for the Reformed Rake or Siren because the pleasures they found in seduction were intense. These types are ripe for the picking: all that is required is that you cross their path and offer them the opportunity to resume their rakish or siren ways. Their blood will stir and the call of their youth will overwhelm them. It is critical, though, to give these types the illusion that they are the ones doing the seducing. With the Reformed Rake, you must spark his interest indirectly, then let him burn and glow with desire. With the Reformed Siren, you want to give her the impression that she still has the irresistible power to draw a man in and make him give up everything for her. Remember that what you are offering these types is not another relationship, another constriction, but rather the chance to escape the corral and have some ran. Do not be put off if they are in a relationship; a preexisting commitment is often the perfect foil. If hooking them into a relationship is what you want, hide it as best you can and realize it may not be possible. The Rake or Siren is unfaithful by nature; your ability to spark the old feeling gives you power, but then you will have to live with the consequences of their feckless ways. The Disappointed Dreamer. As children, these types probably spent a lot of time alone. To entertain themselves they developed a powerful fantasy life, fed by books and films and other kinds of popular culture. And as they get older, it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile their fantasy life with reality, and so they are often disappointed by what they get. This is particularly true in relationships. They have been dreaming of romantic heroes, of danger and excitement, but what they have is lovers with human frailties, the petty weaknesses of everyday life. As the years pass, they may force themselves to compromise, because otherwise they would have to spend their lives alone; but beneath the surface they are bitter and still hungering for something grand and romantic. You can recognize this type by the books they read and filmstheygoto,theway their ears prick up when told of the real-life adventures some people manage to live out. In their clothes and home furnishings, a taste for exuberant romance or drama will peek through. They are often trapped in drab relationships, and little comments here and there will reveal their disappointment and inner tension. The Seducer's Victims-The Eighteen Types These types make for excellent and satisfying victims. First they usually have a great deal of pent-up passion and energy, which you can release and focus on yourself. They also have great imaginations and will respond to anything vaguely mysterious or romantic that you offer them. All you need do is disguise some of your less than exalted qualities and give them a part of their dream. This could be the chance to live out their adventures or be courted by a chivalrous soul. If you give them a part of what they want they will imagine the rest. At all cost, do not let reality break the illusion you are creating. One moment of pettiness and they will be gone, more bitterly disappointed than ever. The Pampered Royal. These people were the classic spoiled children. All of their wants and desires were met by an adoring parent-endless entertainments, a parade of toys, whatever kept them happy for a day or two. Where many children learn to entertain themselves, inventing games and finding friends. Pampered Royals are taught that others will do the entertaining for them. Being spoiled, they get lazy, and as they get older and the parent is no longer there to pamper them, they tend to feel quite bored and restless. Their solution is to find pleasure in variety, to move quickly from person to person, job to job, or place to place before boredom sets in. They do not settle into relationships well because habit and routine of some kind are inevitable in such affairs. But their ceaseless search for variety is tiring for them and comes with a price: work problems, strings of unsatisfying romances, friends scattered across the globe. Do not mistake their restlessness and infidelity for reality-what the Pampered Prince or Princess is really looking for is one person, that parental figure, who will give them the spoiling they crave. To seduce this type, be ready to provide a lot of distraction-new places to visit, novel experiences, color, spectacle. You will have to maintain an air of mystery, continually surprising your target with a new side to your character. Variety is the key. Once Pampered Royals are hooked, things get easier for they will quickly grow dependent on you and you can put out less effort. Unless their childhood pampering has made them too and lazy, these types make excellent victims-they will beasloyal to you as they once were to mommy or daddy. But you will have to do much of the work. If you are after a long relationship, disguise it. Offer long-term security to a Pampered Royal and you will induce a panicked flight. Recognize these types by the turmoil in their past-job changes, travel, short-term relationships-and by the air of aristocracy, no matter their social class, that comes from once being treated like royalty. The New Prude. Sexual prudery still exists, but it is less common than it was. Prudery, however, is neverjust about sex; a prude is someone who is excessively concerned with appearances, with what society considers ap- propriate and acceptable behavior. Prudes rigorously stay within the boundaries of correctness because more than anything they fear society's judgment. Seen in this light, prudery is just as prevalent as it always was. The New Prude is excessively concerned with standards of goodness, fairness, political sensitivity, tastefulness, etc. What marks the New Prude, though, as well as the old one, is that deep down they are actually excited and intrigued by guilty, transgressive pleasures. Frightened by this attraction, they run in the opposite direction and become the most correct of all. They tend to wear drab colors; they certainly never take fashion risks. They can be very judgmental and critical of people who do take risks and are less correct. They are also addicted to routine, which gives them a way to tamp down their inner turmoil. New Prudes are secretly oppressed by their correctness and long to transgress. Just as sexual prudes make prime targets for a Rake or Siren, the New Prude will often be most tempted by someone with a dangerous or naughty side. If you desire a New Prude, do not be taken in by theirjudg- ments of you or their criticisms. That is only a sign of how deeply you fascinate them; you are on their mind. You can often draw a New Prude into a seduction, in fact, by giving them the chance to criticize you or even try to reform you. Take nothing of what they say to heart, of course, but now you have the perfect excuse to spend time with them-and New Prudes can be seduced simply through being in contact with you. These types actually make excellent and rewarding victims. Once you open them up and get them to let go of their correctness, they are flooded with feelings and energies. They may even overwhelm you. Perhaps they are in a relationship with someone as drab as they themselves seem to be-do not be put off. They are simply asleep, waiting to be awakened. The Crushed Star. We all want attention, we all want to shine, but with most of us these desires are fleeting and easily quieted.Theproblemwith Crushed Stars is that at one point in their lives they did find themselves the center of attention-perhaps they were beautiful, charming and effervescent, perhaps they were athletes, or had some other talent-but those days are gone. They may seem to have accepted this, but the memory of having once shone is hard to get over. In general, the appearance of wanting attention, of trying to stand out, is not seen too kindly in polite society or in the workplace. So to get along. Crushed Stars learn to tamp down their desires; but failing to get the attention they feel they deserve, they also become resentful. You can recognize Crushed Stars by certain unguarded moments; they suddenly receive some attention in a social setting, and it makes them glow; they mention their glory days, and there is a little glint in the eye; a little wine in the system, and they become effervescent. Seducing this type is simple: just make them the center of attention. When you are with them, act as if they were stars and you were basking in their glow. Get them to talk, particularly about themselves. In social situations, mute your own colors and let them look funny and radiant by comparison. In general, play the Charmer. The reward of seducing Crushed Stars is that you stir up powerful emotions. They will feel intensely grateful to you for letting them shine. To whatever extent they had felt crushed and bottled up, the easing of that pain releases intensity and passion, all directed at you. They will fall madly in love. If you yourself have any star or dandy tendencies it is wise to avoid such victims. Sooner or later those tendencies will come out, and the competition between you will be ugly. The Novice. What separates Novices from ordinary innocent young people is that they are fatally curious. They have little or no experience of the world, but have been exposed to it secondhand-in newspapers, films, books. Finding their innocence a burden, they long to be initiated into the ways of the world. Everyone sees them as so sweet and innocent, but they know this isn't so-they cannot be as angelic as people think them. Seducing a Novice is easy. To do it well, however, requires a bit of art. Novices are interested in people with experience, particularly people with a touch of corruption and evil. Make that touch too strong, though, and it will intimidate and frighten them. What works best with a Novice is a mix of qualities. You are somewhat childlike yourself, with a playful spirit. At the same time, it is clear that you have hidden depths, even sinister ones. (This was the secret of Lord Byron's success with so many innocent women.) You are initiating your Novices not just sexually but experien- tially,exposingthem to new ideas, taking them to new places, new worlds both literal and metaphoric. Do not make your seduction ugly or seedy- everything must be romantic, even including the evil and dark side of life. Young people have their ideals; it is best to initiate them with an aesthetic touch. Seductive language works wonders on Novices, as does attention to detail. Spectacles and colorful events appeal to their sensitive senses. They are easily misled by these tactics, because they lack the experience to see through them. Sometimes Novices are a little older and have been at least somewhat educated in the ways of the world. Yet they put on a show of innocence, for they see the power it has over older people. These are coy Novices, aware of the game they are playing-but Novices they remain. They may be less easily misled than purer Novices, but the way to seduce them is pretty much the same-mix innocence and corruption and you will fascinate them. The Conqueror. These types have an unusual amount of energy, which they find difficult to control. They are always on the prowl for people to conquer, obstacles to surmount. You will not always recognize Conquerors by their exterior-they can seem a little shy in social situations and can have a degree of reserve. Look not at their words or appearance but at their actions, in work and inrelationships. They love power, and by hook or by crook they get it. Conquerors tend to be emotional, but their emotion only comes out in outbursts, when pushed. In matters of romance, the worst thing you can do with them is lie down and make yourself easy prey; they may take advantage of your weakness, but they will quickly discard you and leave you the worse for wear. You want to give Conquerors a chance to be aggressive, to overcome some resistance or obstacle, before letting them think they have overwhelmed you. You want to give them a good chase. Being a little difficult or moody, using coquetry, will often do the trick. Do not be intimidated by their aggressiveness and energy-that is precisely what you can turn to your advantage. To break them in, keep them charging back and forth like a bull. Eventually they will grow weak and dependent, as Napoleon became the slave ofJosephine. The Conqueror is generally male but there are plenty of female Conquerors out there-Lou Andreas-Salome and Natalie Barney are famous ones. Female Conquerors will succumb to coquetry, though, just as the male ones will. The Exotic Fetishist. Most of us are excited and intrigued by the exotic. What separates Exotic Fetishists from the rest of us is the degree of this interest, which seems to govern all their choices in life. Intruththeyfeelempty inside and have a strong dose of self-loathing. They do not like wherever it is they come from, their social class (usually middle or upper), and their culture because they do not like themselves. These types are easy to recognize. They like to travel; their houses are filled with objets from faraway places; they fetishize the music or art of this or that foreign culture. They often have a strong rebellious streak. Clearly the way to seduce them is to position yourself as exotic-if you do not at least appear to come from a different background or race, or to have some alien aura, you should not even bother. But it is always possible to play up what makes you exotic, to make it a kind of theater for their amusement. Your clothes, the things you talk about, the places you take them, make a show of your difference. Exaggerate a little and they will imagine the rest, because such types tend to be self-deluders. Exotic Fetishists, however, do not make particularly good victims. Whatever exoticism you have will soon seem banal to them, and they will want something else. It will be a struggle to hold their interest. Their underlying insecurity will also keep you on edge. One variation on this type is the man or woman who is trapped in a stultifying relationship, a banal occupation, a dead-end town. It is circumstance, as opposed topersonal neurosis, that makes such people fetishize the exotic; and these Exotic Fetishists are better victims than the self-loathing kind, because you can offer them a temporary escape from whatever oppresses them. Nothing, however, will offer true Exotic Fetishists escape from themselves. The Drama Queen. There are people who cannot do without some constant drama in their lives-it is their way of deflecting boredom. The greatest mistake you can make in seducing these Drama Queens is to come offering stability and security. That will only make them run for the hills. Most often. Drama Queens (and there are plenty of men in this category) enjoy playing the victim. They want something to complain about, they want pain. Pain is a source of pleasure for them. With this type, you have to be willing and able to give them the mental rough treatment they desire. That is the only way to seduce them in a deep manner. The moment you turn too nice, they will find some reason to quarrel or get rid of you. You will recognize Drama Queens by the number of people who have hurt them, the tragedies and traumas that have befallen them. At the extreme, they can be hopelessly selfish and anti-seductive, but most of them are relatively harmless and will make fine victims if you can live with the sturm und drang.Ifforsomereasonyouwantsomethinglongterm with this type, you will constantly have to inject drama into your relationship. For some this can be an exciting challenge and a source for constantly renewing the relationship. Generally, however, you should see an involvement with a Drama Queen as something fleeting and a way to bring a little drama into your own life. The Professor. These types cannot get out of the trap of analyzing and criticizing everything that crosses their path. Their minds are overdeveloped and overstimulated. Even when they talk about love or sex, it is with great thought and analysis. Having developed their minds at the expense of their bodies, many of them feel physically inferior and compensate by lording their mental superiority over others. Their conversation is often wry or ironic-you never quite know what they are saying, but you sense them looking down on you. They would like to escape their mental prisons, they would like pure physicality, without any analysis, but they cannot get there on their own. Professor types sometimes engage in relationships with other professor types, or with people they can treat as inferiors. But deep down they long to be overwhelmed by someone with physical presence-a Rake or a Siren, for instance. Professors can make excellent victims,forunderneaththeirintellectualstrengthliegnawinginsecurities.MakethemfeellikeDon Juans or Sirens, to even the slightest degree, and they are your slaves. Many of them have a masochistic streak that will come out once you stir their dormant senses. You are offering an escape from the mind, so make it as complete as possible: if you have intellectual tendencies yourself, hide them. They will only 156stir your target's competitive juices and get their minds turning. Let your Professors keep their sense of mental superiority; let themjudge you. You will know what they will try to hide: that you are the one in control, for you are giving them what no one else can give them-physical stimulation. The Beauty. From early on in life, the Beauty is gazed at by others. Their desire to look at her is the source of her power, but also the source of much unhappiness: she constantly worries that her powers are waning, that she is no longer attracting attention. If she is honest with herself, she also senses that being worshiped only for one's appearance is monotonous and unsatisfying-and lonely. Many men are intimidated by beauty and prefer to worship it from afar; others are drawn in, but not for the purpose of conversation. The Beauty suffers from isolation. Because she has so many lacks, the Beauty is relatively easy to seduce,andifdoneright,youwill have won not only a much prized catch but someone who will grow dependent on what you provide. Most important in this seduction is to validate those parts of the Beauty that no one else appreciates-her intelligence (generally higher than people imagine), her skills, her character. Of course you must worship her body-you cannot stir up any insecurities in the one area in which she knows her strength, and \the strength on which she most depends-but you also must worship her mind and soul. Intellectual stimulation will work well on the Beauty, distracting her from her doubts and insecurities, and making it seem that you value that side of her personality. Because the Beauty is always being looked at, she tends to be passive. Beneath her passivity, though, there often lies frustration: the Beauty would love to be more active and to actually do some chasing of her own. A little coquettishness can work well here: at some point in all your worshiping, you might go a little cold, inviting her to come after you. Train her to be more active and you will have an excellent victim. The only downside is that her many insecurities require constant attention and care. The Aging Baby. Some people refuse to grow up. Perhaps they are afraid of death or of growing old; perhaps they are passionately attached to the life they led as children. Disliking responsibility, they struggle to turn everything into play and recreation. In their twenties they can be charming, in their thirties interesting, but by the time they reach their forties they are beginning to wear thin. Contrary to what you might imagine, one Aging Baby does not want to be involved with another Aging Baby, even though the combination might seem to increase the chances for play and frivolity. The Aging Baby does not want competition, but an adult figure. If you desire to seduce this type, you must be prepared to be the responsible, staid one. That may be a strange way of seducing, but in this case it works. You should appear to like the Aging Baby's youthful spirit (it helps if you actually do), can engage with it, but you remain the indulgent adult. By being responsible you free the Baby to play. Act the loving adult to the hilt, neverjudging or criticizing their behavior, and a strong attachment will form. Aging Babies can be amusing for a while, but, like all children, they are often potently narcissistic. This limits the pleasure you can have with them. You should see them as short-term amusements or temporary outlets for your frustrated parental instincts. The Rescuer. We are often drawn to people who seem vulnerable or weak-their sadness or depression can actually be quite seductive. There are people, however, whotake this much further, who seem to be attracted only to people with problems. This may seem noble, but Rescuers usually have complicated motives: they often have sensitive natures and truly want to help. At the same time, solving people's problems gives them a kind of power they relish-it makes them feel superior and in control. It is also the perfect way to distract them from their own problems. You will recognize these types by their empathy-they listen well and try to get you to open up and talk. You will also notice they have histories of relationships with dependent and troubled people. Rescuers can make excellent victims, particularly if you enjoy chivalrous or maternal attention. If you are a woman, play the damsel in distress, giving a man the chance so many men long for-to act the knight. If you are a man, play the boy who cannot deal with this harsh world; a female Rescuer will envelop you in maternal attention, gaining for herself the added satisfaction of feeling more powerful and in control than a man. An air of sadness will draw either gender in. Exaggerate your weaknesses, but not through overt words or gestures-let them sense that you have had too little love, that you have had a string of bad relationships, that you have gotten a raw deal in life. Having lured your Rescuer in with the chance to help you, you can then stokethe relationship's fires with a steady supply of needs and vulnerabilities. You can also invite moral rescue: you are bad. You have done bad things. You need a stem yet loving hand. In this case the Rescuer gets to feel morally superior, but also the vicarious thrill of involvement with someone naughty. The Roue. These types have lived the good life and experienced many pleasures. They probably have, or once had, a good deal of money to finance their hedonistic lives. On the outside they tend to seem cynical and jaded, but their worldliness often hides a sentimentality that they have stmggled to repress. Roues are consummate seducers, but there is one type that can easily seduce them-the young and the innocent. As they get 158 older, they hanker after their lost youth; missing their long-lost innocence, they begin to covet it in others. If you should want to seduce them, you will probably have to be somewhat young and to have retained at least the appearance of innocence. It is easy to play this up-make a show of how little experience you have in the world, how you still see things as a child. It is also good to seem to resist their advances: Roues will think it lively and exciting to chase you. You can even seem to dislike or distrust them-that will really spur them on. By being the one who resists, you control the dynamic. And sinceyou have the youth that they are missing, you can maintain the upper hand and make them fall deeply in love. They will often be susceptible to such a fall, because they have tamped down their own romantic tendencies for so long that when it bursts forth, they lose control. Never give in too early, and never let your guard down-such types can be dangerous. The Idol Worshiper. Everyone feels an inner lack, but Idol Worshipers have a bigger emptiness than most people. They cannot be satisfied with themselves, so they search the world for something to worship, something to fill their inner void. This often assumes the form of a great interest in matters or in some worthwhile cause; by focusing on something supposedly elevated, they distract themselves from their own void, from what they dislike about themselves. Idol Worshipers are easy to spot-they are the ones pouring their energies into some cause or religion. They often move around over the years, leaving one cult for another. The way to seduce these types is to simply become their object of worship, to take the place of the cause or religion to which they are so dedicated. At first you may have to seem to share their spiritual interest, joining them in their worship, or perhaps exposing them to a new cause; eventually you will displace it. With this type you have to hideyourflaws, or at least to give them a saintly sheen. Be banal and Idol Worshipers will pass you by. But mirror the qualities they aspire to have for themselves and they will slowly transfer their adoration to you. Keep everything on an elevated plane-let romance and religion flow into one. Keep two things in mind when seducing this type. First, they tend to have overactive minds, which can make them quite suspicious. Because they often lack physical stimulation, and because physical stimulation will distract them, give them some: a mountain trek, a boat trip, or sex will do the trick. But this takes a lot of work, for their minds are always ticking. Second, they often suffer from low self-esteem. Do not try to raise it; they will see through you, and your efforts at praising them will clash with their own self-image. They are to worship you; you are not to worship them. Idol Worshipers make perfectly adequate victims in the short term, but their endless need to search will eventually lead them to look for something new to adore. The Seducer's Victims-The Eighteen Types • 159 The Sensualist. What marks these types is not their love of pleasure but their overactive senses. Sometimes they show this quality in their appearance-their interest in fashion, color, style. But sometimes it is more subtle: because they are so sensitive, they areoften quite shy, and they will shrink from standing out or being flamboyant. You will recognize them by how responsive they are to their environment, how they cannot stand a room without sunlight, are depressed by certain colors, or excited by certain smells. They happen to live in a culture that deempha- sizes sensual experience (except perhaps for the sense of sight). And so what the Sensualist lacks is precisely enough sensual experiences to appreciate and relish. The key to seducing them is to aim for their senses, to take them to beautiful places, pay attention to detail, envelop them in spectacle, and of course use plenty of physical lures. Sensualists, like animals, can be baited with colors and smells. Appeal to as many senses as possible, keeping your targets distracted and weak. Seductions of Sensualists are often easy and quick, and you can use the same tactics again and again to keep them interested, although it is wise to vary your sensual appeals somewhat, in kind if not in quality. That is how Cleopatra worked on Mark Antony, an inveterate Sensualist. These types make superb victims because they are relatively docile if you give them what they want. The Lonely Leader. Powerful people are not necessarily different from everyone else, but they are treated differently, and this has a big effect on their personalities. Everyone around them tends to be fawning and courtierlike, to have an angle, to want something from them. This makes them suspicious and distrustful, and a little hard around the edges, but do not mistake the appearance for the reality: Lonely Leaders long to be seduced, to have someone break through their isolation and overwhelm them. The problem is that most people are too intimidated to try, or use the kind of tactics-flattery, charm-that they see through and despise. To seduce such types, it is better to act like their equal or even their superior- the kind of treatment they never get. If you are blunt with them you will seem genuine, and they will be touched-you care enough to be honest, even perhaps at some risk. (Being blunt with the powerful can be dangerous.) Lonely Leaders can be made emotional by inflicting some pain, followed by tenderness. This is one of the hardest types to seduce, not only because they are suspicious but because their minds are burdened with cares and responsi. They have less mental space for a seduction. You will have to be patient and clever, slowly filling their minds with thoughts of you. Succeed, though, and you can gain great power in turn, for in their loneliness they will come to depend on you. The Floating Gender. All of us have a mix of the masculine and the in our characters, but most of us learn to develop and exhibit the socially acceptable side while repressing the other. People of the Floating Gender type feel that the separation of the sexes into such distinct genders is a burden. They are sometimes thought to be repressed or latent homosexuals, but this is a misunderstanding: they may well be heterosexual but their masculine and feminine sides are in flux, and because this may discomfit others if they show it, they learn to repress it, perhaps by going to one extreme. They would actually love to be able to play with their gender, to give full expression to both sides. Many people fall into this type without its being obvious: a woman may have a masculine energy, a man a developed aesthetic side. Do not look for obvious signs, because these types often go underground, keeping it under wraps. This makes them vulnerable to a powerful seduction. What Floating Gender types are really looking for is another person of uncertain gender, their counterpart from the opposite sex. Show them that in your presence and they can relax, express the repressed side of their character. If you have such proclivities, this is the one instance where it would be best to seduce the same type of the opposite sex. Each person will stir up repressed desires in the other and will suddenly have license to explore all kinds of gender combinations, without fear of judgment. If you are not of the Floating Gender, leave this type alone. You will only inhibit them and create more discomfort. eductive process M ost of us understand that certain actions on our part will have apleasing and seductive effect on the person we would like to seduce. The problem is that we are generally too self-absorbed: We think more about what we want from others than what they could want from us. We may occasionally do something that is seductive, but often we follow this up a with a selfish or aggressive action (we are in a hurry to get what we want); or, unaware of what we are doing, we show a side of ourselves that is petty and banal, deflating any illusions or fantasies a person might have about us. Our attempts at seduction usually do not last long enough to create much of an effect. You will not seduce anyone by simply depending on your engaging personality, or by occasionally doing something noble or alluring. Seduction is a process that occurs over time-the longer you take and the slower you go, the deeper you will penetrate into the mind of your victim. It is an art that requires patience, focus, and strategic thinking. You need to always be one step ahead of your victim, throwing dust in their eyes, casting a spell, keeping them off balance. The twenty-four chapters in this section will arm you with a series of tactics that will help you get out of yourself and into the mind of your victim, so that you can play it like an instrument. The chapters are placed in a loose order, going from the initial contact with your victim to the successful conclusion. This order is based on certain timeless laws of human psychology. Because people's thoughts tend to revolve around their daily concerns and insecurities, you cannot proceed with a seduction until you slowly put their anxieties to sleep and fill their distracted minds with thoughts of you. The opening chapters will help you accomplish this. There is a natural tendency in relationships for people to become so familiar with one another that boredom and stagnation set in. Mystery is the lifeblood of seduction and to maintain it you have to constantly surprise your victims, stir things up, even shock them. A seduction should never settle into a comfortable routine. The middle and later chapters will instruct you in the art of alternating hope and despair, pleasure and pain, until your victims weaken and succumb. In each instance, one tactic is setting up the next one, allowing you to push it further with something bolder and more violent. A seducer cannot be timid or merciful. To help you move the seduction along, the chapters are arranged in 163 164 • The Art of Seduction four phases, each phase with a particular goal to aim for: getting the victim to think of you; gaining access to their emotions by creating moments of pleasure and confusion; going deeper by working on their unconscious, stirring up repressed desires; and finally, inducing physical surrender. (The are clearly marked and explained with a short introduction.) By following these phases you will work more effectively on your victim's mind and create the slow and hypnotic pace of a ritual. In fact, the seductive process may be thought of as a kind of initiation ritual, in which you are uprooting people from their habits, giving them novel experiences, putting them through tests, before initiating them into a new life. It is best to read all of the chapters and gain as much knowledge as possible. When it comes time to apply these tactics, you will want to pick and choose which ones are appropriate for your particular victim; sometimes only a few are sufficient, depending on the level of resistance you meet and the complexity of your victim's problems. These tactics are equally applicable to social and political seductions, minus the sexual component in Phase Four. At all cost, resist the temptation to hurry to the climax of your seduction, or to improvise. You are not being seductive but selfish. Everything in daily life is hurried and improvised, and you need to offer something different. By taking your time and respecting the seductive process you will not only break down your victim's resistance, you will make them fall in love. Phase One Separation - Stirring Interest and Desire Your victims live in their own worlds, their minds occupied with anxieties and daily concerns. Your goal in this initial phase is to slowly separate themfrom that closed world and fill their minds with thoughts of you. Once you have decided whom to seduce (1: Choose the right victim), your first task is to get your victims' attention, to stir interest in you. For those who might be more resistant or difficult, you should try a slower and more insidious approach, first winning their friendship (2: Create a false sense of security-approach indirectly); for those who are bored and less difficult to reach, a more dramatic approach will work, either fascinating them with a mysterious presence (3; Send mixed signals) or seeming to be someone who is coveted and fought over by others (4: Appear to be an object of desire). Once the victim is properly intrigued, you need to transform their interest into something stronger - desire. Desire is generally preceded by feelings of emptiness, of something missing inside that needsfulfillment. You must deliberately instill suchfeelings, make your victims aware of the adventure and romance that are lacking in their lives (5: Create a need-stir anxiety and discontent). If they see you as the one to fill their emptiness, interest will blossom into desire. The desire should be stoked by subtly planting ideas in their minds, hints of the seductive pleasures that await them (6: Master the art of insinuation). Mirroring your victims' values, indulging them in their wants and moods will charm and delight them (7: Enter their spirit). Without realizing how it has happened, more and more of their thoughts now revolve around you. The time has come for something stronger. Lure them with an irresistible pleasure or adventure (8: Create temptation) and they will follow your lead. 1 Choose the Right Victim Everything depends on the target of your seduction. Study your prey thoroughly, and choose only those who will prove susceptible to your charms. The right victims are those for whom you can fill a void, who see in you something exotic. They are often isolated or at least somewhat unhappy (perhaps because of recent adverse circumstances), or can easily be made so-for the completely contented person is almost impossible to seduce. The perfect victim has some natural quality that attracts you. The strong emotions this quality inspires will help make your seductive maneuvers seem more natural and dynamic. The perfect victim allows for the perfectchase. Preparing for the Hunt T he young Vicomte de Valmont was a notorious libertine in the Paris of the 1770s, the ruin of many a young girl and the ingenious seducer of the wives of illustrious aristocrats. But after a while the repetitiveness of it all began to bore him; his successes came too easily So one year, during the sweltering, slow month of August, he decided to take a break from Paris and visit his aunt at her chateau in the provinces. Life there was not what he was used to-there were country walks, chats with the local vicar, card games. His city friends, particularly his fellow libertine and confidante the Marquise de Merteuil, expected him to hurry back. There were other guests at the chateau, however, including the Presi- dente de Tourvel, a twenty-two-year-old woman whose husband was temporarily absent, having work to do elsewhere. The Presidente had been languishing at the chateau, waiting for him to join her. Valmont had met her before; she was certainly beautiful, but had a reputation as a prude who was extremely devoted to her husband. She was not a court lady; her taste in clothing was atrocious (she always covered her neck with ghastly frills) and her conversation lacked wit. For some reason, however, far from Paris, Valmont began to see these traits in a new light. He followed her to the where she went every morning to pray. He caught glimpses of her at dinner, or playing cards. Unlike the ladies of Paris, she seemed unaware of her charms; this excited him. Because of the heat, she wore a simple linen dress, which revealed her figure. A piece of muslin covered her breasts, letting him more than imagine them. Her hair, unfashionable in its slight disorder, conjured the bedroom. And her face-he had never noticed how expressive it was. Her features lit up when she gave alms to a beggar; she blushed at the slightest praise. She was so natural and unself-conscious. And when she talked of her husband, or religious matters, he could sense the depth of her feelings. If such a passionate nature were ever detoured into a love affair. . . . Valmont extended his stay at the chateau, much to the delight of his aunt, who could not have guessed at the reason. And he wrote to the Marquise de Merteuil, explaining his new ambition: to seduce Madame de Tourvel. The Marquise was incredulous. He wanted to seduce this prude? If he succeeded, how little pleasure she would give him, and if he failed, what a disgrace-the great libertine unable to seduce a wife whose husband was far away! She wrote a sarcastic letter, which only inflamed Valmont fur- The ninth • Have I become blind? Has the inner eye of the soul lost its power? 1 have seen her, but it is as if I had seen a heavenly revelation -so completely has her image vanished again for me. In vain do I summon all the of my soul in order to conjure up this image. If I ever see her again, I shall be able to recognize her instantly, even though she stands among a hundred others. Now she has fled, and the eye of my soul tries in vain to overtake her with its longing. I was walking along Langelinie, seemingly nonchalantly and without paying attention to my surroundings, although my reconnoitering glance leftnothing unobserved-and then my eyesfell upon her. My eyes fixed unswervingly upon her. They no longer obeyed their master's will; it was impossiblefor me to shift my gaze and thus overlook the object I wanted to see-I did not look, I stared. As a fencerfreezes in his lunge, so my eyes were fixed, petrified in the direction initially taken. It was impossible to look down, impossible to withdraw my glance, impossible to see, because I saw far too much. The only thing I have retained is that she had on a green cloak, that is all-one could call it capturing the cloud instead of Juno; she has escaped me . . .and left only her cloak behind. . . . The girl made an impression on me. • The sixteenth • ... I feel no impatience, for she must live here in the city, and at this moment that is enough for me. This possibility is the condition for the properappearanceofher image - everything will be enjoyed in slow drafts. ..." The nineteenth • Cordelia, then, is her name! Cordelia! It is a beautiful name, and that, too, is important, since it can be very disturbing to have to name an ugly name together with the most tender adjectives. KIERKEGAARD, THE SEDUCER'S DIARY. TRANSLATED BY HOWARD V. HONG AND EDNA H. HONG Love as understood by Don Juan is a feeling akin to a taste for hunting. It is cravingfor an activity which needs an incessant of stimuli to challenge skill. -STENDHAL, LOVE. SALE It is not the quality of the desired object that gives us pleasure, but rather the energy of our appetites. -CHARLES BAUDELAIRE, THE END OF DON JUANther. The conquest of this notoriously virtuous woman would prove his greatest seduction. His reputation would only be enhanced. There was an obstacle, though, that seemed to make success almost impossible: everyone knew Valmonfs reputation, including the Presidente. She knew how dangerous it was to ever be alone with him, how people would talk about the least association with him. Valmont did everything to belie his reputation, even going so far as to attend church services and seem repentant of his ways. The Presidente noticed, but still kept her distance. The challenge she presented to Valmont was irresistible, but could he meet it? Valmont decided to test the waters. One day he arranged a little walk with the Presidente and his aunt. He chose a delightful path that they had never taken before, but at a certain point they reached a little ditch, unsuitable for a lady to cross on her own. And yet, Valmont said, the rest of the walk was too nice for them to turn back, and he gallantly picked up his aunt in his arms and carried her across the ditch, making the Presidente laugh uproariously. But then it was her turn, and Valmont purposefully her up a little awkwardly, so that she caught at his arms, and while he was holding her against him he could feel her heart beating faster, and her blush. His aunt saw this too, and cried out, "The child is afraid!" But Valmont sensed otherwise. Now he knew that the challenge could be met, that the Presidente could be won. The seduction could proceed. Interpretation. Valmont, the Presidente de Tourvel, and the Marquise de Merteuil are all characters in the eighteenth-century French novel Dangerous Liaisons, by Choderlos de Laclos. (The character of Valmont was inspired by several real-life libertines of the time, most prominent of all the Duke de Richelieu.) In the story, Valmont worries that his seductions have become mechanical; he makes a move, and the woman almost always responds the same way. But no two seductions should be the same-a different target should change the whole dynamic. Valmonfs problem is that he is always seducing the same type-the wrong type. He realizes this when he meets Madame de Tourvel. It is not because her husband is a count that he decides to seduce her, or because she is stylishly dressed, or is desired by other men-the usual reasons. He chooses her because, in her unconscious way, she has already seduced him. A bare arm, an unrehearsed laugh, a playful manner-all these have captured his attention, because none of them is contrived. Once he falls under her spell, the strength of his desire will make his subsequent maneuvers seem less calculated; he is apparently unable to help himself. And his strong emotions will slowly infect her. Beyond the effect the Presidente has on Valmont, she has other traits that make her the perfect victim. She is bored, which draws her toward adventure. She is naive, and unable to see through his tricks. Finally, the Achilles' heel; she believes herself immune to seduction. Almost all of us Choose the Right Victim • 171 are vulnerable to the attractions of other people, and we take precautions against unwanted lapses. Madame de Tourvel takes none. Once Valmont has tested her at the ditch, and has seen she is physically vulnerable, he knows that eventually she will fall. Life is short, and should not be wasted pursuing and seducing the wrong people. The choice of target is critical; it is the set up of the seduction and it will determine everything else that follows. The perfect victim does not have certain facial features, or the same taste in music, or similar goals in life. That is how a banal seducer chooses his or her targets. The perfect victim is the person who stirs you in a way that cannot be explained in words, whose effect on you has nothing to do with superficialities. He or she often has a quality that you yourself lack, and may even secretly envy- the Presidente, for example, has an innocence that Valmont long ago lost or never had. There should be a little bit of tension-the victim may fear you a little, even slightly dislike you. Such tension is full of erotic potential and will make the seduction much livelier. Be more creative in choosing your prey and you will be rewarded with a more exciting seduction. Of course, it means nothing if the potential victim is not open to your influence. Test the person first. Once you feel that he or she is also vulnerable to you then the hunting can begin. It is a stroke of good fortune to find one who is worth seducing. . . . Most people rush ahead, become engaged or do other stupid things, and ina turn of the hand everything is over, and they know neither what they have won nor what they have lost. KIERKEGAARD Keys to Seduction T hroughout life we find ourselves having to persuade people-to seduce them. Some will be relatively open to our influence, if only in subtle ways, while others seem impervious to our charms. Perhaps we find this a mystery beyond our control, but that is an ineffective way of dealing with life. Seducers, whether sexual or social, prefer to pick the odds. As often as possible they go toward people who betray some vulnerability to them, and avoid the ones who cannot be moved. To leave people who are inaccessible to you alone is a wise path; you cannot seduce everyone. On the other hand, you must actively hunt out the prey that responds the right way. This will make your seductions that much more pleasurable and satisfying. How do you recognize your victims? By the way they respond to you. You should not pay so much attention to their conscious responses-a person who is obviously trying to please or charm you is probably playing to your vanity, and wants something from you. Instead, pay greater attention to those responses outside conscious control-a blush, an involuntary mir- The daughter of desire should strive to have the following lovers in their turn, as being mutuallyrestful to her: a boy who has been loosed too soon from the authority and counsel of his father, an author enjoying office with a rather simple-minded prince, a merchant's son whose pride is in rivaling other lovers, an ascetic who is the slave of love in secret, a king's son whose follies are boundless and who has a tastefor rascals, the countrified son of some village Brahman, a married woman's lover, a singer who has just pocketed a very large sum of money, the master of a caravan but recently come in. . . .These brief instructions admit of infinitely varied interpretation, dear child, according to the circumstance; and it requires intelligence, insight and reflection to make the best of each particular case. -EASTERN LOVE, VOLUME II: THE HARLOT'S BREVIARY OF KSHEMENDRA, MATHERS The women who can be easily won over to congress: ... a woman who looks sideways at you; ... a woman who hates her husband, or who is hated by him; ... a woman who has not had any children; ... a woman who is very fond of society; a woman who is apparently very affectionate toward her husband; the wife of an actor; a widow; ... a woman fond of enjoyments; ... a vain woman; a woman whose husband is inferior to her in rank or ability; a woman who is proud of her skill in the arts; ... a woman who is slighted by her husband without any cause; ... a woman whose husband is devoted to travelling; the wife of a jeweler; a jealous woman; a covetous woman. -THE HINDI: ART OF LOVE. EDITED BY EDWARD WINDSOR Leisure stimulates love, leisure watches the lovelorn, \ Leisure's the cause and sustenance of this sweet \ Evil. Eliminate leisure, and Cupid's bow is broken, \ His torches lie lightless, scorned. \ As a plane-tree rejoices in wine, as a poplar in water, \As a marsh-reed in swampy ground, so Venus loves \ Leisure. . . . \ Why do you think Aegisthus \ Became an adulterer? Easy: he was idle-and bored. \ Everyone else was away at Troy on a lengthy \ Campaign: all Greece had shipped \ Its contingent across. Suppose he hankered for warfare? Argos \ Had no wars to offer. Suppose he fancied the courts? \ Argos lacked litigation. Love was better than doing nothing. \ That's how Cupid slips in; that's how he stays. - ON ID, CURES FOR LOVE. The Chinese have a proverb: "When Yang is in the ascendant, Yin is bom," which means, translated into our language, that when a man has devoted the better of his life to the ordinary business of living, the Yin, raring of some gesture of yours, an unusual shyness, even perhaps a flash of anger or resentment. All of these show that you arehaving an effect on a person who is open to your influence. Like Valmont, you can also recognize the right targets by the effect they are having on you. Perhaps they make you uneasy-perhaps they correspond to a deep-rooted childhood ideal, or represent some kind of personal taboo that excites you, or suggest the person you imagine you would be if you were the opposite sex. When a person has such a deep effect on you, it transforms all of your subsequent maneuvers. Your face and gestures become more animated. You have more energy; when victims resist you (as a good victim should) you in turn will be more creative, more motivated to overcome their resistance. The seduction will move forward like a good play. Your strong desire will infect the target and give them the dangerous sensation that they have a power over you. Of course, you are the one ultimately in control since you are making your victims emotional at the right moments, leading them back and forth. Good seducers choose targets that inspire them but they know how and when to restrain themselves. Never rush into the waiting arms of the first person who seems to like you. That is not seduction but insecurity. The need that draws you will make for a low-level attachment, and interest on both sides will sag. Look at the types you have not considered before-that is where you will find challenge and adventure. Experienced hunters do not choose their prey by how easily it is caught; they want the thrill of the chase, a life-and-death struggle-the fiercer the better. Although the victim who is perfect for you depends on you, certain types lend themselves to a more satisfying seduction. Casanova liked young women who were unhappy, or had suffered a recent misfortune. Such women appealed to his desire to play the savior, but it also responded to necessity: happy people are much harder to seduce. Their contentment makes them inaccessible. It is always easier to fish in troubled waters. Also, an air of sadness is itself quite seductive-Genji, the hero of the Japanese novel The Tale of Genji, could not resist a woman with a melancholic air. In Kierkegaard's book The Seducer's Diary, the narrator, Johannes, has one main requirement in his victim: she must have imagination. That is why he chooses a woman who lives in a fantasy world, a woman who will envelop his every gesture in poetry, imagining far more than is there. Just as it is hard to seduce a person who is happy, it is hard to seduce a person who has no imagination. For women, the manly man is often the perfect victim. Mark Antony was of this type-he loved pleasure, was quite emotional, and when it came to women, found it hard to think straight. He was easy for Cleopatra to manipulate. Once she gained a hold on his emotions, she kept him permanently on a string. A woman should never be put off by a man who seems overly aggressive. He is often the perfect victim. It is easy, with a few coquettish tricks, to turn that aggression around and make him your slave. Such men actually enjoy being made to chase after a woman. Choose the Right Victim • 173 Be careful with appearances. The person who seems volcanically passionate is often hiding insecurity and self-involvement. This was what most men failed to perceive in the nineteenth-century courtesan Lola Montez. She seemed so dramatic, so exciting. In fact, she was a troubled, self- obsessed woman, but by the time men discovered this it was too late-they had become involved with her and could not extricate themselves without months of drama and torture. People who are outwardly distant or shy are often better targets than extroverts. They are dying to be drawn out, and still waters run deep. People with a lot of time on their hands are extremely susceptible to seduction. They have mental space for you to fill. Tullia d'Aragona, the infamous sixteenth-century Italian courtesan, preferred young men as her victims; besides the physical reason for such a preference, they were more idle than working men with careers, and therefore more defenseless against an ingenious seductress. On the other hand, you should generally avoid people who are preoccupied with business or work-seduction demands attention, and busy people have too little space in their minds for you to occupy. According to Freud, seduction begins early in life, in our relationship with our parents. They seduce us physically, both with bodily contact and by satisfying desires such as hunger, and we in turn try to seduce them into paying us attention. We are creatures by nature vulnerable to seduction throughout our lives. We all want to be seduced; we yearn to be drawn out of ourselves, out of our routines and into the drama of eros. And what draws us more than anything is the feeling that someone has something we don't, a quality we desire. Your perfect victims are often people who think you have something they don't, and who will be enchanted to have it provided for them. Such victims may have a temperament quite the opposite of yours, and this difference will create an exciting tension. When Jiang Qing, later known as Madame Mao, first met Mao Tse- tung in 1937 in his mountain retreat in western China, she could sense how desperate he was for a bit of color and spice in his life: all the camp's women dressedlikethemen,andabjuredanyfemininefinery. Jiang had been anactress in Shanghai, and was anything but austere. She supplied what he lacked, and she also gave him the added thrill of being able to educate her in communism, appealing to his Pygmalion complex-the desire to dominate, control, and remake a person. In fact it was Jiang Qing who controlled her future husband. The greatest lack of all is excitement and adventure, which is precisely what seduction offers. In 1964, the Chinese actor Shi Pei Pu, a man who had gained fame as a female impersonator, met Bernard Bouriscout, a young diplomat assigned to the French embassy in China. Bouriscout had come to China looking for adventure, and was disappointed to have little contact with Chinese people. Pretending to be a woman who, when still a child, had been forced to live as a boy-supposedly the family already had too many daughters-Shi Pei Pu used the young Frenchman's boredom and or emotional side of his nature, rises to the surface and demands its rights. When such a period occurs, all that which has formerly seemed important loses its significance. The will-of- the-wisp of illusion leads the man hither and thither, taking him on strange and complicated deviations from his former path in life. Ming Huang, the "Bright Emperor" of the Tang dynasty, was an example of the profound truth of this theory. From the moment he saw Yang Kuei-fei bathing in the lake near his palace in the Li mountains, he was destined to sit at her feet, leamingfrom her the emotional mysteries of what the Chinese call Yin. -ELOISE TALCOTT HIBBERT, EMBROIDERED GAUZE: PORTRAITS OF FAMOUS LADIES discontent to manipulate him. Inventing a story of the deceptions he had had to go through, he slowly drew Bouriscout into an affair that would last many years. (Bouriscout had had previous homosexual encounters, but considered himself heterosexual.) Eventually the diplomat was led into spying for the Chinese. All the while, he believed Shi Pei Pu was a woman-his for adventure had made him that vulnerable. Repressed types are perfect victims for a deep seduction. People who repress the appetite for pleasure make ripe victims, particularly later in their lives. The eighth-century Chinese Emperor Ming Huang spent much of his reign trying to rid his court of its costly addiction to luxuries, and was himself a model of austerity and virtue. But the moment he saw the concubine Yang Kuei-fei bathing in a palace lake, everything changed. The most charming woman in the realm, she was the mistress of his son. Exerting his power, the emperor won her away-only to become her abject slave. The choice of the right victim is equally important in politics. Mass seducers such as Napoleon or John F. Kennedy offer their public just what it lacks. When Napoleon came to power, the French people's sense of pride was beaten down by the bloody aftermath of the French Revolution. He offered them glory and conquest. Kennedy recognized that Americans were bored with the stultifying comfort of the Eisenhower years; he gave them adventure and risk. More important, he tailored his appeal to the group most vulnerable to it: the younger generation. Successful politicians know that not everyone will be susceptible to their charm, but if they can find a group of believers with a need to be filled, they have supporters who will stand by them no matter what. Symbol: Big Game. Lions are dangerous-to hunt them is to know the thrill of risk. Leopards are clever and swift, offering the excitement of a difficult chase. Never rush into the hunt. Know your prey and choose it carefully. Do not waste time with small game-the rabbits that back into snares, the mink that walk into a scented trap. Challenge is pleasure. Choose the Right Victim • 175 Reversal T here is no possible reversal. There is nothing to be gained from trying to seduce the person who is closed to you, or who cannot provide the pleasure and chase that you need. 2. Create a False Sense of Security- Approach Indirectly. Ifyouaretoo rect early on, you risk stirring up a resistance that will never be lowered. At first there must be nothing of the seducer in your manner. The seduction should begin at an angle, indirectly, so that the target only gradually becomes aware of you. Haunt the periphery of your target 's life-approach through a third party, or seem to cultivate a relatively neutral relationship, moving gradually from friend to lover. Arrange an occasional "chance" encounter, as if you and your target were destined to become acquainted-nothing is more seductive than a sense of destiny. Lull the target into feeling secure, then strike. Friend to Lover. A nne Marie Louis d'Orleans, the Duchess de Montpensier, known in seventeenth-century France as La Grande Mademoiselle, had never known love in her life. Her mother had died when she was young; her father remarried and ignored her. She came from one of Europe's most illustrious families: her grandfather had been King Henry IV; the future King Louis XIV was her cousin. When she was young, matches had been proposed between her and the widowed king of Spain, the son of the Holy Roman emperor, and even cousin Louis himself, among many others. But all of these matches were designed for political purposes, or because of her family's enormous wealth. No one bothered to woo her; she rarely evenmet her suitors. To make matters worse, the Grande Mademoiselle was an idealist who believed in the old-fashioned values of chivalry: courage, honesty, virtue. She loathed the schemers whose motives in courting her were dubious at best. Whom could she trust? One by one she found a reason to spurn them. Spinsterhood seemed to be her fate. In April of 1669, the Grande Mademoiselle, then forty-two, met one of the strangest men in the court: the Marquis Antonin Peguilin, later known as the Duke de Lauzun. A favorite of Louis XIV's, the thirty-six- year-old Marquis was a brave soldier with an acid wit. He was also an incurable Don Juan. Although he was short, and certainly not handsome, his impudent manners and his military exploits made him irresistible to women. The Grande Mademoiselle had noticed him some years before, admiring his elegance and boldness. But it was only this time, in 1669, that she had a real conversation with him, if a short one, and although she knew of his lady-killer reputation, she found him charming. A few days later they ran into each other again; this time the conversation was longer, and Lauzun proved more intelligent than she had imagined-they talked of the playwright Corneille (her favorite), of heroism, and of other elevated topics. Now their encounters became more frequent. They had become friends. Anne Marie noted in her diary that her conversations with Lauzun, when they occurred, were the highlight of her day; when he was not at court, she felt his absence. Surely her encounters with him came frequently enough that they could not be accidental on his part, but he always seemed surprised to see her. At the same time, she recorded feeling uneasy- strange emotions were stealing up on her, she did not know why. Many women adore the elusive, \ Hate overeagerness. So, play hard to get, \ Stop boredom developing. And don't let your entreaties \ Sound too confident of possession. Insinuate sex \ Camouflaged as friendship. I've seen ultrastubborn creatures \ Fooled by this gambit, the switch from companion to stud. -OVID, THEART OF LOVE, GREEN On the street, I do not stop her, or I exchange a greeting with her but never come close, but always strive for distance. Presumably our repeated encounters are clearly noticeable to her; presumably she does perceive that on her horizon a new planet has loomed, which in its course has encroached disturbingly upon hers in a curiously undisturbing way, but she has no inkling of the law underlying this movement. . . . Before I begin my attack, I must first become acquainted with her and her whole mental state. KIERKEGAARD, THE SEDUCER'S DIARY. HONG AND EDNA H. HONG No sooner had he spoken than the bullocks, driven from their mountain pastures, were on their way to the beach, as Jove had directed; they were making for the sands where the daughter [Europa] of the great king used to play with the young girls of Tyre, who were her companions. Abandoning the dignity of his scepter, the father and ruler of the gods, whose hand wields the flaming threeforked bolt, whose nod shakes the universe, adopted the guise of a bull; and, mingling with the other bullocks, joined in the lowing and ambled in the tender grass, a fair sight to sec. His hide was white as untrodden snow, snow not yet melted by the rainy South wind. The muscles stood out on his neck, and deep folds of skin hung along his flanks. His horns were small, it is true, but so beautifully made that you would swear they were the work of an artist, more polished and shining than any jewel. There was no menace in the set of his head or in his eyes; he looked completely placid. • Agenor's daughter [Europa ] was filled with admiration for one so handsome and so friendly. But, gentle though he seemed, she was afraid at first to touch him; then she went closer, and held out flowers to his shining lips. The lover was delighted Time passed, and the Grande Mademoiselle was to leave Paris for a week or two. Now Lauzun approached her without warning and made an emotional plea to be considered her confidante, the great friend who would execute any commission she needed done while she was away. He was poetic and chivalrous, but what did he really mean? In her diary, Anne Marie finally confronted the emotions that had been stirring in her since their first conversation: "I told myself, these are not vague musings; there must be an object to all of these feelings, and I could not imagine who it was. . . . Finally, after troubling myself with this for several days, I realized that it was M. de Lauzun whom I loved, it was he who had somehow slipped into my heart and captured it." Made aware of the source of her feelings, the Grande Mademoiselle became more direct. If Lauzun was to be her confidante, she could talk to him of marriage, of the matches that were still being offered to her. The topic might give him a chance to express his feelings; perhaps he might show jealousy. Unfortunately Lauzun did not seem to take the hint. Instead, he asked her why she was thinking of marriage at all-she seemed so happy. Besides, who could possibly be worthy of her? This went on for weeks. She could pry nothing personal out of him. In a way, she understood-there were the differences in rank (she was far above him) and age (she was six years older). Then, a few months later, the wife of the king's brother died, and King Louis suggested to the Grande Mademoiselle that she replace his late sister-in-law-that is, that she marry his brother. Anne Marie was disgusted; clearly the brother was trying to get his hands on her fortune. She asked Lauzun his opinion. As the king's loyal servants, he replied, they must obey the royal wish. His answer did not please her, and to make things worse, he stopped visiting her, as if it were no longer proper for them to be friends. This was the last straw. The Grande Mademoiselle told the king she would not marry his brother, and that was that. Now Anne Marie met with Lauzun, and told him she would write on a piece of paper the name of the man she had wanted to marry all along. He was to put the paper under his pillow and read it the next morning. When he did, he found the words "C'est vous "-It is you. Seeing the Grande Mademoiselle the following evening, Lauzun said she must have been joking; she would make him the laughing stock of the court. She insisted that she was serious. He seemed shocked, surprised-but not as surprised as the rest of the court was a few weeks later, when an engagement was announced between this relatively low-ranking Don Juan and the second-highest-ranking lady in France, a woman known for both her virtue and her skill at defending it. Interpretation. The Duke de Lauzun was one of the greatest seducers in history, and his slow and steady seduction of the Grande Mademoiselle was his masterpiece. His method was simple: indirection. Sensing her interest in him in that first conversation, he decided to beguile her with friendship. Create a False Sense of Security-Approach Indirectly He would become her most devoted friend. At first this was charming; a man was taking the time to talk to her, of poetry, history, the deeds of war-her favorite subjects. She slowly began to confide in him. Then, almost without her realizing it, her feelings shifted: the consummate ladies' man was only interested in friendship? He was not attracted to her as a ? Such thoughts made her aware that she had fallen in love with him. This, in part, was what eventually made her turn down the match the king's brother-a decision cleverly and indirectly provoked by Lauzun himself, when he stopped visiting her. And how could he be after money or position, or sex, when he had never made any kind of move? No, the brilliance of Lauzun's seduction was that the Grande Mademoiselle it was she who was making all the moves. Once you have chosen the right victim, you must get his or her attention and stir desire. To move from friendship to love can win success without calling attention to itself as a maneuver. First, your friendly conversations with your targets will bring you valuable information about their characters, their tastes, their weaknesses, the childhood yearnings that govern their adult behavior. (Lauzun, for example, could adapt cleverly to Anne Marie's tastes once he had studied her close up.) Second, by spending time with your targets you can make them comfortable with you. Believing you are interested only in their thoughts, in their company, they will lower their resistance, dissipating the usual tension between the sexes. Now they are vulnerable, for your friendship with them has opened the golden gate to their body: their mind. At this point any offhand comment, any slight physical contact, will spark a different thought, which will catch them offguard: perhaps there could be something else between you. Once that feeling has stirred, they will wonder why you haven't made a move, and will take the initiative themselves, enjoying the illusion that they are in control. There is nothing more effective in seduction than making the seduced think that they are the ones doing the seducing. I do not approach her, 1 merely skirt the periphery of her existence. . . . This is the first web into which she must bespun. KIERKEGAARD Key to Seduction W hat you are after as a seducer is the ability to move people in the direction you want them to go. But the game is perilous; the moment they suspect they are acting under your influence, they will become resentful. We are creatures who cannot stand feeling that we are obeying someone else's will. Should your targets catch on, sooner or later they will turn against you. But what if you can make them do what you want them to without their realizing it? What if they think they are in control? That is and, until he could achieve h is hoped-for pleasure, kissed her hands. He could scarcely wait for the rest, only with great difficulty did he restrain himself • Now he frolicked and played on the green turf now lay down, all snowy white on the yellow sand. Gradually the princess lost herfear, and with her innocent hands she stroked his breast when he offered itfor her caress, and hung fresh garlands on his horns: till finally she even ventured to mount the bull, little knowing on whose back she was resting. Then the god drew away from the shore by easy stages, first planting the hooves that were part of his disguise in the surf at the water's edge, and then proceeding farther out to sea, till he bore his booty away over the wide stretches of mid ocean. - OVID, METAMORPHOSES, INNES These few reflections lead us to the understanding that, since in attempting a seduction it is up to the man to make the first steps, for the seducer, to seduce is nothing more than reducing the distance, in this case that of the difference between the sexes and that, in order to accomplish this, it is necessary to feminize himself or at least identify himself with the object of his seduction. ... As Alain Roger writes: "If there is a seduction, it is the seducer who is first lead astray, in the sense that he abdicates his own sex. Seduction undoubtedly aims at sexual consummation, but it only gets there in creating a kind 182 of simulacra of Gomorra. The seducer is nothing more than a lesbian." MONNEYRON, S EDUIRE: L'lMAGINAIRE DE LA SEDUCTION DE DON GIOVANNI A MICK JAGGER As he [Jupiter ] was hurrying busily to and fro, he stopped short at the sight of an Arcadian maiden. The fire of passion kindled the very marrow of his bones. This girl was not one who spent her time in spinning soft fibers of wool, or in arranging her hair in different styles. She was one of Diana's warriors, wearing her tunic pinned together with a brooch, her tresses carelessly caught back by a white ribbon, and carrying in her hand a light javelin or her bow. The sun on high had passed its zenith, whenshe entered a grove whose trees had neverfelt the axe. Here she took her quiver from her shoulders, unstrung her pliant bow, lay down on the turf, resting her head on her painted quiver. When Jupiter saw her thus, tired and unprotected, he said: "Here is a secret of which my wife will know nothing; or if she does get to know of it, it will be worth her reproaches!" • Without wasting time he assumed the appearance and the dress of Diana, and spoke to the girl. 'Dearest of all my companions," he said, "where have you been hunting? On what mountain ridges?" She raised herself from the grass: "Greeting, divine mistress," she cried, "greater in my sight than the power of indirection and no seducer can work his or her magic without it. The first move to master is simple: once you have chosen the right person, you must make the target come to you. If, in the opening stages, you can make your targets think that they are the ones making the first approach, you have won the game. There will be no resentment, no perverse counterreaction, no paranoia. To make them come to you requires giving them space. This can be accomplished in several ways. You can haunt the periphery of their existence, letting them notice you in different places but never approaching them. You will get their attention this way, and if they want to bridge the gap, they will have to come to you. You can befriend them, as Lauzun did the Grande Mademoiselle, moving steadily closer while always maintaining the distance appropriate for friends of the opposite sex. You can also play cat and mouse with them, first seeming interested, then stepping back- actively luring them to follow you into your web. Whatever you do, and whatever kind of seduction you are practicing, you must at all cost avoid the natural tendency to crowd your targets. Do not make the mistake of thinking they will lose interest unless you apply pressure, or that they will enjoy a flood of attention. Too much attention early on will actually just suggest insecurity, and raise doubts as to your motives. Worst of all, it gives your targets no room for imagination. Take a step back; let the thoughts you are provoking come to them as if they were their own. This is doubly important if you are dealing with someone who has a deep effect on you. We can never really understand the opposite sex. They are always mysterious to us, and it is this mystery that provides the tension so delightful in seduction; but it is also a source of unease. Freud famously wondered what women really wanted; even to this most insightful of psychological thinkers, the opposite sex was a foreign land. For both men and women, there are deep-rooted feelings of fear and anxiety in relation to the opposite sex. In the initial stages of a seduction, then, you must find ways to calm any sense of mistrust that the other person may experience. (A sense of danger and fear can heighten the seduction later on, but if you stir such emotions in the first stages, you will more likely scare the target away.) Establish a neutral distance, seem harmless, and you give yourself room to move. Casanova cultivated a slight femininity in his character-an interest in clothes, theater, domestic matters-that young girls found comforting. The Renaissance courtesan Tullia d'Aragona, developing friendships with the great thinkers and poets of her time, talked of literature and philosophy- anything but the boudoir (and anything but the money that was also her goal). Johannes, the narrator of Soren Kierkegaard's The Seducer's Diary, follows, his target, Cordelia, from a distance; when their paths cross, he is polite and apparently shy. As Cordelia gets to know him, he doesn't frighten her. In fact he is so innocuous she begins to wish he were less so. Duke Ellington, the great jazz artist and a consummate seducer, would Create a False Sense of Security- initially dazzle the ladies with his good looks, stylish clothing, and charisma. But once he was alone with a woman, he would take a slight step back, becoming excessively polite, makingonly small talk. Banal conversation can be a brilliant tactic; it hypnotizes the target. The dullness of your front gives the subtlest suggestive word, the slightest look, an amplified power. Never mention love and you make its absence speak volumes-your victims will wonder why you never discuss your emotions, and as they have such thoughts, they will go further, imagining what else is going on in your mind. They will be the ones to bring up the topic of love or affection. Deliberate dullness has many applications. In psychotherapy, the doctor makes monosyllabic responses to draw patients in, making them relax and open up. In international negotiations, Henry Kissinger would lull diplomats with boring details, then strike with bold demands. Early in a seduction, less-colorful words are often more effective than vivid ones-the target tunes them out, looks at your face, begins to imagine, fantasize, fall under your spell. Getting to your targets through other people is extremely effective; infiltrate their circle and you are no longer a stranger. Before the seventeenth- century seducer Count de Grammont made a move, he would befriend his target's chambermaid, her valet, a friend, even a lover. In this way he could gather information, finding a way to approach her in an unthreatening manner. He could also plant ideas, saying thingsthethirdpartywas likely to repeat, things that would intrigue the lady, particularly when they came from someone she knew. Ninon de 1'Enclos, the seventeenth-century courtesan and strategist of seduction, believed that disguising one's intentions was not only a necessity, it added to the pleasure of the game. A man should never declare his feelings, she felt, particularly early on. It is irritating and provokes mistrust. "A woman is much better persuaded that she is loved by what she guesses than by what she is told," Ninon once remarked. Often a person's haste in declaring his or her feelings comes from a false desire to please, thinking this will flatter the other. But the desire to please can annoy and offend. Children, cats, and coquettes draw us to them by apparently not trying, even by seeming uninterested. Leam to disguise your feelings and let people figure out what is happening for themselves. In all arenas of life, you should never give the impression that you are angling for something-that will raise a resistance that you will never lower. Leam to approach people from the side. Mute your colors, blend in, seem unthreatening, and you will have more room to maneuver later on.The same holds true in politics, where overt ambition often frightens people. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin at first glance looked like an everyday Russian; he dressed like a worker, spoke with a peasant accent, had no air of greatness. This made the public feel comfortable and identify with him. Yet beneath this apparently bland appearance, of course, was a deeply clever man who was always maneuvering. By the time people realized this it was too late. -Approach Indirectly • 183 Jove himself-I care not if he hears me!" Jove laughed to hear her words. Delighted to be preferred to himself he kissed her-not with the restraint becoming to a maiden's kisses: and as she began to tell of her hunting exploits in the forest, he prevented her by his embrace, and betrayed his real self by a shameful action. So far from complying, she resisted him as far as a woman could . . . but how could a girl overcome a man, and who could defeat Jupiter? He had his way, and returned to the upper air. OVIDIO (si veda), METAMORPHOSES,INNES I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me. -BEATRICE, IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING I know of a man whose beloved was completely friendly and at ease with him; but if he had disclosed by the least gesture that he was in love, the beloved would have become as remotefrom him as the Pleiades, whose stars hang so high in heaven. It is a sort of statesmanship that is required in such cases; the party concerned was enjoying the pleasure of his loved one's company intensely and to the last degree, but if he had so much as hinted at his inner feelings he would have attained but a miserable fraction of the beloved's favor, and endured into the bargain all the arrogance and caprice of which love is Symbol: The Spider's Web. The spiderfinds an innocuous corner in capable. which to spin its web. The longer the web takes, the more fabulous HAZM; THE RING OF THE DOVE: A TREATISE ON THE ART AND PRACTICE OF ARAB LOVE ARBERRY its construction, yetfew really notice it-its gossamer threads are nearly invisible. The spider has no need to chaseforfood, or even to move. It quietly sits in the corner, waitingfor its victims to come to it on their own, and ensnare themselves in the web. Reversal I n warfare, you need space to align your troops, room to maneuver. The more space you have, the more intricate your strategy can be. But sometimes it is better to overwhelm the enemy, giving them no time to think or react. Although Casanova adapted his strategies to the woman in question, he would often try to make an immediate impression, stirring her desire at the first encounter. Perhaps he would perform some gallantry, rescuing a woman in danger; perhaps he would dress so that his target would notice him in a crowd. In either case, once he had the woman's attention he would move with lightning speed. A Siren like Cleopatra tries to have an immediate physical effect on men, giving her victims no time or space to retreat. She uses the element of surprise. The first period of your contact with someone can involve a level of desire that will never be repeated; boldness will carry the day. But these are short seductions. The Sirens and the Casanovas only get pleasure from the number of their victims, moving quickly from conquest to conquest, and this can be tiring. Casanova burned himself out; Sirens, insatiable, are never satisfied. The indirect, carefully constructed seduction may reduce the number of your conquests, but more than compensate by their quality. 3 Send Mixed Signals Once people are aware of your presence, and perhaps vaguely intrigued, you need to stir their interest before it settles on someone else. What is obvious and striking may attract their attention atfirst, but that attention is often short-lived; in the long run, ambiguity is much more potent. Most of us are much too obvious - instead, be hard to figure out. Send mixed signals: both tough and tender, both spiritual and earthy, both innocent and cunning. A mix of qualities suggests depth, which fascinates even as it confuses. An elusive, enigmatic aura will make people want to know more, drawing them into your circle. Create such a power by hinting at something contradictory within you. Good and Bad I n 1806, when Prussia and France were at war, Auguste, the handsome twenty-four-year-old prince of Prussia and nephew of Frederick the Great, was captured by Napoleon. Instead of locking him up, Napoleon allowed him to wander around French territory, keeping a close watch on him through spies. The prince was devoted to pleasure, and spent his time moving from town to town, seducing young girls. In 1807 he decided to visit the Chateau de Coppet, in Switzerland, where lived the great French writer Madame de Stael Auguste was greeted by his hostess with as much ceremony as she could muster. After she had introduced him to her other guests, they all retired to a drawing room, where they talked of Napoleon's war in Spain, the current Paris fashions, and so on. Suddenly the door opened and another guest entered, a woman who had somehow stayed in her room during the hubbub of the prince's entrance. It was the thirty-year-old Madame Recamier, Madame de Stael's closest friend. She introduced herself to the prince, then quickly retired to her bedroom. Auguste had known that Madame Recamier was at the chateau. In fact he had heard many stories about this infamous woman, who, in the years after the French Revolution, was considered the most beautiful in France. Men had gone wild over her, particularly at balls when she would take off her evening wrap, revealing the diaphanous white dresses that she had made famous, and dance with such abandon. The painters Gerard and David had immortalized her face and fashions, and even her feet, considered the most beautiful anyone had ever seen; and she had broken the heart of Lucien Bonaparte, the Emperor Napoleon's brother. Auguste liked his girls younger than Madame Recamier, and he had come to the chateau to rest. But those few moments in which she had stolen the scene with her sudden entrance caught him off guard; she was as beautiful as people had said, but more striking than her beauty was that look of hers that seemed so sweet, indeed heavenly, with a hint of sadness in the eyes. The other guests continued their conversations, but Auguste could only think of Madame Recamier. Over dinner that evening, he watched her. She did not talk much, and kept her eyes downward, but once or twice she looked up-directly at the prince. After dinner the guests assembled in the gallery, and a harp was brought in. To the prince's delight, Madame Recamier began to play. Reichardt had seen Juliette at another ball, protesting coyly that she would not dance, and then, after a while, throwing off her heavy evening gown, to reveal a light dress underneath. On all sides, there were murmurs and whisperings about her coquetry and affectation. As ever, she wore white satin, cut very low in the back, revealing her charming shoulders. The men implored her to dance for them. ... To soft music she floated into the room in her diaphanous Greek robe. Her head was bound with a muslin fichu. She bowed timidly to the audience, and then, spinning round lightly, she shook a transparent scarf with her fingertips, so that in turns it billowed into the semblance of a drapery, a veil, a cloud. All this with a strange blend ofprecision and languor. She used her eyes in a subtle fascinating way - "she danced with her eyes." The women thought that all that serpentine undulating of the body, all that nonchalant rhythmic nodding of the head, were sensuous; the men were wafted into a realm of unearthly bliss. Juliette wan ange fatal, and much more dangerous for looking like an angel! The music grew fainter. Suddenly, by a deft trick, Juliette's chestnut hair was loosened andfell in clouds around her. A little out of breath, she disappeared into her dimly lit boudoir. And there the crowdfollowed her and beheld her reclining on her daybed in a loose tea-gown, looking fashionably pale, like Gerard's Psyche, while her maids cooled her brow with toilet water. -MARGARET TROUNCER, MADAME RECAMIER The idea that two distinct elements are combined in Mona Lisa's smile is one that has struck several critics. They accordingly find in the beautiful Florentine's expression the most perfect representation of the contrasts that dominate the erotic life of women; the contrast between reserve and seduction, and between the most devoted tenderness and a sensuality that is ruthlessly demanding - consuming men as if they were alien beings. -SIGMUND FREUD, LEONARDO DA VINCI AND A MEMORY OF HIS CHILDHOOD, TYSON [Oscar Wilde's] hands were fat and flabby; his handshake lacked grip, and at a first encounter one recoiled from its plushy limpness, but this aversion was soon overcome when he began to talk, for his genuine kindliness and desire to please made one forget what was unpleasant singing a love song. And now, suddenly, she changed: there was a roguish look in her eye as she glanced at him. The angelic voice, the glances, the energy animating her face, sent his mind reeling. He was confused. When the same thing happened the next night, the prince decided to extend his stay at the chateau. In the days that followed, the prince and Madame Recamier took walks together, rowed out on the lake, and attended dances, where he finally held her in his arms. They would talk late into the night. But nothing grew clear to him: she would seem so spiritual, so noble, and then there would be a touch of the hand, a sudden flirtatious remark. After two weeks at the chateau, the most eligible bachelor in Europe forgot all his libertine habits and proposed marriage to Madame Recamier. He would convert to Catholicism, her religion, and she would divorce her much older husband. (She had told him her marriage had never been consummated and so the Catholic church could annul it.) She would then come to live with him in Prussia. Madame promised to do as he wished. The prince hurried off to Pmssia to seek the approval of his family, and Madame returned to Paris to secure the required annulment. Auguste flooded her with love letters, and waited. Time passed; he felt he was going mad. Then, finally, a letter: she had changed her mind. Some months later, Madame Recamier sent Auguste a gift: Gerard's famous painting of her reclining on a sofa. The prince spent hours in front of it, trying to pierce the mystery behind her gaze. He had joined the company of her conquests-of men like the writer Benjamin Constant, who said of her, "She was my last love. For the rest of my life I was like a tree struck bylightning." Interpretation. Madame Recamier's list of conquests became only more impressive as she grew older: there was Prince Metternich, the Duke of Wellington, the writers Constant and Chateaubriand. For all of these men she was an obsession, which only increased in intensity when they were away from her. The source of her power was twofold. First, she had an angelic face, which drew men to her. It appealed to paternal instincts, charming with its innocence. But then there was a second quality peeking through, in the flirtatious looks, the wild dancing, the sudden gaiety-all these caught men off guard. Clearly there was more to her than they had thought, an intriguing complexity. When alone, they would find themselves pondering these contradictions, as if a poison were coursing through their blood. Madame Recamier was an enigma, a problem that had to be solved. Whatever it was that you wanted, whether a coquettish she-devil or an unattainable goddess, she could seem to be. She surely encouraged this illusion by keeping her men at a certain distance, so they could never figure her out. And she was the queen of the calculated effect, like her surprise entrance at the Chateau de Coppet, which made her the center of attention, if only for a few seconds. Send Mixed Signals • 189 The seductive process involves filling someone's mind with your image. Your innocence, or your beauty, or your flirtatiousness can attract their attention but not their obsession; they will soon move on to the next striking image. To deepen their interest, you must hint at a complexity that cannot be grasped in a week or two. You are an elusive mystery, an irresistible lure, promising great pleasure if only it can be possessed. Once they begin to fantasize about you, they are on the brink of the slippery slope of seduction, and will not be able to stop themselves from sliding down. Artificial and Natural, T he big Broadway hit of 1881 was Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Patience, a satire on the bohemian world of aesthetes and dandies that had become so fashionable in London. To cash in on this vogue, the operetta's promoters decided to invite one of England's most infamous aesthetes to America for a lecture tour; Oscar Wilde. Only twenty-seven at the time, Wilde was more famous for his public persona than for his small body of work. The American promoters were confident that their public would be fascinated by this man, whom they imagined as always walking around with a flower in his hand, but they did not expect it to last; he would do a few lectures, then the novelty would wear off, and they would ship him home. The money was good and Wilde accepted. On hisarrival in New York, a customs man asked him whether he had anything to declare: "I have nothing to declare," he replied, "except my genius." The invitations poured in-New York society was curious to meet this oddity. Women found Wilde enchanting, but the newspapers were less kind; The New York Times called him an "aesthetic sham." Then, a week after his arrival, he gave his first lecture. The hall was packed; more than a thousand people came, many of themjust to see what he looked like. They were not disappointed. Wilde did not carry a flower, and was taller than they had expected, but he had long flowing hair and wore a green velvet suit and cravat, as well as knee breeches and silk stockings. Many in the audience were put off; as they looked up at him from their seats, the combination of his large size and pretty attire were rather repulsive. Some people openly laughed, others could not hide their unease. They expected to hate the man. Then he began to speak. The subject was the "English Renaissance," the "art for art's sake" movement in late-nineteenth-century England. Wilde's voice proved hypnotic; he spoke in a kind of meter, mannered and artificial, and few really understood what he was saying, but the speech was so witty, and it flowed. His appearance was certainly strange, but overall, no New Yorker had ever seen or heard such an intriguing man, and the lecture was a huge success. Even the newspapers warmed up to it. In Boston a few weeks later, some sixty Harvard boys had prepared an ambush: they would make lun of this effeminate poet by dressing in knee breeches, carrying flowers, and ap- in his physical appearance and contact, gave charm to his manners, and grace to his precision of speech. The first sight of him affected people in various ways. Some could hardly restrain their laughter, others felt hostile, a few were afflicted with the "creeps" many were conscious of being uneasy, but exceptfor a small minority who could never recover from the first sensation of distaste and so kept out of his way, both sexes found him irresistible, and to the young men of his time, says W. B. Yeats, he was like a triumphant and audacious figure from another age. -HESKETH PEARSON, OSCAR WILDE: HIS UFE AND WIT Once upon a time there was a magnet, and in its close neighborhood lived some steel filings. One day two or three little filings felt a sudden desire to go and visit the magnet, and they began to talk of what a pleasant thing it would be to do. Other filings nearby overheard their conversation, and they, too, became infected with the same desire. Still others joined them, till at last all the filings began to discuss the matter, and more and more their vague desire grew into an impulse. "Why not go today?" said one of them; but others were of opinion that it would be better to wait until tomorrow. Meanwhile, without their having noticed it, they had been involuntarily moving nearer to the magnet, which lay there quite still, apparently taking no heed of them. And so they went on discussing, all the time insensibly drawing nearer to their neighbor; and the more they talked, the more they felt the impulse growing stronger, till the more impatient ones declared that they would go that day, whatever the rest did. Some were heard to say that it was their duty to visit the magnet, and they ought to have gone long ago. And, while they talked, they moved always nearer and nearer, without realizing that they had moved. Then, at last, the impatient ones prevailed, and, with one irresistible impulse, the whole body cried out, "There is no use waiting. We will go today. We will go now. We will go at once." And then in one unanimous mass they swept along, and in another moment were clingingfast to the magnet on every side. Then the magnet smiled-for the steel filings had no doubt at all but that they were paying that visit of their own free will. WILDE, LE GALLIENNE IN plauding far too loudly at his entrance. Wilde was not the least bit flustered. The audience laughed hysterically at his improvised comments, and when the boys heckled him he kept his dignity, betraying no anger at all. Once again, the contrast between his manner and his physical appearance made him seem rather extraordinary. Many were deeply impressed, and Wilde was well on his way to becoming a sensation. The short lecture tour turned into a cross-country affair. In San Francisco, this visiting lecturer on art and aesthetics proved able to drink everyone under the table and play poker, which made him the hit of the season. On his way back from the West Coast, Wilde was to make stops in Colorado, and was warned that if the pretty-boy poet dared to show up in the mining town of Leadville, he would be hung from the highest tree. It was an invitation Wilde could not refuse. Arriving in Leadville, he ignored the hecklers and nasty looks; he toured the mines, drank and played cards, then lectured on Botticelli and Cellini in the saloons. Like everyone else, the miners fell under his spell, even naming a mine after him. One cowboy was heard to say, "That fellow is some art guy, but he can drink any of us under the table and afterwards carry us home two at a time." Interpretation. In a fable he improvised at dinner once, Oscar Wilde talked about some steel filings that had a sudden desire to visit a nearby magnet. As they talked to each other about this, they found themselves moving closer to the magnet without realizing how or why. Finally they were swept in one mass to the magnet's side. "Then the magnet smiled-for the steel filings had no doubt at all but that they were paying that visit of their own free will." Such was the effect that Wilde himself had on everyone around him. HESKETH PEARSON, OSCAR WILDE: HIS UFE AND WIT Now that the bohort [impromptu joust] was over and the knights were dispersing and each making his way to where his thoughts inclined him, it chanced that Rivalin was heading for where lovely Blancheflor was sitting. Seeing this, he galloped up to her and looking her in the eyes saluted her most pleasantly. • "God save you, lovely woman!" • "Thank you," said the girl, and continued very bashfully, "may God Almighty, who makes all hearts glad, gladden your heart and mind! And my Wilde's attractiveness was more than just a by-product of his character, it was quite calculated. An adorer of paradox, he consciously played up his own weirdness and ambiguity, the contrast between his mannered appearance and his witty, effortless performance. Naturally warm and spontaneous, he constructed an image that ran counter to his nature. People were repelled, confused, intrigued, and finally drawn to this man who seemed impossible to figure out. Paradox is seductive because it plays with meaning. We are secretly oppressed by the rationality in our lives, where everything is meant to mean something; seduction, by contrast, thrives on ambiguity, on mixed signals, on anything that eludes interpretation. Most people are painfully obvious. If their character is showy, we may be momentarily attracted, but the attraction wears off; there is no depth, no contrary motion, to pull us in. The key to both attracting and holding attention is to radiate mystery. And no one is naturally mysterious, at least not for long; mystery is something you have to work at, a ploy on your part, and something that must be used early on in the seduction. Let one part of your character show, so everyone notices it. (In the example of Wilde, this was the mannered affectation con- Send Mixed Signals • 191 veyed by Ms clothes and poses.) But also send out a mixed signal-some sign that you are not what you seem, a paradox. Do not worry if this underquality is a negative one, like danger, cmelty, or amorality; people will be drawn to the enigma anyway, and pure goodness is rarely seductive. Paradox with him was only truth standing on its head to attract attention. - LE GALLIENNE, ON HIS FRIEND OSCAR WILDE grateful thanks to you !- yet notforgetting a bone I have to pick with you." • "Ah, sweet woman, what have I done?" was courteous Rivalin's reply. • "You have annoyed me through a friend of mine, the best I ever had. " • "Good heavens," thought he, "what does this mean? What have I done to. Keys to Seduction  displease her? What does she say I have done?" and he imagined that N othing can proceed in seduction unless you can attract and hold your attention, your physical presence becoming a haunting mental presence. It is actually quite easy to create that first stir-an alluring style of dress, a suggestive glance, something extreme about you. But what happens next? Our minds are barraged with images-not just from media but from the disorder of daily life. And many of these images are quite striking. You become just one more thing screaming for attention; your attractiveness will pass unless you spark the more enduring kind of spell that makes people think of you in your absence. That means engaging their imaginations, making them think there is more to you than what they see. Once they start embellishing your image with their fantasies, they are hooked. This must, however, be done early on, before your targets know too much and their impressions of you are set. It should occur the moment they lay eyes on you. By sending mixedsignals in that first encounter, you create a little surprise, a little tension: you seem to be one thing (innocent, brash, intellectual, witty), but you also throw them a glimpse of something else (devilish, shy, spontaneous, sad). Keep things subtle: if the second quality is too strong, you will seem schizopMenic. But make them wonder why you might be shy or sad underneath your brash intellectual wit, and you will have their attention. Give them an ambiguity that lets them see what they want to see, capture their imagination with little voyeuristic glimpses into your dark soul. The Greek philosopher Socrates was one of history's greatest seducers; the young men who followed him as students were not just fascinated by Ms ideas, they fell in love with him. One such youth was Alcibiades, the unwittingly he must have injured a kinsman of hers some time at their knightly sports and that was why she was vexed with him. But no, the friend she referred to was her heart, in which he made her suffer: that was the friend she spoke of But he knew nothing of that. • "Lovely woman," he said with all his accustomed charm, "I do not want you to be angry with me or bear me any ill will. So, if what you tell me is true, pronounce sentence on me yourself: I will do whatever you command." • "I do not hate you overmuch for what has happened," was the sweet girl's answer, "nor do I love you for it. But to see what amends you will make for the wrong you have done me, I shall test you another time." • And so he bowed as if to go, and she, lovely girl, sighed at him most secretly and said with tender feeling: • "Ah, dear notorious playboy who became a powerful political figure near the end of the fifth century B.C. In Plato's Symposium, Alcibiades describes Socrates's seductive powers by comparing him to the little figures of Silenus that were made back then. In Greek myth, Silenus was quite ugly, but also a wise prophet. Accordingly the statues of Silenus were hollow, and when you took them apart, you would find little figures of gods inside them-the inner truth and beauty under the unappealing exterior. And so, for Alcibiades, it was the same with Socrates, who was so ugly as to be repellent but whose face radiated inner beauty and contentment. The effect was confus- friend, God bless you!" From this time on the thoughts of each ran on the other. • Rivalin turned away, pondering many things. He pondered from many sides why Blancheflor should be vexed, and what lay behind it all. He considered her greeting, her words; he examined her sigh minutely, herfarewell, he whole behavior. . . But since he was uncertain of her motive-whether she had acted from enmity orlove-he wavered in perplexity. He wavered in his thoughts now here, now there. At one moment he was off in one direction, then suddenly in another, till he had so ensnared himself in the toils of his own desire that he was powerless to escape . . . • His entanglement had placed him in a quandary, for he did not know whether she wished him well or ill; he could not make out whether she loved or hated him. No hope or despair did he consider which did not forbid him either to advance or retreat-hope and despair led him to andfro in unresolved dissension. Hope spoke to him of love, despair of hatred. Because of this discord he could yield his firm belief neither to hatred nor yet to love. Thus his feelings drifted in an unsure haven-hope bore him on, despair away. He found no constancy in either; they agreed neither one way or another. When despair came and told him that his Blancheflor was his enemy he faltered and sought to escape: but at once came hope, bringing him her love, and a fond aspiration, and so perforce he remained. In theface of such discord he did not know where to turn: nowhere could he go forward. The more he strove to flee, the more firmly love forced him back. The harder he struggled to escape, love drew him back more firmly. -STRASSBURG, TRISTAN. HATTOing and attractive. Antiquity's other great seducer, Cleopatra, also sent out mixed signals: by all accounts physically alluring, in voice, face, body, and manner, she also had a brilliantly active mind, which for many writers of the time made her seem somewhat masculine in spirit. These contrary qualities gave her complexity, and complexity gave her power. To capture and hold attention, you need to show attributes that go against your physical appearance, creating depth and mystery. If you have a sweet face and an innocent air, let out hints of something dark, even vaguely cruel in your character. It is not advertised in your words, but in your manner. The actor Errol Flynn had a boyishly angelic face and a slight air of sadness. Beneath this outward appearance, however, women could sense an underlying cruelty, a criminal streak, an exciting kind of dangerousness. This play of contrary qualities attracted obsessive interest. The female equivalent is the type epitomized by Marilyn Monroe; she had the face and voice of a little girl, but something sexual and naughty emanated powerfully from her as well. Madame Recamier did it all with her eyes-the gaze of air angel, suddenly interrupted by something sensual and flirtatious. Playing with gender roles is a kind of intriguing paradox that has a long history in seduction. The greatest Don Juans have had a touch of prettiness and femininity, and the most attractive courtesans have had a masculine streak. The strategy, though, is only powerful when the underquality is merely hinted at; if the mix is too obvious or striking it will seem bizarre or even threatening. The great seventeenth-century French courtesan Ninon de l'Enclos was decidedly feminine in appearance, yet everyone who met her was struck by a touch of aggressiveness and independence in her-but just a touch. The late nineteenth-century Italian novelist Gabriele d'Annunzio was certainly masculine in his approaches, but there was a gentleness, a consideration, mixed in, and an interest in feminine finery The combinations can be juggled every which way: Oscar Wilde was quite feminine in appearance and manner, but the underlying suggestion that he was actually quite masculine drew both men and women to him. A potent variation on this theme is the blending of physical heat and emotional coldness. Dandies like Beau Brummel and Andy Warhol combine striking physical appearances with a kind of coldness of manner, a distance from everything and everyone. They are both enticing and elusive, and people spend lifetimes chasing after such men, trying to shatter their unattainability. (The power of apparently unattainable people is devilishly seductive; wewantto be the one to break them down.) They also wrap themselves in ambiguity and mystery, either talking very little or talking only of surface matters, hinting at a depth of character you can never reach. When Marlene Dietrich entered a room, or arrived at a party, all eyes inevitably turned to her. First there were her startling clothes, chosen to make heads turn. Then there was her air of nonchalant indifference. Men, and women too, became obsessed with her, thinking of her long after other memories of the evening had faded. Remember: that first impression, that Send Mixed Signals entrance, is critical. To show too much desire for attention is to signal insecurity, and will often drive people away; play it too cold and disinterested, on the other hand, and no one will bother coming near. The trick is to combine the two attitudes at the same moment. It is the essence of . Perhaps you have a reputation for a particular quality, which immediately comes to mind when people see you. You will better hold their attention by suggesting that behind this reputation some other quality lies lurking. No one had a darker, more sinful reputation than Lord Byron. What drove women wild was that behind his somewhat cold and disdainful exterior, they could sense that he was actually quite romantic, even spiritual. Byron played this up with his melancholic airs and occasional kind deed. Transfixed and confused, many women thought that they could be the one to lead him back to goodness, to make him a faithful lover. Once a woman entertained such a thought, she was completely under his spell. It is not difficult to create such a seductive effect. Should you be known as eminently rational, say, hint at something irrational. Johannes, the narrator in Kierkegaard's The Seducer's Diary, first treats the young Cordelia with businesslike politeness, as his reputation would lead her to expect. Yet she very soon overhears him making remarks that hint at a wild, poetic streak in his character; and she is excited and intrigued. These principles have applications far beyond sexual seduction. To hold the attention of a broad public, to seduce them into thinking about you, you need to mix your signals. Display too much of one quality-even if it is a noble one, like knowledge or efficiency-and people will feel that you lack humanity. We are all complex and ambiguous, full of contradictory impulses; if you show only one side, even if it is your good side, you will wear on people's nerves. They will suspect you are a hypocrite. Mahatma Gandhi, a saintly figure, openly confessed to feelings of anger and vengefulness. John F. Kennedy, the most seductive American public figure of modern times, wasawalkingparadox: an East Coast aristocrat with a love of the common man, an obviously masculine man-a war hero-with a vulnerability you could sense underneath, an intellectual who loved popular culture. People were drawn to Kennedy like the steel filings in Wilde's fable. A bright surface may have a decorative charm, but what draws your eye into a painting is a depth of field, an inexpressible ambiguity, a surreal complexity. Symbol: The Theater Curtain. Onstage, the curtain's heavy deep-red folds attract your eye with their hypnotic surface. But what really fascinates and draws you in is what you think might be happening behind the curtain-the light peeking through, the suggestion of a secret, something about to happen. You feel the thrill of a voyeur about to watch a performance. Reversal T he complexity you signal to other people will only affect them properly if they have the capacity to enjoy a mystery. Some people like things simple, and lack the patience to pursue a person who confuses them. They prefer to be dazzled and overwhelmed. The great Belle Epoque courtesan known as La Belle Otero would work a complex magic on artists and political figures who fell for her, but in dealing with the more uncomplicated, sensual male she would astound them with spectacle and beauty. When meeting a woman for the first time, Casanova might dress in the most fantastic outfit, with jewels and brilliant colors to dazzle the eye; he would use the target's reaction to gauge whether or not she would demand a more complicated seduction. Some of his victims, particularly young girls, needed no more than the glittering and spellbinding appearance, which was really what they wanted, and the seduction would stay on that level. Everything depends on your target: do not bother creating depth for people who are insensitive to it, or who may even be put off or disturbed by it. You can recognize such types by their preference for the simpler pleasures in life, their lack of patience for a more nuanced story. With them, keep it simple. 4, Appear to Be an Object of Desire -Create Triangles, Few are drawn to the person whom others avoid or neglect; people gather around those who have already attracted interest. We want what other people want. To draw your victims closer and make them hungry to possess you, you must create an aura of desirability-of being wanted and courted by many. It will become a point of vanity for them to be the preferred object of your attention, to win you away from a crowd of admirers. Manufacture the illusion of popularity by surrounding yourself with members of the opposite sex – friends, former lovers, present suitors. Createtriangles that stimulate rivalry and raise your value. Build a reputation that precedes you: if many have succumbed to your charms, there must be a reason. Creating Triangles O ne evening in 1882, the thirty-two-year-old Prussian philosopher Paul Ree, living in Rome at the time, visited the house of an older woman who ran a salon for writers and artists. Ree noticed a newcomer there, a twenty-one-year-old Russian girl named Lou von Salome, who had come to Rome on holiday with her mother. Ree introduced himself and they began a conversation that lasted well into the night. Her ideas about God and morality were like his own; she talked with such intensity, yet at the same time her eyes seemed to flirt with him. Over the next few days Ree and Salome took long walks through the city. Intrigued by her mind yet confused by the emotions she aroused, he wanted to spend more time with her. Then, one day, she startled him with a proposition: she knew he was a close friend of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, then also visiting Italy. The three of them, she said, should travel together-no, actually live together, in a kind of philosophers' menage a trois. A fierce critic of Christian morals, Ree found this idea delightful. He wrote to his friend about Salome, describing how desperate she was to meet him. After a few such letters, Nietzsche hurried to Rome. Ree had made this invitation to please Salome, and to impress her; he also wanted to see if Nietzsche shared his enthusiasm for the young girl's ideas. But as soon as Nietzsche arrived, something unpleasant happened; the great philosopher, who had always been a loner, was obviously smitten with Salome. Instead of the three of them sharing intellectual conversations together, Nietzsche seemed to be conspiring to get the girl alone. When Ree caught glimpses of Nietzsche and Salome talking without including him, he felt shivers of jealousy. Forget about some philosophers' menage a trois: Salome was his, he had discovered her, and he would not share her, even with his good friend. Somehow he had to get her alone. Only then could he woo and win her. Madame Salome had planned to escort her daughter back to Russia, but Salome wanted to stay in Europe. Ree intervened, offering to travel with the Salomes to Germany and introduce them to his own mother, who, he promised, would look after the girl and act as a chaperone. (Ree knew that his mother would be a lax guardian at best.) Madame Salome agreed to this proposal, but Nietzsche was harder to shake: he decided to join them on their northward journey to Ree's home in Prussia. At one point in the trip, Nietzsche and Salome took a walk by themselves, and Let me tell you about a gentleman I once knew who, although he was of pleasing appearance and modest behavior, and also a very capable warrior, was not so outstanding as regards any of these qualities that there were not to befound many who were his equal and even better. However, as luck would have it, a certain lady fell very deeply in love with him. She saw that he felt the same way, and as her love grew day by day, there not being any way for them to speak to each other, she revealed her sentiments to another lady, who she hoped would be of service to her in this affair. Now this lady neither in rank nor beauty was a whit inferior to the first; and it came about that when she heard the young man (whom she had never seen) spoken of so affectionately, and came to realize that the other woman, whom she knew was extremely discreet and intelligent, loved him beyond words, she straight away began to imagine that he must be the most handsome, the wisest, the most discreet of men, and, in short, the man most worthy of her love in all the world. So, never having set eyes on him, shefell in love with him so passionately that she set out to win him not for herfriend but for herself And in this she succeeded with little effort, for indeed she was a woman more to be wooed than to do the wooing. And now listen tothesplendid sequel: not long afterward it happened that a letter which she had written to her lover fell into the hands of another woman of comparable rank, charm, and beauty; and since she, like most women, was curious and eager to learn secrets, she opened the letter and read it. Realizing that it was written from the depths of passion, in the most loving and ardent terms, she was at first moved with compassion, for she knew very wellfrom whom the letter came and to whom it was addressed; then, however, such was the power of the words she read, turning them over in her mind and considering what kind of man it must be who had been able to arouse such great love, she at once began to fall in love with him herself; and the letter was without doubt far more effective than if the young man had himself written it to her. And just as it sometimes happens that the poison preparedfor a prince kills the one who tastes his food, so that poor woman, in her greediness, drank the love potion prepared for another. What more is there to say? The affair was no secret, and things so developed that many other women besides, partly to spite the others and partly to follow their when they came back, Ree had the feeling that something physical had happened between them. His blood boiled; Salome was slipping from his grasp. Finally the groupsplitup, the mother returning to Russia, Nietzsche to his summer place in Tautenburg, Ree and Salome staying behind at Ree's home. But Salome did not stay long: she accepted an invitation of Nietzsche's to visit him, unchaperoned, in Tautenburg. In her absence Ree was consumed with doubts and anger. He wanted her more than ever, and was prepared to redouble his efforts. When she finally came back, Ree vented his bitterness, railing against Nietzsche, criticizing his philosophy, and questioning his motives toward the girl. But Salome took Nietzsche's side. Ree was in despair; he felt he had lost her for good. Yet a few days later she surprised him again: she had decided she wanted to live with him, and with him alone. At last Ree had what he had wanted, or so he thought. The couple settled in Berlin, where they rented an apartment together. But now, to Ree's dismay, the old pattern repeated. They lived together but Salome was courted on all sides by young men. The darling of Berlin's intellectuals, who admired her independent spirit, her refusal to compromise, she was constantly surrounded by a harem of men, who referred to her as "Her Excellency." Once again Ree found himself competing for her attention. Driven to despair, he left her a few years later, and eventually committed suicide. In 1911, Sigmund Freud met Salome (now known as Lou Andreas- Salome) at a conference in Germany. She wanted to devote herself to the psychoanalytical movement, she said, and Freud found her enchanting, although, like everyone else, he knew the story of her infamous affair with Nietzsche (see page 46, "The Dandy"). Salome had no background in psychoanalysis or in therapy of any kind, but Freud admitted her into the inner circle of followers who attended his private lectures. Soon after she joined the circle, one of Freud's most promising and brilliant students. Dr. Victor Tausk, sixteen years younger than Salome, fell in love with her. Salome's relationship with Freud had been platonic, but he had grown extremely fond of her. He was depressed when she missed a lecture, and would send her notes and flowers. Her involvement in a love affair with Tausk made him intensely jealous, and he began to compete for her attention. Tausk had been like a son to him, but the son was threatening to steal the father's platonic lover. Soon, however, Salome left Tausk. Now her friendship with Freud was stronger than ever, and so it lasted until her death, in 1937. Interpretation. Men did not just fall in love with Lou Andreas-Salome; they were overwhelmed with the desire to possess her, to wrest her away from others, to be the proud owner of her body and spirit. They rarely saw her alone; she always in some way surrounded herself with other men. Appear to Be an Object of Desire-Create Triangles • 199 When she saw that Ree was interested in her, she mentioned her desire to meet Nietzsche. This inflamed Ree, and made him want to marry her and to keep him for himself, but she insisted on meeting his friend. His letters to Nietzsche betrayed his desire for this woman, and this in turn kindled Nietzsche's own desire for her, even before he had met her. Every time one of the two men was alone with her, the other was in the background. Then, later on, most of the men who met her knew of the infamous Nietzsche affair, and this only increased their desire to possess her, to compete with Nietzsche's memory. Freud's affection for her, similarly, turned into potent desire when he had to vie with Tausk for her attention. Salome was intelligent and attractive enough on her own account; but her constant strategy of imposing a triangle of relationships on her suitors made her desirability intense. And while they fought over her, she had the power, being desired by all and subject to none. Our desire for another person almost always involves social considerations: we are attracted to those who are attractive to other people. We want to possess them and steal them away. You can believe all the sentimentalnonsense you want to about desire, but in the end, much of it has to do with vanity and greed. Do not whine and moralize about people's selfishness, but simply use it to your advantage. The illusion that you are desired by others will make you more attractive to your victims than your beautiful face or your perfect body. And the most effective way to create that illusion is to create a triangle: impose another person between you and your victim,and subtly make your victim aware of how much this other person wants you. The third point on the triangle does not have to be just one person: surround yourself with admirers, reveal your past conquests-in other words, envelop yourself in an aura of desirability. Make your targets compete with your past and your present. They will long to possess you all to themselves, giving you great power for as long as you elude their grasp. Fail to make yourself an object of desire right from the start, and you will end up the sorry slave to the whims of your lovers-they will abandon you the moment they lose interest. [A person] will desire any object so long as he is convinced that it is desired by another person whom he admires. -RENE GIRARD Keys to Seduction W e are social creatures, and are immensely influenced by the tastes and desires of other people. Imagine a large social gathering. You see aman alone, whom nobody talks to for any length of time, and who is wandering around without company; isn't there a kind of self-fulfilling isolation about him? Why is he alone, why is he avoided? There has to be a reason. Until someone takes pity on this man and starts up a conversation example, put every care and effort into winning this man's love, squabbling over it for a while as boys do for cherries. CASTIGLIONE, THE BOOK OFTHE COURTIER, BULL Most of the time we prefer one thing to another because that is what our friends already prefer or because that object has marked social significance. Adults, when they are hungry, are just like children in that they seek out thefoods that others take. In their love affairs, they seek out the man or woman whom others find attractive and abandon those who are not sought after. When we say of a man or woman that he or she is desirable, what we really mean is that others desire them. It is not that they have some particular quality, but because they conform to some currently modish model. MOSCOVICI, THE AGE OF THE CROWD.A HISTORICAL TREATISE ON MASS PSYCHOL- OGT,  WHITEHOUSE It will be greatly to your advantage to entertain the lady you would win with an account of the number of women who are in love with you, and of the decided advances which they have made to you; for this will not only prove that you are a greatfavorite with the ladies, and a man of true honor, but it will convince her that she may have the honor of being enrolled in the same list, and of being praised in the same way, in the presence of your otherfemale friends. This will greatly delight her, and you need not be surprised if she testifies her admiration of your character by throwing her arms around your neck on the spot. -LOLA MONTEZ, THE ARTS AND SECRETS OF BEAUTY, WITH HINTS TO GENTLEMEN ON THE ART OF FASCINATING [Rene] Girard's mimetic desire occurs when an individual subject desires an object because it is desired by another subject, here designated as the rival: desire is modeled on with him, he will look unwanted and unwantable. But over there, in another corner, is a woman surrounded by people. They laugh at her remarks, and as they laugh, others join the group, attracted by its gaiety. When she moves around, people follow. Her face is glowing with attention. There has to be a reason. In both cases, of course, there doesn't actually have to be a reason at all. The neglected man may have quite charming qualities, supposing you ever talk to him; but most likely you won't. Desirability is a social illusion. Its source is less what you say or do, or any kind of boasting or self- advertisement, than the sense that other people desire you. To turn your targets' interest into something deeper, into desire, you must make them see you as a person whom others cherish and covet. Desire is both imitative (we like what others like) and competitive (we want to take away from others what they have). As children, we wanted to monopolize the attention of a parent, to draw it away from other siblings. This sense of rivalry pervades human desire, repeating throughout our lives. Make people compete for your attention, make them see you as sought after by everyone else. The aura of desirability will envelop you. the wishes or actions of another. Philippe Lacoue- Labarthe says that "the basic hypothesis upon which rests Girard's famous analysis [is that] every desire is the desire of the other (and not immediately desire of an object), every structure of desire is triangular (including the other-mediator or model-whose desire desire imitates), every desire is thus from its inception tapped by hatred and rivalry; in short, the origin of desire is mimesis - mimeticism-and no desire is ever forged which does not desire forthwith the death or disappearance of the model or exemplary character which gave rise to it. MANDRELL, DON JUAN AND THE POINT OF HONOR Your admirers can be friends or even suitors. Call it the harem effect. Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon, raised her value in men's eyes by always having a group of worshipful men around her at balls and parties. If she went for a walk, it was never with one man, always with two or three. Perhaps these men were simply friends, or even just props and hangers-on; the sight of them was enough to suggest that she was prized and desired, a woman worth fighting over. Andy Warhol, too, surrounded himself with the most glamorous, interesting people he could find. To be part of his inner circle meant that you were desirable as well. By placing himself in the middle but keeping himself aloof from it all, he made everyone compete for his attention. He stirred people's desire to possess him by holding back. Practices like these not only stimulate competitive desires, they take aim at people's prime weakness: their vanity and self-esteem. We can endure feeling that another person has more talent, or more money, but the sense that a rival is more desirable than we are-that is unbearable. In the early eighteenth century, the Duke de Richelieu, a great rake, managed to seduce a young woman who was rather religious but whose husband, a dolt, was often away. He then proceeded to seduce her upstairs neighbor, a young widow. When the two women discovered that he was going from one to the other in the same night, they confronted him. A lesser man would have fled, but not the duke; he understood the dynamic of vanity and desire. Neither woman wanted to feel that he preferred the other. And so he managed to arrange a little menage a trois, knowing that now they would struggle between themselves to be the favorite. When people's vanity is at risk, you can make them do whatever you want. According to Stendhal, if there is a woman you are interested in, pay attention to her sister. That will stir a triangular desire. Your reputation-your illustrious past as a seducer-is ait effective way Appear to Be an Object of Desire-Create Triangles • 201 of creating an aura of desirability. Women threw themselves at Errol Flynn's feet, not because of his handsome face, and certainly not because of his acting skills, but because of his reputation. They knew that other women had found him irresistible. Once he had established that reputation, he did not have to chase women anymore; they came to him. Men who believe that a rakish reputation will make women fear or distrust them, and should be played down, are quite wrong. On the contrary, it makes them more attractive. The virtuous Duchess de Montpensier, the Grande Mademoiselle of seventeenth-century France, began by enjoying a friendship with the rake Lauzun, but a troubling thought soon occurred to her: if a man with Lauzun's past did not see her as a possible lover, something had to be wrong with her. This anxiety eventually pushed her into his arms. To be part of a great seducer's club of conquests can be a matter of vanity and pride. We are happy to be in such company, to have our name broadcast as this man or woman's lover. Your own reputation may not be so alluring, but you must find a way to suggest to your victim that others, many others, have found you desirable. It is reassuring. There is nothing like a restaurant full of empty tables to persuade you not to go in. A variation on the triangle strategy is the use of contrasts: careful exploitation of people who are dull or unattractive may enhance your desirability by comparison. At a social affair, for instance, make sure that your target has to chat with the most boring person available. Come to the rescue and your target will be delighted to see you. In The Seducer's Diary, by Spren Kierkegaard, Johannes has designs on the innocent young Cordelia. Knowing that his friend Edward is hopelessly shy and dull, he encourages this man to court her; a few weeks of Edward's attentions will make her eyes wander in search of someone else, anyone else, and Johannes will make sure that they settle on him. Johannes chose to strategize and maneuver, but almost any social environment will contain contrasts you can make use of almost naturally. The seventeenth-century English actress Nell Gwyn became the main mistress of King Charles II because her humor and unaffectedness made her that much more desirable among the many stiff and pretentious ladies of Charles's court. When the Shanghai actress Jiang Qing met Mao Zedong, in 1937, she did not have to do much to seduce him; the other women in his mountain camp in Yenan dressed like men, and were decidedly unfeminine. The sight alone of Jiang was enough to seduce Mao, who soon left his wife for her. To make use of contrasts, either develop and display those attractive attributes (humor, vivacity, and so on) that are the scarcest in your own social group, or choose a group in which your natural qualities are rare, and will shine. The use of contrasts has vast political ramifications, for a political figure must also seduce and seem desirable. Leam to play up the qualities that your rivals lack. Peter II, czar in eighteenth-century Russia, was arrogant and irresponsible, so his wife, Catherine the Great, did all she could to seem modest and dependable. When Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia in 1917 after Czar Nicholas II had been deposed, he made a show of decisiveness It's annoying that our new acquaintance likes the boy. But aren't the best things in life free to all? The sun shines on everyone. The moon, accompanied by countless stars, leads even the beasts to pasture. What can you think of lovelier than water? But it flows for the whole world. Is love alone then something furtive rather than something to be gloried in? Exactly, that's just it -/ don't want any of the good things of life unless people are envious of them. -PETRONIUS, THE SATYRICON, SULLIVAN and discipline-precisely what no other leader had at the time. In the American presidential race of 1980, the irresoluteness of Jimmy Carter made the single-mindedness of Ronald Reagan look desirable. Contrasts are eminently seductive because they do not depend on your own words or self-advertisements. The public reads them unconsciously, and sees what it wants to see. Finally, appearing to be desired by others will raise your value, but often how you carry yourself can influence this as well. Do not let your targets see you so often; keep your distance, seem unattainable, out of their reach. An object that is rare and hard to obtain is generally more prized. Symbol: The Trophy. What makes you want to win the trophy, and to see it as something worth having, is the sight of the other competitors. Some, out of a spirit of kindness, may want to reward everyonefor trying, but the Trophy then loses its value. It must represent not only your victory but everyone else's defeat. Reversal T here is no reversal. It is essential to appear desirable in the eyes of others. 5. Create a Need- Stir Anxiety and Discontent. A perfectly satisfied person cannot be seduced. Tension and disharmony must be instilled in your targets' minds. Stir within them feelings of discontent, an unhappiness with their circumstances and with themselves: their life lacks adventure, they have strayed from the ideals of their youth, they have become boring. Thefeelings of inadequacy that you create will give you space to insinuate yourself, to make them see you as the answer to their problems. Pain and anxiety are the proper precursors to pleasure. Learn to manufacture the need that you can fill. Opening a Wound. I n the coal-mining town of Eastwood, in central England, David Herbert Lawrence was considered something of a strange lad. Pale and delicate, he had no time for games or boyish pursuits, but was interested in literature; and he preferred the company of girls, who made up most of his friends. Lawrence often visited the Chambers family, who had been his neighbors until they moved out of Eastwood to a farm not far away.Heliked to study with the Chambers sisters, particularly Jessie; she was shy and serious, and getting her to open up and confide in him was a pleasurable challenge. Jessie grew quite attached to Lawrence over the years, and they became good friends. One day in 1906, Lawrence, twenty-one at the time, did not show up at the usual hour for his study session with Jessie. He finally arrived much later, in a mood she had never seen before-preoccupied and quiet. Now it was her turn to make him open up. Linally he talked: he felt she was getting too close to him. What about her future? Whom would she marry? Certainly not him, he said, for they were just friends. But it was unfair of him to keep her from seeing others. They should of course remain friends and have their talks, but maybe less often. When he finished and left, she felt a strange emptiness. She had yet to think much about love or marriage. Suddenly she had doubts. What would her future be? Why wasn't she thinking about it? She felt anxious and upset, without understanding why. Lawrence continued to visit, but everything had changed. He criticized her for this and that. She wasn't very physical. What kind of wife would she make anyway? A man needed more from a woman than just talk. He likened her to a nun. They began to see each other less often. When, some time later,Lawrence accepted a teaching position at a school outside London, she felt part relieved to be rid of him for a while. But when he said goodbye to her, and intimated that it might be for the last time, she broke down and cried. Then he started sending her weekly letters. He would write about girls he was seeing; maybe one of them would be his wife. Linally, at his behest, she visited him in London. They got along well, as in the old times, but he continued to badger her about her future, picking at that old wound. At Christmas he was back in Eastwood, and when he visited her he seemed exultant. He had decided that it was Jessie he should marry, that he had in fact been attracted to her all along. They should keep it quiet for a while; although his writing career was taking off (his first No one can fall in love if he is even partially satisfied with what he has or who he is. The experience of falling in love originates in an extreme depression, an inability to find something that has value in everyday life. The "symptom" of the predisposition to fall in love is not the conscious desire to do so, the intense desire to enrich our lives; it is the profound sense of being worthless and of having nothing that is valuable and the shame of not having it. . . . For this reason, falling in love occurs more frequently among young people, since they are profoundly uncertain, unsure of their worth, and often ashamed of themselves. The same thing applies to people of other ages when they lose something in their lives - when their youth ends or when they start to grow old. ALBERONI, FALLING IN LOVE, "What can Love be then?" I said. "A mortal?" "Far from it." "Well, what?" "As in my previous examples, he is half-way between mortal and immortal." What sort of being is he then, Diotima?" "He is a great spirit, Socrates; everything that is of the nature of a spirit is half-god and halfman." "Who are his parents?" I asked. "That is rather a long story," she answered, "but I will tell you. On the day that Aphrodite was born the gods were feasting, among them Contrivance the son of Invention; and after dinner, seeing that a party was in progress, Poverty came to beg and stood at the door. Now Contrivance was drunk with nectar - wine, I may say, had not yet been discovered-and went out into the garden of Zeus, and was overcome by sleep. So Poverty, thinking to alleviate her wretched condition by bearing a child to Contrivance, lay with him and conceived Love. Since Love was begotten on Aphrodite's birthday, and since he has also an innate passion for the beautiful, and so for the beauty of Aphrodite herself, hebecame her follower and servant. Again, having Contrivance for his father and Poverty for his mother, he bears the following character. He is always poor, and, far from being sensitive and beautiful, as most people imagine, he is hard and weather-beaten, shoeless and homeless, always sleeping outfor want of a bed, on the ground, on doorsteps, and in the street. So far he takes after his mother and lives in want. But, being also his father's novel was about to be published), he needed to make more money. Caught off guard by this sudden announcement, and overwhelmed with happiness, Jessie agreed to everything, and they became lovers. Soon, however, the familiar pattern repeated: criticisms, breakups, announcements that he was engaged to another girl. This only deepened his hold on her. It was not until 1912 that she finally decided never to see him again, disturbed by his portrayal of her in the autobiographical novel Sons and Lovers. But Lawrence remained a lifelong obsession for her. In 1913, a young English woman named Ivy Low, who had read Lawrence's novels, began to correspond with him, her letters gushing with admiration. By now Lawrence was married, to a German woman, the Baroness Frieda von Richthofen. To Low's surprise, though, he invited her to visit him and his wife in Italy. She knew he wasprobablysomethingof a Don Juan, but was eager to meet him, and accepted his invitation. Lawrence was not what she had expected: his voice was high-pitched, his eyes were piercing, and there was something vaguely feminine about him. Soon they were taking walks together, with Lawrence confiding in Low. She felt that they were becoming friends, which delighted her. Then suddenly, just before she was to leave, he launched into a series of criticisms of her-she was so unspontaneous, so predictable, less human being than robot. Devastated by this unexpected attack, she nevertheless had to agree- what he had said was true. What could he have seen in her in the first place? Who was she anyway? Low left Italy feeling empty-but then Lawrence continued to write to her, as if nothing had happened. She soon realized that she had fallen hopelessly in love with him, despite everything he had said to her. Or was it not despite what he had said, but because of it? In 1914, the writer John Middleton-Murry received a letter from Lawrence, a good friend of his. In the letter, out of nowhere, Lawrence criticized Middleton-Murry for being passionless and not gallant enough with his wife, the novelist Katherine Mansfield. Middleton-Murry later wrote, "I had never felt for a man before what his letter made me feel for him. It was a new thing, a unique thing, in my experience; and it was to rmain unique." He felt that beneath Lawrence's criticisms lay some weird kind of affection. Whenever he saw Lawrence from then on, he felt a strange physical attraction that he could not explain. Interpretation. The number of women, and of men, who fell under Lawrence's spell is astonishing given how unpleasant he could be. In almost every case the relationship began in friendship-with frank talks, exchanges of confidences, a spiritual bond. Then, invariably, he would suddenly turn against them, voicing harsh personal criticisms. He would know them well by that time, and the criticisms were often quite accurate, and hit a nerve. This would inevitably trigger confusion in his victims, and a sense of anxiety, a feeling that something was wrong with them. Jolted out of their usual sense of normality, they would feel divided inside. With half of their minds Create a Need-Stir Anxiety and Discontent •they wondered why he was doing this, and felt he was unfair; with the other half, they believed it was all true. Then, in those moments of selfdoubt, they would get a letter or a visit from him in which he was his old charming self. Now they saw him differently Now they were weak and vulnerable, in need of something; and he would seem so strong. Now he drew them to him, feelings of friendship turning into affection and desire. Once they felt uncertain about themselves, they were susceptible to falling in love. Most of us protect ourselves from the harshness of life by succumbing to routines and patterns, by closing ourselves off from others. But underlying these habits is a tremendous sense of insecurity and defensiveness. We feel we are not really living. The seducer must pick at this wound and bring these semiconscious thoughts into full awareness. This was what Lawrence did; his sudden, brutally unexpected jabs would hit people at their weak spot. Although Lawrence had great success with his frontal approach, it is often better to stir thoughts of inadequacy and uncertainty indirectly, by hinting at comparisons to yourself or to others, and by insinuating somehow that your victims' lives are less grand than they had imagined. You want them to feel at war with themselves, torn in two directions, and anxious about it. Anxiety, a feeling of lack and need, is the precursor of all desire. These jolts in the victim's mind create space for you to insinuate your poison, the siren call of adventure or fulfillment that will make them follow you into your web. Without anxiety and a sense of lack there can be no seduction. son, he schemes to get for himself whatever is beautiful and good; he is bold andforward and strenuous,always devising tricks like a cunning huntsman." -PLATO, SYMPOSIUM, We are all like pieces of the coins that children break in half for keepsakes - making two out of one, like the flatfish-and each of us is forever seeking the half that will tally with himself . And so all this to-do is a relic of that original state of ours when we were whole, and now, when we are longing for and following after that primeval wholeness, we say we are in love. -ARISTOPHANES'S SPEECH IN PLATO'S SYMPOSIUM, QUOTED IN MANDRELL, DONJUAN AND THE POINT OF HONOR Desire and love have for their object things or qualities which a man does not at present possess but which he lacks. -SOCRATES Don John: Well met, pretty lass! What! Are there such handsome Creatures as you amongst these Fields, these Trees, and Rocks? • Charlotta: I Keys to Seduction E veryone wears a mask in society; we pretend to be more sure of ourselves than we are. We do not want other people to glimpse that doubting self within us. In truth, our egos and personalities are much more fragile than they appear to be; they cover up feelings of confusion and emptiness. As a seducer, you must never mistake a person's appearance for the reality. People are always susceptible tobeingseduced, because in fact everyone lacks a sense of completeness, feels something missing deep inside. Bring their doubts and anxieties to the surface and they can be led and lured to follow you. No one can see you as someone to follow or fall in love with unless they first reflect on themselves somehow, and on what they are missing. Before the seduction proceeds, you must place a mirror in front of them in am as you see, Sir. • Don John: Are you of this Village? • Charlotta: Yes, Sir. • Don John: What's your name? • Charlotta: Charlotta, Sir, at your Service. • Don John: Ah what a fine Person 'tis! What piercing Eyes! • Charlotta: Sir, you make me ashamed. Don John: Pretty Charlotta, you are not marry'd, are you? • Charlotta: No, Sir, but I am soon to be, with Pierrot, son to Goody Simonetta. • Don John: What! Shou'd such a one as you be Wife to aPeasant! No, no; that's a profanation of so much Beauty. You was not born to live in a Village. You certainly deserve a better Fortune, and Heaven, which knows it well, brought me hither on purpose to hinder this Marriage and do justice to your Charms; for in short, fair Charlotta, 1 love you with all my Heart, and if you'll consent I'll deliver you from this miserable Place, and put you in the Condition you deserve. This Love is doubtless sudden, but 'tis an Effect of your great Beauty. I love you as much in a quarter of an Hour as I shou'd another in six Months. -MOLIERE, DON JOHN; OR, THE UBERTINE,  IN OSCAR MANDEL, ED., THE THEATRE OF DON JUAN For I stand tonight facing west on what was once the last frontier. From the lands that stretch three thousand miles behind me, the pioneers of old gave up their safety, their comfort, and sometimes their lives to build a new world here in the West. They were not the captives of their own doubts, the prisoners of their own price tags. Their motto was not "every man for himself--but "all for the common cause." They were determined to make that new world strong and free, to overcome its hazards and its hardships, to conquer the enemies that threatened from without and within. ..." Today some would say that those struggles are all over-that all the horizons have been explored, that all the battles have been won, that there is no longer an which they glimpse that inner emptiness. Made aware of a lack, they now can focus on you as the person who can fill that empty space. Remember: most of us are lazy. To relieve our feelings of boredom or inadequacy on our own takes too much effort; letting someone else do the job is both easier and more exciting. The desire to have someone fill up our emptinessis the weakness on which all seducers prey. Make people anxious about the future, make them depressed, make them question their identity, make them sense the boredom that gnaws at their life. The ground is prepared. The seeds of seduction can be sown. In Plato's dialogue Symposium -the West's oldest treatise on love, and a text that has had a determining influence on our ideas of desire-the courtesan Diotima explains to Socrates the parentage of Eros, the god of love. Eros's father was Contrivance, or Cunning, and his mother was Poverty, or Need. Eros takes after his parents: he is constantly in need, which he is constantly contriving to fill. As the god of love, he knows that love cannot be induced in another person unless they too feel need. And that is what his arrows do: piercing people's flesh, they make them feel a lack, an ache, a hunger. This is the essence of your task as a seducer. Like Eros, you must create a wound in your victim, aiming at their soft spot, the chink in their self-esteem. If they are stuck in a rut, make them feel it more deeply, "innocently" bringing it up and talking about it. What you want is a wound, an insecurity you can expand a little, an anxiety that can best be relieved by involvement with another person, namely you. They must feel the wound before they fall in love. Notice how Lawrence stirred anxiety, always hitting at his victims' weak spot: for Jessie Chambers, her physical coldness; for Ivy Low, her lack of spontaneity; for Middleton-Murry, his lack of gallantry. Cleopatra got Julius Caesar to sleep with her the first night he met her, but the real seduction, the one that made him her slave, began later. In their ensuing conversations she talked repeatedly of Alexander the Great, the hero from whom she was supposedly descended. No one could compare to him. By implication, Caesar was made to feel inferior. Understanding that beneath his bravado Caesar was insecure, Cleopatra awakened in him an anxiety, a hunger to prove his greatness. Once he felt this way he was easily further seduced. Doubts about his masculinity was his tender spot. When Caesar was assassinated, Cleopatra turned her sights on Mark Antony, one of Caesar's successors in the leadership of Rome. Antony loved pleasure and spectacle, and his tastes were crude. She appeared to him first on her royal barge, then wined and dined and banqueted him. Everything was geared to suggest to him the superiority of the Egyptian way of life over the Roman, at least when it came to pleasure. The Romans were boring and unsophisticated by comparison. And once Antony was made to feel how much he was missing in spending his time with his dull soldiers and hismatronly Roman wife, he could be made to see Cleopatra as the incarnation of all that was exciting. He became her slave. This is the lure of the exotic. In your role of seducer, try to position yourself as coming from outside, as a stranger of sorts. You represent change, difference, a breakup of routines. Make your victims feel that by comparison their lives are boring and their friends less interesting than they had thought. Lawrence made his targets feel personally inadequate; if you find it hard to be so brutal, concentrate on their friends, their circumstances, the externals of their lives. There are many legends of Don Juan, but they often describe him seducing a village girl by making her feel that her life is horribly provincial. He, meanwhile, wears glittering clothes andhas a noble bearing. Strange and exotic, he is always from somewhere else. First she feels the boredom of her life, then she sees him as her salvation. Remember: people prefer to feel that if their life is uninteresting, it not because of themselves but because of their circumstances, the dull people they know, the town into which they were born. Once you make them feel the lure of the exotic, seduction is easy. Another devilishly seductive area to aim at is the victim's past. To grow old is to renounce or compromise youthful ideals, to become less spontaneous, less alive in a way. This knowledge lies dormant in all of us. As a seducer you must bring it to the surface, make it clear how far people have strayed from their past goals and ideals. You, in turn, present yourself as representing that ideal, as offering a chance to recapture lost youth through adventure-through seduction. In her later years. Queen Elizabeth I of England was known as a rather stern and demanding ruler. She made it a point not to let her courtiers see anything soft or weak in her. But then Robert Devereux, the second Earl of Essex, came to court. Much younger than the queen, the dashing Essex would often chastize her for her sourness. The queen would forgive him-he was so exuberant and spontaneous, he could not control himself. But his comments got under her skin; in the presence of Essex she came to remember all the youthful ideals-spiritedness, feminine charm-that had since vanished from her life. She also felt a little of that girlish spirit return when she was around him. He quickly became her favorite, and soon she was in love with him. Old age is constantly seduced by youth, but first the young people must make it clear what the older ones are missing, how they have lost their ideals. Only then will they feel that the presence of the young will let them recapture that spark, the rebellious spirit that age and society have conspired to repress. This concept has infinite applications. Corporations and politicians know that they cannot seduce their public into buying what they want them to buy, or doing what they want them to do, unless they first awaken a sense of need and discontent. Make the masses uncertain about their identity and you can help define it for them. It is as true of groups or nations as it is of individuals: they cannot be seduced without being made to feel some lack. Part of John F. Kennedy's election strategy in 1960 was to make Americans unhappy about the 1950s, and how far the country had strayed from its ideals. In talking about the 1950s, he did not mention the nation's economic stability or its emergence as a superpower. Instead, he implied that the period was marked by conformity, a lack of risk and adventure, a loss of our frontier values. To vote for Kennedy was to embark American frontier. • But I trust that no one in this vast assemblage will agree with those sentiments. I tell you the New Frontier is here, whether we seek it or not. ... It would be easier to shrink back from that frontier, to look to the safe mediocrity of the past, to be lulled by good intentions and high rhetoric-and those who prefer that course should not cast their votesfor me, regardless of party. • But I believe that the times demand invention, innovation, imagination,decision. I am asking each of you to be new pioneers on that New Frontier. My call is to the young in heart, regardless of age. -JOHN F. KENNEDY, ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AS THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, QUOTED IN JOHN HELLMANN, THE KENNEDY OBSESSION: THE AMERICAN MYTH OF JFK The normal rhythm of life oscillates in general between a mild satisfaction with oneself and a slight discomfort, originating in the knowledge of one's personal shortcomings. We should like to be as handsome, young, strong or clever as other people of our acquaintance. We wish we could achieve as much as they do, longfor similar advantages, positions, the same or greater success. To be delighted with oneself is the exception and, often enough, a smoke screen which we produce for ourselves and of course for others. Somewhere in it is a lingering feeling of discomfort with ourselves and a slight self-dislike. I assert that an increase of this spirit of discontent renders a person especially susceptible to "falling in love." ... In most cases this attitude of disquiet is unconscious, but in some it reaches the threshold of awareness in the form of a slight uneasiness, or a stagnant dissatisfaction, or a realization of being upset without knowing why. -THEODOR REIK, OF LOVE AND LUSTon a collective adventure, to go back to ideals we had given up. But before anyone joined his crusade they had to be made aware of how much they had lost, what was missing. A group, like an individual, can get mired in routine, losing track of its original goals. Too much prosperity saps it of strength. You can seduce an entire nation by aiming at its collective insecurity, that latent sense that not everything is what it seems. Stirring dissatisfaction with the present and reminding people about the glorious past can unsettle their sense of identity. Then you can be the one to redefine it-a grand seduction. Symbol: Cupid's Arrow. What awakens desire in the seduced is not a soft touch or a pleasant sensation; it is a wound. The arrow creates a pain, an ache, a needfor relief Before desire there must be pain. Aim the arrow at the victim's weakest spot, creating a wound that you can open and reopen. Reversal I f you go too far in lowering the targets' self-esteem they may feel too insecure to enter into your seduction. Do not be heavy-handed; like Lawrence, always follow up the wounding attack with a soothing gesture. Otherwise you will simply alienate them. Charm is often a subtler and more effective route to seduction. The Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli always made people feel better about themselves. He deferred to them, made them the center of attention, made them feel witty and vibrant. He was a boon to their vanity, and they grew addicted to him. This is a kind of diffused seduction, lacking in tension and in the deep emotions that the sexual variety stirs; it bypasses people's hunger, their need for some kind of fulfillment. But if you are subtle and clever, it can be a way of lowering their defenses, creating an unthreatening friendship. Once they are under your spell in this way, you can then open the wound. Indeed, after Disraeli had charmed Queen Victoria and established a friendship with her, he made her feel vaguely inadequate in the establishment of an empire and the realization of her ideals. Everything depends on the target. People who are riddled with insecurities may require the gentler variety. Once they feel comfortable with you, aim your arrows. 6 Master the Art of Insinuation Making your targetsfeel dissatisfied and in need of your attention is essential, but if you are too obvious, they will see through you and grow defensive. There is no known defense, however, against insinuation-the art of planting ideas in people's minds by dropping elusive hints that take root days later, even appearing to them as their own idea. Insinuation is the supreme means of influencing people. Create a sublanguage-bold statements followed by retraction andapology, ambiguous comments, banal talk combined with alluring glances-that enters the target's unconscious to convey your real meaning. Make everything suggestive. Insinuating Desire. One evening in the 1770s, a young man went to the Paris Opera to meet his lover, the Countess de_. The couple had been fighting, and he was anxious to see her again. The countess had not arrived yet at her box, but from an adjacent one a friend of hers, Madame de T_, called out to the young man to join her, remarking that it was an excellent stroke of luck that they had met that evening-he must keep her company on a trip she had to take. The young man wanted urgently to see the countess, but Madame was charming and insistent and he agreed to go with her. Before he could ask why or where, she quickly escorted him to her carriage outside, which then sped off. Now the young man enjoined his hostess to tell him where she was taking him. At first she just laughed, but finally she told him: to her husband's chateau. The couple had been estranged, but had decided to reconcile; her husband was a bore, however, and she felt a charming young man like himself would liven things up. The young man was intrigued: Madame was an older woman, with a reputation for being rather formal, though he also knew she had a lover, a marquis. Why had she chosen him for this excursion? Her story was not quite credible. Then, as they traveled, she suggested he look out the window at the passing landscape, as she was doing. He had to lean over toward her to do so, and just as he did, the carriage jolted. She grabbed his hand and fell into his arms. She stayed there for a moment, then pulled away from him rather abruptly. After an awkward silence, she said, "Do you intend to convince me of my imprudence in your regard?" He protested that the incident had been an accident and reassured her he would behave himself. In truth, however, having her in his arms had made him think otherwise. They arrived at the chateau. The husband came to meet them, and the young man expressed his admiration of the building: "What you see is nothing," Madame interrupted, "I must take you to Monsieur's apartment." Before he could ask what she meant, the subject was quickly changed. The husband was indeed a bore, but he excused himself after supper. Now Madame and the young man were alone. She invited him to walk with her in the gardens; it was a splendid evening, and as they walked, she slipped her arm in his. She was not worried that he would take advantage of her, she said, because she knew how attached he was to her good friend the countess. They talked of other things, and then she returned to the topic of As we were about to enter the chamber, she stopped me. "Remember," she said gravely, "you are supposed never to have seen, never even suspected, the sanctuary you're about to enter. All this was like an initiation rite. She led me by the hand across a small, dark corridor. My heart was pounding as though I were a young proselyte being put to the test before the celebration oj the great mysteries. ."But your Countess ..." she said, stopping. I was about to reply when the doors opened; my answer was interrupted by admiration. I was astonished, delighted, I no longer know what became of me, and I began in good faith to believe in magic. ... In truth, I found myself in a vast cage of mirrors on which images were so artistically painted that they produced the illusion of all the objects they represented. -VIVANT DENON,"NO TOMORROW," IN MICHEL FEHER, ED., THE UBERTINE READER A few short years ago, in our native city, wherefraud and cunning prosper more than love or loyalty, there was a noblewoman of striking beauty and impeccable breeding, who was endowed by Nature with as lofty a temperament and shrewd an intellect as could be found in any other woman of her time. This lady, being of gentle birth his lover: "Is she making you quite happy? Oh, I fear the contrary, and this distresses me. . . . Are you not often the victim of her strange whims?" To the young man's surprise, Madame began to talk of the countess in a way that made it seem that she had been unfaithful to him (which was something he had suspected). Madame sighed-she regretted saying such things about her friend, and asked him to forgive her; then, as if a new thought had occurred to her, she mentioned a nearby pavilion, a delightful place, full of pleasant memories. But the shame of it was, it was locked and she had no key. And yet they found their way to the pavilion, and lo and behold, the door had been left open. It was dark inside, but the young man could sense that it was a place for trysts. They entered and sank onto a sofa. and finding herself married off to a master woollen- draper because he happened to be very rich, was unable and before he knew what had come over him, he took her in his arms. Madame seemed to push him away, but then gave in. Finally she came to her senses: they must return to the house. Had he gone too far? He must to stifle her heartfelt contempt, for she was firmly of the opinion that no man of low condition, however wealthy, was deserving of a noble wife. And on discovering that all he was capable of despite his massive wealth, was distinguishing wool from cotton, supervising the setting up of a loom, or debating the virtues of a particular yarn with a spinner-woman, she resolved that as far as it lay within her power she would have nothing whatsoever to do with his beastly caresses. Moreover she was determined to seek try to control himself. As they strolled back to the house, Madame remarked, "What a delicious night we've just spent." Was she referring to what had happened in the pavilion? "There is an even more charming room in the chateau," she went on, "but I can't show you anything," implying he had been too forward. She had mentioned this room ("Monsieur's apartment") several times before; he could not imagine what could be so interesting about it, but by now he was dying to see it and insisted she show it to him. "If you promise to be good," she replied, her eyes widening. Through the darkness of the house she led him into the room, which, to his delight, was a kind of temple of pleasure: there were mirrors on the walls, trompe l'oeil paintings evoking a forest scene, even a dark grotto, and a garlanded statue of Eros. Overwhelmed by the mood of the place, the young man quickly resumed what he had started in the pavilion, and would have lost all track of time if a servant had not rushed in and warned them that it was getting light outside-Monsieur would soon be up. her pleasure elsewhere, in the company of one who seemed more worthy of her affection, and so it was that she fell deeply in love with an extremely eligible man in his middle thirties. And whenever a day passed without her having set eyes upon him, she was restless for the whole of the following night. • However, the gentleman suspected nothing of all this, and took no notice of her; andfor her part, being very cautious, she would not venture to declare her love by dispatching a maidservant or writing him They quickly separated. Later that day, as the young man prepared to leave, his hostess said, "Goodbye, Monsieur; I owe you so many pleasures; but I have paid you with a beautiful dream. Now your love summons you to return. . . . Don't give the Countess cause to quarrel with me." Reflecting on his experience on the way back, he could not figure out what it meant. He had the vague sensation of having been used, but the pleasures he remembered outweighed his doubts. Interpretation. Madame de T_is a character in the eighteenth-century libertine short story "No Tomorrow," by Vivant Denon. The young man is the story's narrator. Although fictional, Madame's techniques were clearly based on those of several well-known libertines of the time, masters of the game of seduction. And the most dangerous of their weapons was insinuation-the means by which Madame cast her spell on the young man, making him seem the aggressor, giving her the night of pleasure she desired. Master the Art of Insinuation • 215 and safeguarding her guiltless reputation, all in one stroke. After all, he was the one who initiated physical contact, or so it seemed. In truth, she was the one in control, planting precisely the ideas in his mind that she wanted. That first physical encounter in the carriage, for instance, that she had set up by inviting him closer: she later rebuked him for being forward, but what lingered in his mind was the excitement of the moment. Her talk of the countess made him confused and guilty; but then she hinted that his lover was unfaithful, planting a different seed in his mind: anger, and the desire for revenge. Then she asked him to forget what she had said and forgive her for saying it, a key insinuating tactic: "I am asking you to forget what I have said, but I know you cannot; the thought will remain in your mind." Provoked this way, it was inevitable he would grab her in the pavilion. She several times mentioned the room in the chateau-of course he insisted on going there. She enveloped the evening in an air of ambiguity. Even her words "If you promise to be good" could be read several ways. The young man's head and heart were inflamed with all of the feelings-discontent, confusion, desirethat she had indirectly instilled in him. Particularly in the early phases of a seduction, learn to make everything you say and do a kind of insinuation. Insinuate doubt with a comment here and there about other people in the victim's life, making the victim feel vulnerable. Slight physical contact insinuates desire, as does a fleeting but memorable look, or an unusually warm tone of voice, both for the briefest of moments. A passing comment suggests that something about the victim interests you; but keep it subtle, your words revealing a possibility, creating a doubt. You are planting seeds that will take root in the weeks to come. When you are not there, your targets will fantasize about the ideas you have stirred up, and brood upon the doubts. They are slowly being led into your web, unaware that you are in control. How can they resist or become defensive if they cannot even see what is happening? What distinguishes a suggestion from other kinds of psychical influence, such as a command or the giving of a piece of information or instruction, is that in the case of a suggestion an idea is aroused in another person's brain which is not examined in regard to its origin but is accepted just as though it had arisen spontaneously in that brain. -SIGMUND FREUD Keys to Seduction Y ou cannot pass through life without in one way or another trying to persuade people of something. Take the direct route, saying exactly what you want, and your honesty may make you feel good but you are probably not getting anywhere. People have their own sets of ideas, which are hardened into stone by habit; your words, entering their minds, com- a letter, for fear of the dangers that this might entail. But having perceived that he was on very friendly terms with a certain priest, a rotund, uncouth, individual who was nevertheless regarded as an outstandingly able friar on account of his very saintly way of life, she calculated that this fellow would serve as an ideal go- betweenfor her and the man she loved. And so, after reflecting on the strategy she would adopt, she paid a visit, at an appropriate hour of the day, to the church where he was to befound, and having sought him out, she asked him whether he would agree to confess her. Since he could tell at a glance that she was a lady of quality, the friar gladly heard her confession, and when she had got to the end of it, she continued as follows: • "Father, as I shall explain to you presently, there is a certain matter about which I am compelled to seek your advice and assistance. Having already told you my name, I feel sure you will know my family and my husband. He loves me more dearly than life itself, and since he is enormously rich, he never has the slightest difficulty or hesitation in supplying me with every single object for which I display a yearning. Consequently, my love for him is quite unbounded, and if my mere thoughts, to say nothing of my actual behavior, were to run contrary to his wishes and his honor, I would be more deserving of hellfire than the wickedest woman who ever lived. • "Now, there is a certain person, of respectable outward appearance, who unless I am mistaken is a close acquaintance of yours. I really couldn't say what his name is, but he is tall and handsome, his clothes are brown and elegantly cut, and, possibly because he is unaware of my resolute nature, he appears to have laid siege to me. He turns up infallibly whenever I either look out of my window or stand at the front door or leave the house, and I am surprised, in fact, that he is not here now. Needless to say, I am very upset about all this, because his sort of conduct frequently gives an honest woman a bad name, even though she is quite innocent. For the love of God, therefore, I implore you to speak to him severely and persuade him to refrain from his importunities. There are plenty of other women who doubtless find this sort of thing amusing, and who will enjoy being ogled and spied upon by him, but I personally have no inclination for it whatsoever, and I find hisbehaviorexceedingly disagreeable." • And having reached the end of her speech, the lady bowed head as though she were going to burst into tears. • The reverend friar realized immediately who it was to whom she was referring, and having warmly commended her purity of mind ... he promised to take all necessary steps to ensure that the fellow ceased to annoy her. ..." Shortly afterward, the gentleman in question paid one of his regular visits to the reverendfriar, and after they had conversed together for a while on general pete with the thousands of preconceived notions that are already there, and get nowhere. Besides, people resent your attempt to persuade them, as if they were incapable of deciding by themselves-as if you knew better. Consider instead the power of insinuation and suggestion. It requires some patience and art, but the results are more than worth it. The way insinuation works is simple: disguised in a banal remark or encounter, a hint is dropped. It is about some emotional issue-a possible pleasure not yet attained, a lack of excitement in a person's life. The hint registers in the back of the target's mind, a subtle stab at his or her insecurities; its source is quickly forgotten. It is too subtle to be memorable at the time, and later, when it takes root and grows, it seems to have emerged naturally from the target's own mind, as if it was there all along. Insinuation lets you bypass people's natural resistance, for they seem to be listening only to what has originated in themselves. It is a language on its own, communicating directly with the unconscious. No seducer, no persuader, can hope to succeed without mastering the language and art of insinuation. A strange man once arrived at the court of Louis XV. No one knew anything about him, and his accent and age were unplaceable. He called himself Count Saint-Germain. He was obviously wealthy; all kinds of gems and diamonds glittered on his jacket, his sleeves, his shoes, his fingers. He could play the violin to perfection, paint magnificently. But the most intoxicating thing about him was his conversation. In truth, the count was the greatest charlatan of the eighteenth century-a man who had mastered the art of insinuation. As he spoke, a word here and there would slip out-a vague allusion to the philosopher's stone, which turned base metal into gold, or to the elixir of life. He did not say he possessed these things, but he made you associate him with their powers. Had he simply claimed to have them, no one would have believed him and people would have turned away. The count might refer to a man who had died forty years earlier as if he had known him personally; had this been so, the count would have had to be in his eighties, although he looked to be in his forties. He mentioned the elixir of life. ... he seems so young. . . . The key to the count's words was vagueness. He always dropped his hints into a lively conversation, grace notes in an ongoing melody. Only later would people reflect on what he had said. After a while, people started to come to him, inquiring about the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life, not realizing that it was he who had planted these ideas in their minds. Remember: to sow a seductive idea you must engage people's imaginations, their fantasies, their deepest yearnings. What sets the wheels spinning is suggesting things that people already want to hear-the possibility of pleasure, wealth, health, adventure. In the end, these good things turn out to be precisely what you seem to offer them. They will come to you as if on their own, unaware that you insinuated the idea in their heads. In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte decided it was critical for him to win the Russian Czar Alexander I to his side. He wanted two things out of the Master the Art of Insinuation • 217 czar: a peace treaty in which they agreed to carve up Europe and the Middle East; and a marriage alliance, in which he would divorce his wife Josephine and marry into the czar's family. Instead of proposing these things directly, Napoleon decided to seduce the czar. Using polite social encounters and friendly conversations as his battlefields, he went to work. An apparent slip of the tongue revealed that Josephine could not bear children; Napoleon quickly changed the subject. A comment here and there seemed to suggest a linking of the destinies of France and Russia.Just before they were to part one evening, he talked of his desire for children, sighed sadly, then excused himself for bed, leaving the czar to sleep on this. He escorted the czar to a play on the themes of glory, honor, and empire; now, in later conversations, he could disguise his insinuations under the cover of discussing the play. Within a few weeks, the czar was speaking to his ministers of a marriage alliance and a treaty with France as if they were his own ideas. Slips of the tongue, apparently inadvertent "sleep on it" comments, alluring references, statements for which you quickly apologize-all of these have immense insinuating power. They get under people's skin like a poison, and take on a life of their own. The key to succeeding with your insinuations is to make them when your targets are at their most relaxed or distracted, so that they are not aware of what is happening. Polite banter is often the perfect front for this; people are thinking about what they will say next, or are absorbed in their own thoughts. Your insinuations will barely register, which is how you want it. In one of his early campaigns, John F. Kennedy addressed a group of veterans. Kennedy's brave exploits during World War II-the PT-109 incident had made him a war hero-were known to all; but in the speech, he talked of the other men on the boat, never mentioning himself. He knew, however, that what he had done was on everyone's mind, because in fact he had put it there. Not only did his silence on the subject make them think of it on their own, it made Kennedy seem humble and modest, qualities that go well with heroism. In seduction, as the French courtesan Ninon de 1'Enclos advised, it is better not to talk about your love for a person. Let your target read it in your manner. Your silence on the subject will have more insinuating power than if you had addressed it directly. Not only words insinuate; pay attention to gestures and looks. Madame Recamier's favorite technique was to keep her words banal and the look in her eyes enticing. The flow of conversation would keep men from thinking too deeply about these occasional looks, but they would be haunted by them. Lord Byron had his famous "underlook": while everyone was discussing some uninteresting subject, he would seem to hang his head, but then a young woman (the target) would see him glancing upward at her, his head still tilted. It was a look that seemed dangerous, challenging, but also ambiguous; many women were hooked by it. The face speaks its own language. We are used to trying to read people's faces, which are often better indicators of their feelings than what they say, which is so easy to control. topics, the friar drew him to one side and reproached him in a very kindly sort of way for the amorous glances which, as the lady had given him to understand, he believed him to be casting in her direction. • Not unnaturally, the gentleman was amazed, for he had never so much as looked at the lady and it was very seldom that he passed by her house. The gentleman, being rather more perceptive than the reverendfriar, was not exactly slow to appreciate the lady's cleverness, and putting on a somewhat sheepish expression, he promised not to bother her any more. But after leaving the friar, he made his way toward the house of the lady, who was keeping continuous vigil at a tiny little window so that she would see him if he happened to pass by. .. . Andfrom that day forward, proceeding with the maximum prudence and conveying the impression that he was engaged in some other business entirely, he became a regular visitor to the neighborhood. BOCCACCIO, THE DECAMERON.Glances are the heavy artillery of the flirt: everything can be conveyed in a look, yet that look can always be denied, for it cannot be quoted word for word. -STENDHAL, QUOTED IN RICHARD DAVENPORT-HINES, ED., VICE: AN ANTHOLOGY Since people are always reading your looks, use them to transmit the insinuating signals you choose. Finally, the reason insinuation works so well is not just that it bypasses people's natural resistance. It is also the language of pleasure. There is too little mystery in the world; too many people say exactly what they feel or want. We yearn for something enigmatic, for something to feed our fantasies. Because of the lack of suggestion and ambiguity in daily life, the person who uses them suddenly seems to have something alluring and full of promise. It is a kind of titillating game-what is this person up to? What does he or she mean? Hints, suggestions, and insinuations create a seductive atmosphere, signaling that their victim is no longer involved in the routines of daily life but has entered another realm. Symbol: The Seed. The soil is carefully prepared. The seeds are planted months in advance. Once they are in the ground, no one knows what hand threw them there. They are part of the earth. Disguise your manipulations by planting seeds that take root on their own. Reversal T he danger in insinuation is that when you leave things ambiguous your target may misread them. There are moments, particularly later on in a seduction, when it is best to communicate your idea directly, particularly once you know the target will welcome it, Casanova often played things that way. When he could sense that a woman desired him, and needed little preparation, he would use a direct, sincere, gushing comment to go straight to her head like a drug and make her fall under his spell. When the rake and writer Gabriele D'Annunzio met a woman he desired, he rarely delayed. Flattery flowed from his mouth and pen. He would charm with his "sincerity" (sincerity can be feigned, and is just one stratagem among others). This only works, however, when you sense that the target is easily yours. If not, the defenses and suspicions you raise by direct attack will make your seduction impossible. When in doubt, indirection is the better route. 7. Enter Their Spirit. Most people are locked in their own worlds, making them stubborn and hard to persuade. The way to lure them out of their shell and set up your seduction is to enter their spirit. Play by their rules, enjoy what they enjoy, adapt yourself to their moods. In doing so you will stroke their deep-rooted narcissism and lower their defenses. Hypnotized by the mirror image you present, they will open up, becoming vulnerable to your subtle influence. Soon you can shift the dynamic: once you have entered their spirit you can make them enter yours, at a point when it is too late to turn back. Indulge your targets' every mood and whim, giving them nothing to react against or resist. The Indulgent Strategy I n October of 1961, the American journalist Cindy Adams was granted an exclusive interview with President Sukarno of Indonesia. It was a remarkable coup, for Adams was a little-known journalist at the time, while Sukarno was a world figure in the midst of a crisis. A leader of the fight for Indonesia's independence, he had been the country's president since 1949, when the Dutch finally gave up the colony. By the early 1960s, his daring foreign policy had made him hated in the United States, some calling him the Hitler of Asia. Adams decided that in the interests of a lively interview, she would not be cowed or overawed by Sukarno, and she began the conversation by joking with him. To her pleasant surprise, her ice-breaking tactic seemed to work: Sukarno warmed up to her. He let the interview run well over an hour, and when it was over he loaded her with gifts. Her success was remarkable enough, but even more so were the friendly letters she began to receive from Sukarno after she and her husband had returned to New York. A few years later, he proposed that she collaborate with him on his autobiography. Adams, who was used to doing puff pieces on third-rate celebrities, was confused. She knew Sukarno had a reputation as a devilish Don Juan -le grand seducteur, the French called him. He had had four wives and hundreds of conquests. He was handsome, and obviously he was attracted to her, but why choose her for this prestigious task? Perhaps his libido was too power- fill for him to care about such things. Nevertheless, it was an offer she could not refuse. In January of 1964, Adams returned to Indonesia. Her strategy, she had decided, would stay the same: she would be the brassy, straight-talking lady who had seemed to charm Sukarno three years earlier. During her first interview with him for the book, she complained in rather strong terms about the rooms she had been given as lodgings. As if he were her secretary, she dictated a letter to him, which he was to sign, detailing the special treatment she was to be given by one and all. To her amazement, he dutifully copied out the letter, and signed it. Next on Adams's schedule was a tour of Indonesia to interview people who had known Sukarno in his youth. So she complained to him about the plane she had to fly on, which she said was unsafe. "I tell you what, honey," she told him, "I think you should give me my own plane." "Okay," he an- You're anxious to keep your mistress? \ Convince her she's knocked you all of a heap \ With her stunning looks. If it's purple she's wearing, praise purple; \ When she's in a silk dress, say silk \ Suits her best of all. . . Admire \ Her singing voice, her gestures as she dances, \ Cry "Encore!" when she stops. You can even praise \ Her performance in bed, her talentfor love-making - \ Spell out what turned you on. \ Though she may show fiercer in action than any Medusa, \ Her lover will always describe her as kind \ And gentle. But take care not to give yourself away while \ Making such tongue-in- cheek compliments, don't allow \ Your expression to ruin the message. Art's most effective \ When concealed. Detection discredits you for good. - OVID, THE ART OF LOVE. The little boy (or girl) seeks to fascinate his or her parents. In Oriental literature, imitation is reckoned to be one of the ways of attracting. The Sanskrit texts, for example, give an important part to the trick of the woman copying the dress, expressions, and speech of her beloved. This kind of mimetic drama is urged on the woman who, "being unable to unite with her beloved, imitates him to distract his thoughts." • The child too, using the devices of imitating attitudes, dress, and so on, seeks to fascinate, until a magical intention, the father or mother and thus "distract its thoughts." Identification means that one is abandoning and not abandoning amorous desires. It is a lure which the child uses to capture his parents and which, it must be admitted, they fall for. The same is true for the masses, who imitate their leader, bear his name and repeat his gestures. They bow to him, but at the same time they are unconsciously baiting a trap to hold him. Great ceremonies and demonstrations are just as much occasions when the multitudes charm the swered, apparently somewhat abashed. One, however, was not enough, she went on; she required several planes, and a helicopter, and her own personal pilot, a good one. He agreed to everything. The leader of Indonesia seemed to be not just intimidated by Adams but totally under her spell. He praised her intelligence and wit. At one point he confided, "Do you know why I'm doing this biography? . . . Only because of you, that's why." He paid attention to her clothes, complimenting her outfits, noticing any change in them. He was more like a fawning suitor than the "Hitler of Asia." Inevitably, of course, he made passes at her. She was an attractive woman. First there was the hand on top of her hand, then a stolen kiss. She spurned him every time,making it clear she was happily married, but she was worried; if all he had wanted was an affair, the whole book deal could fall apart. Once again, though, her straightforward strategy seemed the right one. Surprisingly, he backed down without anger or resentment. He promised that his affection for her would remain platonic. She had to admit that he was not at all what she had expected, or what had been described to her. Perhaps he liked being dominated by a woman. The interviews continued for several months, and she noticed slight changes in him. She still addressed him familiarly, spicing the conversation with brazen comments, but now he returned them, delighting in this kind of saucy banter. He assumed the same lively mood that she strategically forced on herself. At first he had dressed in military uniform, or in his Italian suits. Now he dressed casually, even going barefoot, conforming to the casual style of their relationship. One night he remarked that he liked the color of her hair. It was Clairol, blue-black, she explained. He wanted to have the same color; she had to bring him a bottle. She did as he asked, imagining he was joking, but a few days later he requested her presence at the palace to dye his hair for him. She did so, and now they had the exact same hair color. leader as vice versa. The book, Sukarno: An Autobiography as Told to Cindy Adams, was pub- -MOSCOVICI, THEAGE OF THE CROWD. My sixth brother, he who had both his lips cut off, Prince of the Faithful, is called Shakashik. • In his youth he was very poor. One day, as he was fished in 1965. To American readers' surprise, Sukarno came across as remarkably charming and lovable, which was indeed how Adams described him to one and all. If anyone argued, she would say that they did not him the way she did. Sukarno was well pleased, and had the book distributed far and wide. It helped gain sympathy for him in Indonesia, where he was now being threatened with a military coup. And Sukarno was not surprised-he had known all along that Adams would do a far better job with his memoirs than any "serious" journalist. begging in the streets of Baghdad, he passed by a splendid mansion, at the gates of which stood an impressive array of attendants. Upon inquiry my brother was informed Interpretation. Who was seducing whom? It was Sukarno who was doing the seducing, and his seduction of Adams followed a classical sequence. First, he chose the right victim. An experienced journalist would have resisted the lure of a personal relationship with the subject, and a man would have been less susceptible to his charm. And so he picked a woman, and Enter Their Spirit • 223 one whose journalistic experience lay elsewhere. At his first meeting with Adams, he sent mixed signals: he was friendly to her, but hinted at another kind of interest as well. Then, having insinuated a doubt in her mind (Perhaps he just wants an affair?), he proceeded to mirror her. He indulged her every mood, retreating every time she complained. Indulging a person is a form of entering their spirit, letting them dominate for the time being. Perhaps Sukarno's passes at Adams showed his uncontrollable libido at work, or perhaps they were more cunning. He had a reputation as a Don Juan; failing to make a pass at her would have hurt her feelings. (Women are often less offended at being found attractive than one imagines, and Sukarno was clever enough to have given each of his four wives the impression that she was his favorite.) The pass out of the way, he moved further into her spirit, taking on her casual air, even slightly feminizing himself by adopting her hair color. The result was that she decided he was not what she had expected or feared him to be. He was not in the least threatening, and after all, she was the one in control. What Adams failed to realize was that once her defenses were lowered, she was oblivious to how deeply he had engaged her emotions. She had not charmed him, he had charmed her. What he wanted all along was what he got: a personal memoir written by a sympathetic foreigner, who gave the world a rather engaging portrait of a man of whom many were suspicious. Of all the seductive tactics, entering someone's spirit is perhaps the most devilish of all. It gives your victims the feeling that they are seducing you. The fact that you are indulging them, imitating them, entering their spirit, suggests that you are under their spell. You are not a dangerous seducer to be wary of, but someone compliant and unthreatening. The attention you pay to them is intoxicating-since you are mirroring them, everything they see and hear from you reflects their own ego and tastes. What a boost to their vanity. All this sets up the seduction, the series of maneuvers that will turn the dynamic around. Once their defenses are down, they are open to your subtle influence. Soon you will begin to take over the dance, and without even noticing the shift, they will find themselves entering your spirit. This is the endgame. Women are not at their ease except with those who take chances with them, and enter into their spirit. -NINON DEL'ENCLOS Keys to Seduction O ne of the great sources of frustration in our lives is other people's stubbornness. How hard it is to reach them, to make them see thingsour way. We often have the impression that when they seem to be listening to us, and apparently agreeing with us, it is all superficial-the moment we are gone, they revert to their own ideas. We spend our lives butting up that the house belonged to a member of the wealthy and powerful Barmecide family. Shakashik approached the doorkeepers and solicited alms. "Go in," they said, "and our master will give you all that you desire." • My brother entered the lofty vestibule and proceeded to a spacious, marble-paved hall, hung with tapestry and overlooking a beautiful garden. He stood bewilderedfor a moment, not knowing where to turn his steps, and then advanced to the far end of the hall. There, among the cushions, reclined a handsome old man with a long beard, whom my brother recognized at once as the master of the house. "What can I do for you, my friend?" asked the old man, as he rose to welcome my brother. • When Shakashik replied that he was a hungry beggar, the old man expressed the deepest compassion and rent his fine robes, crying: "Is it possible that there should be a man as hungry as yourself in a city where I am living? It is, indeed, a disgrace that I cannot endure!" Then he comforted my brother, adding: "I insist that you stay with me and partake of my dinner." • With this the master of the house clapped his hands and called out to one of the slaves: "Bring in the basin and ewer." Then he said to my brother: "Come forward, my friend, and wash your hands." • Shakashik rose to do so, but saw neither ewer nor basin. He was bewildered to see his host make gestures as though he were pouring water on his hands from an invisible vessel and then drying them with an invisible towel. When he finished, the host called out to his attendants: "Bring in the table!" • Numerous servants hurried in and out of the hall, as though they were preparingfor a meal. against people, as if they were stone walls. But instead of complaining about how misunderstood or ignored you are, why not try something different: instead of seeing other people as spiteful or indifferent, instead of trying to figure out why they act the way they do, look at them through the eyes of the seducer. The way to lure people out of their natural intractability and self-obsession is to enter their spirit. All of us are narcissists. When we were children our narcissism was My brother could still see nothing. Yet his host invited him to sit at the imaginary table, saying, "Honor me by eating of this meat." • The old man moved his hands about as though he were touching invisible dishes, and also moved his jaws and lips as though he were chewing. Then said he to Shakashik: "Eat your fill, my friend, for you must be famished." • My brother began to move his jaws, to chew and swallow, as though he were eating, while the old man still coaxed him, saying: "Eat, my friend, and note the excellence of this bread and its whiteness. " • "This man," thought Shakashik, "must be fond of practical jokes. " So he said, "It is, sir, the whitest bread I have ever seen, and I have never tasted the like in all my life. " • "This bread," said the host, "was baked by a slave girl whom I bought for five hundred dinars." Then he called out to one of his slaves: "Bring in the meat pudding, and let there be plenty of fat in it!" • ... Thereupon the host moved his fingers as though to pick up a morselfrom an imaginary dish, and popped the invisible delicacy into my brother's mouth. • The old man continued to enlarge upon the excellences of the various dishes, while my brother became so ravenously hungry that he would have willingly died physical: we were interested in our own image, our own body, as if it were a separate being. As we grow older, our narcissism grows more psychological: we become absorbed in our own tastes, opinions, experiences. A hard shell forms around us. Paradoxically, the way to entice people out of this shell is to become more like them, in fact a kind of mirror image of them. You do not have to spend days studying their minds; simply conform to their moods, adapt to their tastes, play along with whatever they send your way. In doing so you will lower their natural defensiveness. Their sense of self-esteem does not feel threatened by your strangeness or different habits. People truly love themselves, but what they love most of all is to see their ideas and tastes reflected in another person. This validates them. Their habitual insecurity vanishes. Hypnotized by their mirror image, they relax. Now that their inner wall has crumbled, you can slowly draw them out, and eventually turn the dynamic around. Once they are open to you, it becomes easy to infect them with your own moods and heat. Entering the other person's spirit is a kind of hypnosis; it is the most insidious and effective form of persuasion known to man. In the eighteenth-century Chinese novel The Dream of the Red Chamber, all the young girls in the prosperous house of Chia are in love with the rakish Pao Yu. He is certainly handsome, but what makes him irresistible is his uncanny ability to enter a young girl's spirit. Pao Yu has spent his youth around girls, whose company he has always preferred. As a result, he never comes over as threatening and aggressive. He is granted entry to girls' rooms, they see him everywhere, and the more they see him the more they fall under his spell. It is not that Pao Yu is feminine; he remains a man, but one who can be more or less masculine as the situation requires. His familiarity with young girls allows him the flexibility to enter their spirit. This is a great advantage. The difference between the sexes is what makes love and seduction possible, but it also involves an element of fear and distrust. A woman may fear male aggression and violence; a man is often unable to enter a woman's spirit, and so he remains strange and threatening. The greatest seducers in history, from Casanova to John F. Kennedy, grew up surrounded by women and had a touch of femininity themselves. The philosopher Spren Kierkegaard, in his novel The Seducer's Diary, recommends spending more time with the opposite sex, getting to know the "enemy" and its weaknesses, so that you can turn this knowledge to your advantage. Ninon de l'Enclos, one of the greatest seductresses who ever lived, had definite masculine qualities. She could impress a man with her intense philosophical keenness, and charm him by seeming to share his interest in politics and warfare. Many men first formed deep friendships with her, only to later fall madly in love. The masculine in a woman is as soothing to men as the feminine in a man is to women. To a man, a woman's strangeness can create frustration and even hostility. He may be lured into a sexual encounter, but a longer-lasting spell cannot be created without an accompanying mental seduction. The key is to enter his spirit. Men are often seduced by the masculine element in a woman's behavior or character. In the novel Clarissa (1748) by Samuel Richardson, the young and devout Clarissa Harlowe is being courted by the notorious rake Lovelace. Clarissa knows Lovelace's reputation, but for the most part he has not acted as she would expect: he is polite, seems a little sad and confused. At one point she finds out that he has done a most noble and charitable deed to a family in distress, giving the father money, helping the man's daughter get married, giving them wholesome advice. At last Lovelace confesses to Clarissa what she has suspected: he wants to repent, to change his ways. His letters to her are emotional, almost religious in their passion. Perhaps she will be the one to lead him to righteousness? But of course Lovelace has trapped her: he is using the seducer's tactic of mirroring her tastes, in this case her spirituality. Once she lets her guard down, once she believes she can reform him, she is doomed: now he can slowly insinuate his own spirit into his letters and encounters with her. Remember: the operative word is "spirit," and that is often exactly where to take aim. By seeming to mirror someone's spiritual values you can seem to establish a deep-rooted harmony between the two of you, which can then be transferred to the physical plane. When Josephine Baker moved to Paris, in 1925, as part of an all-black revue, her exoticism made her an overnight sensation. But the French are notoriously fickle, and Baker sensed that their interest in her would quickly pass to someone else. To seduce them for good, she entered their spirit. She learned French and began to sing in it. She started dressing and acting as a stylish French lady, as if to say that she preferred the French way of life to the American. Countries are like people: they have vast insecurities, and they feel threatened by other customs. It is often quite seductive to a people to see an outsider adopting their ways. Benjamin Disraeli was born and lived all his life in England, but he was Jewish by birth, and had exotic features; the provincial English considered him an outsider. Yet he was more English in his manners and tastes than many an Englishman, and this was part of his charm, which he proved by becoming the leader of the Conservative Party. Should you be an outsider (as most of us ultimately are), turn it to advantage: play on your alien nature in such a way as to show the group how deeply you prefer their tastes and customs to your own. In 1752, the notorious rake Saltykov determined to be the first man in the Russian court to seduce the twenty-three-year-old grand duchess, the future Empress Catherine the Great. He knew that she was lonely; her husband Peter ignored her, as did many of the other courtiers. And yet the ob- Enter Their Spirit • 225 for a crust of barley bread. • "Have you ever tasted anything more delicious," went on the old man, "than the spices in these dishes?" • "Never, indeed," replied Shakashik. • "Eat heartily, then," said his host, "and do not be ashamed!" • "I thank you, sir," answered Shakashik, "but I have already eaten my fill. " • Presently, however, the old man clapped his hands again and cried: "Bring in the wine!" "... "Sir," said Shakashik, "your generosity overwhelms me!" He lifted the invisible cup to his lips, and made as if to drain it at one gulp. • "Health and joy to you!" exclaimed the old man, as he pretended to pour himself some wine and drink it off. He handed another cup to his guest, and they both continued to act in this fashion until Shakashik, feigning himself drunk, began to roll his headfrom side to side. Then, taking his bounteous host unawares, he suddenly raised his arm so high that the white of his armpit could be seen, and dealt him a blow on the neck which made the hall echo with the sound. And this he followed by a second blow. • The old man rose in anger and cried: "What are you doing, vile creature?" • "Sir" replied my brother, "you have received your humble slave into your house and loaded him with your generosity; you havefed him with the choicestfood and quenched his thirst with the most potent wines. Alas, he became drunk, and forgot his manners! But you are so noble, sir, that you will 226 surely pardon his offence. " • When he heard these words, the old man burst out laughing and said: "For a long time I have jested with all types of men, but no one has ever had the patience or the wit to enter into my humors as you have done. Now, therefore, I pardon you, and ask you in truth to cat and drink with me, and to he my companion as long as I live. " • Then the old man ordered his attendants to serve all the dishes which they had consumed in fancy, and when he and my brother had eaten their fill they repaired to the drinking chamber, where beautiful young women sang and made music. The old Barmecide gave Shakashik a robe of honor and made him his constant companion. - "THE TALE OF SHAKASHIK, THE BARBER'S SIXTH BROTHER," TALES FROM THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS. stacks were immense: she was spied on day and night. Still, Saltykov managed to befriend the young woman, and to enter herall-too-small circle. He finally got her alone, and made it clear to her how well he understood her loneliness, how deeply he disliked her husband, and how much he shared her interest in the new ideas that were sweeping Europe. Soon he found himself able to arrange further meetings, where he gave her the impression that when he was with her, nothing else in the world mattered. Catherine fell deeply in love with him, and he did in fact become her first lover. Saltykov had entered her spirit. When you mirror people, you focus intense attention on them. They will sense the effort you are making, and will find it flattering. Obviously you have chosen them, separating them out from the rest. There seems to be nothing else in your life but them-their moods, their tastes, their spirit. The more you focus on them, the deeper the spell you produce, and the intoxicating effect you have on their vanity. Many of us have difficulty reconciling the person we are right now with the person we want to be. We are disappointed that we have compromised our youthful ideals, and we still imagine ourselves as that person who had so much promise, but whom circumstances prevented from realizing it. When you are mirroring someone, do not stop at the person they have become; enter the spirit of that ideal person they wanted to be. This is how the French writer Chateaubriand managed to become a great seducer, despite his physical ugliness. When he was growing up, in the latter eighteenth century, romanticism was coming into fashion, and many young women felt deeply oppressed by the lack of romance in their lives. Chateaubriand would reawaken the fantasy they had had as young girls of being swept off their feet, of fulfilling romantic ideals. This form of entering another's spirit is perhaps the most effective kind, because it makes people feel better about themselves. In your presence, they live the life of the person they had wanted to be-a great lover, a romantic hero, whatever it is. Discover those crushed ideals and mirror them, bringing them back to life by reflecting them back to your target. Few can resist such a lure. Symbol: The Hunter's Mirror. The lark is a savory bird, but difficult to catch. In the field, the hunter places a mirror on a stand. The lark lands in front of the glass, steps back and forth, entranced by its own moving image and by the imitative mating dance it sees performed before its eyes. Hypnotized, the bird loses all sense of its surroundings, until the hunter's net traps it against the mirror. Enter Their Spirit • 227 Reversal I n 1897 in Berlin, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, whose reputation would later circle the world, met Lou Andreas-Salome, the Russianborn writer and beauty who was notorious for having broken Nietzsche's heart. She was the darling of Berlin intellectuals, and although Rilke was twenty-two and she was thirty-six, he fell head over heels in love with her. He flooded her with love letters, which showed that he had read all her books and knew her tastes intimately. The two became friends. Soon she was editing his poetry, and he hung on her every word. Salome was flattered by Rilke's mirroring of her spirit, enchanted by the intense attention he paid her and the spiritual communion they began to develop. She became his lover. But she was worried about his future; it was difficult to make a living as a poet, and she encouraged him to learn her native language, Russian, and become a translator. He followed her advice so avidly that within months he could speak Russian. They visited Russia together, and Rilke was overwhelmed by what he saw-the peasants, the folk customs, the art, the architecture. Back in Berlin, he turned his rooms into a kind of shrine to Russia, and started wearing Russian peasant blouses and peppering his conversation with Russian phrases. Now the charm of his mirroring soon wore off. At first Salome had been flattered that he shared her interests so intensely, but now she saw this as something else: he seemed to have no real identity. He had become dependent on her for his own self-esteem. It was all so slavish. In 1899, much to his horror, she broke off the relationship. The lesson is simple: your entry into a person's spirit must be a tactic, a way to bring him or her under your spell. You cannot be simply a sponge, soaking up the other person's moods. Mirror them for too long and they will see through you and be repelled by you. Beneath the similarity to them that you make them see, you must have a strong underlying sense of your own identity. When the time comes, you will want to lead them into your spirit; you cannot live on their turf. Never take mirroring too far, then. It is only useful in the first phase of a seduction; at some point the dynamic must be reversed. This desire for a double of the other sex that resembles us absolutely while still being other, for a magical creature who is ourself while possessing the advantage, over all our imaginings, of an autonomous existence. We find traces of it in even the most banal circumstances of love: in the attraction linked to any change, any disguise, as in the importance of unison and the repetition of self in the other. The great, the implacable amorous passions are all linked to thefact that a being imagines he sees his most secret self spying upon him behind the curtain of another's eyes. -ROBERT MUSIL, QUOTED IN DENIS DE ROUGEMONT, LOVE DECLARED Create Temptation Lure the target deep into your seduction by creating the proper temptation: a glimpse of the pleasures to come. As the serpent tempted Eve with the promise offorbidden knowledge, you must awaken a desire in your targets that they cannot control. Find that weakness of theirs, that fantasy that has yet to be realized, and hint that you can lead them toward it. It could be wealth, it could be adventure, it could be forbidden and guilty pleasures; the key is to keep it vague. Dangle the prize before their eyes, postponing satisfaction, and let their minds do the rest. The future seems ripe with possibility. Stimulate a curiosity stronger than the doubts and anxieties that go with it, and they will follow you. The Tantalizing Object S ome time in the 1880s, a gentleman named Don Juan de Todellas was wandering through a park in Madrid when he saw a woman in her early twenties getting out of a coach, followed by a two-year-old child and a nursemaid. The young woman was elegantly dressed, but what took Don Juan's breath away was her resemblance to a woman he had known nearly three years before. Surely she could not be the same person. The woman he had known, Cristeta Moreruela, was a showgirl in a second-rate theater. She had been an orphan and was quite poor-her circumstances could not have changed that much. He moved closer: the same beautiful face. And For these two crimes Tantalus was punished with the ruin of his kingdom and, after his then he heard her voice. He was so shocked that he had to sit down: it was dea,h Zeus ' s own hand indeed the same woman. Don Juan was an incorrigible seducer, whose conquests were innumerable and of every variety. But he remembered his affair with Cristeta quite clearly, because she had been so young-the most charming girl he had ever met. He had seen her in the theater, had courted her assiduously, and had managed to persuade her to take a trip with him to a seaside town. Although they had separate rooms, nothing could stop Don Juan: he made up a story about business troubles, gained her sympathy, and in a tender moment took advantage of her weakness. A few days later he left her, on the pretext that he had to attend to business. He believed he would never see her again. Feeling a little guilty-a rare occurrence with him-he sent her 5,000 pesetas, pretending he would eventually rejoin her. Instead he went to Paris. He had only recently returned to Madrid. As he sat and remembered all this, an idea troubled him: the child. with eternal torment in the company of Ixion,Sisyphus, Tityus, the Danaids, and others. Now he hangs, perennially consumed by thirst and hunger, from the bough of afruit tree which leans over a marshy lake. Its waves lap against his waist, and sometimes reach his chin, yet whenever he bends down to drink, they slip away, and nothing remains but the black mud at his feet; or, if he ever succeeds in scooping up a handful of water, it slips through his fingers before he can do Could the boy possibly be his? If not, she must have married almost immediately after their affair. How could she do such a thing? She was obviously wealthy now. Who could her husband be? Did he know her past? Mixed with his confusion was intense desire. She was so young and beautiful. Why had he given her up so easily? Somehow, even if she was married, he had to more than wet his cracked lips, leaving him thirstier than ever. The tree is laden with pears, shining apples, sweet figs, ripe olives and pomegranates, which get her back. dangle against his shoulders; but whenever he Don Juan began to frequent the park every day. He saw her a few more reac hesfor the luscious times; their eyes met, but she pretended not to notice him. Tracing the fruit, a gust of wind whirls nursemaid during one of her errands, he struck up a conversation with her,,hem ol " °f,us reack and asked her about her mistress's husband. She told him the man's name -robert graves, the oreek was Senor Martinez, and that he was away on an extended business trip; she also told him where Cristeta now lived. Don Juan gave her a note to give to 231 232 Don Juan: Arminta, listen to the truth--for are not women friends of truth? I am a nobleman, heir to the ancient family of the Tenorios, the conquerors of Seville. After the king, my father is the most powerful and considered man at court. ... By chance I happened on this road and saw you. Love sometimes behaves in a manner that surprises even himself. .Arminta: I don't know if what you're saying is truth or lying rhetoric. I am married to Batricio, everybody knows it. How can the marriage be annulled, even if he abandons me? • Don Juan: When the marriage is not consummated, whether by malice or deceit, it can be annulled. Arminta: You are right. But, God help me, won't you desert me the moment you have separated me from my husband? ..." Don Juan: Arminta, light of my eyes, tomorrow your beautifulfeet will slip into her mistress. Then he strolled by Cristeta's house-a beautiful palace. His worst suspicions were confirmed: she had married for money. Cristeta refused to see him. He persisted, sending more notes. Finally, to avoid a scene, she agreed to meet him, just once, in the park. Heprepared for the meeting carefully: seducing her again would be a delicate operation. But when he saw her coming toward him, in her beautiful clothes, his emotions, and his lust, got the better of him. She could only belong to him, never to another man, he told her. Cristeta took offense at this; obviously her present circumstances prevented even one more meeting. Still, beneath her coolness he could sense strong emotions. He begged to see her again, but she left without promising anything. He sent her more letters, meanwhile wracking his brains trying to piece it all together: Who was this Senor Martinez? Why would he marry a showgirl? How could Cristeta be wrested away from him? Finally Cristeta agreed to meet Don Juan one more time, in the theater, where he dared not risk a scandal. They took a box, where they could talk. She reassured him the child was not his. She said he only wanted her now because she belonged to another, because he could not have her. No, he said, he had changed; he would do anything to get her back. Disconcertingly, at moments her eyes seemed to be flirting with him. But then she seemed to be about to cry, and rested her head on his shoulder-only to get up immediately, as if realizing this was a mistake. This was their last meeting, she said, and quickly fled. Don Juan was beside himself. She wasplaying with him; she was a coquette. He had only been claiming to have changed, but perhaps it was true: no woman had ever treated him this way before. He would never have allowed it. polished silver slippers with buttons of the purest gold. And your alabaster throat will be imprisoned in beautiful necklaces; on your fingers, rings set with amethysts will shine like stars, andfrom your ears will da ngle orien tal pearls. • Arminta: I am yours. -TIRSO DE MOLINA, THE PLAYBOY OF SEVILLE.  IN MANDEL, ED., THE THEATRE OF DON JUAN For the next few nights Don Juan slept poorly. All he could think about was Cristeta. He had nightmares about killing her husband, about growing old and being alone. It was all too much. He had to leave town. He sent her a goodbye note, and to his amazement, she replied: she wanted to see him, she had something to tell him. By now he was too weak to resist. As she had requested, he met her on a bridge, at night. This time she made no effort to control herself: yes, she still loved Don Juan, and was ready to run away with him. But he should come to her house tomorrow, in broad daylight, and take her away. There could be no secrecy. Beside himself with joy, Don Juan agreed to her demands. The next day he showed up at her palace at the appointed hour, and asked for Senora Martinez. There was no one there by that name, said the woman at the door. Don Juan insisted: her name is Cristeta. Ah, Cristeta, the woman said: she lives in the back, with the other tenants. Confused, Don Juan went to Now the serpent was moresubtle than any other wild creature that the LORD GOD had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not cat of the back of the palace. There he thought he saw her son, playing in the street in dirty clothes. But no, he said to himself, it must be some other child. He came to Cristeta's door, and instead of her servant, Cristeta herself opened it. He entered. It was the room of a poor person. Hanging on improvised racks, however, were Cristeta's elegant clothes. As if in a dream, he sat down, dumbfounded, and listened as Cristeta revealed the truth. Create Temptation • 233 She was not married, she had no child. Months after he had left her, she had realized that she had been the victim of a consummate seducer. She still loved Don Juan, but she was determined to turn the tables. Finding out through a mutual friend that he had returned to Madrid, she took the five thousand pesetas he had sent her and bought expensive clothes. She borrowed a neighbor's child, asked the neighbor's cousin to play the child'snursemaid, and rented a coach-all to create an elaborate fantasy that existed only in his mind. Cristeta did not even have to lie: she never actually said she was married or had a child. She knew that being unable to have her would make him want her more than ever. It was the only way to seduce a man like him. Overwhelmed by the lengths she had gone to, and by the emotions she had so skillfully stirred in him, Don Juan forgave Cristeta and offered to marry her. To his surprise, and perhaps to his relief, she politely declined. The moment they married, she said, his eyes would wander elsewhere. Only if they stayed as they were could she maintain the upper hand. Don Juan had no choice but to agree. Interpretation. Cristeta and Don Juan are characters in the novel Dulce y Sabrosa (Sweet and Savory, 1891), by the Spanish writer Jacinto Octavio Picon. Most of Picon's work deals with male seducers and their feminine victims, a subject he studied and knew much about. Abandoned by Don Juan, and reflecting on his nature, Cristeta decided to kill two birds with one stone: she would get revenge and get him back. But how could she lure such a man? The fruit once tasted, he no longer wanted it. What came easily to him, or fell into his arms, held no allure for him. What would tempt Don Juan into desiring Cristeta again, into pursuing her, was the sense that she was already taken, that she was forbidden fruit. That was his weakness-that was why he pursued virgins and married women, women he was not supposed to have. To a man, she reasoned, the grass always seems greener somewhere else. She would make herself that distant, alluring object, just out of reach, tantalizing him, stirring up emotions he could not control. He knew how charming and desirable she had once been to him. The idea of possessing her again, and the pleasure he imagined it would bring, were too much for him: he swallowed the bait. Temptation is a twofold process. First you are coquettish, flirtatious; you stimulate a desire by promising pleasure and distraction from daily life. At the same time, you make it clear to your targets that they cannot have you, at least not right away. You are establishing a barrier, some kind of tension. In days gone by such barriers were easy to create, by taking advantage of preexisting social obstacles-of class, race, marriage, religion. Today the barriers have to be more psychological: your heart is taken by someone else; you are really not interested in the target; some secret holds you back; the timing is bad; you are not good enough for the other person; the other any tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.' " But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. " So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. -GENESIS 3:1, OLD TESTAMENT Thou strong seducer, Opportunity. -JOHN DRYDEN As he listened, Masetto experienced such a longing to go and stay with these nuns that his whole body tingled with excitement, for it was clear from what he had heard that he should be able to achieve what he had in mind. Realizing, however, that he would get nowhere by revealing his intentions to Nuto, he replied: • "How right you were to come away from the [nunnery]! What sort of a life can any man lead when he's surrounded by a lot of women? He might as well be living with a pack of devils. Why, six times out oj seven they don't even know their own minds." • But when they 234 had finished talking, Masetto began to consider what steps he ought to take so that he could go and stay with them. Knowinghimself to be perfectly capable of carrying out the duties mentioned by Nuto, he had no worries about losing the job on that particular score, but he was afraid lest he should be turned down because of his youth and his unusually attractive appearance. And so, having rejected a number of other possible expedients, he eventually thought to himself: "The convent is a long way off, and there's nobody there who knows me. If I can pretend to be dumb, they'll take me on for sure." Clinging firmly to this conjecture, he therefore dressed himself in pauper's rags and slung an ax over his shoulder, and without telling anyone where he was going, he set outfor the convent. On his arrival, he wandered into the courtyard, where as luck would have it he came across the steward, and with the aid ofgestures such as dumb people use, he conveyed the impression that he was beggingfor something to eat, in return for which he would attend to any wood-chopping that needed to be done. • The steward gladly provided him with something to eat, after which he presented him with a pile of logs that Nuto had been unable to chop. Mow, when the steward had discovered what an excellent gardener he was, he gestured to Masetto, asking him whether he would like to stay there, and the latter made signs to indicate that he was willing to do whatever the steward person is not good enough for you; and so on. Conversely, you can choose someone who has a built-in barrier: they are taken, they are not meant to want you. These barriers are more subtle than the social or religious variety, but they are barriers nevertheless, and the psychology remains the same. are perversely excited by what they cannot or should not have. Create this inner conflict-there is excitement and interest, but you are unavailable-and you will have them grasping like Tantalus for water. And with Don Juan and Cristeta, the more you make your targets pursue you, the more they imagine that it is they who are the aggressors. Your seduction is perfectly disguised. The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. -OSCAR WILDE. Keys to Seduction M ost of the time, people struggle to maintain security and a sense of balance in their lives. If they were always uprooting themselves in pursuit of every new person or fantasy that passed them by, they could not survive the daily grind. They usually win the struggle, but it does not come easy. The world is full of temptation. They read about people who have more than they do, about adventures others are having, about people who have found wealth and happiness. The security that they strive for, and that they seem to have in their lives, is actually an illusion. It covers up a constant tension. As a seducer, you can never mistake people's appearance for reality. You know that their fight to keep order in their lives is exhausting, and that they are gnawed by doubts and regrets. It is hard to be good and virtuous, always having to repress the strongest desires. With that knowledge in mind, seduction is easier. What people want is not temptation; temptation happens every day. What people want is to give into temptation, to yield. That is the only way to get rid of the tension in their lives. It costs much more to resist temptation than to surrender. Your task, then, is to create a temptation that is stronger than the daily variety. It has to be focused on them, aimed at them as individuals-at their weakness. Understand: everyone has a principal weakness, from which others stem. Find that childhood insecurity, that lack in their life, and you hold the key to tempting them. Their weakness may be greed, vanity, boredom, some deeply repressed desire, a hunger for forbidden fruit. They signal it in little details that elude their conscious control: their style of clothing, an offhand comment. Their past, and particularly their past romances, will be littered with clues. Give them a potent temptation, tailored to their weakness, and you can make the hope of pleasure that you stir in them figure more prominently than the doubts and anxieties that accompany it. In 1621, King Philip III of Spain desperately wanted to forge an al- Create Temptation • 235 liance with England by marrying his daughter to the son of the English king, James I. James seemed open to the idea, but he stalled for time. Spain's ambassador to the English court, a man called Gondomar, was given the task of advancing Philip's plan. He set his sights on the king's favorite, the Duke (former Earl) of Buckingham. Gondomar knew the duke's main weakness: vanity. Buckingham hungered for the glory and adventure that would add to his fame; he was bored with his limited tasks, and he pouted and whined about this. The ambassador first flattered him profusely-the duke was the ablest man in the country and it was a shame he was given so little to do. Then, he began to whisper to him of a great adventure. The duke, as Gondomar knew, was in favor of the match with the Spanish princess, but these damned marriage negotiations with King James were taking so long, and getting nowhere. What if the duke were to accompany the king's son, his good friend Prince Charles, to Spain? Of course, this would have to be done in secret, without guards or escorts, for the English government and its ministers would never sanction such a trip. But that would make it all the more dangerous and romantic. Once in Madrid, the prince could throw himself at Princess Maria's feet, declare his undying love, and carry her back to England in triumph. What a chivalrous deed it would be and all for love. The duke would get all the credit and it would make his name famous for centuries. The duke fell for the idea, and convinced Charles to go along; after much arguing, they also convinced a reluctant King James. The trip was a near disaster (Charles would have had to convert to Catholicism to win Maria), and the marriage never happened, but Gondomar had done his job. He did not bribe the duke with offers of money or power-he aimed at the childlike part of him that never grew up. A child has little power to resist. It wants everything, now, and rarely thinks of the consequences. A child lies lurking in everyone-a pleasure that was denied them, a desire that was repressed. Hit at that point, tempt them with the proper toy (adventure, money, fun), and they will slough off their normal adult reasonableness. Recognize their weakness by whatever childlike behavior they reveal in daily life-it is the tip of the iceberg. Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed the supreme general of the French army in 1796. His commission was to defeat the Austrian forces that had taken over northern Italy. The obstacles were immense: Napoleon was only twenty-six at the time; the generals below him were envious of his position and doubtful of his abilities. His soldiers were tired, underfed, underpaid, and grumpy. How could he motivate this group to fight the highly experienced Austrian army? As he prepared to cross the Alps into Italy, Napoleon gave a speech to his troops that may have been the turning point in his career, and in his life: "Soldiers, you are half starved and half naked. The government owes you much, but can do nothing for you. Your patience, your courage, do you honor, but give you no glory. ... I will lead you into the most fertile plains of the world. There you will find flourishing cities, teeming provinces. There you will reap honor, glory, and wealth." The wanted. Now, one day, when Masetto happened to he taking a rest after a spell of strenuous work, he was approached by two very young nuns who were out walking in the garden. Since he gave them the impression that he was asleep, they began to stare at him, and the bolder of the two said to her companion: • "If I could be sure that you would keep it a secret, I would tell you about an idea that has often crossed my mind, and one that might well work out to our mutual benefit." • "Do tell me," replied the other. "You can be quite certain that I shan't talk about it to anyone. " • The bold one began to speak more plainly. • "I wonder," she said, "whether you have ever considered what a strict life we have to lead, and how the only men who ever dare setfoot in this place are the steward, who is elderly, and this dumb gardener of ours. Yet I have often heard it said, by of the ladies who have come to visit us, that all other pleasures in the are mere trifles by comparison with the one by a woman when she goes with a man. have thus been thinking, since I have nobody else to hand, that I would like to discover with the aid of this dumb fellow whether they are telling the truth. As it happens, there couldn't be a better man for the, because even if he wanted to let the cat out of the bag, he wouldn't be to. He wouldn't even know how to explain, for you can see for yourself what a mentally retarded, dim-witted hulk of a youth 236 the fellow is. I would be glad to know what you think of the idea." • "Dear me!" said the other. "Don't you realize that we have promised God to preserve our virginity?" • "Pah!" she said. "We are constantly making Him promises that we never keep! What does it matter if we fail to keep this one? He can always find other girls to preserve their virginity for Him. " • . . . Before the time came for them to leave, they had each made repeated trials of dumb fellow's riding ability, and later on, when they were busily swapping tales about it all, they agreed that it was every bit as pleasant an experience as they had been led to believe, indeed more so. Andfrom then on, whenever the opportunity arose, they whiled away many a pleasant hour in the dumb fellow's arms. • One day, however, a companion of theirs happened to look out from the window of her cell, saw the goings-on, and drew the attention of two others what was afoot. Having talked the matter over between themselves, they at first decided to report the pair to the abbess. But then they changed their minds, and by common agreement with the other two, they took up shares in Masetto's holding. And because of various indiscretions, these five were subsequently joined by the remaining three, one after the other. • Finally, the abbess, who was still unaware of all this, was taking a stroll one very hot day in the garden, all by herself when she came across Masetto stretched out fast asleep in the shade of an almond speech had a powerful effect. Days later these same soldiers, after a rough climb over the mountains, gazed down on the Piedmont valley. Napoleon s words echoed in their ears, and a ragged, grumbling gang became an inspired army that would sweep across northern Italy in pursuit of the Austrians. Napoleon's use of temptation had two elements: behind you is a grim past; ahead of you is a future of wealthand glory, (/you follow me. Integral to the temptation strategy is a clear demonstration that the target has nothing to lose and everything to gain. The present offers little hope, the future can be full of pleasure and excitement. Remember to keep the future gains vague, though, and somewhat out of reach. Be too specific and you will disappoint; make the promise too close at hand, and you will not be able to postpone satisfaction long enough to get what you want. The barriers and tensions in temptation are there to stop people from giving in too easily and too superficially. You want them to struggle, to resist, to be anxious. Queen Victoria surely fell in love with her prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli, but there were barriers of religion (he was a dark-skinned Jew), class (she, of course, was a queen), social taste (she was a paragon of virtue, he a notorious dandy). The relationship was never consummated, but what deliciousness those barriers gave to their daily encounters, which were full of constant flirtation. Many such social barriers are gone today, so they have to be manufactured-it is the only way to put spice into seduction. Taboos of any kind are a source of tension, and they are psychological now, not religious. You are looking for some repression, some secret desire that will make your victim squirm uncomfortably if you hit upon it, but will tempt them all the more. Search in their past; whatever they seem to fear or flee from might hold the key. It could be a yearning for a mother or father figure, or a latent homosexual desire. Perhaps you can satisfy that desire by presenting yourself as a masculine woman or a feminine man. For others you play the Lolita, or the daddd-someone they are not supposed to have, the dark side of their personality. Keep the connection vague-you want them to reach for something elusive, something that comes out of their own mind. In London in 1769, Casanova met a young woman named Charpillon. She was much younger than he, as beautiful a woman as he had ever known, and with a reputation for destroying men. In one of their first encounters she told him straight out that he would fall for her and she would ruin him. To everyone's disbelief, Casanova pursued her. In each encounter she hinted she might give in-perhaps the next time, if he was nice to her. She inflamed his curiosity-what pleasure she would yield; he would be the first, he would tame her. "The venom of desire penetrated my whole being so completely," he later wrote, "that had she so wished it, she could have despoiled me of everything I possessed. I would have beggared myself for one little kiss." This "affair" indeed proved his ruin; she humiliated him. Charpillon had rightly gauged that Casanova's primary weakness was his Create Temptation • 237 need for conquest, to overcome challenge, to taste what no other man had tasted. Beneath this was a kind of masochism, a pleasure in the pain a woman could give him. Playing the impossible woman, enticing and then frustrating him, she offered the ultimate temptation. What will often do the trick is to give the target the sense that you are a challenge, a prize to be won. In possessing you they will get what no other has had. They may even get pain; but pain is close to pleasure, and offers its own temptations. In the Old Testament we read that "David arose from his couch and was walking upon the roof of the king's house . . . [and] he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful." The woman was Bathsheba. David summoned her, seduced her (supposedly), then proceeded to get rid of her husband, Uriah, in battle. In fact, however, it was Bathsheba who had seduced David. She bathed on her roof at an hour when she knew he would be standing on his balcony. After tempting a man she knew had a weakness for women, she played the coquette, forcing him to come after her. This is the opportunity strategy: give someone weak the chance to have what they lust after by merely placing yourself within their reach, as if byaccident. Temptation is often a matter of timing, of crossing the path of the weak at the right moment, giving them the opportunity to surrender. Bathsheba used her entire body as a lure, but it is often more effective to use only a part of the body, creating a fetishlike effect. Madame Re- camier would let you glimpse her body beneath the sheer dresses she wore, but only briefly, when she took off her overgarment to dance. Men would leave that evening dreaming of what little they had seen. Empress Josephine made a point of baring her beautiful arms in public. Give the target only a part of you to fantasize about, thereby creating a constant temptation in their mind. Symbol: The Apple in the Garden of Eden. The fruit looks deeply inviting, and you are not supposed to eat of it; it is forbidden. But that is precisely why you think of it day and night. You see it but cannot have it. And the only way to get rid of this temptatree. Too much riding by night had left him with very little strengthfor the day's labors, and so there he lay, with his clothes ruffled up in front by the wind, leaving him all exposed. Finding herself alone, the lady stood with her eyes riveted to this spectacle, and she was seized by the same craving to which her young charges had already succumbed. So, having roused Masetto, she led him away to her room, where she kept him for several days, thus provoking bitter complaints from the nuns over the fact that the handyman had suspended work in the garden. Before sending him back to his own quarters, she repeatedly savored the one pleasure for which she had always reserved her most fierce disapproval, and from then on she demanded regular supplementary allocations, amounting to considerably more than her fair share. -BOCCACCIO, THE DECAMERON  tion is to yield and taste the fruit. 238 Reversal T he reverse of temptation is security or satisfaction, and both are fatal to seduction. If you cannot tempt someone out of their habitual comfort, you cannot seduce them. If you satisfy the desire you have awakened, the seduction is over. There is no reversal to temptation. Although some stages can be passed over, no seduction can proceed without some form of temptation, so it is always better to plan it carefully, tailoring it to the weakness and childishness in your particular target. Phase Two Lead Astray - Creating Pleasure and Confusion Your victims are sufficiently intrigued and their desire for you is growing, but their attachment is weak and at any moment they could decide to turn back. The goal in this phase is to lead your victims so far astray-keeping them emotional and confused, giving them pleasure but making them want more-that retreat is no longer possible. Springing on them a pleasant surprise will make them see you as delightfully unpredictable, but will also keep them off balance (9: Keep them in suspense-what comes next?). The artful use of soft and pleasant words will intoxicate them and stimulate fantasies (10: Use the demonic power of words to sow confusion). Aesthetic touches and pleasant little rituals will titillate their senses, distract their minds (11: Pay attention to detail). Your greatest danger in this phase is the mere hint of routine orfamil- iarity. You need to maintain some mystery, to keep a little distance so that in your absence your victims become obsessed with you (12: Poeticize your presence). They may realize they are falling for you, but they must never suspect how much of this has come from your manipulations. A well-timed display of your weakness, of how emotional you have become under their influence will help cover your tracks (13: Disarm through strategic weakness and vulnerability). To excite your victims and make them highly emotional, you must give them thefeeling that they are actually living some of the fantasies you have stirred in their imagination (14: Confuse desire and reality). By giving them only a part of the fantasy, you will keep them coming backfor more. Focusing your attention on them so that the rest of the world fades away, even taking them on a trip, will lead them far astray (15: Isolate your victim). There is no turning back. 9 Keep Them in Suspense- What Comes Next? The moment people feel they know what to expect from you, your spell on them is broken. More: you have ceded them power. The only way to lead the seduced along and keep the upper hand is to create suspense, a calculated surprise. People love a mystery, and this is the key to luring them further into your web. Behave in a way that leaves them wondering, What are you up to? Doing something they do not expectfrom you will give them a delightful sense of spontaneity-they will not be able tofore- see what comes next. You are always one step ahead and in control. Give the victim a thrill with a sudden change of direction.The Calculated Surprise I n 1753, the twenty-eight-old Giovanni Casanova met a young girlnamed Caterina with whom he fell in love. Her father knew what kind of man Casanova was, and to prevent some mishap before he could marry her off, he sent her away to a convent on the Venetian island of Murano, where she was to remain for four years. Casanova, however, was not one to be daunted. He smuggled letters to Caterina. He began to attend Mass at the convent several times a week, catching glimpses of her. The nuns began to talk among themselves: who was this handsome young man who appeared so often? One morning, as Casanova, leaving Mass, was about to board a gondola, a servant girl from the convent passed by and dropped a letter at his feet. Thinking it might be from Caterina, he picked it up. It was indeed intended for him, but it was not from Caterina; its author was a nun at the convent, who had noticed him on his many visits and wanted to make his acquaintance. Was he interested? If so, he should come to the convent's parlor at a particular time, when the nun would be receiving a visitor from the outside world, a friend of hers who was a countess. He could stand at a distance, observe her, and decide whether she was to his liking. Casanova was most intrigued by the letter: its style was dignified, but there was something naughty about it as well-particularly from a nun. He had to find out more. At the appointed day and time, he stood to the side in the convent parlor and saw an elegantly dressed woman talking with a nun seated behind a grating. He heard the nun's name mentioned, and was astonished: it was Mathilde M., a well-known Venetian in her early twenties, whose decision to enter a convent had surprised the whole city. But what astonished him most was that beneath her nun's habit, he could see that she was a beautiful young woman, particularly in her eyes, which were a brilliant blue. Perhaps she needed a favor done, and intended that he would serve as her cat's-paw. His curiosity got the better of him. A few days later he returned to the convent and asked to see her. As he waited for her, his heart was beating a mile a minute-he did not know what to expect. She finally appeared and sat down behind the grating. They were alone in the room, and she said that she could arrange for them to have supper together at a little villa nearby. Casanova was delighted, but wondered what kind of nun he was dealing with. "And-have you no lover but me?" he asked. "I have a I count upon taking [the French people ] by surprise. A bold deed upsets people's equanimity, and they are dumbfounded by a great novelty. -NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, QUOTED IN EMIL LUDWIG, NAPOLEON. PAUL The first care of any dandy is to never do what one expects them to do, to always go beyond. The unexpected can be nothing more than a gesture, but a gesture that is totally uncommon. Alcibiades cut off the tail of his dog in order to surprise people. When he saw the looks on his friends as they gazed upon the mutilated animal, he said: "Ah, that is precisely what I wanted to happen: as long as the Athenians gossip about this, they will not say anything worse about me." • Attracting attention is not the only goal of a dandy, he wants to hold it by unexpected, even ridiculous means. After Alcibiades, how many apprentice dandies cut off the tails of their dogs! The 243 244 baron of Saint-Cricq, for example, with his ice cream boots: one very hot day, he ordered at Tortonis two ice creams, the vanilla served in his right boot, the strawberry in his left boot. . . . The Count Saint-Germain loved to bring his friends to the theater, in his voluptuous carriage lined in pink satin and drawn by two black horses with enormous tails; he asked his friends in that inimitable tone of his: "Which piece of entertainment did you wish to see? Vaudeville, the Variety show, the Palais- Royal theater? I took the liberty of purchasing a box for all three of them." Once the choice was made, with a look of great disdain, he would take the unused tickets, roll them up, and use them to light his cigar. - MAUD DE BELLEROCHE, DU DANDYAU PLAY-BOY While Shahzaman sat at one of the windows overlooking the king's garden, he saw a door open in the palace, through which came twenty slave girls and twenty negroes. In their midst was his brother's [King Shahriyar's] queen, a woman of surpassing beauty. They made their waytothe fountain, wherethey all undressed and sat on the grass. The king's wife then called out: "Come Mass'ood!" and there promptly came to her a black slave, who mounted her after smothering her with embraces and kisses. So also did the negroes with the slave girls, reveling together till the approach of night.  And so friend, who is also absolutely my master," she replied. "It is to him I owe my wealth." She asked if he had a lover. Yes, he replied. She then said, in a mysterious tone, "I warn you that if you once allow me to take her place in your heart, no power on earth can tear me from it." She then gave him the key to the villa and told him to meet her there in two nights. He kissed her through the grating and left in a daze. "I passed the next two days in a state of feverish impatience," he wrote, "which prevented me from sleeping or eating. Over and above birth, beauty, and wit, my new conquest possessed an additional charm: she was forbidden fruit. I was about to become a rival of the Church." He imagined her in her habit, and with her shaven head. He arrived at the villa at the appointed hour. Mathilde was waiting for him. To his surprise, she wore an elegant dress, and somehow she had avoided having her head shaved, for her hair was in a magnificent chignon. Casanova began to kiss her. She resisted, but only slightly, and then pulled back, saying a meal was ready for them. Over dinner she filled in a few more of the gaps: her money allowed her to bribe certain people, so that she could escape from the convent every so often. She had mentioned Casanova to her friend and master, and he had approved their liaison. He must be old? Casanova asked. No, she replied, a glint in her eye, he is in his forties, and quite handsome. After supper, a bell rang-her signal to hurry back to the convent, or she would be caught. She changed back into her habit and left. A beautiful vista now seemed to stretch before Casanova, of months spent in the villa with this delightful creature, all of it courtesy of the mysterious master who paid for it all. He soon returned to the convent to arrange the next meeting. They would rendezvous in a square in Venice, then retire to the villa. At the appointed time and place, Casanova saw a man approach him. Fearing it was her mysterious friend, or some other man sent to kill him, he recoiled. The man circled behind him, then came up close: it was Mathilde, wearing a mask and men's clothes. She laughed at the fright she had given him. What a devilish nun. He had to admit that dressed as a man she excited him even more. Casanova began to suspect that all was not as it seemed. For one, he found a collection of libertine novels and pamphlets in Mathilde's house. Then she made blasphemous comments, for example about the joy they would have together during Lent, "mortifying their flesh." Now she referred to her mysterious friend as her lover. A plan evolved in his mind to take her away from this man and from the convent, eloping with her and possessing her himself. A few days later he received a letter from her, in which she made a confession: during one of their more passionate trysts at the villa, her lover had hidden in a closet, watching the whole thing. The lover, she told him, was the French ambassador to Venice, and Casanova had impressed him. Casanova was not one to be fooled with like this, yet the next day he was back at the convent, submissively arranging for another tryst. This time she showed up at the hour they had named, and he embraced her-only to Keep Them in Suspense-What Comes Next? • 245 find that he was embracing Caterina, dressed up in Mathilde's clothes. Mathilde had befriended Caterina and learned her story. Apparently taking pity on her, she had arranged it so that Caterina could leave the convent for the evening, and meet up with Casanova. Only a few months before Casanova had been in love with this girl, but he had forgotten about her. Compared to the ingenious Mathilde, Caterina was a simpering bore. He could not conceal his disappointment. He burned to see Mathilde. Casanova was angry at the trick Mathilde had played. But a few days later, when he saw her again, all was forgiven. As she had predicted during their first interview, her power over him was complete. He had become her slave, addicted to her whims, and to the dangerous pleasures she offered. Who knows what rash act he might have committed on her behalf had their affair not been cut short by circumstance. Interpretation. Casanova was almost always in control in his seductions. He was the one who led, taking his victim on a trip to an unknown destination, luring her into his web. In all of his memoirs the story of Mathilde is the only seduction in which the tables are happily turned: he is the seduced, the bewildered victim. What made Casanova Mathilde's slave was the same tactic he had used on countless girls: the irresistible lure of being led by another person, the thrill of being surprised, the power of mystery. Each time he left Mathilde his head was spinning with questions. Her ability to go on surprising him kept her always in his mind, deepening her spell and blotting Caterina out. Each surprise was carefully calculated for the effect it would produce. The first unexpected letter piqued his curiosity, as did that first sight of her in the waiting room; suddenly seeing her dressed as an elegant woman stirred intense desire; then seeing her dressed as a man intensified the excitingly transgressive nature of their liaison. The surprises put him off balance, yet left him quivering with anticipation of the next one. Even an unpleasant surprise, such as the encounter with Caterina that Mathilde had set up, kept him emotional and weak. Meeting the somewhat bland Caterina at that moment only made him long that much more for Mathilde. In seduction, you need to create constant tension and suspense, a feeling that with you nothing is predictable. Do not think of this as a painful challenge. You are creating drama in real life, so pour your creative energies into it, have some fun. There are all kinds of calculated surprises you can spring on your victims-sending a letter from out of the blue, showing up unexpectedly, taking them to a place they have never been. But best of all are surprises that reveal something new about your character. This needs to be set up. In those first few weeks, your targets will tend to make certain snap judgments about you, based on appearances. Perhaps they see you as a bit shy, practical, puritanical. You know that this is not the real you, but it is how you act in social situations. Let them, however, have these impressions, and in fact accentuate them a little, without overacting: for instance.Shahzamanrelated to [his brother King Shahriyar] all that he had seen in the king's garden that day. Upon this Shahriyar announced his intention to set forth on another expedition. The troops went out of the city with the tents, and King Shahriyar followed them. And after he had stayed a while in the camp, he gave orders to his slaves that no one was to be admitted to the king's tent. He then disguised himself and returned unnoticed to the palace, where his brother was waiting for him. They both sat at one of the windows overlooking the garden; and when they had been there a short time, the queen and her women appeared with the black slaves, and behaved as Shahzaman had described. .As soon as they entered the palace, King Shahriyar put his wife to death, together with her women and the black slaves. Thenceforth he made it his custom to take a virgin in marriage to his bed each night, and kill her the next morning. This he continued to do for three years, until a clamor rose among the people, some of whom fled the country with their daughters. • Now the vizier had two daughters. The elder was called Shahrazad, and the younger Dunyazad. Shahrazad possessed many accomplishments and was versed in the wisdom of the poets and the legends of ancient kings. • That day Shahrazad noticed her father's anxiety and asked him what it was that troubled him. When the vizier told her of his predicament, she said: "Give me in marriage to 246 this king; either I shall die and be a ransom for the daughters of Moslems, or live and be the cause of their deliverance." He earnestly pleaded with her against such a hazard; but Shahrazad was resolved, and would not yield to her father's entreaties. So the vizier arrayed his daughter in bridal garments and decked her with jewels and made ready to announce Shahrazad's wedding to the king. • Before saying farewell to her sister, Shahrazad gave her these instructions: "When I am received by the king, I shall send for you. Then when the king has finished his act with me, you must say: 'Tell me, my sister, some tale of marvel to beguile the night.' Then I will tell you a tale which, if Allah wills, shall be the means of our deliverance. " • The vizier went with his daughter to the king. And when the king had taken the maiden Shahrazad to his chamber and had lain with her, she wept and said: "I have a young sister to whom I wish to bid farewell." • The king sent for Dunyazad. When she arrived, she threw her arms around her sister's neck, and seated herself by her side. • Then Dunyazad said to Shahrazad: "Tell us, my sister, a tale of marvel, so that the night may pass pleasantly." • "Gladly," she answered, "if the king permits. " • And the king, who was troubled with sleeplessness, eagerly listened to the tale of Shahrazad: Once upon the time, in the city of Basrah, there lived a prosperous tailor who was fond of sport and merriment. ..." [Nearly seem a little more reserved than usual. Now you have room to suddenly surprise them with some bold or poetic or naughty action. Once they have changed their minds about you, surprise them again, as Mathilde did with Casanova-first a nun who wants an affair, then a libertine, then a seductress with a sadistic streak. As they strain to figure you out, they will be thinking about you all of the time, and will want to know more about you. Their curiosity will lead them further into your web, until it is too late for them to turn back. This is always the law for the interesting. . . . If one just knows how to surprise, one always wins the game. The energy of the person involved is temporarily suspended; one makes it impossible for her to act. -S0REN KIERKEGAARD Keys to Seduction A child is usually a willful, stubborn creature who will deliberately do the opposite of what we ask. But there is one scenario in which children will happily give up their usual willfulness: when they are promised a surprise. Perhaps it is a present hidden in a box, a game with an unforeseeable ending, a journey with an unknown destination, a suspenseful story with a surprise finish. In those moments when children are waiting for a surprise, their willpower is suspended. They are in your thrall for as long as you dangle possibility before them. This childish habit is buried deep within us, and is the source of an elemental human pleasure: being led by a person who knows where they are going, and who takes us on a journey. (Maybe our joy in being carried along involves a buried memory of being literally carried, by a parent, when we are small.) We get a similar thrill when we watch a movie or read a thriller: we are in the hands of a director or author who is leading us along, taking us through twists and turns. We stay in our seats, we turn the pages, happily enslaved by the suspense. It is the pleasure a woman has in being led by a confident dancer, letting go of any defensiveness she may feel and letting another person do the work. Falling in love involves anticipation; we are about to head off in a new direction, enter a new life, where everything will be strange. The seduced wants to be led, to be carried along like a child. If you are predictable, the charm wears off; everyday life is predictable. In the Arabian Talesfrom the Thousand and One Nights, each night King Shahriyar takes a virgin as his wife, then kills her the following morning. One such virgin, Shahrazad, manages to escape this fate by telling the king a story that can only be completed the following day. She does this night after night, keeping the king in constant suspense. When one story finishes, she quickly starts up another. She does this for nearly three years, until the king finally decides to spare her life. You are like Shahrazad: with- Keep Them in Suspense-What Comes Next? • 247 out new stories, without a feeling of anticipation, your seduction will die. Keep stoking the fires night after night. Your targets must never know what's coming next-what surprises you have in store for them. As with King Shahriyar, they will be under your control for as long as you can keep them guessing. In 1765, Casanova met a young Italian countess named Clementina who lived with her two sisters in a chateau. Clementina loved to read, and had little interest in the men who swarmed around her. Casanova added himself to their number, buying her books, engaging her in literary discussions, but she was no less indifferent to him than she had been to them. Then one day he invited the entire family on a little trip. He would not tell them where they were going. They piled into the carriage, all the way trying to guess their destination. A few hours later they entered Milan-what joy, the sisters had never been there. Casanova led them to his apartment, where three dresses had been laid out-the most magnificent dresses the girls had ever seen. There was one for each of the sisters, he told them, and the green one was for Clementina. Stunned, she put it on, and her face lit up. The surprises did not stop-there was a delicious meal, champagne, games. By the time they returned to the chateau, late in the evening, Clementina had fallen hopelessly in love with Casanova. The reason was simple: surprise creates a moment when people's defenses come down and new emotions can rush in. If the surprise is pleasurable, the seductive poison enters their veins without their realizing it. Any sudden event has a similar effect, striking directly at our emotions before we get defensive. Rakes know this power well. A young married woman in the court of Louis XV, in eighteenth- century France, noticed a handsome young courtier watching her, first at the opera, then in church. Making inquiries, she found it was the Due de Richelieu, the most notorious rake in France. No woman was safe from this man, she was warned; he was impossible to resist, and she should avoid him at all costs. Nonsense, she replied, she was happily married. He could not possibly seduce her. Seeing him again, she laughed at his persistence. He would disguise himself as a beggar and approach her in the park, or his coach would suddenly come alongside hers. He was never aggressive, and seemed harmless enough. She let him talk to her at court; he was charming and witty, and even asked to meet her husband. The weeks passed, and the woman realized she had made a mistake: she looked forward to seeing the marquis. She had let down her guard. This had to stop. Now she started avoiding him, and he seemed to respect her feelings: he stopped bothering her. Then one day, weeks later, she was at the country manor of a friend when the marquis suddenly appeared. She blushed, trembled, walked away, but his unexpected appearance had caught her unawares-it had pushed her over the edge. A few days later she became another of Richelieu's victims. Of course he had set the whole thing up, including the supposed surprise encounter. Not only does suddenness create a seductive jolt, it conceals manipula- three years pass.] Now during this time Shahrazad had borne King Shahriyar three sous. On the thousand and first night, when she had ended the tale of Ma'aruf she rose and kissed the ground before him, saying: "Great King, for a thousand and one nights I have been recounting to you the fables of past ages and the legends of ancient kings. May I be so bold as to crave a favor of your majesty?" • The king replied: "Ask, and it shall be granted. " • Shahrazad called out to the nurses, saying: "Bring me my children. " "Behold these three [little boys] whom Allah has granted to us. For their sake I implore you to spare my life. For if you destroy the mother of these infants, they will find none among women to love them as I would." • The king embraced his three sous, and his eyes filled with tears as he answered: "I swear by Allah, Shahrazad, that you were already pardoned before the coming of these children. I loved you because I found you chaste and tender, wise and eloquent. May Allah bless you, and bless your father and mother, your ancestors, and all your descendants. O, Shahrazad, this thousand and first night is brighter for us than the day!" -TALES FROM THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS. tions. Appear somewhere unexpectedly, say or do something sudden, and people will not have time to figure out that your move was calculated. Take them to some new place as if it only just occurred to you, suddenly reveal some secret. Made emotionally vulnerable, they will be too bewildered to see through you. Anything that happens suddenly seems natural, and anything that seems natural has a seductive charm. Only months after arriving in Paris in 1926, Josephine Baker had completely charmed and seduced the French public with her wild dancing.But less than a year later she could feel their interest wane. Since childhood she had hated feeling out of control of her life. Why be at the mercy of the fickle public? She left Paris and returned a year later, her manner completely altered-now she played the part of an elegant Frenchwoman, who happened to be an ingenious dancer and performer. The French fell in love again; the power was back on her side. If you are in the public eye, you must learn from this trick of surprise. People are bored, not only with their own lives but with people who are meant to keep them from being bored. The minute they feel they can predict your next step, they will eat you alive. The artist Andy Warhol kept moving from incarnation to incarnation, and no one could predict the next one-artist, filmmaker, society man. Always keep a surprise up your sleeve. To keep the public's attention, keep them guessing. Let the moralists accuse you of insincerity, of having no core or center. They are actually jealous of the freedom and playfulness you reveal in your public persona. Finally, you might think it wiser to present yourself as someone reliable, not given to caprice. If so, you are in fact merely timid. It takes courage and effort to mount a seduction. Reliability is fine for drawing people in, but stay reliable and you stay a bore. Dogs are reliable, a seducer is not. If, on the other hand, you prefer to improvise, imagining that any kind of planning or calculation is antithetical to the spirit of surprise, you are making a grave mistake. Constant improvisation simply means you are lazy, and thinking only about yourself. What often seduces a person is the feeling that you have expended effort on their behalf. You do not need to trumpet this too loudly, but make it clear in the gifts you make, the little journeys you plan, the little teases you lure people with. Little efforts like these will be more than amply rewarded by the conquest of the heart and willpower of the seduced. Symbol: The Roller Coaster. The car rises slowly to the top, then suddenly hurtles you into space, whips you to the side, throws you upside down, in every possible direction. The riders laugh and scream. What thrills them is to let go, to grant control to someone else, who propels them in unexpected directions. What new thrill awaits them around the next corner ? Keep Them in Suspense-What Comes Next? • 249 Reversal S urprise can be unsurprising if you keep doing the same thing again and again. Jiang Qing would try to surprise her husband Mao Zedong with sudden changes of mood, from harshness to kindness and back. At first he was captivated; he loved the feeling of never knowing what was coming. But it went on for years, and was always the same. Soon, Madame Mao's supposedly unpredictable mood swings just annoyed him. You need to vary the method of your surprises. When Madame de Pompadour was the lover of the inveterately bored King Louis XV, she made each surprise different- a new amusement, a new game, a new fashion, a new mood. He could never predict what would come next, and while he waited for the next surprise, his willpower was temporarily suspended. No man was ever more of a slave to a woman than was Louis to Madame de Pompadour. When you change direction, make the new direction truly new. 10 Use the Demonic Power of Words to Sow Confusion nis hard to make people listen; they are consumed with their own thoughts and desires, and have little timefor yours. The trick to making them listen is to say what they want to hear, to fill their ears with whatever is pleasant to them. This is the essence of seductive language. Inflame people's emotions with loaded phrases, flatter them, comfort their insecurities, envelop them infantasies, sweet words, and promises, and not only will they listen to you, they will lose their will to resist you. Keep your language vague, letting them read into it what they want. Use writing to stir upfantasies and to create an idealized portrait of yourself. Seductive Oratory O n May 13, 1958, right-wing Frenchmen and their sympathizers in the army seized control of Algeria, which was then a French colony. They had been afraid that France's socialist government would grant Algeria its independence. Now, with Algeria under their control, they threatened to take over all of France. Civil war seemed imminent. At this dire moment all eyes turned to General Charles de Gaulle, the World War II hero who had played a crucial role in liberating France from the Nazis. For the last ten years de Gaulle had stayed away from politics, disgusted with the infighting among the various parties. He remained very popular, and was generally seen as the one man who could unite the country, but he was also a conservative, and the right-wingers felt certain that if he came to power he would support their cause. Days after the May 13 coup, the French government-the Fourth Republic-collapsed, and the parliament called on de Gaulle to help form a new government, the Fifth Republic. He asked for and was granted full powers for four months. On June 4, days after becoming the head of government, de Gaulle flew to Algeria. The French colonials were ecstatic. It was their coup that had indirectly brought de Gaulle to power; surely, they imagined, he was coming to thank them, and to reassure them that Algeria would remain French. When he arrived in Algiers, thousands of people filled the city's main plaza. The mood was extremely festive-there were banners, music, and endless chants of "Algerie jkmgaise," the French-colonial slogan. Suddenly de Gaulle appeared on a balcony overlooking the plaza. The crowd went wild. The general, an extremely tall man, raised his arms above his head, and the chanting doubled in volume. The crowd was begging him to join in. Instead he lowered his arms until silence fell, then opened them wide, and slowly intoned, in his deep voice, "Je vous ai compris "-I have understood you. There was a moment of quiet, and then, as his words sank in, a deafening roar: he understood them. That was all they needed to hear. De Gaulle proceeded to talk of the greatness of France. More cheers. He promised there would be new elections, and "with those elected representatives we will see how to do the rest." Yes, a new government, just what the crowd wanted-more cheers. He would "find the place for Algeria" in the French "ensemble." There must be "total discipline, without qualification and without conditions"-who could argue with that? He closed with a loud call: "Vive la Republique! Vive la France!" the emotional slogan that After Operation Sedition, we are being treated to Operation Seduction. -MAURICEKRIEGEL- VALRIMONT ON CHARLES DE GAULLE, SHORTLY AFTER THE GENERAL ASSUMED POWER My mistress staged a lockout. ... \ I went back to verses and compliments, \ My natural weapons. Soft words \ Remove harsh door-chains. There's magic in poetry, its power \ Can pull down the bloody moon, \ Turn bach the sun, make serpents burst asunder \ Or rivers flow upstream. \ Doors are no match for such spellbinding, the toughest \ Locks can be opeu-sesamed by its charms. \ But epic's a dead loss for me. I'll get nowhere with swift-footed \ Achilles, or with either of Atreus' sons. \ Old what's- his-name wasting twenty years on war and travel, \ Poor Hector dragged in the dust - \ No good. But lavish fine words on some young girl's profile \ And sooner or later shell tender herself as the fee, \ An ample reward for your  labors. So farewell, heroic \ Figures of legend-the quid \ Pro quo you offer won't tempt me. A bevy of beauties \ All swooning over my love-songs - that's what I want. -OVID, THE AMORES, TRANSLATED BY PETER GREEN When she has received a letter, when its sweet poison has entered her blood, then a word is sufficient to wake her love burst forth. . . . My personal presence will prevent ecstasy. If I am present only in a letter, then she can easily cope with me; to some extent, shemistakesme for a more universal creature who dwells in her love. Then, too, in a letter one can more readily havefree rein; in a letter I can throw myself at herfeet in superb fashion, etc.-something that would easily seem like nonsense if I did it in person, and the illusion would be lost. . . . • On the whole, letters are and will continue to be a priceless means of making an impression on a young girl; the dead letter of writing often has much more influence than the living word. A letter is a secretive communication; one is master of the situation, feels no pressure from anyone's actual presence, and I do believe a young girl would prefer to be alone with her ideal. - S0REN KIERKEGAARD, THE SEDUCER'S DIARY, TRANSLATED BY HOWARD V. HONG AND EDNA H. HONG had been the rallying cry in the fight against the Nazis. Everyone shouted it back. In the next few days de Gaulle made similar speeches around Algeria, to equally delirious crowds. Only after de Gaulle had returned to France did the words of his speeches sink in: not once had he promised to keep Algeria French. In fact he had hinted that he might give the Arabs the vote, and might grant an amnesty to the Algerian rebels who had been fighting to force the French from the country. Somehow, in the excitement his words had created, the colonists had failed to focus on what they had actually meant. De Gaulle had duped them. And indeed, in the months to come, he worked to grant Algeria its independence-a task he finally accomplished in 1962. Interpretation. De Gaulle cared little about an old French colony, and about what it symbolized to some French people. Nor did he have any sympathy for anyone who fomented civil war. His one concern was to make France a modern power. And so, when he went to Algiers, he had a long-term plan: weaken the right-wingers by getting them to fight among themselves, and work toward Algerian independence. His short-term goal had to be to defuse the tension and buy himself some time. He would not lie to the colonials by saying he supported their cause-that would cause trouble back home. Instead he would beguile them with seductive oratory, intoxicate them with words. His famous "I have understood you" could easily have meant, "I understand what a danger you represent." But ajubi- lant crowd expecting his support read it the way they wanted. To keep them at a fever pitch, de Gaulle made emotional references-to the French Resistance during World War II, for example, and to the need for "discipline," a word with great appeal to right-wingers. He filled their ears with promises-a new government, a glorious future. He got them to chant, creating an emotional bond. He spoke with dramatic pitch and quivering emotion. His words created a kind of delirium. De Gaulle was not trying to express his feelings or speak the truth; he was trying to produce an effect. This is the key to seductive oratory. Whether you are talking to a single individual or to a crowd, try a little experiment: rein in your desire to speak your mind. Before you open your mouth, ask yourself a question: what can I say that will have the most pleasant effect on my listeners? Often this entails flattering their egos, assuaging their insecurities, giving them vague hopes for the future, sympathizing with their travails ("I have understood you"). Start off with something pleasant and everything to come will be easy: people's defenses will go down. They will grow amenable, open to suggestion. Think of your words as an intoxicating drug that will make people emotional and confused. Keep your language vague and ambiguous, letting your listeners fill in the gaps with their fantasies and imaginings. Instead of tuning you out, getting irritated or defensive, being impatient for you to shut up, they will be pliant, happy with your sweet-sounding words. Use the Demonic Power of Words to Sow Confusion • 255 Seductive Writing O ne spring afternoon in the late 1830s, in a street in Copenhagen, a man named Johannes caught a glimpse of a beautiful young girl. Self- absorbed yet delightfully innocent, she fascinated him, and he followed her, from a distance, and found out where she lived. Over the next few weeks he made inquiries and found out more about her. Her name was Cordelia Wahl, and she lived with her aunt. The two led a quiet existence; Cordelia liked to read, and to be alone. Seducing young girls was Johannes's specialty, but Cordelia would be a catch; she had already turned down several eligible suitors. Johannes imagined that Cordelia might hunger for something more out of life, something grand, something resembling the books she had read and the daydreams that presumably filled her solitude. He arranged an introduction and began to frequent her house, accompanied by a friend of his named Edward. This young man had his own thoughts of courting Cordelia, but he was awkward, and strained to please her. Johannes, on the other hand, virtually ignored her, instead befriending her aunt. They would talk about the most banal things-farm life, whatever was in the news. Occasionally Johannes would veer off into a more philosophical discussion, for he had noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that on these occasions Cordelia would listen to him closely, while still pretending to listen to Edward. This went on for several weeks. Johannes and Cordelia barely spoke, but he could tell that he intrigued her, and that Edward irritated her to no end. One morning, knowing her aunt was out, he visited their house. It was the first time he and Cordelia had been alone together. As dryly and politely as possible, he proceeded to propose to her. Needless to say she was shocked and flustered. A man who had shown not the slightest interest in her suddenly wanted to marry her? She was so surprised that she referred the matter to her aunt, who, as Johannes had expected, gave her approval. Had Cordelia resisted, her aunt would have respected her wishes; but she did not. On the outside, everything had changed. The couple were engaged. Johannes now came to the house alone, sat with Cordelia, held her hand, talked with her. But inwardly he made sure things were the same. He remained distant and polite. He would sometimes warm up, particularly when talking about literature (Cordelia's favorite subject), but at a certain point he always went back to more mundane matters. He knew this frustrated Cordelia, who had expected that now he would be different. Yet even when they went out together, he took her to formal socials arranged for engaged couples. How conventional! Was this what love and marriage were supposed to be about, these prematurely aged people talking about houses and their own drab futures? Cordelia, who was shy at the best of times, asked Johannes to stop dragging her to these affairs. The battlefield was prepared. Cordelia was confused and anxious. Let wax pave the way for you, spread out on smooth tablets, \ Let wax go before as witness to your mind - \ Bring her your flattering words, words that ape the lover: \ And remember, whoever you are, to throw in some good \ Entreaties. Entreaties are what made Achilles give back \ Hector's Body to Priam; even an angry god \ Is moved by the voice of prayer. Make promises, what's the harm in \ Promising? Here's where anyone can play rich.... \ A persuasive letter's \ The thing to lead off with, explore her mind, \ Reconnoiter the landscape. A message scratched on an apple \ Betrayed Cydippe: she was snared by her own words. \ My advice, then, young men of Rome, is to learn the noble \ Advocate's arts-not only to let you defend \ Some trembling client: a woman, no less than the populace, \ Elite senator, or grave judge, \ Will surrender to eloquence. Nevertheless, dissemble \ Your powers, avoid long words, \ Don't look too highbrow. Who but a mindless ninny \ Declaims to his mistress? An overlettered style \ Repels girls as often as not. Use ordinary language, \ Familiar yet coaxing words -as though \ You were there, in her presence.If she refuses your letter, \ Sends it back unread, persist. - OVID, THE ART OF LOVE., GREEN Therefore, the person who is unable to write letters and notes never becomes a dangerous seducer. KIERKEGAARD, EITHER/OR. TRANSLATED BY HOWARD V. HONG AND EDNA H. HONG Standing on a crag of Olympus \ Gold-throned Hera saw her brother, \ Who was her husband's brother too, \ Busy on the fields of human glory, \ And her heart sang. Then she saw Zeus \ Sitting on the topmost peak of Ida \ And was filled with resentment. Cow-eyed Hera \ Mused for a while on how to trick \ The mind of Zeus Aegis-holder, \ And the plan that seemed best to her \ Was to make herself up and go to Ida, \ Seduce him, and then shed on his eyelids \ And cunning mind a sleep gentle and warm. . . . \ When everything was perfect, she stepped \ Out of her room and called Aphrodite \ And had a word with her in private: \ "My dear child, will you do something for me, \ I wonder, or will you refuse, angry because \ I favor the Greeks and you the Trojans?" \ And Zeus' daughter Aphrodite replied: \ "Goddess revered as Cronus's daughter, \ Speak your mind. Tell me what you want \And I'll oblige you if I possibly can." \And Hera, with every intention to deceive: \ "Give me now the Sex and Desire \ You use to subdue immortals and humans. ..." \And Aphrodite, who loved to smile: \ "How could I, or would I, refuse someone \ Who sleeps in the anus of Then, a few weeks after their engagement, Johannes sent her a letter. Here he described the state of his soul, and his certainty that he loved her. He spoke in metaphor, suggesting that he had been waiting for years, lantern in hand, for Cordelia's appearance; metaphor melted into reality, back and forth. The style was poetic, the words glowed with desire, but the whole was delightfully ambiguous-Cordelia could reread the letter ten times without being sure what it said. The next day Johannes received a response. The writing was simple and straightforward, but full of sentiment: his letter had made her so happy, Cordelia wrote, and she had not imagined this side to his character. He replied by writing that he had changed. He did not say how or why, but the implication was that it was because of her. Now his letters came almost daily. They were mostly of the same length, in a poetic style that had a touch of madness to it, as if he were intoxicated with love. He talked of Greek myth, comparing Cordelia to a nymph and himself to a river that fell in love with a maiden. His soul, he said, merely reflected back her image; she was all he could see or think of. Meanwhile he detected changes in Cordelia: her letters became more poetic, less restrained. Without realizing it she repeated his ideas, imitating his style and his imagery as if they were her own. Also, when they saw each other in person, she was nervous. He made a point of remaining the same, aloof and regal, but he could tell that she saw him differently, sensing depths in him that she could not fathom. In public she hung on his every word. She must have memorized his letters, for she referred to them constantly in their talks. It was a secret life they shared. When she held his hand, she did so more tightly than before. Her eyes expressed an impatience, as if she were hoping that at any moment he would do something bold. Johannes made his letters shorter but more numerous, sometimes sending several in one day. The imagery became more physical and more suggestive, the style more disjointed, as if he could barely organize his thoughts. Sometimes he sent a note of just a sentence or two. Once, at a party at Cordelia's house, he dropped such a note into her knitting basket and watched as she ran away to read it, her face flushed. In her letters he saw signs of emotion and turmoil. Echoing a sentiment he had hinted at in an earlier letter, she wrote that she hated the whole engagement business- it was so beneath their love. Everything was ready. Soon she would be his, the way he wanted it. She would break off the engagement. A rendezvous in the country would be simple to arrange-in fact she would be the one to propose it. This would be his most skillful seduction. Interpretation. Johannes and Cordelia are characters in the loosely autobiographical novel The Seducer's Diary (1843), by the Danish philosopher Spren Kierkegaard. Johannes is a most experienced seducer, who specializes in working on his victim's mind. This is precisely where Cordelia's previous Use the Demonic Power of Words to Sow Confusion • 257 suitors have failed: they have begun by imposing themselves, a common mistake. We think that by being persistent, by overwhelming our targets with romantic attention, we are convincing them of our affection. Instead we are convincing them of our impatience and insecurity. Aggressive attention is not flattering because it is not personalized. It is unbridled libido at work; the target sees through it. Johannes is too clever to begin so obviously. Instead, he takes a step back, intriguing Cordelia by acting a little cold, and carefully creating the impression of a formal, somewhat secretive man. Only then does he surprise her with his first letter. Obviously there is more to him than she has thought, and once she has come to believe this, her imagination runs rampant. Now he can intoxicate her with his letters, creating a presence that haunts her like a ghost. His words, with their images and poetic references, are constantly in her mind. And this is the ultimate seduction: to possess her mind before moving to conquer her body. The story of Johannes shows what a weapon in a seducer's armory a letter can be. But it is important to learn how to incorporate letters in seduction. It is best not to begin your correspondence until at least several weeks after your initial contact. Let your victims get an impression of you: you seem intriguing, yet you show no particular interest in them. When you sense that they are thinking about you, that is the time to hit them with your first letter. Any desire you express for them will come as a surprise; their vanity will be tickled and they will want more. Now make your letters frequent, in fact more frequent than your personal appearances. This will give them the time and space to idealize you, which would be more difficult if you were always in their face. After they have fallen under your spell, you can always take a step back, making the letters fewer-let them think you are losing interest and they will be hungry for more. Design your letters as homages to your targets. Make everything you write come back to them, as if they were all you could think about-a delirious effect. Ifyoutell an anecdote, make it somehow relate to them. Your correspondence is a kind of mirror you are holding up to them-they get to see themselves reflected through your desire. If for some reason they do not like you, write to them as if they did. Remember: the tone of your letters is what will get under their skin. If your language is elevated, poetic, creative in its praise, it will infect them despite themselves. Never argue, never defend yourself, never accuse them of being heartless. That would ruin the spell. A letter can suggest emotion by seeming disordered, rambling from one subject to another. Clearly it is hard for you to think; your love has unhinged you. Disordered thoughts are exciting thoughts. Do not waste time on real information; focus on feelings and sensations, using expressions that are ripe with connotation. Plant ideas by dropping hints, writing suggestively without explaining yourself. Never lecture, never seem intellectual or superior-you will only make yourself pompous, which is deadly. Far better to speak colloquially, though with a poetic edge to lift the language above the commonplace. Do not become sentimental-it is tiring, and too almighty Zeus?" \ And with that she unbound from her breast \ An ornate sash inlaid with magical charms. \ Sex is in it, and Desire, and seductive \ Sweet Talk, that fools even the wise. Hera was fast approaching Gargarus, \ Ida's highest peak, when Zeus saw her. \ And when he saw her, lust enveloped him, \ Just as it had the first time they made love, \ Slipping off to bed behind their parents' backs. \ He stood close to her and said: \ "Hera, why have you left Olympus? \ And where are your horses and chariot?" \ And Hera, with every intention to deceive: \ "I'm off to visit the ends of the earth \ And Father Ocean and Mother Tethys \ Who nursed and doted on me in their house. And Zeus, clouds scudding about him: \ "You can go there later just as well. \ Let's get in bed now ami make love. \ No goddess or woman has ever \ Made me feel so overwhelmed with lust. I've never loved anyone as I love you now, \ Never been in the grip of desire so sweet. " \ And Hera, with every intention to deceive: \ "What a thing to say, my awesome lord. \ The thought of us lying down here on Ida \ Ami making love outdoors in broad daylight! \ What if one of the Immortals saw us \ Asleep, and went to all the other gods \Aud told them? I could never get up \ And go back home. It would be shameful. \ But if you really do want to do this, \ There is the bedroom your dear son Hephaestus \ Built for you, with good solid doors. Let's go \ There and lie down, since you're in the mood. And Zeus, who masses the clouds, replied: \ "Hera, don't worry about any god or man \ Seeing us. I'll enfold you in a cloud so dense \ And golden not even Helios could spy on us, \ And his light is the sharpest vision there is." -HOMER, THE ILIAD, TRANSLATED BY STANLEY LOMBARDO ANTONY: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; \ I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. \ The evil that men do lives after them; \ The good is oft interred with their bones. \ So let it be with Caesar. ... \ I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, \ But here I am to speak what I do know. \ You all did love him once, not without cause. \ What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? \ O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts, \ And men have lost their reason! Bear with me. \ My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, \And I must pause till it come back to me. . . . \ PLEBEIAN: Poor soul! his eyes are red asfi r e with weeping. \ PLEBEIAN: There's not a nobler man in Rome than Antony. \ PLEBEIAN: Now mark him. He begins again to speak. \ ANTONY: But yesterday the word of Caesar might \ Have stood against the world. Now lies he there, \ And none so poor to do him reverence. \ O masters! If I were disposed to stir \ Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, \ I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, \ Who,youallknow,aredirect. Better to suggest the effect your target has on you than to gush about how you feel. Stay vague and ambiguous, allowing the reader the space to imagine and fantasize. The goal of your writing is not to express yourself but to create emotion in the reader, spreading confusion and desire. You will know that your letters are having the proper effect when your targets come to mirror your thoughts, repeating words you wrote, whether in their own letters or in person. This is the time to move to the more physical and erotic. Use language that quivers with sexual connotation, or, better still, suggest sexuality by making your letters shorter, more frequent, and even more disordered than before. There is nothing more erotic than the short abrupt note. Your thoughts are unfinished; they can only be completed by the other person. Sganarelle to Don Juan: Well, what I have to say is ... I don't know what to say; for you turn things in such a manner with your words, that it seems that you are right; and yet, the truth of it is, you are not. I had the finest thoughts in the world, and your words have totally scrambled them up. -MOLIERE Keys to Seduction W e rarely think before we talk. It is human nature to say the first thing that comes into our head-and usually what comes first is something about ourselves. We primarily use words to express our ownfeelings, ideas, and opinions. (Also to complain and to argue.) This is because we are generally self-absorbed-the person who interests us most is our own self. To a certain extent this is inevitable, and through much of our lives there is nothing much wrong with it; we can function quite well this way. In seduction, however, it limits our potential. You cannot seduce without an ability to get outside your own skin and inside another person's, piercing their psychology. The key to seductive language is not the words you utter, or your seductive tone of voice; it is a radical shift in perspective and habit. You have to stop saying the first thing that comes to your mind-you have to control the urge to prattle and vent your opinions. The key is to see words as a tool not for communicating true thoughts and feelings but for confusing, delighting, and intoxicating. The difference between normal language and seductive language is like the difference between noise and music. Noise is a constant in modern life, something irritating we tune out if we can. Our normal language is like noise-people may half-listen to us as we go on about ourselves, butjust as often their thoughts are a million miles away. Every now and then their ears prick up when something we say touches on them, but this lasts only until Use the Demonic Power of Words to SowConfusion • 259 we return to yet another story about ourselves. As early as childhood we leant to tune out this kind of noise (particularly when it comes from our parents). Music, on the other hand, is seductive, and gets under our skin. It is intended for pleasure. A melody or rhythm stays in our blood for days after we have heard it, altering our moods and emotions, relaxing or exciting us. To make music instead of noise, you must say things that please-things that relate to people's lives, that touch their vanity. If they have many problems, you can produce the same effect by distracting them, focusing their attention away from themselves by saying things that are witty and entertaining, or that make the future seem bright and hopeful. Promises and flattery are music to anyone's ears. This is language designed to move people and lower their resistance. It is language designed for them, not directed at them. The Italian writer Gabriele D'Annunzio was physically unattractive, yet women could not resist him. Even those who knew of his Don luan reputation and disliked him for it (the actress Eleanora Duse and the dancer Isadora Duncan, for instance) fell under his spell. The secret was the flow of words in which he enveloped a woman. His voice was musical, his language poetic, and most devastating of all, he knew how to flatter. His flattery was aimed precisely at a woman's weaknesses, the areas where she needed validation. A woman was beautiful, yet lacked confidence in her own wit and intelligence? He made sure to say that he was bewitched not by her beauty but by her mind. He might compare her to a heroine of literature, or to a chosen mythological figure. Talking to him, her ego would double in size. Flattery is seductive language in its purest form. Its purpose is not to express a truth or a real feeling, but only to create an effect on the recipient. Like D'Annunzio, learn to aim your flattery directly at a person's insecurities. For instance, if a man is a fine actor and feels confident about his professional skills, to flatter him about his acting will have little effect, and may even accomplish the opposite-he could feel that he is above the need to have his ego stroked, and your flattery will seem to say otherwise. But let us say that this actor is an amateur musician or painter. He does this work on his own, without professional support or publicity, and he is well aware that others make their living at it. Flattery of his artistic pretensions will go straight to his head and earn you double points. Learn to sniff out the parts of a person's ego that need validation. Make it a surprise, something no one else has thought to flatter before-something you can describe as a talent or positive quality that others have not noticed. Speak with a little tremor, as if your target's charms had overwhelmed you and made you emotional. Flattery can be a kind of verbal foreplay. Aphrodite's powers of seduction, which were said to come from the magnificent girdle she wore, involved a sweetness of language-a skill with the soft, flattering words that prepare the way for erotic thoughts. Insecurities and nagging self-doubts have a dampening effect on the libido. Make your targets feel secure and alluring through your flattering words and their resistance will melt away. honorable men. \ I will not do them wrong. . . . \ But here's a parchment with the seal of Caesar. \ I found it in his closet; 'tis his will. \ Let but the commons hear this testament, \ Which (pardon me) I do not mean to read, \And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds \ And dip their napkins in his sacred blood. . . . \ PLEBEIAN: We'll hear the will! Read it, Mark Antony. \ ALL: The will, the will! We will hear Caesar's will! \ ANTONY: Have patience, gentle friends; I must not read it. \ It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you. \ You are not wood, you are not stones, but men; \ And being men, hearing the will of Caesar, \ It will inflame you, it will make you mad. \ 'Tis good you know not that you are his heirs; \ For if you should, O, what would come ofit?. . . \ If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. \ You all do know this mantle. I remember \ The first time ever Caesar put it on. .. . \ Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through. \ See what a rent the envious Casca made. \ Through this the well- beloved Brutus stabbed; \ And as he plucked his cursed steel away, \ Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it. . . . \ For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel. \ Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him! \ This was the most unkindest cut of all; \ For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, \ Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, \ Quite vanquished him. . . . \ O, now you weep, and I perceive you feel \ The dint of pity. These are gracious 260 drops. \ Kind souls, what weep you when you but behold \ Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here! \ Here is himself, marred as you see until traitors. -WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, JULIUS CAESAR Sometimes the most pleasant thing to hear is the promise of something wonderful, a vague but rosy future that is just around the corner. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his public speeches, talked little about specific programs for dealing with the Depression; instead he used rousing rhetoric to paint a picture of America's glorious future. In the various legends of Don Juan, the great seducer would immediately focus women's attention on the future, a fantastic world to which he promised to whisk them off. Tailor your sweet words to your targets' particular problems and fantasies. Promise something realizable, something possible, but do not make it too specific; you are inviting them to dream. If they are mired in dull routine, talk of adventure, preferably with you. Do not discuss how it will be accomplished; speak as if it magically already existed, somewhere in the future. Lift people's thoughts into the clouds and they will relax, their defenses will come down, and it will be that much easier to maneuver and lead them astray. Your words become a kind of elevating drug. The most anti-seductive form of language is argument. How many silent enemies do we create by arguing? There is a superior way to get people to listen and be persuaded: humor and a light touch. The nineteenth- century English politician Benjamin Disraeli was a master at this game. In Parliament, to fail to reply to an accusation or slanderous comment was a deadly mistake; silence meant the accuser was right. Yet to respond angrily, to get into an argument, was to look ugly and defensive. Disraeli used a different tactic: he stayed calm. When the time came to reply to an attack, he would slowly make his way to the speaker's table, pause, then utter a humorous or sarcastic retort. Everyone would laugh. Now that he had warmed people up, he would proceed to refute his enemy, still mixing in amusing comments; or perhaps he would simply move on to another subject, as if he were above it all. His humor took out the sting of any attack on him. Laughter and applause have a domino effect: once your listeners have laughed, they are more likely to laugh again. In this lighthearted mood they are also more apt to listen. A subtle touch and a bit of irony give you room to persuade them, move them to your side, mock your enemies. That is the seductive form of argument. Shortly after the murder of Julius Caesar, the head of the band of conspirators who had killed him, Brutus, addressed an angry mob. He tried to reason with the crowd, explaining that he had wanted to save the Roman Republic from dictatorship. The people were momentarily convinced- yes, Brutus seemed a decent man. Then Mark Antony took the stage, and he in turn delivered a eulogy for Caesar. He seemed overwhelmed with emotion. He talked of his love for Caesar, and of Caesar's love for the Roman people. He mentioned Caesar's will; the crowd clamored to hear it, but Antony said no, for if he read it they would know how deeply Caesar had loved them, and how dastardly this murder was. The crowd again insisted he read the will; insteadheheld up Caesar's bloodstained cloak, noting its rents and tears. This was where Brutus had stabbed the great general, he said; Cassius had stabbed him here. Then finally he read the will, which Use the Demonic Power of Words to Sow Confusion • 261 told how much wealth Caesar had left to the Roman people. This was the coup de grace-the crowd turned against the conspirators and went off to lynch them. Antony was a clever man, who knew how to stir a crowd. According to the Greek historian Plutarch, "When he saw that his oratory had cast a spell over the people and that they were deeply stirred by his words, he began to introduce into his praises [of Caesar] a note of pity and of indignation at Caesar's fate." Seductive language aims at people's emotions, for emotional people are easier to deceive. Antony used various devices to stir the crowd: a tremor in his voice, a distraught and then an angry tone. An emotional voice has an immediate, contagious effect on the listener. Antony also teased the crowd with the will, holding off the reading of it to the end, knowing it would push people over the edge. Holding up the cloak, he made his imagery visceral. Perhaps you are not trying to whip a crowd into a frenzy; you just want to bring people over to your side. Choose your strategy and words carefully. You might think it is better to reason with people, explain your ideas. But it is hard for an audience to decide whether an argument is reasonable as they listen to you talk. They have to concentrate and listen closely, which requires great effort. People are easily distracted by other stimuli, and if they miss a part of your argument, they will feel confused, intellectually inferior, and vaguely insecure. It is more persuasive to appeal to people's hearts than their heads. Everyone shares emotions, and no one feels inferior to a speaker who stirs up their feelings. The crowd bonds together, everyone contagiously experiencing the same emotions. Antony talked of Caesar as if he and the listeners were experiencing the murder from Caesar's point of view. What could be more provocative? Use such changes of perspective to make your listeners feel what you are saying. Orchestrate your effects. It is more effective to move from one emotion to another than to just hit one note. The contrast between Antony's affection for Caesar and his indignation at the murderers was much more powerful than if he had stayed with one feeling or the other. The emotions you are trying to arouse should be strong ones. Do not speak of friendship and disagreement; speak of love and hate. And it is crucial to try to feel something of the emotions you are trying to elicit. You willbemorebelievablethat way. This should not be difficult: imagine the reasons for loving or hating before you speak. If necessary, think of something from your past that fills you with rage. Emotions are contagious; it is easier to make someone cry if you are crying yourself. Make your voice an instrument, and train it to communicate emotion. Learn to seem sincere. Napoleon studied the greatest actors of his time, and when he was alone he would practice putting emotion into his voice. The goal of seductive speech is often to create a kind of hypnosis: you are distracting people, lowering their defenses, making them more vulnerable to suggestion. Learn the hypnotist's lessons of repetition and affirmation, key elements in putting a subject to sleep. Repetition involves using 262 the same words over and over, preferably a word with emotional content: "taxes," "liberals," "bigots." The effect is mesmerizing-ideas can be permanently implanted in people's unconscious simply by being repeated often enough. Affirmation is simply the making of strong positive statements, like the hypnotist's commands. Seductive language should have a kind of boldness, which will cover up a multitude of sins. Your audience will be so caught up in your bold language that they won't have time to reflect on whether or not it is true. Never say "I don't think the other side made awise decision"; say "We deserve better," or "They have made a mess of things." Affirmative language is active language, full of verbs, imperatives, and short sentences. Cut out "I believe," "Perhaps," "In my opinion." Head straight for the heart. You are learning to speak a different kind of language. Most people employ symbolic language-their words stand for something real, the feelings, ideas, and beliefs they really have. Or they stand for concrete things in the real world. (The origin of the word "symbolic" lies in a Greek word meaning "to bring things together"-in this case, a word and something real.) As a seducer you are using the opposite: diabolic language. Your words do not stand for anything real; their sound, and the feelings they evoke, are more important than what they are supposed to stand for. (The word "diabolic" ultimately means to separate, to throw things apart-here, words and reality.) The more you make people focus on your sweet-sounding language, and on the illusions and fantasies it conjures, the more you diminish their contact with reality. You lead them into the clouds, where it is hard to distinguish truth from untruth, real from unreal. Keep your words vague and ambiguous, so people are never quite sure what you mean. Envelop them in demonic, diabolical language and they will notbe able to focus on your maneuvers, on the possible consequences of your seduction. And the more they lose themselves in illusion, the easier it will be to lead them astray and seduce them. Symbol: The Clouds. In the clouds it is hard to see the exact forms of things. Everything seems vague; the imagination runs wild, seeing things that are not there. Your words must lift people into the clouds, where it is easy for them to lose their way. Use the Demonic Power of Words to Sow Confusion • 263 Reversal D o not confuse flowery language with seduction: in using flowery language you run the risk of wearing on people's nerves, of seeming pretentious. Excess verbiage is a sign of selfishness, of your inability to rein in your natural tendencies. Often with language, less is more; the elusive, vague, ambiguous phrase leaves the listener more room for imagination than does a sentence full of bombast and self-indulgence. You must always think first of your targets, and of what will be pleasant to their ears. There will be many times when silence is best. What you do not say can be suggestive and eloquent, making you seem mysterious. In the eleventh-century Japanese court diary The Pillow Book ofSei Shonagon, the counselor Yoshichika is intrigued by a lady he sees in a carriage, silent and beautiful. He sends her a note, and she sends one back; he is the only one to read it, but by his reaction everyone can tell it is in bad taste, or badly written. It spoils the effect of her beauty. Shonagon writes, "I have heard people suggest that no reply at all is better than a bad one." If you are not eloquent, if you cannot master seductive language, at least learn to curb your tongue-use silence to cultivate an enigmatic presence. Finally, seduction has a pace and rhythm. In phase one, you are cautious indirect. It is often best to disguise your intentions, to put your target at ease with deliberately neutral words. Your conversation should be harmless, even a bit bland. In this second phase, you turn more to the attack; this is the time for seductive language. Now when you envelop them in your seductive words and letters, it comes as a pleasant surprise. It gives them the immensely pleasing feeling that they are the ones to suddenly inspire you with such poetry and intoxicating words. 11 Pay Attention to Detail Lofty words and grand gestures can be suspi: why are you trying so hard to please? The details of a seduction-the subtle gestures, the offhand things you do - are often more charming and revealing. You must learn to distract your victims with a myriad of pleasant little rituals-thoughtful gifts tailored just for them, clothes and adornments designed to please them, gestures that show the time and attention you are paying them. All of their senses are engaged in the details you orchestrate. Create spectacles to dazzle their eyes; mesmerized by what they see, they will not notice what you are really up to. Learn to suggest the proper feelings and moods through details. The Mesmerizing Effect I n December 1898, the wives of the seven major Western ambassadors to China received a strange invitation: the sixty-three-year-old Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi was hosting a banquet in their honor in the Forbidden City in Beijing. The ambassadors themselves had been quite displeased with the empress dowager, for several reasons. She was a Manchu, a race of northerners who had conquered China in the early seventeenth century, establishing the Ching Dynasty and ruling the country for nearly three hundred years. By the 1890s, the Western powers had begun to carve up parts of China, a country they considered backward. They wanted China to modernize, but the Manchus were conservative, and resisted all reform. Earlier in 1898, the Chinese Emperor Kuang Hsu, the empress dowager's twenty-seven-year-old nephew, had actually begun a series of reforms, with the blessings of the West. Then, one hundred days into this period of reform, word reached the Western diplomats from the Forbidden City that the emperor wasquiteill, and that the empress dowager had taken power. They suspected foul play; the empress had probably acted to stop the reforms. The emperor was being mistreated, probably poisoned- perhaps he was already dead. When the seven ambassadors' wives were preparing for their unusual visit, their husbands warned them: Do not trust the empress dowager. A wily woman with a cruel streak, she had risen from obscurity to become the concubine of a previous emperor and had managed over the years to accumulate great power. Far more than the emperor, she was the most feared person in China. On the appointed day, the women were borne into the Forbidden City a procession of sedan chairs carried by court eunuchs in dazzling uniforms. The women themselves, not to be outdone, wore the latest Western fashions-tight corsets, long velvet dresses with leg-of-mutton sleeves, billowing petticoats, tall plumed hats. The residents of the Forbidden City looked at their clothes in amazement, and particularly at the way their dresses displayed their prominent bosoms. The wives felt sure they had impressed their hosts. At the Audience Hall they were greeted by princes and princesses, as well as lower royalty. The Chinese women were wearing magnificent Manchu costumes with the traditional high, jewel-encrusted black headdresses; theywerearranged in a hierarchical order reflected in the color of their dresses, an astounding rainbow of color. The wives were served tea in the most delicate porcelain cups, then The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne, \Burn'd on the water: the poop was beaten gold; \ Purple the sails, and so perfumed that \ The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver, \ Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made \ The water which they beat to follow faster, \ As amorous of their strokes. For her own person, \ It beggar'd all description: she did lie \ In her pavilion - cloth-of-gold of tissue - \ O'er picturing that Venus where we see \ The fancy outwork nature: on each side her \ Stood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids, \ With divers-colour'd fans, whose wind did seem \ To glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool, \ And what they undid did. . . . \ Her gentlewomen, like the Nereids, \ So many mermaids, tended her i' the eyes, \ And made their bends adornings: at the helm \ A seeming mermaid steers: the silken tackle \ Swell with the touches of those flower-soft hands \ That yarely frame the office. From the barge \A strange invisible perfume hits the sense \ Of the adjacent wharfs. The city cast \ Her people out upon her; and Antony, \ Enthron'd i' the marketplace, did sit alone, \ Whistling to the air; which, butfor vacancy, \ Hadgone to gaze on Cleopatra too \ And made a gap in nature. -WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA In the palmy days of the gay quarters at Edo there was a connoisseur of fashion named Sakakura who grew intimate with the great courtesan Chitose. This woman was much given to drinking sake; as a side dish she relished the so-called flower crabs, to be found in the Mogami River in the East, and these she had pickled in salt for her enjoyment. Knowing this, Sakakura commissioned a painter of the Kano School to execute her bamboo crest in powdered gold on the tiny shells of these crabs; he fixed the price of each painted shell at one rectangular piece of gold, and presented them to Chitose throughout the year, so that she never lacked for them. -IHARA SAIKAKU, THE LIFE OF AN AMOROUS WOMAN. AND OTHER WRITINGS For such men as have practised love, have ever held this a sound maxim that there is naught to be compared with a woman in her clothes. Again when you reflect how a man doth brave, rumple, squeeze and make light of his lady's finery, and how he doth were escorted into the presence of the empress dowager. The sight took their breath away. The empress was seated on the Dragon Throne, which was studded with jewels. She wore heavily brocaded robes, a magnificent headdress bearing diamonds, pearls, andjade, and an enormous necklace of perfectly matched pearls. She was a tiny woman, but on the throne, in that dress, she seemed a giant. She smiled at the ladies with much warmth and sincerity. To their relief, seated below her on a smaller throne was her nephew the emperor. He looked pale, but he greeted them enthusiastically and seemed in good spirits. Maybe he was indeed simply ill. The empress shook the hand of each of the women. As she did so, an attendant eunuch handed her a large gold ring set with a large pearl, which she slipped onto each woman's hand. After this introduction, the wives were escorted into another room, where they again took tea, and then were led into a banqueting hall, where the empress now sat on a chair of yellow satin-yellow being the imperial color. She spoke to them for a while; she had a beautiful voice. (It was said that her voice could literally charm birds out of trees.) At the end of the conversation, she took the hand of each woman again, and with much emotion, told them, "One family-all one family." The women then saw a performance in the imperial theater. Finally the empress received them one last time. She apologized for the performance they had just seen, which was certainly inferior to what they wereusedto in the West. There was one more round of tea, and this time, as the wife of the American ambassador reported it, the empress "stepped forward and tipped each cup of tea to her own lips and took a sip, then lifted the cup on the other side, to our lips, and said again, 'One family-all one family' " The women were given more gifts, then were escorted back to their sedan chairs and borne out of the Forbidden City. The women relayed to their husbands their earnest belief that they had all been wrong about the empress. The American ambassador's wife reported, "She was bright and happy and her face glowed with good will. There was no trace of cruelty to be seen. . . . Her actions were full of freedom and warmth. [We left] full of admiration for her majesty and hopes for China." The husbands reported back to their governments: the emperor was fine, and the empress could be trusted. Interpretation. The foreign contingent in China had no idea what was really happening in the Forbidden City. In truth, the emperor had conspired to arrest and possibly murder his aunt. Discovering the plot, a terrible crime in Confucian terms, she forced him to sign his own abdication, had him confined, and told the outside world that he was ill. As part of his punishment, he was to appear at state functions and act as if nothing had happened. The empress dowager loathed Westerners, whom she considered barbarians. She disliked the ambassadors' wives, with their ugly fashions and simpering ways. The banquet was a show, a seduction, to appease the West- Pay Attention to Detail • 269 ern powers, which had been threatening invasion if the emperor had been killed. The goal of the seduction was simple: dazzle the wives with color, spectacle, theater. The empress applied all her expertise to the task, and she was a genius for detail. She had designed the spectacles in a rising order- the uniformed eunuchs first, then the Manchu ladies in their headdresses, and finally the empress herself. It was pure theater, and it was overwhelming. Then the empress brought the spectacle down a notch, humanizing it with gifts, warm greetings, the reassuring presence of the emperor, teas, and entertainments, which were in no way inferior to anything in the West. She ended the banquet on another high note-the little drama with the sharing of the teacups, followed by even more magnificent gifts. The women's heads were spinning when they left. In truth they had never seen such exotic splendor-and they never understood how carefully its details had been orchestrated by the empress. Charmed by the spectacle, they transferred their happy feelings to the empress and gave her their approvalallthatsherequired.The key to distracting people (seduction is distraction) is to fill their eyes and ears with details, little rituals, colorful objects. Detail is what makes things seem real and substantial. A thoughtful gift won't seem to have an ulterior motive. A ritual full of charming little actions is so enjoyable to watch. Jewelry, handsome furnishings, touches of color in clothing, dazzle the eye. It is a childish weakness of ours: we prefer to focus on the pleasant little details rather than on the larger picture. The more senses you appeal to, the more mesmerizing the effect. The objects you use in your seduction (gifts, clothes, etc.) speak their own language, and it is a powerful one. Never ignore a detail or leave one to chance. Orchestrate them into a spectacle and no one will notice how manipulative you are being. The Sensuous Effect O ne day a messenger told Prince Genji-the aging but still consummate seducer in the Heian court of late-tenth-century Japan-that one of his youthful conquests had suddenly died, leaving behind an orphan, a young woman named Tamakazura. Genji was not Tamakazura s father, but he decided to bring her to court and be her protector anyway. Soon after her arrival, men of the highest rank began to woo her. Genji had told everyone she was a lost daughter of his; as a result, they assumed that she was beautiful, for Genji was the handsomest man in the court. (At the time, men rarely saw a young girl's face before marriage; in theory, they were allowed to talk to her only if she was on the other side of a screen.) Genji showered her with attention, helping her sort through all the love letters she was receiving and advising her on the right match. As Tamakazura's protector, Genji was able to see her face, and she was indeed beautiful. He fell in love with her. What a shame, he thought, to give this lovely creature away to another man. One night, overwhelmed by work ruin and loss to the grand cloth ofgold and web of silver, to tinsel and silken stuffs, pearls and precious stones, 'tis plain how his ardour and satisfaction be increased manifold-far more than with some simple shepherdess or other woman of like quality, be she as fair as she may. • And why of yore was Venus found so fair and so desirable, if not that with all her beauty she was always gracefully attired likewise, and generally scented, that she did ever smell sweet an hundred paces away? For it hath ever been held of all how that perfumes be a great incitement to love. • This is the reason why the Empresses and great dames of Rome did make much usage of these perfumes, as do likewise our great ladies of France-and above all those of Spain and Italy, which from the oldest times have been more curious and more exquisite in luxury than Frenchwomen, as well in perfumes as in costumes and magnificent attire, whereof thefair ones of France have since borrowed the patterns and copied the dainty workmanship. Moreover the others, Italian and Spanish, had learned the samefrom old models and ancient statues of Roman ladies, the which are to be seen among sundry other antiquities yet extant in Spain and Italy; the which, if any man will regard them carefully, will befound very perfect in mode of hair-dressing and fashion of robes, and very meet to incite love. -SEIGNEUR DE BRANTOME, LIVES OF FAIR et GALLANT LADIES. For years after her entry into the palace, a large number of court-maidens were especially set aside for preparing Kuei-fei 's dresses, which were chosen and fashioned according to the flowers of the season. For instance, for New Year (spring) she had blossoms of apricot, plum and narcissus; for summer, she adopted the lotus; for autumn, she patterned them after the peony; for winter, she employed the chrysanthemum. Of jewelry she was fondest of pearls, and the finest products of the world found their way into her boudoir and were frequently embroidered on her numerous dresses. • Kuei- fei was the embodiment of all that was lovely and extravagant.Nowonder that no king, prince, courtier or humble attendant who ever met her could resist the allurementof her charms. Besides, she was the most artful of women and knew how to use her natural gifts to the best purpose. The Emperor Ming Huang, supreme in the land and with thousands of the most handsome maidens to choose from, became a complete slave to her magnetic powers . . . spending day and night in her company and giving up his whole kingdom for her sake. - SHU-CHIUNG, YANG KUEI- FEI: THE MOST FAMOUS BEAUTY OF CHINA Then [ Pao-yu ] called Bright Design to him and said to her, "Go and see what [Black Jade ] is doing. If she asks about me, just say that I am quite all her charms, he held her hand and told her how much she resembled her mother, whom he once had loved. She trembled-not with excitement, however, but with fear, for although he was not her father, he was supposed to be her protector, not a suitor. Her attendants were away and it was a beautiful night. Genji silently threw off his perfumed robe and pulled her down beside him. She began to cry, and to resist. Always a gentleman, Genji told her that he would respect her wishes, he would always care for her, and she had nothing to fear. He then politely excused himself. Several days later Genji was helping Tamakazura with her correspondence when he read a love letter from his younger brother. Prince Hotaru, who numbered among her suitors. In the letter, Hotaru berated Tamakazura for not letting him get physically close enough to talk to her and tell her his feelings. Tamakazura had not replied; unused to the manners of the court, she had felt shy and intimidated. As if to help her, Genji got one of his servants to write to Hotaru in her name. The letter, written on beautiful perfumed paper, warmly invited the prince to visit her. Hotaru appeared at the appointed hour. He smelled a beguiling incense, mysterious and seductive. (Mixed into this scent was Genji's own perfume.) The prince felt a wave of excitement. Approaching the screen behind which Tamakazura sat, he confessed his love for her. Without making a sound, she retreated to another screen, farther away. Suddenly there was a flash of light, as if a torch had flared up, and Hotaru saw her profile behind the screen: she was more beautiful than he had imagined. Two things delighted the prince: the sudden, mysterious flash of light, and the brief glimpse of his beloved. Now he was truly in love. Hotaru began to court her assiduously. Meanwhile, feeling reassured that Genji was no longer chasing her, Tamakazura saw her protector more often. And now she could not help noticing little details: Genji's robes seemed to glow, in pleasing and vibrant colors, as if dyed by unworldly hands. Hotaru's robes seemed drab by comparison. And the perfumes burned into Genji's garments, how intoxicating they were. No one else bore such a scent. Hotaru's letters were polite and well written, but the letters Genji sent her were on magnificent paper, perfumed and dyed, and they quoted lines of poetry, always surprising yet always appropriate for the occasion. Genji also grew and gathered flowers-wild carnations, for instance-that he gave as gifts and that seemed to symbolize his unique charm. One evening Genji proposed to teach Tamakazura how to play the koto. She was delighted. She loved to read romance novels, and whenever Genji played the koto, she felt as if she were transported into one of her books. No one played the instrument better than Genji; she would be honored to leam from him. Now he saw her often, and the method of his lessons was simple: she would choose a song for him to play, and then would try to imitate him. After they played, they would lie down side by side, their heads resting on the koto, staring up at the moon. Genji would have torches set up in the garden, giving the view the softest glow. The more Tamakazura saw of the court-of Prince Hotaru, the other Pay Attention to Detail • 271 suitors, the emperor himself-themore she realized that none could compare to Genji. He was supposed to be her protector, yes, that was still true, but was it such a sin to fall in love with him? Confused, she found herself giving in to the caresses and kisses that he began to surprise her with, now that she was too weak to resist. Interpretation. Genji is the protagonist in the eleventh-century novel The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu, a woman of the Heian court. The character was most likely inspired by the real-life seducer Fujiwara no Korechika. In his seduction of Tamakazura, Genji's strategy was simple: he would make her realize indirectly how charming and irresistible he was by surrounding her with unspoken details. He also brought her in contact with his brother; comparison with this drab, stiff figure would make Genji's superiority clear. The night Hotaru first visited her, Genji set everything up, as if to support Hotaru's seducing-the mysterious scent, then the flash of light by the screen. (The light came from a novel effect: earlier in the evening, Genji had collected hundreds of fireflies in a cloth bag. At the proper moment he let them all go at once.) But when Tamakazura saw Genji encouraging Hotaru's pursuit of her, her defenses against her protector relaxed, allowing her senses to be filled by this master of seductive effects. Genji orchestrated every possible detail-the scented paper, the colored robes, the lights in the garden, the wild carnations, the apt poetry, the koto lessons which induced an irresistible feeling of harmony. Tamakazura found herself dragged into a sensual whirlpool. Bypassing the shyness and mistrust that words or actions would only have worsened, Genji surrounded his ward with objects, sights, sounds, and scents that symbolized the pleasure of his company far more than his actual physical presence would have-in fact his presence could only have been threatening. He knew that a young girl's senses are her most vulnerable point. The key to Genji's masterful orchestration of detail was his attention to the target of his seduction. Like Genji, you must attune your own senses to your targets, watching them carefully, adapting to their moods. You sense when they are defensive and retreat. You also sense when they are giving in, and move forward. In between, the details you set up-gifts, entertainments, the clothes you wear, the flowers you choose-are aimed precisely at their tastes and predilections. Genji knew he was dealing with a young girl who loved romantic novels; his wild flowers, koto playing, and poetry brought their world to life for her. Attend to your targets' every move and desire, and reveal your attentiveness in the details and objects you surround them with, filling their senses with the mood you need to inspire. They can argue with your words, but not with the effect you have on their senses. right now. " • "You'll have to think of a better excuse than that," Bright Design said. "Isn't there anything that you can send or want to borrow? I don't want to go there and feel like a fool without anything to say. " • Pao-yu thought for a moment and then took two handkerchiefs from under his pillow and gave them to the maid, saying, "Well then, tell her that I sent you with these," • "What a strange present to send" the maid smiled. "What does she want two old handkerchiefs for? She will be angry again and say that you are trying to make fun of her." • "Don't worry" Pao-yu assured her. "She will understand." • Black Jade had already retired when Bright Design arrived at the Bamboo Retreat. "What brought you at this hour?" Black Jade asked. • "[Pao-yu] asked me to bring these handkerchiefs for [Black Jade]." • For a moment Black Jade was at a loss to see why Pao-yu should send her such a present at that particular moment. She said, "I suppose they must be something unusual that somebody gave him. Tell him to keep them himself or give them to someone who will appreciate them. I have no need of them." • "They are nothing unusual," Bright Design said. "Just twoordinaryhandkerchiefs that he happened to have around. " Black Jade was even more puzzled, and then it suddenly dawned upon her: Pao-yu knew that she would weep for him and so sent two handkerchiefs of his own. • "You can leave them, then," she said to Bright Design, who in turn was272 surprised that Black Jade did not take offense at what seemed to her a crude joke. • As Black Jade thought over the significance of the handkerchiefs she was happy and sad by turns: happy because Pao- yu read her innermost thoughts and sad because she wondered if what was uppermost in her thoughts would ever befulfdled. Thinking thus to herself of the future and of the past, she could notfall asleep. Despite Purple Cuckoo's remonstrances, she had her lamp relit and began to compose a series of quatrains, writing them directly on the handkerchiefs which Pao-yu had sent. - TSAO HSUEH CHIN, DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER, Therefore in my view when the courtier wishes to declare his love he should do so by his actions rather than by speech, for a man's feelings are sometimes more clearly revealed by ... a gesture of respect or a certain shyness than by volumes of words. CASTIGLIONE Keys to Seduction W hen we were children, our senses were much more active. The colors of a new toy, or a spectacle such as a circus, held us in thrall; a smell or a sound could fascinate us. In the games we created, many of them reproducing something in the adult world on a smaller scale, what pleasure we took in orchestrating every detail. We noticed everything. As we grow older our senses get dulled. We no longer notice as much, for we are constantly hurrying to get things done, to move on to the next task. In seduction, you are always trying to bring the target back to the golden moments of childhood. A child is less rational, more easily deceived. A child is also more attuned to the pleasures of the senses. So when your targets are with you, you must never give them the feeling they normally get in the real world, where we are all rushed, ruthless, out for ourselves. You need to deliberately slow things down, and return them to the simpler times of their youth. The details that you orchestrate-colors, gifts, little ceremonies-are aimed at their senses, at the childish delight we take in the immediate charms of the natural world. Their senses filled with delightful things, they grow less capable of reason and rationality. Pay attention to detail and you will find yourself assuming a slower pace; your targets will not focus on what you might be after (sexual favors, power, etc.) because you seem so considerate,soattentive.In the childish realm of the senses in which you envelop them, they get a clear sense that you are involving them in something distinct from the real world-an essential ingredient of seduction. Remember: the more you get people to focus on the little things, the less they will notice your larger direction. The seduction will assume the slow, hypnotic pace of a ritual, in which the details have a heightened importance and the moments are full of ceremony. In eighth-century China, Emperor Ming Huang caught a glimpse of a beautiful young woman, combing her hair beside an imperial pool. Her name was Yang Kuei-fei, and even though she was the concubine of the emperor's son, he had to have her for himself. Since he was emperor, nobody could stop him. The emperor was a practical man-he had many concubines, and they all had their charms, but he had never lost his head over a woman. Yang Kuei-fei, though, was different. Her body exuded the most wonderful fragrance. She wore gowns made of the sheerest silk gauze, each embroidered with different flowers, depending on the season. In walking she seemed to float, her tiny steps invisible beneath her gown. She Pay Attention to Detail• 273 danced to perfection, wrote songs in Ms honor that she sang magmficently, had a way of looking at him that made Ms blood boil with desire.She quickly became Ms favorite. Yang Kuei-fei drove the emperor to distraction. He built palaces for her, spent all Ms time with her, satisfied her every whim. Before long Ms kingdom was bankrupt and ruined. Yang Kuei-fei was an artful seductress who had a devastating effect on all of the men who crossed her path. There were so many ways her presence charmed-the scents, the voice, the movements, the witty conversation, the artful glances, the embroidered gowns. These pleasurable details turned a mighty king into a distracted baby. Since time immemorial, women have known that within the most apparently self-possessed man is an animal whom they can lead by filling Ms senses with the proper physical lures. The key is to attack on as many fronts as possible. Do not ignore your voice, your gestures, your walk, your clothes, your glances. Some of the most alluring women in history have so distracted their victims with sensual detail that the men fail to notice it is all an illusion. From the 1940s on into the early 1960s, Pamela Churchill Harriman had a series of affairs with some of the most prominent and wealthy men in the world-Averill Harriman (whom years later she married), Gianni Agnelli (heir to the Fiat fortune), Baron Elie de Rothschild. What attracted these men, and kept them in tMall, was not her beauty or her lineage or her vivacious personality, but her extraordinary attention to detail. It began with her attentive look as she listened to your every word, soaking up your tastes. Once she found her way into your home, she would fill it with your favorite flowers, get your chef to cook that dish you had tasted only in the finest restaurants. You mentioned an artist you liked? A few days later that artist would be attending one of your parties. She found the perfect antiques for you, dressed in the way that most pleased or excited you, and she did this without your saying a word-she spied, gathered information from third parties, overheard you talking to someone else. Harriman's attention to detail had an intoxicating effect on all the men in her life. It had something in common with the pampering of a mother, there to bring order and comfort into their lives, attending to their needs. Life is harsh and competitive. Attending to detail in a way that is soothing to the other person makes them dependent upon you. The key is probing their needs in a way that is not too obvious, so that when you make precisely the right gesture, it seems uncanny, as if you had read their mind. This is another way of returning your targets to childhood, when all of their needs were met. In the eyes of women all over the world, Rudolph Valentino reigned as the Great Lover through much of the 1920s. The qualities behind Ms appeal certainly included Ms handsome, almost pretty face, Ms dancing skills, the strangely exciting streak of cruelty in Ms manner. But his perhaps most endearing trait was his time-consuming approach to courtship. His films would show him seducing a woman slowly, with careful details- sending her flowers (choosing the variety to match the mood he wanted to 274 The Art of Seduction induce), taking her hand, lighting her cigarette, escorting her to romantic places, leading her on the dance floor. These were silent movies, and his audiences never got to hear him speak-it was all in his gestures. Men came to hate him, for their wives and girlfriends now expected the slow, careful Valentino treatment. Valentino had a feminine streak; it was said that he wooed a woman the way another woman would. But femininity need not figure in this approach to seduction. In the early 1770s, Prince Gregory Potemkin began an affair with Empress Catherine the Great of Russia that was to last many years. Potemkin was a manly man, and not at all handsome. But he managed to win the empress's heart by the many little things he did, and continued to do long after the affair had begun. He spoiled her with wonderful gifts, never tired of writing her long letters, arranged for all kinds of entertainments forher, composed songs to her beauty. Yet he would appear before her barefoot, hair uncombed, clothes wrinkled. There was no kind of fussiness in his attention, which, however, did make it clear he would go to the ends of the earth for her. A woman's senses are more refined than a man's; to a woman, Yang Kuei-fei's overt sensual appeal would seem too hurried and direct. What that means, though, is that all the man really has to do is take it slowly, making seduction a ritual full of all kinds of little things he has to do for his target. If he takes his time, he will have her eating out of his hand. Everything in seduction is a sign, and nothing more so than clothes. It is not that you have to dress interestingly, elegantly, or provocatively, but that you have to dress for your target-have to appeal to your target's tastes. When Cleopatra was seducing Mark Antony, her dress was not brazenly sexual; she dressed as a Greek goddess, knowing his weakness for such fantasy figures. Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of King Louis XV, knew the king's weakness, his chronic boredom; she constantly wore different clothes, changing not only their color but their style, supplying the king with a constant feast for his eyes. Pamela Harriman was subdued in the fashions she wore, befitting her role as a high-society geisha and reflecting the sober tastes of the men she seduced. Contrast works well here; at work or at home, you might dress nonchalantly-Marilyn Monroe, for example, wore jeans and a T-shirt at home-but when you are with the target you wear something elaborate, as if you were putting on a costume. Your Cinderella transformation will stir excitement, and the feeling that you have done somethingjust for the person you are with. Whenever your attention is individualized (you would not dress like that for anyone else), it is infinitely more seductive. In the 1870s, Queen Victoria found herself wooed by Benjamin Disraeli, her own prime minister. Disraeli's words were flattering and his manner insinuating; he also sent her flowers, valentines, gifts-but not just any flowers or gifts, the kind that most men would send. The flowers were primroses, symbols of their simple yet beautiful friendship. From then on, whenever Victoria saw a primrose she thought of Disraeli. Or he would Pay Attention to Detail • 275 write on a valentine that he, "no longer in the sunset, but the twilight of his existence, must encounter a life of anxiety and toil; but this, too, has its romance, when he remembers that he labors for the most gracious of beings!" Or he might send her a little box, with no inscription, but with a heart transfixed by an arrow on one side and the word "Fideliter," or "Faithfully,"onthe other. Victoria fell in love with Disraeli. A gift has immense seductive power, but the object itself is less important than the gesture, and the subtle thought or emotion that it communicates. Perhaps the choice relates to something from the target's past, or symbolizes something between you, or merely represents the lengths you will go to to please. It was not the money Disraeli spent that impressed Victoria, but the time he took to find the appropriate thing or make the appropriate gesture. Expensive gifts have no sentiment attached; they may temporarily excite their recipient but they are quickly forgotten, as a child forgets a new toy. The object that reflects its giver's attentiveness has a lingering sentimental power, which resurfaces every time its owner sees it. In 1919, the Italian writer and war hero Gabriele D'Annunzio managed to put together a band of followers and take over the town of Fiume, on the Adriatic coast (now part of Slovenia). They established their own government there, which lasted for over a year. D'Annunzio initiated a series of public spectacles that were to be immensely influential on politicians elsewhere. He would address the public from a balcony overlooking the town's main square, which would be full of colorful banners, flags, pagan religious symbols, and, at night, torches. The speeches would be followed by processions. Although D'Annunzio was not at all a Fascist, what he did in Fiume crucially affected Benito Mussolini, who borrowed his Roman salutes, his use of symbols, his mode of public address. Spectacles like these have been used since then by governments everywhere, even democratic ones. Their overall impression may be grand, but it is the orchestrated details that make them work-the number of senses they appeal to, the variety of emotions they stir. You are aiming to distract people, and nothing is more distracting than a wealth of detail-fireworks, flags, music, uniforms, marching soldiers, the feel of the crowd packed together. It becomes difficult to think straight, particularly if the symbols and details stir up patriotic emotions. Finally, words are important in seduction, and have a great deal of power to confuse, distract, and boost the vanity of the target. But what is most seductive in the long run is what you do not say, what you communicate indirectly. Words come easily, and people distrust them. Anyone can say the right words; and once they are said, nothing is binding, and they may even be forgotten altogether. The gesture, the thoughtful gift, the little details seem much more real and substantial. They are also much more charming than lofty words about love, precisely because they speak for themselves and let the seduced read into them more than is there. Never tell someone what you are feeling; let them guess it in your looks and gestures. That is the more convincing language. 276 Symbol: The Banquet. A feast has been prepared in your honor. Everything has been elaborately coordinated-the flowers, the decorations, the selection of guests, the dancers, the music, the five-course meal, the endlessly flowing wine. The Banquet loosens your tongue, and also your inhibitions. Reversal T here is no reversal. Details are essential to any successful seduction, and cannot be ignored. 12 Poeticize Your Presence Important things happen when your targets are alone: the slightestfeeling of relief that you are not there, and it is all over. Familiarity and overexposure will cause this reaction. Remain elusive, then, so that when you are away, they will yearn to see you again, and will associate you only with pleasant thoughts. Occupy their minds by alternating an exciting presence with a cool distance, exuberant moments followed by calculated absences. Associate yourself with poetic images and objects, so that when they think ofyou, they begin to see you through an idealized halo. The more you figure in their minds, the more they will envelop you in seductive fantasies. Feed these fantasies by subtle inconsistencies and changes inyour behavior. Poetic Presence/Absence I n 1943, the Argentine military overthrew the government. A popular forty-eight-year old colonel, Juan Peron, was named secretary of labor and social affairs. Peron was a widow who had a fondness for young girls; at the time of his appointment he was involved with a teenager whom he introduced to one and all as his daughter. One evening in January of 1944, Peron was seated among the other military leaders in a Buenos Aires stadium, attending an artists' festival. It was late and there were some empty seats around him; out of nowhere two beautiful young actresses asked his permission to sit down. Were they joking? He would be delighted. He recognized one of the actresses-it was Eva Duarte, a star of radio soap operas whose photograph was often on the covers of the tabloids. The other actress was younger and prettier, but Peron could not take his eyes off Eva, who was talking to another colonel. She was really not his type at all. She was twenty-four, far too old for his taste; she was dressed rather garishly; and there was something a little icy in her manner. But she looked at him occasionally, and her glance excited him. He looked away for a moment, and the next thing he knew she had changed seats and was sitting next to him. They started to talk. She hung on his every word. Yes, everything he said was precisely how she felt-the poor, the workers, they were the future of Argentina. She had known poverty herself. There were almost tears in her eyes when she said, at the end of the conversation, "Thank you for existing." In the next few days, Eva managed to get rid of Peron's "daughter" and establish herself in his apartment. Everywhere he turned, there she was, fixing him meals, caring for him when he was ill, advising him on politics. Why did he let her stay? Usually he would have a fling with a superficial young girl, then get rid of her when she seemed to be sticking around too much. But there was nothing superficial about Eva. As time went by he found himself getting addicted to the feeling she gave him. She was intensely loyal, mirroring his every idea, puffing him up endlessly. He felt more masculine in her presence, that was it, and more powerful-she believed he would make the country's ideal leader, and her belief affected him. She was like the women in the tango ballads he loved so much-the suffering women of the streets who became saintly mother figures and looked after their men. Peron saw her every day, but he never felt he fully knew her; one day her comments were a little obscene, the next she was He who does not know how to encircle a girl so that she loses sight of everything he does not want her to see, he who does not know how to poetize himself into a girl so that it isfrom her that everything proceeds as he wants it-he is and remains a bungler. To poetize oneself into a girl is an art. KIERKEGAARD, THE SEDUCER'S DIARY. What else? If she's out, reclining in her litter, \ Make your approach discreet, \ And-just to fox the sharp ears of those around you - \ Cleverly riddle each phrase \ With ambiguous subtleties. If she's taking a leisurely \ Stroll down the colonnade, then you stroll there too - \ Vary your pace to hers, march ahead, drop behind her, \ Dawdling and brisk by turns. Be bold, \ Dodge in round the columns between you, brush your person \ Lingeringly past hers. You must never fail \ 279 280 To attend the theater when she does, gaze at her beauty - \ From the shoulders up she's time \ Most delectably spent, a feast for adoring glances, \ For the eloquence of eyebrows, the speaking sign. \ Applaud when some male dancer struts on as the heroine, \ Cheer for each lover's role. \ When she leaves, leave too-but sit there as long as she does: \ Waste time at your mistress's whim. Get her accustomed to you; \ Habit's the key, spare no pains till that's achieved. \ Let her always see you around, always hear you talking, \ Showher your face night and day. \ When you're confident you'll be missed, when your absence \ Seems sure to cause her regret, \ Then give her some respite: a field improves when fallow, \ Parched soil soaks up the rain. \ Demophoon 's presence gave Phyllis no more than mild excitement; \ It was his sailing caused arson in her heart. \ Penelope was racked by crafty Ulysses's absence, \ Protesilaus, abroad, made Laodameia burn. \ Short partings do best, though: time wears out affections, \ The absent lovefades, a new one takes its place. \ With Menelaus away, Helen's disinclination for sleeping \ Alone led her into her guest's \ Warm bed at night. Were you crazy, Menelaus? - OVID, THE ART OF LOVE. Concerning the Birth of Love • Here is what happens in the soul: • 1. Admiration. • 2. You think, "Mow delightful it the perfect lady. He had one worry: she was angling to get married, and he could never marry her-she was an actress with a dubious past. The other colonels were already scandalized by his involvement with her. Nevertheless, the affair went on. In 1945, Peron was dismissed from his post and jailed. The colonels feared his growing popularity and distrusted the power of his mistress, who seemed to have total influence over him. It was the first time in almost two years that he was truly alone, and truly separated from Eva. Suddenly he felt new emotions sweeping over him: he pinned her photographs all over the wall. Outside, massive strikes were being organized to protest his imprisonment, but all he could think about was Eva. She was a saint, a woman of destiny, a heroine. He wrote to her, "It is only being apart from loved ones that we can measure our affection. From the day I left you ... I have not been able to calm my sad heart. . . . My immense solitude is full of your memory." Now he promised to marry her. The strikes grew in intensity. After eight days, Peron was released from prison; he promptly married Eva. A few months later he was elected president. As first lady, Eva attended state functions in her somewhat gaudy dresses andjewelry; she was seen as a former actress with a large wardrobe. Then, in 1947, she left for a tour of Europe, and Argentines followed her every move-the ecstatic crowds that greeted her in Spain, her audience with the pope-and in her absence their opinion of her changed. How well she represented the Argentine spirit, its noble simplicity, its flair for drama. When she returned a few weeks later, they overwhelmed her with attention. Eva too had changed during her trip to Europe: now her dyed blond hair was pulled into a severe chignon, and she wore tailored suits. It was a serious look, befitting a woman who was to become the savior of the poor. Soon her image could be seen everywhere-her initials on the walls, the sheets, the towels of the hospitals for the poor; her profile on the jerseys of a soccer team from the poorest part of Argentina, whose club she sponsored; her giant smiling face covering the sides of buildings. Since finding out anything personal about her had become impossible, all kinds of elaborate fantasies began to spring up about her. And when cancer cut her life short, in 1952, at the age of thirty-three (the age of Christ when he died), the country went into mourning. Millions filed past her embalmed body. She was no longer a radio actress, a wife, a first lady, but Evita, a saint. Interpretation. Eva Duarte was an illegitimate child who had grown up in poverty, escaped to Buenos Aires to become an actress, and been forced to do many tawdry things to survive and get ahead in the theater world. Her dream was to escape all of the constraints on her future, for she was intensely ambitious. Peron was the perfect victim. He imagined himself a great leader, but the reality was that he was fast becoming a lecherous old man who was too weak to raise himself up. Eva injected poetry into his Poeticize Your Presence • 281 life. Her language was florid and theatrical; she surrounded him with attention, indeed to the point of suffocation, but a woman's dutiful service to a great man was a classic image, and was celebrated in innumerable tango ballads. Yet she managed to remain elusive, mysterious, like a movie star you see all the time on the screen but never really know. And when Peron was finally alone, in prison, these poetic images and associations burst forth in his mind. He idealized her madly; as far as he was concerned, she was no longer an actress with a tawdry past. She seduced an entire nation the same way. The secret was her dramatic poetic presence, combined with a touch of elusive distance; over time, you would see whatever you wanted to in her. To this day people fantasize about what Eva was really like. Familiarity destroys seduction. This rarely happens early on; there is so much to leam about a new person. But a midpoint may arrive when the target has begun to idealize and fantasize about you, only to discover that you are not what he or she thought. It is not a question of being seen too often, of being too available, as some imagine. In fact, if your targets see you too rarely, you give them nothing to feed on, and their attention may be caught by someone else; you have to occupy their mind. It is more a matter of being too consistent, too obvious, too human and real. Your targets cannot idealize you if they know too much about you, if they start to see you as all too human. Not only must you maintain a degree of distance, but there must be something fantastical and bewitching about you, sparking all kinds of delightful possibilities in their mind. The possibility Eva held out was the possibility that she was what in Argentine culture was considered the ideal woman-devoted, motherly, saintly-but there are any number of poetic ideals you can try to embody. Chivalry, adventure, romance, and so on, are just as potent, and if you have a whiff of them about you, you can breathe enough poetry into the air to fill people's minds with fantasies and dreams. At all costs, you must embody something, even if it is roguery and evil. Anything to avoid the taint of familiarity and commonness. What I need is a woman who is something, anything; either very beautiful or very kind or in the last resort very wicked; very witty or very stupid, but something. -ALFRED DE MUSSET Keys to Seduction W e all have a self-image that is more flattering than the truth; we think of ourselves as more generous, selfless, honest, kindly, intelligent, or good-looking than in fact we are. It is extremely difficult for us to be honest with ourselves about our own limitations; we have a desperate need to idealize ourselves. As the writer Angela Carter remarks, we would rather align ourselves with angels than with the higher primates from which we are actually descended. would be to kiss her, to be kissed by her," and so on. .Hope. You observe her perfections, and it is at this moment that a woman really ought to surrender, for the utmost physical pleasure. Even the most reserved women blush to the whites of their eyes at this moment of hope. The passion is so strong, and the pleasure so sharp, that they betray themselves unmistakably. • 4. Love is born. To love is to enjoy seeing, touching, and sensing with all the senses, as closely as possible, a lovable object which loves in return. The first crystallization begins. If you are sure that a woman loves you, it is a pleasure to endow her with a thousand perfections and to count your blessings with infinite satisfaction. In the end you overrate wildly, and regard her as something fallen from Heaven, unknown as yet, but certain to be yours. • Leave a lover with his thoughts for twenty four hours, and this is what will happen: • At the salt mines of Salzburg, they throw a leafless wintry bough into one of the abandoned workings. Two or three months later they haul it out covered with a shining deposit of crystals. The smallest twig, no bigger than a tom-tit's claw, is studded with a galaxy of scintillating diamonds. The original branch is no longer recognizable. • What I have called crystallization is a mental process which draws from everything that happens new proofs of the perfection of the loved one. . . . • A man in love sees every perfection in the object of his love, but his attention is liable to 282 wander after a time because one gets tired of anything uniform, even perfect happiness. • This is what happens next to fix the attention: Doubt creeps in. . . . He is met indifference, coldness, or even anger if he appears confident. . . . The lover begins to be less sure the good fortune he was grounds for hope to a critical examination. • He to recoup by indulging in other pleasures but finds them inane. He is seized the dread of a frightful calamity and now concentrates fully. Thus : The second, which deposits diamond layers of that "she loves me." • Every few minutes the night which follows the birth of doubt, the lover has a moment of dreadful misgiving, and then reassures himself "she loves me"; and crystallization begins to reveal new charms. Then once again the haggard eye of doubt pierces him and he This need to idealize extends to our romantic entanglements, because of ourselves. The choice we make in deciding to become involved with another person reveals something important and intimate about us: we seeing ourselves as having fallen for someone whoischeapor tacky or tasteless, because it reflects badly on who we are. Furthermore, we are often likely to fall for someone who resembles us in some way. Should that person be deficient, or worst of all ordinary, then there is something deficient and ordinary about us. No, at all costs the loved one must be overvalued and idealized, at least for the sake of our own self-esteem. Besides, in a world that is harsh and full of disappointment, it is a great pleasure to be able to fantasize about a person you are involved with. This makes the seducer's task easy: people are dying to be given the chance to fantasize about you. Do not spoil this golden opportunity by overexposing yourself, or becoming so familiar and banal that the target sees you exactly as you are. You do not have to be an angel, or a paragon of virtue-that would be quite boring. You can be dangerous, naughty, even somewhat vulgar, depending on the tastes of your victim. But never be oror limited. In poetry (as opposed to reality), anything is possible. Soon after we fall under a person's spell, we form an image in our minds of who they are and what pleasures they might offer. Thinking of them when we are alone, we tend to make this image more and more idealized. The novelist Stendhal, in his book On Love, calls this phenomenon "crystallization," telling the story of how, in Salzburg,Austria, they used to throw a leafless branch into the abandoned depths of a salt mine in the middle of winter. When the branch was pulled out months later, it would be covered with spectacular crystals. That is what happens to a loved one in minds. stops transfixed. He forgets to draw breath and mutters, "But does she love me?" Torn between doubt and delight, the poor lover convinces himself that she could give him such pleasure as he could find nowhere else on earth. -STENDHAL, LOVE, Falling in love automatically tends toward madness. Left to itself it goes to utter extremes. This is well known by the "conquistadors " of both sexes. Once a woman's According to Stendhal, though, there are two crystallizations. The first happens when we first meet the person. The second and more important one happens later, when a bit of doubt creeps in-you desire the other person, but they elude you, you are not sure they are yours. This bit of doubt is critical-it makes your imagination work double, deepens the poeticizing process. In the seventeenth century, the great rake the Due de Lauzun pulled off one of the most spectacular seductions in history-that of the Mademoiselle, the cousin of King Louis XTV, and the wealthiest and most powerful woman in France. He tickled her imagination with a few brief encounters at the court, letting her catch glimpses of his wit, his audacity, his cool manner. She would begin to think of him when she was alone. Next she started to bump into him more often at court, and they would have little conversations or walks. When these meetings were over, she would be left with a doubt: is he or is he not interested in me? This made her want to see him more, in order to allay her doubts. She began to idealize him all out of proportion to the reality, for the duke was an incorrigible scoundrel. Remember: if you are easily had, you cannot be worth that much. It is Poeticize Your Presence • 283 hard to wax poetic about a person who comes so cheaply. If, after the initial interest, you make it clear that you cannot be taken for granted, if you stir a bit of doubt, the target will imagine there is something special, lofty, and unattainable about you. Your image will crystallize in the other person's mind. Cleopatra knew that she was really no different from any other woman, and in fact her face was not particularly beautiful. But she knew that men have a tendency to overvalue a woman. All that is required is to hint that there is something different about you, to make them associate you with something grand or poetic. She made Caesar aware of her connection to the great kings and queens of Egypt's past; with Antony, she created the fantasy that she was descended from Aphrodite herself. These men were cavorting not just with a strong-willed woman but a kind of goddess. Such associations might be difficult to pull off today, but people still get deep pleasure from associating others with some kind of childhood fantasy figure. John F. Kennedy presented himself as a figure of chivalry-noble, brave, charming. Pablo Picasso was not just a great painter with a thirst for young girls, he was the Minotaur of Greek legend, or the devilish trickster figure that is so seductive to women. These associations should not be made too early; they are only powerful once the target has begun to fall under your spell, and is vulnerable to suggestion. A man who had just met Cleopatra would have found the Aphrodite association ludicrous. But a person who is falling in love will believe almost anything. The trick is to associate your image with something mythic, through the clothes you wear, the things you say, the places you go. In Marcel Proust's novel Remembrance of Things Past, the character Swann finds himself gradually seduced by a woman who is not really his type. He is an aesthete, and loves the finer things in life. She is of a lower class, less refined, even a little tasteless. What poeticizes her in his mind is a series of exuberant moments they share together, moments that from then on he associates with her. One of these is a concert in a salon that they attend, in which he is intoxicated by a little melody in a sonata. Whenever he thinks of her, he remembers this little phrase. Little gifts she has given him, objects she has touched or handled, begin to assume a life of their own. Any kind of heightened experience, artistic or spiritual, lingers in the mind much longer than normal experience. You must find a way to share such moments with your targets-a concert, a play, a spiritual encounter, whatever it takes-so that they associate something elevated with you. Shared moments of exuberance have immense seductive pull. Also, any kind of object can be imbued with poetic resonance and sentimental associations, as discussed in the last chapter. The gifts you give and other objects can become imbued with your presence; if they are associated with pleasant memories, the sight of them keeps you in mind and accelerates the poeti- cization process. Although it is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, an absence too early will prove deadly to the crystallization process. Like Eva attention is fixed upon a man, it is very easy for him to dominate her thoughts completely. A simple game of blowing hot and cold, of solicitousness and disdain, of presence and absence isallthatisrequired. The rhythm of that techniqueacts upon a woman's attention like a pneumatic machine and ends by emptying her of all the rest of the world. How well our people put it: "to suck one's senses"! In fact: one is absorbed-absorbed by an object! Most "love affairs" are reduced to this mechanical play of the beloved upon the lover's attention. • The only thing that can save a lover is a violent shock from the outside, a treatment which is forced upon him. Many think that absence and long trips are a good cure for lovers. Observe that these are cures for one's attention. Distance from the beloved starves our attention toward him; it prevents anything further from rekindling the attention. Journeys, by physically obliging us to come out of ourselves and resolve hundreds of little problems, by uprooting us from our habitual setting and forcing hundreds of unexpected objects upon us, succeed in breaking down the maniac's haven and opening channels in his sealed consciousness, through which fresh air and normal perspective enter. - JOS6 ORTEGA Y GASSET, ON LOVE: ASPECTS OF A SINGLE THEME,  Excessive familiarity can destroy crystallization. A charming girl of sixteen was becoming too fond of ahandsome young man of the same age, who used to make a practice of passing beneath her window every evening at nightfall. Her mother invited him to Peron, you must surround your targets with focused attention, so that in those critical moments when they are alone, their mind is spinning with a kind of afterglow. Do everything you can to keep the target thinking about you. Letters, mementos, gifts, unexpected meetings-all these give you an omnipresence. Everything must remind them of you. Finally, if your targets should see you as elevated and poetic, there is much to be gained by making them feel elevated and poeticized in their turn. The French writer Chateaubriand would make a woman feel like a spend a week with them in the country. It was a bold remedy, I admit, but the girl was of a romantic disposition, and the young man a trifle dull; within three days she despised him. -STENDHAL, LOVE, goddess, she had such a powerful effect on him. He would send her poems that she supposedly had inspired. To make Queen Victoria feel as if she were both a seductive woman and a great leader, Benjamin Disraeli would compare her to mythological figures and great predecessors, such as Queen Elizabeth I. By idealizing your targets this way, you will make them idealize you in return, since you must be equally great to be able to appreciate and see all of their fine qualities. They will also grow addicted to the elevatedfeeling you give them. Symbol: The Halo.Slowly, when the target is alone, he or she begins to imagine a kind of faint glow around your head, formed by all of the possible pleasures you might offer, the radiance of your charged presence, your noble qualities. The Halo separates youfrom other people. Do not make it disappear by becoming familiar and ordinary. Reversal I t might seem that the reverse tactic would be to reveal everything about yourself, to be completely honest about your faults and virtues. This kind of sincerity was a quality Lord Byron had-he almost got a thrill out of disclosing all of his nasty, ugly qualities, even going so far, later on in his life, as to tell people about his incestuous involvements with his half sister. This kind of dangerous intimacy can be immensely seductive. The target will poeticize your vices, and your honesty about them; they will start to see more than is there. In other words, the idealization process is unavoidable. The only thing that cannot be idealized is mediocrity, but there is nothing seductive about mediocrity. There is no possible way to seduce without creating some kind of fantasy and poeticization. 13 Disarm Through Strategic Weakness and Vulnerability Too much maneuvering on your part may raisesuspicion. The best way to cover your tracks is to make the other person feel superior and stronger. If you seem to be weak, vulnerable, enthralled by the other person, and unable to control yourself, you will make your actions look more natural, less calculated. Physical weakness - tears, bashfulness, paleness-will help create the effect, To further win trust, exchange honesty for virtue: establish your "sincerity" by confessing some sin on your part-it doesn't have to be real. Sincerity is more important than goodness. Play the victim, then transform your target's sympathy into love. The Victim Strategy T hat sweltering August in the 1770s when the Presidente de Tourvel was visiting the chateau of her old friend Madame de Rosemonde, leaving her husband at home, she was expecting to be enjoying the peace and quiet of country life more or less on her own. But she loved the simple pleasures, and soon her daily life at the chateau assumed a comfortable pattern-daily Mass, walks in the country, charitable work in the neighboring villages, card games in the evening. When Madame de Rosemonde's nephew arrived for a visit, then, the Presidente felt uncomfortable-but also curious. The nephew, the Vicomte de Valmont, was the most notorious libertine in Paris. He was certainly handsome, but he was not what she had expected: he seemedsad, somewhat downtrodden, and strangest of all, he paid hardly any attention to her. The Presidente was no coquette; she dressed simply, ignored fashions, and loved her husband. Still, she was young and beautiful, and was used to fending off men's attentions. In the back of her mind, she was slightly perturbed that he took so little notice of her. Then, at Mass one day, she caught a glimpse of Valmont apparently lost in prayer. The idea dawned on her that he was in the midst of a period of soul-searching. As soon as word had leaked out that Valmont was at the chateau, the Presidente had received a letter from a friend warning her against this dangerous man. But she thought of herself as the last woman in the world to be vulnerable to him. Besides, he seemed on the verge of repenting his evil past; perhaps she could help move him in that direction. What a wonderful victory that would be for God. And so the Presidente took note of Val- mont's comings and goings, trying to understand what was happening in his head. It was strange, for instance, that he would often leave in the morning to go hunting, yet would never return with any game. One day, she decided to have her servant do a little harmless spying, and she was amazed and delighted to learn that Valmont had not gone hunting at all; he had visited a local village, where he had doled out money to a poor family about to be evicted from their home. Yes, she was right, his passionate soul was moving from sensuality to virtue. How happy that made her feel. That evening, Valmont and the Presidente found themselves alone for the first time, and Valmont suddenly burst out with a startling confession. He was head-over-heels in love with the Presidente, and with a love he had The weak ones do have a power over us. The clear, forceful ones I can do without. I am weak and indecisive by nature myself and a woman who is quiet and withdrawn and follows the wishes of a man even to the point of letting herself be used has much the greater appeal. A man can shape and mold her as he wishes, and becomes fonder of her all the while. -MURASAKI SHIKIBU, THE TALE OF GENJI. Hera, daughter of Cronus and Rhea, having been born on the island of Samos or, some say, at Argos, was brought up in Arcadia by Temenus, sou of Pelasgus. The Seasons were her nurses. After banishing theirfather Cronus, Hera's twin brother Zeus sought her out at Cnossus in Crete or, some say, on Mount Thornax (now called Cuckoo Mountain) in Argolis, where he courted her, at first unsuccessfully. She took pity on him only when he adopted the 287 288 disguise of a bedraggled cuckoo and tenderly warmed him in her bosom. There he at once resumed his true shape and ravished her, so that she was shamed into marrying him. GRAVES, THE GREEK MYTHS In a strategy (?) of seduction one draws the other into one's area of weakness, which is also his or her area of weakness. A calculated weakness, an incalculable weakness: one challenges the other to be taken i n . . . . • To seduce is to appear weak. To seduce is to render weak. We seduce with our weakness, never with strong signs or powers. In seduction we enact this weakness, and this is what gives seduction its strength. • We seduce with our death, our vulnerability, and with the void that haunts us. The secret is to know how to play with death in the absence of a gaze or gesture, in the absence of knowledge or meaning. • Psychoanalysis tells us to assume our fragility and passivity, but in almost religious terms, turns them into aform of resignation and acceptance in order to promote a well- tempered psychic equilibrium. Seduction, by contrast, plays trumph- antty with weakness, making a game of it, with its own rules. BAUDRILLARD, SEDUCTION never experienced before: her virtue, her goodness, her beauty, her kind ways had completely overwhelmed him. His generosity to the poor that afternoon had been for her sake-perhaps inspired by her, perhaps something more sinister: it had been to impress her. He would never have confessed to this, but finding himself alone with her, he could not control his emotions. Then he got down on his knees and begged for her to help him, to guide him in his misery. The Presidente was caught off guard, and began to cry. Intensely embarrassed, she ran from the room, and for the next few days pretended to be ill. She did not know how to react to the letters Valmont now began to send her, begging her to forgive him. He praised her beautiful face and her beautiful soul, and claimed she had made him rethink his whole life. These emotional letters produced disturbing emotions, and Tourvel prided herself on her calmness and prudence. She knew she should insist that he leave the chateau, and wrote him to that effect; he reluctantly agreed, but on one condition-that she allow him to write to her from Paris. She consented, as long as the letters were not offensive. When he told Madame de Rose- monde that he was leaving, the Presidente felt a pang of guilt: his hostess and aunt would miss him, and he looked so pale. He was obviously suffering. Now the letters from Valmont began to arrive, and Tourvel soon regretted allowing him this liberty. He ignored her request that heavoid the subject of love-indeed he vowed to love her forever. He rebuked her for her coldness and insensitivity. He explained his bad path in life-it was not his fault, he had had no direction, had been led astray by others. Without her help he would fall back into that world. Do not be cruel, he said, you are the one who seduced me. I am your slave, the victim of your charms and goodness; since you are strong, and do not feel as I do, you have nothing to fear. Indeed the Presidente de Tourvel came to pity Valmont-he seemed so weak, so out of control. How could she help him? And why was she even thinking of him, which she now did more and more? She was a happily married woman. No, she must at least put an end to this tiresome correspondence. No more talk of love, she wrote, or she would not reply. His letters stopped coming. She felt relief. Finally some peace and quiet. One evening, however, as she was seated at the dinner table, she suddenly heard Valmont's voice from behind her, addressing Madame de Rose- monde. On the spur of the moment, he said, he had decided to return for a short visit. She felt a shiver up and down her spine, her face flushed; he approached and sat down beside her. He looked at her, she looked away, and soon made an excuse to leave the table and go up to her room. But she could not completely avoid him over the next few days, and she saw that he seemed paler than ever. He was polite, and a whole day might pass without her seeing him, but these brief absences had a paradoxical effect: now Tourvel realized what had happened. She missed him, she wanted to see him. This paragon of virtue and goodness had somehow fallen in love with an incorrigible rake. Disgusted with herself and what she had allowed to Disarm Through Strategic Weakness and Vulnerability • 289 happen, she left the chateau in the middle of the night, without telling anyone, and headed for Paris, where she planned somehow to repent this awful sin. Interpretation. The character of Valmont in Choderlos de Laclos's epistolary novel Dangerous Liaisons is based on several of the great real-life libertines of eighteenth-century France. Everything Valmont does is calculated for effect-the ambiguous actions that make Tourvel curious about him, the act of charity in the village (he knows he is being followed), the return visit to the chateau, the paleness of his face (he is having an affair with a girl at the chateau, and their all-night carousals give him a wasted look). Most devastating of all is his positioning of himself as the weak one, the seduced, the victim. How can the Presidente imagine he is manipulating her when everything suggests he is simplyoverwhelmed by her beauty, whether physical or spiritual? He cannot be a deceiver when he repeatedly makes a point of confessing the "truth" about himself: he admits that his charity was questionably motivated, he explains why he has gone astray, he lets her in on his emotions. (All of this "honesty," of course, is calculated.) In essence he is like a woman, or at least like a woman of those times- emotional, unable to control himself, moody, insecure. She is the one who is cold and cruel, like a man. In positioning himself as Tourvel's victim, Valmont can not only disguise his manipulations but elicit pity and concern. Playing the victim, he can stir up the tender emotions produced by a sick child or a wounded animal. And these emotions are easily channeled into love-as the Presidente discovers to her dismay. Seduction is a game of reducing suspicion and resistance. The cleverest way to do this is to make the other person feel stronger, more in control of things. Suspicion usually comes out of insecurity; if your targets feel superior and secure in your presence, they are unlikely to doubt your motives. You are too weak, too emotional, to be up to something. Take this game as far as it will go. Flaunt your emotions and how deeply they have affected you. Making people feel the power they have over you is immensely flattering to them. Confess to something bad, or even to something bad that you did, or contemplated doing, to them. Honesty is more important than virtue, and one honest gesture will blind them to many deceitful acts. Create an impression of weakness-physical, mental, emotional. Strength and confidence can be frightening. Make your weakness a comfort, and play the victim-of their power over you, of circumstances, of life in general. This is the best way to cover your tracks. You know, a man ain't worth a damn if he can't cry at the right time. - JOHNSON The old American proverb says if you want to con someone, you must first get him to trust you, or at least feel superior to you (these two ideas are related), and get him to let down his guard. The proverb explains a great deal about television commercials. If we assume that people are not stupid, they must react to TV commercials with a feeling of superiority that permits them to believe they are in control. As long as this illusion of volition persists, they would consciously have nothing to fear from the commercials. People are prone to trust anything over which they believe they have control. ..." TV commercials appear foolish, clumsy, and ineffectual on purpose. They are made to appear this way at the conscious level in order to be consciously ridiculed and rejected. . . . Most ad men will confirm that over the years the seemingly worst commercials have sold the best. An effective TV commercial is purposefully designed to insult the viewer's conscious intelligence, thereby penetrating his defenses. -WILSON BRYAN KEY, SUBLIMINAL SEDUCTION It takes great art to use bashfulness, but one does achieve a great deal with it. How often I have used bashfulness to trick a little miss! Ordinarily, young girls speak very harshly about bashful men, but secretly they like them. A little bashfulness flatters a teenage girl's vanity, makes her feel superior; it is her 290 earnest money. When they are lulled to sleep, then at the very time they believe you are about to perish from bashfulness, you show them that you are so far from it that you are quite self-reliant. Bashfulness makes a man lose his masculine significance, and therefore it is a relatively good means for neutralizing the sex relation. -KIERKEGAARD, THE SEDUCER'S DIARY. Yet anotherform of Charity is there, which is oft times practised towards poor prisoners who are shut up in dungeons and robbed of all enjoyments with women. On such do the gaolers' wives and women that have charge over them, or chatelaines who have prisoners of war in their Castle, take pity and give them share of their love out of very charity and mercifulness. . . . • Thus do these gaolers' wives, noble chatelaines and others, treat their prisoners, the which, captive and unhappy though they be, yet cease not for that to feel the prickings of the flesh, as much as ever they did in their best days. ...• To confirm what I say, I will instance a tale that Captain Beaulieu, Captain of the King's Galleys, of whom I have before spoke once and again, did tell me. He was in the service of the late Grand Prior of France, a member of the house of Lorraine, who was much attached to him. Going one time to take his patron on board at Malta in a Keys to Seduction W e all have weaknesses, vulnerabilities, frailnesses in our mental makeup. Perhaps we are shy or oversensitive, or need attention- whatever the weakness is, it is something we cannot control. We may try to compensate for it, or to hide it, but this is often a mistake: people sense something inauthentic or unnatural. Remember: what is natural to your character is inherently seductive. A person's vulnerability, what they seem to be unable to control, is often what is most seductive about them. People who display no weaknesses, on the other hand, often elicit envy, fear, and anger-we want to sabotage themjust to bring them down.Do not struggle against your vulnerabilities, or try to repressthem,butput them into play. Learn to transform them into power. The game is subtle: if you wallow in your weakness, overplay your hand, you will be seen as angling for sympathy, or, worse, as pathetic. No, what works best is to allow people an occasional glimpse into the soft, frail side of your character, and usually only after they have known you for a while. That glimpse will humanize you, lowering their suspicions, and preparing the ground for a deeper attachment. Normally strong and in control, at moments you let go, give in to your weakness, let them see it. Valmont used his weakness this way. He had lost his innocence long ago, and yet, somewhere inside, he regretted it. He was vulnerable to someone truly innocent. His seduction of the Presidente was successful because it was not totally an act; there was a genuine weakness on his part, which even allowed him to cry at times. He let the Presidente see this side to him at key moments, in order to disarm her. Like Valmont, you can be acting and sincere at the same time. Suppose you are genuinely shy-at certain moments, give your shyness a little weight, lay it on a little thick. It should be easy for you to embellish a quality you already have. After Lord Byron published his first major poem, in 1812, he became an instant celebrity. Beyond being a talented writer, he was so handsome, even pretty, and he was as brooding and enigmatic as the characters he wrote about. Women went wild over Lord Byron. He had an infamous "underlook," slightly lowering his head and glancing upward at a woman, making her tremble. But Byron had other qualities: when you first met him, you could not help noticing his fidgety movements, his ill-fitting clothes, his strange shyness, and his noticeable limp. This infamous man, who scorned all conventions and seemed so dangerous, was personally insecure and vulnerable. In Byron's poem Don Juan, the hero is less a seducer of women than a man constantly pursued by them. The poem was autobiographical; women wanted to take care of this somewhat fragile man, who seemed to have little control over his emotions. More than a century later, John F. Kennedy, as a boy, became obsessed with Byron, the man he most wanted to emulate. He even tried to borrow Byron's "underlook." Kennedy himself was a frail youth, with constant health problems. He was also a little pretty, and friends Disarm Through Strategic Weakness and Vulnerability • 291 saw something slightly feminine in him. Kennedy's weaknesses-physical and mental, for he too was insecure, shy, and oversensitive-were exactly what drew women to him. If Byron and Kennedy had tried to cover up their vulnerabilities with a masculine swagger they would have had no seductive charm. Instead, they learned how to subtly display their weaknesses, letting women sense this soft side to them. There are fears and insecurities peculiar to each sex; your use of strategic weakness must always take these differences into account. A woman, for instance, may be attracted by a man's strength and self-confidence, but too much of it can create fear, seeming unnatural, even ugly Particularly intimidating is the sense that the man is cold and unfeeling. She may feel insecure that he is only after sex, and nothing else. Male seducers long ago learned to become more feminine-to show their emotions, and to seem interested in their targets' lives. The medieval troubadours were the first to master this strategy; they wrote poetry in honor of women, emoted endlessly about their feelings, and spent hours in their ladies' boudoirs, listening to the women's complaints and soaking up their spirit. In return for their willingness to play weak, the troubadours earned the right to love. Little has changed since then. Some of the greatest seducers in recent history-Gabriele D' Annunzio, Duke Ellington, Errol Flynn-understood the value of acting slavishly to a woman, like a troubadour on bended knee. The key is to indulge your softer side while still remaininasmasculineas possible. This may include an occasional show of bashfulness, which the philosopher Sprcn Kierkegaard thought an extremely seductive tactic for a man-it gives the woman a sense of comfort, and even of superiority. Remember, though, to keep everything in moderation. A glimpse of shyness is sufficient; too much of it and the target will despair, afraid that she will end up having to do all the work. man's fears and insecurities often concern his sense of masculinity; he usually will feel threatened by a woman who is too overtly manipulative, who is too much in control. The greatest seductresses in history knew how to cover up their manipulations by playing the little girl in need of masculine protection. A famous courtesan of ancient China, Su Shou, used to make up her face to look particularly pale and weak. She would also walk in a way that made her seem frail. The great nineteenth-century courtesan Pearl would literally dress and act like a little girl. Marilyn Monroe knew how to give the impression that she depended on a man's strength to survive. In all of these instances, the women were the ones in control of the dynamic, boosting a man's sense of masculinity in order to ultimately enslave him. To make this most effective, a woman should seem both in need of protection and sexually excitable, giving the man his ultimate fantasy. The Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, won dominance over her husband early on through a calculated coquetry. Later on, though, she held on to that power through her constant-and not so innocent-use of tears. Seeing someone cry usually has an immediate effect on our emo- frigate, he was taken by the Sicilian galleys, and carried prisoner to the Castel-a- mare at Palermo, where he was shut up in an exceeding narrow, dark and wretched dungeon, and very ill entreated by the space of three months. By good hap the Governor of the Castle, who was a Spaniard, had two very fair daughters, who hearing him complaining and making moan, did one day ask leave of theirfather to visit him, for the honor of the good God; and this he did freely give them permission to do. And seeing the Captain was of a surety a right gallant gentleman, and as ready- tongued as most, he was able so to withem over at this, the very first visit, that they did gain their father's leave for him to quit his wretched dungeon and to be put in a seemly enough chamber and receive better treatment. Nor was this all, for they did crave and get permission to come and see him freely every day and converse with him. • And this didfall out so well that presently both the twain of them were in love with him, albeit he was not handsome to look upon, and they very fair ladies. And so, without a thought of the chance of more rigorous imprisonment or even death, but rather tempted by such opportunities, he did set himself to the enjoyment of the two girls with good will and hearty appetite. And these pleasures did continue without any scandal, for so fortunate was he in this conquest of his for the space of eight whole months, that no scandal did ever hap all that time, and no ill, 292 inconvenience, nor any surprise or discovery at all. For indeed the two sisters had so good an understanding between them and did so generously lend a hand to each other and so obligingly play sentinel to one another, that no ill hap did ever occur. And he swore to me, being my very intimate friend as he was, that never in his days of greatest liberty had he enjoyed so excellent entertainment orfelt keener ardor or better appetitefor it than in the said prison-which truly was a right good prison for him, albeitfolk say no prison can be good. And this happy time did continue for the space of eight months, till the truce was made betwixt the Emperor and Henri II., King of France, whereby all prisoners did leave their dungeons and were released. He sware that never was he more grieved than at quitting this good prison of his, but was exceeding sorry to leave thesefair maids, with whom he was in such high favor, and who did express all possible regrets at his departing. -SEIGNEUR DE BRANT6ME, LIVES OF FAIR et GALLANT LADIES. TRANSLATED BY A. R. ALLINSON tions: we cannot remain neutral. We feel sympathy, and most often will do anything to stop the tears-including things that we normally would not do. Weeping is an incredibly potent tactic, but the weeper is not always so innocent. There is usually something real behind the tears, but there may also be an element of acting, of playing for effect. (And if the target senses this the tactic is doomed.) Beyond the emotional impact of tears, there is something seductive about sadness. We want to comfort the other person, and as Tourvel discovered, that desire quickly turns into love. Affecting sadness, even crying sometimes, has great strategic value, even for a man. It is a skill you can learn. The central character of the eighteenth-century French novel Marianne, by Marivaux, would think of something sad in her past to make herself cry or look sad in the present. Use tears sparingly, and save them for the right moment. Perhaps this might be a time when the target seems suspicious of your motives, or when you are worrying about having no effect on him or her. Tears are a sure barometer of how deeply the other person is falling for you. If they seem annoyed, or resist the bait, your case is probably hopeless. In social and political situations, seeming too ambitious, or too controlled, will make people fear you; it is crucial to show your soft side. The display of a single weakness will hide a multitude of manipulations. Emotion or even tears will work here too. Most seductive of all is playing the victim. For his first speech in Parliament, Benjamin Disraeli prepared an elaborate oration, but when he delivered it the opposition yelled and laughed so loudly that hardly any of it could be heard. He plowed ahead and gave the whole speech, but by the time he sat down he felt he had failed miserably. Much to his amazement, his colleagues told him the speech was a marvelous success. It would have been a failure if he had complained or given up; but by going ahead as he did, he positioned himself as the victim of a cruel and unreasonable faction. Almost everyone sympathized with him now, which would serve him well in the future. Attacking your mean-spirited opponents can make you seem ugly as well; instead, soak up their blows, and play the victim. The public will rally to your side, in an emotional response that will lay the groundwork for a grand political seduction. Symbol: The Blemish. A beautifulface is a delight to look at, but if it is too perfect it leaves us cold, and even slightly intimidated. It is the little mole, the beauty mark, that makes the face human and lovable. So do not conceal all of your blemishes. You need them to soften your features and elicit tender feelings. Disarm Through Strategic Weakness and Vulnerability • 293 Reversal T iming is everything in seduction; you should always look for signs that the target is falling under your spell. A person falling in love tends to ignore the other person's weaknesses, or to see them as endearing. An unseduced, rational person, on the other hand, may find bashfulness or emotional outbursts pathetic. There are also certain weaknesses that have no seductive value, no matter how in love the target may be. The great seventeenth-century courtesan Ninon de l'Enclos liked men with a soft side. But sometimes a man would go too far, complaining that she did not love him enough, that she was too fickle and independent, that he was beingmistreatedandwronged. For Ninon, such behavior would break the spell, and she would quickly end the relationship. Complaining, whining, neediness, and actively appealing for sympathy will appear to your targets not as charming weaknesses but as manipulative attempts at a kind of negative power. So when you play the victim, do it subtly, without overadvertising it. The only weaknesses worth playing up are the ones that will make you seem lovable. All others should be repressed and eradicated at all costs. H Confuse Desire and Reality- The Perfect Illusion To compensate for the difficulties in their lives, people spend a lot of their time daydreaming, imagining a future full of adventure, success, and romance. If you can create the illusion that through you they can live out their dreams, you will have them at your mercy. It is important to start slowly, gaining their trust, and gradually constructing the fantasy that matches their desires. Aim at secret wishes that have been thwarted or repressed, stirring up uncontrollable emotions, clouding their powers of reason. The perfect illusion is one that does not depart too muchfrom reality, but has a touch of the unreal to it, like a waking dream, head the seduced to a point of confusion in which they can no longer tell the difference between illusion and reality. Fantasy in the Flesh I n 1964, a twenty-year-old Frenchman named Bernard Bouriscout arrived in Beijing, China, to work as an accountant in the French embassy. His first weeks there were not what he had expected. Bouriscout had grown up in the French provinces, dreaming of travel and adventure. When he had been assigned to come to China, images of the Forbidden City, and of the gambling dens of Macao, had danced in his mind. But this was Communist China, and contact between Westerners and Chinese was almost impossible at the time. Bouriscout had to socialize with the other Europeans stationed in the city, and what a boring and cliquish lot they were. He grew lonely, regretted taking the assignment, and began making plans to leave. Then, at a Christmas party that year, Bouriscout's eyes were drawn to a young Chinese man in a corner of the room. He had never seen anyone Chinese at any of these affairs. The man was intriguing: he was slender and and introduced himself. The man, Shi Pei Pu, proved to be a writer of Chinese-opera librettos who also taught Chinese to members of the French embassy. Aged twenty-six, he spoke perfect French. Everything about him fascinated Bouriscout; his voice was like music, soft and whis- pery, and he left you wanting to know more about him. Bouriscout, although usually shy, insistedonexchangingtelephone numbers. Perhaps Pei Pu could be his Chinese tutor. They met a few days later in a restaurant. Bouriscout was the only Westerner there-at last a taste of something real and exotic. Pei Pu, it turned out, had been a well-known actor in Chinese operas and came from a family with connections to the former ruling dynasty. Now he wrote operas about the workers, but he said this with a look of irony They began to meet regularly, Pei Pu showing Bouriscout the sights of Beijing. Bouriscout loved his stories-Pei Pu talked slowly, and every historical detail seemed to come alive as he spoke, his hands moving to embellish his words. This, he might say, is where the last Ming emperor hung himself, pointing to the spot and telling the story at the same time. Or, the cook in the restaurant we just ate in once served in the palace of the last emperor, and then another magnificent tale would follow. Pei Pu also talked of life in the Beijing Opera, where men often played women's parts, and sometimes became famous for it. Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, \ Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend \ More than cool reason ever comprehends. SHAKESPEARE, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM He was not a sex person. He was like . . . somebody who had come down from the clouds. He was not human. You could notsayhe was a man friend or a woman friend; he was somebody different anyway. . . . Youfeel he was only a friend who was coming from another planet and so nice also, so overwhelming and separated from the life of the ground. -BERNARD BOURISCOUT, IN JOYCE WADLER, LIAISON Romance had again come her way personified by a handsome young German officer, Lieutenant Konrad Friedrich, who called upon her at Neuilly to ask her help. He wanted Pauline [Bonaparte ] to use her 291 298 influence with Napoleon in connection with providing for the needs of the French troops in the Papal States. He made an instantaneous impression on the princess, who escorted him around her garden until they arrived at the rockery. There she stopped and, looking into the young man's eyes mysteriously, commanded him to return to this same spot at the same hour next day when she might have some good news for him. The young officer bowed and took his leave. ... In his memoirs he revealed in detail what took place after the first meeting with Pauline: • "At the hour agreed on I again proceeded to Neuilly, made my way to the appointed spot in the garden and stood waiting at the rockery. I had not been there very long when a lady made her appearance, greeted me pleasantly and led me through a side door into the interior oftherockerywhere there were several rooms and galleries and in one splendid salon a luxurious-looking bath. The adventure was beginning to strike me as very romantic, almost like a fairy tale, and just as I was wondering what the outcome might be a woman in a robe of the sheerest cambric entered by a side door, came up to me, and smilingly asked how I liked being there. I at once recognized Napoleon's beautiful sister, whose perfect figure was clearly outlined by every movement of her robe. She held out her handfor me to kiss and told me to sit down on the couch beside her. On this occasion I certainly was not the The two men became friends. Chinese contact with foreigners was restricted, but they managed to find ways to meet. One evening Bouriscout tagged along when Pei Pu visited the home of a French official to tutor the children. He listened as Pei Pu told them "The Story of the Butterfly," a tale from the Chinese opera: a young girl yearns to attend an imperial school, but girls are not accepted there. She disguises herself as a boy, passes the exams, and enters the school. A fellow student falls in love with her, and she is attracted to him, so she tells him that she is actually a girl. Like most of these tales, the story ends tragically. Pei Pu told it with unusual emotion; in fact he had played the role of the girl in the operA few nights later, as they were walking before the gates of the Forbidden City, Pei Pu returned to "The Story of the Butterfly" "Look at my hands," he said, "Look at my face. That story of the butterfly, it is my story too." In his slow, dramatic delivery he explained that his mother's first two children had been girls. Sons were far more important in China; if the third child was a girl, the father would have to take a second wife. The third child came: another girl. But the mother was too frightened to reveal the truth, and made an agreement with the midwife: they would say that the child was a boy, and it would be raised as such. This third child was Pei Pu. Over the years, Pei Pu had had to go to extreme lengths to disguise her sex. She never used public bathrooms, plucked her hairline to look as if she were balding, on and on. Bouriscout was enthralled by the story, and also relieved, for like the boy in the butterfly tale, deep down he felt attracted to Pei Pu. Now everything made sense-the small hands, the high-pitched voice, the delicate neck. He had fallen in love with her, and, it seemed, the feelings were reciprocated. Pei Pu started visiting Bouriscout's apartment, and soon they were sleeping together. She continued to dress as a man, even in his apartment, but women in China wore men's clothes anyway, and Pei Pu acted more like a woman than any oftheChinese women he had seen. In bed, she had a shyness and a way of directing his hands that was both exciting and feminine. She made everything romantic and heightened. When he was away from her, her every word and gesture resonated in his mind. What made the affair all the more exciting was the fact that they had to keep it secret. In December of 1965, Bouriscout left Beijing and returned to Paris. He traveled, had other affairs, but his thoughts kept returning to Pei Pu. The Cultural Revolution broke out in China, and he lost contact with her. Before he had left, she had told him she was pregnant with their child. He had no idea whether the baby had been born. His obsession with her grew too strong, and in 1969 he finagled another government job in Beijing. Contact with foreigners was now even more discouraged than on his first visit, but he managed to track Pei Pu down. She told him she had borne a son, in 1966, but he had looked like Bouriscout, and given the growing hatred of foreigners in China, and the need to keep the secret of her sex, she had him sent him away to an isolated region near Russia. It was so cold there-perhaps he was dead. She showed Bouriscout photographs Confuse Desire and Reality- of the boy, and he did see some resemblance. Over the next few weeks they managed to meet here and there, and then Bouriscout had an idea: he sympathized with the Cultural Revolution, and he wanted to get around the prohibitions that were preventing him from seeing Pei Pu, so he offered to do some spying. The offer was passed along to the right people, and soon Bouriscout was stealing documents for the Communists. The son, named Bertrand, was recalled to Beijing, and Bouriscout finally met him. Now a threefold adventure filled Bouriscout's life: the alluring Pei Pu, the thrill of being a spy, and the illicit child, whom he wanted to bring back to France. In 1972, Bouriscout left Beijing. Over the next few years he tried repeatedly to get Pei Pu and his son to France, and a decade later he finally succeeded; the three became a family In 1983, though, the French authorities grew suspicious of this relationship between a Foreign Office official and a Chinese man, and with a little investigating they uncovered Bouriscout's spying. He was arrested, and soon made a startling confession: the man he was living with was really a woman. Confused, the French ordered an examination of Pei Pu; as they had thought, he was very much a man. Bouriscout went to prison. Even after Bouriscout had heard his former lover's own confession, he was still convinced that Pei Pu was a woman. Her soft body, their intimate relationship-how could he be wrong? Onlywhen Pei Pu, imprisoned in the same jail, showed him the incontrovertible proof of his sex did Bouriscout finally accept it. Interpretation. The moment Pei Pu met Bouriscout, he realized he had found the perfect victim. Bouriscout was lonely, bored, desperate. The way he responded to Pei Pu suggested that he was probably also homosexual, or perhaps bisexual-at least confused. (Bouriscout in fact had had homosexual encounters as a boy; guilty about them, he had tried to repress this side of himself.) Pei Pu had played women's parts before, and was quite good at it; he was slight and effeminate; physically it was not a stretch. But who would believe such a story, or at least not be skeptical of it? The critical component of Pei Pu's seduction, in which he brought the Frenchman's fantasy of adventure to life, was to start slowly and set up an idea in his victims mind. In his perfect French (which, however, was full of interesting Chinese expressions), he got Bouriscout used to hearing stories and tales, some true, some not, but all delivered in that dramatic yet believable tone. Then he planted the idea of gender impersonation with his "Story of the Butterfly." By the time he confessed the "truth" of his gender, Bouriscout was already completely enchanted with him. Bouriscout warded off all suspicious thoughts because he wanted tobelieve Pei Pu's story. From there it was easy Pei Pu faked his periods; it didn't take much money to get hold of a child he could reasonably pass off as their son. More important, he played the fantasy role to the hilt, remaining elusive and mysterious (which was what a Westerner would expect from an The Perfect Illusion • 299 seducer. .After an interval Pauline pulled a hell rope and ordered the woman who answered to prepare a hath which she asked me to share. Wearing bathgowns of the finest linen we remained for nearly an hour in the crystal-clear bluish water. Then we had a grand dinner served in another room and lingered on together until dusk. When I left I had to promise to return again soon and I spent many afternoons with the princess in the same way."  BRENT, PAULINE BONAPARTE: A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS The courtesan is meant to be a half-defined, floating figure never fixing herself surely in the imagination. She is the memory of an experience, the point at which a dream is transformed into reality or reality into a dream. The bright colors fade, her name becomes a mere echo-echo of an echo, since she has probably adopted it from some ancient predecessor. The idea of the courtesan is a garden of delights in which the lover walks, smelling first this flower and then that but neverunderstandingwhence comes the fragrance that intoxicates him. Why should the courtesan not elude analysis? She does not want to be recognized for what she is, but rather to be allowed to be potent and effective. She offers the truth of herself- - or, rather, of the passions that become directed toward her. And what she gives back is one's self and an hour of grace in her presence. Love revives 300 when you look at her: is that not enough? She is the generative force of an illusion, the birth point of desire, the threshold of contemplation of bodily beauty. -LYNNE LAWNER, LIVES OF THE COURTESANS: PORTRAITS OF THE RENAISSANCE It was on March 16, the same day the Duke of Gloucester wrote to Sir William, that Goethe recorded the first known performance of what were destined to be called Emma's Attitudes. Just what these were, we shall learn shortly. First, it must be emphasized that the Attitudes were a show for favored eyes only. Goethe, disciple of Winckelmann, was at this date thrilled by the human form, as a contemporary writes. Here was the ideal spectatorfor the classical drama Emma and Sir William had wrought in the long winter evenings.Let us take our seats beside Goethe and settle to watch the show as he describes it. • "Sit William Hamilton . . . has now, after many years of devotion to the arts and the study of nature, found the acme of these delights in the person of an English girl of twenty with a beautifulface and a perfect figure. He has had a Greek costume made for her which becomes her extremely. Dressed in this, he lets down her hair and, with a few shawls, gives so much variety to her poses, gestures, expressions, etc. that the spectator can hardly believe his eyes. He sees what thousands of artists would have liked to Asian woman) while enveloping his past and indeed their whole experience in titillating bits of history. As Bouriscout later explained, "Pei Pu screwed me in the head. ... I was having relations and in my thoughts, my dreams, I was light-years away from what was true." Bouriscout thought he was having an exotic adventure, an enduring fantasy of his. Less consciously, he had an outlet for his repressed homosexuality. Pei Pu embodied his fantasy, giving it flesh, by working first on his mind. The mind has two currents: it wants to believe in things that are pleasant to believe in, yet it has a self-protective need to be suspicious of people. If you start off too theatrical, trying too hard to create a fantasy, you will feed that suspicious side of the mind, and once fed, the doubts will not go away. Instead, you must start slowly, building trust, while perhaps letting people see a little touch of something strange or exciting about you to tease their interest. Then you build up your story, like any piece of fiction. You have established a foundation of trust-now the fantasies and dreams you envelop them in are suddenly believable. Remember: people want to believe in the extraordinary; with a little groundwork, a little mental foreplay, they will fall for your illusion. If anything, err on the side of reality: use real props (like the child Pei Pu showed Bouriscout) and add thefantastical touches in your words, or an occasional gesture that gives you a slight unreality. Once you sense that they are hooked, you can deepen the spell, go further and further into the fantasy. At that point they will have gone so far into their own minds that you will no longer have to bother with verisimilitude. Wish Fulfillment I n 1762, Catherine, wife of Czar Peter III, staged a coup against her ineffectual husband and proclaimed herself empress of Russia. Over the next few years Catherine ruled alone, but kept a series of lovers. The Russians called these men th evremienchiki, "the men of the moment," and in 1774 the man of the moment was Gregory Potemkin, a thirty-five-year-old lieutenant, ten years younger than Catherine, and a most unlikely candidate for the role. Potemkin was coarse and not at all handsome (he had lost an eye in an accident). But he knew how to make Catherine laugh, and he worshiped her so intensely that she eventually succumbed. He quickly became the love of her life. Catherine promoted Potemkin higher and higher in the hierarchy, eventually making him the governor of White Russia, a large southwestern area including the Ukraine. As governor, Potemkin had to leave St. Petersburg and go to live in the south. He knew that Catherine could not do without male companionship, so he took it upon himself to name Catherine's subsequent vremienchiki. She not only approved of this arrangement, she made it clear that Potemkin would always remain her favorite. Catherine's dream was to start a war with Turkey, recapture Constan- Confuse Desire and Reality-The Perfect Illusion • 301 tinople for the Orthodox Church, and drive the Turks out of Europe. She offered to share this crusade with the young Hapsburg emperor, Joseph II, but Joseph never quite brought himself to sign the treaty that would unite them in war. Growing impatient, in 1783 Catherine annexed the Crimea, a southern peninsula that was mostly populated by Muslim Tartars. She asked Potemkin to do there what he had already managed to do in the Ukraine- rid the area of bandits, build roads, modernize the ports, bring prosperity to the poor. Once he had cleaned it up, the Crimea would make the perfect launching post for the war against Turkey The Crimea was a backward wasteland, but Potemkin loved the challenge. Getting to work on a hundred different projects, he grew intoxicated with visions of the miracles he would perform there. He would establish a capital on the Dnieper River, Ekaterinoslav ("To the glory of Catherine"), that would rival St. Petersburg and would house a university outshining anything in Europe. The countryside would hold endless fields of corn, orchards with rare fruits from the Orient, silkworm farms, new towns with bustling marketplaces. On a visit to the empress in 1785, Potemkin talked of these things as if they already existed, so vivid were his descriptions. The empress was delighted, but her ministers were skeptical-Potemkin loved to talk. Ignoring their warnings, in 1787 Catherine arranged for a tour of the area. She asked Joseph II to join her-he would be so impressed with the modernization of the Crimea that he would immediately sign on for the war against Turkey. Potemkin, naturally, was to organize the whole affair. And so, in May of that year, after the Dnieper had thawed, Catherine prepared for a journey from Kiev, in the Ukraine, to Sebastopol, in the Crimea. Potemkin arranged for seven floating palaces to carry Catherine and her retinue down theriver.Thejourneybegan,andasCatherine,Joseph,and the courtiers looked at the shores to either side, they saw triumphal arches in front of clean-looking towns, their walls freshly painted; healthy-looking cattle grazing in the pastures; streams of marching troops on the roads; buildings going up everywhere. At dusk they were entertained by bright-costumed peasants, and smiling girls with flowers in their hair, dancing on the shore. Catherine had traveled through this area many years before, and the poverty of the peasantry there had saddened her-she had determined then that she would somehow change their lot. To see before her eyes the signs of such a transformation overwhelmed her, and she berated Potemkin's critics: Look at what my favorite has accomplished, look at these miracles! They anchored at three towns along the way, staying in each place in a magnificent, newly built palace with artificial waterfalls in the English-style gardens. On land they moved through villages with vibrant marketplaces; the peasants were happily at work, building and repairing. Everywhere they spent the night, some spectacle filled their eyes-dances, parades, mythological tableaux vivants, artificial volcanoes illuminating Moorish gardens. Finally, at the end of the trip, in the palace at Sebastopol, Catherine and express realized before him inmovementsandsurprisingtransformationsstanding, kneeling, sitting, reclining, serious, sad, playful, ecstatic, contrite, alluring, threatening, anxious, one pose follows another without a break. She knows how to arrange the folds of her veil to match each mood, and has a hundred ways of turning it into a headdress. The old knight idolizes her and isquite enthusiastic about everything she does. In her he has found all the antiquities, all the profiles of Sicilian coins, even the Apollo Belvedere. This much is certain: as a performance it's like nothing you ever saw before in your life. We have already enjoyed it on two evenings." -FLORA FRASER, EMMA. LADY HAMILTON For this uncanny is in reality nothing new or alien, but something which is familiar and old- established in the mind and which has become alienated from it only through the process of repression. This reference to the factor of repression enables us, furthermore, to understand Schelling's definition of the uncanny as something which ought to have remained hidden but has come to light. .There is one more point of general application which I should like to add. This is that an uncanny ffkt is often and easily produced when the distinction between imagination and reality is effaced, as when something that we have hitherto regarded as imaginary appears before us in reality, or when a symbol takes over the full functionsof the thing it symbolizes, and so on. It is this factor which contributes not a little to the uncanny effect attaching to magical practices. The infantile element in this, which also dominates the minds of neurotics, is the overaccentuation of psychical reality in comparison with material Joseph discussed the war with Turkey. Joseph reiterated his concerns. Suddenly Potemkin interrupted: "I have 100,000 troops waiting for me to say 'Go!' " At that moment the windows of the palace were flung open, and to the sounds of booming cannons they saw lines of troops as far as the eye could see, and a fleet of ships filling the harbor. Awed by the sight, images of Eastern European cities retaken from the Turks dancing in his mind, Joseph II finally signed the treaty. Catherine was ecstatic, and her love for Potemkin reached new heights. He had made her dreams come true. Catherine never suspected that almost everything she had seen was pure fakery, perhaps the most elaborate illusion ever conjured up by one man. reality-a feature closely allied to the belief in the omnipotence of thoughts. FREUD, "THE UNCANNY," IN PSYCHOLOGICAL WRITINGSANDLETTERS Interpretation. In the four years that he had been governor of the Crimea, Potemkin had accomplished little, for this backwater would take decades to improve. But in the few months before Catherine's visit he had done the following: every building that faced the road or the shore was given a fresh coat of paint; artificial trees were set up to hide unseemly spots in the view; broken roofs were repaired with flimsy boards painted to look like tile; everyone the party would see was instructed to wear their best clothes and look happy; everyone old and infirm was to stay indoors. Floating in their palaces down the Dnieper, the imperial entourage saw brand-new villages, but most of the buildings were only facades. The herds of cattle were shipped from great distances, and were moved at night to fresh fields along the route. The dancing peasants were trained for the entertainments; after each one they were loaded into carts and hurriedly transported to a new downriver location, as were the marching soldiers who seemed to be everywhere. The gardens of the new palaces were filled with transplanted trees that died a few days later. The palaces themselves were quickly and badly built, but were so magnificently furnished that no one noticed. One fortress along the way had been built of sand, and was destroyed a little later by a thunderstorm. The cost of this vast illusion had been enormous, and the war with Turkey would fail, but Potemkin had accomplished his goal. To the observant, of course, there were signs along the way that all was not as it seemed, but when the empress herself insisted that everything was real and glorious, the courtiers could only agree. This was the essence of the seduction: Catherine had wanted so desperately to be seen as a loving and progressive ruler, one who would defeat the Turks and liberate Europe, that when she saw signs of change in the Crimea, her mind filled in the picture. When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are. Feelings of love cloud our vision, making us color events to coincide with our desires. To make people believe in the illusions you create, you need to feed the emotions over which they have least control. Often the best way to do this is to ascertain their unsatisfied desires, their wishes crying out for fulfillment. Perhaps they want to see themselves as noble or romantic, but life has thwarted them. Perhaps they want an adventure. If Confuse Desire and Reality-The Perfect Illusion something seems to validate this wish, they become emotional and irrational, almost to the point of hallucination. Remember to envelop them in your illusion slowly. Potemkin did not start with grand spectacles, but with simple sights along the way, such as grazing cattle. Then he brought them on land, heightening the drama, until the calculated climax when the windows were flung open to reveal a mighty war machine-actually a few thousand men and boats lined up in such a way as to suggest many more. Like Potemkin, involve the target in some kind ofjourney, physical or otherwise. The feeling of a shared adventure is rife with fantasy associations. Make people feel that they are getting to see and live out something that relates to their deepest yearnings and they will see happy, prosperous villages where there are only facades. Here the real journey through Potemkin's fairyland began. It was like a dream-the waking dream of some magician who had discovered the secret of materializing his visions. . . . [Catherine] and her companions had left the world of reality behind. Their talk was of Iphigenia and the ancient gods, and Catherine felt that she was both Alexander and Cleopatra. - GINA KAUS Keys to Seduction T he real world can be unforgiving: events occur over which we have little control, other people ignore our feelings in their quests to get what they need, time runs out before we accomplish what we had wanted. If we ever stopped to look at the present and future in a completely objective way, we would despair. Fortunately we develop the habit of dreaming early on. In this other, mental world that we inhabit, the future is full of rosy possibilities. Perhaps tomorrow we will sell that brilliant idea, or meet the person who will change our lives. Our culture stimulates these fantasies with constant images and stories of marvelous occurrences and happy romances. The problem is, these images and fantasies exist only in our minds, or on-screen. They really aren't enough-we crave the real thing, not this endless daydreaming and titillation. Your task as a seducer is to bring some flesh and blood into someone's fantasy life by embodying a fantasy figure, or creating a scenario resembling that person's dreams. No one can resist the pull of a secret desire that has come to life before their eyes. You must first choose targets who have some repression or dream unrealized-always the most likely victims of a seduction. Slowly and gradually, you will build up the illusion that they are getting to see and feel and live those dreams of theirs. Once they have this sensation they will lose contact with reality, and begin to see your fantasy as more real than anything else. And once they 304 The Art of Seduction lose touch with reality, they are (to quote Stendhal on Lord Byron's female victims) like roasted larks that fall into your mouth. Most people have a misconception about illusion. As any magician knows, it need not be built out of anything grand or theatrical; the grand and theatrical can in fact be destructive, calling too much attention to you and your schemes. Instead create the appearance of normality. Once your targets feel secure-nothing is out of the ordinary-you have room to deceive them. Pei Pu did not spin the lie about his gender immediately; he took his time, made Bouriscout come to him. Once Bouriscout had fallen for it, Pei Pu continued to wear men's clothes. In animating a fantasy, the great mistake is imagining it must be larger than life. That would border on camp, which is entertaining but rarely seductive. Instead, what you aim for is what Freud called the "uncanny," something strange and familiar at the same time, like a deja vu, or a childhood memory-anything slightly irrational and dreamlike. The uncanny, the mix of the real and the unreal, has immense power over our imaginations. The fantasies you bring to life for your targets should not be bizarre or exceptional; they should be rooted in reality, with a hint of the strange, the theatrical, the occult (in talk of destiny, for example). You vaguely remind people of something in their childhood, or a character in a film or book. Even before Bouriscout heard Pei Pu's story, he had the uncanny feeling ofsomethingremarkable and fantastical in this normal-looking man. The secret to creating an uncanny effect is to keep it subtle and suggestive. Emma Hart came from a prosaic background, her father a country blacksmith in eighteenth-century England. Emma was beautiful, but had no other talents to her credit. Yet she rose to become one of the greatest seductresses in history, seducing first Sir William Hamilton, the English ambassador to the court of Naples, and then (as Lady Hamilton, Sir William's wife) Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson. What was strangest when you met her was an uncanny sense that she was a figure from the past, a woman out of Greek myth or ancient history. Sir William was a collector of Greek and Roman antiquities; to seduce him, Emma cleverly made herself resemble a Greek statue, and mythical figures in paintings of the time. It was not just the way she wore her hair, or dressed, but her poses, the way she carried herself. It was as if one of the paintings he collected had come to life. Soon Sir William began to host parties in his home in Naples at which Emma would wear costumes and pose, re-creating images from mythology and history. Dozens of men fell in love with her, for she embodied an image from their childhood, an image of beauty and perfection. The key to this fantasy creation was some sharedcultural association-mythology, historical seductresses like Cleopatra. Every culture has a pool of such figures from the distant and not-so-distant past. You hint at a similarity, in spirit and in appearance-but you are flesh and blood. What could be more thrilling than the sense of being in the presence of some fantasy figure going back to your earliest memories? One night Pauline Bonaparte, the sister of Napoleon, held a gala affair Confuse Desire and Reality-The Perfect Illusion • 305 in her house. Afterward, a handsome German officer approached her in the garden and asked for her help in passing along a request to the emperor. Pauline said she would do her best, and then, with a rather mysterious look in her eye, asked him to come back to the same spot the next night. The officer returned, and was greeted by a young woman who led him to some rooms near the garden and then to a magnificent salon, complete with an extravagant bath. Moments later, another young woman entered through a side door, dressed in the sheerest garments. It was Pauline. Bells were rung, ropes were pulled, and maids appeared, preparing the bath, giving the officer a dressing gown, then disappearing. The officer later described the evening as something out of a fairy tale, and he had the feeling that Pauline was deliberately acting the part of somemythical seductress. Pauline was beautiful and powerful enough to get almost any man she wanted, and she wasn't interested simply in luring a man into bed; she wanted to envelop him in romantic adventure, seduce his mind. Part of the adventure was the feeling that she was playing a role, and was inviting her target along into this shared fantasy. Role playing is immensely pleasurable. Its appeal goes back to childhood, where we first leam the thrill of trying on different parts, imitating adults or figures out of fiction. As we get older and society fixes a role on us, a part of us yearns for the playful approach we once had, the masks we were able to wear. We still want to play that game, to act a different role in life. Indulge your targets in this wish by first making it clear that you are playing a role, then inviting them to join you in a shared fantasy. The more you set things up like a play or a piece of fiction, the better. Notice how Pauline began the seduction with a mysterious request that the officer reappear the next night; then a second woman led him into a magical series of rooms. Pauline herself delayed her entrance, and when she appeared, she did not mention his business with Napoleon, or anything remotely banal. She had an ethereal air about her; he was being invited to enter a fairy tale. The evening was real, but had an uncanny resemblance to an erotic dream. Casanova took role playing still further. He traveled with an enormous wardrobe and a trunk full of props, many of them gifts for his targets- fans, jewels, other accouterments. And some of the things he said and did were borrowed from novels he had read and stories he had heard. He enveloped women in a romantic atmosphere that was heightened yet quite real to their senses. Like Casanova, you must see the world as a kind of theater. Inject a certain lightness into the roles you are playing; try to create a sense of drama and illusion; confuse people with the slight unreality of words and gestures inspired by fiction; in daily life, be the consummate actor. Our culture reveres actors because of their freedom to play roles. It is something that all of us envy. For years, the Cardinal de Rohan had been afraid that he had somehow offended his queen, Marie Antoinette. She would not so much as look at him. Then, in 1784, the Comtesse de Lamotte-Valois suggested to him that the queen was prepared not only to change this situation but actually to befriend him. The queen, said Lamotte-Valois, would indicate this in her next formal reception-she would nod to him in a particular way. During the reception, Rohan indeed noticed a slight change in the queen's behavior toward him, and a barelyperceptibleglance at him. He was oveijoyed. Now the countess suggested they exchange letters, and Rohan spent days writing and rewriting his first letter to the queen. To his delight he received one back. Next the queen requested a private interview with him in the gardens of Versailles. Rohan was beside himself with happiness and anxiety. At nightfall he met the queen in the gardens, fell to the ground, and kissed the hem of her dress. "You may hope that the past will be forgotten," she said. At this moment they heard voices approaching, and the queen, frightened that someone would see them together, quickly fled with her servants. But Rohan soon received a request from her, again through the countess: she desperately wanted to acquire the most beautiful diamond necklace ever created. She needed a go-between to purchase it for her, since the king thought it too expensive. She had chosen Rohan for the task. The cardinal was only too willing; in performing this task he would prove his loyalty, and the queen would be indebted to him forever. Rohan acquired the necklace. The countess was to deliver it to the queen. Now Rohan waited for the queen both to thank him and slowly to pay him back. Yet this never happened. The countess was in fact a grand swindler; the queen had never nodded to him, he had only imagined it. The letters he had received from her were forgeries, and not even very good ones. The woman he had met in the park had been a prostitute paid to dress and act the part. The necklace was of course real, but once Rohan had paid for it, and handed it over to the countess, it disappeared. It was broken into parts, which were hawked all over Europe for enormous amounts. And when Rohan finally complained to the queen, news of the extravagant purchase spread rapidly. The public believed Rohan's story-that the queen had indeed bought the necklace, and was pretending otherwise. This fiction was the first step in the ruin of her reputation. Everyone has lost something in life, has felt the pangs of disappointment. The idea that we can get something back, that a mistake can be righted, is immensely seductive. Under the impression that the queen was prepared to forgive some mistake he had made, Rohan hallucinated all kinds of things-nods that did not exist, letters that were the flimsiest of forgeries, a prostitute who became Marie Antoinette. The mind is infinitely vulnerable to suggestion, and even more so when strong desires are involved. And nothing is stronger than the desire to change the past, right a wrong, satisfy a disappointment. Find these desires in your victims and creating a believable fantasy will be simple for you: few have the power to see through anillusion they desperately want to believe in. Confuse Desire and Reality-The Perfect Illusion • 307 Symbol: Shangri-La. Everyone has a vision in their mind of a perfect place where people are kind and noble, where their dreams can be realized and their wishes fulfilled, where life isfull of adventure and romance. Lead the target on a journey there, give them a glimpse of Shangri- La through the mists on the mountain, and they willfall in love. Reversal T here is no reversal to this chapter. No seduction can proceed without creating illusion, the sense of a world that is real but separate from reality. 15 Isolate the Victim An isolated person is weak. By slowly isolating your victims, you make them more vulnerable to your influence. Their isolation may be psychological: by filling their field of vision through the pleasurable attention you pay them, you crowd out everything else in their mind. They see and think only of you. The isolation may also be physical: you take them away from their normal milieu, friends, family, home. Give them the sense of being marginalized, in limbo-they are leaving one world behind and entering another. Once isolated like this, they have no outside support, and in their confusion they are easily led astray. Lure the seduced into your lair, where nothing is familiar. Isolation-the Exotic Effect I n the early fifth century B.C., Fu Chai, the Chinese king of Wu, defeated his great enemy, Kou Chien, the king of Yueh, in a series of battles. Kou Chien was captured and forced to serve as a groom in Fu Chai's stables. He was finally allowed to return home, but every year he had to pay a large tribute of money and gifts to Fu Chai. Over the years, this tribute added up, so that the kingdom of Wu prospered and Fu Chai grew wealthy One year Kou Chien sent a delegation to Fu Chai: they wanted to know if he would accept a gift of two beautiful maidens as part of the tribute. Fu Chai was curious, and accepted the offer. The women arrived a few days later, amid much anticipation, and the king received them in his palace. The two approached the throne-their hair was magnificendy coiffured, in what was called "the cloud-cluster" style, ornamented with pearl ornaments and kingfisher feathers. As they walked, jade pendants hanging from their girdles made the most delicate sound. The air was full of some delightful perfume. The king was extremely pleased. The beauty of one of the girls far surpassed that of the other; her name was Hsi Shih. She looked him in the eye without a hint of shyness; in fact she was confident and coquettish, something he was not used to seeing in such a young girl. Fu Chai called for festivities to commemoratetheoccasion. The halls of the palace filled with revelers; inflamed with wine, Hsi Shih danced before the king. She sang, and her voice was beautiful. Reclining on a couch of white jade, she looked like a goddess. The king could not leave her side. The next day he followed her everywhere. To his astonishment, she was witty, sharp, and knowledgeable, and could quote the classics better than he could. When he had to leave her to deal with royal affairs, his mind was full of her image. Soon he brought her with him to his councils, asking her advice on important matters. She told him to listen less to his ministers; he was wiser than they were, his judgment superior. Hsi Shill's power grew daily. Yet she was not easy to please; if the king failed to grant some wish of hers, tears would fill her eyes, his heart would melt, and he would yield. One day she begged him to build her a palace outside the capital. Of course, he obliged her. And when he visited the palace, he was astounded at its magnificence, even though he had paid the bills: Hsi Shih had filled it with the most extravagant furnishings. The grounds contained an artificial lake with marble bridges crossing over it. Fu Chai spent more and more time here, sitting by a pool and watching Hsi In the state of Wu great preparations had been made for the reception of the two beauties. The king received them in audience surrounded by his ministers and all his court. As they approached him the jade pendants attached to their girdles made a musical sound and the air was fragrant with the scent of their gowns. Pearl ornaments and kingfisher feathers adorned their hair. • Fu Chai, the king of Wu, looked into the lovely eyes of Hsi Shih (495-472 B.C.) and forgot his people and his state. Now she did not turn away and blush as she had done three yearspreviously beside the little brook. She was complete mistress of the art of seduction and she knew how to encourage the king to look again. Fu Chai hardly noticed the second girl, whose quiet charms did not attract him. He had eyes only for Hsi Shih, and before the audience was over those at court realized that the girl would be a force to be reckoned with and that she would be able to influence the king either for good or ill. ..." Amidst the revelers in the halls of Wu, Hsi Shih wove her net offascination about the heart of the susceptible monarch. . . . "Inflamed by wine, she now begins to sing / The songs of Wu to please the fatuous king; / And in the dance of Tsu she subtly blends /All rhythmic movements to her sensuous ends. But she could do more than sing and dance to amuse the king. She had wit, and her grasp of politics astonished him. When there was anything she wanted she could shed tears which so moved her lover's heart that he could refuse her nothing. For she was, as Fan Li had said, the one and only, the incomparable Hsi Shih, whose magnetic personality attracted everyone, many even against their own will. Embroidered Shih comb her hair, using the pool as a mirror. He would watch her playing with her birds, in their jeweled cages, or simply walking through the palace, for she moved like a willow in the breeze. The months went by; he stayed in the palace. He missed councils, ignored his family and friends, neglected his public functions. He lost track of time. When a delegation came to talk to him of urgent matters, he was too distracted to listen. If anything but Hsi Shih took up his time, he worried unbearably that she would be angry. Finally word reached him of a growing crisis: the fortune he had spent on the palace had bankrupted the treasury, and the people were discontented. He returned to the capital, but it was too late: an army from the kingdom of Yueh had invaded Wu, and had reached the capital. All was lost. Fu Chai had no time to rejoin his beloved Hsi Shih. Instead of letting himself be captured by the king of Yueh, the man who had once served in his stables, he committed suicide. Little did he know that Kou Chien had plotted this invasion for years, and that Hsi Shift's elaborate seduction was the main part of his plan. Interpretation. Kou Chien wanted to make sure that his invasion of Wu would not fail. His enemy was not Fu Chai's armies, or his wealth and his resources, but his mind. If he could be deeply distracted, his mind filled with something other than affairs of state, he would fall like ripe fruit. Kou Chien found the most beautiful maiden in his realm. For three silk curtains encrusted with coral and gems, scented furniture and screens inlaid with jade and mother-of- pearl were among the luxuries which surrounded the favorite. .On one of the hills near the palace there was a celebrated pool of clear water which has been known ever since as the pool of the king of Wu. Here, to amuse her lover, Hsi Shih would make her toilet, using the pool as a mirror while the infatuated king combed her hair. HIBBERT, EMBROIDERED GAUZE: PORTRAITS OR FAMOUS CHINESE LADIES years he had her trained in all of the arts-not just singing, dancing, and calligraphy, but how to dress, how to talk, how to play the coquette. And it worked: Hsi Shih did not allow Fu Chai a moment's rest. Everything about her was exotic and unfamiliar. The more attention he paid to her hair, her moods, her glances, the way she moved, the less he thought about diplomacy and war. Hewas driven to distraction. All of us today are kings protecting the tiny realm of our own lives, weighed down by all kinds of responsibilities, surrounded by ministers and advisers. A wall forms around us-we are immune to the influence of other people, because we are so preoccupied. Like Hsi Shih, then, you must lure your targets away, gently, slowly, from the affairs that fill their mind. And what will best lure them from their castles is the whiff of the exotic. Offer something unfamiliar that will fascinate them and hold their attention. Be different in your manners and appearance, and slowly envelop them in this different world of yours. Keep your targets off balance with coquettish changes of mood. Do not worry that the disruption you represent is making them emotional-that is a sign of their growing weakness. Most people are ambivalent: on the one hand they feel comforted by their habits and duties, on the other they are bored, and ripe for anything that seems exotic, that seems to come from somewhere else. They may struggle or have doubts, but exotic pleasures are irresistible. The more you can get them Isolate the Victim • 313 into your world, the weaker they become. As with the king of Wu, by the time they realize what has happened, it is too late. Isolation-The "Only You" Effect I n 1948, the twenty-nine-year-old actress Rita Hayworth, known as Hollywood's Love Goddess, was at a low point in her life. Her marriage to Orson Welles was breaking up, her mother had died, and her career seemed stalled. That summer she headed for Europe. Welles was in Italy at the time, and in the back of her mind she was dreaming of a reconciliation. Rita stopped first at the French Riviera. Invitations poured in, particularly from wealthy men, for at the time she was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. Aristotle Onassis and the Shah of Iran telephoned her almost daily, begging for a date. She turned them all down. A few days after her arrival, though, she received an invitation from Elsa Maxwell, the society hostess, who was giving a little party in Cannes. Rita balked but Maxwell insisted, telling her to buy a new dress, show up a little late, and make a grand entrance. Rita played along, and arrived at the party wearing a white Grecian gown, her red hair falling over her bare shoulders. She was greeted by a reaction she had grown used to: all conversation stopped as both men and women turned in their chairs, the men gazing in amazement, the women jealous. A man hurried to her side and escorted her to her table. It was thirty-seven-year-old Prince Aly Khan, the son of the Aga Khan III, who was the worldwide leader of the Islamic Ismaili sect andone of the richest men in the world. Rita had been warned about Aly Khan, a notorious rake. To her dismay, they were seated next to each other, and he never left her side. He asked her a million questions-about Hollywood, her interests, on and on. She began to relax a little and open up. There were other beautiful women there, princesses, actresses, but Aly Khan ignored them all, acting as if Rita were the only woman there. He led her onto the dance floor, and though he was an expert dancer, she felt uncomfortable-he held her a little too close. Still, when he offered to drive her back to her hotel, she agreed. They sped along the Grande Corniche; it was a beautiful night. For one evening she had managed to forget her many problems, and she was grateful, but she was still in love with Welles, and an affair with a rake like Aly Khan was not what she needed. Aly Khan had to fly off on business for a few days; he begged her to stay at the Riviera until he got back. While he was away, he telephoned constantly. Every morning a giant bouquet of flowers arrived. On the telephone he seemed particularly annoyed that the Shah of Iran was trying hard to see her, and he made her promise to break the date to which she had finally agreed. During this time, a gypsy fortune-teller visited the hotel, and Rita agreed to have her fortune read. "Youareaboutto embark on the In Cairo Aly bumped into [the singer ] Juliette Greco again. He asked her to dance. • "You have too bad a reputation," she replied. "We're going to sit very much apart. " • "What are you doing tomorrow?" he insisted. • "Tomorrow I take a plane to Beirut." • When she boarded the plane, Aly was already on it, grinning at her surprise. . . . • Dressed in tight black leather slacks and a black sweater [Greco] stretched languorously in an armchair of her Paris house and observed: • "They say I am a dangerous woman. Well, Aly was a dangerous man. He was charming in a very special way. There is a kind of man who is very clever with women. He takes you out to a restaurant and if the most beautiful woman comes in, he doesn't look at her. He makes youfeel you are a queen. Of course, I understood it. I didn't believe it. I would laugh and point out the beautiful woman. But that is me. . . . Most women are made very happy by that kind of attention. It's pure vanity. She thinks, 'I'll be the one and the others will leave.' • "... With Aly, how the woman felt was most important. . . . He was a great charmer, a great seducer. He made you feel fine and that everything was easy. No problems. Nothing to worry about. Or regret. It was always, 'What can I do for you? What do you need?' Airplane tickets, cars, boats; you felt you were on a pink cloud." -LEONARD SLATER, ALY: A BIOGRAPHY 314 ANNE: Didst thou not kill this king [Henry VI]? \ RICHARD: I grant ye. . . . \ ANNE: And thou unfit for any place, but hell. \ RICHARD: Yes, one place else, if you will hear me name it. \ ANNE: Some dungeon. \ RICHARD: Your bedchamber, \ ANNE: III rest betide the chamber where thou liest! \ RICHARD: So will it, madam, till I lie with you. . . . But gentle Lady Anne . . . \ Is not the causer of the timeless deaths \ Of these Plantagenets, Henry and Edward, \ As blameful as the executioner? \ ANNE: Thou wast the cause and most accursed effect. \ RICHARD: Your beauty was the cause of that effect - \ Your beauty, that did haunt me in my sleep \ To undertake the death of all the world, \ So I might live one hour in your sweet bosom. -WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, THE TRAGEDY OF KING RICHARD III My child, my sister, dream \ How sweet all things would seem \ Were we in that kind land to live together, \And there love slow and long, \ There love and die among \ Those scenes that image you, that sumptuous weather. \ Drowned suns that glimmer there \ Through cloud-dishevelled air \ Move me with such a mystery as appears \ Within those other skies \ Of your treacherous eyes \ When I behold them shining through their tears. \ There, there is nothing else but grace and measure, \ Richness, quietness, and pleasure. See, greatest romance of your life," the gypsy told her. "He is somebody you already know. . . . You must relent and give in to him totally. Only if you do that will you find happiness at long last." Not knowing who this man could be, Rita, who had a weakness for the occult, decided to extend her stay. Aly Khan came back; he told her that his chateau overlooking the Mediterranean was the perfect place to escape from the press and forget her troubles, and that he would behave himself. She relented. Life in the chateau was like a fairy tale; wherever she turned, his Indian helpers were there to attend to her every wish. At night he would take her into his enormous ballroom, where they would dance all by themselves. Could this be the man the fortune-teller meant? Aly Khan invited his friends over to meet her. Among this strange company she felt alone again, and depressed; she decided to leave the chateau. Just then, as if he had read her thoughts, Aly Khan whisked her off to Spain, the country that fascinated her most. The press caught on to the affair, and began to hound them in Spain: Rita had had a daughter with Welles-was this any way for a mother to act? Aly Khan's reputation did not help, but he stood by her, shielding her from the press as best he could. Now she was more alone than ever, and more dependent on him. Near the end of the trip, Aly Khan proposed to Rita. She turned him down; she did not think he was the kind of man you married. He followed her to Hollywood, where her former friends were less friendly than before. Thank God she had Aly Khan to help her. A year later she finally succumbed, abandoning her career, moving to Aly Khan's chateau, and marrying him. Interpretation. Aly Khan, like a lot of men, fell in love with Rita Hayworth the moment he saw the film Gilda, in 1948. He made up his mind that he would seduce her somehow. The moment he heard she was coming to the Riviera, he got his friend Elsa Maxwell to lure her to the party and seat her next to him. He knew about the breakup of her marriage, and how vulnerable she was. His strategy was to block out everything else in her world-problems, other men, suspicion of him and his motives, etc. His campaign began with the display of an intense interest in her life- constant phone calls, flowers, gifts, all to keep him in her mind. He set up the fortune-teller to plant the seed. When she began to fall for him, he introduced her to his friends, knowing she would feel alienated among them, and therefore dependent on him. Her dependence was heightened by the trip to Spain, where she was on unfamiliar territory, besieged by reporters, and forced to cling to him for help. He slowly came to dominate her thoughts. Everywhere she turned, there he was. Finally she succumbed, out of weakness and the boost to her vanity that his attention represented. Under his spell, she forgot about his horrid reputation, relinquishing the suspicions that were the only thing protecting her from him. It was not Aly Khan's wealth or looks that made him a great seducer. Isolate the Victim • 315 He was not in fact very handsome, and his wealth was more than offset by his bad reputation. His success was strategic: he isolated his victims, working so slowly and subtly that they did not notice it. The intensity of his attention made a woman feel that in his eyes, at that moment, she was the only woman in the world. This isolation was experienced as pleasure; the woman did not notice her growing dependence, how the way he filled up her mind with his attention slowly isolated her from her friends and her milieu. Her natural suspicions of the man were drowned out by his intoxicating effect on her ego. Aly Khan almost always capped off his seductions by taking the woman to some enchanted place on the globe-a place that he knew well, but where the woman felt lost. Do not give your targets the time or space to worry about, suspect, or resist you. Flood them with the kind of attention that crowds out all other thoughts, concerns, and problems. Remember-people secretly yearn to be led astray by someone who knows where they are going. It can be a pleasure to let go, and even to feel isolated and weak, if the seduction is done slowly and gracefully. Put them in a spot where they have no place to go, and they will die before fleeing. shelteredfrom the swells \ There in the still canals \ Those drowsy ships that dream of sailingforth; \ It is to satisfy \ Your least desire, they ply \ Hither through all the waters of the earth. \ The sun at close of day \ Clothes the fields of hay, \ Then the canals, at last the town entire \ In hyacinth and gold: \ Slowly the land is rolled \ Sleepward under a sea of gentle fire. \ There, there is nothing else but grace and measure, \ Richness, quietness, and pleasure. -CHARLES BAUDELAIRE, "INVITATION TO THEVOYAGE," THE FLOWERS OF EVIL, Keys to Seduction T he people around you may seem strong, and more or less in control of their lives, but that is merely a facade. Underneath, people are more brittle than they let on. What lets them seem strong is the series of nests and safety nets they envelop themselves in-their friends, their families, their daily routines, which give them a feeling of continuity, safety, and control. Suddenly pull the rug out from under them, drop them alone into some foreign place where the familiar signposts are gone or scrambled, and you will see a very different person. A target who is strong and settled is hard to seduce. But even the strongest people canbe made vulnerable if you can isolate them from their nests and safety nets. Block out their friends and family with your constant presence, alienate them from the world they are used to, and take them to places they do not know. Get them to spend time in your environment. Deliberately disturb their habits, get them to do things they have never done. They will grow emotional, making it easier to lead them astray. Disguise all this in the form of a pleasurable experience, and your targets will wake up one day distanced from everything that normally comforts them. Then they will turn to you for help, like a child crying out for its mother when the lights are turned out. In seduction, as in warfare, the isolated target is weak and vulnerable. In Samuel Richardson's Clarissa, written in 1748, the rake Lovelace is The Art of Seduction attempting to seduce the novel's beautiful heroine. Clarissa is young, virtuous, and very much protected by her family. But Lovelace is a conniving seducer. First he courts Clarissa's sister, Arabella. A match between them seems likely. Then he suddenly switches attention to Clarissa, playing on sibling rivalry to make Arabella furious. Their brother, James, is angered by Lovelace's change in sentiments; he fights with Lovelace and is wounded. The whole family is in an uproar, united against Lovelace, who, however, manages to smuggle letters to Clarissa, and to visit her when she is at the house of a friend. The family finds out, and accuses her of disloyalty. Clarissa is innocent; she has not encouraged Lovelace's letters or visits. But now her parents are determined to marry her off, to a rich older man. Alone in the world, about to be married to a man she finds repulsive, she turns to Lovelace as the only one who can save her from this mess. Eventually he rescues her by getting her to London, where she can escape this dreaded marriage, but where she is also hopelessly isolated. In these circumstances her feelings toward him soften. All of this has been masterfully orchestrated by Lovelace himself-the turmoil within the family, Clarissa's eventual alienation from them, the whole scenario. Your worst enemies in a seduction are often your targets' family and friends. They are outside your circle and immune to your charms; they may provide a voice of reason to the seduced. You must work silently and subtly to alienate the target from them. Insinuate that they are jealous of your target's good fortune in finding you, or that they are parental figures who have lost a taste for adventure. The latter argument is extremely effective with young people, whose identities are in flux and who are more than ready to rebel against any authority figure,particularly their parents. You represent excitement and life; the friends and parents represent habit and boredom. In Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Richard III, Richard, when still the Duke of Gloucester, has murdered King Henry VI and his son. Prince Edward. Shortly thereafter he accosts Lady Anne, Prince Edward's widow, who knows what he has done to the two men closest to her, and who hates him as much as a woman can hate. Yet Richard attempts to seduce her. His method is simple: he tells her that what he did, he did because of his love for her. He wanted there to be no one in her life but him. His feelings were so strong he was driven to murder. Of course Lady Anne not only resists this line of reasoning, she abhors him. But he persists. Anne is at a moment of extreme vulnerability-alone in the world, with no one to support her, at the height of grief. Incredibly, his words begin to have an effect. Murder is not a seductive tactic, but the seducer does enact a kind of killing-a psychological one. Our past attachments are a barrier to the present. Even people we have left behind can continue to have a hold on us. As a seducer you will be held up to the past, compared to previous suitors, perhaps found inferior. Do not let it get to that point. Crowd out the past with your attentions in the present. If necessary, find waysto disparage their previous lovers-subtly or not so subtly, depending on the situation. Even go so far as to open old wounds, making them feel old pain and seeing by con- Isolate the Victim trast how much better the present is. The more you can isolate them from their past, the deeper they will sink with you into the present. The principle of isolation can be taken literally by whisking the target off to ait exotic locale. This was Aly Khan's method; a secluded island worked best, and indeed islands, cut off from the rest of the world, have always been associated with the pursuit of sensual pleasures. The Roman Emperor Tiberius descended into debauchery once he made his home on the island of Capri. The danger of travel is that your targets are intimately exposed to you-it is hard to maintain an air of mystery. But if you take them to a place alluring enough to distract them, you will prevent them from focusing on anything banal in your character. Cleopatra lured Julius Caesar into taking a voyage down the Nile. Moving deeper into Egypt, he was further isolated from Rome, and Cleopatra was all the more seductive. The early-twentieth-century lesbian seductress Natalie Barney had an on- again-off-again affair with the poet Renee Vivien; to regain her affections, she took Renee on a trip to the island of Lesbos, a place Natalie had visited many times. In doing so she not only isolated Renee but disarmed and distracted her with the associations of the place, the home of the legendary lesbian poet Sappho. Vivien even began to imagine that Natalie was Sappho herself. Do not take the target just anywhere; pick the place that will have the most effective associations. The seductive power of isolation goes beyond the sexual realm. When new adherents joined Mahatma Gandhi's circle of devoted followers, they were encouraged to cut off their ties with the past-with their family and friends. This kind of renunciation has been a requirement of many religious sects over the centuries. People who isolate themselves in this way are much more vulnerable to influence and persuasion. A charismatic politician feeds off and even encourages people's feelings of alienation. John F. Kennedy did this to great effect when he subtly disparaged the Eisenhower years; the comfort of the 1950s, he implied, compromised American ideals. He invited Americans to join him in a new life, on a "New Frontier," full of danger and excitement. It was an extremely seductive lure, particularly for the young, who were Kennedy's most enthusiastic supporters. Finally, at some point in the seduction there must be a hint of danger in the mix. Your targets should feel that they are gaining a greatadventure in following you, but are also losing something-a part of their past, their cherished comfort. Actively encourage these ambivalent feelings. An element of fear is the proper spice; although too much fear is debilitating, in small doses it makes us feel alive. Like diving out of an airplane, it is exciting, a thrill, at the same time that it is a little frightening. And the only person there to break the fall, or catch them, is you. Symbol: The Pied Piper. A jolly fellow in his red and yellow cloak, he lures the childrenfrom their homes with the delightful sounds of his flute. Enchanted, they do not notice how far they are walking, how they are leaving their families behind. They do not even notice the cave he eventually leads them into, and which closes upon them forever. Reversal T he risks of this strategy are simple: isolate someone too quickly and you will induce a sense of panic that may end up in the target's taking flight. The isolation you bring must be gradual, and disguised as pleasure- the pleasure of knowing you, leaving the world behind. In any case, some people are too fragile to be cut off from their base of support. The great modern courtesan Pamela Harriman had a solution to this problem: she isolated her victims from their families, their former or present wives, and in place of those old connections she quickly set up new comforts for her lovers. She overwhelmed them with attention, attending to their every need. In the case of Averill Harriman, the billionaire who eventually married her, she literally established a new home for him, one that had no associations with the past and was full of the pleasures of the present. It is unwise to keep the seduced dangling in midair for too long, with nothing familiar or comforting in sight. Instead, replace the familiar things you have cut them off from with a new home, a new series of comforts. Phase Three ThePrecipice - Deepening the Effect Through Extreme Measures The goal in this phase is to make everything deeper-the effect you have on their mind, feelings of love and attachment, tension within your victims. With your hooks deep into them, you can then push them back andforth, between hope and despair, until they weaken and snap. Showing how far you are willing to go for your victims, doing some noble or chivalrous deed (16: Prove yourself) will create a powerful jolt, spark an intensely positive reaction. Everyone has scars, repressed desires, and unfinished business from childhood. Bring these desires and wounds to the surface, make your victims feel they are getting what they never got as a child and you will penetrate deep into their psyche, stir uncontrollable emotions (17: Effect a regression).Now you can take your victims past their limits, getting them to act out their dark sides, adding a sense of danger to your seduction (18: Stir up the transgressive and taboo). You need to deepen the spell, and nothing will more confuse and enchant your victims than giving your seduction a spiritual veneer. It is not lust that motivates you, but destiny, divine thoughts and everything elevated (19: Use spiritual lures). The erotic lurks beneath the spiritual. Now your victims have been properly set up. By deliberately hurting them, instilling fears and anxieties, you will lead them to the edge of the precipicefrom which it will be easy to push and make them fall (20: Mix pleasure with pain). They feel great tension and are yearning for relief. i6 Prove Yourself Most people want to be seduced. If they resist your efforts, it is probably because you have not gone far enough to allay their doubts-about your motives, the depth of your feelings, and so on. One well-timed action that shows how far you are willing to go to win them over will dispel their doubts. Do not worry about looking foolish or making a mistake-any kind of deed that is self-sacrificing and for your targets' sake will so overwhelm their emotions, they won't notice anything else. Never appear discouraged by people 's resistance, or complain. Instead, meet the challenge by doing something extreme or chivalrous. Conversely, spur others to prove themselves by making yourself hard to reach, unattainable, worth fighting over. Seductive Evidence A nyone can talk big, say lofty things about their feelings, insist on how much they care for us, and also for all oppressed peoples in the far reaches of the planet. But if they never behave in a way that will back up their words, we begin to doubt their sincerity-perhaps we are dealing with a charlatan, or a hypocrite or a coward. Flattery and fine words can only go so far. A time will eventually arrive when you will have to show your victim some evidence, to match your words with deeds. This kind of evidence has two functions. First, it allays any lingering doubts about you. Second, an action that reveals some positive quality in you is immensely seductive in and of itself. Brave or selfless deeds create a powerful and positive emotional reaction. Don't worry, your deeds do not have to be so brave and selfless that you lose everything in the process. The appearance alone of nobility will often suffice. In fact, in a world where people overanalyze and talk too much, any kind of action has a bracing, seductive effect. It is normal in the course of a seduction to encounter resistance. The more obstacles you overcome, of course, the greater the pleasure that awaits you, but many a seduction fails because the seducer does not correctly read the resistances of the target. More often than not, you give up too easily. First, understand a primary law of seduction: resistance is a sign that the other person's emotions are engaged in the process. The only person you cannot seduce is somebody distant and cold. Resistance is emotional, and can be transformed into its opposite, much as, in jujitsu, the physical resistance of an opponent can be used to make him fall. If people resist you because they don't trust you, an apparently selfless deed, showing how far you are willing to go to prove yourself, is a powerful remedy. If they resist because they are virtuous, or because they are loyal to someone else, all the better-virtue and repressed desire are easily overcome by action. As the great seductress Natalie Barney once wrote, "Most virtue is a demand for greater seduction." There are two ways to prove yourself. First, the spontaneous action: a situation arises in which the target needs help, a problem needs solving, or, simply, he or she needs a favor. You cannot foresee these situations, but you must be ready for them, for they can spring up at any time. Impress the target by going further than really necessary-sacrificing more money, more time, more effort than they had expected. Your target will often use these Loveisa species of warfare. Slack troopers, go elsewhere! It takes more than cowards to guard \ These standards. Night- duty in winter, long-route marches, every \ Hardship, all forms of suffering: these await \ The recruit who expects a soft option. You'll often be out in \ Cloudbursts, and bivouac on the bare \ Ground. . . . Is lasting \ Love your ambition? Then put away all pride. \ The simple, straightforward way in may be denied you, \ Doors bolted, shut in your face - \ So be ready to slip down from the roof through a lightwell, \ Or sneak in by an upper-floor window. She'll be glad \ To know you 're risking your neck, andfor her sake: that will offer \ Any mistress sure proof of your love. OVIDIO (si veda), THE ART OF LOVE.  The man says: " . . .A fruit picked from one's own orchard ought to taste sweeter than one obtained from a stranger's tree, and what has been attained by greater effort is cherished more dearly than what is gained with little trouble. As the proverb says: 'Prizes great cannot be won unless some heavy labor's done. The woman says: "If no great prizes can be won unless some heavy labor's done, you must suffer the exhaustion of many toils to be able to attain thefavors you seek, since what you ask for is a greater prize. " • The man says: "I give you all the thanks that I can express for sosagely promising me your love when I have performed great toils. Godforbid that I or any other could win the love of so worthy a woman without first attaining it by many labors." ANDREAS CAPELLANUS ON LOVE. One day, [Saint-Preuil] pleaded more than usual that [Madame de la Maisonfort ] grant him the ultimate favors a woman could offer, and he went beyond just words in his pleading. Madame, saying he had gone way too far, ordered him to never ever appear before her again. He left her room. Only an hour later, the lady was taking her customary walk along one of those beautiful canals at Bagnolet, when Saint-Preuil leapt outfrom behind a hedge, totally naked, and standing before his mistress in this state, he cried out, "For the last time, Madame - Goodbye!" Thereupon, he threw himself into the canal, head first. The lady, terrified by such a sight, moments, or even manufacture them, as a kind of test: will you retreat? Or will you rise to the occasion? You cannot hesitate or flinch, even for a moment, or all is lost. If necessary, make the deed seem to have cost you more than it has, never with words, but indirectly-exhausted looks, reports spread through a third party, whatever it takes. The second way to prove yourself is the brave deed that you plan and execute in advance, on your own and at the right moment-preferably some way into the seduction, when any doubts the victim still has about you are more dangerous than earlier on. Choose a dramatic, difficult action that reveals the painful time and effort involved. Danger can be extremely seductive. Cleverly lead your victim into a crisis, a moment of danger, or indirectly put them in an uncomfortable position, and you can play the rescuer, the gallant knight. The powerful feelings and emotions this elicits can easily be redirected into love. Some Examples 1 . In France in the 1640s, Marion de l'Orme was the courtesan men lusted after the most. Renowned for her beauty, she had been the mistress of Cardinal Richelieu, among other notable political and military figures. To win her bed was a sign of achievement. For weeks the rake Count Grammont had wooed de l'Orme, and finally she had given him an appointment for a particular evening. The count prepared himself for a delightful encounter, but on the day of the appointment he received a letter from her in which she expressed, in polite and tender terms, her terrible regrets-she had the most awful headache, and would have to stay in bed that evening. Their appointment would have to be postponed. The count felt certain he was being pushed to the side for someone else, for de l'Orme was as capricious as she was beautiful. Grammont did not hesitate. At nightfall he rode to the Marais, where de l'Orme lived, and scouted the area. In a square near her home he spotted a man approaching on foot. Recognizing the Due de Brissac, he immediately knew that this man was to supplant him in the courtesan's bed. Brissac seemed unhappy to see the count, and so Grammont approached him hurriedly and said, "Brissac, my friend, you must do me a service of the greatest importance: I have an appointment, for the first time, with a girl who lives near this place; and as this visit is only to concert measures, I shall make but a very short stay. Be so kind as to lend me your cloak, and walk my horse a little, until I return; but above all, do not go far from this place." Without waiting for an answer, Grammont took the duke's cloak and handed him the bridle of his horse. Looking back, he saw that Brissac was watching him, so he pretended to enter a house, slipped out through the back, circled around, and reached de l'Orme's house without being seen. Prove Yourself • 325 Grammont knocked at the door, and a servant, mistaking him for the duke, let him in. He headed straight for the lady's chamber, where he found her lying on a couch, in a sheer gown. He threw off Brissac's cloak and she gasped in fright. "What is the matter, my fair one?" he asked. "Your headache, to all appearance, is gone?" She seemed put out, exclaimed she still had the headache, and insisted that he leave. It was up to her, she said, to make or break appointments. "Madam," Grammont said calmly, "I know what perplexes you: you are afraid lest Brissac should meet me here; but you may make yourself easy on that account." He then opened the window and revealed Brissac out in the square, dutifully walking back and forth with a horse, like a common stable boy. He looked ridiculous; de l'Orme burst out laughing, threw her arms around the count, and exclaimed, "My dear Chevalier, I can hold out no longer; you are too amiable and too eccentric not to be pardoned." He told her the whole story, and she promised that the duke could exercise horses all night, but she would not let him in. They made an appointment for the following evening. Outside, the count returned the cloak, apologized for taking so long, and thanked the duke. Brissac was most gracious, even holding Grammont's horse for him to mount, and waving goodbye as he rode off. Interpretation. Count Grammont knew that most would-be seducers give up too easily, mistaking capriciousness or apparent coolness as a sign of a genuine lack of interest. In fact it can mean many things: perhaps the person is testing you, wondering if you are really serious. Prickly behavior is exactly this kind of test-if you give up at the first sign of difficulty, you obviously do not want them that much. Or it could be that they themselves are uncertain about you, or are trying to choose between you and someone else. In any event, it is absurd to give up. One incontrovertible demonstration of how far you are willing to go will overwhelm all doubts. It will also defeat your rivals, since most people are timid, worried about making fools of themselves, and so rarely risk anything. When dealing with difficult or resistant targets, it is usually best to improvise, the way Grammont did. If your action seems sudden and a surprise, it will make them more emotional, loosen them up. A little roundabout accumulation of information-a little spying-is always a good idea. Most important is the spirit in which you enact your proof. If you are lighthearted and playful, if you make the target laugh, proving yourself and amusing them at the same time, it won't matter if you mess up, or if they see you have employed a little trickery. They will give in to the pleasant mood you have created. Notice that the count never whined or grew angry or defensive. All he had to do was pull back the curtain and reveal the duke walking his horse, melting de l'Orme's resistance with laughter. In one well-executed act, he showed whathe would do for a night of her favors. began to cry and to run in the direction of her house, where upon arriving, she fainted. As soon as she could speak, she ordered that someone go and see what had happened to Saint-Preuil, who in truth had not stayed very long in the canal, and having quickly put his clothes back on, hurried to Paris where he hid himselffor several days. Meanwhile, the rumor spread that he had died. Madame de la Maisnnfort was deeply moved by the extreme measures he had adopted to prove his sentiments. This act of his appeared to her to be a sign of an extraordinary love; and having perhaps noticed some charms in his naked presence that she had not seen fully clothed, she deeply regretted her cruelty, and publicly stated her feeling of loss. Word of this reached Saint-Preuil, and he immediately resurrected himself and did not lose time in taking advantage of such afavorable feeling in his mistress. - COUNT BUSSY-RABUTIN, HISTOIRES AMOUREUSES DES GAULES To become a lady's vassal . . . the troubadour was expected to pass through four stages, i.e.: aspirant, supplicant, postulant, and lover. When he had attained the last stage of amorous initiation he made a vow of fidelity and this homage was sealed by a kiss. • In this idealistic form of courtly love reservedfor the aristocratic elite of chivalry, the phenomenon of love was considered to be a state of grace, while the initiation that followed, and the final sealing of the pact-or equivalent of the knightly accolade - were linked with the rest of a nobleman's training and valorous exploits. The hallmarks of a true lover and of a perfect knight were almost identical. The lover was bound to serve and obey his lady as a knight served his lord. In both cases the pledge was of a sacred nature. - NINA EPTON, LOVE AND THE FRENCH one of the goodly towns of the kingdomof France there dwelt a nobleman of good birth, who attended the schools that he might learn how virtue and honor are to be acquired among virtuous men. But although he was so accomplished that at the age of seventeen or eighteen years he was, as it were, both precept and example to others, Love failed not to add his lesson to the rest; and, that he might be the better harkened to and received, concealed himself in the face and the eyes of the fairest lady in the whole country round, who had come to the city in order to advance a suit-at- law. But before Love sought to vanquish the gentleman by means of this lady's beauty, he had first won her heart by letting her see the perfections of this young lord; for in good looks, grace, sense and excellence of speech he was surpassed by none. • You, who know what speedy way is made by the fire of love when once it fastens on the heart andfancy, will 2. Pauline Bonaparte, the sister of Napoleon, had so many affairs with different men over the years that doctors were afraid for her health. She could not stay with one man for more than a few weeks; novelty was her only pleasure. After Napoleon married her off to Prince Camillo Borghese, in 1803, her affairs only multiplied. And so, when she met the dashing Major Jules de Canouville, in 1810, everyone assumed the affair would last no longer than the others. Of course the major was a decorated soldier, well educated, an accomplished dancer, and one of the most handsome men in the army. But Pauline, thirty years old at the time, had had affairs with dozens of men who could have matched that resume. A few days after the affair began, the imperial dentist arrived chez Pauline. A toothache had been causing her sleepless nights, and the dentist saw he would have to pull out the bad tooth right then and there. No painkillers were used at the time, and as the man began to take out his various instruments, Pauline grew terrified. Despite the pain of the tooth, she changed her mind and refused to have it pulled. Major Canouville was lounging on a couch in a silken robe. Taking all this in, he tried to encourage her to have it done: "A moment or two of pain and it's over forever. ... A child could go through with it and not utter a sound." "I'd like to see you do it," she said. Canouville got up, went over to the dentist, chose a tooth in the back of his own mouth, and ordered that it be pulled. A perfectly good tooth was extracted, and Canouville barely batted an eyelash. After this, not only did Pauline let the dentist do his job, her opinion of Canouville changed; no man had ever done anything like this for her before. The affair had been going to last but a few weeks; now it stretched on. Napoleon was not pleased. Pauline was a married woman; short affairs were allowed, but a deep attachment was embarrassing. He sent Canouville to Spain, to deliver a message to a general there. The mission would take weeks, and in the meantime Pauline would find someone else. Canouville, though, was not your average lover. Riding day and night, without stopping to eat or sleep, he arrived in Salamanca within a few days. There he found that he could proceed no farther, since communications had been cut off, and so, without waiting for further orders, he rode back to Paris, without an escort, through enemy territory. He could meet with Pauline only briefly; Napoleon sent him right back to Spain. It was months before he was finally allowed to return, but when he did, Pauline immediately resumed her affair with him-an unheard-of act of loyalty on her part. This time Napoleon sent Canouville to Germany and finally to Russia, where he died bravely in battle in 1812. He was the only lover Pauline ever waited for, and the only one she ever mourned. Interpretation. In seduction, the time often comes when the target has begun to fall for you, but suddenly pulls back. Your motives have begun toseem dubious-perhaps all you are after is sexual favors, or power, or money. Most people are insecure and doubts like these can ruin the seductive illusion. In the case of Pauline Bonaparte, she was quite accustomed to using men for pleasure, and she knew perfectly well that she was being used in turn. She was totally cynical. But people often use cynicism to cover up insecurity. Pauline's secret anxiety was that none of her lovers had ever really loved her-that all of them to a man had really just wanted sex or political favors from her. When Canouville showed, through concrete actions, the sacrifices he would make for her-his tooth, his career, his life- he transformed a deeply selfish woman into a devoted lover. Not that her response was completely unselfish: his deeds were a boost to her vanity. If she could inspire these actions from him, she must be worth it. But if he was going to appeal to the noble sede of her nature, she had to rise to that level as well, and prove herself by remaining loyal to him. Making your deed as dashing and chivalrous as possible will elevate the seduction to a new level, stir up deep emotions, and conceal any ulterior motives you may have. The sacrifices you are making must be visible; talking about them, or explaining what they have cost you, will seem like bragging. Lose sleep, fall ill, lose valuable time, put your career on the line, spend more money than you can afford. You can exaggerate all this for effect, but don't get caught boasting about it or feeling sorry for yourself: cause yourself pain and let them see it. Since almost everyone else in the world seems to have an angle, your noble and selfless deed will be irresistible. Throughout the 1890s and into the early twentieth century, Gabriele D'Annunzio was considered one of Italy's premier novelists and playwrights. Yet many Italians could not stand the man. His writing was florid, and in person he seemed full of himself, overdramatic-riding horses naked on the beach, pretending to be a Renaissance man, and more of the kind. His novels were often about war, and about the glory of facing and defeating death-an entertaining subject for someone who had never actually done so. And so, at the start of World War I, no one was surprised that D'Annunzio led the call for Italy to side with the Allies and enter the fiay. Everywhere you turned, there he was, giving a speech in favor of war- a campaign that succeeded in 1915, when Italy finally declared war on Germany and Austria. D'Annunzio's role so far had been completely predictable. But what did surprise the Italian public was what this fifty-two- year-old man did next: he joined the army. He had never served in the military, boats made him seasick, but he could not be dissuaded. Eventually the authorities gave him a post in a cavalry division, hoping to keep him out of combat. Italy had little experience in war, and its military was somewhat chaotic. The generals somehow lost track of D'Annunzio-who, in any readily imagine that between two subjects so perfect as these it knew little pause until it had them at its will, and had so filled them with its clear light, that thought, wish, and speech were all aflame with it. Youth, begetting fear in the young lord, led him to urge his suit with all the gentleness imaginable; but she, being conquered by love, had no need offorce to win her. Nevertheless, shame, which tarries with ladies as long as it can, for some time restrained her from declaring her mind. But at last the heart's fortress, which is honor's abode, was shattered in such sort that the poor lady consented to that which she had never been minded to refuse. • In order, however, to make trial of her lover's patience, constancy, and love, she granted him what he sought on a very hard condition, assuring him that if he fulfilled it she would love him perfectly forever; whereas, if he failed in it, he would certainly never win her as long as he lived. And the condition was this: she would be willing to talk with him, both being in bed together, clad in their linen only, but he was to ask nothinginore from her than words and kisses. • He, thinking there was no joy to be compared to that which she promised him, agreed to the proposal, and that evening the promise was kept; in such wise that, despite all the caresses she bestowed on him and the temptations that beset him, he would not break his oath. And albeit his torment seemed to him no less than that of Purgatory, yet was his love so great and his hope so strong, sure as he felt of the ceaseless continuance of the love he had thus painfully won, that he preserved his patience and rose from beside her without having done anything contrary to her expressed wish. • The lady was, I think, more astonished than pleased by such virtue; and giving no heed to the honor, patience, and faithfulness her lover had shown in the keeping of his oath, she forthwith suspected that his love was not so great as she had thought, or else that he had found her less pleasing than he had expected. • She therefore resolved, before keeping her promise, to make afurther trial of the love he bore her; and to this end she begged him to talk to a girl in her service, who was younger than herself and very beautiful, bidding him make love speeches to her, so that those who saw him come so often to the house might think that it was for the sake of this damsel and not of herself • The young lord,feeling sure that his own love was returned in equal measure, was wholly obedient to her commands, and for love of her compelled himself to make love to the girl; and she, finding him so handsome and well-spoken, believed his lies more than other truth, and loved him as much as though she herself were greatly loved by him. • The mistress finding that matters were thus well advanced, albeit the young lord did not cease to claim her promise, granted him permission to come and see her at one hour after midnight, saying that after case, had decided to leave his cavalry division and form units of his own. (He was an artist, after all, and could not be subjected to army discipline.) Calling himself Commandante, he overcame his habitual seasickness and directed a series of daring raids, leading groups of motorboats in the middle of the night into Austrian harbors and firing torpedoes at anchored ships. He also learned how to fly, and began to lead dangerous sorties. In August of 1915, he flew over the city of Trieste, then in enemy hands, and dropped Italian flags and thousands of pamphlets containing a message of hope, written in his inimitable style: "The end of your martyrdom is at hand! The dawn of your joy is imminent. From the heights of heaven, on the wings of Italy, I throw you this pledge, this message from my heart." He flew at altitudes unheard of at the time, and through thick enemy fire. The Austrians put a price on his head. On a mission in 1916, D'Annunzio fell against his machine gun, permanently injuring one eye and seriously damaging the other. Told his flying days were over, he convalesced in his home in Venice. At the time, the most beautiful and fashionable woman in Italy was generally considered to be the Countess Morosini, former mistress of the German Kaiser. Her palace was on the Grand Canal, opposite the home of D'Annunzio. Now she found herself besieged by letters and poems from the writer-soldier, mixing details of his flying exploits with declarations of his love. In the middle of air raids on Venice, he would cross the canal, barely able to see out of one eye, to deliver his latest poem. D'Annunzio was much beneath Morosini's station, a mere writer, but his willingness to brave anything on her behalf won her over. The fact that his reckless behavior could get him killed any day only hastened the seduction. D'Annunzio ignored the doctors' advice and returned to flying, leading even more daring raids than before. By the end of the war, he was Italy's most decorated hero. Now, wherever in the nation he appeared, the public filled the piazzas to hear his speeches. After the war, he led a march on Fiume, on the Adriatic coast. In the negotiations to settle the war, Italians believed they should have been awarded this city, but the Allies had not agreed. D'Annunzio's forces took over the city and the poet became a leader, ruling Fiume for more than a year as an autonomous republic. By then, everyone had forgotten about his less-than-glorious past as a decadent writer. Now he could do no wrong. Interpretation. The appeal of seduction is that of being separated from our normal routines, experiencing the thrill of the unknown. Death is the ultimate unknown. In periods of chaos, confusion, and death-the plagues that swept Europe in the Middle Ages, the Terror of the French Revolution, the air raids on London during World War II-people often let go of their usual caution and do things they never would otherwise. They experience a kind of delirium. There is something immensely seductive about danger, about heading into the unknown. Show that you have a reckless streak and a daring nature, that you lack the usual fear of death, and you are instantly fascinating to the bulk of humanity. What you are proving in this instance is not how you feel toward another person but something about yourself: you are willing to go out on a limb. You are not just another talker and braggart. It is a recipe for instant charisma. Any political figure-Churchill, de Gaulle, Kennedy-whohas proven himself on the battlefield has an unmatchable appeal. Many had thought of ANNUNZIO (si veda) as a foppish womanizer; his experience in the war gave him a heroic sheen, a Napoleonic aura. In fact he had always been an effective seducer, but now he was even more devilishly appealing. You do not necessarily have to risk death, but putting yourself in its vicinity will give you a seductive charge. (It is often best to do this some way into the seduction, making it come as a pleasant surprise.) You are willing to enter the unknown. No one is more seductive than the person who has had a brush with death. People will be drawn to you; perhaps they are hoping that some of your adventurous spirit will rub off on them. 4. According to one version of the Arthurian legend, the great knight Sir Lancelot once caught a glimpse of Queen Guinevere, King Arthur's wife, and that glimpse was enough-he fell madly in love. And so when word reached him that Queen Guinevere had been kidnapped by an evil knight, Lancelot did not hesitate-he forgot his other chivalrous tasks and hurried in pursuit. His horse collapsed from the chase, so he continued on foot. Finally it seemed that he was close, but he was exhausted and could go no farther. A horse-driven cart passed by; the cart was filled with loathsome- looking men shackled together. In those days it was the tradition to place criminals-murderers, traitors, cowards, thieves-in such a cart, which then passed through every street in town so that people could see it. Once you had ridden in the cart, you lost all feudal rights for the rest of your life. The cart was such a dreadful symbol that seeing an empty one made you shiver and give the sign of the cross. Even so. Sir Lancelot accosted the cart's driver, a dwarf: "In the name of God, tell me if you've seen my lady the queen pass by this way?" "If you want to get into this cart I'm driving," said the dwarf, "by tomorrow you'll know what has become of the queen." Then he drove the cart onward. Lancelot hesitated for but two of the horse's steps, then ran after it and climbed in. Wherever the cart went, townspeople heckled it. They were most curious about the knight among the passengers. What was his crime? How will he be put to death-flayed? Drowned? Burned upon a fire of thorns? Finally the dwarf let him get out, without a word as to the whereabouts of the queen. To make matters worse, no one now would go near or talk to Lancelot, for he had been in the cart. He kept on chasing the queen, and all along the way he was cursed at, spat upon, challenged by other knights. He having so fully tested the love and obedience he had shown towards her, it was but just that heshould be rewardedfor his long patience. Of the lover's joy on hearing this you need have no doubt, and he failed not to arrive at the appointed time. • But the lady, still wishing to try the strength of his love, had said to her beautiful damsel-"I am well aware of the love a certain nobleman bears to you, and I think you are no less in love with him; and I feel so much pity for you both, that I have resolved to afford you time and place that you may converse together at your ease." • The damsel was so enchanted that she could not conceal her longings, but answered that she would notfail to be present. • In obedience, therefore, to her mistress's counsel and command, she undressed herself and lay down on a handsome bed, in a room the door of which the lady left half open, whilst within she set a light so that the maiden's beauty might be clearly seen. Then she herself pretended to go away, but hid herself near to the bed so carefully that she could not be seen. • Her poor lover, thinking to find her according to her promise, failed not to enter the room as softly as he could, at the appointed hour; and after he had shut the door and put off his garments and fur shoes, he got into the bed, where he looked to find what he desired. But no sooner did he put out his arms to embrace her whom he believed to be his mistress, than the poor girl, believing him entirely her own, had her arms round his neck, speaking to him the while in such loving words and with so beautiful a countenance, that there is not a hermit so holy but he would have forgotten his beads for love of her. • But when the gentleman recognized her with both eye and ear, and found he was not with her for whose sake he had so greatly suffered, the love that had made him get so quickly into the bed, made him risefrom it still more quickly. And in anger equally with mistress and damsel, he said - "Neither yourfolly nor the malice of her who put you there can make me other than I am. But do you try to be an honest woman, for you shall never lose that good name through me. " • So saying he rushed out of the room in the greatest wrath imaginable, and it was long before he returned to see his mistress. However love, which is never without hope, assured him that the greater and more manifest his constancy was proved to be by all these trials, the longer and more delightful would be his bliss. • The lady, who had seen and heard all that passed, was so delighted and amazed at beholding the depth and constancy of his love, that she was impatient to sec him again in order to ask h is fo rgiven ess for the sorrow that she had caused him to endure. And as soon as she could meet with him, she failed not to address him in such excellent and pleasant words, that he not only forgot all his troubles but even deemed them very fortunate, seeing that their issue was to the glory of his constancy and the perfect had disgraced knighthood by riding in the cart. But no one could stop him or slow him down, and finally he discovered that the queen's kidnapper was the wicked Meleagant. He caught up with Meleagant and the two fought a duel. Still weak from the chase, Lancelot seemed to be near defeat, but when word reached him that the queen was watching the battle, he recovered his strength and was on the verge of killing Meleagant when a truce was called. Guinevere was handed over to him. Lancelot could hardly contain his joy at the thought of finally being in his lady's presence. But to his shock, she seemed angry, and would not look at her rescuer. She told Meleagant's father, "Sire, in truth he has wasted his efforts. I shall always deny that I feel any gratitude toward him." Lancelot was mortified but he did not complain. Much later, after undergoing innumerable further trials, she finally relented and they became lovers. One day he asked her: when she had been abducted by Meleagant, had she heard the story of the cart, and how he had disgraced knighthood? Was that why she had treated him so coldly that day? The queen replied, "By delaying for two stepsyou showed your unwillingness to climb into it. That, to tell the truth, is why I didn't wish to see you or speak with you." Interpretation. The opportunity to do your selfless deed often comes upon you suddenly. You have to show your worth in an instant, right there on the spot. It could be a rescue situation, a gift you could make or a favor you could do, a sudden request to drop everything and come to their aid. What matters most is not whether you act rashly, make a mistake, and do something foolish, but that you seem to act on their behalf without thought for yourself or the consequences. At moments like these, hesitation, even for a few seconds, can ruin all the hard work of your seduction, revealing you as self-absorbed, unchival- rous, and cowardly. This, at any rate, is the moral of Chretien de Troyes's twelfth-century version of the story of Lancelot. Remember: not only what you do matters, but how you do it. If you are naturally self-absorbed, learn to disguise it. React as spontaneously as possible, exaggerating the effect by seeming flustered, overexcited, even foolish-love has driven you to that point. If you have to jump into the cart for Guinevere's sake, make sure she sees that you do it without the slightest hesitation. 5. In Rome sometime around 1531, word spread of a sensational young woman named Tullia d'Aragona. Bythe standards of the period, Tullia was not a classic beauty; she was tall and thin, at a time when the plump and voluptuous woman was considered the ideal. And she lacked the cloying, giggling manner of most young girls who wanted masculine attention. No, her quality was nobler. Her Latin was perfect, she could discuss the latest literature, she played the lute and sang. In other words, she was a novelty, and since that was all most men were looking for, they began to visit her in Prove Yourself • 331 great numbers. She had a lover, a diplomat, and the thought that one man had won her physical favors drove them all mad. Her male visitors began to compete for her attention, writing poems in her honor, vying to become her favorite. None of them succeeded, but they kept on trying. Of course there were some who were offended by her, stating publicly that she was no more than a high-class whore. They repeated the rumor (perhaps true) that she had made older men dance while she played the lute, and if their dancing pleased her, they could hold her in their arms. To Tullia's faithful followers, all of noble birth, this was slander. They wrote a document that was distributed far and wide: "Our honored mistress, the well-born and honorable lady Tullia d'Aragona, doth surpass all ladies of the past, present, or future by herdazzlingqualities. Anyone who refuses to conform to this statement is hereby charged to enter the lists with one of the undersigned knights, who will convince him in the customary manner." Tullia left Rome in 1535, going first to Venice, where the poet Tasso became her lover, and eventually to Ferrara, which was then perhaps the most civilized court in Italy. And what a sensation she caused there. Her voice, her singing, even her poems were praised far and wide. She opened a literary academy devoted to ideas of freethinking. She called herself a muse and, as in Rome, a group of young men collected around her. They would follow her around the city, carving her name in trees, writing sonnets in her honor, and singing them to anyone who would listen. One young nobleman was driven to distraction by this cult of adoration: it seemed that everyone loved Tullia but no one received her love in return. Determined to steal her away and marry her, this young man tricked her into allowing him to visit her at night. He proclaimed his undying devotion, showered her with jewels and presents, and asked for her hand. She refused. He pulled out a knife, she still refused, and so he stabbed himself. He lived, but now Tullia's reputation was even greater than before: not even money could buy her favors, or so it seemed. As the years went by and her beauty faded, some poet or intellectual would always come to her defense and protect her. Few of them ever pondered the reality: that Tullia was indeed a courtesan, one of the most popular and well paid in the profession. Interpretation. All of us have defects of some sort. Some of these we are born with, and cannot help. Tullia had many such defects. Physically she was not the Renaissance ideal. Also, her mother had been a courtesan, and she was illegitimate. Yet the men who fell under her spell did not care. They were too distracted by her image-the image of an elevated woman, a woman you would have to fight over to win. Her pose came straight out of the Middle Ages, the days of knights and troubadours. Then, a woman, most often married, was able to control the power dynamic between the sexes by withholding her favors until the knight somehow proved his worth assurance of his love, the fruit of which he enjoyed from that time as fully as he could desire. - QUEEN MARGARET OF NAVARRE, THE HEPTAMERON. QUOTED IN THE VICE ANTHOLOGY, DAVENPORT-HINES A soldier lays siege to cities, a lover to girls' houses, \ The one assaults city gates, the other front doors. \ Love, like war, is a toss-up. The defeated can recover, \ While some you might think invincible collapse; \ So ifyou've got love written off as an easy option \ You'd better think twice. Love calls \ For guts and initiative. Great Achilles sulks for Briseis - \ Quick, Trojans, smash through the Argive wall! \ Hector went into battle from Andromache's embraces \ Helmeted by his wife. \ Agamemnon himself, the Supremo, was struck into raptures \ At the sight of Cassandra's tumbled hair; \ Even Mars was caught on the job, felt the blacksmith's meshes - \ Heaven's best scandal in years. Then take \ My own case. I was idle, born to leisure en deshabille, \ Mind softened by lazy scribbling in the shade. \ But love for a pretty girl soon drove the sluggard \ To action, made him join up. \And just look at me now-fighting fit, dead keen on night exercises: \ If you want a cure for slackness, fall in love! - OVID, THE AMORES. and the sincerity of his sentiments. He could be sent on a quest, or made to live among lepers, or compete in a possibly fatal joust for her honor. And this he had to do without complaint. Although the days of the troubadour are long gone, the pattern remains: a man actually loves to be able to prove himself, to be challenged, to compete, to undergo tests and trials and emerge victorious. He has a masochistic streak; a part of him loves pain. And strangely enough, the more a woman asks for, theworthier she seems. A woman who is easy to get cannot be worth much. Make people compete for your attention, make them prove themselves in some way, and you will find them rising to the challenge. The heat of seduction is raised by such challenges-show me that you really love me. When one person (of either sex) rises to the occasion, often the other person is now expected to do the same, and the seduction heightens. By making people prove themselves, too, you raise your value and cover up your defects. Your targets are too busy trying to prove themselves to notice your blemishes and faults. Symbol: The Tournament. On the field, with its bright pennants and caparisoned horses, the lady looks on as knights fight for her hand. She has heard them declare love on bended knee, their endless songs and pretty promises. They are all good at such things. But then the trumpet sounds and the combat begins. In the tournament there can be no faking or hesitation. The knight she chooses must have blood on hisface, and afew broken limbs. Reversal W hen trying to prove that you are worthy of your target, remember that every target sees things differently. A show of physical prowess not impress someone who does not value physical prowess; it will just that you are after attention, flaunting yourself. Seducers must adapt way of proving themselves to the doubts and weaknesses of the seduced. For some, fine words are better proofs than daredevil deeds, particularly if they are written down. With these people show your sentiments in a letter-a different kind of physical proof, and one with more poetic appeal than some showy bit of action. Know your target well, and aim your seductive evidence at the source of their doubts or resistance. 17 Effect a Regression People who have experienced a certain kind of in the past will try to repeat or relive are usually thosefrom earliest childhood, and are often unassociated with a parental figure. Bring your tartheir emotional response, they willfall in love with you. Alternatively, you too can regress, letting them play the role of the protecting, nursing parent. In either case you are offering the ultimate fantasy: the chance to have an intimate relawith mommy or daddy, son or daughter. A s adults we tend to overvalue our childhood. In their dependency and powerlessness, children genuinely suffer, yet when we get older we conveniently forget about that and sentimentalize the supposed paradise we have left behind. We forget the pain and remember only the pleasure. ? Because the responsibilities of adult life are a burden so oppressive at times that we secretly yearn for the dependency of childhood, for that perwho looked after our every need, assumed our cares and worries. This being dependent on the parent is charged with sexual undertones. Give and they will project all kinds of fantasies onto you, including feelings of or sexual attraction that they will attribute to something else. We won't admit it, but we long to regress, to shed our adult exterior and vent childish emotions that linger beneath the surface. in his career, Sigmund Freud confronted a strange problem: many of his female patients were falling in love with him. He thought he knew what was happening: encouraged by Freud, the patient would delve into would talk about her relationship with her father, her earliest experiprocess would stir up powerful emotions and memories. In a way, she be transported back into her childhood. Intensifying this effect was the fact that Freud himself said little and made himself a little cold and dis, although he seemed to be caring-in other words, quite like the traditional father figure. Meanwhile the patient was lying on a couch, in a helpless or passive position, so that the situation duplicated the roles of parent and child. Eventually she would begin to direct some of the confused emotions she was dealing with toward Freud himself. Unaware of what was happening, she would relate to him as to her father. She would regress and in love. Freud called this phenomenon "transference," and it would become an active part of his therapy. By getting patients to transfer some of their repressed feelings onto the therapist, he would bring their problems into the open, where they could be dealt with on a conscious level. The transference effect was so potent, though, that Freud was often unable to move his patients past their infatuation. In fact transference is a powerful way of creating an emotional attachment-the goal of any seduc- [In Japan,] much in the traditional way of childrearing seems to foster passive dependence. The child is rarely left alone, day or night, for it usually sleeps with the mother. it goes out the child is not pushed ahead in a pram, to face the world alone, but is tightly bound to the mother's back in a snug cocoon. When the mother bows, the child does too, so the social graces are acquired automatically while feeling the mother's heartbeat. Thus emotional security tends to depend almostentirelyonthephysicalpresence of the mother. "... Children learn that a show of passive dependence is the best way to getfavors as well as affection. There is a verb for this in Japanese: amaeru, translated in the dictionary as "to presume upon another's love; to play the baby." According to the psychiatrist Doi Takeo this is the main key to understanding the Japanese personality. It goes on in adult life too: juniors do it to seniors in companies, or any other group, women do it to men, men do it to their mothers, and sometimes wives. A magazine called Young Lady featured an article (January 1982) on "how to make ourselves beautiful." How, in other, to attract men. An American or European magazine would then go on to tell the reader how to be sexually desirable, no doubt suggesting various puff's, creams, and sprays. Not so with Young Lady. "The most attractive," it informs us, "are women full of maternal love. Women maternal love are the types men never want to marry. One has to look at men through the of a mother. " - IAN BURUMA, BEHIND THE : ON SEXUAL DEMONS. SACRED MOTHERS. . GANGSTERS, DRIFTERS AND OTHER JAPANESE CULTURAL HEROES I have stressed the fact that substitute for the ideal ego. Two people who love each other are interchanging ego-ideals. That they love the ideal of themselves in the otherone.There would be no love on earth if this phantom were not there. Wefall in love because we cannot attain the image that is our better self and the best of our self From this concept it is obvious that love itself is only possible on a certain cultural level or after a certain phase in the development of the personality has been reached. The creation of an ego-ideal itself marks human progress. When are entirely satisfied tion. The method has infinite applications outside psychoanalysis. To pracit in real life, you need to play the therapist, encouraging people to talk memories are so vivid and emotional that a part of us regresses just in talking about our early years. Also, in the course of talking, little secrets slip out: we reveal all kinds of valuable information about our weaknesses and our mental makeup, information you must attend to and remember. Do not take your targets' words at face value; they will often sugarcoat or overdramatize events in childhood. But pay attention to their tone of voice, to any nervous tics as they talk, and particularly to anything they do not want talk about, anything they deny or that makes them emotional. Many statefor instance, you can be sure that they are hiding a lot of disappointment- that they actually loved their father only too much, and perhaps never quite what they wanted from him. Listen closely for recurring themes and stories. Most important, learn to analyze emotional responses and see what lies behind them. While they talk, maintain the therapist's pose-attentive but quiet, making occasional, nonjudgmental comments. Be caring yet distant- somewhat blank, in fact-and they will begin to transfer emotions and project fantasies onto you. With the information you have gathered about their childhood, and the trusting bond you have forged, you can now begin to effect the regression. Perhaps you have uncovered a powerful attachment to a parent, a sibling, a teacher, or any early infatuation, a person who casts a shadow over their present lives. Knowing what it was about this person that affected them so powerfully, you can now take over that role. Or perhaps you have learned of an immense gap in their childhood-a neglectful father, for instance. You act like that parent now, but you replace the original neglect with the attention and affection that the real parent never supplied. Everyone has unfinished business from childhood-disappointments, lacks, painful memories. Finish what is unfinished. Discover what your target never got and you have the ingredients for a deep-rooted seduction. The key is not just to talk about memories-that is weak. What you want is to get peopletoactoutintheir present old issues from their past, without their being aware of what is happening. The regressions you can effect fall into four main types. The Infantile Regression. The first bond-the bond between a mother and her infant-is the most powerful one. Unlike other animals, human babies have a long period of helplessness during which they are dependent on their mother, creating an attachment that influences the rest of their lives. The key to effecting this regression is to reproduce the sense of unconditional love a mother has for her child. Never judge your targets-let them do whatever they want, including behaving badly; at the same time surthem with loving attention, smother them with comfort. A part of Effect a Regression • 331 them will regress to those earliest years when their mother took care of everything and rarely left them alone. This works on almost everyone, for unconditional love is the rarest and most treasured form. You do not even have to tailor your behavior to anything specific in their childhood; most of us have experienced this kind of attention. Meanwhile, create atmospheres that reinforce the feeling you are generating-warm environments, playful activities, bright, happy colors. with their actual selves, love is impossible. • The of the ego-ideal to a person is the most characteristic trait of love. -THEODOR REIK, OF LOVE AND LUST The Oedipal Regression. After the bond between mother and child the oedipal triangle of mother, father, and child. This triangle forms during the period of the child's earliest erotic fantasies. A boy wants his mother to himself, a girl does the same with her father, but they never quite have it that way, for a parent will always have competing connections a spouse or to other adults. Unconditional love has gone; now, inevitably, the parent must sometimes deny what the child desires. Transport your victims back to this period. Play a parental role, be loving, but also sometimes scold and instill some discipline. Children actually love a little -it makes them feel that the adult cares about them. And adult children too will be thrilled if you mix your tenderness with a little toughness and punishment. Unlike infantile regression, oedipal regression must be tailored to your target. It depends on the information you have gathered. Without knowing enough, you might treat a person like a child, scolding them now and then, only to discover that you are stirring up ugly memories-they had too with the regression until you have learned everything you can about their -what they had too much of, what they lacked, and so on. If the target was strongly attached to a parent, but that attachment was parnegative, the oedipal regression strategy can still be quite effective. We always feel ambivalent toward a parent; even as we love them, we resent having had to depend on them. Don't worry about stirring up these am, which don't keep us from being tied to our parents. Remember include an erotic component in your parental behavior. Now your tarare not only getting their mother or father all to themselves, they are something more, something previously forbidden but now allowed. gave [S ylphide] the eyes of one girl in the village, fresh complexion of another. The portraits of great ladies of the time of Francis 1, Henry IV, and XIV, hanging in our room, lent me otherfeatures, and I even beauties from the pictures of the Madonna in churches. This magic invisibly everywhere, I with her as if changed her appearance according to the degree of without a veil, Diana rose, Thalia in a laughing mask, Hebe with the goblet of youth-or she became a delusion lasted two whole years, in the course of which my soul attained the highest peak of exaltation. -CHATEAUBRIAND, MEMOIRS QUOTED IN FRIEDRICH SIEBURG, CHATEAUBRIAND. The Ego Ideal Regression. As children, we often form an ideal figure out of our dreams and ambitions. First, that ideal figure is the person we want to be. We imagine ourselves as brave adventurers, romantic figures. Then, in our adolescence, we turn our attention to others, often projecting our ideals onto them. The first boy or girl we fall in love with may seem to have the ideal qualities we wanted for ourselves, or else may make us feel that we can play that ideal role in relation to them. Most of us carry these ideals around with us, buried just below the surface. We are secretly disappointed in how much we have had to compromise, how far below the ideal we have fallen as we have gotten older. Make your targets feel they are living out this youthful ideal, and coming closer to being the person they wanted to be, and you will effect a different kind of regression, creating a feeling reminiscent of adolescence. The relationship between you and the seduced is in this instance more equal than in the previous kinds of regressions-more like the affection between siblings. In fact the ideal is often modeled on a brother or sister. To create this effect, strive to reprothe intense, innocent mood of a youthful infatuation. The Reverse Parental Regression. Here you are the one to regress: you deliberately play the role of the cute, adorable, yet also sexually charged child. Older people always find younger people incredibly seductive. In the presence of youth, they feel a little of their own youth return; but they are in fact older, and mixed into the invigoration they feel in young people's company is the pleasure of playing the mother or father to them. If a child has erotic feelings toward a parent, feelings that are quickly repressed, the parent must deal with the same problem in reverse. Assume the role of the child in relation to your targets, however, and they get to act out some of those repressed erotic sentiments. The strategy may seem to call for a difference in age, but this is actually not critical. Marilyn Monroe's exaggerated little-girl qualities worked just fine on men her age. Emphasizing a weakness or vulnerability on your part will give the target a chance to play the protector. Some Examples 1. The parents of Victor Hugo separated shortly after the novelist was born, in 1802. Hugo's mother, Sophie, had been carrying on an affair with her husband's superior officer, a general. She took the three Hugo boys away from their father and went off to Paris to raise them on her own. the boys led a tumultuous life, featuring bouts of poverty, frequent moves, and their mother's continued affair with the general. Of all the boys, Victor was the most attached to his mother, adopting all her ideas and pet peeves, particularly her hatred of his father. But with all the turmoil in his childhood he never felt he got enough love andattention from the mother he adored. When she died, in 1821, poor and debt-ridden, he was devastated. The following year Hugo married his childhood sweetheart, Adele, who physically resembled his mother. It was a happy marriage for a while, but soon Adele came to resemble his mother in more ways than one: in 1832, he discovered that she was having an affair with the French literary critic Sainte-Beuve, who also happened to be Hugo's best friend at the Effect Regression • 339 time. Hugo was a celebrated writer by now, but he was not the calculating type. He generally wore his heart on his sleeve. Yet he could not confide in anyone about Adele's affair; it was too humiliating. His only solution was to have affairs of his own, with actresses, courtesans, married women. Hugo had a prodigious appetite, sometimes visiting three different women in the same day. Near the end of 1832, production began on one of Hugo's plays, and he was to supervise the casting. A twenty-six-year-old actress named Juliette Drouet auditioned for one of the smaller roles. Normally quite adroit with the ladies, Hugo found himself stuttering in Juliette's presence. She was quite simply the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and this and her composed manner intimidated him. Naturally, Juliette won the part. He found himself thinking about her all the time. She always seemed to be surrounded by a group of adoring men. Clearly she was not interested in him, or so he thought. One evening, though, after a performance of the play, he followed her home, to find that she was neither angry nor surprised- indeed she invited him up to her apartment. He spent the night, and soon he was spending almost every night there. Hugo was happy again. To his delight, Juliette quit her career in the theater, dropped her former friends, and learned to cook. She had loved fancy clothes and social affairs; now she became Hugo's secretary, rarely leaving the apartment in which he had established her and seeming to live only for his visits. After a while, however, Hugo returned to his old ways and started to have little affairs on the side. She did not complain-as long as she remained the one woman he kept returning to. And Hugo had in fact grown quite dependent on her. In 1843, Hugo's beloved daughter died in an accident and he sank into a depression. The only way he knew to get over his grief was to have an afwith someone new. And so, shortly thereafter, he fell in love with a young married aristocrat named Leonie d'Aunet. He began to see Juliette less and less. A few years later, Leonie, feeling certain she was the preferred one, gave him an ultimatum: stop seeing Juliette altogether, or it wasover. Hugo refused. Instead he decided to stage a contest: he would continue to see both women, and in a few months his heart would tell him which one he preferred. Leonie was furious, but she had no choice. Her affair with Hugo had already ruined her marriage and her standing in society; she was dependent on him. Anyway, how could she lose-she was in the prime of life, whereas Juliette had gray hair by now. So she pretended to go along with this contest, but as time went on, she grew increasingly resentful about it, and complained. Juliette, on the other hand, behaved as if nothing had changed. Whenever he visited, she treated him as she always had, dropping everything to comfort and mother him. The contest lasted several years. In 1851, Hugo was in trouble with Louis-Napoleon, the cousin of Napoleon Bonaparte and now the president of France. Hugo had attacked his dictatorial tendencies in the press, bitterly and perhaps recklessly, for Louis-Napoleon was a vengeful man. Fearing for the writer's life, Juliette managed to hide him in a friend's house and arranged for a false passport, a disguise, and safe passage to Brussels. Everything went according to plan; Juliette joined him a few days later, carrying his most valuable possessions. Clearly her heroic actions had won the contest for her. And yet, after the novelty of Hugo's new life wore off, his affairs resumed. Finally, fearing for his health, and worried that she could no longer compete with yet another twenty-year-old coquette, Juliette made a calm but stern demand: no more women or she was leaving him. Taken completely by surprise, yet certain that she meant every word, Hugo broke down and sobbed. An old man by now, he got down on his knees and, on the Bible and then on a copy of his famous novel Les Miserables, he would stray no more. Until Juliette's death, in 1883, her spell over him was complete. Interpretation. Hugo's love life was determined by his relationship with his mother. He never felt she had loved him enough. Almost all the women he had affairs with bore a physical resemblance to her; somehow he would make up for her lack of love for him by sheer volume. When Juliette met, she could not have known all this, but she must have sensed two things: he was extremely disappointed in his wife, and he had never really up. His emotional outbursts and his need for attention made him a little boy than a man. She would gain ascendancy over him for the of his life by supplying the one thing he had never had: complete, unmother-love. Juliette never judged Hugo, or criticized him for his naughty ways. She lavished him with attention; visiting her was like returning to thewomb. In her presence, in fact, he was more a little boy than ever. How could he refuse her a favor or ever leave her? And when she finally threatened to leave him, he was reduced to the state of a wailing infant crying for his mother. In the end she had total power over him. Unconditional love is rare and hard to find, yet it is what we all crave, since we either experienced it once or wish we had. You do not have to go   as far as Juliette Drouet; the mere hint of devoted attention, of accepting your lovers for who they are, of meeting their needs, will place them in an infantile position. A sense of dependency may frighten them a little, and they may feel an undercurrent of ambivalence, a need to assert themselves periodically, as Hugo did through his affairs. But their ties to you will be strong and they will keep coming back for more, bound by the illusion that they are recapturing the mother-love they had seemingly lost forever, or never had. 2. Around the turn of the twentieth century. Professor Mut, a schoolmaster at a college for young men in a small German town, began to de- Effect Regression velop a keen hatred of his students. Mut was in his late fifties, and had worked at the same school for many years. He taught Greek and Latin and was a distinguished classical scholar. He had always felt a need to impose discipline, but now it was getting ugly: the students were simply not interested in Homer anymore. They listened to bad music and only liked modern literature. Although they were rebellious, Mut considered them soft and undisciplined. He wanted to teach them a lesson and make their lives miserable; his usual way of dealing with their bouts of rowdiness was sheer bullying, and most often it worked. One day a student Mut loathed-a haughty, well-dressed young man named Lohmann-stood up in class and said, "I can't go on working in this room. Professor. There is such a smell of mud." Mud was the boys' nickname for Professor Mut. The professor seized Lohmann by the arm, twisted it hard, then banished him from the room. He later noticed that Lohmann had left his exercise book behind, and thumbing through it he saw a paragraph about an actress named Rosa Frohlich. A plot hatched in Mut's mind: he would catch Lohmann cavorting with this actress, no doubt a woman of ill repute, and would get the boy kicked out of school. First he had to find out where she performed. He searched high and low, finally finding her name up outside a club called the Blue Angel. He went in. It was a smoke-filled place, full of the working-class types he looked down on. Rosa was onstage. She was singing a song; the way she looked everyone in the audience in the eye was rather brazen, but for some reason Mut found this disarming. He relaxed a little, had some wine. After her performance he made his way to her dressing room, determined to grill her about Lohmann. Once there he felt strangely uncomfortable, but he gathered up his courage, accused her of leading schoolboys astray, and threatened to get the police to close the place down. Rosa, however, was not intimidated. She turned all of Mut's sentences around: perhaps he was the one leading boys astray. Her tone was cajoling and teasing. Yes, Lohmann had bought her flowers and champagne-so what? No one had ever talked to Mut this way before; his authoritative tone usually made people give way. He should have felt offended: she was low class and a woman, and he was a schoolmaster, but she was talking to him as if they were equals. Instead, however, he neither got angry nor left-something compelled him to stay. Now she was silent. She picked up a stocking and started to darn it, ignoring him; his eyes followed her every move, particularly the way she rubbed her bare knee. Finally he brought up Lohmann again, and the police. "You've no idea what this life's like," she said. "Everyone who comes here thinks he's the only pebble on the beach. If you don't give them what they want they threaten you with the police!" "I certainly regret having hurt a lady's feelings," he replied sheepishly. As she got up from her chair, their knees rubbed, and he felt a shiver up his spine. Now she was nice to him again, and poured him some more wine. She invited him to come back, then left abruptly to perform another number. The Art of Seduction The next day he kept thinking about her words, her looks. Thinking about her while he was teaching gave him a kind of naughty thrill. That night he went back to the club, still determined to catch Lohmann in the act, and once again found himself in Rosa's dressing room, drinking wine and becoming strangely passive. She asked him to help her get dressed; that seemed quite an honor and he obliged her. Helping her with her corset and her makeup, he forgot about Lohmann. He felt he was being initiated into some new world. She pinched his cheeks and stroked his chin, and occasionally let him glimpse her bare leg as she rolled up a stocking. Now Professor Mut showed up night after night, helping her dress, watching her perform, all with a strange kind of pride. He was there so often that Lohmann and his friends no longer showed up. He had taken their place-he was the one to bring her flowers, pay for her champagne, the one to serve her. Yes, an old man like himself had bested the youthful Lohmann, who thought himself so suave! He liked it when she stroked his chin, complimented him for doing things right, but he felt even more excited when she rebuked him, throwing a powder puff in his face or pushing him off a chair. It meant she liked him. And so, gradually, he began to pay for all her caprices. It cost him a pretty penny but kept her away from other men. Eventually he proposed to her. They married, and scandal ensued: he lost hisjob, and soon all his money; finally he landed in prison. To the very end, however, he could never get angry with Rosa. Instead he felt guilty: he had never done enough for her. Interpretation. Professor Mut and Rosa Frohlich are characters in the novel The Blue Angel, written by Heinrich Mann in 1905, and later made into a film starring Marlene Dietrich. Rosa's seduction of Mut follows the classic oedipal regression pattern. First, the woman treats the man the way a mother would treat a little boy. She scolds him, but the scolding is not threatening; it is tender, and has a teasing edge. Like a mother, she knows she is dealing with someone weak, who cannot help his naughty behavior. She mixes plenty of praise and approval in with her taunts. Once the man begins to regress, she adds physical excitement-some bodily contact to excite him, subtle sexual overtones. As a reward for his regression, the man may get the thrill of finally sleeping with his mother. But there is always an element of competition, which the mother figure must heighten. The man gets to possess her all on his own, something he could not do with father in the way, but he first has to win her away from others. The key to this kind of regression is to see and treat your targets as children. Nothing about them intimidates you, no matter how much authority or social standing they have. Your manner makes it clear that you feel you are the stronger party. To accomplish this it may be helpful to imagine or them as the children they once were; suddenly, powerful people do not seem so powerful and threatening when you regress them in your imagination. Keep in mind that certain types are more vulnerable to an Effect Regression • 343 regression. Look for those who, like Professor Mut, seem outwardly most adult-straitlaced, serious, a little full of themselves. They are struggling to repress their regressive tendencies, overcompensating for their weaknesses. Often those who seem the most in command of themselves are the ripest for regression. In fact they are secretly longing for it, because their power, position, and responsibilities are more a burden than a pleasure. 3. Born in 1768, the French writer Francois Rene de Chateaubriand grew in a medieval castle in Brittany. The castle wascold and gloomy, as if inhabited by the ghosts of its past. The family lived there in semiseclusion. Chateaubriand spent much of his time with his sister Lucile, and his attachment to her was strong enough that rumors of incest made the rounds. But when he was around fifteen, a new woman named Sylphide entered his -a woman he created in his imagination, a composite of all the heroines, goddesses, and courtesans he had read about in books. He was constantly seeing her features in his mind, and hearing her voice. Soon she was taking walks with him, carrying on conversations. He imagined her innocent and exalted, yet they would sometimes do things that were not so innocent. He carried on this relationship for two whole years, until finally he left for Paris, and replaced Sylphide with women of flesh and blood. The French public, weary after the terrors of the 1790s, greeted Chateaubriand's first books enthusiastically, sensing a new spirit in them. His novels were full of windswept castles, brooding heroes, and passionate heroines. Romanticism was in the air. Chateaubriand himself resembled the characters in his novels, and despite his rather unattractive appearance, women went wild over him-with him, they could escape their boring marriages and live out the kind of turbulent romance he wrote about. Chateaubriand's nickname was the Enchanter, and although he was married, and an ardent Catholic, the number of his affairs increased with the years. But he had a restless nature-he traveled to the Middle East, to the United States, all over Europe. He could not find what he was looking for anywhere, and not the right woman either: after the novelty of an affair wore off, he would leave. By 1807 he had had so many affairs, and still felt so unsatisfied, that he decided to retire to his country estate, called Vallee aux Loups. He filled the place with trees from all over the world, transforming the grounds into something out of one of his novels. There he began to write the memoirs that he envisioned would be his masterpiece. By 1817, however, Chateaubriand's life had fallen apart. Money problems had forced him to sell Vallee aux Loups. Almost fifty, he suddenly felt old, his inspiration dried up. That year he visited the writer Madame de Stael, who had been ill and was now close to death. He spent several days at her bedside, along with her closest friend, Juliette Recamier. Madame Re- camier's affairs were infamous. She was married to a much older man, but they had not lived together for some time; she had broken the hearts of the most illustrious men in Europe, including Prince Metternich, the Duke of 344 The Art of Seduction Wellington, and the writer Benjamin Constant. It had also been rumored that despite all her flirtations she was still a virgin. She was now almost forty, but she was the type of woman who seems youthful at any age. Drawn together by their grief over de Stael's death, she and Chateaubriand became friends. She listened so attentively to him, adopting his moods and echoing his sentiments, that he felt that he had at last met a woman who understood him. There was also something rather ethereal about Madame Recamier. Her walk, her voice, her eyes-more than one man had compared her to some unearthly angel. Chateaubriand soon burned with the desire to possess her physically. The year after their friendship began, she had a surprise for him: she had convinced a friend to purchase Vallee aux Loups. The friend was away for a few weeks, and she invited Chateaubriand to spend some time with her at his former estate. He happily accepted. He showed her around, explaining what each little patch of ground had meant to him, the memories the place conjured up. He felt youthful feelings welling up inside him, feelings he had forgotten about. He delved further into the past, describing events in his childhood. At moments, walking with Madame Recamier and looking into those kind eyes, he felt a shiver of recognition, but he could not quite identify it. All he knew was that he had to go back to the memoirs that he had laid aside. "I intendto employ the little time that is left to me in describing my youth," he said, "so long as its essence remains palpable to me." It seemed that Madame Recamier returned Chateaubriand's love, but as usual she struggled to keep it a spiritual affair. The Enchanter, however, deserved his nickname. His poetry, his air of melancholy, and his persistence finally won the day and she succumbed, perhaps for the first time in her life. Now, as lovers, they were inseparable. But as always with Chateaubriand, over time one woman was not enough. The restless spirit returned. He began to have affairs again. Soon he and Recamier stopped seeing each other. In 1832, Chateaubriand was traveling through Switzerland. Once again his life had taken a downward turn; only this time he truly was old, in body and spirit. In the Alps, strange thoughts of his youth began to assail him, memories of the castle in Brittany. Word reached him that Madame Recamier was in the area. He had not seen her in years, and he hurried to the inn where she was staying. She was as kind to him as ever; during the day they took walks together, and at night they stayed up late, talking. One day, Chateaubriand told Recamier he had finally decided to finish his memoirs. And he had a confession to make: he told her the story of Sylphide, his imaginary lover when he was growing up.He had once hoped to meet a Sylphide in real life, but the women he had known had paled in comparison. Over the years he had forgotten about his imaginary lover, but now he was an old man, and he not only thought of her again, he could see her face and hear her voice. And with those memories he realized that he had in fact met Sylphide in real life-it was Madame Re- Effect Regression • 345 camier. The face and voice were close. More important, there was the calm spirit, the innocent, virginal quality. Reading to her the prayer to Sylphide he had just written, he told her he wanted to be young again, and seeing her had brought his youth back to him. Reconciled with Madame Re- camier, he began to work again on the memoirs, which were eventually published under the title Memoirsfrom Beyond the Grave. Most critics agreed that the book was his masterpiece. The memoirs were dedicated to Madame Recamier, to whom he remained devoted until his death, in 1848. Interpretation. All of us carry within us an image of an ideal type of person whom we yearn to meet and love. Most often the type is a composite made up of bits and pieces of different people from our youth, and even of characters in books and movies. People who influenced us inordinately-a teacher for instance-may also figure. The traits have nothing to do with superficial interests. Rather, they are unconscious, hard to verbalize. We searched hardest for this ideal type in our adolescence, when we were more idealistic. Often our first loves have more of these traits than our subsequent affairs. For Chateaubriand, living with his family in their secluded castle, his first love was his sister Lucile, whom he adored and idealized. But since love with her was impossible, he created a figure out of his imagination who had all her positive attributes-nobility of spirit, innocence, courage. Madame Recamier could not have known about Chateaubriand's ideal, but she did know something about him, well before she ever met him. She had read all of his books, and his characters were highly autobiographical. She knew of his obsession with his lost youth; and everyone knew of his endless and unsatisfying affairs with women, his hyperrestless spirit. Madame Recamier knew how to mirror people, entering their spirit, and one of her first acts was to take Chateaubriand to Vallee aux Loups, where he felt he had left part of his youth. Alive with memories, he regressed further into his childhood, to the days in the castle. She actively encouraged this. Most important, she embodied a spirit that came naturally to her, but that matched his youthfulideal; innocent, noble, kind. (The fact that so many men fell in love with her suggests that many men had the same ideals.) Madame Recamier was Lucile/Sylphide. It took him years to realize it, but when he did, her spell over him was complete. It is nearly impossible to embody someone's ideal completely. But if you come close enough, if you evoke some of that ideal spirit, you can lead that person into a deep seduction. To effect this regression you must play the role of the therapist. Get your targets to open up about their past, particularly their former loves and most particularly their first love. Pay attento any expressions of disappointment, how this or that person did not give them what they wanted. Take them to places that evoke their youth. In this regression you are creating not so much a relationship of depen- 346 • The Art of Seduction dency and immaturity but rather the adolescent spirit of a first love. There is a touch of innocence to the relationship. So much of adult life involves compromise, conniving, and a certain toughness. Create the ideal atmosphere by keeping such things out, drawing the other person into a kind of mutual weakness, conjuring a second virginity. There should be a dreamlike quality to the affair, as if the target were reliving that first love but could not quite believe it. Let all of this unfoldslowly,each encounter revealing more ideal qualities. The sense of reliving a past pleasure is simply impossible to resist. . Some time in the summer of 1614, several members of England's upper, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, met to decide what to about the Earl of Somerset, the favorite of King James I, who was forty-eight at the time. After eight years as the favorite, the young earl had accumulated such power and wealth, and so many titles, that nothing was left for anyone else. But how to get rid of this powerful man? For the time A few weeks later the king was inspecting the royal stables when he year-old George Villiers, a member of the lower nobility. The courtiers who accompanied the king that day watched the king's eyes following Villiers, and saw with what interest he asked about this young man. Indeed an angel and a charmingly childish manner. When news of the king's intersupplant the dreaded favorite. Left to nature, though, the seduction would never happen. They had to help it along. So, without telling Villiers of their plan, they befriended him. James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots. His childhood had been a nightmare: his father, his mother's favorite, and his own regents had been murdered; his mother had first been exiled, later executed. When James was young, to escape suspicion he played the part of a fool. He hated the sight of a sword and could not stand the slightest sign of argument. surrounded himself with bright, happy young men, and seemed king was inconsolable. He needed distraction and good cheer, and his faon Villiers, under the guise of trying to help him advance within the court. They supplied him with a magnificent wardrobe, jewels, a glittering carriage, the kind of things the king noticed. They worked on his riding. Effect Regression • 347 fencing, tennis, dancing, Ms skills with birds and dogs. He was instructed in conspirators managed to get him appointed the royal cup-bearer; every night he poured out the king's wine, so that the king could see him up close. After a few weeks, the king was in love. The boy seemed to crave attention and tenderness, exactly what he yearned to offer. How wonderful it be to mold and educate him. And what a perfect figure he had! The conspirators convinced Villiers to break off his engagement to a young lady; the king was single-minded in Ms affections, and could not competition. Soon James wanted to be around Villiers all the time, spirit. The king appointed Villiers gentleman of the bedchamber, making it for them to be alone together. What particularly charmed James was that Villiers never asked for anything, which made it all the more deto spoil him. By 1616, Villiers had completely supplanted the former favorite. He . To the conspirators' dismay, however, he quickly accumulated even him sweetheart in public, fix his doublets, comb his hair. James zealously his favorite, anxious to preserve the young man's innocence. He tended to the youth's every whim, in effect became his slave. In fact the tered the room, he started to act like a child. The two were inseparable until the king's death, in 1625. Interpretation. We are most definitely stamped forever by our parents, in and seduced by the child. They may play the role of the protector, but in the process they absorb the child's spirit and energy, relive a part of their own childhood. And just as the child struggles against sexual feelings toward the parent, the parent must repress comparable erotic feelings that beneath the tenderness they feel. The best and most insidious way to seduce people is often to position yourself as the child. Imagining themstronger, more in control, they will be lured into your web. They will they have nothing to fear. Emphasize your immaturity, your weakness, and you let them indulge in fantasies of protecting and parenting you-a desire as people get older. What they do not realize is that you are getting under their skin, insinuating yourself-it is the child who is conthe adult. Your innocence makes them want to protect you, but it is also sexually charged. Innocence is highly seductive; some people even long play the corrupter of innocence. Stir up their latent sexual feelings and you can lead them astray with the hope of fulfilling a strong yet repressed gin to regress as well, infected by your childish, playful spirit. Most of this came naturally to Villiers, but you will probably have to use some calculation. Fortunately, all of us have strong childish tendencies within us that are easy to access and exaggerate. Make your gestures seem spontaneous and unplanned. Any sexual element of your behavior should seem innocent, unconscious. Like Villiers, don't push for favors. Parents prefer to spoil children who don't ask for things but invite them in their manner. Seeming nonjudgmental and uncritical of those around you will make everything you do seem more natural and naive. Have a happy, cheerful demeanor, but with a playful edge. Emphasize any weaknesses you might have, things you cannot control. Remember: most of us remember our early years fondly, but often, paradoxically, the people with the strongest attachment to those times are the ones who had the most difficult childhoods. Actually, circumstances kept them from getting to be children, so they never really grew up, and they long for the paradise they never got to experience. James I falls into this category. These types are ripe targets for a reverse regression. Symbol: The Bed. Lying alone in bed, the child feels unprotected, afraid, and needy. In a nearby room, there is the parent's bed. It is large and forbidding, site of things you are not supposed to know about. Give the seduced both feelings-helplessness and transgression-as you lay them into bed and put them to sleep. Reversal T o reverse the strategies of regression, the parties to a seduction would have to remain adults during the process. This is not only rare, it is not very pleasurable. Seduction means realizing certain fantasies. Being a mture and responsible adult is not a fantasy, it is a duty. Furthermore, a person who remains an adult in relation to you is harder to seduce. In all kinds of seduction-political, media, personal-the target must regress. The only danger is that the child, wearying of dependence, turns against the parent and rebels. You must be prepared for this, and unlike a parent, never take it personally. i8 Stir Up the Transgressive and Taboo There are always social limits on what one can do. of these, the most elemental taboos, go back centuries; others are more superficial, simply defining polite and acceptable behavior. Making your targets feel that you are leading them past either kind of limit is immensely seductive. People yearn to explore their dark side. Not everything in romantic love is supposed to be tender and soft; hint that you have a cruel, even sadistic streak. the desire to transgress draws your targets to you, it will be hardfor them to stop. Take themfurther than they imagined-the shared feeling of guilt and complicity will create a powerful bond.The Lost Self I n March of 1812,the twenty-four-year-old George Gordon Byron published the first cantos of his poem Childe Harold. The poem was filled with familiar gothic imagery-a dilapidated abbey, debauchery, travels to the mysterious East-but what made it different was that the hero of the poem was also its villain: Harold was a man who led a life of vice, disdaining society's conventions yet somehow going unpunished. Also, the poem was not set in some faraway land but in present-day England. Childe Harold created an instant stir, becoming the talk of London. The first printing quickly sold out. Within days a rumor made the rounds: the poem, about a debauched young nobleman, was in fact autobiographical. Now the cream of society clamored to meet Lord Byron, and many of them left their calling cards at his London residence. Soon he was showing up at their homes. Strangely enough, he exceeded their expectations. He was devilishly handsome, with curling hair and the face of an angel. His black attire set off his pale complexion. He did not talk much, which made an impression of itself, and when he did, his voice was low and hypnotic and his tone a little disdainful. He had a limp (he was born with a clubfoot), so when an orchestra struck up a waltz (the dance craze of 1812), he would stand to the side, a faraway look in his eye. The ladieswent wild over Byron. Upon meeting him. Lady Roseberry felt her heart beating so violently (a mix of fear and excitement) that she had to walk away. Women fought to be seated next to him, to win his attention, to be seduced by him. Was it true that he was guilty of a secret sin, like the hero of his poem? Lady Caroline Lamb-wife of William Lamb, son of Lord and Lady Melbourne-was a glittering young woman on the social scene, but deep inside she was unhappy. As a young girl she had dreamt of adventure, romance, travel. Now she was expected to play the role of the polite young wife, and it did not suit her. Lady Caroline was one of the first to read Childe Harold, and something more than its novelty stirred her. When she saw Lord Byron at a dinner party, surrounded by women, she looked at his face, then walked away; that night she wrote of him in her journal, "Mad, bad, and dangerous to know." She added, "That beautiful pale face is my fate." The next day, to Lady Caroline's surprise. Lord Byron called on her. Evidently he had seen her walking away from him, and her shyness had intrigued him-he disliked the aggressive women who were constantly at his It is a matter of a certain hind of feeling: that of being overwhelmed. There are many who have a great fear of bring overwhelmed by someone; for example, someonewhomakes them laugh against their will, or tickles them to death, or, worse, tells them things that they sense to be accurate but which they do not quite understand, things that go beyond their prejudices and received wisdom, In other words, they do not want to be seduced, since seduction means confronting people with their limits, limits that are supposed to be set and stable but that the seducer suddenly causes to . Seduction is the desire of being overwhelmed, taken beyond. SIBONY, L'AMOUR INCONSCIENT Just lately I saw a tight- reined stallion \ Get the bit in his teeth and bolt \ Like lightning-yet the minute hefelt the reins slacken, \ Drop loose on his flying mane, \ He stopped dead. We eternally chafe at restrictions, covet \ Whatever's forbidden. (Look how a sick man who's told \ No immersion hangs round the bathhouse.) \ . . . Desire \ Mounts for what's kept out of reach. A thief s attracted \ By burglar-proof premises. How often will love \ Thrive on a rival's approval? It's not your wife's beauty, but your own \ Passion for her that gets -she must \ Have something, just to have hooked you. A girl locked up by her \ Husband's not chaste but pursued, her fear's \ A bigger draw than her figure. Illicit passion - like it \ Or not-is sweeter. It only turns me on \ When the girl says, "I'm frightened." - OVID, THE AMORES, It is often not possible for [women] later on to undo the connection thus formed in their minds between sensual activities and something forbidden, and they turn out to be psychically impotent, i.e. frigid, when at last such activities do become permissible. This is the source of the desire in so many women to keep even legitimate relations secret for a time; and of the appearance of the capacity for normal sensation in others as soon as the condition of prohibition is restored by a secret intrigue-untrue to the husband, they can keep a second order offaith with the lover. • In my opinion the necessary condition of forbiddenness in the erotic life of women holds the same place as the man's heels, as it seemed he disdained everything, including his success. Soon he was visiting Lady Caroline daily. He lingered in her boudoir, played with her children, helped her choose her dress for the day. She pressed him to talk of his life: he described his brutal father, the untimely deaths that seemed to be a family curse, the crumbling abbey he had inherited, his adventures in Turkey and Greece. His life was indeed as gothic as that of Childe Harold. Within days the two became lovers. Now, though, the tables turned: Lady Caroline pursued Byron with unladylike aggression. She dressed as a page and sneakedinto hiscarriage,wrotehimextravagantly emotional letters, flaunted the affair. At last, a chance to play the grand romantic role of her girlhood fantasies. Byron began to turn against her. He already loved to shock; now he confessed to her the nature of the secret sin he had alluded to in Childe Harold -his homosexual affairs during his travels. He made cruel remarks, grew indifferent. But this only seemed to push her further. She sent him the customary lock of hair, but from her pubis; she followed him in the street, made public scenes-finally her family sent her abroad to avoid further scandal. After Byron made it clear the affair was over, she descended into a madness that would last several years. In 1813, an old friend of Byron's, James Webster, invited the poet to stay at his country estate. Webster had a young and beautiful wife. Lady Frances, and he knew Byron's reputation as a seducer, but his wife was quiet and chaste-surely she would resist the temptation of a man such as Byron. To Webster's relief, Byron barely spoke to Frances, who seemed equally uninterested in him. Yet several days into Byron's stay, she contrived to be alone with him in the billiards room, where she asked him a question: how could a woman who liked a man inform him of it when he did not perceive it? Byron scribbled a racy reply on a piece of paper, which made her blush as she read it. Soon thereafter he invited the couple to stay with him at his infamous abbey. There, the prim and proper Lady Frances saw him drink wine from a human skull. They stayed up late in one of the abbey's secret chambers, reading poetry and kissing. With Byron, it seemed. Lady Frances was only too eager to explore adultery. That same year. Lord Byron's half sister Augusta arrived in London to get away from her husband, who was having money troubles. Byron had not seen Augusta for some time. The two were physically similar-the same face, the same mannerisms; she was Lord Byron as a woman. And his behavior toward her was more than brotherly. He took her to the theater, to dances, received her at home, treating her with an intimate spirit that Augusta soon returned. Indeed the kind and tender attention that Byron showered on her soon became physical. Augusta was a devoted wife with three children, yet she yielded to her half brother's advances. How could she help herself? He stirred up a strange passion in her, a stronger passion than she felt for any other man, including her husband. For Byron, his relationship with Augusta was the ultimate and crowning sin of his career. And soon he was writing to his friends, openly Stir Up the Transgressive and Taboo • 353 confessing it. Indeed he delighted in their shocked responses, andhislong narrative poem. The Bride ofAbydos, takes brother-sister incest as its theme. Rumors began to spread of Byron's relations with Augusta, who was now pregnant with his child. Polite society shunned him-but women were more drawn to him than before, and his books were more popular than ever. Annabella Milbanke, Lady Caroline Lamb's cousin, had met Byron in those first months of 1812 when he was the toast of London. Annabella was sober and down to earth, and her interests were science and religion. But there was something about Byron that attracted her. And the feeling seemed to be returned: not only did the two become friends, to her bewilderment he showed another kind of interest in her, even at one point proposing marriage. This was in the midst of the scandal over Byron and Caroline Lamb, and Annabella did not take the proposal seriously. Over the next few months she followed his career from a distance, and heard the rumors of incest. Yet in 1813, she wrote her aunt, "I consider his acquaintance as so desirable that I would incur the risk of being called a Flirt for the sake of enjoying it." Reading his new poems, she wrote that his "description of Love almost makes me in love." She was developing an obsession with Byron, of which word soon reached him. They renewed their friendship, and in 1814 he proposed again; this time she accepted. Byron was a fallen angel and she would be the one to reform him. It did not turn out that way. Byron had hoped that married life would calm him down, but after the ceremony he realized it was a mistake. He told Annabella, "Now you will find that you have married a devil." Within a few years the marriage fell apart. In 1816, Byron left England, never to return. He traveled through Italy for a while; everyone knew his story-the affairs, the incest, the cruelty to his lovers. But wherever he went, Italian women, particularly married noblewomen, pursued him, making it clear in their own way how prepared they were to be the next Byronic victim. In truth, the women had become the aggressors. As Byron told the poet Shelley, "No one has been more carried off than poor dear me-I've been ravished more often than anyone since the Trojan war." Interpretation. Women of Byron's time were longing to play a different role than society allowed them. They were supposed to be the decent, moralizing force in culture; only men had outlets for their darker impulses. Underlying the social restrictions on women, perhaps, was a fear of the more amoral and unbridled part of the female psyche. Feeling repressed and restless, women of the time devoured gothic novels and romances, stories in which womenwere adventurous, and had the same capacity for good and evil as men. Books like these helped to trigger a revolt, with women like Lady Caroline playing out a little of the fantasy life they had had in their girlhood, where it had to some extent been permit- need to lower his sexual object. . . . Women belonging to the higher levels of civilization do not usually transgress the prohibition against sexual activities during the period of waiting, and thus they acquire this close association between the forbidden and the sexual. . . . • The injurious results of the deprivation of sexual enjoyment at the beginning manifest themselves in lack offull satisfaction when sexual desire is later given free rein in marriage. But, on the other hand, unrestrained sexual liberty from the beginning leads to no better result. It is easy to show that the value the mind sets on erotic needs instantly sinks as soon as satisfaction becomes readily obtainable. Some obstacle is necessary to swell the tide of the libido to its height; and at all periods of, wherever natural barriers in the way of satisfaction have not sufficed, mankind has erected conventional ones in to be able to enjoy . This is true both of individuals and of nations. In times during which no obstacles to sexual existed, such as, maybe, during the decline of the civilizations of antiquity, love became worthless, lifebecameempty, and strong reaction- formations were necessary before the indispensable emotional value of love could be recovered.  FREUD, "CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LOVE," SEXUALITY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LOVE This is how Monsieur Maudair analyzed men's toward prostitutes: Neither the love of a passionate but well- brought-up mistress, nor his marriage to a woman he respects, can replace the prostitute for the animal in those moments when he covets the pleasure of himself without his social prestige. can replace this bizarre and powerful of being able to parody without any fear of revolt against organized society, his organized, educated self and especially his Mauclair hears the call of Devil in this dark poetized by prostitute represents the us to put aside our ." LOVE AND THE FRENCH brought them joy; spoil their game, he only them the more passionate about it, God . ... so it was with Tristan and Isolde. As soon as they wereforbidden their desires, and prevented from enjoying one another by spies and guards, they began to suffer intensely. Desire now seriously tormented them by its magic, many times worse than before; their need for one another was more ted. Byron arrived on the scene at the right time. He became the lightning rod for women's unexpressed desires; with him they could go beyond the limits society had imposed. For some the lure was adultery, for others it was romantic rebellion, or a chance to become irrational and uncivilized. (The desire to reform him merely covered up the truth-the desire to be overwhelmed by him.) In all cases it was the lure of the forbidden, which in this case was more than merely a superficial temptation: once you became involved with Lord Byron, he took you further than you had imagined or wanted, since he recognized no limits. Women did notjust fall in love with him, they let him turn their lives upside down, even ruin them. They preferred that fate to the safe confines of marriage. In some ways, the situation of women in the early nineteenth century has become generalized in the early twenty-first. The outlets for male bad behavior-war, dirty politics, the institution of mistresses and courtesans- have faded away; today, notjust women but men are supposed to be eminentlycivilizedandreasonable.Andmany have a hard time living up to this. As children we are able to vent the darker side of our characters, a side that all of us have. But under pressure from society (at first in the form of our parents), we slowly repress the naughty, rebellious, perverse streaks in our characters. To get along, we leam to repress our dark sides, which become a kind of lost self, a part of our psyche buried beneath our polite appearance. As adults, we secretly want to recapture that lost self-the more adventurous, less respectful, childhood part of us. We are drawn to those who live out their lost selves as adults, even if it involves some evil or destruction. Like Byron, you can become the lightning rod for such desires. You must leam, however, to keep this potential under control, and to use it strategically. As the aura of the forbidden around you is drawing targets into your web, do not overplay your dangerousness, or they will be frightened away. Once you feel them falling under your spell, you have freer rein. If they begin to imitate you, as Lady Caroline imitated Byron, then take it -mix in some cruelty, involve them in sin, crime, taboo activity, whatever it takes. Unleash the lost self within them; the more they act it out, the deeper your hold over them. Going halfway will break the spell and create self-consciousness. Take it as far as you can. Baseness attracts everybody. -GOETHE Keys to Seduction S ociety and culture are based on limits-this kind of behavior is acceptable, that is not. The limits are fluid and change with time, but there are always limits. The alternative is anarchy, the lawlessness of nature, which we dread. But we are strange animals: the moment any kind of limit is im- Stir Up the Transgressive and Taboo • 355 posed, physically or psychologically, we are instantly curious. A part of us wants to go beyond that limit, to explore what is forbidden. If, as children, we are told not to go past a certain point in the woods, that is precisely where we want to go. But we grow older, and become polite and deferential; more and more boundaries encumber our lives. Do not confuse politeness with happiness, however. It covers up frustration, unwanted compromise. How can we explore the shadow side of our personality without incurring punishment or ostracism? It seeps out in our dreams. We sometimes wake up with a sense of guilt at the murder, incest, adultery, and mayhem that goes on in our dreams, until we realize no one needs to know about it but ourselves. But give a person the sense that with you they will have a chance to explore the outer reaches of acceptable, polite behavior, that with you they can vent some of their closeted personality, and you create the ingredients for a deep and powerful seduction. You will have to go beyond the point of merely teasing them with an elusive fantasy. The shock and seductive power will come from the reality of what you are offering them. Like Byron, at a certain point you can even press it further than they may want to go. If they have followed you merely out of curiosity, they may feel some fear and hesitation, but once they are hooked, they will fond you hard to resist, for it is hard to return to a limit once you have transgressed and gone past it. The human cries out for more, and does not know when to stop. You will determine for them when it is time to stop. The moment people feel that something is prohibited, a part of them will want it. That is what makes a married man or woman such a delicious target-the more someone is prohibited, the greater the desire. George Vil-, the Earl of Buckingham, was the favorite first of King James I, then of James's son. King Charles I. Nothing was ever denied him. In 1625, on a visit to France, he met the beautiful Queen Anne and fell hopelessly in love. What could be more impossible, more out of reach, than the queen of a rival power? He could have had almost any other woman, but the prohibited nature of the queen completely enflamed him, until he embarrassed himself andhiscountry by trying to kiss her in public. Since what is forbidden is desired, somehow you must make yourself seem forbidden. The most blatant way to do this is to engage in behavior that gives you a dark and forbidden aura. Theoretically you are someone to avoid; in fact you are too seductive to resist. That was the allure of the actor Errol Flynn, who, like Byron, often found himself the pursued rather than pursuer. Flynn was devilishly handsome, but he also had something else: a definite criminal streak. In his wild youth he engaged in all kinds of activities. In the 1950s he was charged with rape, a permanent stain on his reputation even though he was acquitted; but his popularity among women only increased. Play up your dark side and you will have a similar effect. For your targets to be involved with you means going beyond their limits, doing something naughty and unacceptable-to society, to their peers. For many that is reason to bite the bait. painful and urgent than it had ever been. just because they are forbidden, which they would certainly not do if they were not forbidden. Our Lord God gave Eve the freedom to do what she would with all the fruits, flowers, and plants there were in Paradise, except for only one, which he forbade her to touch on pain of death. She look the fruit and broke God's but it is my firm belief now that Eve would never have done this, if she had not been forbidden to. STRASSBURG, TRISTAN UND ISOLDE. QUOTED IN ANDREA HOPKINS, THE BOOK OF COURTLY LOVE One of Monsieur Leopold Stern's friends rented a bachelor's pied-a-terre where he received his wife as a mistress, served her with port and petits-fours and "experienced all the tingling excitement of adultery." He told Stern that it was a delightful sensation to cuckold himself. -NINAEPTON, LOVE AND THE FRENCH The Art of Seduction In Junichiro Tanazaki's 1928 novel Quicksand, Sonoko Kakiuchi, the wife of a respectable lawyer, is bored and decides to take art classes to wile away the time. There, she finds herself fascinated with a fellow female student, the beautiful Mitsuko, who befriends her, then seduces her. Kakiuchi is forced to tell endless lies to her husband about her involvement with and their frequent trysts. Mitsuko slowly involves her in all kinds of nefarious activities, including a love triangle with a bizarre young man. Each time Kakiuchi is made to explore some forbidden pleasure, Mitsuko challenges her to go further and further. Kakiuchi hesitates, feels remorse- she knows she is in the clutches of a devilish young seductress who has played on her boredom to lead her astray. But in the end, she cannot help following Mitsuko's lead-each transgressive act makes her want more. Once your targets are drawn by the lure of the forbidden, dare them to match you in transgressive behavior. Any kind of challenge is seductive. Take it slowly heightening the challenge only after they show signs of yielding to you. Once they are under your spell, they may not even notice how far out on a limb you have taken them. The great eighteenth-century rake Due de Richelieu had a prediliction for young girls and he would often heighten the seduction by enveloping them in transgressive behavior, to which the young are particularly susceptible. For instance, he would find a way into the young girl's house and lure her into her bed; the parents would be just down the hall, adding the proper spice. Sometimes he would act as if they were about to be discov, the momentary fright sharpening the overall thrill. In all cases, he would try to turn the young girl against her parents, ridiculing their religious zeal or prudery or pious behavior. The duke's stategy was to attack the values that his targets held dearest-precisely the values that represent a limit. In a young person, family ties, religious ties, and the like are useful to the seducer; young people barely need a reason to rebel against them. The, though, can be applied to a person of any age: for every deeply held value there is a shadow side, a doubt, a desire to explore what those values forbid. hi Renaissance Italy, a prostitute would dress as a lady and go to church. Nothing was more exciting to a man than to exchange glances with a woman whom he knew to be a whore as he was surrounded by his wife, family, peers, and church officials. Every religion or value system creates a dark side, the shadow realm of everything it prohibits. Tease your targets, get them to flirt with whatever transgresses their family values, which are often emotional yet superficial, since they are imposed front the outside. One of the most seductive men of the twentieth century, Rudolph Valentino, was known as the Sex Menace. His appeal for women was twofold; he could be tender and attentive, but he also hinted of cmelty. At any moment he could become dangerously bold, perhaps even a little violent. The studios played up this double image as much as possible-when it was reported that he had been abusive to his wife, for example, they ex- Stir Up the Transgressive and Tabooploited the story. A mix of the masculine and the feminine, the violent and the tender, will always seem transgressive and appealing. Love is supposed to be tender and delicate, but in fact it can release violent and destructive emotions; and the possible violence of love, the way it breaks down our normal reasonableness, is just what attracts us. Approach romance's violent side by mixing a cruel streak into your tender attentions, particularly in the latter stages of the seduction, when the target is in your clutches. The Lola Montez was known to turn to violence, using a whip now and then, and Lou Andreas-Salome could be exceptionally cruel to her men, playing coquettish games, turning alternately icy and demanding. Her cruelty only kept her targets coming back for more. A masochistic involvecan represent a great transgressive release. The more illicit your seduction feels, the more powerful its effect. Give your targets the feeling that they are committing a kind of crime, a deed whose guilt they share with you. Create public moments in which the two of you know something that those around you do not. It could be phrases and looks that only you recognize, a secret. Byron's seductive appeal to Lady Frances was connected to the nearness of her husband-in his company, for example, she had a love letter of Byron's hidden in her bosom. Johannes, the protagonist of Spren Kierkegaard's The Seducer's Diary, sent a message to his target, the young Cordelia, in the middle of a dinner party they were both attending; she could not reveal to the other guests that it was from him, for then she wouldhaveto do some explaining. He might also say something in public that would have a special meaning for her, since it referred to something in one of his letters. All of this added spice to the affair by giving it a feeling of a shared secret, even a guilty crime. It is critical to play on tensions like these in public, creating a sense of complicand collusion against the world. In the Tristan and Isolde legend, the famous lovers reach the heights of and exhilaration exactly because of the taboos they break. Isolde is engaged to King Mark; she will soon be a married woman. Tristan is a loyal subject and warrior in the service of King Mark, who is his father's age. The whole affair has a feeling of stealing away the bride from the father. Epitomizing the concept of love in the Western world, the legend has had immense influence over the ages, and a crucial part of it is the idea that without obstacles, without a feeling of transgression, love is weak and flavorless. People may be straining to remove restrictions on private behavior, to make everything freer, in the world today, but that only makes seduction more difficult and less exciting. Do what you can to reintroduce a feeling of transgression and crime, even if it is only psychological or illusory. There must be obstacles to overcome, social norms to flout, laws to break, before the seduction can be consummated. It might seem that a permissive society imposes few limits; find some. There will always be limits, sacred cows, behavioral standards-endless ammunition for stirring up the transgressive and taboo. Symbol: The Forest. The children are told not to go into the forest that lies just beyond the safe confines of their home. There is no law there, only wilderness, wild animals, and . But the chance to explore, the alluring darkness, and the fact that it is prohibited are impossible to resist. And once inside, they want to go farther andfarther. Reversal T he reversal of stirring up taboos would be to stay within the limits of acceptable behavior. That would make for a very tepid seduction. Which is not to say that only evil or wild behavior is seductive; goodness, kindness, and an aura of spirituality can be tremendously attractive, they are rare qualities. But notice that the game is the same. A person who is kind or good or spiritual within the limits that society prescribes has weak appeal. It is those who go to the extreme-the Gandhis, the Krish- namurtis-who seduce us. They do not merely expound a spiritual life, they do away with all personal material comfort to live out their ascetic ideals. They too go beyond the limits, transgressing acceptable behavior, because societies would find it hard to function if everyone wenttosuchlengths.Inseduction, there is absolutely no power in respecting boundaries and limits. IQ Use Spiritual Lures Everyone has doubts and insecurities-about their body, their self-worth, their sexuality. If your seduction appeals exclusively to the, you will stir up these doubts and make your targets self-conscious. Instead, lure out of their insecurities by making them focus on something sublime and spiritual: a religious experience, a lofty work of art, the occult. Play up your divine qualities; affect an air of discontent with things; speak of the stars, destiny, the hidden threads that unite you and the object of the seduction. Lost in a spiritual mist, the target will feel light and uninhibited. Deepen the effect of your seduction by making its sexual culmination seem like the spiritual union of two souls. Object of Worship L iane de Pougy was the reigning courtesan of 1890s Paris. Slender and androgynous, she was a novelty, and the wealthiest men in Europe vied to possess her. By late in the decade, however, she had grown tired of it all. "What a sterile life," she wrote a friend. "Always the same routine: the Bois, the races, fittings; and to end an insipid day: dinner!" What wearied the most was the constant attention of her male admirers, who sought to monopolize her physical charms. One spring day in 1899, Liane was riding in an open carriage through the Bois de Boulogne. As usual, men tipped their hats at her as she passed by. But one of these admirers caught her by surprise: a young woman with blond hair, who gave her an intense, worshipful stare. Liane smiled at woman, who smiled and bowed in return. A few days later Liane began to receive cards and flowers from a twenty-three-year-old American named Natalie Barney, who identified herself as the blond admirer in the Bois de Boulogne, and asked for a ren. Liane invited Natalie to visit, but to amuse herself she decided to play a little joke: a friend would take her place, lounging on her bed in the dark boudoir, while Liane would hide behind a screen. Natalie arrived at bouquet of flowers. Kneeling before the bed, she began to praise the courtesan, comparing her to a Era Angelico painting. All too soon, she someone laugh-and standing up she realized the joke that had been played on her. She blushed and made for the door. When Liane hurried "Come back tomorrow morning. I'll be alone." The young American showed up the next day, wearing the same outfit. was witty and spirited; Liane relaxed in her presence, and invited her to stay for the courtesan's morning ritual-the elaborate makeup, clothes, and beautiful woman she had ever seen. Playing the part of the page, she followed Liane to the carriage, opened the door for her with a bow, and accompanied her on her habitual ride through the Bois de Boulogne. Once inside the park, Natalie knelt on the floor, out of sight of the passing gentlemen who tipped their hats to Liane. She recited poems she had writ- Ah! always to be able to freely love the one whom one loves! To spend my life at yourfeet like our last days together. To protect only one to throw you on this bed of moss. We'll find each other again falls, we'll go deep in the to lose the paths island of describe for you those delicate female couples, and far from the cities and the, we'll forget everything but the Ethics of Beauty. BARNEY, LETTER TO LIANE DE POUGY,QUOTED IN CHALON, PORTRAIT OF A NATALIE BARNEY,  Natalie, who used to ravage the land of love. by husbands since no one could resist her could see how women abandon their potions. Natalie preferred writing poems; she always knew how to blend the physical and the spiritual. CHALON, PORTRAIT OF NATAUE BARNEY. town of Gafsa, in Barbary, very rich man who had daughter called Alibech. She was not in Liane's honor, and she told the courtesan she considered it a mission That evening Natalie took her to the theater to see Sarah Bernhardt with Hamlet-his hunger for the sublime, his hatred of tyranny-which, for her, was the tyranny of men over women. Over the next few days Liane received a steady flow of flowers from Natalie, and telegrams with little poems in her honor. Slowly the worshipful words and looks became more physical, with the occasional touch, then a caress, even a kiss-and a Mss felt different from any in Liane's experience. One morning, with Natalie in attendance, Liane prepared to take a bath. As she slipped out Natalie to throw off her clothes andjoin her. Within a few days, all Paris knew that Liane de Pougy had a new lover: Natalie Barney. made no effort to disguise her new affair, publishing a novel, had an affair with a woman before, and she described her involvement with were many one day, having on the Christian faith and the one of them for his opinion her by saying the ones who served put the greatest distance themselves and the case of people who remoter parts of the . • She said no about it to anyone, next morning, being a offourteen or alone, in secret, and A few days later, hunger, she arrived in the of the wilderness, long life, she remembered the affair as by far her most intense. her. Renee was obsessed with death; she also felt there was something wrong with her, experiencing moments of intense self-loathing. In 1900, Renee met Natalie at the theater. Something about the American's kind eyes melted Renee's normal reserve, and she began sending poems to Natalie, who responded with poems of her own. They soon became friends. confessed that she had had an intense friendship with another woman, but that it remained platonic-the thought of physical involverepulsed her. Natalie told her about the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who celebrated love between women as the only love that is innocent and apartment, which she had transformed into a kind of chapel. The room filled with candles and with white lilies, the flowers she associated with Natalie. That night the two women became lovers. They soon moved in together, but when Renee realized that Natalie could not be faithful to her, her love turned into hatred. She broke off the relationship, moved out, and vowed to never see her again. the next few months Natalie sent her letters and poems, and do with her. One evening at the opera, though, Natalie sat down beside for the past, and also a simple request: the two women should go on a pilgrimage to the Greek island of Lesbos, Sappho's home. Only there could they purify themselves and their relationship. Renee could not resist. Use Spiritual Lures • 36 3 Renee wrote her, "My blond Siren, I don't want you to become like those who dwell on earth. ... I want you tostayyourself,forthisis the way you cast your spell over me." Their affair lasted until Renee's death, in 1909. Interpretation. Liane de Pougy and Renee Vivien both suffered a similar oppression: they were self-absorbed, hyperaware of themselves. The source of this habit in Liane was men's constant attention to her body. She could never escape their looks, which plagued her with a feeling of heaviness. Renee, meanwhile, thought too much about her own problems- her repression of her lesbianism, her mortality. She felt consumed with self-hatred. Natalie Barney, on the other hand, was buoyant, lighthearted, absorbed in the world around her. Her seductions-and by the end of her life they numbered well into the hundreds-all had a similar quality: she took the victim outside herself, directing her attention toward beauty, poetry, the innocence of Sapphic love. She invited her women to participate in a kind of cult in which they would worship these sublimities. To heighten the cultlike feeling, she involved them in little rituals: they would call each other by new names, send each other poems in daily telegrams, wear costumes, women would start to direct some of the worshipful feelings they were extoward Natalie, who seemed as lofty and beautiful as the things she held up to be adored; and, pleasantly diverted into this spiritualized, they wouldalsoloseanyheavinessthey had felt about their bodies, their selves, their identities. Their repression of their sexuality would melt away. By the time Natalie kissed or caressed them, it would feel like something innocent, pure, as if they had returned to the Garden of Eden before the fall. Religion is the great balm of existence because it takes us outside ourselves, connects us to something larger. As we contemplate the object of worship (God, nature), our burdens are lifted away. It is wonderful to feel raised up from the earth, to experience that kind of lightness. No matter how progressive the times, many of us feel uncomfortable with our bodies, our animal drives. A seducer who focuses too much attention on the physical will stir up self-consciousness, and a residue of disgust. So focus attention on something else. Invite the other person to worship something beautiful in the world. It could be nature, a work of art, even God (or gods-paganism never goes out of fashion); people are dying to believe in something. Add some rituals. If you can make yourself seem to resemble the thing you are worshiping-you are natural, aesthetic, noble, and sublime-your targets will transfer their worship to you. Religion and where, catching sight of a hut in the distance, she stumbled toward it, and in the doorway she found a holy man, who was astonished to see her in those parts and asked her what she was doing there. She told him that she had been inspired by God, and that she was trying, not only to serve Him, but also to find someone who could teach her how she should go about it. • On observing how young and exceedingly pretty she was, the good man was afraid to take her under his wing lest the devil should catch him unawares. So he praised her for her good intentions, and having given her a quantity of herb roots, wild apples, and dates to eat, and some water to drink, he said to : • "My daughter, not- very far from here there is a holy man who is much more capable than I of teaching you what you want to know. Go along to him." And he sent her upon her way. • When she came to this second man, she was told precisely the same thing, and so she went on until she arrived at the cell of a young hermit, a very devout and fellow called Rustico, to whom she put the same inquiry as she had addressed to the others. Being anxious to prove to himself that he possessed a of iron, he did not, like the others, send her or direct her elsewhere, but kept her corner of which, when descended, he prepared a makeshift bed out of palm leaves, upon which he invited her to lie down and rest. • Once he had taken this step, very little time elapsed before temptation went to war against his willpower, and after the first few assaults, finding himself outmaneuvered on all fronts, he laid down his arms and surrendered. Casting aside pious thoughts, prayers, and penitential exercises, he began to concentrate his youth and beauty of the girl, and to devise suitable and meansfor her in such a fashion that she should not think it lewd of him to make the sort of proposal he had in mind. By certain questions to, he soon discovered that she had never been with the opposite and was every hit as innocent as she seemed; and he therefore thought of her, with the pretext of . He began by delivering a long speech in which he showed her how powerful an enemy the devil was to the Lord God, and followed this up by appreciated consisted in putting the devil back in Hell, to which the had consigned The girl asked him how was done, and Rustico replied: • "You will soon whatever you see me doing saying, he began to divest of the few clothes himself completely naked. The girl followed his example, and he sank to his knees as though he spirituality are full of sexual undertones that can be brought to the surface once you have made your targets lose their self-awareness. From spiritual ecstasy to sexual ecstasy is but one small step. Come back to take me, quickly, and lead me far away. Purify me with a great fire of divine love, none of the animal kind. You are all soul when you want to be, when you feel it, take me far away from my body. -LIANE DE POUGY Keys to Seduction R eligion is the most seductive system that mankind has created. Death is our greatest fear, and religion offers us the illusion that we are immortal, that something about us will live on. The idea that we are an infinitesimal part of a vast and indifferent universe is terrifying; religion humanizes this universe, makes us feel important and loved. We are not animals governed by uncontrollable drives, animals that die for no apparent reason, but creatures made in the image of a supreme being. We too can be sublime, rational, and good. Anything that feeds a desire or a wished-for illusion is seductive, and nothing can match religion in this arena. Pleasure is the bait that you use to lure a person into your web. But no matter how clever a seducer you are, in the back of your targets' mind they are aware of the endgame, the physical conclusion toward which you are heading. You may think your target is unrepressed and hungry for pleasure, but almost all of us are plagued by an underlying unease with our animal nature. Unless you deal with this unease, your seduction, even when successful in the short term, will be superficial and temporary. Instead, like Natalie Barney, try to capture your target's soul, to build the foundation of a deepand lasting seduction. Lure the victim deep into your web with spirituality, making physical pleasure seem sublime and transcendent. Spirituality will disguise your manipulations, suggesting that your relationship is timeless, and creating a space for ecstasy in the victim's mind. Remember that seduction is a mental process, and nothing is more mentally intoxicating than religion, spirituality, and the occult. In Gustave Flaubert's novel Madame Bo\ury, Rodolphe Boulanger visits the country doctor Bovary and finds himself interested in the doctor's beautiful wife, Emma. Boulanger was brutal and shrewd. He was something of a connoisseur: there had been many women in his life." He senses that Emma is bored. A few weeks later he manages to run into her at a county fair, where he gets her alone. He affects an air of sadness and gloom; "Many's the time I've passed a cemetery in the moonlight and asked myself if I wouldn't be better off lying there with the rest. ..." He mentions his bad reputation; he deserves it, he says, but is it his fault? "Do you really not know that there exist souls that are ceaselessly in torment?" Sev- Use Spiritual Lures • 365 eral times he takes Emma's hand, but she politely withdraws it. He talks of love, the magnetic force that draws two people together. Perhaps it has roots in some earlier existence, some previous incarnation of their souls. "Take us, for example. Why should we have met? How did it happen? It can only be that something in our particular inclinations made us come closer and closer across the distance that separated us, the way two rivers flow together." He takes her hand again and this time she lets him hold it. After the fair, he avoids her for a few weeks, then suddenly shows up, claiming that he tried to stay away but that fate, destiny, has pulled him back. He takes Emma riding. When he finally makes his move, in the woods, she seems frightened and rejects his advances. "You must have some mistaken idea," he protests. "I have you in my heart like a Madonna on a pedestal. ... I beseech you: be my friend, my sister, my angel!" Under the spell of his words, she lets him hold her and lead her deeper into the woods, where she succumbs. Rodolphe's strategy is threefold. First he talks of sadness, melancholy, discontent, talk that makes him seem nobler than other people,as if life's common material pursuits could not satisfy him. Next he talks of destiny, the magnetic attraction of two souls. This makes his interest in Emma seem not so much a momentary impulse as something timeless, linked to the movement of the stars. Finally he talks of angels, the elevated and the sublime. By placing everything on the spiritual plane, he distracts Emma from the physical, makes her feel giddy, and packs a seduction that could have taken months into a matter of a few encounters. The references Rodolphe uses might seem cliched by today's standards, but the strategy itself will never grow old. Simply adapt it to the occult fads of the day. Affect a spiritual air by displaying a discontent with the banalities of life. It is not money or sex or success that moves you; your drives are never so base. No, something much deeper motivates you. Whatever this is, keep it vague, letting the target imagine your hidden depths. The stars, astrology, fate, are always appealing; create the sense that destiny has brought you and your target together. That will make your seduction feel more natural. In a world where too much is controlled and manufactured, the sense that fate, necessity, or some higher power is guiding your relationship is doubly seductive. If you want to weave religious motifs into your seduction, it is always bestto choose some distant, exotic religion with a slightly pagan air. It is easy to move from pagan spirituality to pagan earthiness. Timing counts: once you have stirred your targets' souls, move quickly to the physical, making sexuality seem merely an extension of the spiritual vibrations you are experiencing. In other words, employ the spiritual strategy as close to thetime for your bold move as possible. The spiritual is not exclusively the religious or the occult. It is anything that will add a sublime, timeless quality to your seduction. In the modern world, culture and art have in some ways taken the place of religion. There are two ways to use art in your seduction: first, create it yourself, in the target's honor. Natalie Barney wrote poems, and barraged her targets with were about to pray, getting her to kneel directly opposite. • In this posture, the girl's beauty was displayed to Rustico in all its glory, and his longings blazed more fiercely than ever, bringing about the resurrection of the flesh. Alibech stared at this in amazement and said: • "Rustico, what is that I see sticking out in front of you, which I do not possess?" • "Oh, my daughter," said Rustico, "this is the devil I was telling you about. Do you see what he's doing? He's hurting me so much that I can hardly endure it. " • "Oh, praise be to God," said the girl, "I can see I am better off than you are, for I have no such devil to contend with." • "You're right there;" said Rustico. "But you have something else instead, that I haven't." • "Oh?" said Alibech. "And what's ?" • "You have Hell," said Rustico. "And I believe that God has sent you he re for the salvation of my soul, because if this devil continues to plague the life out of me, and if you are prepared to take sufficient pity upon me to let me put him back into Hell, you will be giving me marvelous relief, as well as rendering incalculable service and pleasure to God, which is what you say you came here for in the first place." • "Oh, Father," replied the girl in all innocence, "if I really do have Hell, let's do as you suggest just as soon as you are ready." • "God bless you, my daughter," said Rustico. "Let's go and put him back, and then perhaps he'll leave me alone. " • At which point he conveyed the girl to one of their beds, where he instructed her in the art of incarcerating that accursed fiend. • Never having put a single devil into Hell before, the girl found the first experience a little painful, and she said to : • "This devil must certainly be a bad lot, Father, and a true enemy of God, for as well as mankind, he even hurts Hell when he's driven back inside it. " • "Daughter," said Rustico, it will not always be like that." And in order to ensure that it wouldn't, before movingfrom the bed they put him back half a dozen times, curbing his arrogance to such good effect that he was positively glad to keep stillfor the rest of the day. • During the nextfew days, however, the devil's pride frequently reared its head again, and the girl, ever ready to obey the call to duty and bringhim under control, happened to develop a taste for the sport, and began saying to Rustico: • "I can certainly see what those worthy men in Gafsa meant when they said that serving God was so . I don't honestly recall ever having done anything that gave me so much pleasure and satisfaction as I get from putting the devil back in Hell. To my way of thinking, anyone who devotes his energies to but the service of God is a complete blockhead. And so, young ladies, if you stand in need of God's grace, see them. Half of Picasso's appeal to many women was the hope that he would immortalize them in his paintings-for Ars longa, vita brevis (Art is long, life is short), as they used to say in Rome. Even if your love is a passing fancy, by capturing it in a work of art you give it a seductive illusion of eternity. The second way to use art is to make it ennoble the affair, giving your seduction an elevated edge. Natalie Barney took her targets to the theater, to the opera, to museums, to places full of history and atmosphere. In such your souls can vibrate to the same spiritual wavelength. Of course you should avoid works of art that are earthy or vulgar, calling attention to your intentions. The play, movie, or book can be contemporary, even a little raw, as long as it contains a noble message and is tied to somejust cause. Even a political movement can be spiritually uplifting. Remember to tailor your spiritual lures to the target. If the target is earthy and cynical, paganism or art will be more productive than the occult or religious piety. The Russian mystic Rasputin was revered for his saintliness and his healing powers. Women in particular were fascinated with Rasputin and would visit him in his St. Petersburg apartment for spiritual guidance. He would talk to them of the simple goodness of the Russian peasantry, God's forgiveness, and other lofty matters. But after a few minutes of this, he would inject a comment or two that were of a much different nature- something about the woman's beauty, her lips that were so inviting, the desires she could inspire in a man. He would talk of different kinds of love-love of God, love between friends, love between a man and a woman-but mix them all up as if they were one. Then as he returned to discussing spiritual matters, he would suddenly take the woman's hand, or whisper into her ear. All this would have ait intoxicating effectwomenwouldfindthemselves dragged into a kind of maelstrom, both spiritually uplifted and sexually excited. Hundreds of women succumbed during these spiritual visits, for he would also tell them that they could not repent until they had sinned, and who better to sin with than Rasputin. Rasputin understood the intimate connection between the sexual and the spiritual. Spirituality, the love of God, is a sublimated version of sexual love. The language of the religious mystics of the Middle Ages is full oferotic images; the contemplation of God and of the sublime can offer a kind of mental orgasm. There is no more seductive brew than the combination of the spiritual and the sexual, the high and the low. When you talk of spiritual matters, then, let your looks and physical presence hint of sexuality at the same time. Make the harmony of the universe and union with God seem to confuse with physical harmony and the union between two people. If you can make the endgame of your seduction appear as a spiritual experience, you will heighten the physical pleasure and create a seduction with a deep and lasting effect. Use Spiritual Lures • 367 Symbol: The Stars in the sky. Objects of worship for centuries, and symbols of the sublime and divine. In contemplating them, we are momentarily distractedfrom everything mundane and mortal. Wefeel lightness. Lift your targets' minds up to the stars and they will not notice what is happening here on earth. that you learn to put the devil back in Hell, for it is greatly to His liking and pleasurable to the parties concerned, and a great deal of good can arise and flow in the process. -BOCCACCIO, THE DECAMERON, Reversal L etting your targets feel that your affection is neither temporary nor superficial will often make them fall deeper under your spell. In some, though, it can arouse an anxiety: the fear of commitment, of a claustrophobic relationship with no exits. Never let your spiritual lures seem to be leading in that direction, then. To focus attention on the distant future may implicitly constrict their freedom; you should be seducing them, not offering to marry them. What you want is to make them lose themselves in the moment, experiencing the timeless depth of your feelings in the present tense. Religious ecstasy is about intensity, not temporal extensity. Giovanni Casanova used many spiritual lures in his seductions-the occult, anything that would inspire lofty sentiments. For the time that he was involved with a woman, she would feel that he would do anything for her, that he was not just using her only to abandon her. But she also knew that when it became convenient to end the affair, hewouldcry, give her a magnificent gift, then quietly leave. This was just what many young women wanted-a temporary diversion from marriage or an oppressive family. Sometimes pleasure is best when we know it is fleeting. 20 Mix Pleasure with Pain The greatest mistake in seduction is being too nice. At first, perhaps, your kindness is charming, but it soon grows monotonous; you are trying too hard to please, and seem insecure. Instead of overwhelming your targets with niceness, try inflicting some pain. Lure them in with focused attention, then change direction, appearing suddenly uninterested. Make them feel guilty and insecure. Even instigate a breakup, subjecting them to an emptiness and pain that will give you room to maneuver-now a rapprochement, an apology, a return to your earlier kindness, will turn them weak at the knees. The lower the lows you create, the greater the highs. To heighten the erotic charge, create the excitement offear. The Emotional Roller Coaster O ne hot summer afternoon in 1894, Don Mateo Diaz, a thirty-eight- year-old resident of Seville, decided to visit a local tobacco factory Because of his connections Don Mateo was allowed to tour the place, but his interest was not in the business side. Don Mateo liked young girls, and hundreds of them worked in the factory. Just as he had expected, that day manyofthem were in a state of near undress because of the heat-it was quite a spectacle. He enjoyed the sights for a while, but the noise and the temperature soon got to him. As he was heading for the door, though, a worker of no more than sixteen called out to him: "Caballero, if you will give me a penny I will sing you a little song." The girl's name was Conchita Perez, and she looked young and innocent, in fact beautiful, with a sparkle in her eye that suggested a taste for adventure. The perfect prey. He listened to her song (which seemed vaguely suggestive), tossed her a coin that was equal to a month's salary, tipped his hat, then left. It was never good to come on too strong too early. As he walked along the street, he plotted how he would lure her into an affair. Suddenly he felt a hand on his arm and he turned to see her walking alongside him. It was too hot to work-would he be a gentleman and escort her home? Of course. Do you have a lover? he asked her. No, she said, "I am mozita" -pure, a virgin. Conchita lived with her mother in a rundown part of town. Don Mateo exchanged pleasantries, slipped the mother some money (he knew from experience how important it was to keep the mother happy), then left. He considered waiting a few days, but he was impatient, and returned the following morning. The mother was out. He andConchita resumed their playful banter from the day before, and to his surprise she suddenly sat in his lap, put her arms around him, and kissed him. His strategy flying out the window, he took hold of her and returned the kiss. She immediately jumped up, her eyes flashing with anger: you are trifling with me, she said, using me for a quick thrill. Don Mateo denied having any such intentions, and apologized for going too far. When he left, he felt confused: she had started it all; why should he feel guilty? And yet he did. Young girls can be so unpredictable; it is best to break them in slowly Over the next few days Don Mateo was the perfect gentleman. He visited every day, showered mother and daughter with gifts, made no advances-at least not at first. The damned girl had become so familiar The more one pleases generally, the less one pleases profoundly. -STENDHAL, LOVE, You should mix in the odd rebuff \ With your cheerful fun. Shut him out of the house, let him wait there \ Cursing that locked front door, let him plead \ And threaten all he's a mind to. Sweetness cloys the palate, \ Bitter juice is a freshener. Often a small skiff \ Is sunk by favoring winds: it's their husbands' access to them, \ At will, that deprives so many wives of love. \ Let her put in a door, with a hard-faced porter to tell him \ "Keep out," and he'll soon be touched with desire \ Through frustration. Put down your blunt foils, fight with sharpened weapons \ (I don't doubt that my own shafts \ Will be turned against me). When a new-captured lover \ Is stumbling into the toils, then let him believe \ He alone has rights to your bed-but later, make him 371 372 conscious \ Of rivals, of shared delights. Neglect \ These devices-his ardor will wane. A racehorse runs most strongly \ When the field's ahead, to be paced \ And passed. So the dying embers of passion can be fanned to \ Fresh flame by some outrage-I can only love, \ Myself, I confess it, when wronged. But don't let the cause of\ Pain be too obvious: let a lover suspect \ More than he knows. Invent a slave who watches your every \ Movement, make clear with him that she would dress in front of him, or greet him in her nightgown. These glimpses of her body drove him crazy, and he would sometimes try to steal a kiss or caress, only to have her push him away and scold him. Weeks went by; clearly he had shown that his was not a passing fancy. of the endless courtship, he took Conchita's mother aside one day and proposed that he set the girl up in a house of her own. He would treat her like a queen; she would have everything she wanted. (So, of course, would her mother.) Surely his proposal would satisfy the two women-but the next day, a note came from Conchita, expressing not gratitude but recrimination: he was trying to buy her love. "You shall never see me again," she concluded. He hurried to the house only to discover that the women had moved out that very morning, without leaving word where they were going. Don Mateo felt terrible. Yes, he had acted like a boor. Next time he what a jealous martinet \ That man of yours is - such things will excite him. Pleasure \ Too safely enjoyed lacks zest. You want to be free \ As Thais? Act scared. Though the door's quite safe, let him in by \ The window. Look nervous. Have a smart \ Maid rush in, scream "We're caught!" while you bundle the quaking \ Youth out of sight. But be sure \ To offset his fright with some moments of carefree pleasure - \ Or he'll think a night with you isn't worth the risk. - OVID. THE ART OF LOVE "Certainly," I said, "I have often told you that pain holds a peculiar attraction for me, and that nothing kindles my passion quite so much as tyranny cruelty and above all unfaithfulness in a beautiful woman." -LEOPOLD VON SACHER- MASOCH, VENUS IN FURS, wait months, or years if need be, before being so bold. Soon, however, another thought assailedhim:he would never see Conchita again. Only then did he realize how much he loved her. The winter passed, the worst of Mateo's life. One spring day he was walking down the street when he heard someone calling his name. He looked up: Conchita was standing in an open window, beaming with excitement. She bent down toward him and he kissed her hand, beside himself with joy. Why had she disappeared so suddenly? It was all going too quickly, she said. She had been afraid-of his intentions, and of her own feelings. But seeing him again, she was certain that she loved him. Yes, she was ready to be his mistress. She would prove it, she would come to him. Being apart had changed them both, he thought. A few nights later, as promised, she appeared at his house. They kissed and began to undress. He wanted to savor every minute, to take it slowly, but he felt like a caged bull finally set free. He followed her into bed, his hands all over her. He started to take off her underwear but it was laced up in some complicated way. Eventually he had to sit up and take a look: she was wearing some elaborate canvas contraption, of a kind he had never seen. No matter how hard he tugged and pulled, it would not come off. He felt like hitting Conchita, he was so distraught, but instead he started to cry. She explained: she wanted to do everything with him, yet to remain a mozita. This was her protection. Exasperated, he sent her home. Over the next few weeks, Don Mateo began to reassess his opinion of Conchita. He saw her flirting with other men, and dancing a suggestive flamenco in a bar: she was not a mozita, he decided, she was playing him for money. And yet he could not leave her. Another man would take his place-an unbearable thought. She would invite him to spend the night in jier bed, as long as he promised not to force himself on her; and then, as if to torture him beyond reason, she would get into bed naked (supposedly because of the heat). All this he put up with on the grounds that no other man had such privileges. But one night, pushed to the limits of frustration, he exploded with anger, and issued an ultimatum: either give me what I Mix Pleasure with Pain • 373 want or you will never see me again. Suddenly Conchita started to cry. He had never seen her cry, and it moved him. She too was tired of all this, she said, her voice trembling; if it was not too late, she was ready to accept the proposal she had once turned down. Set her up in a house, and he would see what a devoted mistress she would be. Don Mateo wasted no time. He bought her a villa, gave her plenty of money to decorate it. After eight days the house was ready. She would receivehim there at midnight. What joys awaited him. Don Mateo showed up at the appointed hour. The barred door to the courtyard was closed. He rang the bell. She came to the other side of the door. "Kiss my hands," she said through the bars. "Now Mss the hem of my skirt, and the tip of my foot in its slipper." He did as she requested. "That is good," she said. "Now you may go." His shocked expression just made her laugh. She ridiculed him, then made a confession: she was repulsed by him. Now that she had a villa in her name, she was free of him at last. She called out, and a young man appeared from the shadows of the courtyard. As Don Mateo watched, too stunned to move, they began to make love on the floor, right before his eyes. The next morning Conchita appeared at Don Mateo's house, supposedly to see if he had committed suicide. To her surprise, he hadn't-in fact he slapped her so hard she fell to the ground. "Conchita," he said, "you have made me suffer beyond all human strength. You have invented moral tortures to try them on the only man who loved you passionately. I now declare that I am going to possess you by force." Conchita screamed she would never be his, but he hit her again and again. Finally, moved by her tears, he stopped. Now she looked up at him lovingly. Forget the past, she said, forget all that I have done. Now that he hit her, now that she could see his pain, she felt certain he truly loved her. She was still a mozita -the affair with the young man the night before had been only for show, ending as soon as he had left-and she still belonged to him. "You are not going to take me by force. I await you in my arms." Finally she was sincere. To his supreme delight, he discovered that she was indeed still a virgin. Interpretation. Don Mateo and Conchita Perez are characters in the 1896 novella Woman and Puppet, by Pierre Louys. Based on a true story-the "Miss Charpillon" episode in Casanova's Memoirs -the novella has served as the basis for two films: Josef von Sternberg's Devil Is a Woman, with Marlene Dietrich, and Luis Bunuel's That Obscure Object of Desire. In Louys's story, Conchita takes a proud and aggressive older man and in the space of a few months turns him into an abject slave. Her method is simple: she stimulates as many emotions as possible, including heavy doses of pain. She excites his lust, then makes him feel base for taking advantage of her. She gets him to play the protector, then makes him feel guilty for trying to buy her. Her sudden disappearance anguishes him-he has lost her-so that when she reappears (never by accident) he feels intense joy; which, however, she Oderint, dum metuant [Let them hate me so long as they fear me], as if only fear and hate belong together, whereas fear and love have nothing to do with each other, as if it were notfear that makes love interesting. With what kind of love do we embrace nature? Is there not a secretive anxiety and horror in it, because its beautiful harmony works its way out of lawlessness and wild confusion, its security out of perfidy? But precisely anxiety captivates the most. So also with love, if it is to he interesting. Behind it ought to brood the deep, anxious night from which springs the flower of love. -S0REN KIERKEGAARD, THE SEDUCER'S DIARY, The lovely marble creature coughed and rearranged the sable around her shoulders. • "Thank you for the lesson in classics," I replied, "but I cannot deny that in your peaceful and sunny world just as in our misty climate man and woman are natural enemies. Love may unite them briefly to form one mind, one heart, one will, but all too soon they are torn asunder. And you know better than I: either one of them must the other to his will, or else he must let himself be trampled underfoot. " • "Under the woman's foot, of course," said Lady Venus impertinently. "And that you know better than I." • "Of course, that is why I have no illusions." • "In other words you are now my slavewithout illusions, and I shall 374 trample you mercilessly. " • "Madam!" • "You do not know me yet. I admit that am cruel-since the word gives you so much -but am I not entitled to be so? It is man desires, woman who is desired; this is woman's advantage, but it is a decisive one. By making man so vulnerable to passion, nature has placed him at woman's mercy, and who has not the sense to treat him like a humble subject, a slave, a plaything, and finally to betray him with a laugh - well, she is a woman of little wisdom." • "My dear, your principles ..." I protested. • "Are founded on the experience of a thousand years," she replied mischievously, running her white fingers through the darkfur. "The more submissive woman is, the more readily man recovers his self-possession and becomes domineering; but the more cruel and faithless she is, the more she ill-treats him, the more wantonly she toys with him and the harsher she is, the more she quickens his desire and secures his love and admiration. It has always been so, from the time of Helen and Delilah all the way to Catherine the Great and Lola Montez. " -LEOPOLD VON SACHER- MASOCH, VENUS IN FURS. In essence, the domain of eroticism is the domain of violence, of violation. . . . The whole business of eroticism is to strike to the inmost core of the living being, so that the heart stands still. . . . The quickly turns back into tears. Jealousy and humiliation then precede the final moment when she gives him her virginity. (Even after this, according to the story, she finds ways to continue to torment him.) Each low she inspires-guilt, despair, jealousy, emptiness-creates the space for a more intense high. He becomes an addict, hooked on the alternation of charge and withdrawal. Your seduction should never follow a simple course upward toward pleasure and harmony. The climax will come too soon, and the pleasure will be weak. What makes us intensely appreciate something is previous suffering. A brush with death makes us fall in love with life; a longjourney makes a return home that much more pleasurable. Your task is to create moments of sadness, despair, and anguish, to create the tension that allows for a great release. Do not worry about making people angry; anger is a sure sign that you have your hooks in them. Nor should you be afraid that if you make yourself difficult people will flee-we only abandon those who bore us. The ride on which you take your victims can be tortuous but never dull. At all costs, keep your targets emotional and on edge. Create enough highs and lows and you will wear away the last vestiges of their willpower. Harshness andKindness I n 1972, Kissinger, then President Richard Nixon's assistant for national security affairs, received a request for an interview from the famous Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci. Kissinger rarely gave interviews; he had no control over the final product, and he was a man who needed to be in control. But he had read Fallaci's interview with a North Vietnamese general, and it had been instructive. She was extremely well informed on the Vietnam War; perhaps he could gather some information of his own, pick her brain. He decided to ask for a preinterview, a preliminary meeting. He would grill her on different subjects; if she passed the test, he would grant her an interview proper. They met, and he was impressed; she was extremely intelligent-and tough. It would be an enjoyable challenge to outwit her and prove that he was tougher. He agreed to a short interview a few days later. To Kissinger's annoyance, Fallaci began the interview by asking him whether he was disappointed by the slow pace of the peace negotiations with North Vietnam. He would not discuss the negotiations-he had made that clear in the preinterview. Yet she continued the same line of questioning. He grew a little angry "That's enough," he said. "I don't want to talk any more about Vietnam." Although she didn't immediately abandon the subject, her questions became gentler: what were his personal feelings toward the leaders of South and North Vietnam? Still, he ducked: "I'm not the kind of person to be swayed by emotion. Emotions serve no purpose." She moved to grander philosophical issues-war, peace. She Mix Pleasure with Pain • 375 praised him for his role in the rapprochement with China. Without realizing it, Kissinger began to open up. He talked of the pain he felt in dealing with Vietnam, the pleasures of wielding power. Then suddenly the harsher questions returned-was he simply Nixon's lackey, as many suspected? Up and down she went, alternately baiting and flattering him. His goal had been to pump her for information while revealing nothing about himself; by the end, though, she had given him nothing, while he had revealed a range of embarrassing opinions-his view of women as playthings, for instance, and his belief that he was popular with the public because people saw him as a kind of lonesome cowboy, the hero who cleans things up by himself. When the interview was published, Nixon, Kissinger's boss, was livid about it. In 1973, the Shah of Iran, Mohammed Riza Pahlavi, granted Fallaci an interview. He knew how to handle the press-be noncommittal, speak in generalities, seem firm, yet polite. This approach had worked a thousand times before. Fallaci beganthe interview on a personal level, asking how it felt to be a king, to be the target of assassination attempts, and why the shah always seemed so sad. He talked of the burdens of his position, the pain and loneliness he felt. It seemed a release of sorts to talk about his professional problems. As he talked, Fallaci said little, her silence goading him on. Then she suddenly changed the subject: he was having difficulties with his second wife. Surely that must hurt him? This was a sore spot, and Pahlavi got angry. He tried to change the subject, but she kept returning to it. Why waste time talking about wives and women, he said. He then went so far as to criticize women in general-their lack of creativity, their cruelty. Fallaci kept at him; he had dictatorial tendencies and his country lacked basic freedoms. Fallaci's own books were on his government's blacklist. Hearing this, the shah seemed somewhat taken aback-perhaps he was dealing with a subversive writer. But then she softened her tone again, asked him about his many achievements. The pattern repeated: the moment he relaxed, she blindsided him with a sharp question; when he grew bitter, she lightened the mood. Like Kissinger, he found himself opening up despite himself and mentioning things he would later regret, such as his intention to raise the price of oil. Slowly he fell under her spell, even began to flirt with her. "Even if you're on the blacklist of my authorities," he said at the end of the interview, "I'll put you on the white list of my heart." Interpretation. Most of Fallaci's interviews were with powerful leaders, men and women with an overwhelming need to control the situation, to avoid revealing anything embarrassing. This put her and her subjects in conflict, since getting them to open up-grow emotional, give up control- was exactly what she wanted. The classic seductive approach of charm and flattery would get her nowhere with these people; they would see right through it. Instead, Fallaci preyed on their emotions, alternating harshness and kindness. She would ask a cruel question that touched on the deepest whole business of eroticism is to destroy the self-contained character of the participators as they are in their normal lives. We ought never toforget that in spite of the bliss love promises its first effect is one of turmoil and distress. Passion fulfdled itself provokes such violent agitation that the happiness involved, before being a happiness to be enjoyed, is so great as to be more like its opposite, suffering. The likelihood of suffering is all the greater since suffering alone reveals the total significance of the beloved object. -GEORGES BATAILLE, EROTISM: DEATH AND SENSUALITY. Always a little doubt to set at rest - that's what keeps one craving in passionate love. Because the keenest misgivings are always there, its pleasures never become tedious. • Saint- Simon, the only historian France has ever possessed, says: "After many passing fancies the Duchesse de Berry had fallen deeply in love with Riom, a junior member of the d Aydie family, the son of one of Madame de Biron's sisters. He had neither looks nor brains; he was fat, short, chubby-cheeked, pale, and had such a crop of pimples that he seemed one large abscess; he had beautiful teeth, but not the least idea that he was going to inspire a passion which quickly got out of control, a passion which lasted a lifetime, notwithstanding a number of subsidiary flirtations and affairs. He would excite but not requite the desire of the princess; he delighted in making her jealous, or pretending to be jealous himself. He would often drive her to tears. Gradually heforced her into the position of doing nothing without his leave, even trifles of no importance. Sometimes, when she was ready to go to the Opera, he insisted that she stay at home; and sometimes he made her go there against her will. He obliged her to grant favours to ladies she did not like or of whom she was jealous. She was not evenfree to dress as she chose; he would amuse himself by making her change her coiffure or her dress at the last minute; he did this so often and so publicly that she became accustomed to take his orders in the evening for what she would do and wear the following day; then the next day he would alter everything, and the princess would cry all the more. In the end she took to sending him messages by trusted footmen, for from the first he had taken up residence in Luxembourg; messages which continued throughout her toilette, to know what ribbons she would wear, what gown and other ornaments; almost invariably he made her wear something she did not wish to. When she occasionally dared to do anything, however small, without his leave, he treated her like a servant, and she was in tears for several days. • . . . Before assembled company he would give her such brusque replies that everyone lowered their eyes, and the Duchess would blush, though her passion insecurities of the subject, who would get emotional and defensive; deep down, though, something else would stir inside them-the desire to prove to Fallaci that they did not deserve her implicit criticisms. Unconsciously they wanted to please her, to make her like them. When she then shifted tone, indirectly praising them, they felt they were winning her over and were encouraged to open up. Without realizing it, they would give freer rein to their emotions. hi social situations we all wear masks, and keep our defenses up. It is embarrassing, after all, to reveal one's true feelings. As a seducer you must find a way to lower these resistances. The Charmer's approach of flattery and attention can be effective here, particularly with the insecure, but it can take months of work, and can also backfire. To get a quicker result, and to break down more inaccessible people, it is often better to alternate harshness and kindness. By being harsh you create inner tensions-your targets may be upset with you, but they are also asking themselves questions. What have they done to earn your dislike? When you then are kind, they feel relieved, but also concerned that at any moment they might somehow displease you again. Make use of this pattern to keep them in suspense- dreading your harshness and keen to keep you kind. Your kindness and harshness should be subtle; indirect digs and compliments are best. Play the psychoanalyst: make cutting comments concerning their unconscious motives (you are only being truthful), then sit back and listen. Your silence will goad them into embarrassing admissions. Leaven your judgments with occasional praise and they will strive to please you, like dogs. Love is a costlyflower,but one must have the desire to pluck it from the edge of a precipice. -STENDHAL Keys to Seduction A lmost everyone is more or less polite. We learn early on not to tell people what we really think of them; we smile at their jokes, act interested in their stories and problems. It is the only way to live with them. Eventually this becomes a habit; we are nice, even when it isn't really necessary. We try to please other people, to not step on their toes, to avoid disagreements and conflict. Niceness in seduction, however, though it may at first draw someone to you (it is soothing and comforting), soon loses all effect. Being too nice can literally push the target away from you. Erotic feeling depends on the creation of tension. Without tension, without anxiety and suspense, there can be no feeling of release, of true pleasure and joy It is your task to create that tension in the target, to stimulate feelings of anxiety, to lead them to and fro, so that the culmination of the seduction has real weight and intensity. So rid yourself of your nasty habit of avoiding conflict, which is in any Mix Pleasure with Pain • 377 case unnatural. You are most often nice not out of your own inner goodness but out of fear of displeasing, out of insecurity. Go beyond that fear and you suddenly have options-the freedom to create pain, then magically dissolve it. Your seductive powers will increase tenfold. People will be less upset by your hurtful actions than you might imagine. In the world today, we often feel starved for experience. We crave emotion, even if it is negative. The pain you cause your targets, then, is bracing-it makes them feel more alive. They have something to complain about, they get to play the victim. As a result, once you have turned the pain into pleasure they will readily forgive you. Stir up their jealousy, make them feel insecure, and the validation you later give their ego by preferring them over their rivals is doubly delightful. Remember: you have more to fear by boring your targets than by shaking them up. Wounding people binds them to you more deeply than kindness. Create tension so you can release it. If you need inspiration, find the part of the target that most irritates you and use it as a springboard for some therapeutic conflict. The more real your cruelty, the more effective it is. In 1818, the French writer Stendhal, then living in Milan, met the Countess Metilda Viscontini. For him, it was love at first sight. She was a proud, somewhat difficult woman, and she intimidated Stendhal, who was terribly afraid of displeasing her with a stupid comment or undignified act. Finally, unable to take it any longer, he one day took her hand and confessed his love. Horrified, the countesstoldhim to leave and never come back. for him was in no way curtailed." • For the princess, Riom was a sovereign remedy against boredom. -STENDHAL, LOVE, Stendhal flooded Viscontini with letters, begging her to forgive him. At last, she relented: she would see him again, but under one condition-he could visit only once every two weeks, for no more than an hour, and only in the presence of company. Stendhal agreed; he had no choice. He now lived for those short fortnightly visits, which became occasions of intense anxiety and fear, since he was never quite sure whether she would change her mind and banish him forever. This went on for over two years, during which the countess never showed him the slightest sign of favor. Stendhal never found out why she had insisted on this arrangement-perhaps she wanted to toy with him or keep him at a distance. All he knew was that his love for her only grew stronger, became unbearably intense, until finally he had to leave Milan. To get over this sad affair, Stendhal wrote his famous book On Love, in which he described the effect of fear on desire. First, if you fear the loved one, you can never get too close or familiar with him or her. The beloved then retains an element of mystery, which only intensifies your love. Second, there is something bracing about fear. It makes you vibrate with sensation, heightens your awareness, is intensely erotic. According to Stendhal, the closer the loved one brings you to the edge of the precipice, to the feeling that they could abandon you, the dizzier and more lost you will become. Falling in love means literally falling-losing control, a mix of fear and excitement. Apply this wisdom in reverse: never let your targets get too comfortable 378 The Art of Seduction with you. They need to feel fear and anxiety. Show them some coldness, a flash of anger they did not expect. Be irrational if necessary. There is always the trump card: a breakup. Let them feel they have lost you forever, make them fear that they have lost the power to charm you. Let these feelings sit with them for a while, then pull them back from the precipice. The reconciliation will be intense. In 33 B.C., Mark Antony heard a rumor that Cleopatra, his lover of several years, had decided to seduce his rival, Octavius, and that she was planning to poison Antony. Cleopatra had poisoned people before; in fact she was an expert in the art. Antony grew paranoid, and finally one day confronted her. Cleopatra did not protest her innocence. Yes, that was true, it was quite within her power to poison Antony at any moment; there were no precautions he could take. Only theloveshe felt for him could protect him. To demonstrate, she took some flowers and dropped them into his wine. Antony hesitated, then raised the cup to his lips; Cleopatra grabbed his arm and stopped him. She had a prisoner brought in to drink the wine, and the prisoner promptly dropped dead. Falling at Cleopatra's feet, Antony professed that he loved her now more than ever. He did not speak out of cowardice; there was no man braver than he, and if Cleopatra could have poisoned him, he for his part could have left her and gone back to Rome. No, what pushed him over the edge was the feeling that she had control over his emotions, over life and death. He was her slave. Her demonstration of her power over him was not only effective but erotic. Like Antony, many of us have masochistic yearnings without realizing it. It takes someone to inflict some pain on us for these deeply repressed desires to come to the surface. You must learn to recognize the types of hidden masochists out there, for each one enjoys a particular kind of pain. For instance, there are people who feel that they deserve nothing good in life, and who, unable to deal with success, sabotage themselves constantly. Be nice to them, admit that you admire them, and they are uncomfortable, since they feel that they cannot possibly match up to the ideal figure you have clearlyimagined them to be. Such self-saboteurs do better with a little punishment; scold them, make them aware of their inadequacies. They feel they deserve such criticism and when it comes it is with a sense of relief. It is also easy to make them feel guilty, a feeling that deep down they enjoy. Other people experience the responsibilities and duties of modern life as such a heavy burden, they long to give it all up. These people are often looking for someone or something to worship-a cause, a religion, a guru. Make them worship you. And then there are those who want to play the martyr. Recognize them by the joy they take in complaining, in feeling righteous and wronged; then give them a reason to complain. Remember; appearances deceive. Often the strongest-looking people-the Kissingers and Don Mateos-may secretly want to be punished. In any event, follow up pain with pleasure and you will create a state of dependency that will last for a long time. Mix Pleasure with Pain Symbol: The Precipice. At the edge of a cliff, people often feel lightheaded, both fearful and dizzy. For a moment they can imagine themselves falling headlong. At the same time, a part of them is tempted. Lead your targets as close to the edge as possible, then pull them back. No thrill without fear. Reversal P eople who have recently experienced a lot of pain or a loss will flee if you try to inflict more on them. They have enough in their lives already. Far better to surround these types with pleasure-that will put them under your spell. The technique of inflicting pain works best on those who have it easy, who have power and few problems. People with comfortable lives may also feel a gnawing sense of guilt, as if they had gotten away with something. They may not consciously know it, but secretly they long for some punishment, a good mental thrashing, something that will bring them back down to earth. Also, remember to not use the pleasure-through-pain tactic too early on. Some of the greatest seducers in history-Byron, Jiang Qing (Madame Mao), Picasso-had a sadistic streak, an ability to inflict mental torture. If their victims had known in advance what they were getting themselves into, they would have run for the hills. In truth, most of these seducers lured their targets into their webs by appearing to be paragons of sweetness and affection. Even Byron seemed like an angel when he first met a woman, so that she tended to doubt his devilish reputation-a seductive doubt, for it allowed her to think of herself as the only one who really understood him. His cruelty would come out later on, but by then it would be too late. The victim's emotions were engaged,andhisharshnesswouldonlyintensify her feelings. In the beginning, then, wear the mask of a lamb, making pleasure and attentiveness your bait. First get under their skin, then lead them on a wild ride. 379 Phase Four Moving Infor the Kill confused and stirred them up-the emotional seduction. Now the time has comefor hand-to-hand combat-the physical seduction. At this point, your victims are weak and ripe with desire: by show-, ing a little coldness or uninterest, you will spark panic-they will come after you with impatience and erotic energy (21: Give them to fall-the pursuer is pursued). To bring them to a boil, you need to put their minds to sleep and heat up their senses. It is best to lure them into lust by sending certain loaded signals that will get under their skin and spread sexual desire like a poison (22: Use physical lures). The moment to strike and move infor the kill is when your victim is brimming with desire, but not consciously expecting the climax to come (23: Master the art of the bold move). Once the seduction is over, there is the danger that disenchantment will set in and ruin all your hard work (24: Beware the aftereffects). If you are after a relationship, then you must constantly re-seduce the victim, creating tension and releasing it. If your victim is to be sacrificed, then it must be done swiftly and cleanly, leaving you free (physicallyandpsychologically)tomoveontothenext victim. Then the game begins all over. 21 Give Them Space to Fall- The Pursuer Is Pursued If your targets become too used to you as the aggressor, they will give less of their own energy, and the tension will slacken. You need to wake them up, turn the tables. Once they are under your spell, take a step back and they will start to come after you. Begin with a touch of aloofness, an unexpected nonappearance, a hint that you are growing bored. Stir the pot by seeming interested in someone else. Make none of this explicit; let them only sense it and their imagination will do the rest, creating the doubt you desire. Soon they will want to possess you physically, and restraint will go out the window. The goal is to have them fall into your arms of their own will. Create the illusion that the seducer is being seduced. Seductive Gravity I n the early 1840s, the center of attention in the French art world was a young woman named Apollonie Sabatier. She was so much the natural beauty that sculptors and painters vied to immortalize her in their works, and she was also charming, easy to talk to, and seductively self-sufficient- men were drawn to her. Her Paris apartment became a gathering spot for writers and artists, and soon Madame Sabatier-as she came to be known, although she was not married-was hosting one of the most important literary salons in France. Writers such as Gustave Flaubert, the elder Alexandre Dumas, and Theophile Gautier were among her regular guests. Near the end of 1852, when she was thirty, Madame Sabatier received an anonymous letter. The writer confessed that he loved her deeply. Worried that she would find his sentiments ridiculous, he would not reveal his name; yet he had to let her know that he adored her. Sabatier was used to such attentions-one man after another had fallen in love with her-but this letter was different: in this man she seemed to have inspired a quasireligious ardor. The letter, written in a disguised handwriting, contained a poem dedicated to her; titled "To One Who Is Too Gay," it began by praising her beauty, yet ended with the lines And so, one night. I'd like to sneak. When darkness tolls the hour of pleasure,A craven thief, toward the treasure Which is your person, plump and sleek. And, most vertiginous delight! Into those lips, so freshly striking And daily lovelier to my liking- Infuse the venom of my spite. Mixed in with her admirer's adoration, clearly, was a strange kind of lust, with a touch of cruelty to it. The poem both intrigued and disturbed her-and she had no idea who had written it. A few weeks later another letter arrived. As before, the writer enveloped Sabatier in cultlike worship, mixing the physical and the spiritual. And as before, there was a poem, "All in One," in which he wrote. Omissions, denials, deflections, deceptions, diversions, and humility - all aimed at provoking this second state, the secret of true seduction. Vulgar seduction might proceed by persistence, but true seduction proceeds by absence. It is like fencing: one needs a field for the feint. Throughout this period, the seducer [Johannes], far from seeking to close in on her, seeks to maintain his distance by various ploys: he does not speak directly to her but only to her aunt, and then about trivial or stupid subjects; he neutralizes everything by irony and feigned pedanticism; hefails to respond to any feminine or erotic movement, and even finds her a sitcom suitor to disenchant and deceive her, to the point where she herself takes the initiative and breaks off her engagement, thus completing the seduction and creating the ideal situation for her total abandon. BAUDRILLARD, SEDUCTION, The rumor spread everywhere. It was even told to the queen [ Guinevere ], who was seated at dinner. She nearly killed herself when she heard the perfidious rumor of Lancelot's death. She thought it was true and was so greatly perturbed that she was scarcelyabletospeak..She arose at once from the table, and was able to give vent to her grief without being noticed or overheard. She was so crazed with the thought of killing herself that she repeatedly grabbed at her throat. Yet first she confessed in conscience, repented and asked God's pardon; she accused herself of having sinned against the one she knew had always been hers, and who would still be, were he alive. She counted all of the unkindnesses and recalled each individual unkindness; she noted every one, and repeated often: "Oh misery! What was I thinking, when my lover came before me and I did not deign to welcome him, nor even care to listen! Was I not a fool to refuse to speak or even look at him? A fool? No, so help me God, I was cruel and deceitful! ... 7 believe that it was I alone who struck him that mortal blow. When he came happily before me expecting me to receive him joyfully and I shunned him and would never even look at him, was this not a mortal blow? At that moment, when I refused to speak, I believe I severed both his heart and his life. Those two blows killed him, I think, and not any hired killers. • "Ah God! Will I be forgiven this murder, this sin? Never! All the rivers No single beauty is the best. Since she is all one flower divine_ O mystic metamorphosis! My senses into one sense flow- Her voice makesperfume when she speaks. Her breath is music faint and low! Clearly the author was haunted by Sabatier's presence, and thought of her constantly-but now she began to be haunted by him, thinking of him night and day, and wondering who he was. His subsequent letters only deepened the spell. It was flattering to hear that he was enchanted by more than her beauty, yet also flattering to know that he was not immune to her physical charms. One day an idea occurred to Madame Sabatier as to who the writer might be: a young poet who had frequented her salon for several years, Charles Baudelaire. He seemed shy, in fact had hardly spoken to her, but she had read some of his poetry, and although the poems in the letters were more polished, the style was similar. At her apartment Baudelaire would always sit politely in a corner, but now that she thought of it, he would smile at her strangely, nervously. It was the look of a young man in love. Now when he visited she watched him carefully, and the more she watched, the surer she was that he was the writer, but she never confirmed her intuition, because she did not want to confront him-he might be shy, but he was a man, and at some point he would have to come to her. And she felt certain that he would. Then, suddenly the letters stopped coming-and Madame Sabatier could not understandwhy, since the last one had been even more adoring than all of the others before. Several years went by, in which she often thought of her anonymous admirer's letters, but they were never renewed. In 1857, however, Baudelaire published a book of poetry. The Flowers of Evil, and Madame Sabatier recognized several of the verses-they were the ones he had written for her. Now they were out in the open for everyone to see. A little while later the poet sent her a gift: a specially bound copy of the book, and a letter, this time signed with his name. Yes, he wrote, he was the anonymous writer-would she forgive him for being so mysterious in the past? Furthermore, his feelings for her were as strong as ever: "You didn't think for a moment that I could have forgotten you? You to me are more than a cherished image conjured up in dream, you're my superstition my constant companion, my secret! Farewell, dear Madame. I kiss your hands with profound devotion." This letter had a stronger effect on Madame Sabatier than the others had. Perhaps it was his childlike sincerity, and the fact that he had finally written to her directly; perhaps it was that he loved her but asked nothing of her, unlike all the other men she knew who at some point had always turned out to want something. Whatever it was, she had an uncontrollable desire to see him. The next day she invited him to her apartment, alone. Give Them Space to Fall-The Pursuer Is Pursued • 387 Baudelaire appeared at the appointed hour. He sat nervously in his seat, gazing at her with his large eyes, saying little, and what he did say was formal and polite. He seemed aloof. After he left a kind of panic seized Madame Sabatier, and the next day she wrote him a first letter of her own: "Today I'm more calm, and I can feel more clearly the impression of our Tuesday evening together. I can tell you, without the danger of your thinking I'm exaggerating, that I'm the happiest woman on the face of the earth, that I've never felt more truly that I love you, and that I've never seen you look more beautiful, more adorable, my divine friend!" Madame Sabatier had never before written such a letter; she had always been the one who was pursued. Now she had lost her usual self-possession. And it only got worse: Baudelaire did not answer right away. When she saw him next, he was colder than before. She had the feeling there was someone else, that his old mistress, Jeanne Duval, had suddenly reappeared in his life and was pulling him away from her. One night she turned aggressive, embracing him, trying to kiss him, but he did not respond, and quickly found an excuse to leave. Why was he suddenly inaccessible?She began to flood him with letters, begging him to come to her. Unable to sleep, she would wait all night for him to show up. She had never experienced such desperation. Somehow she had to seduce him, possess him, have him all to herself. She tried everything-letters, coquetry, all kinds of promises- until he finally wrote that he was no longer in love with her and that was that. and the seas will dry up first! Oh, misery! How it would have brought me comfort and healing if I had held him in my arms once before he died. How? Yes, quite naked next to him, in order to enjoy him fully. . When they came within six or seven leagues of the castle where King Bademagu was staying, news that was pleasing came to him about Lancelot-news that he was glad to hear; Lancelot was alive and was returning, hale and hearty. He behaved most properly in going to inform the queen. "Good sir," she told him, "I believe it, since you have told me. But were he dead, I assure you that I could never again be happy. Now Lancelot had his every wish: the queen willingly sought his company and affection as he held her in his arms and Interpretation. Baudelaire was an intellectual seducer. He wanted to overwhelm Madame Sabatier with words, dominate her thoughts, make her fall in love with him. Physically, he knew, he could not compete with hermany other admirers-he was shy, awkward, not particularly handsome. So he resorted to his one strength, poetry. Haunting her with anonymous letters gave him a perverse thrill. He had to know she would realize, eventually, that he was her correspondent-no one else wrote like him-but he wanted her to figure this out on her own. He stopped writing to her because he had become interested in someone else, but he knew she would be thinking of him, wondering, perhaps waiting for him. And when he published his book, he decided to write to her again, this time directly, stirring up the old venom he had injected in her. When they were alone, he could see she was waiting for him to do something, to take hold of her, but he was not that kind of seducer. Besides, it gave him pleasure to hold himself back, to sense his power over a woman whom so many desired. By the time she turned physical and aggressive, the seduction was over for him. He had made her fall in love; that was enough. The devastating effect of Baudelaire's push-and-pull on Madame Sabatier teaches us a great lesson in seduction. First, it is always best to keep at some distance from your targets. You do not have to go as far as remaining anonymous, but you do not want to be seen too often, or to be seen as she held him in hers. Her love-play seemed so gentle and good to him, both her kisses and caresses, that in truth the two of them felt a joy and wonder of which has never been heard or known. But I shall let it remain a secret for ever, since it should not be written of: the most delightful and choicest pleasure is that which is hinted at, but never told. -CHRETIEN DETROYES, ARTHURIAN ROMANCES.  He was sometimes so intellectual that I felt myself annihilated as a woman; at other times he was so wild and passionate, so desiring, that I almost trembled 388 before him. At times I was like a stranger to him; at times he surrendered completely. Then when I threw my arms around him, everything changed, and I embraced a cloud. -CORDELIA DESCRIBING JOHANNES, IN S0REN KIERKEGAARD, THE SEDUCER'S DIARY, It is true that we could not love if there were not some memory in us-to the greatest extent an unconscious memory-that we were once loved. But neither could we love if this feeling of being loved had not at some time suffered doubt; if we had always been sure of it. In other words, love would not be possible without having been loved and then having missed the certainty of being loved. .The need to be loved is not elementary. This need is certainly acquiredby experience in later childhood. It would be better to say: by many experiences or by a repetition of similar ones. I believe that these experiences are of a negative kind. The child becomes aware that he is not loved or that his mother's love is not unconditional. The baby learns that his mother can be dissatisfied with him, that she can withdraw her affection if he does not behave as she wishes, that she can be angry or cross. I believe that this experience arousesfeelings of anxiety in the infant. The possibility of losing his mother'slove certainly strikes the child with a force which can no more be intrusive. If you are always in their face, always the aggressor, they will become used to being passive, and the tension in your seduction will flag. Use letters to make them think about you all the time, to feed their imagination. Cultivate mystery-stop them from figuring you out. Baudelaire's letters were delightfully ambiguous, mixing the physical and the spiritual, teasing Sabatier with theirmultiplicityofpossible interpretations. Then, at the point when they are ripe with desire and interest, when perhaps they are expecting you to make a move-as Madame Sabatier expected that day in her apartment-take a step back. You are unexpectedly distant, friendly but no more than that-certainly not sexual. Let this sink in for a day or two. Your withdrawal will trigger anxiety; the only way to relieve this anxiety is to pursue and possess you. Step back now and you make your targets fall into your arms like ripe fruit, blind to the force of gravity that is drawing them to you. The more they participate, the more their willpower is engaged, the deeper the erotic effect. You have challenged them to use their own seductive powers on you, and when they respond, the tables will turn and they will pursue you with desperate energy. / retreat and thereby teach her to be victorious as she pursues me. 1 continually fall back, and in this backward movement 1 teach her to know through me all the powers of erotic love, its turbulent thoughts, its passion, what longing is, and hope, and impatient expectancy. -S0REN KIERKEGAARD Keys to Seduction S ince humans are naturally obstinate and willful creatures, and prone to suspicions of people's motives, it is only natural, in the course of any seduction, that in some ways your target will resist you. Seductions,then, are rarely easy or without setbacks. But once your victims overcome some of their doubts, and begin to fall under your spell, they will reach a point where they start to let go. They may sense that you are leading them along, but they are enjoying it. No one likes things to be complicated and difficult, and your target will expect the conclusion to come quickly. That is the point, however, where you must train yourself to hold back. Deliver the pleasurable climax they are so greedily awaiting, succumb to the natural tendency to bring the seduction to a rapid end, and you will have missed an opportunity to ratchet up the tension, to make the affair more heated. After all, you don't want a passive little victim to toy with; you want the seduced to engage their will in all its force, to become active participants in the seduction. You want them to pursue you, hopelessly ensnaring themselves in your web in the process. The only way to accomplish this is to take a step back and make them anxious. You have strategically retreated before (see chapter 12), but this is dif- Give Them Space to Fall-The Pursuer Is Pursued • 389 ferent. The target is falling for you now, and your retreat will lead to panicky thoughts: you are losing interest, it is somehow my fault, perhaps it is something I have done. Rather than think you are rejecting them on your own, your targets will want to make this interpretation, since if the cause of the problem is something they have done, they have the power to win you back by changing their behavior. If you are simply rejecting them, on the other hand, they have no control. People always want to preserve hope. Now they will come to you, turn aggressive, thinking that will do the trick. They will raise the erotic temperature. Understand: a person's willpower is directly linked to their libido, their erotic desire. When your victims are passively waiting for you, their erotic level is low. When they turn pursuer, getting involved in the process, brimming with tension and anxiety, the temperature is raised. So raise it as high as you can. When you withdraw, make it subtle; you are instilling unease. Your coldness or distance should dawn on your targets when they are alone, in the form of a poisonous doubt creeping into their mind. Their paranoia will become self-generating. Your subtle step back will make them want to possess you, so they will willingly advance into your arms without being pushed. This is different from the strategy in chapter 20, in which you are inflicting deep wounds, creating a pattern of pain and pleasure. There the goal is to make your victims weak and dependent, here it is to make them active and aggressive. Which strategy you prefer to use (the two cannot be combined) depends on what you want and the proclivities of your victim. In Spren Kierkegaard's The Seducer's Diary, lohannes aims to seduce the young and beautiful Cordelia. He begins by being rather intellectual with her, and slowly intriguing her. Then he sends her letters that are romantic and seductive. Now her fascination blossoms into love. Although in person he remains a little distant, she senses in him great depths and is certain that he loves her. Then one day, while they're talking, Cordelia has a strange sensation: something about him is different. He seems more interested in ideas than in her. Over the next few days, this doubt gets stronger-the letters are a little less romantic, something is missing. Feeling anxious, she slowly turns aggressive, becomes the pursuer instead of the pursued. The seduction is now much more exciting, at least for Johannes. Johannes's step back is subtle; he merely gives Cordelia the impression that his interest is a little less romantic than the day before. He returns to being the intellectual. This stirs the worrisome thought that her natural charms and beauty no longer have as much effect on him. She must try harder, provoke him sexually, prove to herself that she has some power over him. She is now brimming with erotic desire, brought to that point by Johannes's subtle withdrawal of affection. Each gender has its own seductive lures, which come naturally to them. When you seem interested in someone but do not respond sexually, it is disturbing, and presents a challenge: they will find a way to seduce you. To produce this effect, first reveal an interest in your targets, through letters or subtle insinuation. But when you are in their presence, assume a kind of coped with than an earthquake. . . . • The child who experiences his mother's dissatisfaction and apparent withdrawal of affection reacts to this menace at first with fear. He tries to regain what seems lost by expressing hostility and aggressiveness. The change of its character comes about only after failure; when the child realizes that the effort is a failure. And now something very strange takes place, something which isforeign to our conscious thinking but which is very near to the infantile way. Instead of grasping the object directly and taking possession of it in an aggressive way, the child identifies with the object as it was before. The child does the same that the mother did to him in that happy time which has passed. The process is very illuminating because it shapes the pattern of love in general. The little boy thus demonstrates in his own behavior what hewants his mother to do to him, how she should behave to him. He announces this wish by displaying his tenderness and affection toward his mother who gave these before to him. It is an attempt to overcome the despair and sense of loss in taking over the role of the mother. The boy tries to demonstrate what he wishes by doing it himself: look, I would like you to act thus toward me, to be thus tender and loving to me. Of course this attitude is not the result of consideration or reasoned planning but an emotional process by identification, a natural exchange of roles with the unconscious aim 390 of seducing the mother into fulfdling his wish. He demonstrates by his own actions how he wants to be loved. It is a primitive presentation through reversal, an example of how to do the thing which he wishes done by her. In this presentation lives the memory of the attentions, tendernesses, and endearments once received from the mother or loving persons. OF LOVE AND LUST sexless neutrality. Be friendly, even warm, but no more. You are pushing them into arming themselves with the seductive charms that are natural to their sex-exactly what you want. In the latter stages of the seduction, let your targets feel that you are becoming interested in another person-this is another form of taking a step back. When Napoleon Bonaparte first met the young widow Josephine de Beauhamaisin1795, he was excited by her exotic beauty and the looks she gave him. He began to attend her weekly soirees and, to his delight, she would ignore the other men and remain at his side, listening to him so attentively. He found himself falling in love with Josephine, and had every reason to believe she felt the same. Then, at one soiree, she was friendly and attentive, as usual-except that she was equally friendly to another man there, a former aristocrat, like Josephine, the kind of man that Napoleon could never compete with when it came to manners and wit. Doubts and jealousies began to stir within. As a military man, he knew the value of going on the offensive, and after a few weeks of a swift and aggressive campaign he had her all to himself, eventually marrying her. Of course Josephine, a clever seductress, had set it all up. She did not say she was interested in another man, but his mere presence at her house, a look here and there, subtle gestures, made it seem that way. There is no more powerful way to hint that you are losing your desire. Make your interest in another too obvious, though, and it could backfire. This is not the situation in which you want to seem cruel; doubt and anxiety are the effects you are after. Make your possible interest in another barely perceptible to the naked eye. Once someone has fallen for you, any physicalabsence will create unease. You are literally creating space. The Russian seductress Lou Andreas- Salome had an intense presence; when a man was with her, he felt her eyes boring into him, and often became entranced with her coquettish ways and spirit. But then, almost invariably, something would come up-she would have to leave town for a while, or would be too busy to see him. It was during her absences that men fell hopelessly in love with her, and vowed to be more aggressive next time they were with her. Your absences at this latter point of the seduction should seem at least somewhat justified. You are insinuating not a blatant brush-off but a slight doubt: perhaps you could have found some reason to stay, perhaps you are losing interest, perhaps there is someone else. In your absence, their appreciation of you will grow. They will forget your faults, forgive your sins. The moment you return, they will chase after you as you desire. It will be as if you had come back from the dead. According to the psychologist Theodor Reik, we learn to love only through rejection. As infants, we are showered with love by our mother- we know nothing else. But when we get a little older, we begin to sense that her love is not unconditional. If we do not behave, if we do not please her, she can withdraw it. The idea that she will withdraw her affection fills us with anxiety, and, at first, with anger-we will show her, we will throw Give Them Space to Fall-The Pursuer Is Pursued  a tantrum. But that never works, and we slowly realize that the only way to keep her from rejecting us again is to imitate her-to be as loving, kind, and affectionate as she is. This will bond her to us in the deepest way. The pattern is ingrained in us for the rest of our lives: by experiencing a rejection or a coldness, we learn to court and pursue, to love. Re-create this primal pattern in your seduction. First, shower your targets with affection. They will not be sure where this is coming from, but it is a delightful feeling, and they will never want to lose it. When it does go away, in your strategic step back, they will have moments of anxiety and anger, perhaps throwing a tantrum, and then the same childlike reaction: the only way to win you back, to have you for sure, will be to reverse the pattern, to imitate you, to be the affectionate, giving one. It is the terror of rejection that turns the tables. This pattern will often repeat itself naturally in an affair or relationship. One person goes cold, the other pursues, then goes cold in turn, making the first person the pursuer, and on and on. As a seducer, do not leave this to chance. Make it happen. You are teaching the other person to become a seducer, just as the motherinherown way taught the child to return her love by turning her back. For your own sake learn to relish this reversal of roles. Do not merely play at being the pursued, but enjoy it, give in to it. The pleasure of being pursued by your victim can often surpass the thrill of the hunt. Symbol: The Pomegranate. Carefully cultivated and tended, the pomegranate begins to ripen. Do not gather it too early or force it off the stem-it will be hard and bitter. Let the fruit grow heavy and full of juice, then stand back - it will fall on its own. That is when its pulp is most delicious. 392 • The Art of Seduction Reversal T here are moments when creating space and absence will blow up in your face. An absence at a critical moment in the seduction can make the target lose interest in you. It also leaves too much to chance-while you are away, they could find another person, who will distract their thoughts from you. Cleopatra easily seduced Mark Antony, but after their first encounters, he returned to Rome. Cleopatra was mysterious and alluring, but if she let too much time pass, he would forget her charms. So she let go of her usual coquetry and came after him when he was on one of his military campaigns. She knew that once he saw her, he would fall under her spell again and pursue her. Use absence only when you are sure of the target's affection, and never let it go on too long. It is most effective later in the seduction. Also, never create too much space-don't write too rarely, don't act too cold, don't show too much interest in someone else. That is the strategy of mixing pleasure with pain, detailed in chapter 20, and will create a dependent victim, or will even make him or her give up completely. Some people, too, are inveterately passive: they are waiting for you to make the bold move, and if you don't, they will think you are weak. The pleasure to be had from such a victim is less than the pleasure you will get from someone more active. But if you are involved with such a type, do what you need to if you are to have your way, then end the affair and move on. 22 Use Physical Lures Targets with active minds are dangerous: if they see through your manipulations, they may suddenly develop doubts. Put their minds gently to rest, and waken their dormant senses, by combining a nondefensive attitude with a charged sexual presence. While your cool, nonchalant air is calming their minds and lowering their inhibitions, your glances, voice, and bearing-oozing sex and desire-are getting under their skin, agitating their senses and raising their temperature. Never force the physical; instead infect your targets with heat, lure them into lust. Lead them into the moment-an intensified present in which morality, judgment, and concern for the future all melt away and the body succumbs to pleasure. Raising the Temperature I n 1889, the top New York theatrical manager Ernest Jurgens visited France on one of his many scouting trips. Jurgens was known for his honesty, a rare commodity in the shady entertainment world, and for his ability to find unusual acts. He had to spend the night in Marseilles, and while wandering along the quay of the old harbor, he heard excited catcalls issuing from a working-class cabaret, and decided to go in. A twenty-one- year-old Spanish dancer named Caroline Otero was performing, and the minute Jurgens laid eyes on her he was a changed man. Her appearance was startling-five foot ten, fiery dark eyes, black waist-length hair, her body corseted into a perfect hourglass figure. But it was the way she danced that made his heart pound-her whole body alive, writhing like an animal in heat, as she performed a fandango. Her dancing was hardly professional, but she enjoyed herself so much and was so unrestrained that none of that mattered. Jurgens also could not help but notice the men in the cabaret watching her, their mouths agape. After the show, Jurgens went backstage to introduce himself. Otero's eyes came alive as he spoke of his job and of New York. He felt a heat, a twitching, in his body as she looked him up and down. Her voice was deep and raspy, the tongue constantly in play as she rolled her Rs. Closing the door, Otero ignored the knocks and pleas of the admirers dying to speak to her. She said that her way of dancing was natural-her mother was a gypsy. Soon she asked Jurgens to be her escort that evening, and as he helped her with her coat, she leaned back toward him slightly, as if she had lost her balance. As they walked around the city, her arm in his, she would occasionally whisper in his ear. Jurgens felt his usual reserve melt away. He held her tighter. He was a family man, had never considered cheating on his wife, but without thinking, he brought Otero back to his hotel room. She began to take off some of her clothes-coat, gloves, hat-a perfectly normal thing to do, but the way she did it made him lose all restraint. The normally timid Jurgens went on the attack. The next morning Jurgens signed Otero to a lucrative contract-a great risk, considering that she was an amateur at best. He brought her to Paris and assigned a top theatrical coach to her. Hurrying back to New York, he fed the newspapers with reports of this mysterious Spanish beauty poised to conquer the city. Soon rival papers were claiming she was an Andalusian countess, an escaped harem girl, the widow of a sheik, on and on. He The year was 1907 and La Belle \Otero], by then, had been an international figure for over a dozen years. The story was told by M. Maurice Chevalier. • "I was a young star about to make my first appearance at the Folies. Otero had been the headliner there for several weeks and although I knew who she was I had never seen her before on stage or off • "I was scurrying along, head bent, thinking of something or other, when I looked up. There was La Belle, in the company of another woman, walking in my direction. Otero was then nearly forty and I was not yet out of my teens but - ah!-she was so beautiful! • "She was tall, darkhaired, with a magnificent body, like the bodies of the women of those days, not like the lightweight ones of today." • Chevalier smiled. • "Of course I like modern women, too, but there was something of a fatal charm about Otero. We three stood there for a moment or two, not saying a word, I staring at La Belle, not so young as she once was and maybe not so beautiful, but 395 396 still quite a woman. • "She looked right at me, then turned to the lady she was with-some friend, I guess-and spoke to her in English, which she thought I didn't understand. However, I did. • " 'Who's the very handsome young man?' Otero asked. • "The other one answered, 'He's Chevalier.' • " 'He has such beautiful eyes' ha Belle said, looking straight at me, right up and down. • "Then she almost floored me with herfrankness. • " 7 wonder if he'd like to go to bed with me. I think I'll ask him!' Only she didn't say it so delicately. She was much cruder and more to the point. • "It was at this moment I had to make up my mind rather quickly. La Belle moved toward me. Instead of introducing myself and succumbing to the consequences, I pretended I didn't understand what she'd said, uttered some pleasantry in French and moved away to my dressing room. • "I could see La Belle smile in an odd fashion as I passed her;like a sleek tigress watching its dinner go away. For a fleeting second I thought she might turn around and follow me. " • What would Chevalier have done had she pursued him? His lower lip dropped into that halfpout which is the Frenchman's exclusive possession. Then he grinned. • "I'd have slowed down and let her catch up." -ARTHUR H. LEWIS, LA BELLE OTERO made frequent trips to Paris to be with her, forgetting about his family, lavishing money and gifts on her. Otero's New York debut, in October of 1890, was an astounding success. "Otero dances with abandon," read an article in The New York Times. "Her lithe and supple body looks like that of a serpent writhing in quick, graceful curves." In a few short weeks she became the toast of New York society, performing at private parties late into the night. The tycoon William Vanderbilt courted her with expensive jewels and evenings on his yacht. Other millionaires vied for her attention. Meanwhile Jurgens was dipping into the company till to pay for presents for her-he would do anything to keep her, a task in which he was facing heavy competition. A few months later, after his embezzling became public, he was a ruined man. He eventually committed suicide. Otero went back to France, to Paris, and over the next few years rose to become the most infamous courtesan of the Belle Epoque. Word spread quickly: a night with La Belle Otero (as she was now known) was more effective than all the aphrodisiacs in the world. She had a temper, and was demanding, but that was to be expected. Prince Albert of Monaco, a man who had been plagued by doubts of his virility, felt like an insatiable tiger after a night with Otero. She became his mistress. Other royalty followed- Prince Albert of Wales (later King Edward VII), the Shah of Persia, Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia. Less wealthy men emptied their bank accounts, and Jurgens was only the first of many whom Otero drove to suicide. During World War I, a twenty-nine-year-old American soldier named Frederick, stationed in France, won $37,000 in a four-day crap game. On his next leave he went to Nice and checked himself into the finest hotel. On his first night in the hotel restaurant, he recognized Otero sitting alone at a table. He had seen her perform in Paris ten years before, and had become obsessed with her. She was now close to fifty, but was more alluring than ever. He greased some palms and was able to sit at her table. He could hardly talk: the way her eyes bored into him, a simple readjustment in her chair, her body brushing up against him as she got up, the way she managed to walk in front of him and display herself. Later, strolling along a boulevard, they passed a jewelry store. He went inside, and moments later found himself plopping down $31,000 for a diamond necklace. For three nights La Belle Otero was his. Never in his life had he felt so masculine and impetuous. Years later, he still believed it was well worth the price he had paid. Interpretation. Although La Belle Otero was beautiful, hundreds of women were more so, or were more charming and talented. But Otero was constantly on fire. Men could read it in her eyes, the way her body moved, a dozen other signs. The heat that radiated out from her came from her own inner desires: she was insatiably sexual. But she was also a practiced and calculating courtesan, and knew how to put her sexuality to effect. UsePhysicalLures • 397 Onstage she made every man in the audience come alive, abandoning herself in dance. In person she was cooler, or slightly so. A man likes to feel that a woman is enflamed not because she has an insatiable appetite but because of him; so Otero personalized her sexuality, using glances, a brushing of skin, a more languorous tone of voice, a saucy comment, to suggest that the man was heating her up. In her memoirs she revealed that Prince Albert was a most inept lover. Yet he believed, along with many other men, that with her he was Hercules himself. Her sexuality actually originated from her, but she created the illusion that the man was the aggressor. The key to luring the target into the final act of your seduction is not to make it obvious, not to announce that you are ready (to pounce or be pounced upon). Everything should be geared, not to the conscious mind, but to the senses. You want your target to read cues not from your words or actions but from your body. You must make your body glow with desire- for the target. Your desire should be read in your eyes, in a trembling in your voice, in your reaction when your bodies draw near. You cannot train your body to act this way, but by choosing a victim (see chapter 1) who has this effect on you, it will all flow naturally. Duringthe seduction, you will have had to hold yourself back, to intrigue and frustrate the victim. You will have frustrated yourself in the process, and will already be champing at the bit. Once you sense that the target has fallen for you and cannot turn back, let those frustrated desires course through your blood and warm you up. You do not need to touch your targets, or become physical. As La Belle Otero understood, sexual desire is contagious. They will catch your heat and glow in return. Let them make the first move. It will cover your tracks. The second and third moves are yours. Spell SEX with capital letters when you talk about Otero. She exuded it. -MAURICE CHEVALIER Lowering Inhibitions O ne day in 1931, in a village in New Guinea, a young girl named Tu- perselai heard some happy news: her father, Allaman, who had left some months before to work on a tobacco plantation, had returned for a visit. Tuperselai ran to greet him. Accompanying her father was a white man, ait unusual sight in these parts. He was a twenty-two-year-old Australian from Tasmania, and he was the owner of the plantation. His name was Errol Flynn. Flynn smiled warmly at Tuperselai, seeming particularly interested in her bare breasts. (As was the custom in New Guinea then, she wore only a grass skirt.) He said in pidgin English how beautiful she was, and kept repeating her name, which he pronounced remarkably well. He did not say You're anxiously expecting me to escort you \ To parties: here too solicit my advice. \ Arrive late, when the lamps are lit; make a graceful entrance - \ Delay enhances charm, delay's a great bawd. \ Plain you may be, but at night you'll look fine to the tipsy: \ Soft lights and shadows will mask yourfaults. \ Take your food with dainty fingers: good table manners matter: \ Don't besmear your whole face with a greasy paw. \ Don't cat first at home, and nibble - but equally, don't indulge your \ Appetite to the full, leave something in hand. \ If Paris saw Helen stuffing herself to the eyeballs \ He'd detest her, he'd feel her abduction had been \ A stupid mistake. . . . \ Each woman should know herself, pick methods \ To suit her body: onefashion . won't do for all. \ Let the girl with a pretty face lie supine, let the lady \ Who boasts a good back be viewed \ From behind. Milanion bore Atalanta's legs on \ His shoulders: nice legs should always be used this way \ The petite should ride a horse (Andromache, Hector's Theban \ Bride, was too tall for these games: no jockey she); \ If you 're built like afashion model, with a willowy figure, \ Then kneel on the bed, your neck \ A little arched; the girl who has perfect legs and bosom \ Should lie sideways on, and make her lover stand. \ Don't blush to unbind your hair like some ecstatic maenad \ And tumble long tresses about \ Your uncurved throat. - OVID, THE ARTOFLOVE "How do you attract a man," the Paris correspondent of the Stockholm Aftonbladet asked La Belle on July 3, 1910. • "Make yourself as feminine as possible; dress so that the most interesting portions of your anatomy are emphasized; and subtly allow the gentleman to know you are willing to yield at the proper time. . . • "The way to hold a man" Otero revealed a little later to a staff writerfrom the Johannesburg Morning Journal, "is to keep acting as though every time you meet him you are overcome with fresh enthusiasm and, with barely restrained eagerness, you await his impetuosity." -ARTHUR H. LEWIS, LA BELLE OTERO "I missed the mental stimulation when I was younger," he answered. "But from the time I began to have women, shall we say, on the assembly-line basis, I discovered that the only thing you need, want, or should have is the absolutely physical. Simply the physical. No mind at all. A woman's mind will get in the way." • "Really?" • "For me . . . I am speaking of myself. I don't speak for male humankind. I am speaking for what I've discovered or what I need: the body, the face, the physical motion, the voice, the femaleness, the female presence . . . totally that, nothing else. That's the best. There's no possessiveness in that." • I watched him closely. • "I'm serious," he said. "That's my view and feeling. Just the elementary much else, mind you-he did not speak her language-so she said goodbye and walked away with her father. But later that day she discovered, to her dismay, that Mr. Flynn had taken a liking to her and had purchased her from her father for two pigs, some English coins, and some seashell money. The family was poor and the father liked the price. Tuperselai had a boyfriend in the village whom she did not want to leave, but she did not dare disobey her father, and she left with Mr. Flynn for the tobacco plantation. On the other hand, she had no intention of being friendly with this man, from whom she expected the worst kind of treatment. In the first few days, Tuperselai missed her village terribly, and felt nervous and out of sorts. But Mr. Flynn was polite, and talked in a soothing voice. She began to relax, and since he kept his distance, she decided it was safe to approach him. His white skin was tasty to the mosquitoes, so she began to wash him every night with scented bush herbs to keep them away. Soon she had a thought: Mr. Flynn was lonely, and wanted a companion. That was why he had bought her. At night he usually read; instead, she began to entertain him by singing and dancing. Sometimes he tried to communicate in words and gestures, struggling inpidgin. She had no idea what he was trying to say, but he made her laugh. And one day she did understand something: the word "swim." He was inviting her to go swimming with him in the Laloki River. She was happy to go along, but the river was full of crocodiles, so she brought along her spear just in case. At the sight of the river, Mr. Flynn seemed to come alive-he tore off his clothes and dove in. She followed and swam after him. He put his arms around her and kissed her. They drifted downstream, and she clung to him. She had forgotten about the crocodiles; she had also forgotten about her father, her boyfriend, her village, and everything else there was to forget. Around a bend of the river, he picked her up and carried her to a secluded grove near the river's edge. It all happened rather suddenly, which was fine with Tuperselai. From then on this was a daily ritual-the river, the grove-until the time came when the tobacco plantation was no longer doing so well, and Mr. Flynn left New Guinea. One day some ten years later, a young girl named Blanca Rosa Welter went to a party at the Ritz Hotel in Mexico City. As she wandered through the bar, looking for her friends, a tall older man blocked her path and said in a charming accent, "You must be Blanca Rosa." He did not have to introduce himself-he was the famous Hollywoodactor Errol Flynn. His face was plastered on posters everywhere, and he was friends of the party's hosts, the Davises, and had heard them praise the beauty of Blanca Rosa, who was turning eighteen the following day. He led her to a table in the corner. His manner was graceful and confident, and listening to him talk, she forgot about her friends. He spoke of her beauty, repeated her name, said he could make her a star. Before she knew what was happening, he had invited her to join him in Acapulco, where he was vacationing. The Davises, their mutual friends, could come along as chaperones. That would be wonderful, she said, but her mother would never agree. Don't worry Use Physical Lures • 399 about that, Flynn replied; and the following day he showed up at their house with a beautiful gift for Blanca, a ring with her birthstone. Melting under his charming smile, Blanca's mother agreed to his plan. Later that day, Blanca found herself on a plane to Acapulco. It was all like a dream. The Davises, under orders from Blanca's mother, tried not to let her out of their sight, so Flynn put her on a raft and they drifted out into the ocean, far from the shore. His flattering words filled her ears, and she let him hold her hand and Mss her cheek. That night they danced together, and when the evening was over he escorted hertoherroom and serenaded her with a song as they finally parted. It was the end of a perfect day. In the middle of the night, she woke up to hear him calling her name, from her hotel-room balcony. How had he gotten there? His room was a floor above; he must have somehow jumped or swung down, a dangerous maneuver. She approached, not at all afraid, but curious. He pulled her gently into his arms and kissed her. Her body convulsed; overwhelmed with new sensations, totally at sea, she began to cry-out of happiness, she said. Flynn comforted her with a kiss and returned to his room above, in the same inexplicable way he had arrived. Now Blanca was hopelessly in love with him and would do anything he asked of her. A few weeks later, in fact, she followed him to Hollywood, where she went on to become a successful actress, known as Linda Christian. In 1942, an eighteen-year-old girl named Nora Eddington had a temporary job selling cigarettes at the Los Angeles County courthouse. The place was a madhouse at the time, teeming with tabloid journalists: two young girls had charged Errol Flynn with rape. Nora of course noticed Flynn, a tall, dashing man who occasionally bought cigarettes from her, but her thoughts were with her boyfriend, a young Marine. A few weeks later Flynn was acquitted, the trial ended, and the place settleddown. A man she had met during the trial called her up one day; he was Flynn's right-hand man, and on Flynn's behalf, he wanted to invite her up to the actor's house on Mulholland Drive. Nora had no interest in Flynn, and in fact she was a little afraid of him, but a girlfriend who was dying to meet him talked her into going and bringing her along. What did she have to lose? Nora agreed to go. On the day, Flynn's friend showed up and drove them to a splendid house on top of a hill. When they arrived, Flynn was standing shirtless by his swimming pool. He came to greet her and her girlfriend, moving so gracefully-like a lithe cat-and his manner so relaxed, she felt her jitters melt away. He gave them a tour of the house, which was full of artifacts of his various sea voyages. He talked so delightfully of his love of adventure that she wished she had had adventures of her own. He was the perfect gentleman, and even let her talk about her boyfriend without the slightest sign ofjealousy. Nora had a visit from her boyfriend the next day. Somehow he didn't seem so interesting anymore; they had a fight and broke up on the spot. That night, Flynn took her out on the town, to the famous Mocambo nightclub. He was drinking andjoking, and she fell into the spirit, and hap- physical female. Nothing more than that. When you get hold of that-hang on to it, for a short while." -EARL CONRAD, ERROL FLYNN: A MEMOIR A sweet disorder in the dress \ Kindles in clothes a wantonness: \ A lawn about the shoulders thrown \ Into a fine distraction: \ An erring lace, which here and there \ Enthralls the crimson stomacher: \ A cuff neglectful, and thereby \ Ribbands to flow confusedly: \ A winning wave (deserving note) \ In the tempestuous petticoat: \ A careless shoestring, in whose tie \ I see a wild civility: \ Do more bewitch me, than when art \ Is too precise in every part. - ROBERT HERRICK,"DELIGHT IN DISORDER," EROTIC POEMS Satni, the son of Pharaoh Usimares, saw a very beautiful woman on the plain-stones of the temple. He called his page, and said, "Go and tell her that I, Pharaoh's son, shall give her ten pieces of gold to spend an hour with me." "I am a Pure One, I am not a low person," answers the Lady Thubuit. "If you wish to have your pleasure with me, you will come to my house at Bubastis. Everything will be ready there." Satni went to Bubastis by boat. "By my life," said Thubuit, "come upstairs with me." On the upper floor, sanded with dust of lapis lazuli and turquoise, Satni saw several beds covered with royal linen and many gold 400 bowls on a table. "Please take your meal," said Thubuit."That is not what I have come to do," answered Satni, while the slaves put aromatic wood on the fire and scattered scent about. "Do that for which we have come here," Satni repeated. "First you will make out a deedfor my maintenance," Thubuit replied, "and you will establish a dowry for me of all the things and goods which belong to you, in writing." Satni acquiesced, saying, "Bring me the scribe of the school." • When he had done what she asked, Thubuit rose and dressed herself in a robe of fine linen, through which Satni could see all her limbs. His passion increased, but she said, "If it is true that you desire to have your pleasure of me, you will make your children subscribe to my deed, that they may not seek a quarrel with my children." Satni sent for his children. "If it is true that you desire to have your pleasure of me, you will cause your children to be killed, that they may not seek a quarrel with my children." Satni consented again: "Let any crime be done to them which your heart desires." "Go into that room," said Thubuit; and while the little corpses were thrown out to the stray dogs and cats, Satni at last lay on a bed of ivory and ebony, that his love might be rewarded, and Thubuit lay down at his side. "Then," the texts modestly say, "magic and the god Amen did much." • The charms of the Divine Women must have been irresistible, if even "the wisest men" were pily let him touch her hand. Then suddenly she panicked. "I'm a Catholic and a virgin," she blurted out, "and some day I'm going to walk down the church aisle wearing a veil-and if you think you're going to sleep with me, you're mistaken." Totally calm and unruffled, Flynn said she had nothing to fear. He simply liked being with her. She relaxed, and politely asked him to put his hand back. Over the next few weeks she saw him almost every day. She became his secretary. Soon she was spending weekend nights as his house guest. He took her on skiing and boating trips. He remained the perfect gentleman, but when he looked at her or touched her hand, she felt overwhelmed by an exhilarating sensation, a tingling on her skin that she compared to stepping into a cold-needle shower on a red-hot day. Soon she was going to church less often, drifting away from the life she had known. Although outwardly nothing had changed between them, inwardly all semblance of resistance to him had melted away. One night, after a party, she succumbed. She and Flynn eventually engaged in a stormy marriage that lasted seven years. Interpretation. The women who became involved with Errol Flynn (and by the end of his life they numbered in the thousands) had every reason in the world to feel suspicious of him: he was real life's closest thing to a Don Juan. (In fact he had played the legendary seducer in a film.) He was constantly surrounded by women, who knew that no involvement with him could last. And then there were the rumors of his temper, and his love of danger and adventure. No woman had greater reason to resist him than Nora Eddington: when she met him he stood accused of rape; she was involved with another man; she was a God-fearing Catholic. Yet she fell under his spell, just like all the rest. Some seducers-D. H. Lawrence for -operate mostly on the mind, creating fascination, stirring up the need to possess them. Flynn operated on the body. His cool, nonchalant manner infected women, lowering their resistance. This happened almost the minute they met him, like a drug: he was at ease around women, graceful and confident. They fell into this spirit, drifting along on a current he created, leaving the world and its heaviness behind-it was only you and him. Then-perhaps that same day, perhaps a few weeks later-there would come a touch of his hand, a certain look, that would make them feel a tingling, a vibration, a dangerously physical excitement. They would betray that moment in their eyes, a blush, a nervous laugh, and he would swoop in for the kill. No one moved faster than Errol Flynn. The greatest obstacle to the physical part of the seduction is the target's education, the degree to which he or she has been civilized and socialized. Such education conspires to constrain the body, dull the senses, fill the mind with doubts and worries. Flynn had the ability to return a woman to a more natural state, in which desire, pleasure, and sex had nothing negative attached to them. He lured women into adventure not with arguments but Use Physical Lures • 401 with an open, unrestrained attitude that infected their minds. Understand: it all starts from you. When the time comes to make the seduction physical, train yourself to let go of your own inhibitions, your doubts, your lingering feelings of guilt and anxiety. Your confidence and ease will have more power to intoxicate the victim than all the alcohol you could apply. Exhibit a lightness of spirit-nothing bothers you, nothing daunts you, you take nothing personally. You are inviting your targets to shed the burdens of civilization, to follow your lead and drift. Do not talk of work, duty, marriage, the past or future. Plenty of other people will do that. Instead, offer the rare thrill of losing oneself in the moment, where the senses come dive and the mind is left behind. When he kissed me, it evoked a response I had never known or imagined before, a giddying of all my senses. It was instinctive joy, against which no warning, reasoning monitor within me availed. It was new and irresistible and finally overpowering. Seduction-the word implies being led-and so gently, so tenderly. -LINDA CHRISTIAN Keys to Seduction N ow more than ever, our minds are in a state of constant distraction, barraged with endless information, pulled in every direction. Many of us recognize the problem: articles are written, studies are completed, but they simply become more information to digest. It is almost impossible to turn off an overactive mind; the attempt simply triggers more thoughts- an inescapable hall of mirrors. Perhaps we turn to alcohol, to drugs, to physical activity-anything to help us slow the mind, be more present in the moment. Our discontent presents the crafty seducer with infinite opportunity. The waters around you are teeming with people seeking some kind of release from mental overstimulation. The lure of unencumbered physical pleasure will make them take your bait, but as you prowl the waters, understand: the only way to relax a distracted mind is to make it focus on one thing. A hypnotist asks the patient to focus on a watch swinging back and forth. Once the patient focuses, the mind relaxes, the senses awaken, the body becomes prone to all kinds of novel sensations and suggestions. As a seducer, youare a hypnotist, and what you are making the target focus on is you. Throughout the seductive process you have been filling the target's mind. Letters, mementos, shared experiences keep you constantly present, even when you are not there. Now, as you shift to the physical part of the seduction, you must see your targets more often. Your attention must become more intense. Errol Flynn was a master at this game. When he ready to do anything in their desire to abandon themselves, even for a few moments, to their trained embraces. -G. R.TABOUIS, THE PRIVATE UFE OF TUTANKHAMEN, What is the moment, and how do you define it? Because I must say in all good honesty that I do not understand you. • THE DUKE: A certain disposition of the senses, as unexpected as it is involuntary, which a woman can conceal, but which, should it be perceived or sensed by someone who might profit from it, puts her in the greatest danger of being a little more willing than she thought she ever should or could be. -CREBILLON FILS, LE HASARD AU COIN DU FEU, QUOTED IN MICHEL FEHER, ED., THE LIBERTINE READER When, on an autumn evening, with closed eyes, \ I breathe the warm dark fragrance of your breast, \ Before me blissful shores unfold, caressed \ By dazzlingfires from blue unchanging skies. \ And there, upon that calm and drowsing isle, \ Grow luscious fruits amid fantastic trees: \ There, men are lithe: the women of those seas \ Amaze one with their gaze that knows no guile. \ Your perfume wafts me thither like a wind: \ I see a harbor thronged with masts and sails \ Still weary from the tumult of the gales; \ And 402 THE FLOWERS OF EVIL,  with the sailors' song that honied in on a victim, he dropped everything else. The woman was made drifts to me \ Are mmgied t0 f ee i everything came second to her-his career, his friends, every- odors of the tamarind, \ .,, . ... . . . . ., ", ., thing. Then he would take her on a little trip, preferably with water and melody, around. Slowly the rest of the world would fade into the background, and -charles baudelaire, Flynn would take center stage. The more your targets think of you, the less ¦exotic perfume," they are distracted by thoughts of work and duty. When the mind focuses tiic flowers or evil. one jj. and w hen the mind relaxes, all the little paranoid thoughts that we are prone to-do you really like me, am I intelligent or beautiful enough, what does the future hold-vanish from the surface. Remember: it all starts with you. Be undistracted, present in the moment, and the target will follow suit. The intense gaze of the hypnotist creates a similar reaction in the patient. Once the target's overactive mind starts to slow down, their senses will come to life, and your physical lures will have double their power. Now a heated glance will give them flush. You will have a tendency to employ physical lures that work primarily on the eyes, the sense we most rely on in our culture. Physical appearances are critical, but you are after a general agitation of the senses. La Belle Otero made sure men noticed her breasts, her figure, her perfume, her walk; no part was allowed to predominate. The senses are interconnected-an appeal to smell will trigger touch, an appeal to touch will trigger vision: casual or "accidental" contact-better a brushing of the skin than something more forceful right now-will create a jolt and activate the eyes. Subtly modulate the voice, make it slower and deeper. Living senses will crowd out rational thought. In the eighteenth-century libertine novel The Wayward Head and Heart, by Crebillon fils, Madame de Lursay is trying to seduce a younger man, Meilcour. Her weapons are several. One night at a party she is hosting, she wears a revealing gown; her hair is slightly tousled; she throws him heated glances; her voice trembles a bit. When they are alone, she innocently gets him to sit close to her, and talks more slowly; at one point she starts to cry. Meilcour has many reasons to resist her; he has fallen in love with a girl his own age, and he has heard rumors about Madame de Lursay that should make him distrust her. But the clothes, the looks, the perfume, the voice, the closeness of her body, the tears-it all begins to overwhelm him. "An indescribable agitation stirred my senses." Meilcour succumbs. The French libertines of the eighteenth century called this "the moment." The seducer leads the victim to a point where he or she reveals involuntary signs of physical excitation that can be read in various symptoms. Once those signs are detected, the seducer must work quickly, applying pressure on the target to get lost in the moment-the past, the future, all moral scmples vanishing in air. Once your victims lose themselves in the moment, it is all over-their mind, their conscience, no longer holds them back. The body gives in to pleasure. Madame de Lursay lures Meilcour into the moment by creating a generalized disorder of the senses, rendering him incapable of thinking straight. In leading your victims into the moment, remember a few things. First, Use Physical Lures • 403 a disordered look (Madame de Lursay's tousled hair, her ruffled dress) has more effect on the senses than a neat appearance. It suggests the bedroom. Second, be alert to the signs of physical excitation. Blushing, trembling of the voice, tears, unusually forceful laughter, relaxing movements of the body (any kind of involuntary mirroring, their gestures imitating yours), a revealing slip of the tongue-these are signs that the victim is slipping into the moment and pressure is to be applied. In 1934, a Chinese football player named Li met a young actress named Lan Ping in Shanghai. He began to see her often at his matches, cheering him on. They would meet at public affairs, and he would notice her glancing at him with her "strange, yearning eyes," then looking away. One evening he found her seated next to him at a reception. Her leg brushed up against his. They chatted, and she asked him to see a movie with her at a nearby cinema. Once they were there, her head found its way onto his shoulder; she whispered into his ear, something about the film. Later they strolled the streets, and she put her arm around his waist. She brought him to a restaurant where they drank some wine. Li took her to his hotel room, and there he found himself overwhelmed by caresses and sweet words. She gave him no room to retreat, no time to cool down. Three years later Lan Ping-soon to be renamed Jiang Qing-played a similar game on Mao Zedong. She was to become Mao's wife-the infamous Madame Mao, leader of the Gang of Four. Seduction, like warfare, is often a game of distance and closeness. At first you track your enemy from a distance. Your main weapons are your eyes, and a mysterious manner. Byron had his famous underlook, Madame Mao her yearning eyes. The key is to make the look short and to the point, then look away, like a rapier glancing the flesh. Make your eyes reveal desire, and keep the rest of the face still. (A smile will spoil the effect.) Once the victim is heated up, you quickly bridge the distance, turning to hand- to-hand combat in which you give the enemy no room to withdraw, no time to think or to consider the position in which you have placed him or her. To take the element of fear out of this, use flattery, make the target feel more masculine or feminine, praise their charms. It is their fault that you have become so physical and aggressive. There is no greater physical lure than to make the target feel alluring. Remember; the girdle of Aphrodite, which gave her untold seductive powers, included that of sweet flattery. Shared physical activity is always an excellent lure. The Russian mystic Rasputin would begin his seductions with a spiritual lure-the promise of a shared religious experience. But then his eyes would bore into his target at a party, and inevitably he would lead her in a dance, which would become more and more suggestive as he movedcloser to her. Hundreds of women succumbed to this technique. For Flynn it was swimming or sailing. In such physical activity, the mind turns off and the body operates according to its own laws. The target's body will follow your lead, will mirror your moves, as far as you want it to go. In the moment, all moral considerations fade away, and the body re- turns to a state of innocence. You can partly create that feeling through a devil-may-care attitude. You do not worry about the world, or what people think of you; you do not judge your target in any way. Part of Flynn's appeal was his total acceptance of a woman. He was not interested in a particular body type, a woman's race, her level of education, her political beliefs. He was in love with her feminine presence. He was luring her into an adventure, free of society's strictures and moral judgments. With him she could act out a fantasy-which, for many, was the chance to be aggressive or transgressive, to experience danger. So empty yourself of your tendency to moralize andjudge. You have lured your targets into a momentary world of pleasure-soft and accommodating, all rules and taboos thrown out the window. Symbol: The Raft. Floating out to sea, drifting with the current. Soon the shoreline disappears from sight, and the two of you are alone. The water invites you to forget all cares and worries, to submerge yourself. Without anchor or direction, cut off from the past, you give in to the drifting sensation and slowly lose all restraint. Reversal S ome people panic when they sense they are falling into the moment. Often, using spiritual lures will help disguise the increasingly physical nature of the seduction. That is how the lesbian seductress Natalie Barney operated. In her heyday, at the turn of the twentieth century, lesbian sex was immensely transgressive, and women new to it often felt a sense of shame or dirtiness. Barney led them into the physical, but so enveloped it in poetry and mysticism that they relaxed and felt purified by the experience. Today, few people feel repulsed by their sexual nature, but many are uncomfortable with their bodies. A purely physical approach will frighten and disturb them. Instead, make it seem a spiritual, mystical union, and they will take less notice of your physical manipulations. 23 Master the Art of the Bold Move A moment has arrived: your victim clearly desires you, but is not ready to admit it openly, let alone act on it. This is the time to throw aside chivalry, kindness, and coquetry and to overwhelm with a bold move. Don't give the victim time to consider the consequences; create conflict, stir up tension, so that the bold move comes as a great release. Showing hesitation or awkwardness means you are thinking of yourself, as opposed to being overwhelmed by the victim's charms. Never hold back or meet the target halfway, under the belief that you are being correct and considerate: you must be seductive now, not political. One person must go on the offensive, and it is you. The Perfect Climax T hrough a campaign of deception-the misleading appearance of a transformation into goodness-the rake Valmont laid siege to the virtuous young Presidente de Tourvel until the day came when, disturbed by his confession of love for her, she insisted he leave the chateau where both of them were staying as guests. He complied. From Paris, however, he flooded her with letters, describing his love for her in the most intense terms; she begged him to stop, and once again he complied. Then, several weeks later, he paid a surprise visit to the chateau. In his company Tourvel was flushed and jumpy, and kept her eyes averted-all signs of his effect on her. Again she asked him to leave. What have you to fear? he replied, I have always done what you have asked, I have never forced myself on you. He kept his distance and she slowly relaxed. She no longer left the room when he entered, and she could look at him directly. When he offered to accompany her on a walk, she did not refuse. They were friends, shesaid. She even put her arm in his as they strolled, a friendly gesture. One rainy day they could not take their usual walk. He met her in the hallway as she was entering her room; for the first time, she invited him in. She seemed relaxed, and Valmont sat near her on a sofa. He talked of his love for her. She gave the faintest protest. He took her hand; she left it there and leaned against his arm. Her voice trembled. She looked at him, and he felt his heart flutter-it was a tender, loving look. She started to speak-"Well! yes, I . . ."-then suddenly collapsed into his arms, crying. It was a moment of weakness, yet Valmont held himself back. Her crying became convulsive; she begged him to help her, to leave the room before something terrible happened. He did so. The following morning he awoke to some surprising news: in the middle of the night, claiming she was feeling ill, Tourvel had suddenly left the chateau and returned home. Valmont did not follow her to Paris. Instead he began staying up late, and using no powder to hide the peaked looks that soon ensued. He went to the chapel every day, and dragged himself despondently around the chateau. He knew that his hostess would be writing to the Presidente, who would hear of his sad state. Next he wrote to a church father in Paris, and asked him to pass along a message to Tourvel: he was ready to change his life for good. He wanted one last meeting, to say goodbye and to return the letters she had written him over thelastfew months. The father arranged a It afforded, moreover, another advantage: that of observing at my leisure her charming face, more beautiful than ever, as it proffered the powerful enticement of tears. My blood was on fire, and I was so little in control of myself that I was tempted to make the most of the occasion. • How weak we must be, how strong the dominion of circumstance, if even I, without a thought for my plans, could risk losing all the charm of a prolonged struggle, all the fascination of a laboriously administered defeat, by concluding a premature victory; if distracted by the most puerile of desires, I could be willing that the conqueror of Madame de Tourvel should take nothing for the fruit of his labors but the tasteless distinction of having added one more name to the roll. Ah, let her surrender, but let her fight! Let her be too weak to prevail but strong enough to resist; let her savor the knowledge of her weakness at her leisure, but let her be unwilling to admit defeat. Leave the humble poacher to kill the stag where he has surprised it in its hiding place; the true hunter will bring it to bay. -VICOMTE DEVALMONT, IN CHODERLOS DE LACLOS, DANGEROUS LIAISONS. THE LIBERTINE READER Don't you know that however willing, however eager we are to give ourselves, we must nevertheless have an excuse? And is there any more convenient than an appearance of yielding to force? As for me, I shall admit that one thing that most flatters me is a lively and well-executed attack, when everything happens in quick but orderly succession; which never puts us in the painfully embarrassing position of having to cover up some blunder of which, on the contrary, we ought to be taking advantage; which keeps up an appearance of taking by storm even that which we are quite prepared to surrender; and adroitly flatters our two favorite passions-the pride of defense and the pleasure of defeat. -MARQUISE DE MERTEUIL IN CHODERLOS DE LACLOS, DANGEROUS LIAISONS. What sensible man will not intersperse his coaxing \ With kisses? Even if she doesn't kiss back, \ Still force on regardless! She may struggle, cry "Naughty!" \ Yet she wants to be overcome. Just meeting, and so, one late afternoon in Paris, Valmont found himself once again alone with Tourvel, in a room in her house. The Presidente was clearly on edge; she could not look him in the eye. They exchanged pleasantries, but then Valmont turned harsh; she had treated him cruelly, had apparently been determined to make him unhappy. Well, this was the end, they were separating for good, since that was how she wanted it. Tourvel argued back: she was a married woman, she had no choice. Valmont softened his tone and apologized: he was unused to having such strong feelings, he said, and could not control himself. Still, he would never trouble her again. Then he laid on a table the letters he had come to return. Tourvel came closer: the sight of her letters, and the memory of all the turmoil they represented, affected her powerfully. She had thought his decision to renounce his libertine way of life was voluntary, she said-with a touch of bitterness in her voice, as if she resented being abandoned. No, it was not voluntary, he replied, it was because she had spurned him. Then he suddenly stepped closer and took her in his arms. She did not resist. "Adorable woman!" he cried. "You have no idea of the love you inspire. You will never know how I have worshipped you, how much dearer my feelings have been to me than life! ... May [your days] be blessed with all of the happiness of which you have deprived me!" Then he let her go and turned to leave. Tourvel suddenly snapped. "You shall listen to me. I insist," she said, and grabbed his arm. He turned around and they embraced. This time he waited no longer, picking her up, carrying her to anottoman, overwhelming her with kisses and sweet words of the happiness he now felt. Before this sudden flood of caresses, all her resistance gave way. "From this moment on I am yours," she said, "and you will hear neither refusals nor regrets from my lips." Tourvel was true to her word, and Valmont's suspicions were to prove correct: the pleasures he won from her were far greater than with any other woman he had seduced. Interpretation. Valmont-a character in Choderlos de Laclos's eighteenth- century novel Dangerous Liaisons -can sense several things about the Presidente at first glance. She is timid and nervous. Her husband almost certainly treats her with respect-probably too much of it. Beneath her interest in God, religion, and virtue is a passionate woman, vulnerable to the lure of a romance and to the flattering attention of an ardent suitor. No one, not even her husband, has given her this feeling, because they have all been so daunted by her prudish exterior. Valmont begins his seduction, then, by being indirect. He knows Tourvel is secretly fascinated with his bad reputation. By acting as if he is contemplating a change in his life, he can make her want to reform him-a desire that is unconsciously a desire to love him. Once she has opened up ever so slightly to his influence, he strikes at her vanity: she has never felt Master the Art of the Bold Move • 409 desired as a woman, and on some level cannot help but enjoy his love for her. Of course she struggles and resists, but that is only a sign that her emotions are engaged. (Indifference is the single most effective deterrent to seduction.) By taking his time, by making no bold moves even when he has the opportunity for them, he instills in her a false sense of security and proves himself by being patient. On what he pretends is his last visit to her, however, he can sense she is ready-weak, confused, more afraid of losing the addictive feeling of being desired than of suffering the consequences of adultery. He deliberately makes her emotional, dramatically displays her letters, creates some tension by playing a game of push-and-pull, and when she takes his arm, he knows it is the time to strike. Now he moves quickly, allowing her no time for doubts or second thoughts. But his move seems to arise out of love, not lust. After so much resistance and tension, what a pleasure to finally surrender. The climax now comes as a great release. Never underestimate the role of vanity in love and seduction. If you seem impatient, champing at the bit for sex, you signal that it is all about libido, and that it has little to do with the target's own charms. That is why you must defer the climax. A lengthier courtship will feed the target's vanity, and will make the effect of your bold move all the more powerful and enduring. Wait too long, though-showing desire, but then proving too timid to make your move-and you will stir up a different kind of insecurity: "You found me desirable, but you are not acting on your desires; maybe you're not so interested." Doubts like these affront your target's vanity (if you're not interested, maybe I'm not so interesting), and are fatal in the latter stages of seduction; awkwardness and misunderstandings will spring up everywhere. Once you read in your targets' gestures that they are ready and open-a look in the eye, mirroring behavior, a strange nervousness in your presence-you must go on the offensive, make them feel that their charms have unhinged you and pushed you into the bold move. They will then have the ultimate pleasure: physical surrender and a psychological boost to their vanity. take care \ Not to bruise her tender lips with such hard-snatched kisses, \ Don't give her a chance to protest \ You're too rough. Those who grab their kisses, but not whatfollows, \ Deserve to lose all they've gained. How short were you \ Of the ultimate goal after all your kissing? That was \ Gaucheness, not modesty, I'm afraid. OVIDIO (si veda), THE ART OF LOVE. I have tested all manner of pleasures, and known every variety of joy; and I have found that neither intimacy with princes, nor wealth acquired, nor finding after lacking, nor returning after long absence, nor security after fear and repose in a safe refuge-none of these things so powerfully affects the soul as union with the beloved, especially if it come after long denial and continual banishment. For then the flame ofpassion waxes exceeding hot, and the furnace of yearning blazes up, and the fire of eager hope rages ever more fiercely. The more timidity a lover shows with us the more it concerns our pride to goad him on; the more respect he has for our resistance, the more respect we demand of him. We would willingly say to you men: "Ah, in pity's name do not suppose us to be so very virtuous; you are forcing us to have too much of it." -NINON DE L'ENCLOS Keys to Seduction T hink of seduction as a world you enter, a world that is separate and distinct from the real world. The rules are different here; what works in daily life can have the opposite effect in seduction. The real world fea- - THE RING OF THE DOVE: A TREATISE ON THE ART AND PRACTICE OF LOVE. I knew once two great lords, brothers, both of them highly bred and highly accomplished gentlemen which did love two ladies, but the one of these wasof much higher quality and more account than the other in all respects. Now being entered both into the chamber of 410 this great lady, who for the time being was keeping her bed, each did withdraw apart for to entertain his mistress. The one did converse with the high-born dame with every possible respect and humble salutation and kissing of hands, with words of honor and stately compliment, without making ever an attempt to come near and try to force the place. The other brother, without any ceremony of words or fine phrases, did take his fair one to a recessed window, and incontinently making free with her (for he was very strong), he did soon show her 'twas not his way to love a I'espagnole, with eyes and tricks of face and words, but in the genuine fashion and proper mode every true lover should desire. Presently having finished his task, he doth quit the chamber; but as he goes, saith to his brother, loud enough for his lady to hear the words: "Do you as I have done, brother mine; else you do naught at all. Be you as brave and hardy as you will elsewhere, yet if you show not your hardihood here and now, you are disgraced;for here is no place of ceremony and respect, but one where you do see your lady before you, which doth but wait your attack." So with this he did leave his brother, which yetfor that while did refrain him and put it off to another time. Butfor this the lady did by no means esteem him more highly, whether it was she did put it down to an overchilliness in love, or a lack of courage, or a defect of bodily vigor. -SEIGNEUR DE BRANT6ME, LIVES OF FAIR et GALLANT LADIES tures a democratizing, leveling impulse, in which everything has to seem at least something like equal. An overt imbalance of power, an overt desire for power, will stir envy and resentment; we learn to be kind and polite, at least on the surface. Even those who have power generally try to act humble and modest-they do not want to offend. In seduction, on the other hand, you can throw all of that out, revel in your dark side, inflict a little pain-in some ways be more yourself. Your naturalness in this respect will prove seductive in itself. The problem is that after years of living in the real world, we lose the ability to be ourselves. We become timid, humble, overpolite. Your task is to regain some of your childhood qualities, to root out all this false humility. And the most important quality to recapture is boldness. No one is born timid; timidity is a protection we develop. If we never stick our necks out, if we never try, we will never have to suffer the consequences of failure or success. If we are kind and unobtrusive, no one will be offended-in fact we will seem saintly and likable. In truth, timid people are often self-absorbed, obsessed with the way people see them, and not at all saintly. And humility may have its social uses, but it is deadly in seduction. You need to be able to play the humble saint at times; it is a mask you wear. But in seduction, take it off. Boldness is bracing, erotic, and absolutely necessary to bring the seduction to its conclusion. Done right, it tells your targets that they have made you lose your normal restraint, and gives them license to do so as well. People are yearning to have a chance to play out the repressed sides of their personality. At the final stage of a seduction, boldness eliminates any awkwardness or doubts. In a dance, two people cannot lead. One takes over, sweeping the other along. Seduction is not egalitarian; it is not a harmonic convergence. Holding back at the end out of fear of offending, or thinking it correct to share the power, is a recipe for disaster. This is an arena not for politics but for pleasure. It can be by the man or woman, but a bold move is required. If you are so concerned about the other person, console yourself with the thought that the pleasure of the one who surrenders is often greater than that of the aggressor. As a young man, the actor Errol Flynn was uncontrollably bold. This often got him into trouble; he became too aggressive around desirable women. Then, while traveling through the Far East, he became interested in the Asian practice of tantric sex, in which the male must train himself not to ejaculate, preserving his potency and heightening both partners' pleasure in the process. Flynn later applied this principle to his seductions as well, teaching himself to restrain his natural boldness and delay the end of the seduction as long as possible. So, while boldness can work wonders, uncontrollable boldness is not seductive but frightening; you need to be able to turn it on and off at will, know when to use it. As in Tantrism, you can create more pleasure by delaying the inevitable. In the 1720s, the Due de Richelieu developed an infatuation with a certain duchess. The woman was exceptionally beautiful, and was desired by one and all, but she was far too virtuous to take a lover, although she Master the Art of the Bold Move • 411 could be quite coquettish. Richelieu bided his time. He befriended her, charming her with the wit that had made him the favorite of the ladies. One night a group of such women, including the duchess, decided to play a practical joke on him, in which he was to be forced naked out of his room at the palace of Versailles. The joke worked to perfection, the ladies all got to see him in his native glory, andhada good chuckle watching him run away. There were many places Richelieu could have hidden; the place he chose was the duchess's bedroom. Minutes later he watched her enter and undress, and once the candles were extinguished, he crept into bed with her. She protested, tried to scream. He covered her mouth with kisses, and she eventually and happily relented. Richelieu had decided to make his bold move then for several reasons. First, the duchess had come to like him, and even to harbor a secret desire for him. She would never act upon it or admit it, but he was certain it existed. Second, she had seen him naked, and could not help but be impressed. Third, she would feel a touch of pity for his predicament, and for the joke played on him. Richelieu, a consummate seducer, would find no more perfect moment. The bold move should come as a pleasant surprise, but not too much of a surprise. Learn to read the signs that the target is falling for you. His or her manner toward you will have changed-it will be more pliant, with more words and gestures mirroring yours-yet there will still be a touch of nervousness and uncertainty. Inwardly they have given in to you, but they do not expect a bold move. This is the time to strike. If you wait too long, to the point where they consciously desire and expect you to make a move, it loses the piquancy of coming as a surprise. You want a degree of tension and ambivalence, so that the move represents a great release. Their surrender will relieve tension like a long-awaited summer storm. Don't plan your bold move in advance; it cannot seem calculated. Wait for the opportune moment, as Richelieu did. Be attentive to favorable circumstances. This will give you room to improvise and go with the moment, which will heighten the impression you want to create of being suddenly overwhelmed by desire. If you ever sense that the victim is expecting the bold move, take a step back, lull them into a false sense of security, then strike. Sometime in the fifteenth century, the writer Bandello relates, a young Venetian widow had a sudden lust for a handsome nobleman. She had her father invite him to their palace to discuss business, but during the meeting the father had to leave, and she offered to give the young man a tour of the place. His curiosity was piqued by her bedroom, which she described as the most splendid room in the palace, but which she also passed by without letting him enter. He begged to be shown the room, and she granted his wish. He was spellbound: the velvets, the rare objets, the suggestive paintings, the delicate white candles. A beguiling scent filled the room. The widow put out all of the candles but one, then led the man to the bed, which had been heated with a warming pan. He quickly succumbed to her caresses. Follow the widow's example: your bold move should have a theatrical quality to it. That will make it memorable, and make your aggressiveness seem pleasant. A man should proceed to enjoy any woman when she gives him an opportunity and makes her own love manifest to him by the following signs: she calls out to a man without first being addressed by him; she shows herself to him in secret places; she speaks to him tremblingly and inarticulately; her face blooms with delight and her fingers or toes perspire; and sometimes she remains with both hands placed on his body as if she had been surprised by something, or as if overcome withfatigue. • After a woman has manifested her love to him by outward signs, and by the motions of her body, the man should make every possible attempt to conquer her. There should be no indecision or hesitancy: if an opening is found the man should make the most • of it. The woman, indeed, becomes disgusted with the man if he is timid about his chances and throws them away. Boldness is the rule, for everything is to be gained, and nothing lost. - THE ART OF LOVE The Art of Seduction part of the drama. The theatricality can come from the setting-an exotic or sensual location. It can also come from your actions. The widow piqued her victim's curiosity by creating the suspense about her bedroom. An element of fear-someone might find you, say-will heighten the tension. Remember: you are creating a moment that must stand out from the sameness of daily life. Keeping your targets emotional will both weaken them and heighten the drama of the moment. And the best way to keep them at an emotional pitch is by infecting them with emotions of your own. When Valmont wanted the Presidents to become calm, angry, or tender, he showed that emotion first, and she mirrored it. People are very susceptible to the moods of those around them; this is particularly acute at the latter stages of a seduction, when resistance is low and the target has fallen under your spell. At the point of the bold move, learn to infect your target with whatever emotional mood you require, as opposed to suggesting the mood with words. You want access to the target's unconscious, which is best obtained by infecting them with emotions, bypassing their conscious ability to resist. It may seem expected for the male to make the bold move, but history is full of successfully bold females. There are two main forms of feminine boldness. In the first, more traditional form, the coquettish woman stirs male desire, is completely in control, then at the last minute, after bringing her victim to a boil, steps back and lets him make the bold move. She sets it up, then signals with her eyes, her gestures, that she is ready for him. Courtesans have used this method throughout history; it is how Cleopatra worked on Antony, how Josephine seduced Napoleon, how La Belle Otero amassed a fortune during the Belle Epoque. It lets the man maintain his masculine illusions, although the woman is really the aggressor. The second form of feminine boldness does not bother with such illusions: the woman simply takes charge, initiates the first kiss, pounces on her victim. This is how Marguerite de Valois, Lou Andreas-Salome, and Madame Mao operated, and many men find it not emasculating at all but very exciting. It all depends on the insecurities and proclivities of the victim. This kind of feminine boldness has its allure because it is more rare than the first kind, but then all boldness is somewhat rare. A bold move will always stand out compared to the usual treatment afforded by the tepid husband, the timid lover, the hesitant suitor. That is how you want it. If everyone were bold, boldness would quickly lose its allure. Master the Art of the Bold Move • 413 Symbol: The Summer Storm. The hot days follow one another, with no end in sight. The earth is parched and dry. Then there comes a stillness in the air, thick and oppressive-the calm before the storm. Suddenly gusts of wind arrive, and flashes of lightning, exciting and frightening. Allowing no time to react or runfor shelter, the rain comes, and brings with it a sense of release. At last. Reversal I f two people come together by mutual consent, that is not a seduction. There is no reversal. 24 Beware the Aftereffects Danger follows in the aftermath of a successful seduction. After emotions have reached a pitch, they often swing in the opposite direction-toward lassitude, distrust, disappointment. Beware of the long, drawn-out goodbye; insecure, the victim will cling and claw, and both sides will suffer. If you are to part, make the sacrifice swift and sudden. If necessary, deliberately break the spell you have created. If you are to stay in a relationship, beware a flagging of energy, a creeping familiarity that will spoil the fantasy. If the game is to go on, a second seduction is required. Never let the other person take you for granted-use absence, create pain and conflict, to keep the seduced on tenterhooks. Disenchantment S eduction is a kind of spell, an enchantment. When you seduce, you are not quite your normal self; your presence is heightened, you are playing more than one role, you arestrategicallyconcealing your tics and insecurities. You have deliberately created mystery and suspense to make the victim experience a real-life drama. Under your spell, the seduced gets to feel transported away from the world of work and responsibility. You will keep this going for as long as you want or can, heightening the tension, stirring the emotions, until the time finally comes to complete the seduction. After that, disenchantment almost inevitably sets in. The release of tension is followed by a letdown-of excitement, of energy-that can even materialize as a kind of disgust directed at you by your victim, even though what is happening is really a natural emotional course. It is as if a drug were wearing off, allowing the target to see you as you are-and being disappointed by the flaws that are inevitably there. On your side, you too have probably tended to idealize your targets somewhat, and once your desire is satisfied, you may see them as weak. (After all, they have given in to you.) You too may feel disappointed. Even in the best of circumstances, you are dealing now with the reality rather than the fantasy, and the flames will slowly die down-unless you start up a second seduction. You may think that if the victim is to be sacrificed, none of this matters. But sometimes your effort to break off the relationship will inadvertently revivethespellfor the other person, causing him or her to cling to you tenaciously. No, in either direction-sacrifice, or the integration of the two of you into a couple-you must take disenchantment into account. There is an art to the post-seduction as well. Master the following tactics to avoid undesired aftereffects. Fight against inertia. The sense that you are trying less hard is often enough to disenchant your victims. Reflecting back on what you did during the seduction, they will see you as manipulative: you wanted something then, and so you worked at it, but now you are taking them for granted. After the first seduction is over, then, show that it isn't really over-that you want to keep proving yourself, focusing your attention on them, luring them. That is often enough to keep them enchanted. Fight the tendency to let things settle into comfort and routine. Stir the pot, even if that means a In a word, woe to the woman of too monotonous a temperament; her monotony satiates and disgusts. She is always the same statue, with her a man is always right. She is so good, so gentle, that she takes away from people the privilege of quarreling with her, and this is often such a great pleasure! Put in her place a vivacious woman, capricious, decided, to a certain limit, however, and things assume a different aspect. The lover will find in the same personthepleasureofvariety. Temper is the salt, the quality which prevents it front becoming stale. Restlessness, jealousy, quarrels, making friends again, spitefulness, all are the food of love. Enchanting variety? Too constant a peace is productive of a deadly ennui. Uniformity kills love, for as soon as the spirit of method mingles in an affair of the heart, the passion disappears, languor supervenes, weariness begins to wear, and disgust ends the chapter. LIFE, LETTERS AND EPICUREAN PHILOSOPHY OF NINON DE L'ENCLOS Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale \ Her infinite variety: other women cloy \ The appetites they feed; but she makes hungry \ Where most she satisfies. SHAKESPEARE, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA Cry hurrah, and hurrah again, for a splendid triumph - \ The quarry I sought has fallen into my toils. . . . \ Why hurry, young man? Your ship's still in mid-passage, \ And the harbor I seek is far away \ Through my verses, it's true, you may have acquired a mistress, \ But that's not enough. If my art \ Caught her, my art must keep her. To guard a conquest's \As tricky as making it. There was luck in the chase, \ But this task will call for skill. If ever I needed supportfrom \ Venus and Son, and Erato-the Muse \ Erotic by name - it's now, for my too-ambitious project\Torelatesometechniquesthatmight restrain \ That fickle young globetrotter, Love. . . . \ To be loved you must show yourself lovable - \ Something good looks alone \ Can never achieve. You may be handsome as Homer's Nireus, \ Or young Hylas, snatched by those bad \ Naiads; but all the same, to avoid a surprise desertion \And keep your girl, it's best you have gifts of mind \ In addition to physical charms. Beauty's fragile, the passing \ Years diminish its substance, eat it away. \ Violets and bell-mouthed lilies do not bloomfor ever, \ Hard thorns are all that's left of the blown rose. \ So with you, my handsome youth: return to inflicting pain and pulling back. Never rely on your physical charms; even beauty loses its appeal with repeated exposure. Only strategy and effort will fight off inertia. Maintain mystery. Familiarity is the death of seduction. If the target knows everything about you, the relationship gains a level of comfort but loses the elements of fantasy and anxiety. Without anxiety and a touch of fear, the erotic tension is dissolved. Remember: reality is not seductive. Keep some dark corners in your character, flout expectations, use absences to fragment the clinging, possessive pull that allows familiarity to creep in. Maintain some mystery or be taken for granted. You will have only yourself to blame for what follows. Maintain lightness. Seduction is a game, not a matter of life and death. There will be a tendency in the "post" phase to take things more seriously and personally, and to whine about behavior that does not please you. Fight this as much as possible, for it will create exactly the effect you do not want. You cannot control the other person by nagging and complaining; it will make them defensive, exacerbating the problem. You will have more control if you maintain the proper spirit. Your playfulness, the little ruses you employ to please and delight them, your indulgence of their faults, will make your victims compliant and easy to handle. Never try to change your victims; instead, induce them to follow your lead. Avoid the slow burnout. Often, one person becomes disenchanted but lacks the courage to make the break. Instead, he or she withdraws inside. As an absence, this psychological step back may inadvertently reignite the other person's desire, and a frustrating cycle begins of pursuit and retreat.Everythingunravels, slowly. Once you feel disenchanted and know it is over, end it quickly, without apology. That would only insult the other person. A quick separation is often easier to get over-it is as if you had a problem being faithful, as opposed to your feeling that the seduced was no longer being desirable. Once you are truly disenchanted, there is no going back, so don't hang on out of false pity. It is more compassionate to make a clean break. If that seems inappropriate or too ugly, then deliberately disenchant the victim with anti-seductive behavior. Examples of Sacrifice and Integration The handsome Chevalier de Belleroche began an affair with an older woman, the Marquise de Merteuil. He saw a lot of her, but soon she began to pick quarrels with him. Entranced by her unpredictable Beware the Aftereffects • 419 moods, he worked hard to please her, showering her with attention and tenderness. Eventually the quarreling stopped, and as the days went by, de Belleroche felt confident that Merteuil loved him-until one day, when he came to visit, and found that she was not at home. Her footman greeted him at the door, and said he would take the chevalier to a secret house of Merteuil's outside Paris. There the marquise was waiting for him, in a renewed mood of coquettishness: she acted as if this were theirfirsttryst.Thechevalier had never seen her so ardent. He left at daybreak more in love than ever, but a few days later they quarreled again. The marquise seemed cold after that, and he saw her flirt with another man at a party. He felt horribly jealous, but as before, his solution was to become more attentive and loving. This, he thought, was the way to appease a difficult woman. Now Merteuil had to spend a few weeks at her country home to handle some business there. She invited de Belleroche to join her for an extended stay, and he happily agreed, remembering the new life an earlier stay there had brought to their affair. Once again she surprised him: her affection and desire to please him were rejuvenated. This time, though, he did not have to leave the next morning. Days went by, and she refused to entertain any guests. The world would not intrude on them. And this time there was no coldness or quarreling, only good cheer and love. Yet now de Belleroche began to grow a little tired of the marquise. He thought of Paris and the balls he was missing; a week later he cut short his stay on some business pretext and hurried back to the city. Somehow the marquise did not seem so charming anymore. Interpretation. The Marquise de Merteuil, a character in Choderlos de La- clos's novel Dangerous Liaisons, is a practiced seductress who never lets her affairs drag on too long. De Belleroche is young and handsome but that is all. As her interest in him wanes, she decides to bring him to the secret house to try to inject some novelty into the affair. This works for a while, but it isn't enough. The chevalier must be gotten rid of. She tries coldness, anger (hoping to start a fight), even a show of interest in another man. All this only intensifies his attachment. She can'tjust leave him-he might become vengeful, or try even harder to win her back. The solution: she deliberately breaks the spell by overwhelming him with attention. Abandoning the pattern of alternating warmth with coldness, she acts hopelessly in love. Alone with her day after day, with no space to fantasize, he no longer sees her as enchanting and breaks off the affair. This was her goal all along. If a break with the victim is too messy or difficult (or you lack the nerve), then do the next best thing: deliberately break the spell that ties him or her to you. Aloofness or anger will only stir the other person s insecurity, producing a clinging horror. Instead, try suffocating them with love and attention: be clinging and possessive yourself, moon over the lover's every action and character trait, create the sense that this monotonous affection will soon wrinkles will furrow \ Your body; soon, too soon, your hair turn gray. \ Then build an enduring mind, add that to your beauty: \ It alone will last till the flames \ Consume you. Keep your wits sharp, explore the liberal \Arts, win mastery over Greek \ As well as Latin. Ulysses was eloquent, not handsome - \ Yet he filled sea-goddesses' hearts \ With aching passion. Nothing works on a mood like tactful tolerance: harshness \ Provokes hatred, makes nasty rows. \ We detest the hawk and the wolf, those natural hunters, \ Always preying on timid flocks; \ But the gentle swallow goes safe from man's snares, we fashion \ Little turreted houses for doves. \ Keep clear of all quarrels, sharp- tongued recriminations - \ Love's sensitive, needs to be fed \ With gentle words. Leave nagging to wives and husbands, \ Let them, if they want, think it a natural law, \A permanent state of feud. Wives thrive on wrangling, \ That's their dowry. A mistress should always hear \ What she wants to be told. . . . \ Use tender blandishments, language that caresses \ The ear, make her glad you came. - OVID, THE ART OF LOVE In Paris the band played a concert at the Palais Chaleux. They played the first half, and then there was an hour interval - intermission, we call it - during which there was a fabulous biffet on a great long table laden with delicious foods and cognac, champagne, wine and that rarity in Paris . . .Scotch. The people, aristocrats and servants, some on their hands and knees, were busily searching for something on the floor. A duchess, who was one of the hostesses, had lost one of her larger diamonds. The duchess finally got bored seeing people looking all over the floor for the ring. She looked around haughtily, then took Duke by the arm, saying, "It doesn't mean anything. I can always get diamonds, but how often can I get a man like Duke Ellington?" • She disappeared with Duke. The band started the second half by themselves, and eventually Duke smilingly reappeared to finish the concert. - DON GEORGE, SWEET MAN: THE REAL DUKE ELLINGTON I do know, however, that men become bigger-hearted and better lovers once they get the suspicion that their mistresses care less about them. When a man believes himself to be the one and only lover in a woman's life, he'll whistle and go his way. • / ought to know; I have followed this profession for the last twenty years. If you want me to, I will tell you what happened to me a few years ago. • At that time I had a steady lover, a certain Demophantos, a usurer living near Poikile. He had never given me more than five drachmas and he pretended to be my man. But his love was only superficial, Chrysis. He never sighed, he never shed tears for me and he never spentthenight waiting at go on forever. No more mystery, no more coquetry, no more retreats--just endless love. Few can endure such a threat. A few weeks of it and they will be gone. 2. King Charles II of England was a devoted libertine. He kept a stable of lovers: there was always a favorite mistress from the aristocracy, and countless other less important women. He craved variety. One evening in 1668, the king spent an evening at the theater, where he conceived a sudden desire for a young actress called Nell Gwyn. She was pretty and innocent looking (only eighteen at the time), with a girlish glow in her cheeks, but the lines she recited onstage were so impudent and saucy. Deeply excited, the king decided he had to have her. After the performance he took her out for a night of drinking and merriment, then led her to his royal bed. Nell was the daughter of a fishmonger, and had begun by selling oranges in the theater. She rose to the status of actress by sleeping with writers and other theater men. She had no shame about this. (When a footman of hers got into a fight with someone who said he worked for a whore, she broke it up by saying, "I am a whore. Find something better to fight about.") Nell's humor and sass amused the king greatly, but she was lowborn, and an actress, and he could hardly make her a favorite. After several nights with "pretty, witty Nell," he returned to his principal mistress, Louise Keroualle, a well-born Frenchwoman. Keroualle was a clever seductress. She played hard to get, and made it clear she would not give the king her virginity until he had promised her a title. It was the kind of chase Charles enjoyed, and he made her the Duchess of Portsmouth. But soon her greed and difficultness began to wear on his nerves. To divert himself, he turned back to Nell. Whenever he visited her, he was royally entertained with food, drink, and her great good humor. The king was bored or melancholy? She took him drinking or gambling, or out to the country, where she taught him to fish. She always had a pleasant surprise up her sleeve. What he loved most of all was her wit, the way she mocked the pretentious Keroualle. The duchess had the habit of going into mourning whenever a nobleman of another country died, as if he were a relation. Nell, too, would show up at the palace on these occasions dressed in black, and would sorrowfully say that she was mourning for the "Cham of Tartary" or the "Boog of Oronooko"-grand relatives of her own. To her face, she called the duchess "Squintabella" and the "Weeping Willow," because of her simpering manners and melancholic airs. Soon the king was spending more time with Nell than with the duchess. By the time Keroualle fell out of favor, Nell had in essence become the king's favorite, which she remained until his death, in 1685. Interpretation. Nell Gwyn was ambitious. She wanted power and fame, but in the seventeenth century the only way a woman could get those Beware the Aftereffects • 421 things was through a man-and who better than the king? But to get involved with Charles was a dangerous game. A man like him, easily bored and in need of variety, would use her for a fling, then find someone else. Nell's strategy for the problem was simple: she let the king have his other girls, and never complained. Every time he saw her, though, she made sure he was entertained and diverted. She filled his senses with pleasure, acting as if his position had nothing to do with her love for him. Variety in women could wear on the nerves, tiring a busy king. They all made so many demands. If one woman could provide the same variety (and Nell, as an actress, knew how to play different roles), she had a big advantage. Nell never asked for money, so Charles plied her with wealth. She never asked to be the favorite-how could she? She was a commoner-but he elevated her to the position. Many of your targets will be like kings and queens, particularly those who are easily bored. Once the seduction is over they will notonlyhavetrouble idealizing you, they may also turn to another man or woman whose unfamiliarity seems exciting and poetic. Needing other people to divert them, they often satisfy this need through variety. Do not play into the hands of these bored royals by complaining, becoming self-pitying, or demanding privileges. That would only further their natural disenchantment once the seduction is over. Instead, make them see that you are not the person they thought you were. Make it a delightful game to play new roles, to surprise them, to be an endless source of entertainment. It is almost impossible to resist a person who provides pleasure with no strings attached. When they are with you, keep the spirit light and playful. Play up the parts of your character they find delightful, but never let them feel they know you too well. In the end you will control the dynamic, and a haughty king or queen will become your abject slave. my door. One day he came to see me, knocked at my door, but I did not open it. You see, 1 had the painter, Callides, in my room; Collides had given me ten drachmas. Demophantos swore and beat his fists on the door and left cursing me. Several days passed without my sendingfor him; Callides was still in my house. Thereupon Demophantos, who was already quite excited, went wild. He broke open my door,wept, pulled me about, threatened to kill me, tore my tunic, and did everything, in fact, that a jealous man would do, and finally presented me with six thousand drachmas. In consideration of this sum, I was his for a period of eight months. His wife used to say that I had bewitched him with some powder. That bewitching powder, to be sure, was jealousy. That is why, Chrysis, I advise you to act likewise with Corgi as. -LUCIAN, DIALOGUES OF THE COURTESANS.When the greatjazz composer Duke Ellington came to town, he and his band were always a big attraction, but especially so for the ladies of the area. They came to hear his music, of course, but once there they were mesmerized by "the Duke" himself. Onstage, Ellington was relaxed and elegant, and seemed to be having such a good time. His face was very handsome, and his bedroom eyes were infamous. (He slept very little, and his eyes had permanent pouches under them.) After the performance, some woman would inevitably invite him to her table, another would sneak into his dressing room, yet another would approach him on his way out. Duke made a point of being accessible, and when he kissed a woman's hand, his eyes and hers would meet for a moment. Sometimes she would signal an interest in him, and his glance in return would say he was more than ready. Sometimes his eyes were the first to speak; few women could resist that look, even the most happily married. With the night's music still ringing in her ears, the woman would show up at Ellington's hotel room. He would be dressed in a stylish suit-he "A wife is someone on whom one gazes all one's life; yet it is just as well if she be not beautiful"-so spake Jinta of the Gion. IH is may be the flippant saying of a go-between, but it is not to be dismissed too lightly. Besides, it is with beautiful women as with beautiful views: if one is forever looking at them, one soon tires of their charm. This I can judge from my own experience. One year I went to Matsushima, and, though at first I was moved by the beauty of the place and clapped my hands with 422 admiration, saying to myself, "Oh, if only I could bring some poet here to show him this great wonder!" - yet, after I had been gazing at the scene from morning until night, the myriad islands began to smell unpleasantly of seaweed, the waves that beat on Matsuyama Point became obstreperous; before I knew it I had let all the cherry blossoms at Shiogama scatter; in the morning I overslept and missed the dawn snow on Mount Kinka; nor was I much impressed by the evening moon at Nagane or Oshima; and in the end I picked up a few white and blackpebbles on the cove and became engrossed in a game of Six Musashi with some children. -IHARA SAIKAKU, THE UFE OF AN AMOROUS WOMAN.  Men despise women who love too much and unwisely. -LUCIAN, DIALOGUES OF THE COURTESANS.  I shall endeavor briefly to outline to you how a love when gained can be deepened. They say it can be increased in particular by making it an infrequent and difficult business for lovers to set eyes on each other, for the greater the difficulty of offering and receiving shared consolations, the greater become the desirefor, and feeling of love. Love also grows if one of the lovers shows anger to the other, for a lover is at once sorely afraid that a partner's loved good clothes-and the room would be full of flowers; there would be a piano in the corner. He would play some music. His playing, and his elegant, nonchalant manner, would come across to the woman as pure theater, a pleasant continuation of the performance she had just witnessed. And when it was over, and Ellington had to leave town, he would give her a thoughtful gift. He would make it seem that the only thing taking him away from her was his touring. A few weeks later, the woman might hear a new Ellington song on the radio, with lyrics suggesting that she had inspired it. If ever he passed through the area again, she would find a way to be there, and Ellington would often renew the affair, if only for a night. Sometime in the 1940s, two young women from Alabama came to Chicago to attend a debutante ball. Ellington and his band were the entertainment. He was the women's favorite musician, and after the show, they asked him for an autograph. He was so charming and engaging that one of the girls found herself asking what hotel he was staying at. He told them, with a big grin. The girls switched hotels, and later that day they called up Ellington and invited him to their room for a drink. He accepted. They wore beautiful negligees that they had just bought. When Ellington arrived, he acted completely naturally, as if the warm greeting they gave him were completely usual. The three of them ended up in the bedroom, when one of the young women had an idea: her mother adored Ellington. She had to call her now and put Ellington on the phone. Not at all put out by the suggestion, Ellington played along. For several minutes he talked to the mother on the telephone, lavishing her with compliments on the charming daughter she had raised, and telling her not to worry-he was taking good care of the girl. The daughter got back on the phone and said, "We're fine because we're withMr.Ellington and he's such a perfect gentleman." As soon as she hung up, the three of them resumed the naughtiness they had started. To the two girls, it later seemed an innocent but unforgettable night of pleasure. Sometimes several of these far-flung mistresses would show up at the same concert. Ellington would go up and kiss each of them four times (a habit of his designed for just this dilemma). And each of the ladies would assume she was the one with whom the kisses really mattered. Interpretation. Duke Ellington had two passions: music and women. The two were interrelated. His endless affairs were a constant inspiration for his music; he also treated them as if they were theater, a work of art in themselves. When it came time to separate, he always managed it with a theatrical touch. A clever remark and a gift would make it seem that for him the affair was hardly over. Song lyrics referring to their night together would keep up the aesthetic atmosphere long after he had left town. No wonder women kept coming back for more. This was not a sexual affair, a tawdry one-nighter, but a heightened moment in the woman's life. And his carefree attitude made it impossible to feel guilty; thoughts of one's mother or Beware the Aftereffects • 423 husband would not spoil the illusion. Ellington was never defensive or apologetic abouthis appetite for women; it was his nature and never the fault of the woman that he was unfaithful. And if he could not help his desires, how could she hold him responsible? It was impossible to hold a grudge against such a man or complain about his behavior. Ellington was an Aesthetic Rake, a type whose obsession with women can only be satisfied by endless variety. A normal man's tomcatting will eventually land him in hot water, but the Aesthetic Rake rarely stirs up ugly emotions. After he seduces a woman, there is neither an integration nor a sacrifice. He keeps them hanging and hoping. The spell is not broken thenext day, because the Aesthetic Rake makes the separation a pleasant, even elegant experience. The spell Ellington cast on a woman never went away. The lesson is simple; keep the moments after the seduction and the separation in the same key as before, heightened, aesthetic, and pleasant. If you do not act guilty for your feckless behavior, it is hard for the other person to feel angry or resentful. Seduction is a lighthearted game, in which you invest all of your energy in the moment. The separation should be lighthearted and stylish as well: it is work, travel, some dreaded responsibility that calls you away. Create a memorable experience and then move on, and your victim will most likely remember the delightful seduction, nottheseparation. You will have made no enemies, and will have a lifelong harem of lovers to whom you can always return when you feel so inclined. 4 . In 1899, twenty-year-old Baroness Frieda von Richthofen married an Englishman named Ernest Weekley, a professor at the University of Nottingham, and soon settled into the role of the professor's wife. Weekley treated her well, but she grew bored with their quiet life and his tepid love- making. On trips home to Germany she had a few love affairs, but this wasn't what she wanted either, and so she returned to being faithful and caring for their three children. One day, a former student of Weekley's, David Herbert Lawrence, paid a visit to the couple's house. A struggling writer, Lawrence wanted the professor's professional advice. He was not home yet so Frieda entertained him. She had never met such an intense young man. He talked of his impoverished youth, his inability to understand women. And he listened attentively to her own complaints. He even scolded her for the bad tea she had made him-somehow, even though she was a baroness, this excited her. Lawrence returned for later visits, but now to see Frieda, not Weekley. One day he confessed to her that he had fallen deeply in love with her. She admitted to similar feelings, and proposed they find a trystingspot.InsteadLawrence had a proposal of his own: Leave your husband tomorrow-leave him for me. What about the children? Frieda asked. If the children aremore important than our love, Lawrence replied, then stay with them. But if you don't run away with me within a few days, you will never see mewrath when roused may harden indefinitely. Love again experiences increase when genuine jealousy preoccupies one of the lovers, for jealousy is called the nurturer of love. In fact even if the lover is oppressed not by genuine jealousy but by base suspicion, love always increases because of it, and becomes more powerful by its own strength. -CAPELLANUS ON LOVE You've seen the fire that smolders \ Down to nothing, grows a crown of pale ash \ Over its hidden embers (yet a sprinkling of sulphur \ Will suffice to rekindle the flame)? \ So with the heart. It grows torpidfrom lack of worry, \ Needs a sharp stimulus to elicit love. \ Get her anxious about you, reheat her tepid passions, \ Tell her your guilty secrets, watch her blanch. \ Thrice fortunate that man, lucky past calculation, \ Who can make some poor injured girl \ Torture herself over him, lose voice, go pale, pass out when \ The unwelcome news reaches her. Ah, may I \ Be the one whose hair she tears out in her fury, the one whose \ Soft cheeks she rips with her nails, \ Whom she sees, eyes glaring, through a rain of tears; without whom, \ Try as she will, she cannot live! \ How long (you may ask) should you leave her lamenting her wrong? A little \ While only, lest rage gather strength \ Through procrastination. By then you should have her sobbing \ All over your chest, your arms tight around her neck. \ You want peace? Give her kisses, make love to the girl while she's crying - \ That's the only way to melt her angry mood. - OVIDIO, THE ART OF LOVE.  again. To Frieda the choice was horrific. She did not care at all about her husband, but the children were what she lived for. Even so, a few days later, she succumbed to Lawrence's proposal. How could she resist a man who was willing to ask for so much, to take such a gamble? If she refused she would always wonder, for such a man only passes once through your life. The couple left England and headed for Germany. Frieda would mention sometimes how much she missed her children, but Lawrence had no patience with her: You are free to go back to them at any moment, he would say, but if you stay, don't look back. He took her on an arduous mountaineering trip in the Alps. A baroness, she had never experienced such hardship, but Lawrence was firm: if two people are in love, why should comfort matter? In 1914, Frieda and Lawrence were married, but over the following years the same pattern repeated. He would scold her for her laziness, the nostalgia for her children, her abysmal housekeeping. He would take her on trips around the world, on very little money, never letting her settle down, although it was her fondest wish. They fought and fought. Once in New Mexico, in front of friends, he yelled at her, "Take that dirty cigarette out of your mouth! And stop sticking out that fat belly of yours!" "You'd better stop that talk or I'll tell about your things," she yelled back. (She had learned to give him a taste of his own medicine.) They both went outside. Their friends watched, worried it might turn violent. They disappeared from sight only to reappear moments later, arm in arm, laughing and mooning over one another. That was the most disconcerting thing about the Lawrences: married for years, they often behaved like infatuated newlyweds. Interpretation. When Lawrence first met Frieda, he could sense right away what herweaknesswas: she felt trapped, in a stultifying relationship and a pampered life. Her husband, like so many husbands, was kind, but never paid enough attention to her. She craved drama and adventure, but was too lazy to get it on her own. Drama and adventure were just what Lawrence would provide. Instead of feeling trapped, she had the freedom to leave him at any moment. Instead of ignoring her, he criticized her constantly- at least he was paying attention, never taking her for granted. Instead of comfort and boredom, he gave her adventure and romance. The fights he picked with ritualistic frequency also ensured nonstop drama and the space for a powerful reconciliation. He inspired a touch of fear in her, which kept her off balance, never quite sure of him. As a result, the relationship never grew stale. It kept renewing itself. If it is integration you are after, seduction must never stop. Otherwise boredom will creep in. And the best way to keep the process going is often to inject intermittent drama. This can be painful-opening old wounds, stirring up jealousy, withdrawing a little. (Do not confuse this behavior with nagging or carping criticism-this pain is strategic, designed to break up rigid patterns.) On the other hand it can also be pleasant: think about Beware the Aftereffects • 425 proving yourself all over again, paying attention to nice little details, creating new temptations. In fact you should mix the two aspects, for too much pain or pleasure will not prove seductive. You are not repeating the first seduction, for the target has already surrendered. You are simply supplying little jolts, little wake-up calls that show two things: you have not stopped trying, and they cannot take you for granted. The little jolt will stir up the old poison, stoke the embers, bring you temporarily back to the beginning, when your involvement had a most pleasant freshness and tension. Remember: comfort and security are the death of seduction. A shared journey with a little bit of hardship will do more to create a deep bond than will expensive gifts and luxuries. The young are right to not care about comfort in matters of love, and when you return to that sentiment, a youthful spark will reignite. 5. In 1652, the famous French courtesan Ninon de l'Enclos met and fell in love with the Marquis de Villarceaux. Ninon was a libertine; philosophy and pleasure were more important to her than love. But the marquis inspired new sensations: he was so bold, so impetuous, that for once in her life she let herself lose a little control. The marquis was possessive, a trait she normally abhorred. But in him it seemed natural, almost charming: he simply could not help himself. And so Ninon accepted his conditions: there were to be no other men in her life. For her part she told him that she would accept no money or gifts from him. This was to be about love, nothing else. She rented a house opposite his in Paris, and they saw each other daily. One afternoon the marquis suddenly burst in and accused her of having another lover. His suspicions were unfounded, his accusations absurd, and she told him so. This did not satisfy him, and he stormed out. The next day Ninon received news that he had fallen quite ill. She was deeply concerned. As a desperate recourse, a sign of her love and submission, she decided to cut off her beautiful long hair, for which she was famous, and send it to him. The gesture worked, the marquis recovered, and they resumed their affair still more passionately. Friends and former lovers complained of her sudden transformation into the devoted woman, but she did not care- she was happy. Now Ninon suggested that they go away together. The marquis, a married man, could not take her to his chateau, but a friend offered his own in the country as a refuge for the lovers. Weeks became months, and their little stay turned into a prolonged honeymoon. Slowly, though, Ninon had the feeling that something was wrong: the marquis was acting more like a husband. Although he was as passionate as before, he seemed so confident, as if he had certain rights and privileges that no other man could expect. The possessiveness that once had charmed her began to seem oppressive. Nor did he stimulate her mind. She could get other men, and equally handsome ones, to satisfy her physically without all that jealousy. The Art of Seduction Once this realization set in, Ninon wasted no time. She told the marquis that she was returning to Paris, and that it was over for good. He begged and pleaded his case with much emotion-how could she be so heartless? Although moved, Ninon was firm. Explanations would only make it worse. She returned to Paris and resumed the life of a courtesan. Her abrupt departure apparently shook up the marquis, but apparently not too badly, for a few months later word reached her that he had fallen in love with another woman. Interpretation. A woman often spends months pondering the subtle changes in her lover's behavior. She might complain or grow angry; she might even blame herself. Under the weight of her complaints, the man may change for a while, but an ugly dynamic and endless misunderstandings will ensue. What is the point of all of this? Once you are disenchanted it is really too late. Ninon could have tried to figure out what had disenchanted her-the good looks that now bored her, the lack ofmental stimulation, the feeling of being taken for granted. But why waste time figuring it out? The spell was broken, so she moved on. She did not bother to explain, to worry about de Villarceaux's feelings, to make it all soft and easy for him. She simply left. The person who seems so considerate of the other, who tries to mend things or make excuses, is reallyjust timid. Being kind in such matters can be rather cruel. The marquis was able to blame everything on his mistress's heartless, fickle nature. His vanity and pride intact, he could easily move on to another affair and put her behind him. Not only does the long, lingering death of a relationship cause your partner needless pain, it will have long-term consequences for you as well, making you more skittish in the future, and weighing you down with guilt. Never feel guilty, even if you were both the seducer and the one who now feels disenchanted. It is not your fault. Nothing can last forever. You have created pleasure for your victims, stirring them out of their rut. If you make a clean quick break, in the long run they will appreciate it. The more you apologize, the more you insult their pride, stirring up negative feelings that will reverberate for years. Spare them the disingenuous explanations that only complicate matters. The victim should be sacrificed, not tortured. 6. After fifteen years under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French were exhausted. Too many wars, too much drama. When Napoleon was defeated in 1814, and was imprisoned on the island of Elba, the French were more than ready for peace and quiet. The Bourbons-the royal family deposed by the revolution of 1789-returned to power. The king was Louis XVIII; he was fat, boring, and pompous, but at least there would be peace. Then, news reached France of Napoleon's dramatic escape from Elba, with seven small ships and a thousand men. He Beware the Aftereffects • 427 could head for America, start all over, but instead he was just crazy enough to land at Cannes. What was he thinking? A thousand men against all the armies of France? He set off toward Grenoble with his ragtag army. One at least had to admire his courage, his insatiable love of glory and of France. Then, too, the French peasantry were spellbound at the sight of their former emperor. This man, after all, had redistributed a great deal of land to them, which the new king was trying to take back. They swooned at the sight of his famous eagle standards, revivals of symbols from the revolution. They left their fields and joined his march. Outside Grenoble, the first of the troops that the king sent to stop Napoleon caught up with him. Napoleon dismounted and walked on foot toward them. "Soldiers of the Fifth Army Corps!" he cried out. "Don't you know me? If there is one among you who wishes to kill his emperor, let him come forward and do so. Here I am!" He threw open his gray cloak, inviting them to take aim. There was a moment of silence, and then, from all sides, cries rang out of "Vive l'Empereur!" In one stroke, Napoleon's army had doubled in size. The march continued. More soldiers, remembering the glory he had given them, changed sides. The city of Lyons fell without a battle. Generals with larger armies were dispatched to stop him, but the sight of Napoleon at the head of his troops was an overwhelmingly emotional experience for them, and they switched allegiance. King Louis fled France, abdicating in the process. On March 20, Napoleon reentered Paris and returned to the palace he had left only thirteen months before-all without having had to fire a single shot. The peasantry and the soldiers had embraced Napoleon, but Parisians were less enthusiastic, particularly those who had served in his government. They feared the storms he would bring. Napoleon ruled the country for one hundred days, until the allies and his enemies from within defeated him. This time he was shipped off to the remote island of St. Helena, where he was to die. Interpretation. Napoleon always thought of France, and his army, as a target to be wooed and seduced. As General de Segur wrote of Napoleon: "In moments of sublime power, he no longer commands like a man, but seduces like a woman." In the case of his escape from Elba, he planned a bold, surprising gesture that would titillate a bored nation. He began his return to France among the people who would be most receptive to him: the peasantry who had revered him. He revived the symbols-the revolutionary colors, the eagle standards-that would stir up the old sentiments. He placed himself at the head of his army, daring his former soldiers to fire on him. The march on Paris that brought him back to power was pure theater, calculated for emotional effect every step of the way. What a contrast this former amour presented to the dolt of a king who now ruled them. Napoleon's second seduction of France was not a classical seduction, following the usual steps, but a re-seduction. It was built on old emotions The Art of Seduction and revived an old love. Once you have seduced a person (or a nation) there is almost always a lull, a slight letdown, which sometimes leads to a separation; it is surprisingly easy, though, to re-seduce the same target. The old feelings never go away, they lie dormant, and in a flash you can take your target by surprise. It is a rarepleasuretobe able to relive the past, and one's youth-to feel the old emotions. Like Napoleon, add a dramatic flair to your re-seduction: revive the old images, the symbols, the expressions that will stir memory. Like the French, your targets will tend to forget the ugliness of the separation and will remember only the good things. You should make this second seduction bold and quick, giving your targets no time to reflect or wonder. Like Napoleon, play on the contrast to their current lover, making his or her behavior seem timid and stodgy by comparison. Not everyone will be receptive to a re-seduction, and some moments will be inappropriate. When Napoleon came back from Elba, the Parisians were too sophisticated for him, and could see right through him. Unlike the peasants of the South, they already knew him well; and his reentry came too soon, they were too worn out by him. If you want to re-seduce someone, choose one who does not know you so well, whose memories of you are cleaner, who is less suspicious by nature, and who is dissatisfied with present circumstances. Also, you might want to let some time pass. Time will restore your luster and make your faults fade away. Never see a separation or sacrifice as final. With a little drama and planning, a victim can be retaken in no time. Symbol: Embers, the remains of the fire on themorning after. Left to themselves, the embers will slowly die out. Do not leave the fire to chance and to the elements. To put it out, douse it, suffocate it, give it nothing to feed on. To bring it back to life, fan it, stoke it, until it blazes anew. Only your constant attention and vigilance will keep it burning. Beware the Aftereffects Reversal T o keep a person enchanted, you will have to re-seduce them constantly. But you can allow a little familiarity to creep in. The target wants to feel that he or she is getting to know you. Too much mystery will create doubt. It will also be tiring for you, who will have to sustain it. The point is not to remain completely unfamiliar but rather, on occasion, to jolt victims out of their complacency, surprising them as you surprised them in the past. Do this right and they will have the delightful feeling that they are constantly getting to know more about you-but never too much. A Seductive Environment/Seductive Time In seduction, your victims must slowly come to feel an inner change. Under your influence, they lower their defenses, feeling free to act differently, to be a different person. Certain places, environments, and experiences will greatly aid you in your quest to change and transform the seduced. Spaces with a theatrical, heightened quality - opulence, glittering surfaces, a playful spirit-create a buoyant, childlike feeling that make it hard for the victim to think straight. The creation of an altered sense of time has a similar effect - memorable, dizzying moments that stand out, a mood of festival and play. You must make your victims feel that being with you gives them a different experience from being in the real world. Festival Time and Place C enturies ago, life in most cultures was filled with work and routine. But at certain moments in the year, this life was interrupted by festival. During these festivals-saturnalias of ancient Rome, the maypole festivals of Europe, the great potlatches of the Chinook Indians-work in the fields or marketplace stopped. The entire tribe or town gathered in a sacred space set apart for the festival. Temporarily relieved of duty and responsibility, people were granted license to run amok; they would wear masks or costumes, which gave them other identities, sometimes those of powerful figures reenacting the great myths of their culture. The festival was a tremendous release from the burdens of daily life. It altered people's sense of time, bringing moments in which they stepped outside of themselves. Time seemed to stand still. Something like this experience can still be found in the world's great surviving carnivals. The festival represented a break in a person's daily life, aradicallydifferent experience from routine. On a more intimate level, that is how you must envision your seductions. As the process advances, your targets experience a radical difference from daily life-a freedom from work or responsibility. Plunged into pleasure and play, they can act differently, can become someone else, as if they were wearing a mask. The time you spend with them is devoted to them and nothing else. Instead of the usual rotation of work and rest, you are giving them grand, dramatic moments that stand out. You bring them to places unlike the places they see in daily life- heightened, theatrical places. Physical environment strongly affects people's moods; a place dedicated to pleasure and play insinuates thoughts of pleasure and play. When your victims return to their duties and to the real world, they feel the contrast strongly and they will start to crave that other place into which you have drawn them. What you are essentially creating is festival time and place, moments when the real world stops and fantasy takes over. Our culture no longer supplies such experiences, and people yearn for them. That is why almost everyone is waiting to be seduced and why they will fall into your arms if you play this right. The following are key components to reproducing festival time and place; Create theatrical effects. Theater creates a sense of a separate, magical world. The actors' makeup, the fake but alluring sets, the slightly unreal costumes-these heightened visuals, along with the story of the play, create illusion. To produce this effect in real life, you must fashion your clothes, makeup, and attitude to have a playful, artificial, edge-a feeling that you have dressed for the pleasure of your audience. This is the goddesslike effect of a Marlene Dietrich, or the fascinating effect of a dandy like Beau Brum- mel. Your encounters with your targets should also have a sense of drama, achieved through the settings you choose and through your actions. The target should not know what will happen next. Create suspense through twists and turns that lead to the happy ending; you are performing. Whenever your targets meet you, they are returned to this vague feeling of being in a play. You both have the thrill of wearing masks, of playing a different role from the one your life has allotted you. Use the visual language ofpleasure. Certain kinds of visual stimuli signal that you are not in the real world. You want to avoid images that have depth, which might provoke thought, or guilt; instead, you should work in environments that are all surface, full of glittering objects, mirrors, pools of water, a constant play of light. The sensory overload of these spaces creates an intoxicating, buoyant feeling. The more artificial, the better. Show your targets a playful world, full of the sights and sounds that excite the baby or child within them. Luxury-the sense that money has been spent or even wasted-adds to the feeling that the real world of duty and morality has been banished. Call it the brothel effect. Keep it crowded or close. People crowding together raise the psychological temperature to hothouse levels. Festivals and carnivals depend on the contagious feeling a crowd creates. Bring your target to such environments sometimes, to lower their normal defensiveness. Similarly, any kind of situation that brings people together in a small space for a long period of time is extremely conducive to seduction. For years, Sigmund Freud had a small, tight-knit stable of disciples who attended his private lectures and who engaged in an astonishing number of love affairs. Either lead the seduced into a crowded, festivallike environment or go trolling for targets in a closed world. Manufacture mystical effects. Spiritual or mystical effects distract people's minds from reality, making them feel elevated and euphoric. From here it is but a small step to physical pleasure. Use whatever props are at hand- astrology books, angelic imagery, mystical-sounding music from some far- off culture. The great eighteenth-century Austrian charlatan Franz Mesmer filled his salons with harp music, the perfume of exotic incense, and a female voice singing in a distant room. On the walls he put stained glass and mirrors. His dupes would feel relaxed, uplifted, and as they sat in the room where he used magnets for their healing powers, they would feel a kind of spiritual tingling pass from body to body. Anything vaguely mystical helps block out the real world, and it is easy to move from the spiritual to the sexual. Distort their sense of time-speed and youth. Festival time has a kind of speed and frenzy that make people feel more alive. Seduction should make the heart beat faster, so that the seduced loses track of time passing. Take them to places of constant activity and movement. Embark with them on some kind of journey together, distracting their minds with new sights. Youth may fade and disappear, but seduction brings the feeling of being young, no matter the age of those involved. And youth is mostly energy. The pace of the seduction must pick up at a certain moment, creating a whirling effect in the mind. It is no wonder that Casanova did much of his seducing at balls, or that the waltz was the preferred tool of many a nineteenth-century rake. Create moments. Everyday life is a drudgery in which the same actions endlessly repeat. The festival, on the other hand, we remember as a moment when everything was transformed-when a little bit of eternity and myth entered our lives. Your seduction must have such peaks, moments when something dramatic happens and time is experienced differently. You must give your targets such moments, whether by staging the seduction in a place-a carnival, a theater-where they naturally occur or by creating them yourself, with dramatic actions that stir up strong emotions. Those moments should be pure leisure and pleasure-no thoughts of work or morality can intrude. Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of King Louis XV, had to re-seduce her easily bored lover every few months; intensely creative, she devised parties, balls, games, a little theater at Versailles. The seduced revels in affairs like this, sensing the effort you have expended to divert and enchant them. Scenes from Seductive Time and Place. A man whose father was a prosperous wine dealer in Osaka, Japan, found himself daydreaming more and more. He worked night and day for his father, and the burden of family life and all of its duties was oppressive. Like every young man, he had heard of the pleasure districts of the city-the quarters where the normally strict laws of the shogunate could be violated. It was here that you would find the ukiyo, the "floating world" oftransientpleasures, a place where actors and courte-sans ruled. This was what the young man was daydreaming about. Biding his time, he managed to find an evening when he could slip out unnoticed. He headed straight for the pleasure quarters. This was a cluster of buildings-restaurants, exclusive clubs, teahouses-that stood out from the rest of the city by their magnificence and color. The moment the young man stepped into it, he knew he was in a different world. Actors wandered the streets in elaborately dyed kimonos. They had such manners and attitudes, as if they were still on stage. The streets bustled with energy; the pace was fast. Bright lanterns stood out against the night, as did the colorful posters for the nearby kabuki theater. The women had a completely different air about them. They stared at him brazenly, acting with the freedom of a man. He caught sight of an onmgata, one of the men who played female roles in the theater-a man more beautiful than most women he had seen and whom the passersby treated like royalty. The young man saw other young men like himself entering a teahouse, so he followed them in. Here the highest class of courtesans, the great tayus, plied their trade. A few minutes after the young man sat down, he heard a noise and bustle, and down the stairs came a few of the tayus, followed by musicians and jesters.The women's eyebrows were shaved, replaced by a thick black painted line. Their hair was swept up in a perfect fold, and he had never seen such beautiful kimonos. The tayus seemed to float across the floor, using different kinds of steps (suggestive, creeping, cautious, etc.), depending on whom they were approaching and what they wanted to communicate to him. They ignored the young man; he had no idea how to invite them over, but he noticed that some of the older men had a way of bantering with them that was a language all its own. The wine began to flow, music was played, and finally some lower-level courtesans came in. By then the young man's tongue was loosened. These courtesans were much friendlier and the young man began to lose all track of time. Later he managed to stagger home, and only the next morning did he realize how much money he had spent. If father ever found out . . . Yet a few weeks later he was back. Like hundreds of such sons in Japan whose stories filled the literature of the period, he was on the path toward squandering his father's wealth on the "floating world." Seduction is another world into which you initiate your victims. Like the ukiyo, it depends on a strict separation from the day-to-day world. When your victims are in your presence, the outside world-with its morality, its codes,itsresponsibilitiesis banished. Anything is allowed, particularly anything normally repressed. The conversation is lighter and more suggestive. Clothes and places have a touch of theatricality. The license exists to act differently, to be someone else, without any heaviness or judging. It is a kind of concentrated psychological "floating world" that you create for the others, and it becomes addictive. When they leave you and return to their routines, they are doubly aware of what they are missing. The moment they crave the atmosphere you have created, the seduction is complete. As in the floating world, money is to be wasted. Generosity and luxury go hand in hand with a seductive environment. 2. It began in the early 1960s: people would come to Andy Warhol's New York studio, soak up the atmosphere, and stay awhile. Then in 1963, the artist moved into a new Manhattan space and a member of his entourage covered some of the walls and pillars in tin foil and spray-painted a brick wall and other things silver. A red quilted couch in the center, some five- foot-high plastic candy bars, a turntable that glittered with tiny mirrors, and helium-filled silver pillows that floated in the air completed the set. Now the L-shaped space became known as The Factory, and a scene began to develop. More and more people started showing up-why not just leave the door open, Andy reasoned, and come what may. During the day, while Andy would work on his paintings and films, people would gather-actors, hustlers, drug dealers, other artists. And the elevator would keep groaning all night as the beautiful people began to make the place their home. Here might be Montgomery Clift, nursing a drink by himself; over there, a beautiful young socialite chatting with a drag queen and a museum curator. They kept pouring in, all of them young and glamorously dressed. It was like one of those children's shows on TV, Andy once said to a friend, where guests keep dropping in on the endless party and there's always some new bit of entertainment. And that was indeed what it seemed like-with nothing serious happening, just lots of talk and flirting and flashbulbs popping and endless posing, as if everyone were in a film. The museum curator would begin to giggle like a teenager and the socialite would flounce about like a hooker. By midnight everyone would be packed together. You could hardly move. The band would arrive, the light show would begin, and it would all careen in a new direction, wilder and wilder. Somehow the crowd would disperse at some point, then in the afternoon it would all start up again as the entourage trickled back. Hardly anyone went to The Factory just once. It is oppressivealways to have to act the same way, playing the same boring role that work or duty imposes on you. People yearn for a place or a moment when they can wear a mask, act differently, be someone else. That is why we glorify actors; they have the freedom and playfulness in relation to their own ego that we would love to have. Any environment that offers a chance to play a different role, to be an actor, is immensely seductive. It can be an environment that you create, like The Factory. Or a place where you take your target. In such environments you simply cannot be defensive; the playful atmosphere, the sense that anything is allowed (except seriousness), dispels any kind of reactiveness. Being in such a place becomes a drug. To re-create the effect, remember Warhol's metaphor of the children's TV show. Keep everything light and playful, full of distractions, noise, color, and a bit of chaos. No weight, responsibilities, or judgments. A place to lose yourself in. 3. In 1746, a seventeen-year-old girl named Cristina had come to the city of Venice, Italy, with her uncle, a priest, in search of a husband. Cristina was from a small village but had a substantial dowry to offer. The Venetian men who were willing to marry her, however, did not please her. So after two weeks of futile searching, she and her uncle prepared to return to their village. Theywere seated in their gondola, about to leave the city, when Cristina saw an elegantly dressed young man walking toward them. "There's a handsome fellow!" she said to her uncle. "I wish he was in the boat with us." The gentleman could not have heard this, yet he approached, handed the gondolier some money, and sat down beside Cristina, much to her delight. He introduced himself as Jacques Casanova. When the priest complimented him on his friendly manners, Casanova replied, "Perhaps I should not have been so friendly, my reverend father, if I had not been attracted by the beauty of your niece." Cristina told him why they had come to Venice and why they were leaving. Casanova laughed and chided her-a man cannot decide to marry a girl after seeing her for a few days. He must know more about her character; it would take at least six months. He himself was looking for a wife, and he explained to her why he had been as disappointed by the girls he had met as she had been disappointed by the men. Casanova seemed to have no destination; he simply accompanied them, entertaining Cristina the whole way with witty conversation. When the gondola arrived at the edge of Venice, Casanova hired a carriage to the nearby city of Treviso and invited them to join him. From there they could catch a chaise to their village. The uncleaccepted, and on the way to their carriage, Casanova offered his arm to Cristina. What would his mistress say if she saw them, she asked. "I have no mistress," he answered, "and I shall never have one again, for I shall never find such a pretty girl as you-no, not in Venice." His words went to her head, filling it with all kinds of strange thoughts, and she began to talk and act in a manner that was new to her, becoming almost brazen. What a pity she could not stay in Venice for the six months he needed to get to know a girl, she told Casanova. Without hesitation he offered to pay her expenses in Venice for that period while he courted her. On the carriage ride she turned this offer over in her mind, and once in Treviso she got her uncle alone and begged him to return to the village by himself, then come back for her in a few days. She was in love with Casanova; she wanted to know him better; he was a perfect gentleman, who could be trusted. The uncle agreed to do as she wished. The following day Casanova never left her side. There was not the slightest hint of disagreement in his nature. They spent the day wandering around the city, shopping and talking. He took her to a play in the evening and to the casino after that, supplying her with a domino and a mask. He gave her money to gamble and she won. By the time the uncle returned to Treviso, she had all but forgotten about her marriage plans-all she could think of was the six months she would spend with Casanova. But she returned to her village with her uncle and waited for Casanova to visit her. He showed up a few weeks later, bringing with him a handsome young man named Charles. Alone with Cristina, Casanova explained the situation: Charles was the most eligible bachelor in Venice, a man who would make a much better husband than he would. Cristina admitted to Casanova that she too had had her doubts. He was too exciting, had made her think of other things besides marriage, things she was ashamed of. Perhaps it was for the better. She thanked him for taking such pains to find her a husband. Over the next few days Charles courted her, and they were married several weeks later. The fantasy and allure of Casanova, however, remained in her mind forever. Casanova could not marry-it was against everything in his nature. But it was also against his nature to force himself on a young girl. Better to leave her with the perfect fantasy image than to ruin her life. Besides, he enjoyed the courting and flirting more than anything else. Casanova supplied a young woman with the ultimate fantasy. While he was in her orbit he devoted every moment to her. He never mentioned work, allowing no boring, mundane details to interrupt the fantasy. And he added great theater. He wore the most spectacular outfits, full of sparkling jewels. He led her to the most wonderful entertainments-carnivals, masked balls, the casinos, journeys with no destination. He was the great master at creating seductive time and environment. Casanova is the model to aspire to. While in your presence your targets must sense a change. Time has a different rhythm-they barely notice its passing. They have the feeling that everything is stopping for them, just as all normal activity comes to a halt at a festival. The idle pleasures you provide them are contagious-one leads to another and to another, until it is too late to turn back. The less you seem to be selling something-including yourself-the better. By being too obvious in your pitch, you will raise suspicion; you will also bore your audience, an unforgivable sin. Instead, make your approach soft, seductive, and insidious. Soft: be indirect. Create news and eventsfor the media to pick up, spreading your name in a way that seems spontaneous, not hard or calculated. Seductive: keep it entertaining. Your name and image are bathed in positive associations; you are selling pleasure and promise. Insidious: aim at the unconscious, using images that linger in the mind, placing your message in the visuals. Frame what you are selling as part of a new trend, and it will become one. It is almost impossible to resist the soft seduction. The Soft Sell S eduction is the ultimate form of power. Those who give in to it do so willingly and happily. There is rarely any resentment on their part; they forgive you any kind of manipulation because you have brought them pleasure, a rare commodity in the world. With such power at your fingertips, though, why stop at the conquest of a man or woman? A crowd, an electorate, a nation can be brought under your sway simply by applying on a mass level the tactics that work so well on an individual. The only difference is the goal-not sex but influence, a vote, people's attention-and the degree of tension. When you are after sex, you deliberately create anxiety, a touch of pain, twists, and turns. Seduction on the mass level is more diffuse and soft. Creating a constant titillation, you fascinate the masses with what you are offering. They pay attention to you because it is pleasant to do so. Let us say your goal is to sell yourself-as a personality, a trendsetter, a candidate for office. There are two ways to go: the hard sell (the direct approach) and the soft sell (the indirect approach). In the hard sell you state your case strongly and directly, explaining why your talents, your ideas, your political message are superior to anyone else's. You tout yourachievements, quote statistics, bring in expert opinions, even go so far as to induce a bit of fear if the audience ignores your message. The approach is a tad aggressive and might have unwanted consequences: some people will be offended, resisting your message, even if what you say is true. Others will feel you are manipulating them-who can trust experts and statistics, and why are you trying so hard? You will also grate on people's nerves, becoming unpleasant to listen to. In a world in which you cannot succeed without selling to large numbers, the direct approach won't take you far. The soft sell, on the other hand, has the potential to draw in millions because it is entertaining, gentle on the ears, and can be repeated without irritating people. The technique was invented by the great charlatans of seventeenth-century Europe. To peddle their elixirs and alchemic concoctions, they would first put on a show-clowns, music, vaudeville- type routines-that had nothing to do with what they were selling. A crowd would form, and as the audience laughed and relaxed, the charlatan would come onstage and briefly and dramatically discuss the miraculous effects of the elixir. By honing this technique, the charlatans discovered that instead of selling a few dozen bottles of the dubious medicine, they were suddenly selling scores or even hundreds. In thecenturiessince, publicists, advertisers, political strategists, and others have taken this method to new heights, but the rudiments of the soft sell remain the same. First bring pleasure by creating a positive atmosphere around your name or message. Induce a warm, relaxed feeling. Never seem to be selling something-that will look manipulative and suspicious. Instead, let entertainment value and good feelings take center stage, sneaking the sale through the side door. And in that sale, you do not seem to be selling yourself or a particular idea or candidate; you are selling a life-style, a good mood, a sense of adventure, a feeling of hipness, or a neatly packaged rebellion. Here are some of the key components of the soft sell. Appear as news, never as publicity. First impressions are critical. If your audience first sees you in the context of an advertisement or publicity item, you instantly join the mass of other advertisements screaming for attention-and everyone knows that advertisements are artful manipulations, a kind of deception. So, for your first appearance in the public eye, manufacture an event, some kind of attention-getting situation that the media will "inadvertently" pick up as if it were news. People pay more attention to what is broadcast as news-it seems more real. You suddenly stand out from everything else, if only for a moment-but that moment has more credibility than hours of advertising time. The key is to orchestrate the details thoroughly, creating a story with dramatic impact and movement, tension and resolution. The media will cover it for days. Conceal your real purpose-to sell yourself-at any cost. Stir basic emotions. Never promote your message through a rational, direct argument. That will take effort on your audience's part and will not gain its attention. Aim for the heart, not the head. Design your words and images to stir basic emotions-lust, patriotism, family values. It is easier to gain and hold people's attention once you have made them think of their family, their children, their future. They feel stirred, uplifted. Now you have their attention and the space to insinuate your true message. Days later the audience will remember your name, and remembering your name is half the game. Similarly, find ways to surround yourself with emotional magnets-war heroes, children, saints, small animals, whatever it takes. Make your appearance bring these emotionally positive associations to mind, giving you extra presence. Never let these associations be defined or created for you, and never leave them to chance. Make the medium the message. Pay more attention to the form of your message than to the content. Images are more seductive than words, and visuals-soothing colors, appropriate backdrop, the suggestion of speed or movement-should actually be your real message. The audience may focus superficially on the content or moral you are preaching, but they are really absorbing the visuals, which get under their skin and stay there longer than any words or preachy pronouncements. Your visuals should have a hypnotic effect. They should make people feel happy or sad, depending on what you want to accomplish. And the more they are distracted by visual cues, the harder it will be for them to think straight or see through your manipulations. Speak the target's language-be chummy. At all costs, avoid appearing superior to your audience. Any hint of smugness, the use of complicated words or ideas, quoting too many statistics-all that is fatal. Instead, make yourself seem equal to your targets and on intimate terms with them. You understand them, you share their spirit, their language. If people are cynical about the manipulations of advertisers and politicians, exploit their cynicism for your own purposes. Portray yourself as one of the folk, warts and all. Show that you share your audience's skepticism by revealing the tricks of the trade. Make your publicity as down-home and minimal as possible, so that your competitors look sophisticated and snobby in comparison. Your selective honesty and strategic weakness will get people to trust you. You are the audience's friend, an intimate. Enter their spirit and they will relax and listen to you. Start a chain reaction-everyone is doing it. People who seem to be desired by others are immediately more seductive to their targets. Apply this to the soft seduction. You need to act as if you have already excited crowds of people; your behavior will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Seem to be in the vanguard of a trend or life-style and the public will lap you up for fear of being left behind. Spread your image, with a logo, slogans, posters, so that it appears everywhere. Announce your message as a trend andit will become one. The goal is to create a kind of viral effect in which more and more people become infected with the desire to have whatever you are offering. This is the easiest and most seductive way to sell. Tell people who they are. It is always unwise to engage an individual or the public in any kind of argument. They will resist you. Instead of trying to change people's ideas, try to change their identity, their perception of reality, and you will have far more control of them in the long run. Tell them who they are, create an image, an identity that they will want to assume. Make them dissatisfied with their current status. Making them unhappy with themselves gives you room to suggest a new life-style, a new identity. Only by listening to you can they find out who they are. At the same time, you want to change their perception of the world outside them by controlling what they look at. Use as many media as possible to create a kind of total environment for their perceptions. Your image should be seen not as an advertisement but as part of the atmosphere. Some Soft Seductions 1. Andrew Jackson was a true American hero. In 1814, in the Battle of New Orleans, he led a ragtag band of American soldiers against a superior English army and won. He also conquered Indians in Florida. Jackson's army loved him for his rough-hewnways: he fed on acorns when there was nothing else to eat, he slept on a hard bed, he drank hard cider, just hke his men. Then, after he lost or was cheated out of the presidential election (in fact he won the popular vote, but so narrowly that the election was thrown into the House of Representatives, which chose John Quincy Adams, after much deal making), he retired to his farm in Tennessee, where he hved the simple hfe, tilling the soil, reading the Bible, staying far from the corruptions of Washington. Where Adams had gone to Harvard, played billiards, drunk soda water, and rehshed European finery, Jackson, hke many Americans of the time, had been raised in a log cabin. He was an uneducated man, a man of the earth. This, at any rate, was what Americans read in their newspapers in the months after the controversial 1824 election. Spurred on by these articles, people in taverns and halls across the country began talking of how the war hero Andrew Jackson had been wronged, how an insidious aristocratic elite was conspiring to take over the country. So when Jackson declared that he would run again against Adams in the presidential election of 1828-but this time as the leader of a new organization, the Democratic Party-the public was thrilled. Jackson was the first major political figure to have a nickname. Old Hickory, andsoon Hickory clubs were sprouting up in America's towns and cities. Their meetings resembled spiritual revivals. The hot-button issues of the day were discussed (tariffs, the abolition of slavery), and club members felt certain that Jackson was on their side. It was hard to know for sure-he was a little vague on the issues-but this election was about something larger than issues: it was about restoring democracy and restoring basic American values to the White House. Soon the Hickory clubs were sponsoring events hke town barbecues, the planting of hickory trees, dances around a hickory pole. They organized lavish public feasts, always including large quantities of liquor. In the cities there were parades, and these were stirring events. They often took place at night so that urbanites would witness a procession of Jackson supporters holding torches. Others would carry colorful banners with portraits of Jackson or caricatures of Adams and slogans ridiculing his decadent ways. And everywhere there was hickory-hickory sticks, hickory brooms, hickory canes, hickory leaves in people's hats. Men on horseback would ride through the crowd, spurring people into "huzzahs!" for Jackson. Others would lead the crowd in songs about Old Hickory. The Democrats, for the first time in an election, conducted opinion polls, finding out what the common man thought about the candidates. These polls were published in the papers, and the overwhelming conclusion was that Jackson was ahead. Yes, a new movement was sweeping the country. It all came to a head when Jackson made a personal appearance in New Orleans as part of a celebration commemorating the battle he had fought so bravely there fourteen years earlier. This was unprecedented: no presidential candidate had ever campaigned in person before, and in fact such an appearance would have been considered improper. But Jackson was a new kind of politician, a true man of the people. Besides, he insisted that his purpose for the visit was patriotism, not politics. The spectacle was unforgettable-Jackson entering New Orleans on a steamboat as the fog lifted, cannon fire ringing out from all sides, grand speeches, endless feasts, a kind of mass delirium taking over the city. One man said it was "like a dream. The world has never witnessed so glorious, so wonderful a celebration-never have gratitude and patriotism so happily united." This time the will of the people prevailed. Jackson was elected president. And it was not one region that brought him victory: New Englanders, Southerners, Westerners, merchants, farmers, and workers were all infected with the Jackson fever. Interpretation. After the debacle of1824,Jackson and his supporters were determined to do things differently in 1828. America was becoming more diverse, developing populations of immigrants. Westerners, urban laborers, and so on. To win a mandate Jackson would have to overcome new regional and class differences. One of the first and most important steps his supporters took was to found newspapers all around the country. While he himself seemed to have retired from public life, these papers promulgated an image of him as the wronged war hero, the victimized man of the people. In truth, Jackson was wealthy, as were all of his major backers. He owned one of the largest plantations in Tennessee, and he owned many slaves. He drank more fine liquor than hard cider and slept on a soft bed with European linens. And while he might have been uneducated, he was extremely shrewd, with a shrewdness built on years of army combat. The image of the man of the earth disguised all this, and, once it was established, it could be contrasted with the aristocratic image of Adams. In this way Jackson's strategists covered up his political inexperience and made the election turn on questions of character and values. Instead of political issues they raised trivial matters like drinking habits and church attendance. To keep up the enthusiasm they staged spectacles that seemed to be spontaneous celebrations but in fact were carefully choreographed. The support for Jackson seemed to be a movement, as evidenced (and advanced) by the opinion polls. The event in New Orleans-hardly nonpolitical, and Louisiana was a swing state-bathed Jackson in an aura of patriotic, quasireligious grandeur. Society has fractured into smaller and smaller units. Communities are less cohesive; even individuals feel more inner conflict. To win an election or to sell anything in large numbers, you have to paper over these differences somehow-you have to unify the masses. The only way to accomplish this is to create an inclusive image, one that attracts and excites people on a basic, almost unconscious level. You are not talking about the truth, or about reality; you are forging a myth. Myths create identification. Build a myth about yourself and the common people will identify with your character, your plight, your aspirations, just as you identify with theirs. This image should include your flaws, highlight the fact that you are not the best orator, the most educated man, the smoothest politician. Seeming human and down to earth disguises the manufactured quality of your image. To sell this image you need to have the proper vagueness. It is not that you avoid talk of issues and details-that will make you seem insubstantial-but that all your talk of issues is framed within the softer context of character, values, and vision. You want to lower taxes, say, because it will help families-and you are a family person. You must not only be inspiring but also entertaining-that is a popular, friendly touch. This strategy will infuriate your opponents, who will try to unmask you, reveal the truth behind the myth; but that will only make them seem smug, overserious, defensive, and snobbish. That now becomes part of their image, and it will help sink them. 2. On Easter Sunday, New York churchgoers began to pour onto Fifth Avenue after the morning service for the annual Easter parade. The streets were blocked off, and as had been the custom for years, people were wearing their finest outfits, women in particular showing off the latest in spring fashions. But this year the promenaders on Fifth Avenue noticed something else. Two young women were coming down the steps of Saint Thomas's Church. At the bottom they reached into their purses, took out cigarettes-Lucky Strikes-and lit up. Then they walked down the avenue with their escorts, laughing and puffing away. A buzz went through the crowd. Women had only recently begun smoking cigarettes, and it was considered improper for a lady to be seen smoking in the street. Only a certain kind of woman would do that. These two, however, were elegant and fashionable. People watched them intently, and were further astounded several minutes later when they reached the next church along the avenue. Here two more young ladies-equally elegant and well bred-left the church, approached the two holding cigarettes, and, as if suddenly inspired to join them, pulled out Lucky Strikes of their own and asked for a light. Now the four women were marching together down the avenue. They were steadily joined by more, and soon ten young women were holding cigarettes in public, as if nothing were more natural. Photographers appeared and took pictures of this novel sight. Usually at the Easter parade, people would have been whispering about a new hat style or the new spring color. This year everyone was talking about the daring young women and their cigarettes. The next day, photographs and articles appeared in the papers about them. A United Press dispatch read, "Just as Miss Federica Freylinghusen, conspicuous in a tailored outfit of dark grey, pushed her way thru thejam in front of St. Patrick's, Miss Bertha Hunt and six colleagues struck another blow in behalf of the liberty of women. Down Fifth Avenue they strolled, puffing at cigarettes. Miss Hunt issued the following communique from the smoke-clouded battlefield: 'I hope that we have started something and that these torches of freedom, with no particular brand favored, will smash the discriminatory taboo on cigarettes for women and that our sex will go on breaking down all discriminations.' " The story was picked up by newspapers around the country, and soon women in other cities began to light up in the streets. The controversy raged for weeks, some papers decrying this new habit, others coming to the women's defense. A few months later, though, public smoking by women had become a socially acceptable practice. Few people bothered to protest it anymore. Interpretation. In January 1929, several New York debutantes received the same telegram from a Miss Bertha Hunt: "In the interests of equality of the sexes ... I and other young women will light another torch of freedom by smoking cigarettes while strolling on Fifth Avenue Easter Sunday." The debutantes who ended up participating met beforehand in the office where Hunt worked as a secretary. They planned what churches to appear at, how to link up with each other, all the details. Hunt handed out packs of Lucky Strikes. Everything worked to perfection on the appointed day. Little did the debutantes know, though, that the whole affair had been masterminded by a man-Miss Hunt's boss, Edward Bemays, a public relations adviser to the American Tobacco Company, makers of Lucky Strike. American Tobacco had been luring women into smoking with all kinds of clever ads, but the consumption was limited by the fact that smoking in the street was considered unladylike. The head of American Tobacco had asked Bemays for his help and Mr. Bemays had obliged him by applying a technique that was to become his trademark: gain public attention by creating an event that the media would cover as news. Orchestrate every detail but make them seem spontaneous. As more people heard of this "event," it would spark imitative behavior-in this case more women smoking in the streets. Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud and perhaps the greatest public relations genius of the twentieth century, understood a fundamental law of any kind of sell. The moment the targets know you are after something-a vote, a sale-they become resistant. But disguise your sales pitch as a news event and not only will you bypass their resistance, you can also create a social trend that does the selling for you. To make this work, the event you set up must stand out from all the other events that are covered by the media, yet it cannot stand out too far or it will seem contrived. In the case of the Easter parade, Bemays (through Bertha Hunt) chose women who would seem elegant and proper evenwith their cigarettes in their hands. Yet in breaking a social taboo, and doing so as a group, such women would create an image so dramatic and startling that the media would be unable to pass it up. An event that is picked up by the news has the imprimatur of reality. It is important to give this manufactured event positive associations, as Bemays did in creating a feeling of rebellion, of women banding together. Associations that are patriotic, say, or subtly sexual, or spiritual-anything pleasant and seductive-take on a life of their own. Who can resist? People essentially persuade themselves to join the crowd without even realizing that a sale has taken place. The feeling of active participation is vital to seduction. No one wants to feel left out of a growing movement. 3. In the presidential campaign of 1984, President Ronald Reagan, running for reelection, told the public, "It's morning again in America." His presidency, he claimed, had restored American pride. The recent, successful Olympics in Los Angeles were symbolic of the country's return to strength and confidence. Who could possibly want to turn the clock back to 1980, which Reagan's predecessor, Jimmy Carter, had termed a time of malaise? Reagan's Democratic challenger, Walter Mondale, thought Americans had had enough of the Reagan soft touch. They were ready for honesty, and that would be Mondale's appeal. Before a nationwide television audience, Mondale declared, "Let's tell the truth. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did." He repeated this straightforward approach on numerous occasions. By October his poll numbers had plunged to all-time lows. The CBS News reporter Lesley Stahl had been covering the campaign, and as Election Day neared, she had an uneasy feeling. It wasn't so much that Reagan had focused on emotions and moods rather than hard issues. It was more that the media was giving him a free ride; he and his election team, she felt, were playing the press like a fiddle. They always managed to get him photographed in the perfect setting, looking strong and presidential. They fed the press snappy headlines along with dramatic footage of Reagan in action. They were putting on a great show. Stahl decided to assemble a news piece that would show the public how Reagan used television to cover up the negative effects of his policies. The piece began with a montage of images that his team had orchestrated over the years: Reagan relaxing on his ranch in jeans; standing tall at the Normandy invasion tribute in Lrance; throwing a football with his Secret Service bodyguards; sitting in an inner-city classroom. Over these images Stahl asked, "How does Reagan use television? Brilliantly. He's been criticized as the rich man's president, but the TV pictures say it isn't so. At seventy-three, Mr. Reagan could have an age problem. But the TV pictures say it isn't so. Americans want to feel proud of their country again, and of their president. And the TV pictures say you can. The orchestration of television coverage absorbs the White House. Their goal? To emphasize the president's greatest asset, which, his aides say, is his personality. They provide pictures of him looking like a leader. Confident, with his Marlboro man walk." Over images of Reagan shaking hands with handicapped athletes in wheelchairs and cutting the ribbon at a new facility for seniors, Stahl continued, "They also aim to erase the negatives. Mr. Reagan tried to counter the memory of an unpopular issue with a carefully chosen backdrop that actually contradicts the president's policy. Look at the handicapped Olympics, or the opening ceremony of an old-age home. No hint that he tried to cut the budgets for the disabled and for federally subsidized housing for the elderly." On and on went the piece, showing the gap between the feelgood images that played on the screen and the reality of Reagan's actions. "President Reagan," Stahl concluded, "is accused of running a campaign in which he highlights the images and hides from the issues. But there's no evidence that the charges will hurt him because when people see the president on television, he makes them feel good, about America, about themselves, and about him." Stahl depended on the good will of the Reagan people in covering the White House, but her piece was strongly negative, so she braced herself for trouble. Yet a senior White House official telephoned her that evening: "Great piece," he said. "What?" asked a stunned Stahl. "Greatpiece," he repeated. "Did you listen to what I said?" she asked. "Lesley, when you're showing four and a half minutes of great pictures of Ronald Reagan, no one listens to what you say. Don't you know that the pictures are overriding your message because they conflict with your message? The public sees those pictures and they block your message. They didn't even hear what you said. So, in our minds, it was a four-and-a-half-minute free ad for the Ronald Reagan campaign for reelection." Interpretation. Most of the men who worked on communications for Reagan had a background in marketing. They knew the importance of telling a story crisply, sharply, and with good visuals. Each morning they went over what the headline of the day should be, and how they could shape this into a short visual piece, getting the president into a video opportunity. They paid detailed attention to the backdrop behind the president in the Oval Office, to the way the camera framed him when he was with other world leaders, and to having him filmed in motion, with his confident walk. The visuals carried the message better than any words could do. As one Reagan official said, "What are you going to believe, the facts or your eyes?" Free yourself from the need to communicate in the normal direct manner and you will present yourself with greater opportunities for the soft sell. Make the words you say unobtrusive, vague, alluring. And pay much greater attention to your style, the visuals, the story they tell. Convey a sense of movement and progress by showing yourself in motion. Express confidence not through facts and figures but through colors and positive imagery, appealing to the infant in everyone. Let the media cover you unguided and you are at their mercy. So turn the dynamic around-the press needs drama and visuals? Provide them. It is fine to discuss issues or "truth" as long as you package it entertainingly. Remember: images linger in the mind long after words are forgotten. Do not preach to the public-that never works. Learn to express your message through visuals that insinuate positive emotions and happy feelings. The movie press agent Harry Reichenbach was asked to do advance publicity for a picture called The Virgin ofStamboul. It was the usual romantic potboiler in an exotic locale, and normally a publicist would mount a campaign with alluring posters and advertisements. But Harry never operated the usual way. He had begun his career as a carnival barker, and there the only way to get the public into your tent was to stand out from the other barkers. So Harry dug up eight scruffy Turks whom he found living in Manhattan, dressed them up in costumes (flowing sea-green trousers, gold-crescented turbans) provided by the movie studio, rehearsed them in every line and gesture, and checked them into an expensive hotel. Word quickly spread to the newspapers (with a little help from Harry) that a delegation of Turks had arrived in New York on a secret diplomatic mission. Reporters converged on the hotel. Since his appearance in New York was clearly no longer a secret, the head of the mission, "Sheikh Ali Ben Mohammed," invited them up to his suite. The newspapermen were impressed by the Turks' colorful outfits, salaams, and rituals. The sheikh then explained why he had come to New York. A beautiful young woman named Sari, known as the Virgin of Stamboul, had been betrothed to the sheikh's brother. An American soldier passing through had fallen in love with herandhad managed to steal her from her home and take her to America. Her mother had died from grief. The sheikh had found out she was in New York, and had come to bring her back. Mesmerized by the sheikh's colorful language and by the romantic tale he told, the reporters filled the papers with stories of the Virgin of Stamboul for the next several days. The sheikh was filmed in Central Park and feted by the cream of New York society. Linally "Sari" was found, and the press reported the reunion between the sheikh and the hysterical girl (an actress with an exotic look). Soon after. The Virgin of Stamboul opened in New York. Its story was much like the "real" events reported in the papers. Was this a coincidence? A quickly made film version of the true story? No Appendix B: Soft Seduction: How to Sell Anything to the Masses one seemed to know, but the public was too curious to care, and The Virgin ofStamboulbroke box office records.A year later Harry was asked to publicize a film called The Forbidden Woman. It was one of the worst movies he had ever seen. Theater owners had no interest in showing it. Harry went to work. For eighteen days straight he ran an ad in all of the major New York newspapers: WATCH THE SKY ON THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 21ST! IF H IS GREEN-GO THE CAPITOL IF IT ISRED-GO THE RIVOLI IF IT IS PINK-GO TO THE STRAND IF IT IS BLUE- GO TO THE RIALTO FOR ON FEBRUARY 21ST THE SKY WILL TELL YOU WHERE THE BEST SHOW IN TOWN CAN BE SEEN! (The Capitol, the Rivoli, the Strand, and the Rialto were the four big first-run movie houses on Broadway.) Almost everyone saw the ad and wondered what this fabulous show was. The owner of the Capitol asked Harry if he knew anything about it, and Harry let him in on the secret: it was all a publicity stunt for an unbooked picture. The owner asked to see a screening of The Forbidden Woman; through most of the film, Harry yakked about the publicity campaign, distracting the man from the dullness onscreen. The theater owner decided to show the film for a week, and so, on the evening of February 21, as a heavy snowstorm blanketed the city and all eyes turned to the sky, giant rays of light poured out from the tallest buildings-a brilliant show of green. An enormous crowd flocked to the Capitol theater. Those who did not get in kept coming back. Somehow, with a packed house and an excited crowd, the film did not seem quite so bad. The following year Harry was asked to publicize a gangster picture called Outside the Law. On high-ways across the country he set up billboards that read, in giant letters, if you dance on Sunday, you are outside the LAW. On other billboards the word "dance" was replaced by "play golf' or "play pool" and so on. On a top corner of the billboards was a shield bearing the initials "PD." The public assumed this meant "police department" (actually, it stood for Priscilla Dean, the star of the movie) and that the police, backed by religious organizations, were prepared to enforce decades-old blue laws prohibiting "sinful" activities on a Sunday. Suddenly a controversy was sparked. Theater owners, golfing associations, and dance organizations led a countercampaign against the blue laws; they put up their own billboards, exclaiming that if you did those things on Sunday, you were not "OUTSIDE THE LAW" and issuing a call for Americans to have some fun in their lives. For weeks the words "Outside the Law" were everywhere seen and everywhere on people's lips. In the midst of this the film opened-on a Sunday-in four New York theaters simultaneously, something that had never happened before. And it ran for months throughout the country, also on Sundays. It was one of the big hits of the year. Interpretation. Harry Reichenbach, perhaps the greatest press agent in movie history, never forgot the lessons he had learned as a barker. The carnival is full of bright lights, color, noise, and the ebb and flow of the crowd. Such environments have profound effects on people. A clearheaded person could probably tell that the magic shows are fake, the fierce animals trained, the dangerous stunts relatively safe. But people want to be entertained; it is one of their greatest needs. Surrounded by color and excitement, they suspend their disbelief for a while and imagine that the magic and danger are real. They are fascinated by what seems to be both fake and real at the same time. Harry's publicity stunts merely re-created the carnival on a larger scale. He pulled people in with the lure of colorful costumes, a great story, irresistible spectacle. He held their attention with mystery, controversy, whatever it took. Catching a kind of fever, as they would at the carnival, they flocked without thinking to the films he publicized. The lines between fiction and reality, news and entertainment are even more blurred today than in Harry Reichenbach's time. What opportunities that presents for soft seduction! The media is desperate for events with entertainment value, inherent drama. Feed that need. The public has a weakness for what seems both realistic and slightly fantastical-for real events with a cinematic edge. Play to that weakness. Stage events the way Bemays did, events the media can pick up as news. But here you are not starting a social trend, you areaftersomething more short term: to win people's attention, to create a momentary stir, to lure them into your tent. Make your events and publicity stunts plausible and somewhat realistic, but make their colors a little brighter than usual, the characters larger than life, the drama higher. Provide an edge of sex and danger. You are creating a confluence of real life and fiction-the essence of any seduction. It is not enough, however, to win people's attention: you need to hold it long enough to hook them. This can always be done by sparking controversy, the way Harry liked to stir up debates about morals. While the media argues about the effect you are having on people's values, it is broadcasting your name everywhere and inadvertently bestowing upon you the edge that will make you so attractive to the public. Selected Bibliography Baudrillard, Jean. Seduction. Trans. Brian Singer. New York: St. Martin's Press, . Bourdon. David. Warhol. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., . Capellanus, Andreas. Andreas Capellanus on Love. Trans. P. G. Walsh. London: Gerald Duckworth et Co. Ltd., . Casanova, Jacques. The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova, in eiglt volumes. Trans. Arthur Machen. Edinburgh: Limited Editions Club, . Chalon, Jean. Portrait of a Seductress: The World of Natalie Barney. Trans. Carol Barko. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., . Cole, Hubert. FirstGentlemanofthe Bedchamber: The Life ofLouis-FrancoisArmand, Marechal Due de Richelieu. New York: Viking, 1965. de Troyes, Chretien. Arthurian Romances. Trans. William W Kibler. London: Penguin Books, . Feher, Michel. ed.The Libertine Reader: EroticismandEnlightenmentin Eighteenth-Century France. New York: ZoneBooks, . Flynn, Errol. My Wicked, Wicked Ways. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, . Freud, Sigmund. Psychological Writings and Letters. Ed. SanderL. Gilman. New York: The Continuum Publishing Company, . -. Sexuality and the Psychology of Love. Ed. Philip Rieff. New York: Touchstone. Fulop-Miller, Rene. Rasputin: The Holy Devil. New York: Viking, . George, Don. Sweet Man: The Real Duke Ellington. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, . Gleichen-Russwurm. Alexandervon. The World's Lure: Fair Women, TheirLoves, Their Power, Their Fates. Trans. Hannah Waller. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, . Hahn, Emily. Lorenzo: D. H. Lawrence and the Women Who Loved Him. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, . Hellmann, John. The Kennedy Obsession: The American Myth of JFK. New York: Columbia University Press, . Kaus, Gina. Catherine: The Portrait of anEmpress.Trans.JuneHead.New York: Viking, . Kierkegaard, S0ren. The Seducer's Diary, in Either/Or, Part 1. Trans. Howard V. Hong et Edna H. Hong. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, . Lao, Meri. Sirens: Symbols of Seduction. Trans. John Oliphant of Rossie. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, . Lindholm, Charles. Charisma. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell, Ltd., . Ludwig, Emil. Napoleon. Trans. Eden et Cedar Paul. Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing Co., ., Oscar, ed. The Theatre ofDonJuan: A Collection of Plays and Views, . Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, . Maurois, Andre. Byron. Trans. Hamish Miles. New York: D. Appleton et Company, . -. Disraeli: A Picture of the Victorian Age. Trans. Hamish Miles. New York: D. Appleton et Company, . Monroe, Marilyn. My Story. New York: Stein and Day. Morin, Edgar. The Stars. Trans. Richard Howard. New York: Evergreen Profile Book, . Ortiz, Alicia Dujovne. Eva Perdu. Trans. Shawn Fields. New York: St. Martin's Press, . Ovid. The Erotic Poems. Trans. Peter Green. London: Penguin Books, . -. Metamorphoses. Trans. Mary M. Innes. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, . Peters. H. F. My Sister, My Spouse: A Biography ofLouAndreas-Salome. New York: W. W. Norton, . Plato. The Symposium. Trans. Walter Hamilton. London: Penguin Books, . Reik, Theodor. Of Love and Lust: On the Psychoanalysis ofRomantic and Sexual Emotions. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Cudahy, . Rose, PhyllisVazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker and Her Time. New York: Vintage Books, . Sackville-West, Vita. Saint Joan of Arc. London: Michael Joseph Ltd., . Shikibu, Murasaki. The Tale ofGenji. Trans. Edward G. Seidensticker. New York: Allred A. Knopf, . Shu-Chiung. Yang Kuei-Fei: The Most Famous Beauty of China. Shanghai, China: Commercial Press, Ltd., . Smith, Sally Bedell. Reflected Glory: The Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman. New York: Touchstone, . Stendhal. Love. Trans. Gilbert and Suzanne Sale. London: Penguin Books, . Terrill, Ross. Madame Mao: The White-Boned Demon. New York: Touchstone, . Trouncer, Margaret. Madame Recamier. London: Macdonald et Co., . Wadler, Joyce. Liaison. New York: Bantam Books, 1993. Weber, Max. Essays in Sociology. Ed. Hans Gerth et C. Wright Mills. New York: Oxford University Press, . Wertheimer, Oskar von. Cleopatra: A Royal Voluptuary. Trans. Huntley Patterson. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott. Nome compiuto: Giovanni Bottiroli. Keywords: seduzione, amore, desiderio, desiderio e seduzione; amore: desiderio e seduzione, ars amandi, ovidio, Grice, Multiplicity of being, aequi-vocality thesis, Pegasus, Bellerofonte, l’implicatura di Bellerofonte, possibilita, le categorie di Kant, puo essere, essere, piovera o no – Quine, ontologia – Grice, Pears, Metaphysics.Aristotle, what is actual is not also possible – the square of modalities – the nature of metaphysics. Refs.: Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, “Grice e Bottiroli,” The Swimming-Pool Library, Villa Speranza, Liguria, Italia.

 

Luigi Speranza -- Grice e Bottoni: la ragione conversazionale e l’implicatura conversazionale del fototropismo in cabbages and kings -- de essential corporis humani – scuola di Padova – filosofia padovana – filosofia veneta -- filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, The Swimming-Pool Library (Padova). Abstract. Grice: “I love Bottoni, and so did Burton!” -- Filosofo padovano. Filosofo veneto. Filosofo italiano. Padova, Veneto. Grice: “Most Englishmen know of Bottoni because he is quoted by Burton in his “Anatomy of Melancholy,” re the imagination and reason – and how it affects melancholy.” “I call Bottoni a philosophical biologist – excretion (why?) – nutrition – surely nutrition – as part of birth – and growth – are essential requirements for a definition of ‘bios’ or life – and Bottoni knows that – as a philosopher. He studied philosophy and taught logic, like me. “De conservanda vita,” is more than a philosophy of life – it’s how the ‘essenza’ del ‘corpore dell’uomo’ is nutrition – and how the spiritus, and not just the anima, are involved. His model is functionalist, and Aristotelian, like mine!” – He also provides a philosophy of disease – which should make us wonder about whether we are endowed with a conceptual analysis of ‘health,’ a favourite term for Aristotle (‘healthy food,’ ‘healthy man,’ ‘healthy habit’). Uno dei grandi medici italiani del Rinascimento. La sua formazione avvenne nella città natale, dove si laureò in medicina e filosofia.  Professore a Padova, dove insegna logica, medicina teorica straordinaria, medicina pratica e medicina teorica ordinaria. Introdusse l'uso del mercurio nella cura della sifilide. Fu rivale del medico padovano Ercole Sassonia, di cui tentò d'impedirne l'insegnamento.  I suoi contributi scientifici più importanti riguardano le funzioni dirette alla conservazione dell'individuo e della specie, quindi nutrizione, crescita e generazione, che definì tria suprema naturae munera.  Altre saggi: “Della vita” “De vita” “De vita conservanda, Padova, Iacobum Bozzam); De morbis mulieribus libri tres, Venezia, Paulum Meietum); Methodi medicinales duae, Francoforte); De modo discurrendi circa morbos, eosdemque curandi tractatos, Francoforte). Dizionario biografico degli italiani. Niuerfi corporis nostri esentiatribus potisfis mum perfici, Au&toreft Hip.Lib.depart: morbisuulg. contentis,nimirum continentibus nepartes omnes corporis nutriantur; immo eden dem subftantia panis incanefit. carocanis,fs= cut etiam in homine. Hoc autem nequaquam contingeret, nifi in uno ecodem alimentomu mero delitescere nutrimentum simile omnibus dictispartibus) in diuerfis indiuidui sfpecie differentibus. Que igitur fit Nostri corporis t singularum partium essentia, ex quibus quotes qualibus conflatafit, explicareo portet. ) impetum facientibus, Quorum omniumuna o eadem eft effentia corporeaG substantia; distins guuntur folum prenestenuitaremecrasfstie, buiufe modi autem efemeia homini non ineftratione qua isiJA8. aph. homo vel animal aut planta, sed ratione qua mixtum, acproinde cuilibet mixtogosina gulis cius partibus conuenit, ut obid Nutritioznis materia necà subftantia incorporea capienda fit, necà quolibeecorpore; fed folum àmixton Qua ratione fit, ut nullum ciementum ratione: quá fimplex corpus eft, idoneum ad nutris endumefe posfat, Nihil. niquodeft Complex, aprum Nullú natum est nutrire compositum; praeterea elementa fimp. Poteft mixtionis perfectione tumpænes corporis effens nutrire. Tiamtum complexionem unum quodq;corpus maiorem eu minorem preparationem suscipit cumeafint corpora, quefummisqualitatibusprae Autrire dita funtLonge diftant,uiapra fine ad witam Jūscipiendam, fed faliusmixtionis causa, oris, tarinquolibet mixta difpofitioad aliquodeuis, Solum densuitæ genus, promaiori, etminori ad: Viræ gradum magis uelminus prestantem, Hon. Quod sanėincaufaeft, ut homo excellentios remnitegraduimà deo bonorum omniumlars tiorem, gitore mixtione primooriuntur, paulomaioremaffinia Alimentatem nobif cum habere videntur. Quandoquis cum nódem ratione qua mixia sumt, triplicem illum partium mixtú.acceperit.Quia exAuic.senientiadonás uit il le meliorem temperaturam quam habeant caeteraomnia mundientia,Contra uerúelementa, quiamixtione adhuccarent, et fummis qualitatibus praedita funt, ideononsolumuita carent, fed tanquam corpora omnium impera fe&tisfima longa omnium distant ab ipsa uiça. Qua propter frustra quæ riturex huius modicor poribus im perfectisfimis et uitae ineptis aliqua utritionis materia. Quæ verò exclementorum et apti uir excellenuitz gradu obtineat parrium numerum obtinebunt, quibus diximus de fumi constitutam, efse uniuersam mixti efentiam, preterea ex precedente mixtione aliquam tempera- mixto. Turam consequeasunt, utego mixtionis ratione, a qualitatum primarum comoderatione, minus ipsos elementis diftent à corpore nostro; Hec tamen prima elementorum mixtio adeo inperfecta est, ut sufficiens minime sit per nutritione facienda; Quia hac ratione quodlibet mixtum nutritioni idoneum forei', &t) vitæ conservationi, unde homoæq; nutriri posset, ex lapidib uset metalis sicut ex pane et vino hoc samencum sensui repugnet, neccesario sequitur, preter propositam convenientiam сex quo libct>mis latam ripaulo angustior existens, nostræ etiam mixtio amplam aliam requiri, queprio nifie magis propinqua, hacautem qualisele debeat, naturae modus mixtionissutricns tise nutriti declarant: Nam quod nutriturum Quale est, non solum mixtum ut sit oportet, cuiusmos fit aprú disuntetiam lapides e mettalla, fed talem nutri miscibilium commensurarionem habere debet, qualis requiritur, esaptum fit sertiin substantiam nutriti, At quod nutriturnon solum corpus est, non solum corpus mixtum, verum etiam vita præditum, ergo quod est nutriturum, cum n uut pote nia tionis; tritosimilee fe debeat, eam mixtionem acmi scibilium mensuram habere opus eft,ut in substantiam corporis uerti possit, et ilius vitam conservare: Cuius mixtionis defe tu lapides e metalla, icut ad nullam vitae gradum manifestum preparata fuere, ita nec vitam nostram tueri, aliquo modo poterunt, Quandoquidem in sui generatione longe aliam mixtionis rationem obtinuere, quam viventis corporis nutritia expostulets Alimentum de fumen. There are various types of tropisms in both cabbages and kings: photo-tropism, tropism to the touch, geo-tropism, or gravito-tropism, hydrotropism. Nacque a Padova da Pietro di nobile famiglia trasferitasi da Parma. Nella città natale compì gli studi, conseguendo precocemente la laurea (baccalaurea) in artibus -- filosofia. Nell'ateneo patavino insegna successivamente logica, medicina teorica straordinaria, medicina pratica e infine medicina teorica ordinaria. Esercita anche la professione medica e, sull'esempio del bolognese Carpense, introduce a Padova l'uso del mercurio nella cura della lue, ricavandone un grande guadagno, che gli consentì la costruzione di una dimora di grande magnificenza, riprodotta in una medaglia d'oro coniata in suo onore. Fa parte di una commissione dello Studio di Padova, costituita dal duca di Urbino col compito di combattere un'epidemia, scoppiata nel territorio di Pesaro, di “febbri pestilenziali,” espressione con la quale venivano allora indicate, presumibilmente, differenti forme infettive acute, quali l'ileotifo e la febbre malarica. I membri della commissione sono di pareri discordi e ne nacque una vivace disputa. Contro Sassonia, che consiglia una cura con mezzi revulsivi, come i vescicanti e la teriaca, e contro Acquapendente e Campolongo, favorevoli ai vescicanti ma contrari alla teriaca, B. e Massaria suggerivano l'uso di salassi, convinti che le febbri pestilenziali, contrariamente all'apparenza di languore, fossero dovute a un eccesso di vigore morboso, onde soltanto il salasso potesse ristabilire l'equilibrio naturale. Pare, però, che nella disputa l'atteggiamento di B. fosse da attribuire, almeno in parte, a rivalità accademica contro Sassonia, al quale aveva impedito di tenere pubbliche lezioni a Padova, costringendolo a svolgere il suo insegnamento in forma privata. B. è seppellito nella chiesa degli eremitani di Padova.  B. s’occupa specialmente delle funzioni dirette alla conservazione dell'individuo e della specie, cioè I nutrizione, II crescita – cf. Grice on ‘grow’ in ‘Aristotle on th multiplicity of being’ e III generazione – Grice reproduction --, che definì "tria suprema naturae munera" – Grice: “B. makes it obvious that every time I use Genitor (euphemism for God), a replacement salva veritat with “sage Nature” is always possible – and even in accord with my search for non-mechanistically substitution in my third lecture on value.” Allo studio del processo nutritivo è dedicato il De vita conservanda. Secondo B., la nutrizione è la trasmutazione degl’alimenti nella sostanza dell'essere vivente, operata da una "facultas" nutritiva, funzione dell'anima vegetale, che si vale di una serie di "facultates inservientes", esaminate una per una: l'attrazione dell'alimento idoneo mediante il movimento delle fibre oblique dello stomaco, che trattiene l'alimento durante il processo di chilificazione; la trasformazione dell'alimento in chilo, che comincia nello stomaco e si conclude nell'intestino; l'eliminazione delle sostanze inutili; e infine la trasformazione del chilo in sangue e carne, che avviene rispettivamente nel fegato e nelle singole membra. B. conclude la sua opera esponendo la sua concezione sull'intimo meccanismo del processo nutritivo: attraverso le successive cotture ("coctiones") l'alimento viene ridotto dal calore naturale sotto forma di vapore, che raggiunge attraverso le vene capillari le varie parti del corpo, condensandosi e trasformandosi nella sostanza sulla quale si deposita. La seconda opera di B., De morbis mulieribus, mostra un più vivo interesse per la patologia; vi sono descritte le malattie delle donne e proposti i mezzi curativi. Il primo libro si occupa delle malattie che impediscono la normale funzione dell'utero, quali la cessazione dei mestrui o la loro abbondanza, la gonorrea, ecc. Nel secondo libro sono esaminate le malattie che impediscono la concezione o la maturazione del feto, come la sterilità, il parto mostruoso, l'aborto, il parto difficile. Il terzo libro, infine, passa in rassegna le affezioni delle mammelle.  Opere: De vita conservanda, Patavii; De morbis muliebribus libri tres, Patavii, ristampata a Venezia e inclusa da G. Wolf nella raccolta Gynecia,sive de mulierum affectibus commentarii diversorum, Basileae, Argentinae; Methodi medicinales duae,in quibus legitima medendi ratio traditur,propositae in Academia Patavina a Nobilissimis viris Professoribus D. A. B.,et Aemilio Campolongo, Francofurti 1595: si tratta di lezioni universitarie raccolte e pubblicate da Susenbeck; di origine analoga lo scritto postumo De modo discurrendi circa morbos,eosdemque curandi tractatus, inserito da Schenck in Pandectarum sive partitionum medicinalium liber quartus, Francofurti. Il nome di B. compare infine fra quelli dei "praestantissimi Italiae medici" autori dei Consilia medicinalia raccolti da Lautenbach, Francofurti.  Bibl.: Papadopoli, Historia Gymnasii Patavini, I, Venetiis; Mazzuchelli, Gli Scrittori d'Italia, Brescia; Renzi, Storia della medicina in Italia, Napoli; Morpurgo, Lo Studio di Padova, le epidemie ed i contagi durante il governo della Repubbl. Veneta, in Mem. e doc. per la storia dell'Univ. di Padova, I, Padova. Nome compiuto: Albertini Bottoni. Albertinus Bottonnus. Albertinus Bottoni. Albertino Bottoni. Keywords: de essentia corporis humani, vita, filosofia della vita, Grice on body and mind in ‘Personal identity’ – body, corpus Christi – corpus umano, corpus viris – essential corporis humani, l’essenza del corpo umano, corpo dell’uomo, corpo virile, corpo animato, corpo, fisica mecanica, moto del corpo, corpo, animazione, credenza che i vegetali non sono animale per che il moto non e volontario ma condizionato – fototropismo --. Refs.: Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, “Grice e Bottoni,” The Swimming-Pool Library, Villa Speranza, Liguria, Italia.

 

Luigi Speranza -- Grice e Boulagora: la setta di Crotone -- Roma – filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza. (Crotone). According to Giamblico di Calcide (“Vita di Pitagora”), Boulagora was a Pythagorean, and the fourth leader of the sect. He succeeded Mnesarco, the son of Pythagora, and was in turn succeeded by Gartida di Crotona. It was during the leadership of Boulagora that the Pythagoreans were expelled from Crotona. Boulagora. Bulagora. Refs.: Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, “Grice e Boulagora,” The Swimming-Pool Library, Villa Speranza, Liguria, Italia.

 

Luigi Spreanza -- Grice e Bouto: la setta di Crotone -- Roma – filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza (Crotone). Filosofo italiano. According to Giamblico di Calcide (“Vita di Pitagora”), he was a Pythagoean. Bouto. Better under Buto. Refs.: Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, “Grice e Bouto,” The Swimming-Pool Library, Villa Speranza, Liguria, Italia.

 

Luigi Speranza – GRICE ITALO!: ossia, Grice e Bovio: la ragione conversazionale e l’implicatura conversazionale del linguaggio – l’animale parlante – homo symbolicus – un tono, una figura – scuola di Trani – filosofia pugliese -- filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, The Swimming-Pool Library (Trani). Abstract. Grice: “I have often been criticised for my anthropocentrism; notably when in ‘Prejudices and predilections,’ I have to defend the view that Homo sapiens sapiens is the Homo comunicativus! M-intentions seem too intricate for other pirots to deal with thm! Yet, in the Continent, the view of Homo symbolicus has been a paradigm of good sense!” Filosofo pugliese. Filosofo italiano. Barletta-Andria-Trani, Puglia. Grice: “You’ve got to love Bovio; he has a stamp, I don’t. My favourite is his piece on ‘linguaggio,’ on the implicature (plural of implicatura) of the ‘animale parlante’ – ‘un tono, una figura, …’ – But he also philosophissed fascinatingly on ‘La lotta,’ which is a bit like my model of conversation as a competitive game.” politico italiano, sistematizzatore dell'ideologia repubblicana e deputato al Parlamento del Regno d'Italia.   La casa natale di Giovanni Bovio a Trani Giovanni Scipione Bovio nasce a Trani da Nicola Bovio di Altamura, impiegato, e Chiara Pasquini.  Autodidatta, pubblica Il Verbo Novello, un poema filosofico scritto con intonazione enfatica. Fra i suoi scritti si ricordano la Filosofia del diritto, il Sommario della storia del diritto in Italia, il Genio, gli Scritti filosofici e politici, la Dottrina dei partiti in Europa, i Discorsi. Sotto il Ministero Minghetti, ottenne il pareggiamento della cattedra di Storia del Diritto all'Napoli e, consegui la libera docenza in Filosofia del diritto.  Bovio fu anche deputato alla Camera: nel 1876, con il subentrare della Sinistra costituzionale alla Destra, fu eletto nel collegio di Minervino Murge. Il suo atteggiamento, diversamente da quello dei suoi compagni che condividevano l'idea repubblicana, non fu incline all'astensionismo. B. sposò a Napoli Bianca Nicosia dalla quale ebbe due figli, Corso Bovio, così chiamato in onore agli italiani di Corsica sottomessi al dominio francese e Libero Bovio, poeta ed autore dei testi di molte celebri canzoni napoletane. Libero Bovio, a sua volta, fu il nonno dell'avvocato, giornalista e docente Libero Corso Bovio. Napoli fu la sua città di adozione, dove morì. La città gli ha dedicato una piazza, che i napoletani continuano però a chiamare con l'antico nome di Piazza Borsa. La città di Firenze gli ha dedicato una strada. La città di Piombino gli ha intitolato la piazza sul mare più grande d'Europa, Piazza B.. La città di Teramo gli ha intitolato un importante viale. La città di Terni gli ha intitolato un intero quartiere che comprende tutta la zona est chiamato, appunto, Borgo Bovio.  «(Napoli) In questa casa morì povero e incontaminato B. che meditando con animo libero l'Infinito e consacrando le ragioni dei popoli in pagine adamantine ravvivò d'alta luce il pensiero italico e precorse veggente la nuova età.»  (Epigrafe di Mario Rapisardi) Il pensiero Targa in memoria di Bovio nella piazza di Napoli a lui dedicata  Passo Corese: targa, con testo attribuito a B., dedicata a Garibaldi  B. era sostanzialmente contrario alla monarchia. Come ideologo repubblicano, B. ebbe il motto "definirsi o sparire": palesò insomma ai repubblicani l'esigenza urgente di un'impostazione non confusa e non settaria, di una chiara direzione che spinse poi i repubblicani a definirsi in partito di moderno tenore.  B.  stabilì per il Partito repubblicano nessi e prospettive nazionali ed europee.  Egli considera la monarchia come l'attuale realtà italiana. Ne segue che la repubblica è utopia, e B. si dichiara utopista. Nel suo pensiero la monarchia cadrà, proprio quando dovrà risolvere il problema della libertà. Serve comunque un lungo periodo perché la situazione monarchica si deteriori. Colma evidentemente di determinismo, la sua filosofia si definiva come naturalismo matematico.  Differentemente dalla teoria socialista, B. riteneva che il nuovo Stato a venire avrebbe avuto una "forma storica", non potendo dimensionarsi unicamente sulla base di azioni economiche. B. introduceva dunque una concezione formale dello Stato, che si sforzò di divulgare anche presso i ceti operai.  Fu molto considerato anche a Matera dove non si dimenticava peraltro che nella locale "scuola detta regia, fondata da Tanucci, libero pensatore dei tempi suoi, quando era libertà contrastare alle pretensioni papali, fu insegnante di letteratura e di diritto B., il quale intese queste dottrine nella libertà e per la libertà. Quell'insegnamento fu seme fecondo, e dalla sua scuola venne fuori la nobile schiera dei martiri, i cui militi rispondono ai nomi di Firrao, Torricelli, Mazzei, Cufaro, Santoro, Passarelli, Malvezzi". A circa un anno dalla sua morte, nella "giornata più adatta" come "il fatidico XX Settembre", gli intellettuali laici materani con la loro associazione Torricelli tennero una solenne commemorazione "per pagare un tributo di affetto e di riverenza al Grande, che ci fu Maestro e ci amò di quell'amore di cui sono capaci soltanto gli educatori come Lui" dice un oratore. E un secondo aggiunge che "la titanica figura di quell'illustre profeticamente ci addita il sole dell'avvenire", per cui il tributo di affetto al suo carattere fiero ed onesto è tanto più doveroso "in questi tempi borgiani". Un terzo oratore, rivolgendosi al sindaco Sarra, e nel consegnargli la lapide, lo invita ad additare "quel nome a questi onesti operai per indirizzarli sulla via della dea ragione, scuotendo così il giogo dell'oscurantismo e della superstizione, che li avvince e li abbruttisce". Promessa che il sindaco Sarra non esita a fare, ritenendo quel marmo "un severo monito all'indirizzo di tutti coloro i quali nulla fecero e tuttora nulla fanno per strappare la nostra plebe dalla miseria, dalla ignoranza, dalla superstizione, dall'abbruttimento secolare". Per la precisione, la lapide commemorativa, scoperta quel giorno sulla facciata del palazzo di giustizia, sarà tolta negli anni '30 per iniziativa della sezione fascista (e gli incauti scalpellatori si riferiranno nell'operazione).  B. ebbe comunque anche l'esigenza di definirsi rispetto agli anarchici. La forma repubblicana, scrisse, è a metà strada fra la monarchia e l'anarchia, vale a dire fra l'ipertrofia dello Stato e la sua totale anarchica abolizione. Non a caso, quando l'anarchico Bresci compì l'attentato contro Umberto I, B. invitò tutti gli anarchici a desistere dalla violenza. In sostanza, un'esagerazione utopistica tradotta in atti sanguinari (l'opera degli anarchici) avrebbe prodotto un rafforzamento reattivo dell'autorità costituita, allontanando proprio il momento dell'avvento della repubblica. Troviamo in lui un tentativo di superare l'idealismo della metafisica idealistica e insieme con essa l'approccio empirico del positivismo. Fondamentalmente B. introdusse in Italia l'eco delle nuove correnti speculative nella filosofia del diritto.  B. — cittadino di spartana austerità — fra il mercimonio affannoso dei politicanti — pensatore solitario — fra lo strepito di cozzanti dottrine — artefice possente di stile — fra la pretenziosa nullaggine dei parolai — traversò impavido — le torbide correnti del secolo — e ne uscì puro a fronte alta — con l'animo illuminato — dalla fede confortevole — nell'ascensione perpetua del pensiero umano.»  (Epigrafe di Rapisardi) Bovio e la massoneria Bovio fu un membro eminente della massoneria (raggiunse il 33º ed ultimo grado del Rito scozzese antico ed accettato), così come lo erano i suoi familiari (suo padre Nicola, suo zio Scipione e suo nonno Francesco Bovio). Iniziato nella Loggia Caprera di Trani B. ne divenne oratore. Su invito della massoneria milanese, tenne a Milano la commemorazione del centenario della morte di Voltaire. Nominato membro del Grande Oriente d'Italia, di cui presiedette la Costituente. Eletto grande oratore, e restò in carica fino alla Costituente. In Campo dei Fiori a Roma, fu l'oratore ufficiale per l'inaugurazione del monumento a Bruno, voluto dalla massoneria romana ed eseguito da Ettore Ferrari, che sarà gran maestro del Grande Oriente d'Italia. Gran Maestro della Loggia Napoletana, candidato all'elezione di Gran Maestro nazionale. In un'interpellanza rivolta al presidente del consiglio e ministro dell'interno marchese di Rudinì a proposito dei provvedimenti che aveva annunciato contro la massoneria, Bovio disse «La massoneria è un'istituzione universale quanto l'Umanità ed antica quanto la memoria. Essa ha le sue primavere periodiche, perché da una parte custodisce le tradizioni ed il rito che la legano ai secoli, dall'altra si mette all'avanguardia di ogni pensiero e cammina con la giovinezza del mondo»  Il centenario della Rivoluzione di Altamura  Celebrazioni per il primo centenario della Rivoluzione di Altamura (con B.) B. partecipò alle celebrazioni del centenario della Rivoluzione di Altamura, durante il quale fu eretto un monumento sulla piazza centrale di Altamura, che ancora oggi è presente e che fu realizzato da AZocchi. Il padre di B., B., era di Altamura, così come lo era suo nonno B., il quale insegnò diritto presso l'Università degli Studi di Altamura.  Nel suo discorso, B. esaltò lo spirito degli altamurani e affermò che il concetto di libertà era stato sempre vivo nei loro cuori. Anche grazie al fervore di idee dell'antica Altamura, dotti, nobili e plebei altamurani si erano uniti tutti sotto l'idea di libertà ed erano pronti a sacrificare le loro ricchezze, i loro titoli e persino la loro vita per la libertà.  Antenati e discendenti di B. Francesco Maria B.) nonno di B. professore di diritto e lettere presso le Regie Scuole di Matera e l'antica Università degli Studi di Altamura. Fu anche "giudice interino di pace" e massone iscritto alla loggia "Oriente di Altamura". Difese inoltre la Repubblica Napoletana, prendendo parte alla Rivoluzione di Altamura B. padre di B. carbonaro (iscritto alla vendita "il Pellicano" di Trani) Scipione Boviozio di  B. carbonaro (iscritto alla vendita "il Pellicano" di Trani) Corso B. figlio di B.- avvocato del foro di Napoli e successivamente docente Diritto Penale Milano Libero B. figlio di B. poeta e musicista B. nipote di B. avvocato del foro di Milano  Libero Corso B. pronipote di B. avvocato, giornalista e docente Matera contemporanea Cultura e società, Sacco, Basilicata editrice  Scirocco, B. in Dizionario biografico degli italiani,  Roma, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, Gran Loggia. Massoneria e i suoi trecento anni di modernità, una mostra ricorda i massoni protagonisti del Novecento Grande Oriente d'ItaliaSito Ufficiale, su Grande Oriente d'Italia).  Cordova, Massoneria e Politica in Italia, Carte Scoperte, Milano Biografia di B. (con video GOI radio), su montesion Gnocchini, L'Italia dei Liberi Muratori, Erasmo ed., Roma,  Copia archiviata, su comunedipignataro. Morto l'avvocato B., "principe" della difesa, in La Stampa, B., Teatro morale dogmatico-istorico, dottrinale e predicabile, Roma, nella stamparia di Placho presso a San Marco, B., Teatro morale dogmatico-istorico, dottrinale e predicabile. Tomo secondo, In Roma, per Filippo Zenobj stampatore, e intagliatore di n.s. Clemente XII, incontro il Seminario Romano, Repubblicanesimo Partito Repubblicano Italiano Piazza Giovanni Bovio (Napoli) Dizionario di storia, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana,.  Opere di Giovanni Bovio, su Liber Liber.  Opere di B., su openMLOL, Horizons Unlimited srl. Opere di B.,. B. su storia.camera, Camera dei deputati.  Carlini, B. in Enciclopedia Italiana, Roma, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, giovanni-bovio. Alfonso Scirocco, B. in Dizionario biografico degli italiani,  Roma, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, Filosofia Politica  Politica Categorie: Deputati della XIII legislatura del Regno d'Italia Deputati della XIV legislatura del Regno d'ItaliaDeputati della XV legislatura del Regno d'ItaliaDeputati della XVI legislatura del Regno d'Italia Deputati della XVII legislatura del Regno d'Italia Deputati della XVIII legislatura del Regno d'Italia Deputati della XIX legislatura del Regno d'ItaliaDeputati della XX legislatura del Regno d'Italia Deputati della  XXI legislatura del Regno d'Italia Filosofi italiani del XIX secoloPolitici italiani Professore Trani Napoli Repubblicanesimo Massoni Mazziniani Politici dell'Estrema sinistra storica Politici del Partito Repubblicano Italiano Studiosi di diritto penale del XIX secolo. Roma Utopista non è chi sogna, m a chi pensa, e tanto più profonda è l'Utopia quanto più il pensiero coglie la relatività dei tempi. Greca è dunque l'origine della utopia é utopista tipico fu Socrate che osó primo al costume civico contrapporre la missione individuale:– Io Socrate sono nato a liberamente filosofare e se cento volte per que sto iofossi morto e rinascessi, tornerei a filosofare. Non pena dun que mi è dovuta, ma il Pritaneo. Questo tentativo di ribellione dell'individuo contro il cittadino,del l'individuo che osa pigliarsi un mandato individuale che non solo valga il mandato civile m a ardisca riformare il costume, questo è punito e, in quella natura di tempi,era veramente crimine di Stato.Socrate anch'esso,come atterrito dal colpo ch'ei tira,sente che al cittadino è dovuta l'espiazione individuale, e rifiuta ausilio, e si apparecchia all'immolazione di sè non pure perché sente compiuta la sua mis sione e non gli piace vivere superstite a se medesimo, ma perchè vuole grecamente spirare:dum patriae legibus obsequimur.Che è quel l'ultimo pensiero del Gallo,che, rimosso il lenzuolo dalviso, ei vuole sacrificato ad Esculapio? Vuol finire sul letto del carcere come fosse alle Termopili, e vuol morire con religione e costume attico come a punizione di alto trascorso individuale. L'individuo fu Socrate fi losofo; il moribondo è l'atenieserassegnato: ma il piùgrandeèque sto, che proprio questo ateniese punisce quell'individuo e non gli dà scampo. Pericle non potè salvare Anassagora; Socrate non vuole sal vare se stesso. Quando gli Dei patrii percossi dalla riflessione socratica supina rono sull'Olimpo muto, Epicuro sorridendo gitto sopra di loro un gran panno funereo e si rallegrò coll'uomo liberato dai divini terrori. Però quel panno che Epicuro gittava sull'Olimpo copriva tutta la Grecia; giacché quel panno che soffocava la lotta semi-divina era indizio della missione greca già finita. Perciò Epicuro la scia i giar dini greci, le dolcezze e i profumi arcadici, e se ne viene nel Foro romano, e siede e sentenzia e giudica e genera di sè due uomini diversissimi, ORAZIO e LUCREZIO, o da Orazio poi il tipo di Munazio Planco e da Lucrezio quello di Papiniano. Sono troppe cose che io dico insieme, delle quali molte non dette ancora e nondimeno prova bili non pure con la forma del discorso,ma col testimonio dei fatti, Cicerone, vedendo Epicuro alle porte di Roma, cerca fulminarlo col medesimo effetto onde Pio IX fulminava il soldato italiano ve nuto innanzi a porta Pia.Erano saette sine ictu.Epicuro sorride dei fulmini di Cicerone come di quelli del Giove greco ed entra in Roma e prende Cicerone per mano e segretamente sel fa suo. Ma, appena entrato in Roma, Epicuro prende la natura del Giano latino, si fa bifronte, ed una sua faccia è quella di Orazio, l'altra di Lucrezio. Or come avviene codesto miracolo? Miracolo no:è la dialet tica del sistema epicureo che ha questi due lati. L'uno dice cosi: La vita è brede; di là non si continua; dunque godiamola di pre sente.La morte ci colga quando possiamo gittarle infaccia la scorsa del pomo della voluttà, tutto premuto. L'altro dice cosi: La vita è breve; di là non si continua; osiamo dunque eternarla con un'opera degna della immortalità della fama. Perchè tentare la turpitudine se nel punto di asseguirla la morte può spegnermi? Ecco le due fronti di Epicuro, che sulla porta di R o m a assume forma gianesca. L'una è di Orazio: Vitae summa brevis nos detat spem inchoare longam. Di lá non v'è vita: Non regna vini sortiere talis. La conseguenza ch'ei porge all'anima tua è sempre una: Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero. Questa illazione può signifi carsi con un grugnito del porco epicureo. L'altra è di Lucrezio: Omnia migrant, Omnia commutat natura et dertere cogit. Dalla quale migrazione eterna dell'essere deriva il summum crede nefas. Importa sol consegnare integra la lampa della vita alle generazioni sopravvenienti. Da Orazio nasce Munazio Planco, prima Cesariano, poi Pompeiano, poi repubblicano, poi di Antonio e di Cleopatra, poi cortigiano di Augusto e sprezzato da tutti: tipo del galantuomo di Guicciardini; e fini nella sua villa di Tivoli come Guicciardini nella solitudine di Arcetri. Da Lucrezio nasce il tipo del giureconsulto, Papiniano, che intese il dritto come bonum aequum, e non volle in Senato difendere un imperatore fratricida e piuttosto che l'onore volle lasciare la vita. Morendo,come avea sentenziato,provvide all'immortalità della fama. Cosi abbiamo dalla medesima scuola il porcus de grege Epicuri, c de acie Epicuri miles. N è questo doppio tipo fu smarrito nel p e riodo del risorgimento, quando dopo la scolastica platonica e aristo telica si riaffacció l'epicureismo: dall'una parte si ebbe il Pontano cantore della voluttà, dall'altra il Cavalcante cercatore austero, tra i sepolcri, della immortalità della fama. Da Epicuro il mondo romano prende il senso della positività, ed è però mondo di prosa non di arte, con missione giuridica, con lingua giuridica, con monumenti, storia, tradizioni giuridiche. La Grecia ci ha tramandato due insuperabili documenti, la tragedia epica e la tragedia filosofica, l'Iliade e il Fedone; Roma il Corpus juris, con due potenti compagni, l'epigrafe e il responso. Quanto all'epigrafe, specie sintetica di letteratura, nessun altro popolo nė lingua ha il quarto della maestà e rapidità dell'epigrafe latina, nata rebus agendis. Onde nazioni nordiche e neolatine e transatlantiche pigliano ancora, e avverrà per lungo tempo, da Roma antica l'epigrafe e il responso. E la più bella dell'epigrafi ha contenuto epicurco e giuridico: « Et creditis esse Deos?» la tomba negata a Catone e a Pompeo è superbamente data ad un mimo! Se gli Dei sono ingiusti, gli Dei non sono. E le epigrafi più solenni nascondono certa finezza d'ironia epicurea nel senso giuridico. L'epigrafe latina è solenne, perché è breve come il responso. Questa rapidità di percezione è dalla lingua istessa giuridica per eccellenza, imperativa e, se m'è lecito a dire, dittatoria: onde l'epigrafe è quasi sempre responsiva cioè di senso giuridico,e il responso è sempre epigrafico. Ed in Roma e possibile il tipo del giureconsulto, dell'uomo cioè che ha l'intera percezione del dritto, rapidamente e propriamente la significa e sa comandarla a sè stesso prima che agli altri. È tipo raro, tutto assorbito dalla meditazione etica, che traduce nella parola e nel fatto. Roma n'ebbe pochissimi e assai più pochi ne fiorirono in tempi posteriori. E quando oggi odo chiamare giureconsulti alcuni legisti meno che mediocri dico che o le parole non s'intendono o sono stravolte dall'adulazione. Quando la lingua latina canta di amore a me pare, senza esagerazione, udire il Ciclope favellare a Galatea. Non è qui la sua forza, la sua missione, il suo contenuto storico. Dica rapidamente il dritto, dica il fatto. Il responso e l'epigrafe, questo è il gran contenuto della letteratura latina, questo è suo proprio, è originale, è collatino, oso  ied « Quid quid praecifus, esto brevis, ut cito dicta Percipiant animi) dire: il rimanente é preso di qua o là e porta il mantello peregrino. Ed ha tre uomini sommi, Lucrezio, Papiniano e Tacito. Lucrezio non ha cantato un poema, nè si dà al mondo poema didascalico, ma ha dato l'esposizione epicurea della natura, la cui Venus non viene da Milo ma dal Foro e può somigliare ad Astrea. Papiniano ha dato il più alto responso, nel quale è la sintesi della missione latina e lo ha suggellato, come dovea, con la morte. L'olocausto di Socrate ci mandò la tragedia filosofica che è greca. L’olocausto di Papiniano citramanda la tragedia giuridica che è latina. Perchè dopo il Nerone e la Messalina non cantare anche questa che è più solenne? La storia di Tacito suona sulle rovine imminenti dello stato latino come la serventesi dell'ultimo degli albigesi. Tacito è fosco come la sera nebbiosadiuna grande giornata; è riflessivo come chirasenta le rovine; è triste come chi cerca una virtù ch'ei sa di non trovare. Perciò ei ritrae Tiberio assai meglio che Tiziano non ritragga Filippo II, ma dove pinge la virtù non è pittore molto ispirato. E grande col pen nello onde lo Spinelli ritraeva Satana. Ma se gli dai la tavolozza di Raffaello ei te l’annacqua. Lucrezio, Papiniano e Tacito sono tre che si somigliano nella forma di concepire e nella rapidità scolpita della espressione. Tacito, che. segna la decadenza e lavora come il Sisifo di Lucrezio, qui semper victus tristisque recedit, spesso ti accusa la maniera e quando è breve, quando è corto; ma è l'ultimo de' grandi romani. Chi cerca la grandezza del pensiero latino fuori di questi, e vuol trovarlo o nei la menti di Properzio e di Ovidio, o nel citiso di Virgilio e nelle primavere di Orazio, o pescarlo nel bicchiere di Catullo, o spiccarlo dagli orli della toga di Cicerone è come chi cercando l'anima del trecento,invece di volgersi a Dante e a Boccaccio, la spia negli occhi estatici di Caterina da Siena o nel cipiglio di Passavanti. In questo teatro giuridico, che è il mondo latino, ilcontenuto della lotta si trasforma e di semidivino diviene pienamente umano. Qui non han luogo cause per divinità. Qui Lucrezio può vuotare il Pantheon che accoglie indifferentemente tutti gl'Iddii per vederli indifferentemente sfatare dal sistematore della Natura. Lucrezio morrà non per accusa di Melito, di Anito, di Licone; ma morrá se gli piace, di sua mano, se il destino dell'uomo gli parrà troppo somigliante a quello di Sisifo. Allora la Venus genutrix gli si muterà in Venere Libitina, ed egli userà della vita secondo quello che gli parrå suo diritto. Io non credo all'aconito; credo suicida Lucrezio, e questo suicidio proprio di forma romana, come quello di Catone, cioè per  ius necis etiam in se. Questa lotta umana, iniziata non compita in Roma, questa che è tutta e sempre lotta civile dal ritiro della plebe sull'Aventino sino ad Augusto, qui omnium munia in se trahere coepit; questa epopea tutta latina non trovabile in Virgilio ma un frammento Ciò significa: Il mondo greco, cominciato religiosamente, finisce nella irreligione di Epicuro; il mondo romano pieno della dotta ir religione di Epicuro, finisce nel mistero cristiano. Come sia avvenuto questo fenomeno chiariremo nella nostra lezione intorno a Cristo. Questo vien chiaro di presente, che ilcontenuto giuridico in Roma non può porgersi come ius civile abstractum, ma come primo sentimento di equità, onde sigenera il Pretore, istituzione profondamente etica, ignota anche questa alla Grecia, e urbano e peregrino, e il cui fine è sempre l'aequitas, affinchè il summum ius, non diventasse summa iniuria o summa malitia. Quindi il placito del giureconsulto nella costituzione delle leggi. In rebus novis constituendis coidens esse de bet utilitas, ne animus recedat ab eo jure, quod diu AEQUUM visum est (Fideicom L. IV.). Chiaro è che l'equità costituisca la misura del dritto; che questa equità lungamente saggiata, traducendosi in dritto, genera l'utile sincero; e che questo utile debba essere evidente ai popoli nella costituzione delle leggi. Quindi l'iniquum erat injuria. Quindi l'aequitas appo i latini non è il concetto volgare che ci viene da Ugone Grozio, è l'assoluta, continua, ascendente correzione del dritto civile, cioè del dritto greco; e però cosi coloro che veggono pura medesimezza del dritto greco e romano, quanto quegli altri che continuano a favoleggiare intorno alla origine greca delle XII tavole mostrano ignorare la differenza delle due storie, dei due popoli, delle due lotte, delle due civiltà. E iltesto canta chiaro. Ius praetorium adiuvandi, del supplendi, vel CORRIGENDI iuris civilis gratia est introductum,propter utilitatem pubblicam. Che è quel ius civile bisognoso di correzione? È quello appunto che in Roma  patriziato il tribuno per una certa equa partizione di cose e di ufficii, e genero, ignoto alla Grecia. L'altro tra l'individuo per una certa equa emancipazione ignoto alla Grecia. dell'individuo il rimanente in Tacito, ha due periodi principali: l'uno tra plebe e e la comunanza, e genera Spartaco, Livio e La plebe fu vendicata da Mario e più da Cesare che se oppresso il tribuno era segno che non v'era più patriziato sovrano ed operoso. Spartaco, sopraffatto da Crasso e da Pompeo e morto nella pienezza della sua protesta, trova poco dopo più grande vendicatore, Cristo.   comincia a parere summa injuria, la cui correzione costituisce l'istituto pretorio, che è tutto romano, il cui programma si assomma nella sentenza. Placuit in omnibus rebus praecipuam csse iustitiae ac AEQUITATIS quam stricti juris rationem.Quello stretto dritto è greco, è puramente civile, è quiritario, è aristocratico, e trasmoda nell'ingiuria, o per violenza o per malizia, aut vi, aut fraude. Quell'acquitas è la correzione pretoria, è la grandezza dello spirito latino, che tutto si manifesta e dimora nella giustizia pretoria e urbana e peregrina. E quell'aequitas deriva dalla lotta umana, cosi della plebe contro il patriziato come del servo contro il padrone. Il ius civile e il risultamento della lotta semi-divina. L’aequitas è il prodotto della lotta civile. Quella è greca, questa è latina. Quella ha il suo fastigio storico da Socrate ad Epicuro, questa da Mario a Spartaco. Quella è lotta filosofica, questa è giuridica. I canoni di Epicuro sono l'orazione funebre all'Olimpo e però alla Grecia, la protesta di Spartaco è il requiem al superbo ciris romanus. Insomma la gloria storica di Roma non è il dittatore, nè il console, nè il senato, nè il questore, né l'imperatore, e nemmeno il tribune; è ilPretore. Il suo editto è la sintesi dei responsi; lo spirito dei responsi è l'equità. L’equità è il prodotto della lotta umana. Questa lotta è ilcontenuto della civiltà latina. Con questo spirito di equità torna agevole a Tacito descrivere il tiranno, scolpirlo. Volere parendo di rifiutare, comandare parendo di subire, far tutto parendo di non fare, questo è il tipo del tiranno, questo è il Tiberio di Tacito, rispetto al quale gli altri tiranni venuti di poi sono volgari, ubriachi, troppo scoperti e però troppo espo sti ad essere tiranneggiati. Tipico è questo Tiberio in Tacito, come Aiace in Omero, come Ugolino in Dante, come in Otello in Sakespeare, e non patiscono ritoccamenti di nessuna mano: chi si attenta a ri farli, sotto qualunque altra forma, disfà. E in Roma fu possibile il ritratto del tiranno, il pittore di Tiberio, perchè in Roma fu possibile il sentimento dell'equità, non astratto, ma tradotto in ragione pretoria.Ne Riccardo III, nè Arrigo VIII, nè Filippo II, nè Alessandro VI o Paolo IV ritrassero Tiberio. Vollero troppo, si chiarirono troppo, furono troppo tiranneggiati. Ma il tipo, spento individualmente, risorse collettivamente nella Compagnia di Gesù, che per 333 anni dilargò l'oligarchia nera sulla terra, parendo di non volere, di non comandare, di non fare. Ma e il gesuitesimo tiberiano, e il cesarismo gesuitico non possono essere tanto chiusi che il pensiero e la natura non v'entrino. Fu però equità piena, sincera, spiegata questa di Roma, siche la si trovi tutta adempita nella ragione pretoria? La lotta umana di Roma diede per risultamento il dritto umano? In somma il dritto romano si continua a studiare, a chiosare, ogni giorno in ogni parte civile della terra, perchè effettualmente è l'ultima parola del dritto? L 'aequitas in omnibus spectanda, quando non voglia essere un nome ma cosa, non un presentimento ma una idea, non in somma una esigenza ma un adempimento, bisogna che si manifesti come connessione ed equazione dei contrarii, ciod del genere coll'individuo, del cittadino con la persona, affinchè ne risulti l'interezza dell'uomo. Ora questa equazione torna possibile quando l'individuo si sia affer nato e contrapposto al cittadino e abbia avuto nella storia tanto va La cosa sta in questi termini: L'equitàs cientificamente intesa spetta: all'avvenire, che sarà la sintesi del cittadino coll individuo per costruire tutto l'uomo: l'equità latinamente intesa fu il transito dal cittadino all'individuo per costruire l'individuo. Il transito non è la sintesi, è il semplice avviamento dall'uno al l'altro dei contrarii, dall'azione alla reazione, dal bianco al nero, m a non è il cenerognolo in cui l'uno e l'altro si fondono. Fu larva dunque di equità: e non dimento anche come larva quel dritto è rimasto solenne, tipico nella storia, come presentimento di quello che il dritto è destinato ad essere. Dunque nella storia il mondo romano è l'esodo, il passaggio dal cittadino greco all'individuo germanico. E in questo transito dall'uno all'altro dei contrarii consiste, chi  30 -. ME  evoluzione quanta il cittadino se ne prese. Senza que stazione e reazione, o, come altrove dicono, senza questa tesi e antitesi nessun'armonia finale e completiva,nessuna sintesi piena e d u revole, Nessun equilibrio, nessuna equazione in somma è effettualmente possibile: e se l'equità non è questa equazione, è ancora un sentimento vuoto.Se ne deduce che Roma non poteva ancora nė ideare nè porgere la vera equità giuridica, perché l'individuo non avea compiuto la sua reazione storica, non avea dato tutti gl'istituti che dovevano nascere di sé, dalla sua antitesi o contrapposizione al cittadino. Dove s'era fatta la storia dell'individuo, l'autobiografia, per ché il Pretore potesse consapevole contemperare i contrarii, connetterli, equilibrarli? Vedesi dunque che questa equità è l'avvenire della storia non il passato; spetta alla giornata travagliosa dei posteri non alla lotta civile di Roma.Or dunque è stata spuma d'acqua sonante l'equità romana? Troppo sarebbe stato il rumore! consideri, l'universalità dell'impero latino. Il quale perde la sua ragione di durare quando Cristo compie l'emancipazione individuale. Ragioniamo brevemente di Cristo. Abbiamo nel nostro linguaggio certe parole fulminatorie che vogliono significare una gran fede e tradiscono l'ipocrisia di chi le dice; vogliono atterrire e producono invece l'impressione comica delle scomuniche di un certo vescovo provenzale sull'animo di Guglielmo IX, duca di Aquitania e conte di Poitiers.  questa, dopo la rinascenza, dettò a Galileo la riduzione delle leggi della mente e della natura sulla pietra Lavagna; anche oggi questa imponeva al Ferrari la riduzione de' periodi storici nel numero; e sempre questa tornerà dopo le brevi soste o deviazioni del nostro genio. Anche nella politica noi vogliamo misurato il nostro passo, e perd la nostra prudenza di governo e di popolo fu compendiata felicemente non nel cunctari nè nel festinare, ma in quel festina lente, che è la sintesi più mirabile e perfetta del nostro carattere. Non è già che ad ora destinata non abbiamo le rivoluzioni noi come gli altri popoli, m a i tremiti e le oscillazioni non le vogliamo, nè vogliamo rifare il passo. A rovinare i pensatori alquanto più arditi sino al 1860 avevamo tre terribili parole graduali: protestantismo, panteismo, materialismo. Oggi sono tre fulmini senza cuspide,   e a sprofondare gli scrittori di parte avversa, abbiamo sostituito a quelle tre altre parole terrifiche con la stessa sacramentale gradazione: repubblicanismo, socialismo, internazionalismo. Quelle tre prime parole suonavano una scomunica canonica, le seconde una scomunica politica. Ma nessun furore biblico traspare dalla faccia rubiconda di chi fulmina le prime o le seconde. Si voleva sino al 1859 perdere uno scrittore, un libro, anche un'opera d'arte? Una parola ba stava: è panteista! Il libro era proibito, l'autore sottoposto ad una o a più delle sette polizie, e il critico con quella sola parola acquistava autorità e dispensa da ogni altra confutazione. Oggi no: piùche I beni spirituali della celeste Gerusalemme si ha paura di perdere le palpabili dolcezze della Babilonia terrestre, ed a scomunicare un uomo, una dottrina, un pensiero, si grida la parola socialismo! e la quistione è finita lì, come se tutti oggi, in un certo senso, non fossimo socialisti, e come se oggi ci fosse al mondo un uomo, un cane, un rospo, una formica, una molecola dove non sia arrivata a penetrare la quistione sociale. Io ho udito nella camera un oratore dare del radicale al ministro più mite e conservatore che, a udire accusa tanto strana, rise forte e tra se colato, come volesse dire: Io! ... studio le costruzioni ferroviarie per muovere le vaporiere non gli uomini. Ne rise tutta la Camera. Ma notò sin dove sale l'ipocrisia del linguaggio. Sono, per contrario, parole privilegiate estillanti santità queste altre: serietà, galantomismo, moderazione. Queste parole sono guscio a molte lumache, scudo ad alcuni faccendieri, e bandiera a non pochi paolotti. La moderazione fu sempre virtù operosa de'fortissimi, non co stume dei pigri e degli adiposi: conosco in Italia uomini moderati in tutti I partiti, ma non conosco un partito moderato! Ci sono poi due parole antitetiche, mi si passi l'aggiunto, nella politica del giorno: piazza ed impopolarità. La prima di queste due significa l'estremo dell'avvilimento, l'altra della sublimità. L'equivoco però entra spesso ad alterarne l'uso corrente e le giuoca secondo i fini di parte. Se la piazza fa dimostrazioni festive ai sovrani, la chiamano cuore della nazione. Se ragiona e delibera su’dritti suoi, la chiamano canaglia. Impopolarità poi è parola stranissima, ma che può sve lare tutto un sistema. Ne' governi rappresentativi è alta prudenza ilcoraggio dell'impopolarità! E questo governo che e chi vorrà rappresentare? Sarà rappresentativo dei morti che si lasciano anatomizzare senza lamento, o dei gnomi che si stanno cheti nel centro della terra? Gli eccessi ai quali, oggis egnatamente, si lascia andare questo partito, in curante del popolo quanto sollecito di potere, nuderanno l'essenza delle istituzioni vacillanti. rappresentativo del popolo o d'una sètta? del popolo o dei fini di un ambizioso? e quando una Taide, nudandosi dove non conveniva, sfidava il pudore e lo sdegno di un popolo, mostra il coraggio dell'impopolarità? Eh via! Anche l'ipocrisia del coraggio ci voleva, e l'impopolarità doveva e s sere lo scudo d'Achille sul petto di Tersite. Capisco in giorni eccezionali l'impopolarità d'un sapiente, ma il sistema dell'impopolarità ne governi rappresentativi è una contraddizione ne’ termini. Continui chi vuole e può altre osservazioni intorno a parole convenzionali, sulla fraseologia, sul periodo ferma to innanzi al plauso prestabilito, specialmente in certi giorni, ma osservi pure che se il linguaggio assai volte è dato a nascondere il pensiero e ci riesce, non può riuscir mai a nascondere la mente ambigua, l'oscillazione del convincimento, l'ipocrisia, il carattere. Una più o meno visibile gonfiezza, un certo tono, una certa struttura e posa, una studiata semplicità, una bonarietà metodica, una figura, una parola, anche una reticenza ed una linea aprono, a chi non è volgo, tutto l'intimo dell'ANIMALE PARLANTE. Osservo infine che se i dialetti talvolta fanno capolino nelle nostre leggi, e specialmente nelle procedure, egli è segno che le regioni italiane non vogliono essere compres se e ricordano allo stato nazionale quella parte di autonomia ad essi dovuta. Non un filologo devevenire a correggere il dialetto nelle leggi, ma I dialetti si levano a correggere l'accentramento. Come dell'Oriente non si può narrare una vera storia del pensiero del pensiero come esame di sè e del suo oggetto, del pensiero come scienza così e per la medesima ragione non si può del diritto. Il diritto sorge come rivendicazione della persona o individua o collettiva, e la rivendicazione per virtù del pensiero, cioè del l'esame che comincia col rifermare la tradizione e finisce col distruggerla. Una vera storia del diritto anteriore alla storia del pensiero è un sogno, una favola. Nell'Oriente l'immaginazione e la fantasia tengon luogo del pensiero, e lo simulano in quanto lo prenunziano l'immaginazione più nella Cina, la fantasia più nell’India l'immaginazione che riproduce l'unità morta, la fantasia che variat rem prodigialiter unam (nol so dir meglio); e, mentre prenunziano il pensiero, non arrivano ancora nemmeno all'arte, nel senso più proprio di questa parola. Fanno e custodiscono, cristallizzandola, la tradizione; e però sono il basamento psicologico di tutte le religioni. Il mondo orientale, dunque, è religioso, semplicemente religioso; è pre i storico, in quanto prenunzia il pensiero, non lo annunzia; non dà la grande arte che non procede nè dalla immaginazione monotona nė dalla fantasia irrefrenata. Se in Oriente  - 51 Roma je, CO am ia olisi Ca, he l'inno e l'epopea avessero raggiunto quella eccellenza che vien sognata, si sarebbero per necessità geminate nelle arti sorelle, rimaste li tra il bizzarro, il deforme, l'industrioso e il fucato. E lo Stato orientale è veramente Stato quanto quella scienza è scienza, ed arte quell'arte. La tradizione è indiscutibile, è immobile: l'esame nè la riferma, nè la modifica, nè la distrugge, nè la integra. Non il popolo, che si disse e fecesi dire eletto, pose primo il problema antropologico; lo pose l'egizio, e lo simboleggiò nella Sfinge, problema irresoluto, perchè senza risposta. Il Greco risponde, primo, a questo perchè. La Sfinge muore innanzi ad Edipo e gli rinasce dentro. Edipo sparisce nella notte colonea, come Prometeo che con una favilla rapita al Sole aveva ani mato la statua l'uomo orientale immobile sconta il fallo nella notte scitica. La favilla doveva esser presa di dentro, non di fuori. Nosce te ipsum. Tal'è il destarsi del pensiero, tale il cominciamento della storia, e la protasi è greca. Quindi dalla preistoria, che è orientale, alla protostoria, che è greca, il passaggio è il problema egizio posto e non risoluto. L’Oriente è la fanciulezza che ripete, l'Egitto è l'adolescenza che interroga, la Grecia è la giovinezza che risponde. Cotesto pensiero consapevole avventa il dilemma: o greco o barbaro. Più che negli altri antichi questo dilemma è lucido in Aristotile, dove con la disamina tempera l'arroganza e pondera le costituzioni secondo il carattere de'popoli. Agli orientali egli da la scaltrezza, non la scienza (disse meglio del Ferrari sin d'allora), e la viltà che è degli scaltri; nota la selvatichezza ed il coraggio dei popoli nordici; e il coraggio e la scienza serba agli Elleni. Agli Elleni il pensiero e gli ardimenti del pensiero. E insieme con questo primo sorgere del pensiero è storica mente possibile alla Grecia la prima rivendicazione umana, cioè la prima determinazione giuridica. L'uomo, infatti, nella Grecia rivendica una parte di sé, quella che è più comune e fa più possibile la saldezza dello Stato che sorge come organismo politico insieme con la prima rivendicazione giuridica: l'uomo in Grecia non è più strumento inconscio di un potere sordo e in discutibile, ma si fa cittadino: e però la prima determinazione del diritto è puramente civile. Nè più nè altro poteva essere. O che prevalga l'aristocrazia come a Sparta, o la democrazia come in Atene, o che un Solone, per equilibrare le due parti, riesca semplicemente a mutare l'oligarchia eupatrida in oligar chia plutocratica, o che lo Stato si presenti federale come nella Tessaglia e nella Etolia, o che egemone come nella Laconia e nell'Attica, il certo è che alla rivendicazione dell'individuo non si arriva neppure come sentimento e assai meno come concetto. Né la lirica che in fondo è epica frammentaria sia gueriera come quella di Tirteo, sia molle come quella di Mimnermo, o sentenziosa con Teognide, o solenne con Simonide, nė il pensiero — sia il più largo e più trasmesso — come quello di Platone e di Aristotile superano questa posizione storica. Il pensiero non smentisce il fatto, e l'etica di Platone e di Aristotile sono a fondo civile. Quando lo stoico, superando il cittadino, si eleva sino all'u o m o astratto, e l'epicureo prefigura l'individuo, la Grecia gloriosa, la Grecia del pensiero, della parola e delle armi, è passata, e noi siamo innanzi ad altro pensiero, ad altra parola, ad altre armi. Roma è il campo dello stoico e dell'epicureo. Prima di toccare Roma e seguirla dalla prima alla *terza*, ei mi par di udire chi mi ripeta che la storia svolta sin qui sia del pensiero piuttosto che del diritto. Era storia del pensiero e del diritto, non separabili. I giuristi sogliono occuparsi men che poco de'filosofi, perchè, in generale, poco li conoscono; ma il naturalismo che vede la storia derivar dal pensiero in quella medesima guisa e proporzione onde il pensiero deriva dalla natura, non può procedere in altro modo. E se, giunto al mondo romano, avrò più ad indugiarmi intorno alle istituzioni e sulle testimonianze che ce le trasmettono,non è già ch'io non faccia egual conto delle istituzioni e degli scrittori greci, m a perchè il mio sommario va tutto raccolto da Roma ad oggi.Della Grecia e dell'Oriente si è detto quanto strettamente occorreva a lumeggiare il mondo latino e ciò che gli venne appresso. Due cose, belle a sapere, ma non assolutamente richieste dal sommario, io lascio del tutto: la storia geologica d'Italia e la storia etnografica. come intui il Leopardi, e gli sterminati periodi tellurici dal l'èra protozoica all'antropozoica, legga la geologia d'Italia nello Stoppani e nel Negri, e la misura del tempo nella geologia, nel Cocchi. Anche le terre d'Italia testimoniano da ogni regione nell'età archeolitica la presenza de'cavernicoli o, alla greca, trogloditi. Probabilmente &'incavernarono nelle montagne subalpine ed appenniniche, contro le spaventose vicissitudini dell'epoca dilu viale, e parlarono quello strano linguaggio che diè loro Pomponio Mela: strident magis quam loquuntur. Stridono a guisa di pipistrelli, aveva già detto Erodoto, che dié lor pasto di ser penti e di lucertole. E di questi non abbiamo a far parola, perchè sono, come si è notato, diis, arte, jure carentes, o, secondo Virgilio: gens duro robore nata Queis neque mos, neque cultus erat.  fumassero le Alpi e gli Appennini Dove andrei, se volessi rifar la storia geologica del mio paese, ed a che pro per il corso di questo anno? Chi voglia, dunque, conoscere l'una dopo l'altra tutte le epoche di questa terra italica, dall'eocenica alla pliocenica, e sapere perchè un giorno Come or fuman Vesuvio e Mongibello, Nè mi occorre far la storia etnografica dell'Italia. Dovrei correr dietro alle tradizioni d'una Italia popolata dalle immigrazioni de' Tirreni, degl'Iberici e degli Umbri? E poi investigare se i Tirreni ci sien venuti dalle falde del Tauro, cioè dal m ezzodi dell’Asia minore,e gl'Iberici dall'Asia centrale, e se gli Umbri, della gran famiglia de' Celti, sian entrati ad accasarsi nell'Umbria, partendosi tra Vilumbri ed Olumbri? Troppe le opinioni de' dotti e troppo disparate, più di cento le congetture, 1 non di poca importanza il dissenso tra Micali e Niebhur, l'uno risalendo agli autoctoni e l'altro negandoli,e ad un antropologo italiano fu forza conchiudere essere ancora oscurissima l’etnologia italiana: oscurità, che imponendo silenzio al Mommsen circa le altre due o tre immigrazioni, fecegli dire degl’umbri soltanto che la lor memoria giunge a noi come suon di campane di una città sprofondata nel mare. Questo a me par certo ed indiscutibile, che più genti si sieno incontrate e mescolate in Italia più che in ogni altro paese di Europa cosi ne'tempi preistorici come dopo la caduta dell'impero romano, donde poi la mirabile varietà non solo del genio ma DEL TIPO ITALIANO, e dell'uno perchè dell'altro. Quella che ne' tempi preistorici fu nella Italia nostra differenza tipica tra’ crani brachicefali e i dolicocefali, differenza rimasta alquanto notevole tra il tipo dell’Italia superiore e quello della inferiore, ne’ tempi storici divenne differenza di genio, di scuole, di sistemi, di governi, di dialetti, di tendenze, onde l'Italia è, per eccellenza, il paese più vario di Europa e più aborrente da qualunque forma e successione di governi accentratori. E questo fondamento naturale del nostro pensiero e della nostra storia vuol essere considerato non solo secondo la varietà delle genti che qui s'incontrarono, si urtarono, s'incrociarono e si fusero, ma secondo la non meno lieve varietà del suolo, del clima, delle acque e de'prodotti. Senza boria nazionale si può affermare che la nostra unità è la più ricca, perchè risulta della più disparata e molteplice varietà. Però, come a traverso i tanti dialetti suona armoniosa e pieghevole ad ogni sentimento la nostra lingua, come a traverso le tante scuole artistiche e regionali si scorge a prima vista la precisione e la contemperanza greco-latina della linea italiana, così a traverso  1, Pe mani TE can   lo sperimentalismo dell'Italia superiore e l'idealismo dell'Italia meridionale si vede la qualità dello ingegno italiano, che, con temperando la sintesi con l'analisi e il sentimento coll'esame, non disquilibra le funzioni della psiche, le quali, storicamente, si vanno a tradurre sempre nella politica del festina lente. Questa unità ricca, questa unità multiforme costituisce per eccellenza armonico il genio italiano. E quesť armonia lo fa artista in ogni cosa. E infelicemente riusciamo in quelle cose, nelle quali non portiamo dell'arte, non portiamo cioè del nostro genio. Allora per parere tedeschi o inglesi ci facciamo semplicemente bastardi. Fu detto che il mondo romano così poco artista, cosi strettamente giuridico e praticamente prosaico, fu non pertanto grandissimo e maestro inimitabile di grandezza. Ed ora accostiamoci ad osservare se il mondo romano disdica il carattere del genio italiano. Quando oggi i giuristi e gli storici più pensanti vogliono trovare un fondamento razionale alle istituzioni ed ai fatti di un popolo, prima salgono al genio ed al carattere del popolo stesso, in ultimo alle necessità naturali determinate, cioè al naturale ambiente, in cui sorge e si svolge la vita di quel dato popolo. Questo processo implica un sistema presupposto appunto il naturalismo. Donde i fatti e le istituzioni di un popolo? Dal genio e dal carattere: vuol dire, in fondo, dalpensiero. Donde il genio e il carattere? Dall'ambiente naturale, di cui primo prodotto è il tipo. E proprio così move il naturalismo. La natura si svolge e riflette nel pensiero. Il pensiero si svolge e riflette nella storia. La differenza, nella esposizione, è questa. Il filosofo move dalla natura e guarda alla storia; lo storiografo move dal fatto storico e ascende al fatto naturale. Non si è potuto fare altrimenti, quando si è voluto investi gare la causa dei fatti di Roma nel genio romano, e di questo genio nell'ambiente naturale di Roma. Anche quando, spostati i fatti, si riesce a spostare il genio di un popolo, si è costretti a spostare in ultimo il fondamento naturale. È un errore di fatti, che attesta la verità e la necessità del metodo.Cosi Mommsen, quando vuol dimostrare che il rapido crescere di Roma in ricchezza e potenza è dovuto al genio commerciale de’ romani, ricorre come ad ultima causa, a questo fondamento naturale. Roma è posta sopra un fiume grande, navigabile e non lontano dal mare. Sbagliata laprima causa – il genio romano sbaglia la seconda il fondamento naturale, quello che Dante chiama È costretto, dopo, a sforzare alcuni fatti ed alcuni testi, per sottometterli alla causa prestabilita. Ma più tardi egli corregge sè stesso, non rispetto al processo che è vero, si bene rispetto alla più sincera determinazione de'fatti e delle cause. Egli si accorge che in Roma manca il primo fatto, una classe di commercianti. Poi, che non poteva essere stato di commercianti il genio di Roma. In ultimo, che il Tevere, tenuto conto della sponda etrusca, non poteva avere una grande posizione commerciale. Quando il processo dello storico non va sino al fondamento naturale, simula le sembianze storiche, ma rimane metafisico. Si dice, per esempio, per ispiegare alcuni fatti ed istituzioni, che tale è il genio, tale il grado di coscienza o di pensiero in questo o quel popolo.Va bene, ma la storia cosi è fatta a mezzo, è fatta con la sola psiche, con lo spirito astratto, che, evulso dal fondamente naturale, diventa un fenomeno miracoloso. proprio questo il difetto della cosi detta scuola storica. Savigny, se voleva fare storia intera, non dovea dire soltanto che un tale o tal altro dritto è prodotto dalla naturale coscienza giuridica del popolo; ma dove dimostrare il fondamento naturale di questa naturale coscienza giuridica. Così non facendo, l'evoluzione rimane astratta, e le parole coscienza, genio, in  - Il fondamento che natura pone. È   dole, carattere diventano altrettante astrazioni, e,a dispetto del l'espressione naturale coscienza, la dottrina rimane puramente metafisica. Anche Hegel – il metafisico per antonomasia nire militare il genio di Roma, senti la necessità di salire sino ad un quasi dato etnografico,e di stimare, secondo le tradizioni, la prima società romana come una compagnia di ladri. E sopra questo dato giustifica la colluvies e poi la repentina nobilitas ex virtute di Livio; e la virtus dalla bravura, non pure personale, ma collettiva, quella appunto che giustifica le violenze; e dalla violenza la manus, la quale si manifesta dal matrimonio, in manum conventio, sino alla patria potestas, rispetto alla quale la schiava condizione del figlio era significata dal mancipium. Quindi, la durezza della famiglia, dello Stato, delle leggi inRoma; quindi, il cittadino romano da una parte schiavo, dall'altra despota, perchè della durezza che soffriva nello stato se ne ripa gaya nella famiglia. E tutta questa durezza compendiata in un assioma politico di Machiavelli, qui ripetuto da Hegel, cioè che uno stato formato da sè e adagiato sulla forza conviene che sia sostenuto con la forza Il corollario poi affatto hegeliano - è che tutto ciò che derivò da tale origine e da tale stato, non fu un convenio etico e liberale, ma una posizione forzata di subordinazione. Un carattere romano proprio cosi fatto non ispiegherebbe, io penso, l'origine, il valore e la diffusione invidiata non raggiunta del dritto romano nello spazio e nel tempo. Hegel, tenendo conto del dato naturale, non solo lo limita al puro elemento etnografico, ma impiccolisce anche questo, e non mostra tener conto del dato geografico, che è più obbiettivo del primo, e sforza il popolo romano a farsi non solo militare, ma agricolo. Questa indole agricolo-militare, questa appunto, fa la reli gione romana cotanto diversa dalla greca, e cosi spiacevole ad Hegel che la chiama la religione prosastica della limitazione,  - per defi   della corrispondenza allo scopo, la religione dell'utile. Ed ecco, troviamo, la seconda volta, negato il genio artistico a Roma. La prima, perchè è il popolo del diritto. La seconda perchè è il popolo dell'utile, a cui gli Dei giovano come i servi o come gli strumenti del campo. Hegel trova che i romani adorano la dea pace (pax, vacuna) e la sua contraria angeronia; la salute e la peste; trova che in Roma Giunone non è bianchi-braccia, ma ossipagina, e che Giove è *capitolino* piuttosto che olimpico. Chiama prosaiche queste divinità, ma nè cerca le divinità campestri, nè se le spiega, passando dal campo arato allo stato. Nell'arte - continua Hegel specialmente in Virgilio, creduto il poeta religioso per eccellenza, la religione è d'imitazione, la quale porta le divinità ex machina, non con la fantasia e col cuore. I giuochi stessi rimangono qualcosa di esterno, in quanto il romano è spettatore, non attore, e non ha poeta che di proposito li celebri: giuochi duri e prosaici come la famiglia, lo stato, la religione, le leggi. La somma del discorso è E dietro questa somma del discorso si scorgono le conseguenze, alle quali il filosofo tedesco vuol pervenire: 1° noi dobbiamo l'origine ed il progresso del diritto positivo all'intelletto non libero, privo di spirito e di sentimento, proprio del mondo romano; 2o che, se i romani giunsero a distinguere il diritto dalla morale, ed a liberarlo dalla variabilità del sentimento, concre  co’ romani si ebbe la prosa della vita, prosa, in ultimo, riflessa sopra Roma proprio dal carattere italico. Che è l'arte etru egli può conchiudere che sca? Noi troviamo nell'arte etrusca la massima prosa dello spirito, quanto più perfetta nella tecnica tanto più priva del l'idealità greca: è la stessa prosa che vediamo nello svolgimento del diritto romano e della religione romana. Que sto giudizio circa l'arte italica sarà più tardi esagerato dal Mommsen.   tandolo in alcun che di esterno e di obbiettivo, non arrivarono a conciliarlo con la libertà e con l'intimo dell'uomo; 3o che però non può essere il dato supremo della sapienza. Ben'altra parola avrà a dirsi sul diritto, quando si tratterà di connetterlo con la libertà. Certo, un altro mondo la dirå. E già s'intravvede che questa gloria il filosofo tedesco vuole serbarla al mondo germanico che succede al romano. Solo due cose si vedono: che Hegel lavora sopra un dato naturale incompiuto, e che la parte naturale soppressa è sosti tuita con rapidità magica dalla costruzione metafisica. Noi osiamo affermare che, se il dato naturale fosse compiuto cosi dal lato etnografico come dal geografico, il genio ed il carattere di Roma si mostrerebbero sotto altra forma. E si par rebbe che nè assolutamente prosaico e tutto pago della esteriorità è il genio italico, nè Roma – la severa Roma – con la rigidezza della formula giuridica riesce a rinnegare il genio co  [ Egli è davvero cosi? mune.  Allora, come oggi, la metafisica mi pareva vuota, l'avevo definito udenologia, ed il naturalismo mi si presentava come il successore storico d'ogni metafisica; m a nel farne applicazione, si volava ancora, ed al volo bastavano poche penne in spazio illimitato, senz'aria e senza tempo. Oggi non si vola, ma si misura il cammino, e si ha ragione di dire ai giovani che non facciano sostituzioni estetiche alla storia, le quali poco servono alla scienza. Espongo, adunque,ciò che intorno al carattere di Roma pubblicai molti anni addietro, e noto senza indulgenza i miei errori di allora, perché molti li ripetono e non trovano più scusa.  C'è un altro modo, più metafisico di quello usato da Hegel, di costruire il carattere romano, ed è di derivarlo non da un mezzo dato naturale, abbandonando l'altro mezzo a discrezione della metafisica, come vedesi aver fatto il filosofo tedesco, ma di costruirlo sopra alcuni documenti classici che si prestano alle più contrarie interpretazioni ed a tutt'i giuochi dell'estetica applicata e della critica letteraria. Non sarà inutile poiché questo modo, per essere il più comodo, è il più frequente presentarne un saggio, valevolecome criticasopra me medesimo, che, nella giovinezza, credei sostituire gli esercizii di estetica alla storia, ed al naturalismo la subbiettiva critica letteraria. 61 Utopista scrivevo allora- non è chi sogna, ma chi pensa,  e tanto più profonda è l'utopia quanto più il pensiero coglie la relatività dei tempi. Greca è, dunque, l'origine della utopia e utopista tipico fu Socrate che osa primo al costume civico con trapporre alcun che d'individuale: Io Socrate sono nato a liberamente filosafare, e, se cento volte per questo io fossi morto e rinascessi, tornerei a filosofare. Non pena dunque mi è do vuta, ma il Pritaneo. Questo tentativo di ribellione dell'individuo, contro il cittadino, dell'individuo che osa pigliarsi un mandato individuale che non solo valga il mandato civile, ma ardisca riformare il costume, questo è punito, e, in quella natura di tempi, era veramente crimine di Stato. Socrate, anch'esso, come atterrito dal colpo ch'ei tenta, sente che al cittadino è dovuta l'espiazione individuale, e rifiuta ausilio, e si apparecchia alla immolazione di sè non pure perchè sente compiuta la sua missione e non gli piace vivere super stite a sè medesimo, ma perché vuolegrecamente spirare: Dum patriae legibus obsequimur. Che è quell'ultimo pensiero del gallo, che, rimosso il lenzuolo dal viso, ei vuole sacrificato ad Esculapio? Vuol finire sul letto del carcere come fosse ad Anfipoli o a Potidea, e vuol morire con religione e costume attico, come a punizione di alto trascorso individuale. L'individuo fu Socrate filosofo; il moribondo è l'ateniese rassegnato: m a il più grande è questo, che proprio questo ateniese punisce quell'individuo e non glidà scampo. Pericle non potè salvare Anassagora; Socrate non vuole salvare se stesso. Come,secondo il mito,la Sfinge, negata di fuori, rinasce dentro Edipo, cosi, secondo la storia, lo Stato attico, offeso di fuori, si riafferma dentro di Socrate. O l'esilio di Colono o la cicuta, è sempre l'immolazione dell'individuo alla comunanza rappresentata dallo Stato. Quando gli Dei patri i per cossi dalla riflessione socratica su pinarono nell'Olimpo muto, Epicuro, sorridendo, gitta sopra di loro un gran panno funereo e si rallegra coll'uomo liberato dai divini terrori. Diffugiunt animi terrores. Però quel panno che Epicuro gitta sull'Olimpo, copre tutta la Grecia; giacchè quel panno che soffoca la lotta semi-divina, era indizio della missione greca già finita. Perciò Epicuro lascia i giardini greci, le dolcezze e i profumi arcadici, e se ne viene nel foro romano, e siede e sentenzia e giudica e genera di sè due uomini diversissimi, Orazio e Lucrezio, e da Orazio poi il tipo di Munazio Planco e da Lucrezio quello di Papiniano. Sono troppe cose che io dico insieme, delle quali molte non dette, ma provabili con la forma del discorso e col testimonio dei fatti. Cicerone, vedendo Epicuro alle porte di Roma, si arma di poma soriane, inserte in forma di fulmini, e cerca saettarlo con furore iperbolico, proprio nel modo onde il papato fulmina da Roma la rinascenza. Ma, come la rinascenza, mal grado i fulmini papali, siaccasava in Roma, invadeva il Vaticano, e faceva poetare e sermoneggiare i papi con civetteria anacreontica, cosi Epicuro spunta tra due dita i fulmini di Cicerone, come avea già spuntato quelli del Giove greco, e, toccata appena la spalla dell'oratore romano, se lo fa suo. Ma, appena entrato in Roma, Epicuro prende la natura del Giano latino, si fa bifronte, ed una sua faccia è quella di Orazio, l'altra di Lucrezio.Non èmiracolo, è il sistemaepicureo che, sotto la dialettica, manifesta queste due fronti. L'una viene a dire cosi: La vita è breve; di là non si continua; dunque, godiamola di presente. La morte cicolga, quando possiamo gittarle in faccia la scorza del pomo soave, tutto premuto. L'altra, cosi: La vita è breve; di là non si continua; osiamo, dunque, eternarla con un'opera degna della immortalità della fama. Per chè tentare la gioia stolta, se nel punto di asseguirla la morte può spegnermi? Ecco le due fronti di Epicuro. L'una di Orazio: Vitae summa brevis nos vetat spem inchoare longam. Di là non c'è vita: Non regna vini sortiere talis. La conseguenza che ei porge all'anima tua,è sempre una. Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero. Illazione esprimibile con un grugnito del porco epicureo. L'altra è di Lucrezio. Omnia migrant, omnia commutat natura et vertere cogit. Dalla quale migrazione eterna dell'essere deriva il summum crede nefas. Importa sol consegnare integra la lampada della vita alle generazioni sopravvenienti: Vitae lampada tradere. Da Orazio nasce Munazio Planco, prima Cesariano, poi Pompejano, poi repubblicano, poi di Antonio e di Cleopatra, poi cortigiano di Augusto e sprezzato da tutti: tipo del galantuomo di Guicciardini; e fini nella sua villa di Tivoli come Guicciardini, nella solitudine di Arcetri. Da Lucrezio nasce il tipo del giureconsulto, Papiniano, che intese il diritto come bonum aequum, e non volle in senato di fendere un imperatore fratricida, e piuttosto che l'onore volle lasciare la vita. Morendo, come aveva sentenziato, provvide alla immortalità della fama, et lampada juris tradidit. Da Epicuro il mondo romano prende il senso della positività, ed è però mondo di prosa, non di arte, con missione giuridica, con lingua giuridica, con monumenti, storia, tradizioni giuridiche. La Grecia ci ha tramandato due insuperabili documenti, la tragedia epica e la tragedia filosofica, l'Iliade e il Fedone; Roma il Corpusjuris, con due potenti sommarii, l'epigrafe e il responso. Quanto all'epigrafe, specie suggestiva di letteratura, come direbbesi in Francia, nessun altro popolo nė lingua ha ilquarto della maestà e rapidità dell'epigrafe latina, nata rebus agendis: onde nazioni nordiche e neolatine e transatlantiche pigliano ancora, e avverrà per lungo tempo, da Roma antica l'epigrafe!e il responso. E la più bella dell'epigrafi ha contenuto epicureo e giuridico: Et creditis esse Deos?  Cosi abbiamo della medesima scuola il porcus de grege Epicuri, e de acie Epicuri miles. Nè questo doppio tipo fu smarrito nel periodo del risorgimento, quando dopo la scolastica platonica e aristotelica si riaffaccið l'epicureismo: dall’una parte si ebbe il Pontano, cantore della voluttà, dall'altra il Cavalcante, cercatore austero, tra’sepolcri, dell'immortalità della fama.  La tomba, data umile a Catone, negata a Pompeo, ė superbamente elevata ad un mimo! Se gli Dei sono ingiusti, gli Dei non sono. E le epigrafi più solenni nascondono certa finezza d'ironia epicurea nel senso giuridico. L'epigrafe latina è solenne, perché è breve come il responso. Questa rapidità di percezione è dalla lingua istessa giuridica per eccellenza, imperativa e, se mi è lecito a dire, dittatoria: onde l'epigrafe è quasi sempre responsiva, cioè di senso giuridico, e il responso è sempre epigrafico. Ed in Roma fu possibile il tipo del giureconsulto, dell'uomo cioè che ha intera la percezione del dritto, rapidamente e pro priamente la significa e sa comandarla a sè stesso prima che agli altri. È tipo raro, tutto assorbito dalla meditazione etica, che traduce nella parola e nel fatto. Roma ne ebbe pochissimi che dopo quella Roma furono comentati, non risatti; e, quando oggi odo chiamare giureconsulti alcuni legisti che tirano a mestiere il codice, dico che o le parole non s'intendono o sono stravolte dall'adulazione. Quando la lingua latina canta di amore, a me pare- libero da preoccupazioni di scuola udire il Ciclope favellare a Galatea. I romani potean prendere le Sabine meglio con le braccia che col canto: manu, haud carminibuscaptae. Non ène'carmi la missione di Roma: dica rapidamente il diritto, dica il fatto; il responso e l'epigrafe, questo è il gran contenuto della letteratura latina, questo è suo proprio, è originale, è collatino, oso dire: il rimanente vien di fuori e porta il mantello peregrino. Ed ha tre uomini massimi, Lucrezio, Papiniano e Tacito. Lucrezio non ha cantato un poema, nè si dà al mondo poema didascalico, ma ha dato l'esposizione epicurea della natura, la cui Venus non viene da Milo, ma dal Foro, e può somigliare ad Astrea. Papiniano ha dato il più alto responso, nel quale è la) Quid quid praecipiens, esto brevis, ut cito dicta Percipiant animi. 5 UNIVERSITÀ DI Qurais ROMA CCHIO Lucrezio, Papiniano e Tacito sono tre che si somigliano nella forma di concepire e nella rapidità scolpita dell'espressione. Tacito, che segna la decadenza e lavora come il Sisifo di Lucrezio, qui semper victus tristisque recedit, spesso ti accusa la maniera e quando è breve, quando è corto; m a è l'ultimo dei grandi romani. Chi cerca la grandezza del pensiero latino fuori di questi, e vuol trovarlo o nella lirica di Orazio, ambigua, quanto alla forma, tra Pindaro ed Anacreonte, e ambigua nella sostanza tra lo stoico e l'epicureo, o trovarlo nell'epica incerta tra Virgilio e Livio, cioè tra le reminiscenze omeriche e le favole tra dizionali, è come chi, cercando l'anima del trecento, invece di volgersi a Dante e a Boccaccio, la spia negli occhi estatici di Caterina da Siena o nel cipiglio di Passavanti. In questo teatro giuridico, che è il mondo latino, il contenuto della lotta si trasforma e di semi-divino diviene pienamente umano. Qui non han luogo cause per divinità. Qui Lucrezio può vuotare il Pantheon che accoglie indifferentemente tutti gl’Iddii per vederli indifferentemente sfatare dal sistematore della Natura. Lucrezio morrà non per accusa di Melito, di Anito, di Licone; norrà, se gli piace, di sua mano, se il destino del l'uomo gli parrà troppo somigliante a quello di Sisifo. Allora la sintesi della missione latina, e lo ha suggellato, come dovea, con la morte. L'olocausto di Socrate ci mandò la tragedia filosofica che è greca; l'olocausto di Papiniano ci tramanda la tragedia giuridica che è latina. Perchè dopo il Nerone e la Messalina non tentare anche questa che è più romana? La storia di Ta cito suona sulle rovine imminenti dello Stato latino come la ser ventese dell'ultimo degli albigesi. Tacito è fosco come la sera nebbiosa di una splendida giornata; è riflessivo come chi rasenta le rovine; è triste come chi cerca una virtù che ei sa di non trovare. Perciò ei ritrae Tiberio assai meglio che Tiziano non ritragga Filippo II,ma,dove pinge la virtù,non è pittoremolto ispirato. È grande col pennello onde lo Spinelli ritraeva Satana; m a, se gli dai la tavolozza di Raffaello, ei te l'annacqua. Venus genctrix gli si muterà in Venere Libitina, ed egli userà della vita secondo quello che gli parrà suo diritto. Io non credo all'aconito; credo suicida Lucrezio, e questo suicidio proprio di forma Romana, come quello di Catone, cioè per jus necis etiam in sc. Questa lotta umana,iniziata,non compiuta in Roma,questa che è tutta e sempre lotta civile dal ritiro della plebe sull’Aven tino sino ad Augusto, qui omnium munia in se trahere coepit; questa epopea lutta latina, più in Livio che in Virgilio, ha due periodi principali: l'uno'tra plebe e patriziato per una cerla equa partizione di cose e di ufficii, e generò il tribuno, ignoto alla Grecia; l'altro tra l'individuo e la comunanza per una certa equa emancipazione dell'individuo, e generò Spartaco, ignoto alla Grecia. La plebe fu vendicata da Mario,e più da Cesare,che se op presse il tribuno,era segno che non v'era più patriziato sovrano ed operoso.Spartaco,sopraffatto da Crasso e da Pompeo e morto nella pienezza della sua protesta, trovò poco dopo più grande vendicatore, Cristo. Ciò significa: Il mondo greco, cominciato religiosamente, fi nisce nellairreligionediEpicuro;ilmondo romano,pienodella dotta irreligione di Epicuro, finisce nel mistero cristiano. La catastrofe religiosa in Grecia è spiegabile con la natura del pensiero, che comincia col rifermare le religioni e finisce col dissolverle; la catastrofe della irreligione in R o m a è spie gabile con la natura del pensiero istesso, che, se è dommatico, finisce col divorare se stesso. Chiariremo questo vero, quando saremo innanzi al cristianesimo. Questo vien chiaro di presente,che il contenuto giuridico in Roma non pud porgersi come jus civile abstractum, ma come primo sentimento di equità, onde si genera il Pretore, istitu zione profondamente etica, ignota anche questa alla Grecia, e urbano e peregrino, e il cui fine è sempre l'aequitas, affinchè il summum jus non si faccia summa injuria o summa malitia.    Quindi, il placito del giureconsulto nella costituzione delle leggi: In rebus novis constituendis eviders esse debet utilitas, ne a n i mus recedat ab eo jure, quod diu AEQUUM visum est (Fideicom. L. IV). Chiaro è che l'equità costituisca la misura del diritto; che questa equità lungamente saggiata, traducendosi in diritto, genera l'utile sincero; e che questo utile debba essere evidente ai popoli nella costituzione delle leggi. Quindi l'iniquum erat injuria. Quindi l'acquilas appo i latini non è il concetto volgare che ci viene da Ugone Grozio: è l'assoluta, continua, ascendente correzione del diritto civile, cioè del diritto greco; e però cosi coloro che veggono pura medesimezza del diritto greco e ro m a n o, quanto quegli altri che continuano a favoleggiare intorno alla origine greca delle dodici tavole,mostrano ignorare la diffe renza delle due storie, dei due popoli, delle due lotte, delle due civiltà. E il testo canta chiaro: Jus praetorium adiuvandi, vel supplendi, vel CORRIGENDI iuris civilis gratia est introductum, propter utilitatem publicam... Che è quel ius civile bisognoso di correzione? È quello appunto che in R o m a comincia a p a rere s u m m a injuria, la cui correzione costituisce l'istituto p r e torio,cheètutto romano,ilcuiprogramma siassomma nella sentenza: Placuit in omnibus rebus praecipuam esse iustitiae ac AEQUITATIS q u a m STRICTI juris rationem. Quello stretto diritto è greco, è puramente civile, è quiritario, è aristocratico, e tra smoda nell'ingiuria, o per violenza o per malizia, aut vi, aut fraude. Quell’aequitas è la correzione pretoria, è la grandezza dello spirito latino, che tutto si manifesta e dimora nella giu stizia pretoria e urbana e peregrina. E quell'aequitas deriva dallalottaumana, cosidellaplebecontroil patriziatocome del servo contro il padrone. Il jus civile è il risultamento della lotta semi-divina, l'aequitas è il prodotto della lotta civile: quella è greca, questaèlatina: quellahailsuofastigiostoricoda So crate ad Epicuro, questa dalle dodici tavole a Spartaco: quella è lotta filosofica, questa è giuridica: i canoni di Epicuro sono l'orazione funebre all'Olimpo e però alla Grecia, la protesta di Spartaco è il vale al superbo civis romanus.Insomma la gloria storicadiRoma nonèildittatore,néilconsole,nèilsenato, nè il magister equitum e l'imperatore e nemmeno il tribuno, è il Prelore: il suo editto è la sintesi dei responsi; lo spirito dei responsi è l'equità; l'equità è il prodotto della lotta umana; questa lotta è il contenuto della civiltà latina. Hegel che vede si addentro la cagione della rovina della repubblica romana e con Tacito giudica vana l’uccisione di Cesare, non vede con pari intensità in quella repubblica l'istituto pretorio e, sfuggi togli, tien conto solo della ratio strirti juris. Tutto il diritto r o mano gli si stringe nel summum jus. Non vide che la lotta umana era ed è l'equilà. Con questo spirito di equità torna agevole a Tacito descri vere il tiranno, scolpirlo. Volere parendo di rifiutare, c o m a n dare parendo di obbedire,far tuito parendo di non fure, questo è il tipo del tiranno, questo è il Tiberio di Tacito, rispetto al quale gli altri tiranni venuti di poi sono volgari, ubriachi,troppo scoperti e però troppo esposti al essere tiranneggiati. Tipico é questo Tiberio in Tacito, come Ettore in Omero, come Ugolino in Dante, come Otello in Sakespeare, e non patiscono ritocca menti di nessuna mano: chi si attenta a rifarli, solto qualunque altra forma,disfà. In Grecia fu possibile il sentimento del ti ranno, in Roma il ritratto tipico,perchè in Roma è delineato il concetto dell'equità. Tiberio non può esser veduto se non dielro il seggio del Pretore. Nè Riccardo III, nè Arrigo VIII, nè Fi lippo II, nè Alessandro VI o Paolo IV ritrassero Tiberio: vollero troppo, si chiarirono troppo, furono troppo tiranneggiati: ma il tipo, spento individualmente, risorse collettivamente nella C o m pagnia di Gesù, che per 333 anni dilargò l'oligarchia nera sulla terra, parendo di non volere, di non comandare, di non fare. Ma e il gesuitismo tiberiano e il cesarismo gesuitico non pos sono essere tanto chiusi,che ilpensiero e la natura non v'entrino. Fu però equità piena,sincera, spiegata questa di Roma,si    che la si trovi tulta adempita nella ragione pretoria? La lotta umana di Roma diede per risultamento il diritto umano? In somma il dirittoromano sicontinua a studiare,a chiosare, ogni giorno in ogni paese civile, perchè effettualmente è l'ultima parola del diritto? L'acquilas in omnibus spectanda, quando non voglia essere un nome,ma cosa, non un concetto,ma un sistema, non in somma un'esigenza,ma un adempimento, bisogna che simani festi come connessione ed equazione dei contrarii, cioè del ge nere con l'individuo, del cittadino con la persona, affinchè ne risulti l'interezza dell'uomo.Ora, questa equazione torna possi bile,quando l'individuo si sia affermato e contrapposto al citta dino e abbia avuto nella storia tanto valore e tanta evoluzione quanti il cittadino se ne prese. Senza quest'azione e reazione, o, come altri dicono, senza questa tesi e antitesi nessun'ar monia finale e completiva, nessuna sintesi piena e durevole, nessun equilibrio, nessuna equazione insomma è effettualmente possibile: e, se l'equità non è questa equazione, è ancora un presentimento Se ne deduce che Roma non poteva ancora sistemare la vera equità giuridica, perchè l'individuo non aveva dato tutti gl'istituti che dovevano nascere di se, dalla sua antitesi o c o n trapposizione al cittadino. Dove s'era fatta la storia dell'indi viduo, l'autobiografia, perchè ilPretore potesse consapevale con temperare i contrarii, connetterli, equilibrarli? Vedesi, dunque, che questa equità è l'avvenire dellastoria,non ilpassato;spetta alla giornata travagliosa dei posteri, non alla lotta civile di Roma.Or, dunque,è stata spuma d'acqua sonante l'equità ro mana? Troppo sarebbe stato il rumore ! La cosa sta in questi termini: L'equità scientificamente in tesa spetta all'avvenire, che sarà la sintesi del cittadino con l'individuo per costruire tutto l'uomo: l'equità latinamente intesa fu il transilo dal cittadino all individuo per costruire l'individuo. Il transito non è la sintesi, è il semplice avviamento dall'uno all'altro dei contrarii, a traverso i quali si vien costruendo l'uomo chiamato sintesi dell'universo e non divenuto ancora sintesi di sé medesimo ! Fu larva dunque di equità: e nondimeno anche come larva quel diritto è rimasto solenne, tipico nella storia, concetto più che presentimento di quello che il diritto è destinato ad essere. Dunque,nellastoriailmondo romano èl'esodo,ilpassaggio dal cittadino greco all'individuo germanico. E in questo transito dall'uno all'altro dei contrarii consiste, chi consideri, l'universalità dell'impero latino. Il quale perde la sua ragione di durare, quando Cristo annunzia l'emancipa zione individuale. Cosi me ladiscorrevo intorno al contenuto storico ed al carattere di Roma. Alcune delle cose dette, oggi, non ripeterei; m a ne accetto anche oggi moltissime, principalmente due: che la lotta inRoma èumana e senza neppur l'ombra del carattere religioso; e che risulta mento precipuo della lotta umana è l'istituto pretorio. Bastano queste due affermazioni per determinare tutto il ca rattere della prima Roma, e dal caratlere la sua missione, la gloria, l'universalità, la decadenza. A queste due affermazioni manca la giustificanza storica il metodo. Perché in Roma la lotta è del tutto umana? A questa interrogazione, quando non si voglia dare una ri sposta astratta, come la darebbe la scuola di Hugo e di Savi gny,cioè tal era la coscienza o ilgenio di Roma,ci sono due modi di rispondere, l'uno metafisico, l'altro naturale. Il primo risponde: Alla lotta semidivina dovevo succedere la lotta umana: la prima, compiuta in Grecia, non si poteva ripetere in Roma. Le due lotte sono due momenti del pensiero; e però Epicuro passa dalla Grecia a R o m a. Il secondo dice che questo lavorio del pensiero, affatto in d i sparte dal fondamento naturale, spiega la storia più che non [Quindi l'evidenza di lumeggiare la storia col naturalismo che le traccia il metodo. Ora, il naturalismo storico attraversa tre periodi notevoli: prima è teleologico, poi empirico, finalmente è scientifico È teleologico, quando presuppone i fini, e i fini diventano cause, e la natura è in gran faccenda a lavorare i mezzi per questi fini. In questo primo periodo il naturalismo non si è li berato ancora dalla metafisica, e, se non è essenzialmente antro pomorfico, è tale abitualmente. Questo periodo è rappresentato da Herder, il quale è vero che presume cercare la storia degli uomini nella storia del cielo, della terra e delle relazioni tra cielo e terra; m a, presupponendo ancora i fini nella storia dell'uomo e della natura, viene abitual mente a credere divino quel che dev'essere tutto e semplice mente naturale, e – ciò ch'è ancora più teologico -- ad esclu dere i popoli fieri e sanguinarii dalla possibilità di adempiere nella storia un qualche fine provvidenziale. Che cosa sarà per Heder il cristianesimo? — Il regno della giustizia e della verità ! Ecco la civiltà tedesca in forma di fine provvidenziale, che non poteva essere adempiuto dal popolo romano, perché aveva animo tirannico e mani insanguinate.] il genio o il carattere astratlo, m a in ultimo riesce astratto ed enigmatico anch'esso, perché il pensiero presuppone qualco saltro, da cui non si può divellere. È vero che altro è il genio greco, altro il romano; è vero che la lotta fatta in Grecia non si può rifare a Roma;è vero pure che Epicuro,passando dalla Grecia a Roma,accenna alla lotta umana che succede alla lotta religiosa: ma non si vede ancora perchè il pensiero si sia cosi determinato, e piuttosto in Italia che in Germania, e dell'Italia piuttosto in Roma che nell'Etruria o in altra regione. Sono, per conseguenza, da tenere in gran conto i momenti del pensiero che nè in sè nè nella storiasi ripete mai; ma re stano momenti vuoti, astratti ed inesplicati senza tenere in pri missimo conto il dato naturale.] il genio giuridico di Roma? e l'universalità del dominio romano? e la successione storica della civiltà romana alla greca? e l'am biente naturale di R o m a, rispetto alla terra ed all'aria? Tutto ciò sparisce, e restano un fine provvidenziale il cristianesimo, e l'odio tedesco contro R o m a, compagnia di ladri e nel principio e nel mezzo,cosi pel genio naturalista di Herder come per il genio metafisico di Hegel. Egli è perchè quella natura non è libera ancora da quella metafisica. È empirico il naturalismo, quando contende ogni investiga zione intorno agli ultimi fini e alla prima causa, e que'fini e quella causa respinge da se come contenuto della metafisica e campo Questo periodo è rappresentato da Comte, il quale respinge l'assoluto con troppo assolute negazioni,come Stuart Mill negava il sistema, sistemando; e però l'uno si dà a cercare l'invaria bile attraverso i fenomeni naturali, e l'altro il permanente attra verso i bisogni umani. Vanno cercando quell'assoluto che hanno assolutamente negato. Avviene, in questa scuola de'puri senomeni,che le catastrofi sono sostituite all'evoluzione; che il passato sarebbe assoluta mente morto, non trasformato; e che, come nell'ordine della successione filosofica il positivismo annunzia la morte di tutto il contenuto metafisico, cosi nell'ordine della successione politica ilperiodo industriale,p.e.,supporrebbeaffattospento ilperiodo legale, come questo supporrebbe spento del tutto il periodo m i litare.Da che sarebbe indicata la cessazione del periodo mili tare? Dalla caduta di Roma.Ed ecco che questaRoma,o forza di ladri o di soldati, non sarebbe stato altro che forza ! E ne il naturalismo teleologico nė l'empirico arrivano a vedere che in quella R o m a universale la forza fu universale quanto il diritto.  - come reazione mutila il contenuto scientifico, e non si accorge che quanto sot trae alla scienza tanto consegna alla religione. sino dal nome metafisica, dell'inconoscibile. In questo secondo periodo il natura lismo,aborrendo Finalmente il naturalismo storico esce dallo stato teleologico, dallo stato empirico, e diviene scientifico sotto queste determi nate condizioni: 1a sottraendo la statica e la dinamica so ciale all'indeterminato delle analogie e sottomettend le al cal colo determinato, nel quale sparisce l'uomo individuo e sorge l'uomo medio; 2a sottraendo il calcolo ai ritmi misteriosi o ca balistici e riducendolo alla legge di proporzione tra causa ed ef fetto; 3a sottraendo le cause allo indeterminato del numero e riducendole ad una causa sola, e facendo convergere tutti gli effetti verso un fine proporzionato alla causa medesima. Allora si viene a veder chiaro che la statica e la dinamica sociale fanno una fisica sociale che deriva dalla psico -fisica; che il pensiero si traduce nella storia con la medesima proporzione, onde procede dalla natura; che il calcolo, al quale sottostanno le scienze naturali, entra a dominare il mondo della storia; e che in ultimo l'uomo individuo,il quale sparisce innanzi all'uomo medio, vuol dire l'arbitrio che sparisce innanzi alla libertà. Più sparisce l'arbitrio come causa, e più si chiarisce la libertà come fine. A tutto ciò, che è pur grande, il mondo moderno non può sottrarsi. Ha prodotto tre saggi,che sono saggi ancora, ma che aspettano con irremovibile certezza la sistemazione scientifica, e sono la Fisica sociale di Quetelet, la Storia dell'Incivilimento in Inghilterra di Buckle e i Periodi politiri di Ferrari. Anch'io nel Saggio Crilico del Dritto Penale e del Fondamento etico avevo cercato dimostrare in che ra gione si movono nel tempo storico le istituzioni avverse e per chè il tempo stesse rispetto alla successione del pensiero come lo spazio rispetto alla successione de'corpi; m a anche quel mio libro, come porta il titolo, rimane saggio, ed aspetta la sistema zione scientifica che si determina co' criterii sopra stabiliti, senza de'quali non è possibile un naturalismo scientifico. E con questo proposito io mi sento libero da qualunque ar bitrio individuale, da qualunque monomania di originalità so litaria ed astratta, perchè da una parte veggo di obbedire alla    ragion de'tempi e dall'altra al genio italiano. Questo genio, o che si manifesti nello sperimentalismo più cauto del Galileo o nel più libero idealismo di Bruno,ha sempre ultimo fondo delle cose la natura, fuori della quale nulla vede e nulla spiega. È però genio matematico per eccellenza, perchè ogni legge natu rale si stringe in numero. Fu, quindi, possibile nella scuola di Galileo un Vincenzo Viviani che faceva ciò che appena Leibnitz osava desiderare, sommettere cioè gli atti umani alla misura, l'etica alla matematica. Risalendo i tempi, incontravasi nella scuola di Metaponto; discendendo, preoccupava i periodi poli tici di Ferrari. Se è una sistemazione anche questa, perchè afferma l'evo luzione come processo dall'omogeneo all'eterogeneo, e non con sidera che l'evoluzione sarebbe impossibile senza la coesistenza dell'omogeneo con l'eterogeneo? Perchè non considera se quella che appare coesistenza immediatamente al senso,non si faccia mediatamente connessione? E, se cotesta connessione è recipro cità, perchè egli non mi lascia vedere le scienze esatte nelle naturali? Ne deriverebbe che, esclusa la possibilità di ogni ente metafisico, il suo positivismo farebbesi naturalismo. E tanto m e glio ! Tutte le perplessità finirebbero, e non si parlerebbe a n  Spencer pose gran cura a distinguere sė da Comte,ciò che oggi vuol dire positivismo inglese dal francese. Molte sono le differenze notate dallo Spencer, m a fan capo ad una: che Spencer cre le necessaria l'analisi psicologica, da Comte giudicata impossibile. E dietro quest'analisi Spencer perviene a quel s a pere unificalo, sotto il principio universale della evoluzione, che costituisce la sistemazione del positivismo. Innanzi all'universalità di queste leggi non vi sono per noi i riserbi, le oscillazioni dell'inconoscibile e del positivismo in glese; vi sono invece l'universalità e l'ardimento del naturalismo italiano, del quale cosi, senza taccia di orgoglio nazionale, ra gionavo nella mia conferenza a Torino: Che cosa manca?   Noi abbiamo affermato l'inconciliabilità tra l'infinità della natura e il vecchio caput mortuum della teologia.Non possiamo tornare indietro; e le perplessità del positivismo sono sdegnate dal naturalismo italiano. La parola stessa positivismo per noi è un equivoco: scientificamente ci suona semplice reazione alla metafisica, e moralmente dice negazione di ogni elevato ideale. La parola è sciupata. Il naturalismo dura quanto la natura, ed è proprio nelle nostre tradizioni, nel nostro indirizzo e nel n o stro genio. Non temo le conseguenze: la Verità e la Libertà sono, in fondo, una medesima natura. Dietro questi criterii, tenuto conto non di uno o due, m a dei precipui elementi naturali ch'entrano nella storia primitiva di Roma e che possono essere determinati come i faltori elemen tari dell'incivilimento romano, ne risulta che l'indole violenta ed il costume erratico de'primi congregati devono essere dal vasto campo costretti a farsi agricoli, e che il prodotto di questi due fattori, la violenza e l'agricoltura,doveva essere il genio m i litare di R o m a. E militari si annunziano il primo re, le prime istituzioni,iprimi fatti che aprono lastoria di Roma,come mi litare la postura della città istessi, ottima delle posizioni stratc giche in tutlo il Lazio. Or,dato un popolo agricolo e militare,un popolo,cioè, che [B. Il naturalismo. Torino, Roux e Favale] vora dell'assolutamente inconoscibile, campo tetro,in cui possono rientrare tutti i vecchi pregiudizi, tutt'i terrori infantili e tutte le senili speranze sfatate dal naturalismo italiano. Diritto, ardito, impavido è l'ingegno nostro: è Colombo che, se ha da guardare verso l'America, non riguarda la Spagna; è Galileo che, se s'in china, non nega il moto; è Bruno che, se ode la sentenza, non disdice l'infinità della natura; è Cardano che ha più timore di smentire il proprio oroscopo, che di morire. Cosi pensa e cosi vuole: italianamente volere è come il supremo fato storico.   stabilisca il mio e il tuo e con la forza faccia rispettare il li mite,quale sarà la risultante di queste attitudini,quale lamis sione o il destino di questo popolo? È già evidente: sarà u n popolo giuridico per eccellenza, il popolo del diritto. Cosi va: la violenza e l'agricoltura fanno un popolo militare; l'agricoltura e la milizia fanno un popolo giuridico. La violenza temperata dall'agricoltura diventa milizia, a c u stodia del proprio campo; la milizia raddolcita dall'agricoltura diventa forza di equità. Cosi si scoprono i primi naturali fattori del genio romano: non forza contro il diritto (barbarie); non diritto contro la forza (decadenza ); m a diritto e sorza (civiltà giuridica ). Non basta dire il m o n d o greco fu della scienza e dell'arte, ilmondolatinofudeldirittoedelgoverno,ma bisognasapere perchè fu cosi. Allora occorre vedere non solo la successione cronologica delle idee e delle civiltà, m a indagare i naturali fattori che dispongono una nazione,piuttosto che un'altra, ad una deterninata civiltà, e proprio quella e non altra nazione. E per convincersi che quello fu davvero il genio di Roma e quelli i fattori dello incivilimento romano,gli studiosi rivolgano a sè m e desimi alcune domande.Eccole ordinatamente: Qual e fu, in generale, l'indole de’ popoli italici, e quale tra le genti italiche la postura di Roina? Quali i rapporti tra gli agricoltori e quale il costume? 4. Perchè fu tenace il costume e lento in Roma l'accu mularsi della ricchezza? Perchè gl'idillii greci in Roma diventano georgiche, come le cosmogonie diventano poemi della natura, ed in qual conto R o m a ebbe gli scrittori de re rustica e le divinità campestri? 6." Qual'è la forina più latina del pensiero latino? È vero, in ultimo, che quel pensiero e quella forma. Che cosa più occorre, quando questi rapporti e questo costume si elevano a missione giuridica?   sostanza e modo di un mondo affatto prosaico alito di arte? - non hanno Se ciascuna di queste domande non avesse in sè molta im portanza, tutte insieme parrebbero da fanciullo per la loro di sparatezza, mentre, per la loro intima connessione, posson fare una sola domanda. E l'ordine delle risposte può far bastare una pagina, dove occorrerebbe un volume. Le genti italiche – per quell'armonia di facoltà, della quale abbiamo sopra toccato l'origine portano in ogni cosa che pensano e che fanno,non solo un senso finissimo di arte,m a g giore dove meno appare,ma quella che chiamano nota giusta ed è espressione di senso pratico, che, in fondo, è senso poli tico.E dico senso non per traslato nè per uso di linguaggio co mune,ma proprio nel sensopiùitalianamente scientifico, perchè intelletto e volontà sono evoluzioni del senso. Quindi sono popoli che hanno meglio equilibrati gli ordina menti politici, e più disciplinati gli ordinamenti giuridici e m i litari. Roma, e per i fattori del suo genio e perchè posta nel cuore della penisola,veniva naturalmente a concentrare tutto il genio italico e a dargli quella espansione che può raggiare da una città nel medesimo tempo giuridica e militare. Il genio di Roma, insomma, traperl'origine e per la postura è nelle con [Non sarà inutile ricordare ciò che scrissi nel citato discorso sul naturalism.  Il senso era umiliato e depresso da due presupposti: che lo avevamo comune con le bestie e coi zoofiti; e che la ragione p o teva far senza di esso, come l'anima senza del corpo. Presupposti, come è chiaro, della vecchia psicologia metafisica, esagerati dalla scolastica, raffi nati dall'idealismo più recente. Il senso che si osserva,e che si sente,si alza,si riabiliti e testimonia e scrive di sè stesso: Il senso avverte il fatto naturale, il movimento del fatto e in ogni fatto la coesistenza dei contrarii, per es., identità e differenza, genere ed individuo, comune e proprio. Il senso avverte sè,ilmovimento da cui deriva e in cui si deriva,ed in sè la connessione dei contrarii, per es., infinito e finilo, causa ed effetto, necessità e libertà. Il senso avrerte la  dizioni più naturali per concentrare ed espandere il genio ita liano. E ne'popoli agricoli, più che ne'commercianti,sorge schietto il sentimento del diritto e poi dell'equità, perchè più semplici tra gli agricoltori, che non tra'commercianti,sorgono i rapporti sociali. E, sorti, trovano subito stabilità nel costume e certezza nelle forme, come stabile e certa è la terra, sulla quale e per la quale l'agricoltore vive, come certo e stabile il limite del colto. E da questa medesima stabilità e certezza, la tenacità del costume e la rigidezza avversa ai subiti e pericolosi guadagni del commercio. Però in Roma fu lento l'accumularsi della ric chezza e ancora più lento il contagio del lusso. Se poi questi rapporti e questo costume, ne'quali si accentra il genio di tutto un paese, sono destinati ad elevarsi a missione giuridica, ciò che più occorre per tradurla in atto cotesta m i s sione segnatamente in mezzo ad un mondo barbaro è la forza. Perciò una grande missione giuridica, la quale non sia militare nel medesimo tempo,è un'astrazione da missionarj,come una gloriosa missione militare che insieme non sia giuridica e non si ordini a qualche alto fine civile, è un'astrazione da nar ratori ciclici. Il dominio di Roma è pari alla forza, e l'uno e l'altra sono pari al concetto ed alla missione giuridica. Quindi, propria tendenza a trasmutare ilfatto naturale in fatto storico, a insi nuare nella storia il proprio moto e a determinare il fine del moto sto rico nell'equilibrio dei contrarii, per es.,persona e Stato, lavoro e pro dotto, dovere e dritto. Volete questi diversi gradi del sentire chiamarli senso,intelletto e vo lontà? Ritragga il linguaggio con queste parole questa distinzione di gradi, ma distinzione di gradi, non separazione di facoltà: distinzione di gradi nella evoluzione del senso,come ilsenso è dellanatura,non tante ipostasi di tante facoltà.Come l'evoluzione delle forze chimiche perviene sino al l'organismo e dell'organismo sino alla vita e della vita sino al senso,così l'evoluzione del senso sino all'intelletto e alla volontà. Nessuna ragione, m a il solo pregiudizio può condurci a moltiplicare i principii e le leggi.  col crescere e determinarsi del concetto giuridico si giustifica l'egemonia di Roma sopra tutto il mondo mediterraneo, e con la coscienza che Roma desta del medesimo concetto negli altri popoli, si spiega il testamentu di Augusto in Tacito: Addiderat consilium coercendi intra terminos imperii. Quindi, si spiega perchè in R o m a,mentre tutto è militare e la procedura giuridica non si scompagna dalla lancia, tutte le distinzioni civili e politiche sono derivate dalla terra. È patrizio chi possiede terra ed il segreto de'diritti inerenti al dominio; sono clienti, colientes,quelli che coltivano il campo del patrizio; plebei, quelli che coltivano e costumano vivere sul proprio campo; proletarii, quelli che non hanno campo, fuori del quale non c'è avere. E si ponga mente a questo, che nel cliente c'è la radice del colono; che ne' rapporti tra cliente e patrono è adombrata la prima tradizione feudale, che non si è interrotta mai nella storiadelmondo;cheilclienteècittadino,ma non saclasse di cittadini; e che in ciò principalmente si distingue dal servo che nè è persona, nè cittadino, nè fa classe di cittadini. Agraria è principalmente la lotta tra le parti in R o m a; agraria l'origine del dominio bonitario; agrario il fondamento del censo; agrarie le leggi provocatrici de'più grandi dissidii e di radicali riforme negli ordinamenti politici e civili di R o m a. L'evoluzione dello spirito romano porta sempre questa impronta del principale fattore del suo genio. Tra la legge licinia e la legge sempronia c'era sempre sull'agro pubblico tesa una corda, che, tocca, consuonava con l'animo romano. Campestri da Saturno al Dio Termine sono le deità indigene diRoma; il campo arato è ara; proarispugnare inanticoè difendere il campo; e da un fanciullo uscito dall'aratro impara rono l'arte degli aruspici, di gran momento nel cominciare le imprese civili e militari.Censorino scrive$ 4:Nec non in agro Tarquiniensi puer dicitur exar atus, nomine Tages, qui disci plinam cecinerit extispicii.– Anche negati gli aborigeni,restano gl’Iddii autoctoni che si piacevano di riti e canti campestri e 6 – G. B Vic. Disegno di una Storia del Diritto,ecc.,ecc.  da'campi mandaron voce ad Ercole di preferire le offerte di lampade accese ai sacrifizj umani. Gli Dei che dal primo anno urbe condita sino alla prima dittatura perpetua entrano in R o m a insieme co'popoli vinti, sono costretti ad entrare anch'essi in servigio del vincitore, dal quale assumono forma e costume. La Giunone di Grecia non è quella de'Latini,nè il Giove di Atene è quello di Roma. Quando non più assumono il costume del vincitore, non sono più adorati. Ma nė per numi peregrini nè indigeni c'è mai guerra tra i popoli latini, né dissidio civile, nè giudizio per divinità. L'aco nito di Lucrezio - se mai fu provato - non somiglia alla cicuta di Socrate: non ci fu accusa, da che i dotti di R o m a sentirono che il poema della natura era l'espressione più vera del senti mento contemporaneo. In Roma gli Dei sono piuttosto per l'uomo,che l'uomo per gli Dei, i quali più si allontanano come più si determina il sentimento del diritto, che ha dato alla lotta romana principalmente l'impronta agraria. — E l'ager romanus da prima determina le tribù, le quali sono non solo personali, m a locali secondo la partizione dell'agro. Nell'arte non si smentisce questo elemento precipuo del genio romano, anzi vi si determina e spiega. Se l'idillio greco entra in R o m a, si fa georgica, le quali Di patrii, Indigetes det tano ad alto fine: Quid faciat laetas segetes, quo sidere terram Vertere, ulnisque adjungere vites Conveniat. Aureus hanc vitam in terris Saturnus agebat. Ma,seèvero,comesentiHegel, chegliDeidiVirgilio ven gon giù dalla macchina, in queste georgiche la macchina è più visibile: mostrano abbastanza che vengono dopo il poema della natura, e che secondo leggi schiettamente naturali la terra vuol essere pulsata. E l'arte romana non ha nulla di più perfetto di    83 questo poema della natura e di questa applicazione che delle leggi naturali si fa nelle georgiche, poema agrario. Celebrati, dopo questi, sono scriptores rei rusticae et Gromatici veteres, per la tradizionale venerazione della coltivazione e della misura dell'agro: tra'primi M. Porcio Catone, Varrone e Colunella; tra'secondi Sesto Giulio Frontino, Aggeno Urbico, Igino. Humana ante oculos foede cum vitajaceret In terris oppressa gravi sub relligione Primum Grajus homo mortaleis tollere contra Est oculos ausus,primusque obsistere contra. Ed è chiaro:sarà questo in Roma il contenuto filosofico:lo stoicismo non sarà che di reminiscenze, e l'eclettismo, di s c m plice erudizione. Quinto Sestio,stoico più che eclettico, non saprà parlare di Giove che con un motto sarcastico, tramanda toci da Seneca: Iovem plus non posse, quam bonum virum; a CICERONE, eclettico più che stoico, morto otto anni dopo L u crezio, non saprà ammettere l'esistenza degli Dei che in via di sempliceopinione:Deosessenaturaopinamur.E idottisinno quanto questo opinatore magno, come Cicerone chiama sè stesso, confidi nelle sue opinioni teoretiche e teologiche. Intravedesi  E la filosofia? Dove sviluppato è il sentimento del diritto, e per questo appunto la lotta si fa tutta umana e principalmente agraria, gli Dei, a breve andare,si allontanano dalla scena.Epi curo occupa Roma è il suo campo naturale e Amafinio pubblicamente lo insegna in buona prosa latina come Lucrezio lo espone in versi mormorati a lui dalla natura ch'ei canta: Perchè? Te sequor, o Graiae gentis decus, inque tuis nunc Fixa pedum pono pressis vestigia signis Lib.1. che la macchina teurgica non manca a Cicerone che prelude ai politici di RAZZA LATINA, invocando gli Dei piuttosto a rincalzo dello Stato che a fondamento di religione. Ma sopra tutt'i poemi e tutte le prose latine l'epigrafe mi parve sempre la più latina forma del pensiero latino. Versi e prose se ne scrivono in ogni lingua, più o meno classica,e morta e viva; ma l'epigrafe, che non è nè prosa nè verso, non mi parve mai vera in altra forma fuor della latina. N'è prova il fatto costante: sempre che si voglia far vivo un pensiero sopra una pietra e quasi comandarlo alla memoria degli uomini,lo si fa latinamente. E, perchè il pensiero trovi equazione con la forma, bisogna che abbia alcun che di universale e d'importanza umana: una epigrase latina, oggi, sulla tomba di una giovinetta, di un fanciullo, di un uomo oscuro, accusa gli eleganti ozii di un pe dante, anche quando egli riesca alla pietosa eleganza di Antonio Epicuro, che gemeva in latino del cinquecento, e in dotte a n titesi, la sostituzione della morte alle nozze. Nam tibidumque virum, tedas, thalamumque parabam, Funera et inferias anxius ecce paro. Anche il nostro Settembrini, che avea gusto finissimo del bello, si lasciò ingannare dal singulto in antitesi eleganti, e non seppe distinguere tra l'epigrafe dotta e l'epigrafe latina. È vano sfatare l'epigrafe: sempre che si voglia dire con ef ficace brevità un pensiero universale o un fatto d'importanza universale, si dirà epigraficamente e latinamente.In altra forma e lingua apparirà lo sforzo, anche coperto dalla maestria del Giordani che sopra Colombo e Machiavelli scrisse le epigrafi meno incomportevoli. Noterò breve la ragione di questo fenomeno letterario. Quando si dice la lingua latina, imperatoria, ellittica, essere percið epigrafica, il discorso rimane all'esterno; e però viene a dire che la lingua latina è epigrafica, perchè è.– L'intimo è    che il pensiero latino — giuridico. Si dirà, per afferrare transiti dove sfuggono, che l'epigrafe è il passaggio dal verso alla prosa, dalla fantasia alla riflessione, e tiene però dell'una e dell'altra. No: l'epigrafe esprime il sommo della riflessione, perchè determina ciò che in una gene razione c'è di più universale, o come pensiero o come sentimento, e lo stringe sotto non il numero de' piedi o delle sillab e, ma delle parole,ed ha però forma egualmente discosta dal metro poetico e dalla licenza prosastica. Chi consideri come l'universalità del dirittosi determina nella precisione massima della parola, scopre subito l'equazione tra il responso e l'epigrafe, e conchiude senza peritanza, che, ri spetto al genio romano, sono di eguale importanza il corpus iuris e il corpus inscriptionum latinarum. Tutte le regole di Morcelli de stylo inscriptionum fanno la rettorica epigrafica, la più fatua melensaggine letteraria. Al g e suita mancava il pensiero. Intanto questa indole epigrafica di Roma, che riappare da ogni carta e da ogni pietra,in ogni parola e in ogni lettera latina, questa appunto per la sua espressione nuda e severa ha fatto dire che il genio di Roma non ha nulla di artistico. Quel che di fluido e più abbondante s'incontra nella letteratura latina, è greco. Per gli odiatori del nome romano, Roma è la città della forza; per i più benevoli, è la città del di ritto; per gli uni e per gli altri il genio romano è meno estetico del cinese. Conchiudiamo questo capitolo, esaminando questa affermazione. Che il mondo romano sia stato poetico davvero, come fu la Grecia, e come la nostra rinascenza greco-latina da Dante in poi, non si può dire, si perchè nell'arte di R o m a non troviamo l'individuazione de'caratteri poetici, e si perchè il canto vera è universale, imperatorio, categorico. Per cosa ingiusta e con parole indecise non c'è forza di comando.Perciò ripeto che inRoma ilresponso è epigrafico, l'epigrafe è responsivamente poetico non si leva mai solo in un popolo, ma in un periodo in cui gli vengono successivamente compagne le altre arti: la pittura, la scultura, la musica, l'architettura.Non c'èragione, perchè, una volta accesa la fantasia di un popolo, si debba tutta e solamente stringere ne'metri poetici e non cercarsi il ritmo nelle altri arti: c'è invece la ragione contraria, che, nato il canto, si presentano l'una dopo l'altra tutte le altre forme della individuazione poeticil. I caratteri poetici migrano per le diverse forme dell'arte, finchè si adagino nella forma più propria, dalla quale sdegnano essere rimossi. Così il Giove di Omero passa in Fidia,e ilgiudizio di Dante in Michelangiolo. Ma,se ilmondo romano non è poetico, nel senso estetico della parola, è nondi meno artistico in grado inimitabile, perché non neglige la forma dietro la ricerca di un contenuto informe, ma la cerca in equa zione perfetta col contenuto, anzi dal contenuto si studia deri varla, perchè sente che un pensiero che si deterinina, facendosi, si crea determinatamente la sua forma. Il contenuto, la sostanza propria del pensiero latino è il diritto, il quale in Roma si connatura con la forma romana, come il Giove greco con la forma greca. La parola del giure consulto latino scolpisce come la subbia di Fidia. Come da quella subbia esce il sopracciglio cuncta movens, cosi da quella parola erompe l'imperativo giuridico. Or, questa perfetta equazione tra pensiero e forma, tra l'im perativo giuridico e il grammaticale, tra l'imperio concitato e la forma ellittica, quasi tronca, onde Leibnitz, dopo gli assiomi de'geometri, niente vede più certo de' responsi latini, questa appunto è intensamente artistica. Il giureconsulto non è il poeta, è l'artista del diritto.  E per provare col fatto, io ben ricordo che la lex XII T a bularum fu chiamata carmen necessarium, e, cresciuta l'equità, -orrendocarme;chequesto carme fugiudicato un severopoema, ricco d'immaginazione e a desinenze quasi ritmiche; che fu salto imparare a coro da'fanciulli; che Cicerone ne parla con   quell'entusiasmo, onde iGreci ricordavano l'Iliade; che i R o mani derivavano più onore dalle XII tavole,che non dalle guerre puniche; m a so pure che la voce carmen presso i latini ha si gnificato assai più largo che poesis, e mi baderò dal definire poema di qualsivoglia natura il carmen necessarium. Ma ag giungo subito che in queste medesime tavole si manifesta il genio artistico del legislatore romano, per una mirabile equa zione tra contenuto e forma, la quale ferma e stabilisce quelle tavole come tipo di tutta la legislazione romana, e le fa perenni nel culto di quel popolo togato e armato. Al primo sguardo sulla tavola prima si legge: SI IN IUS VOCAT, NI IT, ANTESTETOR; IGITUR EM CAPITO. Non un articolo, nè un pronome in caso reito; due impera tivi in cadenza, e tra'due, come a temperarne la durezza,l'igi tur, che presume parere la razionalità ed è la semplicità pri mitiva della legge.Ogni legge scritta è igilur in sè medesima, è il corollario particolareggiato di un principio generale e di una applicazione sottintesi; e però l'igitur espresso non è trovabile fuor della semplicità infantile della legge. Basta averlo trovato in prima, e non pare che vi s'incontri due volte.Hegel direbbe che questa procedura non solo insita nella legge m a soverchiante, ed a cadenze d'imperativi della specie di capito, ricorda troppo la manus.Due cose sono da rispondere:l’una,che laprocedura molta e stabile, diffusa in tutte la dodici tavole, anche nelle due ultime che Cicerone chiama inique (duadus tabulis iniquarum [Per Livio è fonte; per Tacito è fine; per entrambi è corpo del diritto: quindi, fons publici privatique juris in Livio; finis aequi juris in Tacito;corpus omnis romani juris ne'due storici e ne'giureconsulti. Ma più se n'esalta CICERONE nel De Oratore: Fremant omnes licet, dicam quod sentio.E dirà,giurando per Ercole, che ilsolo libretto delle dodici tavole per peso di autorità e di utilità avanza di assai le biblioteche di tutt'ifilosofi.Questo unus libellus era l'Iliade de’ Romani.  legum additis), svelano l'indole di un popolo agricolo; l'altra, che tutta questa procedura primitiva, che è o la forza o simbo leggiata dalla forza, in Roma è sempre in servigio di un diritto che determina un rapporto tra gli ordini noverati sopra, o tra due del medesimo ordine rispetto ad una medesima cosa. REM UBI PAGUNT, ORATO, Qui, nelle dodici tavole, é evidente, è propria, sto per dire, è bella: certo, come legge, questa evidenza epigrafica non è solo il sommo della brevità, ma dell'arte. Fuori della legge, in Tacito, assai volte la brevità perde l'evidenza e diventa cortezza, l'arte si svela e si fa sforzo, e l'oscurità della frase indica l'o scurità de' tempi e l'animo oscuro di chi si trova solo in mezzo a que' tempi. Bella ancora nelle XII Tavole la seguente procedura che sta bilisce equazione tra l'esrcizio della legge e del Sole: SOL OCCASUS SUPREMA TEMPESTAS ESTO. Tutt'i verbi trovansi all'imperativo, e l'imperativo nel rit mo,ma più di frequente questo verbo essere, come se l'essere in Roma questo dovesse significare principalmente: l'impera tivo giuridico. Parrebbe ai meno accorti soverchia la parola rem innanzi a pagunt: la levino e sarà come levata la parola inducias innanzi al pepigit di Livio. Le parole in quelle tavole sono numerate  88 Notinsi intanto l'evidenza nella brevità epigrafica, la rapidità del comando, la risolutezza della procedura. Non si saprebbe quale parola o monosillabo levare od aggiungere. È il getto di un pensiero giuridico, nato insieme diritto e procedura, impera tivo nella essenza e nel modo,ritmico senza esser verso, arti stico senza nulla di poetico. Notisi in questa ilmaximum della breviloquenza: si come nelle epigrafi, e risermano, con l'esempio, la dottrina espo sta intorno al genio di Roma. L'arte della legge,propria dello spirito romano, si annun zia sin da queste dodici tavole; e i primi ed i,secondi decem viri furono artisti. Coloro che anche in queste dodici tavole vollero vedere Atene, ed una legazione uscita romana e tornata attica, ed Ermodoro esule d'Efeso primo glossatore, e dietro le dodici tavole la statua di Ermodoro, furono confutati da Vico, e la confutazione fu di quelle che non ammettono replica. Non solo nella essenza delle dodici tavole c'è lo spirito originario di Roma,ma c'è ilgetto del pensieronellaforma.Le dodicitavole in greco suonano come l'Iliade in latino:chi sotto la forma indi gena non sente il pensiero esotico, è sordo ad ogni risposta di Cirra. Le dodici tavole,come forma,svelano ilgenio diRoma,mi rabile nella concezione ed espressione della legge, mirabile per quella equazione in che dimora l'arte di una qualunque disci plina; come fine, svelano un'altra equazione che è tutto il dise gno di un popolo giuridico:summis infimisque iura aequare; come origine, svelano la prima equità nella notizia del diritto, la promulgatio. La promulgatio accenna il transito dal summun ius all'ae quum bonum in un popolo che ha congenito il sentimento del diritto e lo sente e lo celebra come sua missione. Il Tribuno, provocando la promulgalio, astringerà il diritto consuetudinario e il quiritario a fissarsi sulle tavole; il Pretore, secondo i casi particolari, tradurrà il diritto scritto nell’equità naturale;il Giureconsultotradurrà l'equità nelle regole uni versali di ragione. Il Tribuno sorge una generazione dopo ilregifugium ed una generazione prima delle dodici tavole: e, sorto tra queste due generazioni, significa, con la sua presenza, che, mutala forma di governo, si è mutato lo spirito di una nazione. Il Pretore, non quello semplicemente da prae ire, m a quello appellato urbanus,  Considerata l'origine del Tribuno, e i due primi, Giunio Bruto (forse nipote del primo) e Sicinio Belluto, tra patriziato e plebe; considerati nel Tribuno il vus auxilii, il ius interces sionis e il veto; considerata l'inviolabilità, ond’ era sacra la per sona del Tribuno, ed il violatore era caput Jovi sacrum; fu detto che il Tribuno è un tipo affatio italico, e del tutto italica l'istituzione del Tribunato. Doveva dirsi invece che il Tribuno, il Pretore ed il Giureconsulto sono tre grandi momenti dell'equità romana; e tre risultamenti memorabili della lotta umana ed agraria tra patrizio e plebe sono la promulgatio, l'editto ed il responso. E qui due considerazioni: la prima, come risultamento della lotta romana sono il Tribuno, il Pretore ed il Giureconsulto, tali hanno ad essere le dodici tavole, e tutte le leggi che da quelle promanano; l'altra, che chi credesse ancora tutto e solo della forza questo mondo di Roma, dovrebbe correggersi innanzi al Tribunato, al Pretorio ed al responso. In R o m a, desto il sentimento dell'equità, fondamento p e renne della lotta umana che si agita in tutti i tempi di Roma, si desta insieme l'accorgimento politico, onde il patriziato cerca prevenire gli strappi e capitanare le riforme che non può nè respingere nè fermare:quindi, è possibile vedere da una parte la lotta agraria, le guerre servili, la guerra sociale e la guerra gladiatoria, dall'altra Spurio Cassio, patrizio, giustificare col suo sangue la prima legge agraria, F. Camillo, patrizio, giustificare l'equità pubblica, presentandosi primo pretore accanto al tempio votato alla Concordia, Emilio Papiniano, patrizio, portare il re quod in urbe ius redderet,venne tre generazioni dopo la pro mulgazione delle dodici tavole, perchè dopo tre strappi fu m e stieri di chi piegasse la legge scritta verso la naturale equità. Il Giureconsulto accompagna tutti i tempi del diritto, m a domina l'imperatore e lo Stato, il mondo di allora e i secoli posteriori, quando libera l'equità dallo editto e la incarna in pronunziati universali.Quindi,più dileguasiil Tribuno, più scende ilPretore, e più grandeggia il Giureconsulto.   Sempre che gli uomini pronunzieranno questa parola « EQUITÀ », la quale, in fondo, è libertà, ed è l'alto fine della storia, si ripresenteranno alla memoria di tutti il Tribuno, il Pretore, il Giureconsulto, il primo a promuoverla, il secondo a specifi carla, il terzo ad universaleggiarla. Mi occorse rispondere ad alcune parole del Cancelliere del l'Impero tedesco ripetute nel Senato italiano, e pubblicai subitamente le parole che seguono per provare che non si hanno a chiamare concessioni quelli che nella storia sono strappi. Riconosco, nella calma dello scrittojo, la concitazione di alcune frasi che potrebbero alterare il senso positivo dellastoria, ma ilfondo rimane vero,epiùveroancora,chelapoliticafine dell'antico Senato oggi non può trovare imitatori nè in Germania, nè in Italia,nè in Francia.Ecco,intanto,le parole di allora: Giova ripetere il senso delle parole di Bismarck, ripetuto già nel Senato italiano, per mettere sotto gli occhi del principe tedesco e de' senatori italiani alcune verità storiche, alcune leggi e certi nomi che non dovreb bero essere mai dimenticati da'prudenti che presumono condurre gli Stati, lontani dai partiti estremi, e li trascinano fuori delle leggi storiche. Il Cancelliere ha detto: Da venti anni alla sommità dello Stato, ho potuto osservare che gli Stati, passando di una in altra concessione, pas sano dalla forma monarchica alla repubblicana. Il Senato ha detto: Le troppe concessioni al diritto di suffragio conducono al Senato elettivo. L'uno preoccupavasi della corona, gli altri della propria istituzione. Hanno ragione e torto. Ragione, perchè,passando di diritto in diritto,si perviene fatalmente alla sovranità nazionale senza delegazione, e a tutti gli ufficii per elezione. Torto,perchè non sono concessioni glistrappi.– Idirittifuronostrappati sempre dai popoli agli Stati, dalla scienza alla storia, non concessi mai. Si può dire al pensiero: « non conchiudere »,se la premessa è posta? Si può dire alla storia:« non gravitare»,se l'impulso è dato? Idivieti dello Stato non fermeranno la storia, come i divieti del sacerdozio non fermarono ilpensiero. Vo'mettere sotto gli occhi del cancelliere tedesco edeisenatoriitaliani quattro secoli di storia dell'antico senato romano, cioè la rapida succes sione democratica di quattordici generazioni, dal 260 di Roma al 684, af  91. sponso sopra l'imperatore Caracalla e per il responso lasciare la vita, come già Spuso Carisio per la legge agraria sulla rupe Tarpea. I Tribuni, i Pretorie i Giureconsulti, venuti dopo di quelli, arrivarono in ritardo, perchè altro ai tempi nostri è il contenuto dell'equità, altro il metodo, altri ne sono i rap presentanti. Ora questo è chiaro: mentre da Papirio a Papiniano si svolge il tipo del giureconsulto,non appariscono in Roma scrittori po litici. In Tacito comincia, declinando lo Stato, ad apparire la finchè si accorgano che gli strappi non sono concessioni e che la gravita zione storica è continua. Sino all'anno 260 di Roma che è la plebe rispetto al patriziato? II senato, le cariche religiose e civili, il comando degli eserciti, il dominio ne' comizii curiati e centuriati, tutto è dei patrizii. Il plebeo che non può campar la vita dal ricolto o col magro bottino,è destinato a diventar d e bitore del patrizio, ad essergli venduto per aes et libram, a farglişi nexus o addictus. Ciònonèlungamentecomportevole. I plebei si ritirano in armi sul l'Aventino e ottengono due magistrati proprii, i tribuni. Iltribuno nacque come re: sacro e col dritto diveto.Ilvetofu tri bunizio e destinato a farsi regio, perchè allora doveva essere limite all'ari stocrazia, oggi alla democrazia. L'attentato alla vita del tribuno era cri mine capitale.La formula è in Livio:Caput Jovi sacrum. Il veto e l'inviolabilità del tribuno furono concessioni? I costretti vol lero parere e chiamarsi provvidenti. Una generazione appresso (anno 292 diRoma)laplebefaintendereche non vale un magistrato proprio senza una legge comune e spiegata.Quindi, la mezza generazione che corre dal 292 al 303,è occupata da due decem virati, destinati alla compilazione delle dodici tavole, ispirate alla triplice necessità: promulgatio; libertas aequanda; provocatio ad popolum. Ecco, la legge è scritta, è promulgata, non è più un segreto patrizio che erompe, come responso,dall'atrium,è aperta la viadelpontificatomassimo ad un plebeo,a Tiberio Coruncanio. Fu concessione? Tacito accenna neque decemviralis potestas ultra biennium,e Livio spiega quanta plebe in armi è dietro Virginio e quanta se ne accampa sul monte Sacro. L’impulso è dato, la gravitazione è in ragion diretta della massa. Nel medesimo anno in che precipita il decemvirato, la tegge delle dodici  Fu concessione o strappo? 92   93 politica; ma lo storico prevale anche in Tacito, perchè siamo ancora discosti dalla catastrofe. tavole è sorpassata dalla legge Valeria Orazia. Iplebisciti,proclamati ob bligatori per tutti,obbligano ilSenato.La formula è in Livio: Ut, quod tributim plebesjussisset,populum teneret. La conseguenza è immediata: una plebe legislatrice può imparentare col patriziato. Ed ecco Canulejo tribuno, quattro anni dopo, sorpassa la seconda volta le dodici tavole,spezza iriparitralecaste,pro clama il connubium patrum et plebis, incrocia, confonde, mescola i ceti. Concessione niente, fu sedizione audace e flagrante: seditiomatrimo niorum dignitate, ut plebei cum patriciis jungerentur. Lo strappo è net tamente stabilito nel primo Libro di Floro: Tumultus in monte Janiculo, duce Canulejo tribuno plebis, exarsit. Il senato non voleva, m a la plebe exarsit. Potrà, or dunque, il plebeo salire anche al consolato? Potrà sentirsi il rumore de'fasci in casa plebea? Si chiamino pure tribuni militari,ma la dignità consolare è divisa.Tacito scrive:Neque tribunorum militum jus consulare diu valuit;perchè,dopo una lotta quarantenne, ladignitàcon solare,ripreso il vecchio nome,non si limita ai vecchi uomini. Fattasi l'eguaglianza negli onori, è tempo che si proclami l'aequanda libertas, l'eguaglianza anche innanzi al diritto punitivo. Ed ecco,due anni dopo l'istituzione del tribunato militare, nell'anno di Roma 311, nasce il Censore che può notare d'infamia il plebeo e il senatore, il console ed il cavaliere, l'uom privato e il magistrato pubblico. La formula di codesta parità leggesi in Ascanio, Divinatio in Caecilium. Hi prorsus cives sicnotabant,ut qui Senator esset, ejiceretursenatu; quiequesromanus, equum publicum perderet; qui plebeius, in tabulas Ceritum referretur et aerarius fieret ». Livio ammonisce nel libro sesto che non ci furono concessioni. Dopo le discordiae sedatae per dictatorem ci dice CONCESSUM ab nobilitate plebi de consule plebeio! Roma, che, dilargando il diritto, democratizza la repubblica e sale verso l'aequanda libertas, èinexpugnabile; Roma,chenellospaziodidue ge -  E si vien chiarendo insieme al disegno di questo libro, che, cioè, mentre grandeggia lo Stato romano, e come re publica e come impero, fiorisce il giureconsulto; e più il dominio si dilarga, più si fa universale l'intelletto del giu reconsulto, e più n’esce universale il responso, dal patrizio   al plebeo, all'italiano, all'uomo. È vano cercare lo scrittore politico in questi secoli di grandezze e di gloria: il politico non sarà mai contemporaneo del giureconsulto. Mentre la gran politica sarà nel patriziato e sarà pratica di governo, non sarà scritta. Disfatti gli Stati italiani e nata, di contro ai grandi stati e u ropei che si formavano,l'esigenza di uno Stato stabile, quale nerazioni, dal 200 al 311, ha posto di contro al patriziato il tribuno, la legge decem virale, la legge Valeria Orazia, la legge Canuleja, i tribuni militari ed i censori, non può, nelle due generazioni dopo l'istituzione censoria, nel 354, essere distrutta da'Galli Senoni; ma, uccisa nelle vie, esce rinata dal Campidoglio. Senno patrizio e valore plebeo, concordi, la rifeceru. Usciti dal Campidoglio, per comun valore, occorre che l'aequanda liberta sabbia la sua norma certa, temperatrice del certo jus summum, sta bilita nelle dodici tavole. Ed a tale uopo, una generazione appresso (387), sorge, come speciale magistratura, il pretore che col quadruplice editto piega, corregge e integra il diritto stretto nella giustizia pretoria. Ma Roma, un secolo appresso,è già capitale d'Italia,ed un secolo in punto appresso (488) accanto al pretore urbano viene a sedere il pretore pere grino: due alte magistrature che si suppliscono a vicenda e che di patri zie si fanno popolane non per concessioni, ma per terribili strappi ehe dentro sono discordie civili, e fuori la guerra sociale, onde Italia, a conto di Vellejo Patercolo, vide sopra campi italiani, in meno di un anno,uccisi più di trecento mila italiani che seppero,morendo, tramandare ai super stiti il dominium ex jure Quiritium. Perchè, dunque, codesto dritto quiritario di patrizio divenisse popolare, e di romano divenisse italico, quante grazie, quante concessioni di patrizii sceserospontaneesullapleberomanaesu'popoliitalici?– Ricordisipiut tosto la storia della Lex Plautia (De civitate), e lascino stare le conces sioni e le grazie. E quando,superate le discordie civili e la guerra sociale, noi ci tro viamo tra le armi di Mario e di Silla e vediamo Montesquieu torcere lo sguardo da queste ire implacabili tra due titani, dobbiamo noi imitare la pietà che inspirava lo Spirito delle leggi? La critica storica è crudele:passa tra'cadaveri romani e vuol sapere perchè Silla fu'na di sangue latino. Silla preoccupa il ten'ativo di Giuliano che si fosse, in Italia, sorgono ed eccellono, sopra tutti gli altri, gli scrittori politici. Allora il diritto non istà da sè, m a cade in servigio delle due tristi necessità che hanno a fare lo Stato: la forza e la frode. I glossatori abbondano, ma il giureconsulto non verrà cortemporaneo degli scrittori politici.E più gli Stati rovinano, e più la politica si rifugia ne' libri. l'apostata: l'uno vuol rifare l'aureola attorno al vecchio senato, come l'altro intorno ai crani de'vecchi Dei. Ma, come Giuliano, dopo aver cac ciato dalla sua sede S. Attanasio e altri vescovi, non rialzò l'Olimpo, così Silla,dopo avere abbattuto la plebe, compressi i tribuni, abbassati i cava lieri e disciolte le assemblee tribute, non potè rialzare il vecchio senato. Perciò, dopo cinque anni, abbandono la dittatura, cioè abbandonò Roma alle leggi storiche. Tal significato ha l'abdicazione di Silla, e tale a m m o nimento ne deriva al Senato, che nè per colpi di Stato, nè per reazioni si rifà l'antico potere. E pure la generazione che ha combattuto la guerra sociale, nella quale fu stabilito il dirittoitalico, la guerra civile non riuscita a rialzare il vec chio senato, è destinata a combattere due guerre servili e la guerra gla diatoria, ordinata in apparenza a rialzare l'antico patriziato sul cadavere di Spartaco. M a si guardi che, se la guerra sociale è per il diritto italico, la guerra servile, che chiude il lavoro della medesima generazione, è pel jus humanım: si guardi Spartaco morire combattendo, senza domandare quar tiere o tregua: si pensi s'ei non aspetti qualcuno dietro di lui, e se egli non senta che il vecchio patriziato non si rialzerà sul suo cadavere. Il senato non concede mai nulla e non riesce mai ad arrestare la democrazia; lo strappo rende popolare quel ch' era diritto patrizio, italico il dirittoromano,umano il diritto italico. Il senato che ha creduto di vincere la guerra servile, è già servo: At Romae ruere in servitium consules, patres,equites!  - Siamo innanzi ad un mondo nuovo e senza nessuna concessione del Senato ! Bene o male? Rispondo che fu quel che doveva essere. Inevitabile era il cammino della plebe sino alla proclamazione, in Roma, dell'equità umana che doveva dalle nazioni vinte esseretoltacontroRoma vincitrice. Io doveva dimostrare che tutto fu preso e niente concesso e che la grande politica del patriziato romano non consisteva soltanto nel cedere, sembrando concedere, ma nel preoccupare quel ch'era inevitabile nello svolgimento dell'equità: onde leggi democratiche si trovano più volte sotto l'auspicio di uomini consolari e di nomi patrizii. Quando lo Stato è in sul ricomporsi, e la rinascenza ita liana, che in parte ha fatto e in parte prepara le tre grandi ri voluzioni europee la germanica, l'inglese e la francese volge al suo compimento,allora abbiamo la sintesi degli accor gimenti co' responsi, della politica col diritto, e sorgono i giure consulti politici che sono filosofi della storia. Il giureconsulto è il tipo latino, il politico è u o m o della rina scenza, il giureconsulto politico è uomo moderno. Il primo è la pura esigenza dell’equità,m a dell'equità astratta, perchè il mondo romano era transito dal civismo ellenico all'in dividualismo germanico, e non riusciva a contemperare i due termini, perché il transito non è la sintesi. Il secondo simula il diritto, in cui traveste la forza e la fede, perchè meglio che a far l'uomo mira a rifare lo Stato. Il terzo che vien dopo l'evoluzione intera del civismo e dell'individualismo, riesce a contemperare i due termini e,rispetto ai mezzi,a comporre la politica col diritto, secondo la misura dei tempi e dei luoghi. Questo sentimento dell'equità,che,diffuso da Roma nel mondo faceva la grandezza di Roma e poi la rovina, questo medesimo ricostruivala centro del cristianesimo che era una nuova esi genza dell'equità, cioè non tra' cittadini e tra le nazioni, m a tra gl'individui. Perciò il mondo germanico potė diffondere il cristianesimo, non accentrarlo. E, quando il concetto dell'equità avrà superato anche il cri stianesimo, Roma proclamerà la laicità dello Stato. Ora seguiamo il genio di Rom a attraverso i periodi dei giu reconsulti.  Ferrari vide che il progresso umano è una risul tante del corso e ricorso, della rivoluzione e reazione, e che questa risultante è significata nella storia dalla soluzione. La rivoluzione e la reazione hanno per premessa la preparazione e per corollario la soluzione. Questo è il circolo sillogistico di Ferrari.– Ma nè questi circoli si concatenano, nè ci lasciano vedere dove vanno, nè l'autore vuole che si guardi fuori e so pra il circolo, dentro il quale l'uomo fatalmente si trova. I cir coli di Ferrari, salvo il criterio della misura, del quale si ha da tenere gran conto, ci lasciano poi innanzi al destino u m a no ciechi,come i circoli di Machiavelli. Vico, denominando le epoche e connettendone la successione, ci promette più larga notizia del nostro cammino, e poi riesce a chiudersi egli stes so dentro i circoli suoi. Ad ogni modo, noverando i periodi del diritto romano,è im possibile dimenticare Vico che non può oggi, come allora, vivere straniero e sconosciuto nella sua patria. Nessun genio compendio più dolorosamente la sua storia. Tutti oggi ripetia m o a coro gli errori di Vico, e ci pare grandezza perdonargli la sua teologia e le applicazioni storiche troppo ristretle al mondo romano, e non vogliamo sapere che la teologia di Vico è quasi di continuo una naturale teologia del genere umano,la quale va a confondersi con l'antropologia, e che il mondo romano,apparso universale,potė parere nel tempo un disegno reale di una storia universale eterna. Io non so se sia più n a turale la teologia di Vico o più teologica la natura di Herder m a vedo chiaro che, se Herder entra innanzi a Vico nell'esi genza del naturalismo storico come metodo, resta assai indie tro rispetto al contenuto. In VICO c'è più sostanza scientifica, perchè i presupposti teologici e metafisici sono in ciascun libro della scienza nuova superati dal naturalismo italiano che, oc cupando la filosofia della storia, fa Vico l'ultimo titano della rinascenza. Vico celebra la teologia ed è fatto naturalista dal genio italiano;Herder invoca la natura ed è fatto metafisico dal genio tedesco. Tengasicontodiquesteavvertenze:cheVico,ponendo Ba cone accanto a Platone ed a Tacito, poneva l'induzione sul contenuto classico; che l'induzione, prima di apparire teorica in Bacone, era stata teorica e prutica in Galileo e nella sua scuola;che venir dopo Galileo e Bruno in Italia significava portare nella storia le leggi della natura, come aveva tentato la medesima scuola di Galileo; e che in questo compito doveva concludersi lo spirito della rinascenza. Perciò, sebbene Vico una volta appena tocchi di campagne, di cielo, di acque, di zone e di mutua influenza di nazioni, pure mette di natura nel suo li bro quanta ce n'è nell'uomo, dal senso all'intelletto, guardando in Lucrezio e presentendo Darwin.– Non c'è,dunque,da per donargli la teologia, m a da intendere pensatamente che cosa sono in lui la teologia naturale e la teologia civile. Queste due parole sono reminicenze della scuola privata; ma il contenuto messovi dal Vico è della scuola italiana. Quanto all'applicazione, VICO e FERRARI furono tirati ad o p postissimi errori, l'uno dal difetto dell'erudizione contempo ranea, l'altro dalla mancanza di sistema. Vico neglesse i popoli storici o li trasse tutti dentro Roma, Ferrari portò i suoi periodi anche ai popoli estrastorici, dove cioè manca la vita e l'intelletto della storia. Vico noverð tre epoche del diritto e della procedura e, tro vatele in Roma, conchiuse averle trovate in tutte le nazioni. Nella prima epoca il diritto è divino e tutto involuto nella ra gione degli auspicii,che presso i popoli gentili tien lungo del la rivelazione, onde Iddio privilegið prima gli Ebrei e poi i cristiani. Nella seconda epoca il diritto è nell'equità civile che è ragion di Stato, della quale il Senato romano fu custode sa piente e geloso. Nella terza il diritto è nell'equità naturale che è ragion comune, esercitata dalle repubbliche popolari e dalle monarchie umane. A questi periodi del diritto rispondono altrettanti della pro cedura. La quale, mentre il diritto è divino,“si esercita, Dio auspice e testimone, ne' giudizii divini. Quando il diritto è p o litico, la procedura è nella scrupolosa esattezza delle formole e delle parole giudiziarie e contrattuali, talchè il diritto paia più nelle parole,che negli uomini.Quando,in ultimo,ildiritto viene a combaciare con l'equità naturale, la procedura diviene una logica tutta'intesa al vero de' fatti, governata dall'intel letto e interpretata dall'equanimità.Quindi,icorpi jeratici go vernano prima, poi gli eroici, in ultimo gli uomini modesti ed equanimi. Vico trova questa successione di epoche nella natura u m a na, poi in Roma, poi, perchè nella natura dell'uomo e nella storia di Roma,nel mondo. Roma, l'urbs, la città per eccellenza, la città universale, gli è sostrato al disegno di una storia universale. Ma,sollevata a questo vertice di universalità, avviene che prima perde Roma 'la sua particolare fisonomia in quella delle altre nazioni, poi le altre, e senza serbarne traccia,la perdono in Roma.Non ci si lascia scorgere e neppure intravedere la ragione, onde certe leggi, certi istituti, e magistrati, e carattere ed imprese, furono romani, affatto romani, non trovabili fuori e dopo R o m a, ne perchè certi altri uomini e fatti e leggi non sono trovabili in Roma. È conseguenza di una filosofia della storia, fondata sulla troppo comune natura delle nazioni, nella quale spariscono le differenze. Perché il tribuno, perchè il pretore e il giureconsulto v e g gonsi in Roma e non fuori,perchè nascono dalla lotta romana e non dalla greca e dalla germanica, perché il responso come ufficio, come valore e forma, permane latino e non è mai supe rato nè imitato, tutto questo che importa sapere, non vi si dice da Vico. Non vi poteva esser detlo, perchè Vico investiga la comune natura delle nazioni e non le differenze, e la investiga nella mente che è comune,non nel dato etnografico e geogra fico che, modificandola, spiega le leggi della successione e della varietà. Se vogliamo, dunque, le epoche storiche del diritto romano, del romano e non di altro, bisogna cercarle nella propria sto ria di Roma, espressione del genio romano. Non è facile l'esatta partizione de' periodi del diritto ro mano; non è facile almeno rispetto a tutte le sue parti:perchè,se il diritto pubblico si muove insieme con lo Stato e si trasmuta secondo le tre epoche apparenti della costituzione politica di Roma, non si può dire il medesimo del diritto privato,di cui le divisioni meno apparenti sembrano assai più lente, più consentanee ad una legge continua di evoluzione. Nondimeno abbiamo susficienti criterii per ridurre a tre clas si gli storici che espongono i periodi principali del diritto romano. Gli storici che, secondo una dottrina di Vico, dividono le età di un popolo come quelle di un uomo, accettano una divisione fatta con lieve differenza - da Gibbon e da Hugo. Allora la storia del diritto romano vien divisa secondo i periodi d'infanzia, di giovinezza, di virilità e di vecchiezza. Gli storici che considerano il diritto come una funzione dello Stato e veg gono il diritto privato procedere dal diritto pubblico, dividono i periodi del dritto secondo i momenti della costituzione politica di Roma. Allora,lastoriadeldirittoromano nella monarchia, nella repubblica e nell'impero. Questa divisione pare accettata dall'Ortolan che presume derivare la storia del diritto romano dalla storia del popolo.In ultimo, gli storici che studiano lo svolgimento del diritto romano nella missione peculiare che il diritto ha potuto avere nel mondo e nel genio di Roma, divi dono i periodi del diritto secondo i momenti dell'equità. Allora il primo periodo lo dicono conchiuso dalla venuta del pretore urbano, il secondo da Augusto, il terzo da Costantino. Questa partizione, posta da Hulzio, è di molto valore in sé, m i viziata nell'applicazione dall'autore istesso per difetto di filosofia e di critica storica. Non mancano alcune divisioni fatte secondo le condizioni e conomiche e morali di Roma,ma di lieve conto, perchè sono le più incerle ed arbitrarie. È nostro compito – confutate che avremo le due prime divisioni – recare a perfezione la terza. La prima divisione de' periodi pecca di troppa generalità. Anche ammesso che la vita dell'uomo sia divisibile in quattro periodi isocroni e che tutti e quattro col medesimɔ isocroni smo siano applicabili alla storia, n'uscirà sempre una curva comune a tutte le nazioni, nella quale non appare il profilo di ciascuna.Nè questa curva lascia scurgere il transito dall'un all'altro periodo. Se le date che hanno da fissare questi pis saggi non sono determinabili con esattezza nell'in lividuo, chi potrà affermare con certezza, qui finisce l'adolescenza di un p o polo e comincia la giovinezza? Quindi, vengon fuori quelle di visioni arbitrarie, nate piuttosto a comodo di una scuola o di una cronologia convenzionale, che delle intenzioni effettive della storia.Ecco, infatti,come procede questa scuola dell'isocronismo, che porta nella storia romana l'età dell'uom).Prende tredici secoli in Roma, dalla fondazione a Giustiniano, e li rompe in quattro parti quasi uguali, di trecento in trecento anni, e denomina ciascuna parte da una delle quattro età dell'uom ). L'infanzia del diritto romano dura dalla fondazione di Roma alle dodici tavole; la giovinezza, dalle dodici tavole a Cesare; la virilità,dia Cesare ad Alessandro Severo;la vecchiezza, da Alessandro Severo   a Giustiniano. L'infanzia sarebbe la monarchia, i primi consoli e iprimitribuni; lagiovinezza, tuttala repubblica, dalla promul gatio sino alla riapparizione di quella che Livio chiama Vetus Regia Lex simul cumur tenata; la virilità e la vecchiezza sa re h bero tutto l'Impero,da cotesta tanto contrastata Regia Lex sino al Codex Iustinianeus. M a ciascun vede che i transiti sono estrin seci ed arbitrarii, e non lascian vedere le necessità intime che governano la successione de'periodi.Nė appare perchè invano Giustiniano si sforza, con cinque tentativi, di stringere il cristia nesimo sotto le leggi romane spirito nuovo in vecchia cor teccia – nè come il Cristianesimo si vien costruendo la sua più naturale espressione giuridica nelle leggi germaniche e nel gius canonico. La divisione pui de'periodi giuridici, fatta sulla successione della costituzione politica,è fatta davvero grossamente, e non ci lascia vedere né i momenti principali della repubblica, nè i pe riodi che si succedono nell'istesso impero. È certo che, mutata la costituzione politica,non è soltanto mutata la forma di go verno,ma dev'esser simutato insieme il contenuto del diritto pubblico, e, conseguentemente, del privato, sebbene la conse guenza non si mostri immediatamente; m a nessuno può affer mare che cotesti trasmutamenti non avvengano durante appa rentemente una medesima forma politica.Se l'epoca di Alessandro Severo può dividere in due periodi l'impero, perché la legge Publilia che dichiara popolare la repubblica, e la legge Petelia che libera la plebe dal diritto feudale rustico del carcere privato, non varranno, secondo la mente di Vico, a designare tanta di stanza tra repubblica e re ubblica, quanta forse non se ne trova tra Tarquinio e Bruto? Ma si faccia questa considerazione che è la più intensa e la meglio dichiarativa, nella storia, della successione de'fenomeni civili e politici.Nell'ordine ideale ed effettuale delle cose umane, la successione de'periodi politici determina e spiega la succes sicne de'periodi giuridici, o, per contrario, la successione dei periodi del diritto dichiara e prestabilisce la successione de'pe riodi politici? L'homessa intera la forma della domanda, perchè la risposta erompa da sè. Sebbene nella storia il diritto e la politica, la ragione del l'uomo e la ragion di Stato, si presentino come due concetti, due forze, e - mi sia lecito a dire – due istituti avversi, e la politica sembri nata per comprimere il diritto, ed il diritto per urtare e trascendere gli ordinamenti politici, pure, in fondo ed in ultimo, la forma dello Stato finisce per dischiudersi alla nuova esigenza del diritto. Così sempre: se un nuovo bisogno vien determinando una nuova idea del diritto, già si sente per l'aria il fremito di una rivoluzione; e se uno Stato nuovo sorge ad occupare questa nuova concezione giuridica, appena nato, già tende a cristallizzarla ed a mozzarne le illazioni. Tutto ciò può esser vero; m a pur si vede e s'intende che la nuova forma di Stato, quale che sia, s'è venuta organando intorno a quel nuovo concetto del diritto. Per non far, dunque, irrazionali ed astrologici i mutamenti politici, noi dobbiamo affermare che l'ordine naturale delle cose c'impone di non derivare dalle forme successive dello Stato i periodi del diritto, m a dall'evolu zione della coscienza giuridica i periodi politici. Perciò scrissi e ripeto che ne'periodi politici del Ferrari ammiro la genialità del pensiero e i germi dischiusi del natura lismo italiano; ma sono periodi,ai quali mancano le premesse. Si potrebbe rispondere che per queste ragioni appunto i mutamenti politici andrebbero intesi come segni esteriori e certi dei periodi del diritto. No - ripeto per due chiare ragioni: l'una, che per questa via si viene a rendere equivoco il processo della storia, potendosi assai facilmente scambiare le cause con gli effetti, e scambiare il diritto che promuove il muta mento politico, con la legge che ne consegue; e l'altra, che verrebbero a mancare i criterii per distinguere i veri dagli a p parenti mutamenti politici e le rivoluzioni politiche dalle sor prese settarie e da'tumulli più o meno rumorosi e vuoti. Un mutamento politico è reale e durevole, se determinato da una nuova concezione giuridica;e,quando no, sidilegua, lasciando tracce di sangue, non d'istituzioni. Occorre, dunque, come si è detto, seguire lo svolgimento del diritto romano nella missione peculiare che il diritto ha potuto avere nel mondo e nel genio di Roma,e però dividere i pe riodi del diritto secondo i momenti dell'equità, onde procedono le successive forme della costituzione politica di Roma. Facciamo parlare i fatti. Perchè in Roma si passa dalla m o narchia alla repubblica e poi all'impero? Se rispondesi che Tarquinio potè estinguere il potere regio come Cesare rifarlo, si viene a conchiudere che l'origine e la rovina delle istituzioni sono in balia di un uomo. Una storia cosi fatta non c'è, nè c'è oggi chi torni a narrarla. Se Tarquinio potè finire il regno, perché l'impero non cessó in Domiziano, quando praecipua miseriarum pars erat videri et adspici? Altro, dunque, che la ferocia e la clemenza di un principe, di un sacerdote, di un capitano occorre per determi nare e spiegare la vita o la morte delle istituzioni politiche. Lasciamo a Voltaire la facilità di dimenticare le premesse del suo saggio su'costumi e sullo spirito delle nazioni, per affer mare che il delirio di un Cucupietre potè iniziare il periodo delle crociate, e gl'insidiosi interessi di monaci il periodo della riforma. Quanto a Roma, il vero si è che la reazione di Tarquinio mal poteva resistere ad una nuova esigenza giuridica, adombrata già dalla favola, che i Commentarii di Servio Tullio erano destinati a passare nelle mani di Giunio Bruto. Questo mito de'Commentarii era tutta una tradizione che diceva tra gli scritti di Servio Tullio essersi trovato nientemeno tutto intero il disegno di una costituzione repubblicana; che questo non era soltanto un disegno,ma un proposito di Servio; che questo proposito appunto gli era costata la vita; e che non dimeno disegno e proposito erano passati da Servio Tullio a Giunio Bruto. C'è, a primo intuito, qualche cosa in questa tradizione, la quale è assai più scientifica, che non una repubblica esplosa dalla superbia di Tarquinio, dalla fatuità di Bruto e dal cada vere di Lucrezia. La tradizione si fonda sopra questi dati di fatto: che la prima monarchia di Roma non somiglia a nessun'altra delle monar chie antiche e moderne,ed è,conforme al genio di Roma,una istituzione giuridico-militare; che, secondo questo carattere ori ginario e primordiale di R o m a, il diritto è una continua ten denza verso il suo natural fine che è l'equità; e che però i periodi nella evoluzione dell'equità devono essere i periodi sto rici del diritto romano. Ora,se il diritto in Roma sorge come istinto o genio di tutti da una parte, e dall'altra come sapienza privilegiata di un or dine, di quello cioè che si reputa destinato a conoscere e cu stodire le leggi, quale potrà essere il vero primo momento del l'equità? Suttrarre la legge al mistero, sottrarre la sapienza al privilegio, far la legge nota a tutti: promulgatio. Questa esi genza come diritto crea la repubblica; come legge, succede al decemvirato. Quindi, il primo momento dell'equità è l'equità formale, la promulgalio, ma necessaria, perchè dalla forma si passi alla sostanza. L'ignoto sfugge all’equità. E questa necessità sa liente a traverso il periodo regio spiega la tradizione de' Commentarii di Servio, la reazione del Superbo, la fine della m o narchia sotto questa reazione, l'avvenimento della repubblica col disegno di Servio passato a Bruto, e primo prodotto della repubblica il Tribuno che a sua volta produce la promulgatio. In fatti, quanto tempo corre dal regifugium alla promulgatio? Ben sessant'anni vi corrono, e tra queste due generazioni sorge in mezzo il tribuno. Accanto al cadavere di Gneo Genunzio sono possibili le rogazioni di Publilio Valerone, di Terentillo Arsa, di Siccio Dentato, sino alla istituzione de'Decemviri le gibus scribundis.Olitiche er io udo del gurt zione is ienterne cara 6; di Sem o chen Tulli e  Quando si domanda che è la legge scritta e promulgata, si risponde che è l'eguale notizia della legge. E codesta egualità è l'equità prima e rudimentale, è il primo aequum bonum, ė la prima aequitas spectanda, è la prima libertas aequanda, è il primo poter dire formalmente summis infinisque jura aequare. Formalmente ancora,anzi appena,ma quanto costa questa prima equità,senza della quale nessun'altra sarà possibile,quante secessioni della plebe, ed un tribuno ucciso malgrado il caput Jovi sacrum intimato all'uccisore, e finalmente la figura tipica di Cincinnato, intervenuto ad equilibrare le parti nella lotta d e cennale tra l'istituzione del Decemvirato e la promulgazione delle prime dieci tavole! La promulgazione, primo grado dell'equità formale, appunto perchè tale, può far tanta ingiuria al fine ed alla natura del l'equità, da rilevare la contraddizione nella parola istessa. A l lora il patriziato può inventare una parola nuova, inciderla in una colonna, e la colonna alzare nell'area, dov'erano le case distrutte di un plebeo ucciso. AEQUIMELIUM:ecco la nuova pa rola che annunzia in tuono di sfida la contraddizione tra il fatto e la forma. Questa contraddizione dichiarata tra la legge nota a tutti e favorevole a pochi, questa spinge al secondo momento dell'e quità formale, all'eguaglianza di tutti innanzi alla legge. Questa seconda equità sforza a tenere equilibrato conto delle condi zioni o circostanze che accompagnano i fatti e le persone, gli effetti e le intenzioni, affinchè la parità innanzi alla legge sia reale. Ecco il Pretore. L'editto prelorio è da prima l'equità ne'casi particolari, è, ciò che dev'essere l'eguaglianza innanzi alla legge, l'equità particolareggiata. Forse l'avvenimento del Pretore è un fenomeno puramente giuridico o giudiziario in disparte dalla vita politica di Roma?  È il prodotto della più travagliosa politica, determinata dalla più grande evoluzione giuridica della coscienza romana. II Pretore sorge, quando ai Decemviri legibus scribundis sono succeduti i Decemviri sacris faciundis, cioè quando il diritto augurale è passato dal patriviato alla plebe,quando ai tribuni con solari patrizii si contrappongono le rogazioni licinie, quando la plebe sale ad occupare il consolalo, la dittatura, il diritto cen sorio ed ogni magistratura curule, quando le ragioni pubļilie ci avvisano che la republlica di aristocratica è fatta democratica: eguaglianza di tutti innanzi alla legge. Costituitosi l'istituto pretorio, si risolve un gran problema sociale e s'inizia un nuovo periodo politico. Il problema sociale, risolutosi nella quarta secessione della plebe e per la dittatura di Valerio Corvo, è la liquidazione dei debiti e la divisione dell'agro pubblico. Il pericdo politico che s'inizia,è l'unificazione d'Italia. Il periodo unitario è annun ziato dalla prima guerra sannitica. Tra l'unificazione d'Italia e l'unificazione di tutti sudditi dell'impero fioriscono tutt'i grandi giureconsulti, onde si onora e perpetua la sapienza latina, Elio,Catone, Scevola, Servio Sul picio,Labeone, Sabino, Giuliano, Gajo, Papiniano, Paolo, Ulpiano,  Perciò, quando Vico avvisa che con la legge Publilia e con la Petelia tra gli anni 416 e 419 di Roma si passa dalla libertà signorile istituita da Giunio Bruto alla repubblica popolare,ebbe presente Livio: Quum tamen per dictatorem datae discordiae sunt, concessumque ab nobilitate plebi de con sule plebeio, a plebe nobilitati de proetore uno, qui jus in urbe diceret, ex Patrilus creando.- Ed ecco l'origine politica del pretore, la quale dichiara questo processo della storia romana: 1° esigenza giuridica rogazioni licinie; 2° mutamento poli tico repubblica popolare; 3° legge conditionibus se Se questo non fosse stato il processo della storia, e la legge non indicasse il mutamento politico, e questo non indicasse un periodo compiuto della coscienza giuridica, si continuerebbe a costruire una storia romana su'fasti femminei, e si direbbe che con Lucrezia cadde la monarchia, con Virginia il Decemvirato, e con una Fabia la repubblica signorile. editto pretorio. Sopra ogni altro è celebrato il responso di Papiniano,perchè più universale, e la cui ultima parola coincide con l'imperiale costituzione della cittadinanza universale. Il responso di Papirio, venuto prima del periodo unitario, e quelli di Ermogene, di Gregorio, di Triboniano e di Teofilo, arrivati con la decadenza, non ritraggono l'ufficio dell'equità romana. Ma codesta equità che di formale tende a farsi sostanziale, e da Roma si espande per l'Italia e dall'Italia nel mondo, è veramente l'equità u m ina? ha assunto l'ultima espressione nel responso di Papiniano? percið vive ancora, interrogata e cele brata in tutti gli Atenei del mondo? il mondo, insomma,studia il diritto romano),perchè fu davvero umano? S  Modestino. Più si dilata l'unificazione e più universaleggia il responso; e, come più il responso si fa universale, più ancora l'equità penetra dalla forma nel contenuto. A noi conviene esaminare partitamente i tre grandi periodi dell'equità in Roma. N e rimarrà illustrata la storia della nostra antica grandezza.  A me par di avere con sufficiente chiarezza fermata questa legge storica: che nella successione delle cose civili il mutamento politico framezza tra una nuova esigenza giuridica e la legge scritta. A coloro che hanno paura di ogni formola, cre dendola una minaccia metafisica o una nuova invasione scola stica, e non sanno che le formole sono o definizioni genetiche o espressione di leggi naturali, traduco questa legge storica in queste espressioni più analitiche: prima si determina un nuovo bisogno ed una nuova coscienza giuridica; poi Se cosi non procedessero le cose civili, mancherebbe l'ar tefice della nuova legge, mancherebbe la causa de'mutamenti politici. Non parlo delle congiure, delle sėtte, de'regicidii e di altre cause apparenti de'mutamenti politici per non creare a me stesso objezioni puerili a pretesto di analisi lunghe e volgari: tutti sanno che non c'è effettuale mutamento politico,se in fondo non ci sia una grande e maturata esigenza giuridica, la dichia razione di qualche diritto comune lungamente contrastato: m a non tutti sanno se ogni nuova esigenza giuridica basti a cagio nare un mutamento politico.] stenze più o meno travagliose - un mutamento dopo resi politico;in ul timo, fica e sancisce dal nuovo potere costituito la nuova esigenza promana giuridica la legge. che speci   causa di mutamento politico ogni dichiarazione di diritto, che implica una diminuzione di privilegio nell'ordine domi nante. Cotesta dichiarazione ordinata a diminuzione di preminenze implica sempre,più o meno, un summis infimisque jura ae qu ire.Ogni periodo dell'equità, dunque, annunzia un nuovo pe riodo politico. Sono evidenti le due illazioni: non sono mutamenti politici quelli non giustificati da una nuova dichiarazione di diritti; non SONO mutamenti durevoli quelli non prodotti da larga e co sciente dichiarazione di diritti. Quindi, vi può essere molto sangue civile senza rivoluzione, ed una grande rivoluzione incruenta. N'emerge evidente non potersi fare la storia giuridica di un popolo senza la storia della costituzione politica: i periodi sono gli stessi: le fasi della causa si riscontrano nell'effetto. Nel momento,in che si passa dalla convivenza gentilizia alla costituzione politica, in Roma comincia lo Stato: il membr o della convivenza era gentilis, il membro della costituzione era civis. Le genti erano Ramnes, Tities, Luceres, Albani, Sabini, Romulei; la loro unità civile e militare fece lo Stato. Secondo più o meno si partecipava della costituzione politica, si era più o meno cittadino: civis optimo vel non optimo jure; e l'unità fra tutti era personificata dal re, il quale, come ho detto, era unità giuridico-militare. Come istituzione giuridica, raccoglieva in sè il potere legislativo e giudiziario;come istitu zione militare, movea l'esercito e gli agenti esecutivi. Dissi ancora che non somiglia a nessun altro re antico e m o derno: non era assoluto, perchè la sovranità era nel popolo;ne costituzionale, perché il suo imperium era temperato dal genio giuridico di Roma e dagli ordinamenti patrizii, non da un co stituito potere rappresentativo.  Se la sovranità era nel popolo, l'imperium non si poteva esercitare dal re senza una legge curiata de imperio, una specie   di delegazione di sovranità. Mommsen non crede a questa legge primitiva de imperio e la dice trasportata per errore dalla ele zione consolare a quella de're. Ho ragione di credere piuttosto a LIVIO ed a CICERONE, i quali la deducono dall'istessa natura del potere regio, dall'essenza dello imperium. Non è lecito dubitare delle tradizioni del giure pubblico, del quale le for mole si trasmettono letteralmente. Rottosi il potere regio, l'imperium e conseguentemente la lex de impario, intesa come investitura, di perpetui divennero annui, cioè passarono dai re ai consoli, che Cicerone chiama potestas annua jure regia. Le altre magistrature ordinarie che sorgeranno più tardi, come la censura, l'edilità curule, la pre tura, la questura, saranno diramazioni del consolato. A voler secondare le tradizioni, niente è più difficile di co testo passaggio dalla monarchia al consolato. Secondo Tacito il transito sarebbe stato determinato dalla libertà,cioè dal proposito di più liberi ordinamenti. LIBERTATEM et consulatum L. Brulus instituit. Vico non consente, perché la repubblica sopravvenuta fu più signorile del principato,fu rivolta di patrizii che consen tirono a Bruto l'istituzione del consolato, non della libertà. C'è più di ragione in Tacito, perché il passaggio dal principato alla repubblica fu una evoluzione della legge curiata de imperio, la quale implicava la temporaneità e la responsabilità del potere. E questi due fattori che la tradizione doveva avere allogato nei Commentarii di Servio Tullio,passarono al primo Bruto.Non è di picciol valore la parola annua nella definizione data da Ci cerone alla potestà consolare, e, come più diminuisce la durata dell'imperium, più cresce la responsabilità. I re potevano allora, come oggi, rispondere innanzi alle rivoluzioni ed alla guerra; i consoli, compiuto l'anno, erano esposti, non rei gerundae caussa sed rei gestae, alle accuse de'loro concittadini. E mi piace di risermare contro M o m m s e n che non la lex de imperio è una evoluzione della repubblica, ma la repubblica è una evo luzione della lex dc imperio. E sotto questo rispetto si può ri   petere con Tacito: Libertatem et consulatum L. Brutus in stituit; s'egli è vero che la temporaneità e la responsabilità dell'imperium sono i primi fattori della libertà politica. Quando affermo che l'evoluzione della lex curiata de i m perio mena dalla monarchia alla tepubblica, io rifermo questo alto principio, che i rivolgimenti politici sono prima periodi nella evoluzione del diritto. Senza questo processo, tanto è razionale spiegare l'origine della repubblica romana con una insurrezione di patrizii, intesi a sostituire l'aristocrazia al monarcato,quanto era possibile alla congiura de'Baroni rovesciare nel reame di Napoli il principato, per ricostruire,con prelesto popolare, tutt'i vecchi ordini feudali. Bisogna quindi rifermare che,come Tacito, usando la parola libertà nel senso spiegato sopra, ha ragione contro Vico, cosi Livio, riserendo a tutte le otto generazioni passate attraverso i sette re la lex de imperio,ha pienamente ragione contro M o m m Se si sposta o si tronca questa tradizione, l'avvenimento della repubblica esplode, non si spiega. Non è facile spostare certe tradizioni nè confutare alcune parole dei classici. Caduto il monarcato, contro la mutabilità delle magistrature e l'incertezza delle deliberazioni popolari rimase, sola istituzione stabile, il senato, già corpo consultivo, durante il principato, e, nella repubblica, istituto legislativo, politico ed amministrativo. Il potere amministrativo gli apparteneva intero, cosi sull'agro pubblico come rispetto ai fondi del pubblico tesoro. Intero gli [Livio e Dionigi d'Alicarnasso ci tramandano quasi l'identica tradi zione della legge regia. Cicerone ne'libri della Repubblica cura di ripe tere per ogni elezione di re le parole dette per l'elezione di Numa Pompilio: Quamquam populus curiatis cum comitiis regem esse jusserat, tamen ipse de suo imperio curiatam legem tulit. La costanza delle pa role di Cicerone indica due cose: la tenacità delle formole del diritto p u b blico e idocumenti pubblici,ai quali Cicerone aveva dovuto attingere. Ed io,considerando la legge curiata come il fondamento di tutto ildiritto pubblico romano, non solo stimo il passaggio dalla monarchia alla repubblica essere stata una evoluzione di questa legge,ma stimo una evoluzione della  - sen.   apparteneva il governo della politica estera, per due ragioni: per la competenza e per il carattere militare dello Stato romano. È vero che tutti gli Stati sono gelosi e, quando possono, inva denti,e gli Stati antichi più de'moderni; ma sopra tutti gli antichi e moderni,lo Stato romano,al quale peregrinus erat hostis, e pax erat pactum, quasi stato di tregua, non di natura. Quanto alla politica interna ed al potere legislativo, il S e nato li aveva, partecipe il popolo convocato in comizii, i quali erano istituzioni giuridico-militari: giuridiche per il fine, mili tari nella forma. Militarmente il popolo interveniva, quasi exer citus urbanus, e militarmente non discuteva, ma rispondeva seccamente il suo uti rogas o antiquo. E bene, fu quest'assenza di discussione dall'assemblee p o polari la grande politica e la gran forza di Roma, fu il segreto della rapidità nelle deliberazioni, nell'esecuzione, e, assai volte, il segreto delle vittorie. Si o No. Ferrari, ricordando dall'Amlet che la discussione tronca il nerbo all'azione, vede l'inferiorità delle repubbliche quanto alla rapidità dell'azione; ma non vide di quanto la repubblica romana avanzava per senno politico le repubbliche elleniche, e per subitezza d'azione tutti gli Stati moderni, compresa l'Inghilterra. Devo ricordare che questo carattere militare che Roma manifesta sinanco ne'comizii, questo exercitus urbanus, che ricorda l'exercitus castris, non si dissocia mai dal genio giuridico di questo popolo agricoltore. Mai da' Romani fu fatta guerra per medesima il transito dalla repubblica signorile alla popolare, e dalla repubblica all'impero, quando, per nuove necessità, l'investitura de'poteri passò dalle magistrature temporanee all'imperatore. Nè dalla filosofia della storia né da'fonti mi risulta ragione alcuna, per la quale Mommsen possa affermare che la lex de imperio sia narrazione inventata evidente mente dagli insegnanti di diritto pubblico ai tempi della repubblica per loro fini. Per quali fini? Vedo invece che l'eridenza appunto manca alla sua affermazione, e che,facendo riposare egli stesso lalegge curiatasopra con suetudine antichissima,risale con Livio, con Dionigi d'Alicarnasso e col suo ingiustamente deriso Cicerone,sino ai tempi della prima monarchia romana) aggressione, more latronum; mai guerra non dichiarata o per cause ingiuste, bellum iniquum: volevano iustum, purumque duellum; e con l'intervento de custodi della fede pubblica che erano i feciali, volevano pium bellum. Popolo belligero questo di Roma, perchè una missione giuridica non fu compita mai co'sermoni,ma che per questo appunto conobbe ed osservò il diritto delle genti più che gli altri Stati meno bellicosi,special mente con l'osservanza massima del rispetto agli ambasciatori. Tutte le formule per la dichiarazione di guerra ci sono di stesamente tramandate da Livio. Coloniale,quello de'cittadini romani trapiantati in citta vinta. Cosi lo Stato romano, primo efficace colonizzatore del mondo, asseguiva due fini: dava stabilità alla conquista e sgravavasi, in parte, del proletariato urbano. I coloni conservavano la piena cittadinanza cum suffragio et iure honorum. Municipale era il diritto civile di un comune non conqui stato,ma ridotto ad obbedienza verso Roma,  conqualche obbligo (munus), come o di servizio militare o d'imposizione tributaria o dell'uno e dell'altra. Municipes erant cives romani sine suf fragio et iure honorum. Provinciale era proprio il diritto che avanzava ai vinti.Non più civis né la quasi effigies populi romani, dove troviamo un populus stipendiarius, un popolo cioè senza cittadinanza, senza territorio proprio,e spesso senza il commercium.Che è,dunque, che può essere avanzato ai vinti? Non più di quel che si trova o nella clemenza o nell'ira o nella convenienza del vincitore. E la convenienza, sotto specie di magnanimità, prevaleva nel decreto del magistrato delegato ad ordinare la provincia. Duramente Gaio: Quasi quaedam praedia populi romani sunt vecti galia nostra atque provinciae. Il Mommsen segue Festo non Niebuhr nell'etimologia della parola provincia, da vincere, sia) 11'1 Con la guerra il diritto romano dilargavasi, e risultanze diverse della guerra erano le tre forme che, uscito di Roma, il diritto assumeva: coloniale, municipale, provinciale.   poi che pro significhi il procedere de'due eserciti consolari, come piace a Mommsen, sia che ante, come piacque a Festo. Il certo è che dalla diversa vittoria si traggono le distinzioni ve dute da Cicerone tra la Sicilia e le altre provincie. M a per giungere a lutte queste diverse gradazioni del dritto, suori di Roma,le quali sono effetti diversi della guerra, bi sogna aver superato il periodo della repubblica aristocratica,di quella immediatamente succeduta al regno, quando i patrizii avevano tre mezzi per deludere é menomare della plebe, ed essere entrati nel periodo della repubblica p o polare, quando, meglio equilibrate le parti, comincia l'epoca dell'unificazione italica. I mezzi de'patrižii erano la convocatio, l'auctoritas patrum e l’ius augurale. I patrizii potevano convocare le assemblee e cancellare, per vizio formale, le deliberazioni popolari; e, quando, convocata l'assemblea, il voto accennava ad un certo indirizzo, potevano troncarlo, spingendo l'augure - a sciogliere il comizio con la formola: Ali odie: a tempo senza misura! Importa ricordare le parole di Cicerone, DE DIVINATIONE: Fulmen sinistrum, auspicium optimum habemus ad omnes res, praeter quam ad comitia: quod quidem institutum reipublicae causa est, ut comitiorum, vel in judiciis populi, vel in iure legum, vel in creandis magistratibus, principes civitatis essent interpretes. Ecco, dunque, gl'interpreti de'comizii,principes civitatis; ed anche il fulmen sinistrum per frustrare il voto diveniva infau stum omen ! La formola,dunque, di Cicerone in DE LEGIBUS: Potestas in populo, auctoritas in Senatu sit, traducevasi una potestà senza potere. Occorrerà, dunque, qualche cosa, perchè questa potestà sia potere: occorrerà che trovi in sè l'autorità sua. Allora è necessario che il popolo abbia certa notizia della procedura, abbia certezza delle leggi, e che l'ignoto della legge le deliberazioni  115 ufficio patrizio   116 non sirisolva nell'arbitrio de'principes civitatis. Ed ecco la ne cessità della promulgatio, la quale non significa tanto notizia quanto certezza delle leggi. Non istiamo a ripetere quanta lotta costasse la promulgatio, perchè le parole di Livio e di Cicerone non superano il vero, quando affermano che prima della pubblicazione delle dodici tavole il diritto civile era riposto ne'penetrali de'pontefici: re positum in penetralibus pontificum; m a lo superano, quando si tirano sino ai tempi posteriori alle dodici tavole. Certo che lotta fiera si dovette combattere per sottrarre il diritto ai penetrali de'pontefici, cioè all'ordine, cui i pontefici appartenevano, il quale a sua posta governava i comizii con la convocazione, con l'autorità e col diritto sacro. M a senza bisogno di gran lotta venne la pubblicazione delle formole procedurali, fatta da Gneo Flavio un secolo e mezzo dopo le dodici tavole, pubblicazione intesa sotto il nome di ius civile Flavianum, con la quale la plebe liberavasi dal bisogno di ricorrere e consultare i ponte fici. Se le formole comprensive non saranno mai oziose, si può dire cosi: le dodici tavole democratizzano la notizia del diritto; l’ius civile Flavianum laicizza la procedura e la giuri sprudenza. Doveva costar lotta la premessa, con la quale apri vasi un periodo storico, non la conclusione, con la quale chiu devasi.  1 Considerando il significato della promulgazione, io non posso credere agli scrittori che con beata semplicità stimano poco de mocratico e niente normale l'ufficio del tribuno in Roma. A f fermo invece che le dodici tavole non si sarebbero potute mai promulgare senza gran lotta contro il patriziato, cui giovava il mistero delle leggi e segnatamente della procedura, senza della quale le leggi non si muovono; che questa promulgazione fu strappata in nome della prima equità,della prima aequanda li bertas, almeno circa la notizia e certezza delle leggi; e che questa prima equità sarebbe stata ineffabile ed inconseguibile senza la persona sacra del tribuno. Il tribuno è il risultamento più normale,più naturale della prima lotta tra il patriziato e la plebe; e non solo senza il tribuno non s'intenderebbe la pr o mulgatio, ma questa appunto compendia e spiega la più diretta missione dell'ufficio tribunizio: onde il popolo per conseguirla sospende nel decennio decemvirale sinanco la provocatio ad populum. Ora, quel che resta a sapere circa il valore della promulga zione, si è se quiesta prima equità consista soltanto nella eguale notizia della legge o, insieme, nella sostanza della legge istessa. [B.: Saggio critico del diritto penale e del nuovo fondamento etico. Napoli. Vedi ancora Corso di Scienza del Diritto. Napoli. Scritti filosofici e politici, Napoli. Cicerone, incerto sempre tra l'aristocrazia e la democrazia, ma,come tutte le tempre deboli e gli opinatori saliti in fama, piuttosto blanditore del patriziato, ecco ciò che fa dire contro il tribunato nel DE LEG.: Nam mihi quidem pestifera videtur (la potestà de'tribuni), quippe quae in  Un occhio alle dodici tavole chiarirà col fatto questo primo assioma di legislazione positiva: che, quanto più lato in uno statuto od in un codice è il diritto penale, tanto più stretta è l'equità civile. E questo spiega da una parte la voce continua dell'equità: Summum jussum mainjuria; ed all'altra, questa legge storica d'ogni legislazione positiva: il dritto penale e l'e quilà civile movonsi nella storia in ragione inversa (1). Credo avere largamente dimostrato in queste opere, che, quando si vo glia tener giusto conto de'fenomeni storici e considerare il valore degli istituti lungamente durati, convien dire che,come il naturale risultato della lotta tra la monarchia ed il popolo fu il consolato, cioè la regia potestà annua e responsabile, così il risultato naturale della lotta tra patriziato e plebe fu il tribunato, per la certezza de'diritti della plebe.Non solo nulla di anormale troviamo nell'istituzione tribunizia, la quale non fu mai un ba stone ferreo tra le ruote dello Stato romano,ma, fattasi popolare la re pubblica, tutte le magistrature troviamo come una evoluzione della potestà tribunizia. Gl'imperatori dovettero entrare in questa forma. Tacito pre senta Augusto consulem se ferens et ad tuendam plebem TRIBUNITIO IURE contentum, e il primo editto di Tiberio tribunitiae potestatis praescri ptione.   Esaminiamo. Cicerone vede il Libellus XII Tabularum superare le biblioteche di tutt'i filosofi per due ragioni: aucto ritatis pondere et utilitatis ubertate. Cosi, nel De Oratore. Nei libri della Repubblica l'entusiasmo sbolle, ed ei condanna gli ultimi decemviri: qui, duabus tabulis iniquarum legum additis, quibus, etiam quae disjunctis populis tribui solent, connubia, haec illi ut ne plebei cum patricibus essent inhumanissima lege sanxerunt. Ma è questa la sola ineguaglianza, onde Cicerone, ammiratore delle tradizioni, si lasci trasportare sino alla parola inumanissima? Furono più inumani,più patrizii, più aristocra tici i secondi decemviri legibus scribundis dei primi? Quando nella III Tavola leggiamo contro il debitore: Tertiis nundinis partis secanto; si plus minusve secuerint, ne fraude eslo; noi non dobbiamo commentare col relore Quintiliano che alcune cose illaudabili per natura siano permesse dal diritto, m a dobbiamo fingere di ricorrere ad una certa sapienza crudel srditione et ad seditionem nata sit: cujus primum ortum si recordari columus,inter arma civium etoccupatis etobsessisurbislocis,procrea tum videmus.Deinde quum esset cito letatus, tanquam ex XII Tabulis insigni ad deformitatem puer, brevi tempore ręcreatus, multoque toe trior etfedior natus est.IlTribunato,dunque,è venuto fuori come bam bino mostruoso e deforme! Ma come avviene che si svolge per tre secoli almeno di vita eroica? e v’ha nella storia un provvisorio di tre secoli? E nato ad seditionem o contra vim auxilium? Si può perdonare a Cicerone d'avere ignorato, allora, che tutt'i diritti nascono in seditione, m a non si può ignorare oggi che senza i tribuni nè icomizii tributi sarebbero mai nati, nè plebisciti si sarebbero mai fatti, né i plebis scita avrebbero in s e guito acquistato valore di populi scita, nè la promulgatio sarebbe mai avvenuta,nè mai pubblicate quelle tanto celebrate XII Tarole, delle quali tanto ammiratore si professa egli proprio,Cicerone,nè la repub blica di signorile sarebbe passata a popolare,nè,in ultimo,egli,Cicerone, sarebbe mai stato console, o, eletto, si sarebbe davvero detto di lui quello che in miglior senso diceva M. Catone: Dii boni, quam ridiculum con su lim habemus ! Seneca ci dice che ai tempi di Tito Livio disputavasi se fosse stato meglio per la repubblica che Cesare fosse nato,o no.Era meglio investigare,iodico,sesenzailtribunovisarebbemaistatarepubblica) mente pietosa escogitata da Aulo Gellio, che cioè gl'infelici sian fatti salvi dall'istessa enormità della pena: Eo consilio tanta i m manilas poenae denuntiata est, ne ad eam unquam perveni retur. La quale sentenza, divulgata ne'tempi dell'autore delle notti attiche, è respinta erroneamente sino ai tempi abbastanza reali del primo decemvirato: reali nel senso, che le leggi erano scritte per esser fatte. Se la carità del tempo ha voluto portar via dalla Tavola IV de jure patrio le disposizioni durissime circa la patria potestà sconfinata, resta la traduzione di Dionigi d'Alicarnasso che la riassumecosi: Siveeum (filium)incarcerem conjicere,sivefla gris caedere, sive vinctum ad rusticum opus detinere, sive occi dere vellet. Papiniano riassume in tre parole: Vitae necisque potestas. Forse sino alla virilità del figlio? Toto vitae tempore licet filius jam rempublicam administraret et inter s u m m o s magistratus censeretur, et propter suum studium in rempubli cam laudaretur. E si dà cura Dionigi di farci sapere che i D e cemviri non ebbero a portarla di fuori, come si favoleggiava, questa legge, m a a dedurla da quella che Papiniano chiamava lex regia, farla quarta delle dodici e metterla nel foro: Sublato regno, decem viri inter caeteras retulerunt, extat que in XII Tabularum, ut vocant, quarta, quas tunc in foro posuere. Ciò che resta di questa tavola, è il più umano, in che modo cioè si possa affermare: Filiusapatreliberesto;ma ciòcheil tempo ha cancellato, non è tale da giustificare tutto lo sdegno di Cicerone contro soltanto le ultime due delle dodici.  E che si deve dire, rispetto all'eguaglianza, quando si passa alla tavola V, per considerare la condizione delle donne, eccet tuate le Vestali? Anche qui il tempo ha passato la spugna,ma restano le istituzioni di Gaio per darci notizia di quel che manca: Veteres voluerunt feminas, etiamsi perfectae aetatis sint, prop ter animi levitatem in tutela esse... Loquimur autem, exceptis virginibus vestalibus, itaque etiam lege XII. Tabularum cau tum est.   Quando vuolsi davvero spiare dove un corpo privilegiato, predominante e nel medesimo tempo minacciato, studia l'alto riparo, si dà uno sguardo alla legislazione penale. L'abbon danza,la ferocia delle pene, la rapidità della procedura penale, compensano la parvità della ragion civile. Una tavola delle d o dici,l'ottava, de delictis, ci fa intendere che i decemviri,già scelti nell'ordine de'senatori,nè tra gli Dei indigeni nè tra'pe regrini accolgono la Dea Clemenza. Cicerone mostra consolar sene, assermando, ne'libri della Repubblici, che per pochi m a leficii le XII Tavole stabilirono la pena capitale. Il vero si è che, oltre il taglione, comune già a quasi tutte le legislazioni penali primitive, e le verghe che scendono ad illividire anche l'impu bere, la morte vi spesseggia, tanto che, traboccata dalla tavola ottava, entra ad occupare due disposizioni della nona, la quale tratta non più di reati e pene, ma de jure publico.  120 Si noti, a questo proposito, che l'assenza della morte dalla tavola X (dejure sacro) ricorda che la religione in Roma, se condo il carattere italico,non è l'elemento predominante, e che, come ho notato sopra,in Roma piuttosto gli Dei intervengono in servigio dell'uomo, che l'uomo degli Dei. E il rapido decre scere della giurisdizione pontificale ne'giudizii penali riserma questo concetto. Non è già che io tenga poco conto delle testi monianze di Dione, di Livio e di Tacito rispetto all’espiazione religiosa; ma voglio dire che nell'intervento del principio sa crale in tutte le legislazioni penali primitive è notevole questa differenza, che, dove presso gli altri popoli entra come conte nuto, in Roma interviene piuttosto come forma; altrove cioè gli offesi possono essere gli Dei che costituiscono espiatrice la pena, e in Roma l'elemento sacrale serve a rendere più temibile la pena, senza nè sospendere la provocatio ad populum, nè sot trarre ai comizii centuriati il diritto di sentenziare negli affari capitali per un cittadino romano. CICERONE ricorda nel De le gibus che le dodici tavole vietano di deliberare di cosa capitale fuori del comizio massimo: De capite civis rogari, nisimaximo   comitiatu, vetat.-- Non dimentico nemmeno l'etimologia sacra delle parole supplicium e castigatio; m a ricordo che Festo concorda con Cicerone, affermando: At homo sacer is est quem POPULUS indicavit ob maleficium. E quel populus chiarisce la molta differenza dal diritto germanico, secondo il quale la di vinità direttamente offesa chiede espiazione diretta per mezzo dei suoi sacerdoti. Avverrà subito, ed anche in seditione, che dall'una egua glianza si tenti passare all'altra, dalla formale alla sostanziale, dalla eguale certezza della legge,alla certezza della legge eguale, e che appunto il matrimonio sarà l'argomento del transito, perchè contro i corollarii, cioè contro gli effetti visibili, c o m i n ciano le sedizioni popolari; ma questa sedizione appunto, questa prima sedizione contro le dodici tavole, doveva avvertire Cice rone che quel divieto di certo connubio era il corollario, cioè  121 Tolto l'elemento sacro, resta abbastanza di asprezza penale per fare intendere quanto poco spazio resti alla ragione civile, la quale non può durare in tanta ineguaglianza, se non mante nendo la distanza tra' due ordini. Quindi, l’undecima tavola che vieta il matrimonio tra'patrizi e plebei, è l'espresso corollario delle dieci prime, è l'opera, onde i secondi decemviri compiono quella de'prini, è la lontananza custode dell'ineguaglianza. Come il senatore veneto non arrivava a comprendere il con nubio tra il moro Otello e la bianchissima Desdemona, cosi il senato romano non l'avrebbe compreso tra patrizii e plebei, due ordini lontani quanto due razze.La pari certezza della legge si,non la parità di diritti nelle leggi. Or,di che si sdegna Cicerone? Che il matrimonio, permesso d'ordinario anche co'po poli stranieri, sia interdetto fra'plebei ed i patrizii con inuma nissima legge. È sdegno rettorico, è, almeno, poco logico, è troppo postumo, troppo gelido: egli aveva troppo ammirato le premesse. Le dodici tavole son fatte, perchè tutti abbiano l'e guale certezza della legge (e fu vittoria della plebe), e tutti la certezza della legge ineguale (e fu vittoria del patriziato). che quella lontananza tra gli ordini era designata a custodire l'ineguaglianza tra'sommi e gl'infimi. È da esaminare, in fatti, donde comincia la reazione della plebe contro le dodici tavole, affinchè l'equità cominci a p e n e trare nel contenuto della legge. Non si deve credere che co minci con la legge Valeria Orazia De plebiscitis due anni dopo la promulgazione delle dodici tavole, per le seguenti ragioni: 1o perchè questa legge è la semplice soluzione di un diritto con troverso circa il valore de'plebisciti, non è l'affermazione di un diritto nuovo e contrastato; 22 che il plebiscito, anche fattosi obbligatorio per tutto il popolo, non si sottrae all'auctoritas patrum per l'esecuzione; 3a che non per questa legge arse la terza sedizione, di cui parla Floro, nè avvenne la secessione sul Gianicolo,della quale parla Plinio; 4a che questa legge non si intitola da tribuni, ma da consoli. Livio dice che si venne a questa soluzione, « ut quod tributim plebes jussisset, populum teneret », 0, per dirla con Plinio, « ut quod plebs jussisset, omnes Quirites teneret », perchè prima cið era in controverso iure. Ma quando fu che la plebe arse in vera sedizione sul Gia nicolo? quale e perchè una terza sedizione, dopo le due, l'una sul monte Sacro e l'altra sull'Aventino? e perchè contro le d o dici tavole, se tanto le aveva volute, e se la promulgazione di queste era stato il massimo ufficio tribunizio, e sei anni appena e non interi dopo la promulgazione? Ed, ecco, qui appare il nome di un tribuno, Caio Caruleio, una rogazione vivamente contrastata ed una sedizione vera di plebe che assale la legge nelle conseguenze ed osa divorar la distanza tra sé ed i patrizii per appianare l'ineguaglianza. La ribellione contro le dodici tavole comincia contro l'ultimo corollario: la plebe non sillogizza invidiosi veri intorno alle cause, assale l'effetto. Rotto il primo, tira sulle cause. E quella gene razione che spezza il primo effetto, è destinata ad atterrare tutta l'istituzione. Tal è il significato della Legge Canuleia De connubio patrum et plebis. Fatta la breccia, esaminiamo che cosa in trent'anni resta di tutto l'edificio delle dodici tavole. Per la generazione che succede, si troverà che la cosa men necessaria è il carmen necessarium.Averlo fatto imparare e cantare a coro da fanciulli non vuol già dire che il carme dell'ira non suonerà più alto da coro di uomini armati. La prima sedizione è contro il supremo corollario delle d o dici tavole, contro il divieto di matrimonio fra patrizii e plebei; l'ultima sedizione di questa medesima generazione è contro il console patrizio, vietante la divisione dell'agro pubblico tra i plebei, i quali per questa via si liberavano di fatto dalla terza delle dodici tavole, dalla più aristocratica, da quella appunto che, secondo VICO, doveva sancire il diritto feudale rustico del carcere privato, che i patrizii avevano sopra i plebei debitori. E, sebbene il Console fosse vincitore o stesse sopra il terreno vinto, pur vide i Tribuni prevalere ed i lieti onori trionfali tor nargli ne'tristi lutti dell'esilio. Poche considerazioni storiche varranno a lumeggiare i fatti esposli in questo capitolo. 1. La legge agraria, reclamata e non potuta attuare dal l'anno 268 di Roma sino all'anno 299, cioè reclamata e non potuta attuare da tutta la generazione che precede alla promul gazione delle dodici tavole, é e doveva essere la conclusione pratica della generazione che succede alle dodici tavole. Ciò che erasi cominciato nel sangue patrizio di Spurio Cassio,dove vasi compiere con l'esilio di Furio Camillo, patrizio vincitore. 2. Questa generazione succeduta alla promulgazione delle dodici tavole, cominciando la lotta contro la legge sul matri monio e conchiudendola con la divisione dell'agro pubblico sopra il territorio de'Vejenti, volle togliere la distanza tra gli ordini per giungere all'eguaglianza degli ordini. Potè essere detto, con sentimento del vero, che la divisione dell'agro accen nava finita la divisione de'ceti. 3. Questa divisione dell'agro dopo la comunanza de'm a trimonii, per l'eguaglianza degli ordini, dice che l'equità non  è più nella sola notizia della legge, m a dentro la legge. L'anno 363 di Roma annunzia che le XII tavole, benefiche quanto alla conseguita promulgazione, sono state superate nel conte nuto: annunzia che l'equità è passata dalla forma nella sostanza. Dietro il Tribuno verrà il Pretore, e già Caio Canuleio chiama il figlio di Furio Camillo. Se è vero che la lotta per l'esistenza, la quale è di tutti gli animali, si faccia lotta per il diritto per diventare umana, è vero pure che in nessun luogo questa lotta ebbe una espres sione più pura,cioè più umana,che in Roma,ed in nessun tempo quanto nella generazione che succede alla promulgazione delle dodici tavole. Posso dire che gli ottant'anni che corrono tra il tribuno Caio Canuleio ed il primo pretore, figlio del già espulso patrizio Furio Camillo,comprendono la più alta espres sione della lotta per il diritto. Si può dire che dentro questo periodo si raccolgono le premesse eterne della lotta umana. Dico la più pura espressione, non per enfasi, ma perchè questa lotla si fa tra uomo ed uomo, tra ordine ed ordine di cittadini per la parità civile, politica e sociale, senza intervento di Numi, senza pretesti religiosi, senza fini sovraumani.E, se in questo tempo la plebe, strappando il diritto augurale, fa n a scere i Decemviri sacris faciundis, non è già per propiziarsi i Numi o per un fine direttamente religioso, ma per un fine assolutamente ed umanamente giuridico. Questa è la grandezza di Roma, ed il segreto dello studio non solo continuo, ma crescente, intorno all'indole tipica del diritto romano. Compiamo questo esame con la ricerca dello istituto pretorio e del responso. Nella suc cessione delle cose civili il mutamento politico framezza tra una nuova esigenza giuridica e la legge scritta. Ho dimostrato, infatti, che,quando l'equità s'impone come eguale certezza della legge, il tribunato diventa magistratura tipica; e,quando l'equità s'impone come uguaglianza nella legge, la repubblica signorile si fa popolare. Non solo tutte le magistrature si aprono alla plebe, m a alcune restano esclusivamente plebee. Non si deve ricorrere, per vederne la formazione, ai m o menti astratti del pensiero, cioè ad una successione puramente logica d'idee, ma al pensiero determinato dal bisogno, cioè dalla natura,considerata sotto il doppio rispetto, nella compagine della persona e nello ambiente. Cotesto è il naturalismo storico. Il bisogno insoddisfatto ed assolutamente insuperabile per le condizioni della natura circostante non lascia sprigionare il pensiero nè iniziare civiltà veruna. Un bisogno superato, per condizioni benigne dello ambiente, libera il pensiero, ond'esce la prima favilla di una civiltà e di una storia. Insieme col pensiero sorgono alcune pretensioni, cioè una certa coscienza giuridica, proporzionata a quel bisogno, e, poco  Ora, ci sarebbe impossibile aprire questo capitolo e proce dere innanzi senza investigare come e perchè si formi una nuova esigenza giuridica. dopo, una determinata forma politica, proporzionata a quell'esi genza giuridica. Mutato,crescendo,ilbisogno,si dilatailpen siero, si evolve la coscienza giuridica, si muta la forma politica, si cangia la legislazione del giure pubblico e privato e delle rispettive procedure. Se il pensiero cresciuto levasi a superare di tanto il bisogno naturale, quanto il bisogno ha superato i mezzi e l'ambiente, allora non c'è da aspettare,nè altra forma politica, nè altra le gislazione che duri: si aspetta la rovina che seppellisce una civiltà finita, per dare origine ad una civiltà nuova che equilibri le funzioni della vita, instaurando la proporzione tra il pensiero ed il bisogno, tra il bisogno e l'ambiente. Ora, è forse un annunzio di rovina la sentenza di Plinio: Latifundia perdidere Italiam,jam vero etprovincias? Asseguita la divisione dell'agro pubblico, con la quale si chiude il periodo della forte generazione che succede alla pro mulgazione delle dodici tavole, abolita di fatto la tavola III delle dodici, depositaria della preminenza di un ordine di cittadini sull'altro, si vede nascere un gran numero di piccoli proprie tarii che comincia a formare come uno stato medio in Roma, il quale meglio de'due estremi traduce in atto il genio agrario di Roma,e,mentre da una parte serba integro il maschio costume antico e militare, dall'altra annunzia che l'equità ha fatto gran cammino: dalla forma è passata nella sostanza delle leggi. Abolita di fatto la terza delle dodici tavole, le altre undici stanno ritte come mummie che più tardi arriveranno dall'Egitto, documenti di una civiltà sepolta. Il carmen necessa rium si canterà come memoria di popolo legislatore che ha bisogno di ricordarsi per innovarsi. Per estimare quanta parte di vero si contenga nell'annunzio di rovina,che ci viene da Plinio,bisogna avere in vista il ca rattere di proprietà in Roma. Dico tirsa o quarta ecc., per seguire l'ordine più accettato. dilui. No: la lotta tra monarchia e patriziato prima, e poi, continua, tra patriziato e plebe, è possibile in Roma, in quanto qui più che prima e fuori è spiccato il sentimento personale: sentimento proprio, più che ad altri, ad un popolo agricoltore e militare, il cui genio sarà giu ridico. Chi coltiva il campo specialmente nel modo in tensivo dei primi nostri e lo disende, sente insieme più intenso il sentimento del mio e del luo, e, per conseguenza, dell'io e del tu. Intenso è, dunque, nel cittadino romano il sentimento della proprietà personale, quanto illimitato il sentimento di disporne: e l'uno e l'altro contenderanno allo Stato romano la facoltà di un'imposta fondiaria. Nė ci fu contesa: lo Stato non osò esco gitarla: vi si sarebbe ribellato ilgenio agrario di Roma.Quando dicesi mancipium, si accenna all'origine romana dellaproprietà; quando mancipatio, alla libera trasmissione; quando dominium ex jure Quiritum, all'effetto dell'uno e dell'altra; e quando res mancipi e nec mancipi, si accenna non solo ad una divisione tra le cose,ma alla prima possibilità di una possessione boni taria accanto al dominio quiritario. Troviamo, in fatti, un limite nelle dodici tavole alla facoltà di possedere e di disporre? Rispetto alla prima, non altro limite che quello di vicinanza, donde quelle servitù o recipro canza di oneri, che sono strettamente in rerum natura. La ta vola VII è mirabilmente sottile nel determinare i modi,aflinchè il dominium ex jure Quiritum non ne resti di troppo m e n o mato: neppure le chiama servitù; m a le fa passare sotto il ti tolo de jure aedium et agrorum. E rispetta tanto la pietra ter minale, segno di proprietà sovrana, che, per entrare nel campo vicino a cogliere un frutto caduto dal proprio albero, ha avuto  Bisogna, innanzi tutto,smettere ilpregiudizio,cheloStato di R o m a ripeta lo Stato greco o di nazioni incivili, durante la civiltà romana: bisogna rimuovere quest'affermazione di Hegel, che cioè il padre sfogava sulla famiglia quella durezza che lo Stato sopra   gran bisogno di dirlo: Ut glandem in alienum fundum proci dentem liceret colligere. Cosi fatto dominio, perchè del tutto quiritario rispetto al l'origine ed al genio, sarà tale anche rispetto all'estensione ed alvalore:ilforestiero non lo acquisterà innessun modo,nė per mancipazione, nè per usucapione, nè per cessione innanzi al magistrato (injure cessio), nè in maniera quale altra si voglia. Tal è il significato vero ed intero di quella legge della Tavola VI (altri impropriamente dicono della III): ADVERSUS HOSTEM AETERNA AUCTORITAS. E tutto questo è cosi assolutamente romano, che,per farlo greco più o meno,si ricorrerà invano a Solone. Sciendum est, in actione finium regundorum illud observandum esse,quod ail exemplum quodammodo ejus legis scriptum est, quam Athenis Solonem dicitur tulisse. Un quodammodo non basta a tramutare la leggenda in istoria. Rispetto poi alla facoltà di disporre, non altro limite in tutto questo periodo primitivo che quello della parola pro nunziata. QUUM NEXUM FACIET MAMCIPIUMQUE, UTI LINGUA NUN CUPASSIT, ITA JUS ESTO. Ne, quanto al testatore,sopravvengono limiti maggiori: UTI LEGASSIT SUPER PECUNIA TUTELAVE SUAE REI, ITA JUS ESTO. È facoltà sovrana di cittadino sovrano, di chi possiede ed esercita la lex curiata de imperio. Quando più tardi verrà una legge Cincia de donis et m u n e ribus ad annunziarci la necessità di un limite alla facoltà di di sporre, Questo che ho detto, non mi consente di accostarmi, come fa Mommsen,a Niebuhr che vuole introdurre qualcosa di do rico e forse di germanico,cioè di comune,nell'indole della pro prietà prediale romana, la quale fu affatto personale. Quanto alla mancata persona del figlio, non fu senza senti mento del vero averla spiegata e per la manus  1 128 è segno che la proprietà è mutata, è mutato con essa il diritto di proprietà, e che in un altro periodo è entrata la storia di Roma. espressione   del carattere militare la quale il marito aveva sopra la m o glie, e per l'istinto di padronanza che il civis optimo jure sen tiva sopra ogni suo prodotto, compreso il figlio. Non si dura fatica a vedere che la patria potestà nel civis sorge, si deter mina e si svolge piuttosto come un sentimento di proprietà, che di carità. Erano già, sin da prima, due modi di possedere separabili, perché, dove mancava la possibilità della patria p o testas, mancava il dominio ottimo; e l'uno e l'altro comprende vano facoltà illimitata di disporre. Non parmi aver dimenticato gli argomenti addotti da Ihering contro l'analogia veduta tra il dominio oltimo e la patria potestà. Io vado oltre la semplire analogia, trovo poco calzanti le osservazioni di Ihering,e domando,poichè grave è la quistione, le seguenti cose: 1.9 Fuori del sentimento o, a dir chiaro, fuori del concetto di padronanza sul prodotto, secondo il dominio ottimo, dove si andrebbe a trovare la ragione storica, efficiente, della patria potestà,cosi illimitata,cosi personale,cosi aristocratica in Roma? La si presenterebbe come una esplosione inesplicabile, della quale poi si andrebbero a cavillare le origini dentro qualche piccolo istituto tra lo storico ed il mitico e non rispondente alla grande importanza dello effetto. Le azioni per rivendicare un figlio sottostanno alla procedura delle azioni reali? Non è il giuoco della dialettica giuridica,che modella le azioni di famiglia sulle actiones in rem: è invece la costituzione della famiglia, che crea cotesta proce dura. Ogni procedura è tale, in quanto procede da un diritto e per un diritto. È un errore ricorrere ai limiti escogitati intorno alla patria potestà per separarla, o distinguerla almeno, dal dominio, perchè anche intorno al dominio furono escogitati alcuni limiti e ne'tempi più rigidi della patria potestà. Il figlio istesso poteva provocare l'interdizione pretoria contro il padre che dava fondo alla cosa domestica: Moribus per praetorem interdicitur. B., Disegno di una storia del Diritto, ecc.,ecc. in  Ecco, nel medesimo tempo,un limite alla potestà ed al do minio; m a non crea differenza. 4. Ed è un errore ricorrere al peculio, acquistabile dal figlio, per crearla una differenza tra potestà patria e dominio, perchè il peculio non arriva a distinguere, rispetto al potere paterno, illfigliodal servo.Tre cose, circailpeculio, dice chiaro VARRONE: chi può possedere il peculio (i minori ed i servi); chilopuòpermettere(ilpadre ed il padrone);  e che è il peculio la pecudibus dictum). Se un istituto c'è, in cui il pater ed il dominus si presentano proprio sotto il medesimo aspetto è appunto il peculio; e, se un luogo che possa riconfermarcelo, è questo di Varrone. Gli è vero, in ultimo, che, quanto al modo testamen tario di disporre, si vedono in fascio figli, servi e cose? Nella Tavola V si legge: Uli legassit super pecunia tutelave suae rei, ita jus esto. Occorrono davvero tempi umani per tradurre umanamente: sulla tutela de'suoi.Ma legassit implica dominio ed ordine; super spiega l'obbietto; suae rei dice in che rapporto si trovavano i suoi verso il testatore. Non ignoro che questo modo d'intendere la patriapotestà ha messo in mala vista il mondo romano innanzi agl'intelletti miti e pietosi. Ma questi hanno a considerare che una civiltà vuol essere giudicata da'suoi effetti; che il sentimento giuri dico, diffuso da Roma nel mondo, deriva dal sentimento perso nale più forte in Roma che in Grecia ed assai più che in oriente; e che da questo virile sentimento personale derivano le lotte intestine di Roma, la proprietà romana e la potestà patria. Vico crede ripetuta questa eroica barbarie nel diritto feudale, e ripetuta la distinzione tra dominio quiritario e bonitario nella differenza tra il dominio diretto e l'enfiteusi, le mancipazioni nelle solennità del diritto feudale, e le stipulazioni nelle investi ture, come aveva veduto ripetersi le adunanze aristocratiche dei Quiriti nelle corti armate e ne'parlamenti, che nella rinnovata barbarie decisero de'nobili e delle loro successioni.  Vedremo che nè i tempi ricorrono, nè le analogie sono fon damento di ricorsi, né il tribuno, il pretore e il giureconsulto si sono ripresentati alla storia. Diciamo di presente soltanto questo, che, quando in Roma si giunse a poter dire: « Patria potestas magis in charitate quam in atrocitate consistere debet » è segno che il dominio quiritario è mutato. Ed è un gran cri terio di medesimezza tra'due istituti - il dominio ottimo e la potestà patria - l'isocronismo delle loro fasi neil'evoluzione. Chi mettesse occhio a cotesto,smetterebbe dal cercare differenze sottili che non arrivano a distruggere il fondo comune. La generazione che aboliva la tavola terza, determinante il dominio ottimo, segnatamente nel creditore, aboliva di fatto anche la quarta, scemando il soverchio della patria potestà. Può af fermarsi, senza alterare la storia, che dal giorno,in cui la Legge Petillia Papiria de nexis, secondando i tribuni Sestio e Licenio, disse inumano e proibì che i debitori potessero darsi per acs et libram in servitù al creditore, e al dominio ottimo fece un grande strappo, sottraendo la servitù de'nexi, da quel giorno cominciò ad attenuarsi sopra i figli la potestà patria, crudele assai volte quanto quella de'creditori e de'padroni,per l'eterna ragione espressa in ferrea forma dall'Alfieri: « Poter mal far grand'è al mal fare invito. » Cosi potevano e facevano il padrone, ilcreditore, il padre, sul medesimo fondamento del dominio ottimo. Seneca, tratlando della clemenza, accusava Erixo che, senza convocare un consilium, aveva incrudelito nel figlio, sollevando lo sdegno del popolo che voleva esercitare contro lo snaturato le stesse forme sommarie che quegli aveva contro il figlio. Ma questa collera di popolo, della quale parla Seneca, non è una esplosione, è figlia del maturo sentimento dell'equità e risale sino a que'tempi della repubblica, ne'quali un malvagio credi tore, L. Papirio, sfogando la sua crudeltà ne'debitori, provocava una sedizione popolare, un'altra collera, onde nacque la legge    de nexis, che, già svelando la presenza del pretore, chiarisce l'equità essere passata dalla forma nel contenuto della legge. Tito Livio, in fatti, ricorda la Legge Petillia Papiria come coro namento della generazione, nella quale è apparso il pretore. Eo anno plebi romanae, velut aliud initium libertatis factum est, quod necli desierunt. Mutatum autem jus ob unius foeneratoris simul libidinem, simul crudelitatem insignem. Tre osservazioni facciano i pensatori intorno a questo luogo di Livio. La prima, che quell'aliud inilium libertatis si ha da tradurre un nuovo momento dell'equità, cioè l'equilà passata dalla forma della legge nella sostanza. La seconda, la causa o c casionale, la crudeltà falla libidine, che chiarisce e documenta la sentenza di Alfieri. La terza, nel quale si compie appunto la generazione che tra le ire civili vide appa rire, componitore equo, il pretore. Assai prima che Alessandro Severo obbligasse un padre ad accusare il figlio ai giudici ordinarii, assai prima dico, proprio nel miglior fiorire della repubblica, scaduto, innanzi a questo aliud initium libertatis, il diritto quiritario, furonorallorzatiquei consigli domestici che frenarono l'arbitrio paterno. Nella generazione,in cui apparisce ilpretore,segnacolo del l'equità nella legge, cioè dell’aliud initium libertatis, la ditta tura può essere plebea, assolutamente plebeo uno de'censori, i plebisciti, che avevano conseguito già università di leggi, si li berano dall’auctoritas patrum, si pubblicano i fasti e si pubbli cano le azioni della legge, e, pubblicati i fasti, un plebeo può  E intorno al medesimo tempo era cominciata a prevalere la sentenza di CICERONE, negli Ufficii, circa le tutele, le quali non volevano essere considerate tanto come un diritto privato ed una quasi surrogazione della potestà patria,che le imponeva incondizionatamente, quantocome un benefico usfizio sociale, ad utilitatem corum qui commissi sunt, non ad eorum quibus commissa est. E di quest'ordine delle date è da tenere gran conto per la giusta valutazione delle istituzioni.   salire al pontificato massimo. Cajo Marzio Rutiliano e Tiberio Coruncanio sono due nomi plebei che significano adempita l'equità civile e politica nella legge:il primo plebeo dittatore ed il primo plebeo pontefice massimo. Fermiamoci, per fare poche osservazioni. Che significa nell'anno 458 di Roma,ottoanni dopo la pub blicazione de'sasti e delle azioni di legge, trent'anni in punto dopo la Legge Petillia Papiria de nexis, e due generazioni dopo l'apparizione del pretore, che signisica, domando, la Legge Ortensia De plebiscilis, quando, prima e dopo del pre tore,c'erano già state la Legge Valeria-Orazia De plebiscitis e la Legge Publilia, quella ·appunto che, secondo Vico, dichiarò popolare la repubblica romana? Quando vediamo Livio, Plinio ed Aulo Gellio ripetersi intorno a questa legge de'plebi scili,e ripresentarla, riproducendo le meilesime formole,noi vo gliamo sapere se occorrevano tre leggi, o una medesima legge in tre tempi diversi,per far entrare i plebisciti tra le sorgenti di diritto pubblico e privato. M 'ė parso di vedere la critica storica imbarazzata e quasi sospettare della sincerità delle formole tra mandateci dagli scrittori citati sopra. Or bene,a me par chiaro che le tre leggi de plebiscilis in tre tempi, che abbracciano un secolo e mezzo, cio è dalla prim a i m mediata reazione contro le dodici tavole, e direttamente contro la nona, sino alla dichiarazione ellettuale della repubblica popo lare, non si ripetono,perchè in nessuna istoria si trovano nè sono possibili coteste ripetizioni, m a sono tre momenti progressivi del l'equità nel medesimo obbietto, cioè nei plebisciti, ordinati a d e mocratizzarela repubblica. Con la prima, cio è con la Valeria Orazia, si viene a dar valore di universalità ai plebisciti, secondo le tre formole con sone, l'una di Livio: Ut quod tributim plebes jussisset, populum teneret; l'altra di PLINIO. Ut quod ea jussisset, omnes Quiriles teneret; e l'altra di Aulo Gellio: Ut eo jure,quod plebes statuis set, omnes Quirites tenerentur. Con la seconda, che è la Legge Publilia, che altri mettono sollo la data del 415, altri del 416, alcuni sotto il nome di C. Publilio Filone, tribuno della plebe altri di Q. Publilio Filone, dittatore (Vico lenne giustamente io credo pel dittatore), vennesi a fare non solo obbligatoria, ma presta bilita l'auctorilas patrum per tutti i progetti di legge sottomessi ai comizii centuriati. Livio scrive: Ut legum quae comitiis centuriatis forrentur, ante inilum suffragium, Patres auctores ficrent.Ed,ecco, quell'ante initum suffragium siela l'arclorilas di un caput mortuum, sopra il quale Silla vorrà invano alitare la vita. Con la terza, che è la Legge Ortensia (458, che Plinio dice essere stata di Q Hortensius dictator, l'auctoritas è troncata di netto. La formola che abbiamo già detta di Cicerone: « Potestas in populo, auctoritas in Senatu sit », è già superata. La potestà trova in sè l'autorità, e la Legge Ortensia è l'espressione radicale della repubblica popolare.Mi sia lecito dire che la suprema equilii è questa equazione tra la potestas e l'auctoritas. Mi è parso necessario notare che l'universalilà de'plebiscili, l'obbligatorietà prestalilita dell'autorizzazione e, in ultimo, l'a bolizione dell'autorità estrinseca sono non ripetizioni di una m e desima legge, m a tre leggi plebiscitarie che dinotano dalle dodici tavole sino alla Legge Ortensia tre gra di progressivi dell'equità nella legge,tre momenti notevoli, onde la repubblica si democratizza. Chiariamolo anche meglio con una breve considerazione circa la pubblicazione de'fasti. La plebe un secolo quasi dopo i Decem virilegibus scrilun dis consegui i Decemviri sacris faciundis, edunaltro mezzo secolo dopo, democratizzata civilmenie e politica mente la repubblica, riusci a democratizzarla anche religiosa mente, occupando le dignità sacerdotali, sicchè di otto nel col legio de'pontefici ne prese quattro, e cinque de'nove nel col legio degli auguri. È segno che il giureconsulto è uscito dal l'atrium, che il suo responso non è più un oracolo, che i fasti sono pubblicali, e che la procedura, nella quale il diritto si ha  per il 416 e   da muovere, non è più un segreto di parte, ma è promulgata come il diritto istesso. L'ius Flavianum ha questo grande significato: non vi sono piu misteri. E questa espressione tra dotta dalla lingua religiosa nella lingua politica significa: non vi sono più privilegi. Questa promulgazione de'fasti, de’misteri giudiziarii e delle formole sacramentali per via di semplice evoluzione,senza urti, senza rogazioni, nè sedizioni, nè secessioni,parve alla plebe ro mana un si grande miracolo, che volle, dentro i tempi storici, creare una favola plebea e contrapporla ad una favola patrizia, cominciata a diffondersi in questi tempi. La favola patrizia era quella di Furio Camillo,scoppiato ful mineo sulla bilancia del Gallo, ed acclamato secondo fondatore di Roma.Cosi potè dirsi,un patrizio, Giunio Bruto, fondò la repubblica; un patrizio, Furio Camillo, la salvò. La favola ple bea fu quella del liberto Gneo Flavio che ruba il mistero della procedura al giureconsulto patrizio Appio Claudio Cieco e butta in pubblico i fasti e le formule sacramentali. Certo, Polibio e Diodoro Siculo non parlano del miracolo di Furio Camillo, e il loro silenzio è troppo tardi interrotto dalla narrazione drammatica di Tito Livio. E, per simile, molte erano ai tempi di Cicerone le controversie circa l'origine della pro mulgazione laviana, nè CICERONE osa spiegarsela. Ma ben si vede in quel liberto, profanatore del mistero, la plebe fatta libera, ed in quell’Appio Claudio Cieco il patriziato ignaro dei tempi. In Gneo Flavio,di liberto,creato tribuno, senatore ed in magi stratura curule, è passato l'occhio mancato ad Appio Claudio. Que'che, tormentando anche le parole, mettono in forse tante narrazioni della storia di Roma, da Romolo a Virxinia,perché non hanno osato portare la critica storica dove più occorreva, sull'origine dell'ius Flavianum? Altri, per fare più credibile il racconto, dissero che Appio Claudio della famiglia claudia, stata sempre nemica alla plebe, e punito di cecità da’Numi in età adulta per non si sa quale colpa, si fece lui proprio ispi E, dopo queste brevi considerazioni, possiamo spiegarci intero l'ufficio del pretore. Tra le sorgenti del diritto pubblico e privato sono entrati i plebisciti.Sublata auctorilate patrum, la repubblica è democratizzata del tutto. Le leggi son,ma chi pon mano ad esse? Il Magistrato. Farle è del Senato, della plebe, del popolo; dirle è del magistrato. Altro è ius condere, altro è ius dicere: due funzioni distinte e connesse. Condere è la parola potesta tiva del legislatore; diccre è la parola sacramentale del magistrato. Dicere è la parola generale dell'applicazione della legge: i modi sono ius dicere, cdicere, aldicere, interdicere. Il derivato è edictum.L'edictum è la viva vox juris civilis. Questo è saputo, e con questo, che, quando si pronunzia la parola edictum assolutamente,ilpensiero non ricorre nè all'edic tum aedilitium, nè all'edictum provinciale, nè alle forme più o meno secondarie di edicta perpetua, repentina, tralatitia,ma ri corre direttamente all'cdictum praetoris. Non è cecità nè arbi bitrio del pensiero moderno, è perchè cosi, prima di noi, inte sero e dovevano intendere gli antichi. Quando Papiniano parla del diritto onorario, lo dice cosi nominato ad onore del pretore; quando Gaio parla dell'editto che emenda le iniquità del diritto, si riserisce all'editto del prelore; ed al pretore si riserisce Asconio, quando accenna la ragione dell'editto perpetuo; e del pre tore si duole Cicerone, quando vede l'editto superare le dodici tavole.La ragione storica è questa:la presenza del pretore si gnifica che le due parti avverse, nelle quali era divisa R o m a, si sono equilibrate; il suo editto, in quanto spiccatamente porta ratore a Gneo Flavio, plebeo e figlio di un liberto, della novità benefica che è l'ius Flavianum, onde i pontefici furono obbligati a far pubblico il calendario. La versione pare più mitica del mito. questa impronta di equilibrio, suona l'equità passata nella legge, l'aliud initium libertatis, la repubblica signorile fatta popolare; il suo editto è, perciò, la voce viva dell’ius civile, rimasto voce morta; e però entra innanzi alle dodici tavole che in vano Cice rone lamenta neglette. Questo aliud initium libertatis è abbastanza commentato dalla definizione che del diritto pretorio ci manda Papiniano, il giureconsulto massimo: Juspraetorium est, quod praetores introduxerunt, adiuvandi, vel supplendi, vel cor rigendi juris civilis gratia, propter utilitatem publicam, quod et honorarium dicitur, ad honorem praetorum sic nominatum. Se temesi che questa correzione pretoria sul diritto civile possa tornare precaria ed incerta, la Legge Cornelia provvede a sostituire l'editto perpetuo al repentino: Ut praetores ex edictis suis perpetuis jus dicerent.Se Cicerone duolsi del vedere torpide le dodici tavole innanzi all'editto, e se teme le sedizioni tribu nicie, dica se abbia trovato, il temperare il summum jus, altro mezzo evolutivo suori dell'edillo pretorio. Il summum jus a lui era summa injuria, a Terenzio summa malilia, a Gaio iniqui tates juris. Chi tempera quell'ingiuria, corregge quella malizia, e all'iniquilà sostituisce l'equilà? La risposta è di Gaio: Haec juris iniquitates edicto praetoris emendatae sunt. Si dorrà forse anche di questo Cicerone, di vedere il magistrato sostituito al legislatore, la sentenza alla legge, la persona allo Stato. E davvero il caso parrebbe strano, se non fosse spie gabile in questo modo:che il pretore significa l'unità della legge, dove il legislatore era stato duplice — patriziato e plebe; e si gnifica l'equilà ristretta ai casi particolari, senza forma impera tiva, la quale è tutta del legislatore. Dove compiuto è il periodo dell'equilibrio delle parti, e co mincia il periodo unitario di R o m a nella politica, ivi è segno essere cominciato il periodo unitario del diritto nel pretore. Ne procede questa definizione dell'editlo pretorio, la quale compie,non nega la definizione di Papiniano: L'editio pretorio è l'equilà ne'casi particolari, cioè volta per volta ed anno per anno, ed indica affermato l'equilibrio delle parli in Roma, e co minciato il periodo unitario nel diritto e nella politica. La gloria del tribuno è di aver provocato la promulgazione delle dodici tavole; del pretore, averle superate con l'editto. La promulgatio chiarisce e denuda la repubblica aristocratica; S'ignorano davvero due cose: in che tempo la Legge Aebutia abolisse le legis actiones, e sino a che punto. La disputa è in decisa. Io credo che la legge Aebutia sia apparsa tra l'uno e l'altro pretore, l'urbano ed il peregrino, e che abbia abolito gran parte delle legis actiones, quando già alla procedura del vecchio diritto l'editto pretorio aveva contrapposto una procedura con suetudinaria. Composto, nella persona del pretore, il dualismo, e compiuta, nella significazione dell'editto, l'unificazione giuridica, comincia l'unificazione politica nella generazione immediatamente succe duta al pretore. Il pretore appare tra il 387 ed 88; tra il 411 e 13 compiesi la prima guerra per l'unificazione politica. Questa unificazione politica ha due periodi: 1° l'unificazione d'Italia;2° l'unificazionedelmondo mediterraneo.Ilsecolo quarto di Roma abbraccia il periodo della unificazione giuridica, e si conchiude col pretore; il secolo quinto abbraccia il p e riodo della dictum la demolisce e l'annunzia democratica. l'e Sono da fare due considerazioni. L'una,che gli editti, non essendo espressione di facoltà legislativa,non portano forma i m perativa, e non possono averla ne rispetto all'origine che è giu risdizionale, nè rispetto all'obbietto che non è universale. In tutta la forma dell'editto appare la faccia benevola dell'interprete, non la severa del legislatore. L'altra è che l'editto, per suggel lare l'equità, deve aver superato non solo il vecchio diritto civile, ma la vecchia procedura:e però,se da una parte si lascia in dietro le dodici tavole e le iniquitates juris, dall'altra supera r a pidamente le legis actiones, cioè quella vecchia e aristocratica procedura,dentro la quale si muovevano iprivilegiati della re pubblica signorile.  unificazione politica, e si conchiude col giureconsulto. Tra l'uno e l'altro periodo della unificazione politica, cioè tra quello della unificazione ilalica e l'altro dell'unificazione della civiltà mediterranea, appare il pretore peregrino, che è l'apparizione del diritto delle genti, il quale viene a fare umana l'equita latina. Il periodo dell'unificazione italica abbraccia le tre guerre sannitiche. E nel'a generazione immediatamente succeduta comincia il periodo per l'uni ficazione del mondo mediterraneo, che abbraccia le tre guerre puniche. Il disegno e l'effetto delle tre puniche non furono la semplice indipendenza dell'Italia.Come dopo le sunnitiche a Roma fu facile la guerra tarantina, nella quale meglio che il ferro occorse l'oro per occupare la città da Milone messa all'incanto, e farsi signora della regione che dalla Macra e dal Rubicone va sino al capo Spartivento ed alla punta di Leuca, cosi dopo le puniche le fu facile la guerra corintiaca,onde si annesse l'Acacia ed alla civiltà ellenica sostitui definitivamente la latina. T:11 era l'effetto, perchè tale il disegno. Mommsen ammira come gran falto nazionale de'Romani la costruzione della flotta, ed io ripeto che quella impresa fu più che nazionale, più che italiana, e fu il disegno del gran duello per l'egemonia sul mondo mediterraneo. Come le guerre san nitiche significavano che l'unità d'Italia spettava od ai Romani od ai Sanniti, cosi le guerre puniche significavano che l'unità del mondo mediterraneo speltava o ai Romani od ai Carta ginesi. Fu crudeltà, ma fu politica. Delenda Carthago è la conse guenza di un dilemma: la metropoli del mondo mediterraneo o Roma o Carlagine. E Roma vinse,non perchè Marco Porcio Ca  È discutibile se sieno più feroci le guerre per l'indipendenza o quelle per l'egemonia. Queste io credo: perchè alle prime b a sta disarmare il nemico; alle seconde occorre sterminarlo: Delenda Carthago!  140 tone fu inesorabile e l’Affricano secondo più crudele del primo, m a perchè Roma aveva un ideale, una missione ed un convin cimento che mancavano a Cartagine. Questa non è la metafisica della storia circa la predestina zione de'sini, è la rislessione storica sugli effetti determinati. Roma vinse, e con essa il Diritto romano che si farà umano, salendo,frapoco,dall'edittoalresponso; ma con Cartagine, se fosse stata vincitrice, non si sa quale alto fine civile sarebbe slalo vittorioso. Non è già che il popolo romano vinse, perchè aveva e sentiva astrattamente la missione giuridica; ma aveva questa missione, perché sin da principio il suo genio si era d e terminato di agricoltori e militari. E che si fosse cosi m a n t e nuto sino alla guerra corintiaca – malgrado la casa di Emiliano già aperta a Polibio, a Plauto, a Terenzio ed a Pacuvio si chiarisce dall'ordine espresso dal console Lucio Mummi o ai romani deputati a portare a Roma da Corinto le meraviglie del Il pretore urbano prenunzia il periodo unitario. Espressione di cotesto periodo sono due grandi istituti della vita romana: il prelore peregrino ed il giureconsulto. Chiamo istituto, piullosto che ufficio,quello del giureconsulto per ragioni che si parranno (Giunti al respɔnso, non possiamo trovara nulla di più alto e di più comprensivo nella storia del diritto romano. Stimiamo utile far conoscere ai giovani studiosi come si scriveva la storia del diritto romano ai tempi di Pompinio, mettendo in questa nota sotto il oroocchi il frammento che togliamo dal primo libro del Digesto, e lasciando a loro la cura di correg gere le inesattezze che troveranno non solo rispetto ad alcuni fatti e nomi, m a alla cronologia ed ai criterii. Utile e non difficile lavoro, per la cura che abbiamo posta nello accennare le date principali ed i criterii storici che governano gl'istituti giuridici di maggiore importanza. Grozio discute assainelleVitaejurisconsultorumde'duePomponii.Zimmern- trattando  l'arte greca. tra poco. Il pretore peregrino è l'espressione viva e concreta dell'uni ficazione italica; il giureconsulto; della unificazione del mondo mediterraneo Il pretore peregrino compie il pretore urbano, in quanto di larga l’equità, senza dilungarsi da’casi particolari; ma, en e non dalle Variae lectiones. Ecco Pomponio: Necessario ci pare il mostrar l'origine propria e il procedimento del diritto. Al principio della nostra città il popolo cominciò ad operare senza legge certa, senza stabile diritto, e tutto reggevasi per mano dei re. In appresso, cresciuta in qualche modo la città,clicesi lo stesso Romolo dividesse il popolo in trenta parti, che chiamò curie, perciocchè a sen tenza di queste parti disimpegnava allora le cure del governo. Ond'è che ed egli ed i seguenti re proposero al popolo alcune leggi curiate, le quali tutte trovansi scritte nel libro di Sesto Papirio che fu uno dei principali personaggi a'tempi del Superbo, figlio di Demarato da Corinto.Questo libro è intitolato diritto civile Papiriano, non perchè Papirio v'abbia aggiunto alcun che di suo,ma perchè egli raduno in uno le leggi promulgate sen z'ordine. Cacciati quindi i re per legge tribunizia, tutte quelle leggi andarono in disuso, e il popolo romano cominciò di nuovo a reggersi con diritto in certo, e più dietro la consuetudine che secondo alcuna legge emanata; e così continuò per circa venti anni. Dopo le sannitiche,unitasi a Roma l'Italia, ilgenio dell'urbs si senti tocco, e però modificato,da due correnti nuove: il commercio e la presenza degli stranieri. La rustica Dea Pales, in dividuazione mitica del genio originario di Roma, sentivasi mutar costume, e tollerava, con la presenza degli stranieri, que'commerci che erano parsi spregevoli al primitivo genio agricolo e militare di Roma. In nome di questa tolleranza un secolo ed alquanti anni dopo il pretore urbano sorse il pretore peregrino, qui inter cives et peregrinos, plerumque inter peregrinos jus dicebat. L'equità estendevasi a quelli che prima del periodo unitario erano designati con tre nomi: hostes,pere grini, barbari. del diritto privato romano tiene pe'due. Puchta nel ('orso delle Isti tuzioni– tiene per un solo.Unasolacosa è certa, che il frammento che noi riportiamo, è dall'Enchiridion non ricordato dall'indice fiorentino   tralo per tolleranza, gli sottosta, se non in grado di ufficio, in dignità; nè metterà fuori un editto che contraddica a quello pubblicato dal pretore urbano; nė tra gli antichi troverà chi voglia commentare il suo editto, privo di originalità. I giure consulti che vennero di poi, mentre inducevano la regola universale di diritto dall'editto del pretore urbano, non commen tarono mai l'editto del pretore peregrino. Anche io credo che il commentario di Labeone non resista alla critica. Giunto a questo fastigio del diritto romano, dove col pretore peregrino par nato l’jus gentium, e col responso l'equità ro mana sale a diritto umano, mi occorre vedere onde la deca denza imputatada Plinio ai latifondi, e come il giureconsulto, nel vero senso della parola, possa trovarsi coevo con la rovina della repubblica e compagno della corruzione imperiale. Onde ciò non avesse a durare più a lungo, piacque allora che fossero nominati per pubblica autoritàdieci,i quali togliessero le leggi dallegreche società, e la città munissero di leggi. Incise su tavole d'avorio,le esposero sui rostri, affinché si potessero le leggi meglio imparare; e fu loro dato in quell'anno il diritto massimo nella città,di correggere,se facesse bi sogno,e d'interpretare le leggi, nè vera appello da loro come dagli altri magistrati. Essi medesimi avvertirono mancar qualche cosa a quelle prime leggi, perciò l'anno seguente viaggiunsero altre due tavole, eco sìper l'accidente del numero furono chiamate leggi delle XII Tavole.Narrano alcuni che la composizione di esse fosse stata proposta ai decemviri da un certo Ermodoro da Efeso, esule in Italia. Promulgate queste leggi, avvenne,come naturalmente suole,che per l'interpretazione si desiderasse l'autorità dei prudenti e la necessaria d i sputazione del Foro; questa disputazione e questo diritto ordinato dai prudenti, senza che venisse scritto, non ha nome in alcuna parte propria, come vengono distinte tutte le altre con proprio nome,ma chiamasi con titolo generale diritto civile. Quindi,dietro queste leggi,quasi contemporaneamente furono composte le azioni, colle quali gli uomini agitassero i litigi nati tra loro;le quali a zioni,affinchè il popolo non le facesse a capriccio, vollero che fossero sta bili e legali; equesta parte del diritto chiamasi azione di legge,cioè le gittima. E così quasi in un tempo medesimo nacquero questi tre diritti,  delle XII Tavole,da cui scaturi ildiritto civile,e quindi leazioni.Siperò l'interpretazione delle leggi,si le azioni spettavano al collegio dei ponte fici,dai quali ogni anno sceglievasi chi dovesse soprantendere ai privati, e per circa cento anni il popolo segui quest' uso. In appresso, avendo Appio Claudio proposto e ridotto a forma queste azioni, Gneo Flavio, suo scrivano e figlio di un liberto, sottratto gli il libro, lo fece di ragione del popolo; il quale servigio fu al popolo tanto grato, che elesse lui tribuno della plebe e senatore ed edile curule. Questo libro contenente le azioni chiamasi diritto Flaviano, siccome quell'altro d i ritto Papiriano; ma neppur Gneo Flavio aggiunse alcun che al suo li bro. Cresciuta la città e mancando alcune specie di azioni, Sesto Elio non molto dopo ne istituì altre, e pubblicò il libro che chiamasi diritto Eliano. Quindi,essendovi nella città la legge delle XII Tavole e ildirittocivile e le azioni di legge, accadde che, venuta la plebe a discordia coi padri e separatasene, istituì le leggi che chiamansi plebisciti, cioè decreti della plebe. Non guari dopo, richiamata la plebe, perchè frequenti discordie n a scevano intorno a questi plebisciti, per la legge Ortensia fu stabilito che avessero anche quelli per leggi; e cosi avvenne che i plebisciti e le leggi differissero pel modo di farle,ma ne fosse eguale l'autorità. Quindi,perchélaplebeaccordavasi difficilmente, e molto più difficilmente il popolo in si grande moltitudine di persone,fu d'uopo che si affi dasse al senato la cura della repubblica. Così cominciò ad intromettersi il senato, ed osservavasi tutto quello ch'esso avesse decretato, e questo di ritto fu detto senatoconsulto. A quei tempi anche iMagistrati proferivano giudizi; ed, affinché i cittadini sapessero qual giudizio intorno ad ogni cosa si proferirebbe e se ne premunissero, pubblicavano gli editti che costituirono il diritto onorario, così detto perchè veniva dall'onore, cioè dalla carica di pretore. Da ultimo, siccome pareva che l'autorità di far leggi fosse, per natu rale effetto delle cose,passata al minor numero,un po'per voltaavvenne che fu necessario che un solo provvedesse alla repubblica; poichè il senato non poteva del pari amministrar bene tutte le provincie. Stabilito quindi il principe, gli fu dato il diritto, che si avesse per rato checchè egli d e terminasse. Così nella nostra città o si giudica pel diritto, cioè secondo la legge; o v'è diritto civile, che consiste solo nell'interpretazione dei prudenti,non iscritta; le azioni di legge,che contengono le forme da usare; i plebisciti, che furono emanati senza l'autorità dei padri; gli editti dei magistrati, donde nasce il diritto onorario; i senatoconsulti, che emanano dal solo    senato costituente senza legge; e le costituzioni del principe, quello cioè che il principe determinò si osservi come legge. Conosciuta l'origine e il procedimento del diritto,conseguita che discor riamo i nomi e l'origine dei magistrati, perchè, come abbiam mostrato,da quelli che presiedono a far leggi, acquistano gli effetti. Imperocchè, che varrebbe essere nella città, se non vi fosse quegli che potesse far leggi? Dopo ciò parleremo degli autori che si succedettero l'un l'altro, giacchè il diritto non può sussistere senza che siavi qualche giurisperito,dal quale esser possa mano mano migliorato. Quanto ai magistrati, nei primordi della nostra città i re ebbero tutto il potere. I tribuni dei celeri comandavano ai cavalieri, ed occupavano quasi ilsecondo posto dopo ire;del qual numero fuGiunioBruto,autore del discacciamento dei re. Espulsi i re, furono stabiliti due consoli, ai quali per legge fu concesso il supremo diritto: così chiamati, perchè bene provvedevano (consulebant) alla repubblica. Onde pero non si arrogassero regio potere in tutto,fu per legge stabilito che vi fosse appello da loro, nè potessero punire verun cit tadino romano senza il consenso del popolo: a loro fu soltanto concesso di obbligare e di far mettere nelle pubbliche prigioni. In appresso, dovendosi rinnovare il censo che da ogni tempo non erası fatto, nè bastando i consoli a questo incarico, furono stabiliti i censori. Aumentando il popolo, e nascendo frequenti guerre, delle quali alcune assai gravi, mosse dai confinanti, piacque di eleggere,ogni qualvolta il bi sogno richiedesse, un magistrato con potere maggiore; furono per tanto istituiti i dittatori, dai quali nessuno poteva appellarsi, e che avevano a n che podestà di vita e di morte.Questo magistrato, perchè aveva un po tere sommo,non poteva durare più di sei mesi. A questi dittatori aggiungevansi i maestri, vale a dire comandanti dei cavalieri, nella stessa guisa che ai re i tribuni dei celeri, la quale carica equivaleva presso a poco a quella dei prefetti del pretorio: m a i magistrati erano tenuti per legittimi. Quando poi, circa diciassette anni dopo la cacciata dei re, la plebe si separò dai padri, crearonsi sul monte sacro i tribuni, ch'erano magistrati plebei,e fu loro dato tal nome,perchè una volta ilpopolo era diviso in tre parti, e da ciascuna se ne sceglieva uno, o perchè venivano nominati per suffragio della tribù. E parimenti, affinchè fosse chi soprantendesse agli edifizii, nei quali riferiva tutti decreti la plebe,deputarono a ciò due della plebe, che fu rono chiamati edili. Avendo poi l'erario del popolo cominciato ad esser pingue,furono nominati i questori che ne avessero cura; cosi detti, perché dovevano esigere (quaerere o inquirere) e tenere conto del danaro. E perché, secondo abbiamo detto, non era concesso ai consoli pronun ciare sentenza di morte contro un individuo romano senza permissione del popolo,furono dal popolo nominati iquestori del parricidio,che giudi cassero i delitti capitali: di essi fa menzione anche la legge delle XII Tavole. Ed,essendo piaciuto che si facessero ancora altre leggi, fu proposto al popolo che tutti i magistrati si dimettessero, e furono nominati i decem viri per un anno. Questi si prorogarono la carica e si condussero ingiu stamente,nèvolevanoristabiliredinuovo imagistrati,peroccupareglino e il lor partito il potere; e colla lunga e crudele dominazione loro con dussero le cose a tale, che l'esercito si ribello alla repubblica. Dicesi che capo di questa ribellione sia stato un certo Virginio.Questi vide che Appio Claudio, contro il diritto ch'egli stesso dal diritto antico aveva inserito nelle XII Tavole, gli aveva tolto il possesso della propria figlia, e giudi cato in favore di colui che, subornato dallo stesso Appio,laripeteva come sua schiava, perchè, acciecato dall'anjore per la fanciulla, non aveva più guardato a diritto o a torto, sdegnato che gli fosse tolto il diritto anti chissimo sulla persona della figlia, a somiglianza di quel Bruto primo con sole, che aveva dichiarato libera la persona di Vindice schiavo dei Vitellj, per aver rivelata la congiura; e, riputando la castità della figlia essere da preferire alla vita, tolto un coltello dalla bottega di un macellajo, u c cise la figlia per sottrarla colla morte al disonore dello stupro; e tosto, grondante ancora del sangue della figlia, corse tra'suoi compagni d'arme. I quali tutti dall'Algido, dove le legioni trovavansi a cainpo, abbandonati i capi, trasferirono le bandiere sull'Aventino, e là pure si condusse tutta la plebe della città. Allora altri dei decemviri furono uccisi in prigione, altri cacciati in esilio, e fu ristabilito nella repubblica l'ordine di prima. Alcuni anni dopo la pubblicazione delle XII Tavole, la plebe venne a contesa coi padri, volendo che i consoli si eleggessero anche dal suo corpo; al che opponendosi i padri, avvenne che si creassero, parte dalla plebe, parte dai padri, i tribuni militari con podestà consolare, i quali varia rono di numero,poichè furono ora venti,ora più,non mai meno. Essendosi quindi convenuto di creare i consoli anche dalla plebe, si cominciò ad eleggerli dai due corpi. Afinchè però ipadri avessero qualche cosa più della plebe, piacque allora che si eleggessero dal loro ordine due edili curuli. E,perchè i consoli erano occupati dalle guerre coi vicini, nè vi aveva chi nella città potesse amministrar la giustizia,si creò un pretore,chia mato urbano,perchè amministrava la giustizia nella città. B., Disegno di una Storia del Diritto, ecc., ecc. Dopo alcuni anni, non bastando quel pretore, perchè accorreva nella città moltitudine di forestieri,fu creato un altro pretore, detto peregrino, perchè per lo più rendeva giustizia ai forestieri (peregrini). Poi,essendo necessario un magistrato che presiedesse ai pubblici in canti, furono stabiliti i decemviri per giudicare le liti. A quel tempo furono pure nominati quattro soprantendenti alle strade, i triumviri monetali che vegliavano alla fabbricazione delle monete di rame, d'argento e d'oro, ed itriumviri capitali che custodivano le pri gioni, si che,quando dovevasi punire, facevasi col loro intervento. E,perchè nelle ore vespertine i magistrati non avevano obbligo di tro varsi in officio, furono istituiti i quinqueviri di qua e di là dal Tevere, che ne facessero le veci. Conquistata poi la Sardegna, quindi la Sicilia,la Spagna e la provincia Narbonese, furono creati tanti pretori quante nuove provincie, i quali so prantendessero parte alle cose urbane, parte alle provinciali. Quindi Cor nelio Silla istitui i processi pubblici, come di falso,di parricidio,dei sicarj, ed aggiunse quattro pretori. In appresso Cajo Giulio Cesare istituì due pretori e due edili, detti cereali da Cerere, perchè soprantendevano ai grani. Così si ebbero dodici pretori e sei edili. Poi il divo Augusto portò a sedici il numero dei pretori, ai quali il divo Claudio altri due ne aggiunse, che giudicassero intorno ai fedecommessi;ildivo Tito ne soppresse uno,e il divo Nerva ve lo aggiunse; essi giudicavano le liti fra il fisco e i privati. Per modo che diciotto pretori amministravano la giustizia della città. Tutto ciò si osserva, quando i magistrati sono nella città; quando poi ne partono, si lascia uno che solo rende giustizia e chiamasi prefetto alla città, il quale una volta si nominava all'occorrenza, dopo fu stabile per le ferie latine,ed eleggesi ogni anno.Ilprefetto dell'annona e dei vigili,cioè delle guardie notturne, non sono propriamente magistrati, m a furono stabi liti straordinariamente per comodo: quelli però che abbiamo detto nomi narsi di qua dal Tevere,per decreto del senato venivano poi creati edili. Dunque,fra tutti, dieci tribuni della plebe, due consoli, diciotto pretori, sei edili nella città amministravano il diritto. Moltissimi e chiarissimi personaggi professavano la scienza del dritto civile, m a ora ci basta parlare di quelli che in maggiore stima furono presso il popolo romano, affinchè apparisca da chi e quali leggi ebbero origine e ne furono tramandate.E prima di Tiberio Coruncanio non ricordasi alcuno che pubblicamente professasse questa scienza; tutti gli altri fino allora a v e vano creduto di tenere occulto il diritto civile,o soltanto si prestavano a chi li consultava, piuttosto che a chi volesse imparare. Tra i primi periti del diritto fu poi Publio Papirio, che radund in uno  le leggi dei re. Dopo questo, Appio Claudio, uno dei decemviri, il cui senno molto valse nel comporre le XII Tavole.Appresso viene altro Appio Claudio che ebbe grandissima scienza in questa parte, e fu detto centimano. Fece egli costruire la via Appia, derivò l'acqua Claudia, e persuase di non ricevere Pirro nella città. Si disse aver egli pel primo scritto le azioni in torno alle usurpazioni, il qual libro però non esiste. Sembra che il medesimo Appio Claudio abbia inventato la lettera R, onde si disse Valerj in vece di Valesj,e Furj invece di Fusj. Dopo questi, di grandissima scienza fu Sempronio che ilpopolo romano chiamò coçov (sapiente), nome che a nessun altro fu dato nè prima nè dopo ali lai.Ma vi fu anche Cajo Scipione Nasica che dal senato fu chiamato ottimo, al quale fu anche data del pubblico una casa sulla via Sacra, onde più facilmente si potesse andare a consultarlo. Appresso fu Quinto Fabio che, mandato ambasciatore ai Cartaginesi, essendogli poste innanzi due schede,unaperlapace,l'altraperlaguerra,econcesso a luil'arbitrio di portare a Roma qual delle due gli piacesse, le prese ambedue, e disse dovere i Cartaginesi chiedere e ricevere qual più volessero. Fu,dopo questi,Tiberio Coruncanio chepelprimo,come dissi,cominciò a professare il diritto: di lui,sebbene non restò veruno scritto, si ricordano molte e memorabili risposte. Quindi Sesto Elio col fratello Publio Attilo ebbero grandissima scienza nel professare ildiritto,e furono anche consoli. Sesto Elio è lodato anche da Ennio, e di lui esiste un libro intitolato Tria partita, che contiene i primi elementi della scienza del diritto:gli fu dato quel nome, perchè,proposta la legge delle XII Tavole, vi soggiunse l'inter pretazione, e quindi vi unì l'azione di legge. Dicesi esserci di lui tre altri libri che alcuni però gli negano.Le pedate di questo calcò Marco Catone, capo della famiglia Porcia, del quale sussistono alcuni libri, m a più ancora di suo figlio; da questi vennero tutti gli altri. Tennero dietro a questi Publio Rutilio Rufo che fu console in Roma e proconsole nell'Asia; Paolo Virginio e Quinto Tuberone,ilprimo stoico e discepolo di Panezio che fu anche console. Di quel tempo e pure SESTO POMPEO, zio di Gneo Pompeo, e Celio Antipatro che scrisse storie, ma at tese più all'eloquenza, che alla scienza del diritto. Lucio Crasso, fratello di Publio Muzio,e chiamato anche Muciano,da Cicerone è detto ilpiù facondo dei giureconsulti. Quinto Muzio, figlio di Publio e pontefice massimo, ordind pel primo il diritto civile, raccogliendolo in diciotto libri.  In appresso Publio Muzio, Bruto e Manilio fondarono il diritto civile: Muzio lascio dieci libri, Bruto sette, Manilio tre; e di Manilio sussistono a monumento alcuni volumi scritti, Bruto fu pretore, gli altri due consoli, e Publio Muzio anche pontefice massimo.   Muzio ebbe più discepoli, tra i quali maggior fama acquistarono Gallo Aquilio, Balbo Lucilio, Sesto Papirio e Cajo Giuvenzio: Servio dice che Gallo ebbe grande autorità presso il popolo. Di tutti questi si conserva memoria,perchè Servio Sulpizio pose nei suoi libri iloro nomi: ma non restano loro scritti che tutti desiderino ed abbiano tra le mani: pure Servio compi i libri suoi, dai quali si ha memoria dei predetti. Servio che nel perorare le cause occupò il primo posto dopo Marco Tullio, si dice essere una volta andato a consultare Quinto Muzio intorno ad un affare d'un suo amico; e, non avendo compreso quello che Muzio rispondeva intorno al diritto,gliripeté ladimanda;ma,non avendo meglio compreso la risposta,Muzio lo rimproverò,dicendo esser vergogna che un patrizio e nobile, che perorava cause, ignorasse il diritto che pure avea sempre tra le mani. Tocco da questo affronto, Servio si applicó al diritto civile, e fu discepolo a molti di quelli che abbiamo nominati: Balbo Lucilio gli diede i primi rudimenti, e lo perfeziono Gallo Aquilio da Cercina, onde di lui abbiamo molti scritti in Cercina. Morto in un'ambasceria, il popolo romano gli eresse una statua che tuttora si vedle sui rostri di Augusto: lasciò forse centottanta libri, assai dei quali restano ancora. Da questomoltissimiimpararono;quelliperòchelasciaronolibri,sono Alfeno Varo, Caio Aulo Otilio, Tito Cesio, Antidio Tucca, Anfidio Namusa, Flavio Prisco, Cajo Atejo, Placurio Labeone Antistio, padre dell'altro L a beone Antistio, Cinna e Publio Gellio. Di questi dieci, otto scrissero libri, che da Anfidio Namusa furon tutti ordinati in cenquaranta libri,ed acqui starono grande celebrità Alteno Varo ed Aulo Otilio,dei quali il primo di ventò anche console, il secondo cavaliere soltanto. Fu questi amicissimo di Cesare, e lasciò molti libri che trattavano ogni parte del diritto civile, scrisse anche pel primo intorno alle leggi della vigesima ed alla giurisdi zione. Il medesimo pel primo commentò con grande diligenza l'Editto del pretore, mentre pria di lui Servio avea intorno a quello scritto soltanto due libri brevissimi, diretti a Bruto. Di quel tempo furono anche Trebezio, discepolo di Cornelio Massimo, Aulo Cascellio, Quinto Muzio, discepolo di Volusio che ad onore di quello lascia per testamento erede il suo nipote Publio Muzio. E questore, n è a c cettar volle onori maggiori, sebbene Augusto gli offerisse anche il conso lato. Di questi dicesi che Trebezio su più istrutto di Cascellio, e questi più eloquente del primo; di ambidue più dotto fu Otilio.Di Cascellio non resta che un libro solo di bei motti;molti di Trebezio,ma poco ricercati. Quindi v’ebbe Tuberone discepolo di Ofilio, patrizio, che dal trattar le cause passo ad esercitare il diritto civile, specialmente dopo ch'ebbe ac cusato Quinto Ligario senza poter ottenere da Caio Cesare che fosse con  148   dannato.Questo Ligario, mentre comandava nelle spiagge d'Africa, non vi lasciò approdare Tuberone malato, nè prender acqua: di ciò accusato, fu difeso da Cicerone, del quale esiste la bellissima orazione intitolata A favore di Quinto Ligario. Tuberone fu dottissimo nel diritto pubblico e pri vato, e lasciò molti libri intorno all'uno e all'altro; affetto per altro lo scrivere antiquato, e perció i suoi libri piacciono poco. Seguono Atejo Capitone, discepolo di Ofilio, ed Antistio Labeone che tutti questi udi,ma fu istruito da Trebazio.Atejo fu console: e Labeone, offerendogli Augusto il consolato per sostituzione, non volle accettar l'o nore, per non interrompere i suoi studi, giacchè avea cosi ripartito l'in teroanno,chestavaseimesiinRoma coglistudiosi,glialtriseisene ritirava per attendere a scriver libri, e lasciò quaranta volumi, molti dei quali corrono per le mani di tutti. Costoro formarono quasi due sette o p poste: poichè Capitone seguiva il vecchio che gli era stato insegnato; L a beone, per natura dell'ingegno suo e per fiducia di sapere, poichè avea atteso anche agli altri rami della sapienza, intraprese d'innovare moltis sime cose.E così a Capitone succedette Massimo Sabino,a Labeone Nerva, i quali due accrebbero quella divisione. Nerva fu amicissimo di Cesare; Massimo fu cavaliere, e pel primo diede risposte in pubblico, secondo gli fu concesso da Tiberio Cesare. M a, come tutti sanno,prima di Augusto non dai principi concedevasi il diritto di dar risposte in pubblico, ma chiunque confidava negli studi fatti, ri spondeva a quanti lo consultavano. Nè però davansi queste risposte in iscritto,ma per lo più le scrivevano i giudici stessi, o le attestavano quelli che gli avevano consultati. Il divo Augusto pel primo, onde in maggiore stima venisse ildiritto,ordinò che si dimandasse per l'innanzi,come pri vilegio, di poter dare risposte in pubblico. Poscia Adriano, principe ottimo, avendogli alcuni, ch'erano stati pretori, domandato di poter essere consultati in pubblico, cosi loro rescrisse: Non volersi ciò di mandare, ma fare; consolarsi,se vi avesse qualcuno che,in se confidando, si apprestasse a ri spondere al popolo. Da Tiberio Cesare, adunque, fu concesso a Sabino che rispondesse al popolo. Questi entrò nell'ordine equestre nella avanzata età di quasi quarantacinque anni; ebbe scarse sostanze, ma fu molto aiutato da'suoi ascoltatori. Gli successe Cajo Cassio Longino, la cui madre era figlia di Tuberone o nipote di Servio Sulpizio, perciò egli chiama Sulpizio suo proavo. Fu console con Quartino al tempo di Tiberio,e godette grande stima nella città, fintanto che Cesare non lo caccio. Andò quindi in Sar degna, e, richiamato da Vespasiano, mori in Roma.A Nerva succedette Proculo.Diquei tempi fuancheNervafiglio,edun altroLongino,cava liere, che poi sali fino alla pretura. M a autorità maggiore ebbe Proculo e  i seguaci delle due sette di Capitone e di Labeone; presero allora il nome di Cassiani e di Proculiani. A Cassio succedette Celio Sabino che molto potè ai tempi di Vespasiano; a Proculo,Pegaso che sotto lo stesso impe radore fu prefetto della città;a Celio Sabino,Prisco Giavoleno; a Pegaso, Celso; a Celso padre,Celso figlio e Prisco Nerazio,iquali furono ambidue consoli, anche Celso due volte;a Giavoleno finalmente succedettero Aburno Valente, Tusciano e Salvio Giuliano. Il periodo unitario, per non rovinare nello accentramento, è equilibrato da quattro contraccolpi che sono le due guerre ser vili, la guerra sociale, la guerra civile e la guerra gladiatoria. Il Pretore ha annunziato una parola solenne nel diritto: l'equità. La parola equità non è in Roma una legislazione, è una correzione, m a intanto col pretore è giunta al suo secondo periodo, è passata cioè dalla eguale notizia della legge dentro la legge istessa. Dove il legislatore era stato duplice, ed in dis sidio continuo, l'equità non poteva entrare che come correzione e in forma di casi particolari. L'equitå vorrà dire, di certo, che la repubblica signorile è fatta popolare; che i peblisciti contrappesano i senato-consulti; che le grandi differenze si livellano; m a dice qualcosaltro: l’e quità è una certa unità giuridica che preannunzia l'unità po litica. Ho designato i due grandi periodi dell'unità politica:l'unità italica; l'unità della civiltà mediterranea. Le sannitiche ele pu niche determinano specialmente questi due periodi.   Che cosa furono le due guerre servili e la guerra gladiato ria, quale valore e significanza ebbero, e furono guerre davvero, o un impeto disperato senza eco e senza effetto? Gli storici an tichi non danno ó fingono non dare molta importanza alle due guerre servili, con le quali si apre e chiude la generazione che 1. 152 va dal 619 al 651. L'alto rumore di ciò che gli storici latini chiamarono Graccanae, e poi della guerra giugurtina, e poi della invasione dei Teutoni e dei Cimbri, gli uni sterminati da Mario nella Gallia transalpina, gli altri nella cisalpina, e poi della guerra sociale, e,immediatamente dopo,della prima guerra civile tra Mario e Silla, occasionata da Mitridate VII,tutto questo che non è poco rumore insieme con la politica sprezzante verso i servi, non arriva a spegnere il furore nè a soffocare il grido de' servi, che, levatisi a guerra vera contro i padroni, si batterono, vinsero, e poi caddero uccisi piuttosto che sconfitti. Strana guerra, m a spiegabile in Roma e dopo il pretore e nella repubblica popolare. La voce dell’equità pretoria, l'aliud initium libertatis, che equilibra patrizii e plebei, l'imperio consolare coll'ausilio tri bunizio, creditori e debitori, padri e figli, romano e peregrino, quella arriva tra servi e padroni. I servi cominciano a voler essere considerati non romana mente, perché non sono e non si sentono di Roma,ma umana mente,da che sono venuti a Roma da ogni parte dell'umanità, ed hanno veduto in Roma la lotta per l'equità. Hanno veduto e saputo che i diritti si strappano, e la solle vazione comincia dalla Sicilia, dove maggiore era il numero dei servi condannati alla coltivazione de'latifondi. Primo ucciso Da mofilo,proprietario di latifondi, in Enna,oggi Castrogiovanni; poi, disfatti quattro eserciti romani; in ultimo, de'settantamila servi cinquantamila uccisi in guerra, ventimila in croce. Nella seconda servile il moto fu più ampio: non si sol levarono i servi soltanto, m a insieme gli oppressi peggio che servi: proletarii e diseredati. I servi superstiti alla guerra si scan narono tra loro. Simile guerra non si era veduta mai, e la lotta per l'equità facevala possibile a Roma.Ed alle servili somiglia la guerra gla diatoria che può anche passare come terza delle servili, e della quale gli storici del diritto costumano non toccar motto. Eglino Gli storici romani lodano Spartaco a denti stretti, chiamano guerra appena le due servili e la gladiatoria, e non si accor gono che sono le prime guerre,dopo le quali la sconfitta è toc cata ai vincitori. Da Euno a Spartacoilgridoè uno,quellodellavecchiaplebe romana: libertas aequanda;summis infinisque jura aequare. Cið che rispetto a quella plebe sediziosa erano stati i Gnei Genunzio ed i Publilii Volerone, surono, rispetto ai servi ribelli,ilsiro Euno e il trace Spartaco: gli uni tribuni della plebe romana, gli altri tibuni dell'umanità servile: quelli per giungere all'equità latina,questi all’equità umana. Senza queste prime considerazioni non sarebbe intesa l'uni versalità del responso. Mentre si acqueta la seconda guerra servile, divampa la guerra sociale,col proposito di conseguire non l'equità umana, ma l'equità romana e con effetto immediato. La guerra sociale durd men di due anni, rapida e violenta, se a conto di Vellejo Patercolo costo all'Italia più di trecentomila uccisi. E fu detta sociale non già nel senso moderno della parola,ma perchè mossa contro R o m a da’socii italiani, reclamanti parità di diritti politici e civili co’romani, dopo aver falio insieme con quelli la potenza di Roma. L'aspettazione c !e promesse erano state lunghe; il tribuno Livio Druso che ricordavale, mettendo in una tre rogazio ni, fu morto prima de'Comizii; e con quella morte fu inteso che i diritti, data l'ora, si strappano, non s'impetrano.  non sanno che possono a lor grado diminuire i nomi di Euno, di Cleone, di Trifone e di Atenione, condottieri di servi, ma per nessuna via giungeranno a diminuire il nome di Spartaco che all'altezza del proposito univa l'arte dei mezzi. Spartaco intese l'ora e il luogo,cioè quando doveva dare il segnale della rivolta e come uscir d'Italia; intese ancora come gli restava a cadere, quando l'Italia gli si era fatta terra fatale. I seimila gladiatori, lungo la via Appia, appesi alle croci, come già i ventimila servi, dicono uno sterminio, non una sconfitta. Di quindi la confederazione repubblicana, della quale i socii elessero centro Corfinium, cui posero nome Italica per signifi care il carattere nazionale della confederazione e della lotta. I centomila combattenti de'confederati si elessero duce Pompedio Silone, nome di un sannita,che ai popoli italici dev'esser sacro quanto il tribuno alla plebe romana, quanto Spartaco ai servi di ogni paese. Fu morto anche lui, uccisi i suoi,dopo la rovina di quattro eserciti romani,ma questa volta chiaramente i più scon fitti furono i vincitori. La guerra fu cominciata e mentre durava, il diritto italico cominciava a farsi romano con la lex Julia, e, finita la guerra, tutta l'Italia acquistava idiritti di cittadinanza romana con la lex Plautia. Ecco l'evoluzione di questi diritti di cittadinanza derivati dalla guerra sociale: 1a gl'Italiani furono, per l'esercizio del suffragio, classificati in otto tribù nuove, aggiunte alle trentacinque pree sistenti; sicché tutta l'Italia venne a conseguire otto voci,quando Roma ne aveva trentacinque:sproporzione subito corretta, per chè gl’Italiani riuscirono in breve tempo a farsi distribuire pro porzionalmente nelle trentacinque tribů romane; 2° il suolo italico è distinto dal suolo provinciale, è equiparato all’ager romanus e liberato dal vectigal. L'italiano ha guadagnato il dominium ex jure Quiritium. Dopo la guerra sociale il diritto romano ė diritto italiano.Tra il romano e l'italiano sparisce il pretore peregrino. Non si ripeta questo errore,che le guerre servili furono ster minio senza essetto, e che feconda fu la guerra sociale. Dicasi invece che gli effetti delle guerre servili sono immediatamente invisibili e saranno più tardi raccolti dal filosofo e confidati al l'ideale di un jus hominum, mentre immediati sono gli effetti della guerra sociale, immediatamente saranno raccolti dal pre tore e dal giureconsulto, e passeranno nella costituzione politica di Roma. Il genio militare di Roma poteva abbandonareiservi su'colti, m a non poteva espandersi senza de’socii. Interpretiamo la prima guerra civile. Da questa Montesquieu    torse gli occhi, e dentro questa bisogna ficcarli, per intendere la decadenza. L'Italia ha conseguito lacittadinanza romana,quando in Roma la cittadinanza ha perduto d'intensità quel che ha guadagnato di estensione. L'Italia, contro la vittoria di Silla, ultimo vindice della ragione quiritaria, ha afferrato il dominio ex jure Quiritium; m a i Quiriti dove sono? Dove i patrizii ed i plebei? Se tra l'i taliano ed il romano è sparito il pretore peregrino, si può dire che il pretore urbano duri per sentenziare tra il patrizio ed il plebeo? La guerra civile è una funesta rivelazione, non per le proscrizioni, ma pel sinistro lume sparso sulla rovina morale de'romani. Con la guerra civile si apre la reazione de'grandi de litti contro le tradizioni dell'eroismo civile. Accenniamo, non possiamo narrare Quelle facce sinistra mente predesignate di Mario e di Silla rivelano due diversi tipi di sanguinarii, vuoti d'ideali. Mario agitavasi in nome di una plebe ch'ei non ama, perchè non trova; Silla reagisce in nome di un patriziato ch'egli, quando non può rialzare,disprez za.Sapevano guerra e movere legioni agguerrite; ma caddero sopra sė medlesimi, senza lasciar traccia, perchè vissuti senza disegno. Mario finisce, non ricordando la plebe, m a sforzandosi dimenticare sė; Silla, ricordando sè solo, e buttando la ditta tura che sforzavalo a ricordarsi d'altrui. Grande fu lo stupore del gran rifiuto non per viltà,ma per disprezzo: Silla non aveva potuto rizzare il vecchio patriziato, come Giuliano non evocare gli Dei morti. Nulla dicono intanto quei funerali di Silla,e due mila corone d'oro intorno all'arca marmorea, e lo scorruccio d'un anno alle matrone? Dicono una sola cosa:che la repub blica è finita, e che Roma aspetta il principe col motto di Asinio Gallo in Tacito: U n u m esse reipublicae corpus, atque unius animo regendum. L'assenza delle due parti che han fatto l'alto dissidio di R o m a, delle parti che han combattuto la lotta pel diritto, composta nel l'equità, l'assenza di quella plebe indomita e gelosa della sua maestà, e di quel patriziato che, quando non arriva a giustificare la preminenza con diversioni eroiche, tramuta in concessioni gli strappi, è accusata in Roma da due fattiirrefragabili: dalla uni versale viltà che accompagnò le proscrizioni sillane, e dal soli loquio infecondo dell'ultimo Gracco,al quale,moriente,addicevasi meglio il motto di Bruto minore. E,dato il significato delle guerre servili, della gladiatoria,della sociale e della civile,è tempo di spiegarsi l'assenza delle antiche parti, la quale lascia intravveder l'Impero. La devastazione bellica, segnatamente dopo laseconda punica, e l'importazione commerciale sono le due cause precipue,onde i piccioli fondi cominciano a sparire per formare i latifondi,e però cominciano a spostarsi le parti, sostituendo alla questione poli tica la sociale: dov'erano patrizii e plebei cominciasi a vedere ricchi e poveri. Quindi, il potere pe’ricchi,le frumentationes pe' poveri, l'agricoltura pe’servi.Quindi, mentre da Silla a Pompeo la facoltà de'giudizii ballottavasi da’senatori a'cavalieri e viceversa, l'ordine giudiziario corrompevasi, di giuridico facendosi politico, e, più che politico, personale. Quindi,mentre i Gracchi e Mario cer:ano invano la vecchia plebe, da che la nuova, secondo Sal lustio, privatis atque publicis largilionibus excita, urbanum otium ingrato labori praetulerat, Silla cerca invano il vecchio patriziato,corrotto da'nuovi cavalieri, tra'quali si viene a reclutare la mala genia de'publicani. Mentre si fa la romanizzazione del (Alcuni, per trovare qualche cosa di liberale intorno a questo tempo di Roma, hanno avuto ricorso persino alla congiura di Catilina,celebrando quest'uomo con inni assai postumi ed assai brevi, e allogandolo quasi tra il socialista e il nichilista de' nostri tempi. Mala storia non patisce queste violenze e sfata questi travestimenti insignificanti. Catilina è rientrato s u bito nel posto destinatogli dalla storia, a documentare due cose: la degra dazione del patriziato e la reazione dei grandi misfatti contro le tradi zioni dell'eroismo civile. Ciò ch'egli non poteva trarre dal valore militare, splendido in Mario e Silla, voleva dalla congiura.E la degradazione morale fu chiarita dalla guerra combattuta in quel di Pistoia, dove l'esercito m a n dato contro Catilina era condotto da un complice nella congiura ! mondo, il genio di Roma si sposta:l'agricoltura ch'era romana, diventa servile; ed il commercio che non era romano, diventa cavalleresco. Costituiti ilatifondi, l'agricoltura, per necessità, diventa ser vile e produce meno, giusta la ragione di Plinio: Coli rura ab ergassulis pessimum est, ut quidquid agitur a desperantibus. Il commercio diventa deʼricchi, e però assume le forme peggiori, quelle della soperchianza senza lavoro: le societates publicanorum corrompono leggi, megistrature, popolo. E da qui, secondo Ta cito, anche le provincie presentivano Augusto: Suspecto senatus populique imperio,ob certamina potentium et avaritiam magi stratum: invalido legum auxilio, quae vi, ambitu, postremo pe cunia turbabantur. Spariti i piccoli possidenti agricoltori, dopo tante lotte per le leggi agrarie i discendenti della plebe si trovavano più poveri di prima, m a tristamente paghi di questa povertà, alimentata prima dalle frumentationes, e poi da'congiaria. Alla plebe plebiscitaria era succeduta la plebs frumentaria. È certamente una costituzione politica che si sfascia, quella caduta tra due classi estreme (ric chissimi e proletarii), non equilibrate da quell'ordine intermedio che è diffusivo di sua natura, e per creare il quale Roma aveva combattuto tante lotte agrarie. Basti, per ispiegarsi molto,voler sapere la popolazione d'Italia verso il tempo delle guerre servili. Eccola: quattordici milioni quasi i servi; quasi sette milioni i liberi, e di questi almeno sei milioni i proletarii. Era naturale:una ricchezza di cinque milioni di denari era povertà; e per esse ricco bisognava con Crasso, co'liberti Lentulo e Narcisso, ed anche con lo stoico Seneca,sa lire a più centinaja di milioni! Conchiudiamo: dove c'è questa ricchezza di centinaja di milioni, ci dev'essere a fianco un vasto proletariato; e dov'è finita la plebe romana, è finito il patriziato. Non c'è più plebe,da che è frumentaria,non più patriziato da che è pubblicano,non c'è senatus popolusque nè populus plebs    que romana: c'è un volgo immenso o mobile o profano, volgo sempre, diviso tra ricchi e poveri. E contro questo volgo si av ventano implacabili i classici, tante volte volgo anch'essi, da che furono corrotti gliscente adulatione. Gli Augusti ed i loro ministri -- Mecenati o Sejani che sieno sono divi non solo per i bramosi di pane e giuochi, non solo per i liberti imperanti e per gli stoici traricchiti, ma per gli scrittori che più simulano sdegno contro l'adulazione pubblica, quanto meno la possono su perare ne'loro versi e prose. Nė in tanto scadimento dell'anima civitatis resta la religione come supplementum civitatis defectui. Il mondo romano ha avuto più o meno di superstizione, e forse molta,ma religione sempre poca. Assai prima che Lucrezio derivasse nella cosmologia latina l'atomismo epicureo e creasse un poema ateo senza riscontro il poema dei dotti romani assai prima Lucio Azzio,il primo tragico nato in Roma, faceva rappresentare pubblicamente sue tragedie poco riverenti agl’Iddii patrii. Nè di questa irriverenza gli faceva rimprovero il vecchio Pacuvio, ma della durezza de' versi, onde per contrario Azzio lodavasi, perchè quella durezza faceva riscontro alla fierezza delle sentenze.E iversi atei e duri del poeta tragico, attraversando i secoli più molli, erano letti e recitati al tempo di Lucrezio, di Silla e di Cicerone. A questi piaceva udire una voce antica, quasi divinatrice, di poeta: Neque profecto Deùm summus rex omnibus curat. Cosi trovasi da secoli apparecchiato l'ambiente ad Epicuro, ad Amafinio che lo esporrà in prosa, ed a Lucrezio, in versi. E, quando lo stoicismo con simulato sopracciglio verrà a velare la dottrina epicurea, Seneca ripeterà con gonfiezza stoica sen tenze lucreziane: Mors est non esse. Hoc eritpost me quod ante fuit. Ed altrove: Cogita illa quae nobis inferos faciunt terribi les, fabulam esse: nullas imminere mortuis tenebras, nec flu mina flagrantiaigne, nec oblivionisamnem, nectribunalia. Lu serunt ista poetae, et vanis nos agitavere terroribus.  158 Jam jam neque Dii regunt, Questo spiega come, mentre agli auguri è possibile sorridere guardandosi l'un l'altro, a Catilina è lecito patteggiare co' con giurati sino gli ufficii ed i gradi sacerdotali, dopo avere, impu nito, stuprato una vestale ! Spiega perchè, in questa decadenza, ai vincitori di Annibale sia fatto difficile vincere un Giugurta che sin da Numanzia aveva imparato a chiamare vendereccia R o m a, ed era incatenato da un peggiore di lui, Mario; come a narrare un Catilina occorreva un più tristo, Sallustio.— Spiega anche più: dove la religione dechinava senza esservi stata mai gran fede, e però nessuna lotta religiosa, era imminente, non che possibile, una religione nuova: i primi cristiani sarebbero stati perseguitati come rei di Stato,non come religiosi.Sarebbero stati mai, come religiosi, puniti dai ricordatori di Lucio Azzio, dagli uditori di Amafinio, dagli ammiratori di Lucrezio e dai ripeti tori di Quinto Sestio? Dov'erano stati condannati e sbandeggiati gli Dei pel solo sacrifizio d'Ifigenia,sarebbero stati glorificati nel sangue di migliaia di cristiani?  Questo è scadimento, perchè, mentre da una parte si fa la romanizzazione, come la dicono, del mondo, dall'altra si fa la degradazione di Roma.Dovrebbe parere che, mentre l'umanità siromanizzava,per contraccolposiumanizzasseRoma:ma non si può dire cosi, perchè Roma portava al mondo il diritto, e il Deducta est,non ut,solemni more sacrorum Perfecto,posset claro comitari Hymenaeo: Sed casta inceste nubendi tempore in ipso Hostia concideret mactatu moesta parentis, Eritus ut classi felix, faustusque daretur. Tantum relligio potuit suadere malorum. Empio è detto da Vico questo epifonema,piaciuto ai vecchi romani che in forma induttiva trovavano raccolto in esso un sentimento comune,e giudicavano, secondo equità, più empio il rito che l'epifonema. E pel m e desimo sentimento dell'equità,più intenso del sentimento religioso, riscontrata la sepoltura di Pompeo e di Catone con quella di un mimo,poterono domandare: Et creditis esse Deos?  Nam sublata virum manibus tremebundaque ad aras   mondo portava a Roma le spoglie che facerano il lusso, come il lusso faceva la barbarie raffinata che è la decadenza. Quale umanesimo potevan portare a Roma la Grecia disfatta e le pro vincie barbare? La romanizzazione si fa più rapidamente nelle provincie bar bare, che non dov'è la civiltà disfatta: prima si romanizzano la Spagna, le Gallie, le provincie britanniche e le danubiane, e dopo le greche e le fenicie che a Roma contrappongono quale le tradizioni e quale la prosunzione. La Grecia riesce a insinuare la lingua di Omero e di Platone sin nelle ordinanze e ne'giudizii de'magistrati romani: ma la lingua del diritto finisce col vincere quella della poesia e della metafisica ed a portare tra il portico ed il liceo, contro le pe tulanti proteste de'retori, la scuola del giureconsulto.Allora è che il romano, mentre deplora la decadenza interna, glorifica in ogni forma la sua vittoria giuridica sopra il mondo. Allora Virgilio dice al greco superbo: T u parla e scolpisci meglio; noi domineremo te e il mondo con le leggi, perdonando ai vinti e vincendo i superbi. Allora è che Plinio dice che l'Italia, romanizzando il mondo,ha dato l'umanità all'uomo ed una pa tria sola a tutte le genti: Colloquia et umanitatem homini daret, breviter una cunctarum gentium in toto orbe patria fieret. E sotto questo rispetto fu possibile un cosmopolitismo più pratico di quello degli stoici, in quanto non negava le nazioni,ma dava loro unità e colloquio da Roma:concetto raccolto da un impe ratore in questa sentenza: Patria mei, Antonini, Roma: hominis, mundus. Ciò è vero ed è grande: ma che portavano a Roma que're  Excudent alii (e sono i Greci) spirantia mollius aera. Credo equidem, vivos ducent de marmore vultus. Orabunt causas melius, coelique meatus Describent radio, et surgentia sidera dicent. Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento: Hae tibi erunt artes...incatenati, que'servi, que’gladiatori, que'retori e mercanti? Come uomini gonfiavano la superbia del vincitore, come vinti lo corrompevano. Ma non bastava ad umanizzare vincitori e vinti il Diritto che era nella missione di Roma e da Roma dettato al mondo? Certo, bastava, se il diritto romano fosse stato tutto il diritto umano,tutto,come oggi lo intendiamo,come oggi la scienza e la storia ce lo han fatto. M a non dobbiamo preoccuparle questa scienza e questa storia:dobbiamo vedere come in mezzo a que sta decadenza che abbiamo descritto, sorge e grandeggia il giu reconsulto. Il giureconsulto è l'espressione più elevata e più certa di questa romanizzazione del mondo. Più si dilarga la forza uni taria di Roma, e più il responso del giureconsulto universaleg gia. Il responso vero, quello che diverrà fondamento d'istitu zione e di legislazione nel medesimo tempo, spazia tradue leggi de civitate, cioè dalla cittadinanza italica sino alla cittadinanza universale.Che importa che Roma corrompa sė,romanizzando il mondo? Certo è che Roma non poteva fare l'unità delle genti senza disfarsi, e che questa unità doveva avere la sua espres sione giuridica. Ecco il giureconsulto. Dove la legge de civitate assume l'espressione più ampia e tocca il fastigio, ivi sorge il giureconsulto massimo che dà il più universale responso, il più umano,e rifiuta la vita per la santità del medesimo. Fa gene rosamente per il responso ciò che Catone uticense ostinatamente per la repubblica. Né le dodici tavole vecchio diritto aristocratico,nè le ro gazioni tribunizie vindici della ragione plebea, nè l'editto pretorio espressione limitata dell’equità, potevano esprimere Ja missione giuridica di Roma nell'unità del mondo. Tribuno e Pretore erano romani; il Giureconsulto romanizza. Romanizza in tre periodi e modi: 1° elevando l'equità partico lare ad equità civile; 2° l’equità romana ad equità italica; 3o l'e quità italicaad equità umana.Ilresponsouniversaleggial'editto. Disegno di una Storia del Diritto,ecc.,ecc.  L'editto ha sempre qualcosa di particolare rispetto all'obbietto, alle persone, al tempo, alla forma. Di repentino farsi perpetuo non significa farsi universale: solo comprenderà quanti casi con simili entreranno nel giro di un anno. Certo, chi legge che l'e ditto pretorio è fatto jurisdictionis perpetuae causa, non prout res incidit, può credere che quella perpetuità sia universalità; è invece la perpetuità della giurisdizione pretoria, la durata di un anno. Perciò non ismette la forma individuale, non assegue mai nè l'universalità teoretica delle formole razionali, nė l'im perativo impersonale delle dodici tavole. Tutti gli editti pretorii che oggi leggiamo,come de jurisdictione, de pactis, de in jus vocando, de edendo, de postulando, de iis qui notantur infamia, de procuratoribus, de negotiis gestis, de in integrum restitutionibus, de nautis, cauponibus et stabu lariis recepta ut restituant, dejurejurando voluntario, de publi ciana in rem actione, de servo corrupto, de aleatoribus, de his qui effuderint vel dejecerint, tutti hanno la forma individuale, espressa in ultimo dalle parole jubebo, servabo, dabo, cogam, animdvertam e simili, o anche dall'espressione più individuale permissu meo, come in questa de in jus vocando:– Parentum, patronum,patronam, liberos,parentes patroni, patronae, in jus sine permissu meo ne quis vocel. E non solo l'edittodel pretore, ma anche l'aedilitium edictum, ma col dabimus, tenuto conto che due erano gli edili curuli o maggiori, come già due gli aediles plebeii. Ex his enim cau sis,judicium DABIMUS.Hoc amplius, si quis adversus ea sciens dolo malo vendidisse dicetur, judicium dabimus. Non è già che qualche volta non s'incontri la formola più generale, ma o come dichiarazioni o come illazioni della for mola singolare che distingue propriamente l'espressione giuri sdizionale dalla legislativa.Per l'utilità di queste notizie ho riportato in nota il frammento di Pomponio. Ora veniamo alla sostanza. Come fa il pretore ad insinuare l'equità nell'editto senza aperta violazione del summum jus? Che sarà questa gratia corrigendi juris civilis, per non essere negazione del diritto civile e sostituzione dell'arbitrio indivi duale? Sarà, più che di frequente, una finzione pretoria che verrà ad alterare il fatto per serbare inalterato il diritto, e a p punto questa finzione di fatto correggerà la iniquità di diritto. Cosi il pretore fingerà pazzo il savio, vivo il morto, morto il vivo, e per processo di finzioni insinuerà da presso ai contratti ed ai delitti i quasi-contratti ed i quasi-delitti. Que'quasi che degradano all'indefinito, sono indici dell'alterazione di fatto. La necessità che sia corretta questa contraddizione che con trappone la fictio facti all'iniquitas juris, indica la necesstà di un istituto che superi l'editto pretorio. Nell'editto l'equità pre domina,ma particolare,intrusa sotto la finzione di fatto con trapposta all'iniquità di diritto. Che è la finzione di fatto? È il prodotto di un mutato criterio di diritto, è la protesta del fatto contro il vecchio diritto, è l'impotenza del vecchio diritto a contenere il nuovo fatto e la nuova vita. Quindi, la necessità che il diritto si alzi a quel criterio presupposto dalla finzione di fatto.Questo criterio liberato dalla condizione di semplice pre supposto, questo criterio espresso e messo in grado non di torcere il fatto, ma di contenerlo tutto, di contenerlo come è nella storia e nel costume, costituisce il responso del Giurecon sulto. L'editto è costretto a torcere il fatto; il responso univer saleggia il criterio inventivo che simula e dissimula il fatto. E con questo l'iniquità di diritto cade non per finzione, m a per natural ragione. Il responso corregge la correzione del diritto, erchè il diritto dev'essere il supremo correttore della vita so ciale. Per via di questa finzione di fatto il mondo non si sarebbe mai romanizzato,non l'avrebbe intesa nè imitata; ma per via del responso il mondo non si sente debellato, ma vinto vinto, perche issimilato. A questa universalità non si può giungere se non per la via delle definizioni, natefatte per universaleggiare, e per la via del metodo scientifico che mena alle definizioni reali e razionali. E del metodo vien dato merito a Servio Sulpizio; delle definizioni a Quinto Scevola. I quali due sono giuristi e letterati per asse guire quel romano nihil tam proprim legis quam claritas:lode data da CICERONE (si veda) sopra ogni altro allo Scevola, perchè adjunxit eliam el literarum scientiam. Con che si dice che la letteratura, la quale per altri è ornamento e pura erudizione, pel giurecon sulto è scienza. E, giacchè questa scienza e come metodo e come arte qui comincia, ho potuto affermare che il Giureconsulto grandeggia tra le due leggi de civitate, cioè dalla cittadinanza italica sino alla cittadinanza universale, dalla lex Julia sino ai libri quaestionum, responsorum et definitionum di Emilio Papiniano. E cosi sorge e cosi vien su e sale ampio il responso. Come Aulo Cascellio non volle mai deviare il responso da'fini dell'editto ed adattarlo sopra įli ordini emessi da’triumviri, affermando alto che la vittoria non giustificata non è titolo di comando; cosi P a piniano volle piuttosto perdere la vita, che giustificare il fratrici dio commesso dall'imperatore, e adattare ilresponso a difesa del l'assassinio [Tale il tipo del giureconsulto. Entriamo a considerare il responso prima nella forma e poi nella sostanza. Venendo il giureconsulto con definizioni e metodo a liberare dalla condizione di presupposto il criterio che regola le finzioni di fatto contro le iniquità di diritto, egli universaleggia, innanzi tutto, l'equità, derivandola da una legge universale, superiore [So che gli storici contemporanei contestano la verità di questo fatto; m a ricordo che scrivevano sotto gli sguardi imperiali, e non sanno addurre altra ragione veruna della morte di Papiniano per ordine di Caracalla,se condo Dione Cassio ed Aurelio Victor. alle dodici tavole, superiore all'editto del pretore ed a tutti i s e coli della letteratura e delle tradizioni giuridiche, e la chiama, con Cicerone, lex nata ante saecula, comunis hominibus et Diis, quibus universus hic mundus quasi una civitas existimanda. È, dunque, una regola di ragione, alla quale uomini e Dei non possono sottrarsi e per la quale il mondo è come una città sola.Il concetto pare stoico, m a risale i tempi sino alle tradizioni itali che,nelle quali è detto:Idem est ralioni parere ac Deo.La ra gione comincia a prendere il luogo del vecchio Fato che dalle spalle passa di fronte a Giove. E da codesta universalità della regola razionale derivasi la definizione della giurisprudenza: Notitia rerum divinarum atque humanarum, justi atque injusti scientia, ars boni et aequi. E di qui le tre regole comuni,secondo le quali le leggi hanno a farsi, ad interpretarsi, ad applicarsi: honeste vivere, neminem laelere,suum unicuique tribuere. Quanto alla forma, il giureconsulto non fa opera scolastica, non largheggia nelle definizioni: postane una in principio, piut tosto genetica che nominale, tira giù rapido alle applicazioni più pratiche, più vicine all'uso. - Movendosi rapido, usa termini tecnici ed evidenti, non moltiplica definizioni. Questo fine pratico ed immediato gli sta sempre innanzi,e fa il suo valore filosofico e letterario. Perciò, in mezzo alle antitesi ed alle gonfiezze della decadenza, il giureconsulto rimane artefice di stile e di lingua, epigrafico come ilgenio romano, e come abbiamo veduto Galileo e la sua scuola scientifica sottrarre il genio italiano agli artificii letterari del seicento. Quando il giureconsulto divaga dalla definizione fondamen tale e dal rapido processo dialettico, per qualcuna di quelle logofobie che sono imposte dal tempo, egli non cade nella reli gione, ma in qualche superstizione raccolta dalle tradizioni ita liche piuttosto che da altra parte. Paolo nelle senlenze stima perfetto il feto venuto fuori di sette mesi, secondo la ragione de'n u meri di Pitagora, dimenticando che perfettissimo a Pitagora era  il nove, quadrato di tre. E, mentre il giureconsulto ragionava con proprietà e rapidità matematica, cercando un contenuto quasi matematico all'equità, pure secondo il costume latino sapeva cosi poco di geometria da supporre la superficie del trian golo equilatero'eguale alla metà del quadrato eretto sopra uno de'suoi lati. E ciò che appunto di più notevole trovasi nella forma del giureconsulto, non è l'imperativo inflessibile delle dodici tavole, nè il futuro personale dell'editto, ma l'espressione universale de rivata dall'equo buono, inteso come equità civile piuttosto che penale,e più umana che romana. E questa universalità sciolta dalle finzioni e definizioni,rapida, evidente, immediatamente applicabile, sa epigrafico il responso più che l'editto,più che le formole delle rogazioni tribunizie, e quanto le dodici tavole che restano sempre tipo formale delle leggi romane.Porciò l'epigrafe monumentale al Rubicone - già confine di Roma fu, sebbene oggi se ne contesti l'autenticità, detta una volta - ore digna jurisconsulti. Rispetto alla sostanza, il responso è da considerare nell'ori gine, nelle scuole e nella conchiusione. Il primo periodo del responso è un semplice astiarre e ge neralizzare lo spirito degli editti pretorii, ordinandoli e colle gandoli. Anche questa opera si giova del metodo scientifico e della definizione, e però nasce con Aulo Ofilio che si assimila, JUSSU MANDATUVE POPULI ROMANI Cos.IMP.TRIB.MILES TIRO COM MILITO ARMATE QUISQUIS ES MANIPULARIE CENTURIO TURMARIE LEGIONARIE HIC SISTITO VEXILLUM SINITO ARMA DEPONITO NEC CITRA HUNC AMNEM RUBI CONEM SIGNA DUCTUM EXERCITUM COMMEATUMVE TRADUCITO SI QUIS HUJUSVE JUSSIONIS ERGA ADVERSUS. PRÆCEPTA JERIT FECERITQUE ADJUDICATUS ESTO HOSTIS POPULI ROMANI AC SI CONTRA PATRIAM ARMA TULERIT PENATESQUE SACRIS PENETRALIBUS ASPORTAVERIT. S. P. Q. R. ULTRA HOS FINES ARMA AC SIGNA PROFERRE LICEAT NEMINI.  Epigrafe legislativa, documento della missione latina. per ordinare gli editti, l'opera di Servio Sulpizio e di Quinto Scevola: nasce ai tempi di Cicerone, nella generazione istessa della Lex Plautia de Civitate, con Aulo Ofilio Caesari familia rissimus, qui edictum praetoris primus diligentur composuit), e si chiude con Salvio Giuliano, legum et edicti perpetui subtilis simus conditor, il quale per disegno di Adriano stabilisce nel vero senso l'editto perpetuo, al quale i magistrati conforme ranno le loro disposizioni. Il responso assorbe il diritto onorario e lo supera. Il secondo periodo determina il metodo nel processo d'astra zione,lascia l'editto, e costituisce la scienza,creando due scuole nel vero senso della parola, e cosi chiamate dagli antichi:la scuola deSabiniani,che ebbe duce Attejo Capitone,ela scuola de'Pro culejani, derivata da Antistio Labeone. È vano dissimulare la dif ferenza: c'è nella qualità dell'ingegno e del carattere de'due m a e stri, nel contenuto de'responsi e nel conato posteriore di c o m perre le lue dottrine e le due scuole. In Labeone è più evidente l'indirizzo filosofico, in Capitone il metodo storico: non già che l'uno non tenga conto della storia e l'altro della filosofia, e che l'uno e l'altro non abbiano innanzi un fine immediatamente pratico: ma nell'uno prevalgono la de finizione e il discorso, nell'altro la tradizione. Sesto Pomponio nel frammento, da noi recato in nota,della sua storia del Diritto (De origine jurisetomnium magistratuum et successione prudentium ) dice de'due: Antistius Labeo, ingenii qualitate et fiducia doctrinae, qui et in caeteris sapientiae partibus operam dederat, plurima innovare studuit: Atejus Capito in his quae et tradita erant, perseverabat. Il terzo periodo raccoglie le due scuole non in un eclettismo di Miscelliones, sognato da Cujacio, ma nella sintesi di Papi [Va inteso che le controversie storiche saranno da me discusse, quando potro liberare la storia del diritto dalla strettezza presente e confidarla a tutta l'espansione del pensiero. È chiaro qui che la perpetuità in senso di universalità viene dal giureconsulto,non dal pretore.niano che nel responso raccoglie con mirabile armonia il dop pio indirizzo, e ispira nella legge ciò ch'è sacro nella ragione e nella storia. Oltre quest'altezza il diritto romano non poteva salire. L'impero aiuta l'ufficio del giureconsulto per queste ragioni: gl'imperatori odiavano il vecchio diritto aristocratico che aveva armato la mano di Bruto e di Cassio e non dimenticava privilegi impossibili innanzi all'imperatore: astiavano il diritto onorario,di origine aristocratica, e gareggiante con la potestà del principe nell'emissione dell'editto: e, scaduta la tribuna, vedevano volen tieri all'eloquenza giuridica succedere l'investigazione giuridica, all'oratore il giureconsulto. Potei,dunque,scrivere che,come iltribuno impiccioliva innanzi al pretore, così il pretore innanzi al giureconsulto. La promul gazione avvia all'editto, l'editto al responso. Il principio della reciprocita conversazionale.  lavoro o, come dicono, la specifi cazione; nė deve, sino a quando è semplice uso, alterare la forma in che si presenta la cosa. L'uso prepara la proprietà, il frutto la determina.- Ciò torna a significare che il prodotto è del produttore, solo proprietario dell'o pera sua.- In queste poche parole è tutta la dimostrazione.- Ma non vediamo, si dice, assai volte che la proprietà è di uno,ilfrutto di un altro? Vediamo anche peggio: vediaino la successione, la donazione, la prodigalità, l'avarizia, l'usura; m a quello che fu ed è   la proprietà non è quello che può e deve rimanere. L'usufrutto si presenta come risultamento d'illimitato dominio e nega nel mondo economico il principio di causalità.Il prodotto essere del produttore vuol dire che il frutto determina la proprietà. Il frutto la determina, il contratto l'esplica. Anche l'animale è produttore, può sopra le cose avere uso e frutto, m a il contratto è dell'uomo, perchè ei solo è onnimodo ed ha biso gno di tutti imezzi.— Perciò Dante partecipa all'agricoltore la gen tilezza di Francesca,la fierezza di Farinata, l'austerità di Catone, la salvazione di Manfredi, la misura della giustizia nell'universo; l'agricoltore partecipa a Dante la misura del frumento. Senza quella partecipazione superiore, l'agricoltore è animale; senza la parteci pazione frumentaria Dante è cadavere o inetto. Dirà che sa di sale ilpane altrui,ma lo mangerà,equel cibo glisitramuterà incanto. Questa è la circolazione della vita.- In somma ilprodotto è del pro duttore; il contratto lo fa sociale: il prodotto è individuale; il con tratto lo fa umano. L'umanità è socialità, e questa è contrattualità. È il solo punto di vista da cui il filosofo deve considerare il con tratto. L'umanità è socialità,perchè l'assoluto monos non sarà mai l'uomo non salirà mai all'universalità della ragione, m a rimarrà chiuso nel l'egoismo,che più trasmoda e più imbestialisce.La ragione,essendo dialettica, non può attuarsi nell'io e nel tu, ma nel noi. È dunque intrinsecamente sociale.La società dunque non è convenzione, ma natura. Non si nega già che l'uomo sia passato dallo stato troglo ditico al sociale; ci passo di certo, e al passaggio fu aiutato da ter ribili esplosioni della natura esteriore:ma ilprimo e poi non toglie naturalezza alle cose. Il volgo crede che le cose più naturali sono le primitive e sino ad un punto a questo pregiudizio si accomoda l'istesso linguaggio hegeliano:ma da un punto più sicuro si deve dire che le cose asseguono la loro sincera natura nel fastigio non inprincipio.Dico che l'uomo è naturalmente uomo,è tale secondo la natura sua,quando ragiona,non quando vagisce;ma la ragione  Abbiamo varietà di vocazione, di lavoro, di produttori, di pro dotti, dunque di proprietà. Quindi proprietà agronomica, industriale, artistica, letteraria: non di ciascuno,m a necessarie tutte a ciascuno, perchè tuttefanno ilcumulo dei mezzi necessarii al fine umano. Come dunque passano da produttore a produttore e fanno la comu nità della vita, la totalità dell'uomo? - Mediante il contratto, che però è definito l'esplicatore della proprietà.   è il fastigio dell'individuo umano e della storia, è la sui-aequatio, non il saluto di chi arriva.La naturalezza vera di una cosa è dun que l'equazione della cosa con sè medesima,cioè del soggetto con la propria essenza. Però l'uomo non è il troglodita, m a il cittadino e non l'esclusivo cittadino ma l'io-civile, il noi. -La società dun que non è da convenzione m a da natura: l'umanità è socialità. Ogni istante della vostra esistenza civile implica un concorso di volontà,un consensus,in somma un contratto espresso o tacito. Lo stare qui ad udirmi, il rientrare nelle vostre case, il cibo, il riposo sono atti della vita che implicano un consenso,un concorso di volontà, un esplicito o implicito contratto. E considerando che la socialità è contrattualità hanno distinto il contratto in pubblico e privato, e patto pubblico fondamentale hanno chiamato quello che då forma allo Stato.Forse non sarà veramente pubblico questo patto fondamentale, m a hanno avuto bisogno di crederlo e chiamarlo tale. Che cosa manca alla sincera pubblicità del patto fondamentale? Manca la natura della società presente, la quale, non uscita dallo individualismo, rende unilaterale e pero artifiziale la più parte dei contratti che oggi si fanno.La soperchianza dell'individuo sulla col. lettività si traduce nella soperchianza del più forte dei contraenti. Quando ilbisognoso corre all'abbiente sa di subire tutte le condizioni imposte dal capitale, il dieci, il trenta, il cento per cento, la tarda mercede e macra,i fastidii, il oa e torna che è furto di tempo,ed altro.Nondimeno corre,torna,incalzato dal carpe diem,avvenga pure che il di appresso debba essere sospeso all'albero infelice.La prudenza gli dice che domani il capitalista lo spellera; il bisogno lo persuade a risolvere l'oscurissimo problema dell'oggi.Il bisogno immediato vince dove affatto precaria è la condizione della vita e il domani si porge ignoto.Quindi quella forma di contratti che vogliono avere tutta la sembianza di bilaterali, dialettici, umani, m a in sostanza sono unilaterali e soverchiatori in maniera blanda e insi diosa. Questi contratti hanno un consenso apparente, un dissenso In che consiste questa socialità?- In uno scambio perenne, con tinuo di mezzi con libera necessità cioè in una volontaria permuta zione continua.Questa volontaria permutazione è il contratto. Dunque l'umanità è socialità; questa è contrattualità. Il corollario è questo: qual'è in un tempo la forma della società tal'è del con tratto. Oggi la società è malthusiana, nel senso detto sopra; m a l thusiano è il contratto.- Valgano i fatti a dichiarare questa dottrina. Nessun Codice scritto può far riparo a questi contratti simulati, unilaterali, e di mala fede, a questi bugiardi consensi di uomini che profondamente dissentono anche quando mostrano di consentire, a queste soperchierie distillate dalle procedure e da quel summum ius che fu sempre summa malitia.Infatti che riparo metterebbero i Codici?-Multe,carceri,sanzione di nullità,questi sarebbero isommi ripari; e varrebbero ad addoppiare la simulazione del contratti,o ad ammortire il capitale, a fermare la circolazione economica cioè alla stasi sociale. Altri ripari occorrono, e di questa forma unilaterale saranno i contratti sino a quando la forma sociale non sia mutata e il lavoratore, mediante il lavoro associato, non entri nella possi bilità di far la concorrenza al capitalista.Malthusiana è la società, tale dev'essere il contratto; il capitale costituisce la plutocrazia, il contratto la subisce;l'individualismo nummulario si oppone alla ve nuta dell'uomo,ilcontratto dev'essere unilaterale,una contraddizione ne’ termini. Non i Codici debbono integrare il contratto, ma la società dev'essere rimutata dal fondo. Non co'Codici direttamente lo Stato presente può integrare il con tratto:ogni suo intervento sarebbe malefico;ma dovrebbe,pare,per mettere al lavoro di associarsi. Mostra di farlo, m a la sua natura nol consente: dall'una parte permette le associazioni,dall'altra crea tanti intoppi di leggi e balzelli e contatori e pesatori e pretesti di ordine pubblico che il lavoro rimane estenuato e impotente di qualunque ris par mio. Par facile il dire: risparmiate l'obolo; ma è difficile risparmiarlo dalla fame. Cosi il lavoro non potendosi capita lizzare,non può creare la concorrenza al capitale.Quindi la rivolu zione economica non è possibile senza la rivoluzione politica,e que sta, alla sua volta, non asseguirà il suo fine, che è la libertà, se non compita la rivoluzione economica che equilibra la proprietà. Il capitalista e l'operaio sono nemici; il contratto tra loro non può essere che una simulazione; la sola guerra è possibile. Lo Stato presente ad evitare la guerra permette l'associazione e ne soffoca l'effetto; impotente alle riforme civili promettele riforme penali, scherno a bastanza scoperto e deriso. Se manderanno via il boia, diceva Langassieres, ho ancora il mio rasoio,ho la mano ben ferma, e la volontà è lapadronanzadime. Ho ildisprezzodituttoquelloche mi circonda.Ho capito il significato delle parole Dio, ordine, stato, reale, e per questo appunto sono unilaterali, e sono nondimeno la massima parte dei contratti odierni,perché questa è la forma della società,è malthusiana, pontefice e re ilcapitale. e Codice: parole belle per chi se ne ha da servire. A te!- Or che ti han fatto grazia della vita,tagliati tranquillamente le canne e di mostra anco una volta che l'uomo è il solo animale che ha piena si gnoria di sé. O suicida o rivoluzionario, questo è il solo dilemma che lo Stato presente mette innanzi all'operaio. Il suicidio,per esteso che sia,non può assumere che forma ec cezionale;e però la sola rivoluzione oggi si porge come norma. E sarà politica e sociale insieme, perché sono momenti inseparabili. Pervenuto a queste necessità, mi fermo un istante e odo le parole che mi si dicono attorno:-Scrioi un corso di Scienza del Dritto o fai dellapolitica? Rispondo che obbedisco alla necessità, la quale non può separare la scienza del Dritto dalla Filosofia della storia, che additando il cammino, dice che i popoli perverranno dove gli Stati. non vogliono. Il tempo verrà testimone non lontano delle mie conclusioni. Questa è la sola conseguenza possibile a cui poteva condurmi la teorica della proprietà. Ora entriamo a ragionare dell'individuo umano considerate come autonomo. Anatomici. Cripturus ego de Capite, composito hominis principali,cui merito reliqua corporis membra universa obtemperant, et subduntur, friteor luf scientia mihi vela non elle, adlulcandum immenlum hoc pelagus doctrinarum, quas de cognitione interiorum tot Authores copiofelparferunt, et effuderunt. Nimium elevatus mons eft, ad quem pertingere pes debilitatus nequit: nec volucrium in paluftribus locis immorandum alar volatum aquilarum audacium et generofarum exuperare poliunt: luffecerit mihi fi procul Carlum hoc contemplates fuero, li radices montis hujus circumire, fi fragili fcapha maris hujus immenii rivos aliquos mihi findere licuerit: ut ne videlicet in hoc volatu cum Je aro fubmergi, in hac viiione cum Philippo excarcari et de Ipeciolis hujus montis ruinis cum Polidamente opprimi mihi contingat. De olle nil referam, licut &c pauca de ollibus in sequenti Anatomia tradaturus fum, tanquam iis, qua: nec dodrinas hieroglyphicas, nec lymbolicas, Emblemadcas, Proverbiales, nec hiftorias, nec ritus, obfervationes, confuetudines, nec alia admittunt (II inde Anatomicas, et myfticas detraxeris) de quibus non folum, fed et de univerhtate partium humanarum ratiocinari conftitui. Difcurrant prolibitu luo Audiores de olle cranii, et commilluris ejus, cur compofido ejus et cralla et rara fit: et ut totius fit corporis quali caminus aliquis, de duplici tubulato Cranii, ulum praefatarum commillurarum, Lambdoides, reda; fagittalis, et coronalis exponant: discooperiant frontilpicium cum Occipite, denudent Calvariam totam, ut vilui reprxfentent quae Com- milliira: verte lint, qua: impropria: cur ha in modum fquammarum lint : recenfeant et explicent ufum primum, et fecundum: numerent in ordine unumquodque olTium cranii, delcribendo ad punctum ulque, figuram illorum, et fubftantiam, &foflas, et foramina, et Imus; examinent cujusque horum feparatim, et formas, et litus, et ellentias, et difpolitiones ollium, Occipitis <k Sincipitis, et temporum: horiun dilparitatem, inaqualitatem, limilitudinem, proportiones, et qualitates: examinent porro horum eminentias &procel!us, notent inter calvariam et maxillas diftantiam: ubi os Iphenoides litum fit, et cum occipite connedatur, et pofthac prolixa ftrudura fua ollibus temporum conjungatur, quod habitu &: conliftentia sua totum inaqualeeft. Dicant quod eorum quadam poros fuos habeant, a Galeno Scarlattmi Hominis Synbolki Hm. I. oblervatos, per quos propagines nervorum et arteriarum ferantur; Del Cendant hinc ad os Ethmoides, idque exponant perforatum, non fecus ac cribrum, ejusdemque rationem adducant; cur proinde ex parte una lit tanquam chrifta galli gallinacei, ex altent rarum, laxatum, fungofum, fpongiofum, in modum pumicis, quod cavitatem liarium adimplet, undeattrahantur odores, quod loco fuo memorabitur: Denique perfcrutentur ii Cranium figuTam det cerebro aut cerebrum Cranio; hasaliasqueqUxftiones, non mediocres, has indagines, has facultates, in quibus tam pratenti quam prxfentis Esculi celeberrima ingenia deiudarunt, interim pretereo, tanquam partes inanimas privatas rationali anima, et ad conlide- randa pretiola earum contenta accingor. Fadurus niliilominus idiplum cum omi brevitate pollibili, imitando viam et methodum Andrex Laurentii Inclyti Viri, qui nomen liiumper Illuftriores Mundi fcholas iniignivit, qui ampliari, et dilatari Lauros suas in quadam prima Regiarum totius Univerlitatis fecit, Francix nimirum, ubi inter lilia copiosius viridefcere edodus est, et famam suam, dc xftimationem, et authoritatem adaugens, utpote qui eoufque clarus lit, brevis, fuccofus, exadus, ut nulla fit nec minutiflima partium, nullus ibi mufculus, fibra nulla, quantumvis abditillima, et remotiflima, quam non in lucem produxerit. Hic metam, normam, et lumen lcriptioni mea: fugge Iturus erit. Hic ergo cum tanto authore Os Cranii apertum intueor, ubi dux le mihi membrana offerunt ab Arabibus antiquitus pia: Matres appellata: qua: videlicet non lecus ac fideles genitrices tenerrimum cerebrum, aliaque his contigua tanquam filios cum cautela et fedulitate magna compleduntur et tuentur. De his refert Hippocrates, eas temporis fuccellii converti in tunicas, earumque difcrepantiam, in tenuiori et craifiori elle materia: continent ha: et fubtus et supra, cerebrum: quarum exterior dura eft, cralla, et cuticularis, correlpondens figura fua, et magnitudine proportioni Ollis Calvaria:: dum cranium nec linum, nec cavitatem habet, qux hac ipla non repleantur; In suprema regione dura: Meningis nomen habet, qua; durities correfpondet pleura:, et peritoneo: in regionibus vitalibus, et naturalibus, ex omni parte Duplex eft, unde et Moderni unam earum internam ftabiliunt, candidam, et humore aqueo alperfam, qua; tunicam tenuem relpicit, alteram externam Olli Calvaria: contiguam. Verfatillimus Laurentius non nili unam solam agnofdt, et ait, duram hanc Meningem firmiter adhxrere bali Calvarix, de superiori nihilominus parte Cranii eatenus latam, quate- A nus dilatando, vel conftringendo cerebro necelle est, colligatur autem Cranio, mediantibus villis, qui per commilluras creicendo, ipsum propemodum pericranium conftituunt: conneclitiir membrana: tenui mediantibus venis, quarum opera cerebrum firmum redditur. Hac membrana multis foraminibus per via eft, per qua fe nervi, arteria et vena: tanquam per infundibulum fuum in medullam dorlalem effundunt: In lummitate capitis reduplicatur, et dextram a fmiftra cerebri parte difcriminat nec tamen ad bafin pertingit, fed ad cerebi medium usque, ubi duplicatione liia falcem mellorum reprefentat, unde &c a peritis Anatomicis tali nomine appellari confuevit, In pofteriori vero parte quadruplex eft, et illic cerebrum a cerebello, non totum fed ex parte diftinguit. Inter has plicaturas et duplicitates quatuor (inus confpicui reperiuntur qui tanquam abundantes rivi, et valoram majorum vicarii undequaque per substantiam cerebri languinem diffundunt. Intrant in hos iinus vente interna: jugulares: cumque cerebrum amplidimum fit, nec trunci venarum ad illud usque pertingere poflint, hos Rivos natura fabricavi r, tanquam aquadudtus, in quos vente copioslflimum fanguine meffundant, ad nutrimentum cerebri, de generationem spirituum animalium. Horum finuum primi duo laterales funt, et eorum exitus primus grande foramen, vicinum occipiti, format; per quod jugulares vente ingrediuntur, qua: ad principium Sutura: Lambdoidis terminantur, ubi utrteque uniuntur. Nafcitur de his frnus tertius, qui per longitudinem commillura fagittalis difcurrens, ad olfa narium conducitur: de his vero vagando multa: venula: ex omni parte per membranam tenuem dilperla procedunt: extenditur fmus hic ad extremitatem frontis,unde no immerito docet Hippocrates, percullafronte, caput univerlum inflammari. Quartus finus cteteris brevior inter cerebrum, et cerebellum vadens, in extremitatibus convexis cerebri terminatur, nates cerebri ab Anatomicis appellata: harum ufus admirabilis eft, ficut et venarum ab eo linu,t anquam a perenni fonte,divaricatio. In aliis corporis partibus vena in tantum arteriis vicina funt,ut le invicem tangant, et vena arterias libi focias semper habent: in cerebro autem, varia et diilimilis hac diftributio est, dum orificia venarum deorfum verfa funt, arteriarum vero furfum fp edant. Irrigant laudabili fucco cerebrum vena, arteria vero Ipiritum continent,qui per levitatem luam facile afcendit: Cum ergo vena orificia fua deorlum Ipedantia habeant, primo illis afcendendum erat, quod nec per cutem externam poterant, nec per ofla, nec per medullam interiorem cerebri, itaque id fit per duplicaturam dura meningis. Multiplex ufus est Membrana dura: primus eft cooperire cerebrum, dc medullam Ipinalem, atque eandem contra injurias quasvis tueri: fecundus eft, difterminare cerebrum in latus dextrum, et finiftrum, in anticum d: pollicum: Tertius ad recipiendum venas omnes, qua calvariam nutriunt, fitque tanquam caldarium cerebro, &c membrana tenui, qua continet: de qua etiam partes fanguinem fuum pro necessitate recipiunt. Detrada nihilominus et rupta membrana crafla, confpicuam fe et vilibilem reddit Pia mater, propter tenuitatem et mollitiem luam fic nominata: qua talem feu compofitionem habet, ut in omnem cerebri linum fe iniinuare facile polTit, ita ut per gravitatem fuam onerofa cerebro non ht, iimul ut per totum corpus illius portare vafa poflit, ideo et Secundina nomenclaturam adepta eft. Hac proprium velum, &c operimentum eft cerebri, quippe qua non folum fuperficiem externam operit, led ultra tendit, inque occulta penetralia 8c recellus ingreditur: extendit fe, dc prolongat in ventriculos usque, nona parte luperiori, ut vulgus opinatur, led inferiori: in his partibus afcendit, ubi velut catinum quoddam eft, per quam portantur arteria quadam exigua de iis venis qua carotides, et cervicales nominantur per latera fphenoidis. Admirabilis hic providentia natura eft in harum membranarum fitu,iicut cnimCreator,focum tenuiflimum, leviflimum et ratiflimum feparavit a terra, craila,denfa, gravillima, et opaca, idqueper aeris Ipatia, et aquarum divortium: ita &c Natura imitatrix et amula divinorum operum, duriflimam calvariam a mollilHmo cerebro per interpolitionem gemina membrana diftinxit: quam triftis, quam injucunda hiturafuilletvita noftra, fi tenera d: durafe invicem lemperline medio ollo colliderent, et concuterent? Hac porro meninge pia remota. Cerebrum iplum prodit. Hoc illud eft, quod jundum cordi ellentiam homini miniftrat, de quo videhcet formatur ratio, in-telligentia et ratiocinatio, unde formantur nutrimenta et ipirituum univerlorum generatio: animalium prafertim: a quo, et per quod formatum caput eft, contentum continente luo multo nobilius, quamvis et hoc quaquaverlum Ipedabile fit, cum caput in omni natione terrarum tanquam lacrum aliquid femper lit in veneratione fua habitum,&obfervatum, per quod y£gyptii Sacerdotes jurabant : quodlecum radios majeftatis portat, in quo etiam Iplendores divini perlucent, tanquam opus, de lublime artificium altimmi Del Hac pars excelfior cateris, de vicinior ccelo eft: hac fidilhma petra fenfiium eft : altiffimum mentis culmen: hac Regimen de gubernaculum totius obtinet : cerebrum non tantum fedes eft lenluum de motuum: fed Artifex vaftiflimam molem membrorum dirigens, licut de pratumida corpora nervorum, id que per flbras, non fecus ac per mulculos, ad eorum, qui conftrudionem iftam diligentius, defolertius perveftigaverint,ftuporem de miraculum: Hoc domicilium fapientia eft, de memoria, de judicii: audacis natura prodigium. Hoc in formam orbicularem compohtum eft, tum ut capacitas ei major ellet, tum ut fecurius adverlitad omni, quacunq-, eventura fit,obliftere valeat, nec quovis modo ab eadem oflenfionem ullam patiatur. Accedat ad hac, quod huic parti propemodum divina, figura quoque omnium perfedtillima, nonpromilcua conveniebat: cujus praterea magnitudo, quod vis animalium caterorum cerebrum facile vincit: ita quidem ut hominis unius cerebrum duorum boum cerebro aquivaleat, de mole, de quantitate. Hoc ita per ingeniofam natura providentiam dilpofitum fuit ad varietatem fundtionum animalium exercendam, imo perfedtionandam. Sentiunt quidem de bruta, fed eorum lenius totus in gratiam eft appetitus animalis : qua etiam naturali quadam intelligentia condudla, a noxiis abhorrefeunt, de per inlitam inclinationem ad libi profutura feruntur Subftantia cerebri mollis eft, candida, de medullaris, de purillima leminis de Ipirituum portione fabricata, ita libimetiph propria, ut in compolito alio nunquam eadem ipfa inveniatur : nec enim medulla qua in cateris ollium cavernis eft, 'huic par eft, illa enim non colliquatur, nec vero inedia, aut febrili calore diminuitur: continetur autem calvaria fua, ut cranium nutriat: cranium nutritur, ut continere medullam hanc poflit. Ait Galenus fluidam efle medullam oflium, fimilemque pinguedini, nec tunica coopertam, nec interfecatam arteriis, aut venis, nec participationem ullam habere cum mufculis, aut nervis, prout facit medulla cerebri, qua glutinofa magis quam pinguis eft: quam Hippocrates idcirco partem glandulofam appellavit, cum iit candida, et friabilis. Hac capiti has commoditates lubminiftrat. Sedet in fimilitudinem ventofa, atque ideo inferiorum partium refpirationes omnes abiorbet, quarum exhalationibus li calvaria ofcitationefua, ut ita dixerim, meatum non daret, et niii tantisper hiatu Quare fubfe quod;un aperiret, nimio fe calore cerebrum reple-ftantia cereret. Subftantiacerebri mollis eft, tum ut tanto facibri mollis lius imaginationes rerum vifarum fe imprimant, tum fit. ut nervi tanto tractabiliores iint,tum denique ut ponderosa duritie fua non gravet. Candida eft, quia {permatica: idque ratione finis, ut videlicet animales fpirituslimpidiflimifint, &: non obfcuri, veltenebrofl: quales melancholicorum funt. De hac etiam medullari fubftantia, temperamentum frigidum et humidum colligitur: his qualitatibus excedit, ne forte cogitationum continuatione fuccendatur, cum fit pars hominis liifce fundionibus deftinata j tum vero etiam quod fpiritus animales facillime diflipari et evanefeere pollent. In cerebro calido, motus furibundi eflent,&: temerarii, et delirantes ienfationes, ficut phreneticorum funt. Jungantur his fomnia inquieta, qua: li modum fuum teneant, facultatibus animalibus quietem indulgent: et qiue-fi calidum cerebrum ellet, de limpiditate fua defcifcerent, cum Ut proprium caloris, fuble vare et perturbare rerum comequentia. Cerebro reCognovit Peripateticus officium principale in ceffigeratur rebro,nempe ut inde cor refrigeretur: Galenus nihilcor. ominus ad hunc folum uliim confti tutum elle intelligi 8. de u fu parnonvult, quin potius ut facultatibus fenfuum &hotium. rum principiorum exitum pradoeat: tum ut generationi Spirituum animalium inferviat. Motus ceHabet motum fuum non animalem, autvolunta rebri. rium, nec violentum, fed naturalem, et hic proprius et peculiaris eft generationi Ipirituum animalium, temperamento, et purgamento aliarum praeterea rerum,non fecus ac arteriarum. A femetipfo fe dila tat et contrahit: in diaftole fua cum admirabili plicatura fpiritum et aerem narium trahit: in fyftole, interiores finus contrahit, et profundit fpiritum animalemin ventriculos fuperiores,in tertium, et quartum, ficut et fenfum in organa. Sentit cerebrum, cum fit fenfuum author, iplum tamen fine lenfli eft, cdm communis fensus fedes fit, omnium enim horum Ju- dex eft: ficut ergo nec audit,nec videt, fic nec tadum ad fenfibilia fentienda poflidet. Strudura Quemadmodum praecipuum membrum hoc dicerebri. verfarum facultatum matricium fenfificarum faber eft, ita et mirabiliter cum di verfarum partium ftru8.C.9. de ufu (ftura fabricatum eft. Preefatas partes copiofiflime Anatom defcripferuntjprimum Galenus, tum et Velalius exana om. 7. obfervator : didas partes cum claritate limpidiflima exponit audior meus: qua: lingula a me (qui brevitati, quantu poflibile eft, confulo) an exade reprefentan polfint, nescio. Dicam inprimisomnem eam partem, qua a nobis calvaria nominatur, cerebrum appellari folitum efle : duo ejus extrema funt, anterius nimirum, et pofterius: quorum illud primum retinet totius nomenclaturam, pars pofterior cerebellum appellatur: ha autem partes invicem dividuntur de medulla quadam crafla, per duplicaturam quandam, non ex omni parte tamen, fed ex fupeScarUttini Hominis Symboliii Tom. I demotu mufe. libello de glandtdii. riori folum, namqj in media et inferiori unum alteri vicinum et contiguum eft. Rurfum anterius cerebrum mediante proprio diaphragmate in dextram et liniftram partem deferibitur, intercedit autem portio quadam dura meningis, qua a figura fua,prout memoratum eft, falx nominatur : idque ob faciliorem motum, et levitatem, et nutritionem medulla interioris.Hujus fuperficies exterior fubcinericia potius, quam candida apparet, multos habens anfradus 6c circumvolutiones, quarum non pauca fubftantia ipfam cerebri introgrediuntur &penetrant,unde et fubftantia talis varicofa nominata eft. Ridendi funt, qui cumEraliftrato hos linus formatos idcirco credunt, ut per eos intelligenda formetur, quia tali modo 8c ipfi afini (ait Laurentius) intelligerent utique. V ult hic cum Galeno, tali ratione cum tot meandris, et intorfionibus cerebrum formatum elle, ut habere nutrimentum fuum, et fuftinere tot varia ad fe fpedantia poflit : cum enim illic moles ejus vaftiflimafit, qu'i heri poteft, ut vena et arteria, qua per fuperficiem lolam difcurrunt,fufticientes fint, ad nativum calorem illi fubminiftrandum ? Quidam arbitrantur hos gyros fabricatos efle, propter le vitantem, ut nimirum tanto promptius moveri poflit : alii rurfum ut medulla ejus tanto tortior et robuftior fit, ita ut molle humidumque, ab hac et illa parte difeurrerec: dixerunt nonnulli idcirco fadum,ut fpiritus et fanguis levamentum fuum habere, 8c recreari pofllnt, ne videlicet didam cerebrum in diaftole fiia, tempore plenilunii exceflivo calore fuftbcetur. Concludunt alii propterea factum, ne continuo motu fuo vafa disrumpantur aut relaxentur. Qui, prout debet,extemam hanc fuperficiem contemplatus fuerit, fiquidem duobus tribusve digitis hecc medulla cerebri in profundum fecata fuerit,continuopars altera candida, et durior, cum venulis quibusdam, &: arteriis parvis, qua: aciem oculorum prope fubterfugiunt, apparent: connexam habet membranam quandam tenuem, qua: corpus callofum appellatur, hujus interventu ea: partes, quee prius diferetee fuerant, in dextra, et finiftra continuantur. Eft corpus callofum hocinipfopropemodum cerebri medio (hocque inter fupremum &c imum intelligendumeft) apparet autem duobus ventriculis cavatum, dextr o, inquam, et finiftro. Hi primi finus cerebri funt, qui a Galeno anteriores nominantur j melius a nobis fiiperiores dicantur, figura ampliilimi, fi- cut et litu, et magnitudine et ufu, reliquis omnino fimiles, portant figuram lemicirculi, aut falcis, aut Lunee falcata: : in medio cerebri lituantur, eodem enim intervallo a ffonte,quanto ab occipitio diftant, tanto a bafe, quanto a fummitate: propter quod non rede anteriores dicuntur: fed potius primi vel fiiperiores dicendi funt. Magnitudinem ^qui valentem habent, cum fecundum proportionem aliarum partium amphslimi 1 int : nam tales efle oportet, ut fpiritum crasliorem continere valeant. Duo funt, ut impedito altero, hce fundiones intercepta: non lint, alterque alterius vicem fiippleat. Multiplex horum vaforum, vel ventriculorum ufus eft: inprimis ad preeparationem Ipirituum animaliuin, unde 8c inchoatio fpiritus appellantur: deinceps ad infpirationem et relpirationem cerebri: tertio ad recipiendum, 8c attrahendum odorem. Sunt illic qual 1 labyrinthi quidam exigui, qui per particulam unam membranee tenuis, quee afeendit, difeurrunt: in quorum medio fpiritus animalis coquitur, attenuatur, et preeparatur: duo illic procefliis, vel tubercula protenduntur fimillima papillis mamillarum, parti inferiori horum A 2 finuum Inii teli». limium, aut vero oflibus nari um propinqua, in modum cribri perforata, cooperta membrai ia tenui, qux tamen inter nervos non numerantur, cum de cranio non cadant. Per hic ad cerebrum aer portatur, et ad idipfiimfpecies odorum conducuntur: unde 8c organa odoratus nominantur: id quod Hippocrates dixit : Olfacit cerebrum h umidum exiftens aridorum odorem, u?ia cum aei e per corpufcula ipfum trahens. Diftinguit hos fuperiores ventriculos, certa quidam cerebri particula, quileptum lucidum, aut petra (pecularis nominatur. Sub hoc illud eft, quod Arandus a figura vermiculari, et bombicina nominavit. Tertio loco (e corpus calloium offert, compofitum per modum cameror vel fornicis, idcirco et camerale didtum, quali tribus quibusdam columnis fiiftentatum &c eredhim : reprarfentat autem compofitione fua figuram triangularem, conftantem lateribus inaequalibus, a parte poft eriori quali duplici arcu, ab anteriori uno (olo. Ulus corporis hujus, idem qui in fabricis fornicum vel archi trabium eft, quod &teftudo nominatur, qui licut alter Atlas ampliliimam molem cerebri totius luftentat, ne ventriculum tertium comprimat. Apparet lub camerato hoc, finus tertius, qui aliud non eft, quam cavitas communis ( &c concurliis duo, qui le in cavitate pridida explicant) qui cum humillima fedefiia quodammodo cedit. Hiclinus a Galeno ventriculus medius appellatur, vel quod intra duos fuperiores, et quartum inferiorem litus eft, vel quod quali centrum cerebri occupet, dum tantundcm diftat ab occipite, quantum ab olle frontis. In eo obfervantur meatus vel canales duo, quorum unus ad balem cerebri delcendit, alter in quartum linum dirigitur: unus eorum &c ftatu, et politione humiliori ultra tendit, in cujus extremitate oftium quoddam parvum eft membrani tenuis, primum quidem dilatatum, &: apertum, pofthic anguftius in fimilitudinem infundibuli, unde &: nomen illius, licut et catini mutuatur; perhoc tanquam per manicam Hippocratis, percolatur pituita cerebri. Sub hoc catino extenditur glandula pituitaria di<fta, qui tanquam lpongia, aut caro vaporo! a, et bibula, attrahit, imbibit excrementa (uperffua cerebri, Sc ea lenlim per cunei foramen diftillat. Apparent hic a lateribus plexus duo, qui a Galeno rete nominantur: T res hi particuli, nempe Infimdibulum, glans pituitaria, et rete monftran non poliunt, nili detradfa, nudata, Sc levata medulla cerebri uni veri a. Meatus alter aut canalis ventriculi tertii, amplior primo ad quartum linum dirigitur, de hocq; ad illum via eft, in qua particuli quidam exigui le offerunt, et primum quidem gl andul a turbinati figun, non dill imilisnuci pineali; dicunt eam pro fundamento, et firmamento venis dle, et arteriis in cerebro fparlis, licut et aliis glandulis puris, ut libera via pateat omni animali Ipiritui, ad tertium et quartum ventriculum. A tergo canarii corpulcula quidam rotunda funt, et duriora, qui quali nates formant, fub quibus tubercula quidam apparent,per modum teftiiun: quorum ulus eft, ut canalem forment, qui de tertio ad quartum ventriculum defeendat, et (ut dici folet) (alvum condudtiim Ipiritui animali pribeat. Denique (mus quartus occurrit, communis cerebello, et medulli ipinali: minimus omnium parvitate fua, led folidior citeris; Hic a principio luo dilatatus, fenfimreftringitur, donec in acumen terminetur, in modum pennilcriptorii, unde &c hoc nomine a verfatiflimis Anatomicis appellatur, inter quos Hierophylus eft. Errant autem qui opinantur, membranam elle tenuem et plenam rugis : necellanum autem erat hunc in dilatatione cerebri diftendi,& in ejusdem contractione complicari. Brevis et fuccida eft hic deferiptio cerebri anterioris, <k partium ejus. Succedit huic cerebrum pofterius, appellatum Cerebellum, quod a natura ad beneficium, et levamentum prioris formatum videtur: idque ut fpiritus animalis de finubus cerebri tranlinillus, hujus opeconlervetur, aptetur, et ad medullam fpinalem ablegetur. Figura ftu largius eft, quam longum fit aut profundum, exprimens formam fphiri, vel globi comprelli, 8c dilatati : quod iplum quoque membrana tenui et dura opertum eft, non ex omni parte nihilominus: ab inferiori parte enim viciniori cerebro contiguum eft, et color ejusftibcinericius, fubftantii craflioris et durioris anfraCtiis ejus exteriores lunt, 8c ad ulteriorem ufque medullam pertingunt: decuplo minus eft cerebro. In illa parte calvarii litum eft, qui duabus foflis occipitis circumi cribitur: totum ex quatuor partibus formatur, quarum dui laterales funt, et quali binos globos libi invicem oppolitos conftituunt; dui reliqui in medio confiftunt, et quali procellus quidam lunt, qui vermium figuram relerunt, undeSc processus vermiformes vocantur: quarum unus anterior, meatum apertum tenet de tertio ad quartum linum: alter ad partem poileriorem medulli Ipinali incumbit, et ad quartum linum refledtitur, qucn> apertum ad motus necessarios tenet. Interim de substantia unius alteriufque cerebri tanquam de radicibus luis propriis egredinir ramus, lpmahs, inquam, medulla, a quibuldam cerebrum longum appellata. Spiritus Sanctus in Eccleliafte, cum eleganti, quamvis oblcura allegoria hanc medullam funem argenteum nominat, lic et receptaculum ejus fiftula lacra dicitur: appendix autem et vicaria cerebri reputatur: nec enim hujus dignitas et officium inferiora funt dignitati cerebri, lic nimirum hujus et illius natura fe providam confervatricem pribet: et quemadmodum cerebrum ollibus calvarii munitum, et circumvallatum, duabufq; tunicis opertumeft. lic altera, circumdata eft et munita vertebris luis, tanquam lepimento fuo, tecta etiam dura et c tenui meninge, diuturnam opprelflonem non fhflert. Sed veteres opinati funt integra defludtione quadam, aut vero etiam luxatione lola vertebrarum liibitaneam evenire polle mortem. Necellaria fuit creatio hujus: line concurfii etenim ejus per univerfum corpus derivari nervi non poterant: priierrim qui lexti conjugationis eft, tam minutus, ut ad plantas ulque prolongari non potuillet:nec vero etiam prididti nervi vaftillimam membrorum molem commovere. Idcirco altiilimus Deus medullam creavit, cui fecunditatem generandi nervos contribuit. Nafcitur hic de utroque cerebro, non de inferiore aut cerebello lolo (prout minus experti judicant) cum mediante illo, tanquam de communi officina et aquidudtu fpiritus animales diffundere le in nervos debeant, tanquam in rivos, atque inde in totum corpus defeendere: qui fpiritus perfectionem fuam in limibus cerebri nacifcuntur. Conveniens itaque erat locare 8c ftabilire principium illius prope illorum Ipirituum officinam : qui etiam in tertio et quarto ventriculo continentur: &: hi punllimi lunt, omnimodo ab omni impuritate delicati, 6c mundi. Spinalis medulla ergo de quatuor quali magnis formatur radicibus, quarum dui majores de una alteraque cerebri parte nalcuntur: alteri dui minores de cerebello. De his quatuor limul jundtis medulli (pinalis corpus compingitur. De hoc autem deinceps quali infiniti quidam iurculi oriuntur, &in plures ramos fru&ificant, qui in partes corporis univerfas propagantur: de qui a veteribus Anatomicis olim in varias conjugationes diftindd fuerunt. De Modernis noitris lic medulla hxc dividitur : pars ejus, inquiunt, calvaris includitur, et illic obferatur, altera foris eft. De illa qus ab intro eft, leptem nervorum paria nafcuntur : hinc proceilus mamillares lunt, et principalia odoratus organa. Altera medulla: pars, inunita de circumvallata vertebris, motum lyftolcs, autdiaftoles non habet, ut nimirum fiibftanda fe cerebri includeret olfibus, qus motum habent : unde hic apparebit, qualiter nervi per brachia, per femora, perque alias principales partes, et inferiores divaricentur. Hic caudex, aut ramus cerebri coopertus membrana tenui, aliquantum diftat a dura: per teneram autem venuls qusdam diicurrunt, de arteris minuta:, diveriimode implicats, qus medullam nutriunt, de per eandem vitales fpiricus diffundunt. Egreditur medulla hsc per foramen amplum, de rotundum e calvaria: primum amplillima, de cralfiiTima, qus paulatiin attenuatur, dum de substantia ejus deperit aliquid, nil tamen de corporea mole, quam ubique eandem retinet : pertingens denique ad dorli finem in varios ramos coni umitur, qui omnino caudam equi figurant: atque hic terminum tuum confequitur. Quaiiinfinitus nervorum numerus eft, qui ab eadem derivantur: hi vero, dum illi, qui quali infiniti lunt, egrediuntur, le uniendo tanquam corpus unum formant; volueruntque Anatomici tot nervorum elle paria, quot lunt vertebrarum foramina. Omnis interim nervus a principio ortus lui multas habet fibras conflatas, dc produdtas de lubftantia medullari, de membrana tenui: dc hs fibrs defeendendo paulatiin de medulla leparantur, dc dum foraminibus vertebrarum appropiant, cralla quadam membrana, tanquam tunica mduuntur,dc in unum le reducendo nervum conftituunt, qui dum per foramen fuum egrefliiseft, in iisdem foribus rurfiim divellitur. Interim quanto longius 1'pinalis medulla defeendit, tanto altius nervorum fibrs nalcuntur, dc longinqua habent principia: licut nervi dorfales, delumbares, fi attentius obiervati fiierint, de cervicali medulla delcendunt. Ab initio lumborum ufique ad extremum Ollis Sacri multi funiculi cralliores inveniuntur, qui tamen invicem uniuntur, ea ratione, qua pori vertebrarum, ut dum in anteriora, dc pofteriora {pinalis medulla incurvatur, non nimium violenter agitata, aut premeretur, aut rumperetur, necellarium itaque erat eam in inftrumenta capillaria terminari. De his autem haefenus rationatumlit : quandoquidem definire fingula cum circumftantiis dc conditionibus fuis, idem eilet, ac munerare velle arenas maris, dc ftellas firmamenti. Cum autem calamus mihi fit in prsdi&is dc brevis, dc imperfectus ( prsfertim quod hsc profeilionismes nonllnt, qua mihi cura animarum non corporum incumbit ) multo potius talem illum elle conconfiteor, in difeutiendis qusftionibus illis arduis Galeniftarum, contra Peripateticos, Hippocratis, Avicenns, Ralis, dc intra modernos Velalii : videlicet an cerebrum principium lit facultatum : quomodo facultas fenfitiva duplex fit, interna, dc externa: qua ratione fiant imaginatio, dc intelligentia: de quali temperie cerebri, fedes memoris fiat: de loco majori, dc litu principali anims rationalis : cum Hierophylus eam in vale cerebri collocet, Xenocratres in vertice capitis, Eraliftratus in membranis cerebri, Empedocles, Epicurei, dc Aigyptii in thorace pedfoScarlattim Homini Sjmbohci Eom. I. ris, Morchius in univerfo corpore, Heraclitus in agitatione extrinleca, Herodotus inauditu, Blemor Arabicus, dc Sinenfis Medicus Cyprius in oculis, Strato Phylicus in fuperciliis, Peripatetici dc Stoici facultatem hanc omnem in corde collocent. Concludam ego cum Vetulo famofo Coi: Cerebro, ait, intclhgimns, deliramu, in f animus, cum aut calidius fuerit, aut fjcc.us, aut frigidius, idipfinn dc Galenus ientit. Hifce auream Philonis lentendam adjungo, Je f fi qui ait: ubicunque fate/litium regium eft, et Rex a fe£Hs. jute ihtio (liparas fidem habet • fed totum anima fiatellitium, finf/mm quippe organa in capite fit a funt, bi ergo fedes an ima praepua. Nec vero etiam mentis oculum ulque adeo p eripi cacem elle reor, ut adimam omnes ledes, dc relidendas facultatum dignolcere valeat: id folum referam quod Galenus Ientit, qui arbitratur, earum Ut Placitis, omnium originem in cerebro elle, non in csteris organis, prout facultas motus eft, dc (enfiis. Arabum univerla Schola harum diverfas manfiones partita eft in cerebro, dc cuique facultatum fuam propriam fedem dejlinavit: idipfiim etiam Avicenna dc Averroes voluerunt. Ha: opiniones validioribus argumentis ftabiliri pollent: fed iis ea remitto, qui hxc tufius aut tractare, aut indagare ftudendo latagunt. Porro nec modica nec brevis quxftio eft, fi nimirum faculFen-1 tates praecipua: a temperie cerebri dependeant, aut de conformatione ejus: hoceft,utrutn actiones fimiticfi ltfi de lares lint, aut organica-. Obfcurillima quaftio, in memoria. qua fe plura etiam illuminata ingenia intricarunt. Ad hanc nihilominus obfcuritatem magnam attulit elucidadonem Plato, tum cum nos monet : Non retlc inTheeteto: f habet anima, in denfo, aut lutulento, molh nimis, aut duro cerebro : molle enim celeres quidem ad percipiendum efficit, fed eosdem oblivio fos-^ durum dau memores, fed ineptos ad percipiendum efficit : denfium fimulacraobficur a continet. Et Galenus: Melius foret 8 • Ue ufh parexifiimare Imellettum fiequi non varietatem compof“Hm tioni, fed corporis, quod cogitat, laudabilem temperiem j neque enim perfeEHo intellcchts quantitati (pir it ustam artribuendaeft, quam qualitati. Unde ad fuperiora qux aprxfads allata funt, concludit Lau7fi rentius. Ex hi* fiatis parere arbitrantur quid.am fiacultates Anima non a conformatione, fed k temperie cerebri exerceri. De ufii cerebri Ariftoteles fentit, idipfiim folhm ad refrigerandum cor formatum elle, itaque compofitionem ejus humidam elle dc frigidam: quam lentendam Galenus refutat. Cum cerebrum, inquit, Ue h[h paraffu, quovis ambiente aere, etiam aftivo calidum fi;} u“mquomodo refrigerabit cor ? an non ab aeri* infpiratu hauritur? temperabitur potu ?f dicam Peripatetici non fufficere aerem externum refrigerando cordi, fed requiri aliquod vifcu* internum : hoc eis obtrudam, cerebrum longi (fimo intervallo a corde diffitum efie, CE ofiibus calvaria undique obvallatum : debuiffet, mshercule, aut in thorace locari cerebrum, aut faltem inter jeEia, cervice oblongiore non diftingui. Hxc Quxftio non de limplici penna: tradbu eft, dum per has undas experriffima edam navigia naufragarunt: cumque fe in portum evadere polle delperarent, prout non raro accidit iis, qui margaritas pileantur, cellare ab indagando coacfti fiint: unde dc ego, dum tales video illuc non potuille piertingere, iter tam laboriolum, de prxdicftasfyrtes evito: videlicet qualis fit fpintuum natura, modus, dc locus generationis: erronea de hoc opinio Argenterii, admirabiliter a ailigcntilTimo Authore meo confutata : utrum prarterea fe cerebrum moveat violenter, dc vigore connaturali, aut vero per motum arteriarum : A 3 ardua, longa, et difficilis omnino quxftio, fi ulla alia, an nimirum (entiat cerebrum, et quomodo: in quo loco rurfiim diverlx fimt Galeni, Hippocratis, tk Peripatetici lentenda'. Prxtereo hatce do&rinas, tum quod obfcura fiint et difficiles, tum quod non tam ad Anatomicum ha fpedent, quantum illa qua fuperius jam relata, et adhuc referenda fiint, podus ad philosophiam naturalem pertinent. Quapropter in ulrimo loco fe mihi offert dequalitadbus licut et de cerebri temperamenco ratiocinatio: ubi denuo nonpauca’ fimt a multis partibus introdudfre opiniones, quas egotame qua polium brevitate perftringam.Conlentiuntinterimhic et Peripatetici, et Medici, cerebrum in qualitatibus luis activis frigidum elle, in pafiivis humidum: dillentiunt nihiloDepartibiu minus Medici ab eo, quod Peripateticus retulit, dum Animal. c. 7. cerebrum frigidum idcirco ftatuit, ut refrigerando J. cordi ferviret:Medici non minus calidum volunudum illud Galenus quovis atitivo acre calidius elle docuit. Sunt nonnulli, qui Galenum, et Ariftotelem conciliant, duplex temperamentum cerebri admittendo, infitum imum, alterum influens. Frigidilfima eft compolitio medullaris fubftantia: illius, led de influente lubftantia calefitjdum circumdatum et perfufum eft a Ipiritibus multis, multisquc Arteriolis interceptum. Si innatam temperiem ejus intuemur eadem eft, qua: fpinalis medulla? dum filbftantiam cum eadem communem habet: li ad temperiem influentem refledimusjunum altero calidius dicitur,idque ob arteriarum copiam,qua: fe vaporofis filis et fumidis exhalationibus lublevant. Quidam fiiftinent cerebrum ablolute, (impliciter calidum elle, led iola comparatione frigidum : <$c C. y.lib.ix. Galenus: Cerebrum quamvis calidum, frigi dijfimo de Tetnper. corde e/l frigidius: propter quod Hippocrates fedem fertincntibtu. j]jucj frigoris appellat : hanc tamen Laurentius non approbat, dicendo: liquidem illud frigidius eft cute, qua: videlicet extremitatum medietatem tenet, potius frigidum quam calidum elle debebit: illud vero cute i'Je tempera frigidius elle Galenus docet. Contra quidam argument. c.y. mentantur, qui dicunt, nudato cerebro, continuo ab aere refrigerari, quod ab ambiente non evenit. Rcfpondetur alterari cerebrum, dum aeris alluetum non eft, prout cutis: fic Sedentes, non allueti aeris continuo ab ipfo lividi fiunt, ipfinn etiam cerebrum calidius cute, dum calvaria cooperitur, de arteria etiam et membrana multos plexus habet. Concluditur ex his: Cerebrum de temperie 1'ua innata frigidius elle, et de temperie influente, calidius : atque ejusmodi illud elle oportuit, ne portio dedicata continuis medirationibus accenderetur, ne evanefcerent fpiritus animales, qui tenuifrimi funt, ne motus temerarii essent, et fentationes delira;, quales phreneticorum funt. Adverfarii hic novis argumentis inlurgunt, dum ajunt: fi temperamenti frigidi eft cerebrum, qua ratione fpiritus animales progignit, &c vitales attenuat, qui effectus vehementimmi caloris fimt? Relpondetur attenuari (piritumin plexibus parvarum arteriarum, in illis viarum anguftiis: non minus etiam fpiritum animalem fieri, non tam per manifeftam qualitatem, quam per infitam quandam et abditam proprietatem: cum enim fpiritus cordis, quamvis calidiflimi, crafiiores fiant, quam illi cerebri, qui frigidiflimi fimt, evenit hoc imbecillitate caloris agentis, fed de dilpoljtione materis patientis generat cor fpiritus vitales de (anguine per venam cavam porrato. Fabricat animales lpiritus cerebrum de spiritu vitali tenuillimo, ita &: calor modicus alimentum debile concoquit, validus id quoderaffius eft. Sit itaque in adtiva quantitate fua frigidiflimum cerebrum, in pafiivis non eft qui ambigat illud humidum elle, non minus et inlitafua, influenteque temperatura. Cum hac videlicet temperie creatum a Natura eft, propter perfectionem qualitatis fenfibilis, fenfatio autem ha’C a paflione fit, et id quod humidum eft, facilius lpe&ra et imagines recipit: pari ratione ad ortum et propagationem nervorum, qui fi de duriori fiubftantia eflent, xgrius utique dederentur, tum proinde ne duritie fua et pondere aggravarent: denique ne membrum illud ad perpetuum motum, fenfationes, et cogitationes deftinatum in flammaretur: Sic enimvero qualitate qualitati unita cerebrum humidum potius quam frigidum eft, et inter partes humidas tertium ordinem, et inter frigidas quali poftremum obtinet. Occurrit hic alia infuper non modica, et necellaria admodum quceftio, quanta lmt &£ qualia cerebri excrementa, per quos etiam canales et condudus expurgetur. Cerebrum ergo cum temperamenti medullaris, frigidi fit, et humidi, nutritum fanguine pituitofo, per virtutem libi innatam, et natura: fua: propriam de superfluitatibus alimentorum copiam grandem excrementorum generat: fed cum (it totius corporis caminus, in limilitudinem cucurbita: parvae, autcujusdam ventofie, cujus figura ab amplitudine in anguftum aut acutum terminatur, iniidet trunco corporis, &d partibus infer ioribus,omnium generum refpirationes attrahit &: abforbet j tefte Hippocrate. Inde dubitandum non eft, quin vaporibus his imLibella de pletum, &fine intermifiione imbutum, et quali ingUndulu. ebriatum, in (emet multa fiiperflua et (iiperabundantia contineat, ita quidem, ut cum humidum fit, &J frigidum, ratione mamfeftifiimi fitus, excrementis multis, &. materia crafliori abundet. Ha:c autem, fi Hippocrati et Galeno fides habetur, duorum generum eft: altera enim tenuis,altera crallaeft: quarum illa vapori, aut fuligini non dispar, per condudus infenlibiles transpirat: altera autem per meatus confpicuos, et ex inferiori parte apertos purgatur.llcut illafiiperior per partem fuperiorem. Excremento tenui et vaporofo redundat cerebrum ratione (ituationisjhalitus enim adfpartem lupcriorem alcendunt, et vafa in capite terminantur.in partes vero inferiores quod craflum eft propter frigidam et humidam temperiem facilius delcendit, unde plus reliquis vifceribus omnibus hoc humore abundat. Hujus excrementi eradi pars pituitofa, aquea, de ferofaeft, pars biliofa, pars melancholica: quorum illud quod aqueum eft,de reliquiis fanguims pituicoli et crudioris producitur : biliofiim vero de portione melancholica, terrena, allata, &c torrida, propter caloris excesum, portio videUcet alimenti illius, propter quod& facile amarefeit. Arbitratur Argenterius aqueum illum et mucofum humorem qui per nares et palatum (eparatur et emungitur, proprium cerebri excrementum non e(fe : cum multi nec fpuant,nec emungant hanc pituitam: led humorem quendam elle generatum in hepate, miftum (anguine in venis detento, qui generationem luam in cerebronon habeat, led illuc portari, quando per imbecillitatem facultatis concodr icis,aut vero per intemperiem frigidam aflimilari cerebro nequeat, ita vero tanquam luperfluum per nares et palatum emitti. Hoc li verum eft, ad quem ufiim in (ede (phenoidis extenditur glandula carnis poro(ae,& bibulx,prout didtum eft? hxc ergo ad hoc deftinata non eft, ut hanc eluviem recipiat, et expurget ? fi humor hic pituitolus in cerebro male temperato generatur, quis glandula: ufus erit, qux in cerebro quamvis temperato repetitur ? Natura fagax Sc Libello de llandulu. C. i;. Anis parva. C. 2lib. 2. de locis ctffeclis Aphor. 2 Seft.i. c. prudens nil fruftra operatur : quod fi vero dodbrina Argentarii valida eft, fupervacaneum erit infundibulum, et glandula pituitaria: praeter harc prafatus author inquit, bene temperatos nunquam pituitam hanc iputo ejicere, contrarium tenet Galenus, itaque excrementa pituitofa et mucola propria fimt cerebri, et proprios canales fuos habent, ad hoc fabricatos, ut inde expurgentur. His ftabilitis Sc in ordinem redadtis, fupereft, quibus itineribus hac expurgatio fiat, difcutere. Excrementum quod tenue eft, &fuliginofum, cum ex fui levitate fupcriora petat, per Meningem evaporatur, per cranium deinceps, et per cutem, idque infenlibili tranlpiratione, dum corpus humanum per modum (pongix, foramina multa in fe continet. Inde eft, quod cum per olla penetrare hac fuligo nequeat, provida natura commifluras in cranio, plurelque cavitates ejus diftinxit, et collocavit. Excrementa vero crafliora, cum ex fui dilpofitione naturali ad partes inferiores ferantur, canales habent confpicuos, nondum a Medicis ftabilitos. Hippocrates leptem condudhis agnofcit, per quos de cerebro humor hic defiuat, per aures nimirum, per nares, per oculos, per palatum, per partes gutturales, per gulam, per venas, et medullam lpinalem in languine. Galenus eorum quatuor aflignat, hoc eft: palatum, nares, aures, et oculos: idiplum etiam alibi fentit, <Sc confirmat: quamvis in Commentariis non nili nares, &c palatum enumeret, dum ait: declives cerebri meauts tum per palatum in os, tv,m per corpus narium, conjpicuis ac magnis orificiis craffa cruciam excrementa. In primo lymptomatum lolum ad id vult idonem elle palatum, dum opportune concoquitur, &: nares pro odoribus folis compofita fint, &: pro refpiratione lic in variis locis diverfimode hic Medicorum Antelignanus dilcurrit. Hinc eft, quod do&iflimus Audior meus, adeoncilanda loca tam diverla, primo fui intuitu libi admodum diilentientia, per varios condudtus varia cerebri exprementa, pkuitofi nimirum, biliofa, et melancholica expurgari credit: Horum condudtuum alios natura: ordinarios elle, multiim familiares, et confuetos : alios extraordinarios, nec ulque adeo congruos. Ordinarii ad expurgandam pituitam dedicati lunt, ut palatum, et nares plus tamen illud, quam ha:, cum potiflimum pro odoratu fabrefabta lint. Ipfa adeo Anatomia docet, condu&um vifibilem, et conlpicuum de tertio cerebri iinu formari, qui ad anteriorem ejusdem balem extendatur, in cujus extremitate tenuis quadam membrana: particula, primum larga, et patula, deinceps anguftior, et ftndior appareat, per modum infundibuli, quodienfim in palatum, et in os deftillat: et hic eft, ubitanquam per Hippocratis manicam (prout alibi relatum eft) humor percolatur, et a glandula pituitaria pofthac recipitur. Quod fi fuperiores cerebri ventriculi quandoque abundent, et eluviem mucofam diftillent,hanc per tubercula fim illima papillis et per os Ethmoides vel cribriforme emittunt: ex hinc fubtus materis biliofs continuo per nares expurgantur. Quidam fic philofophantur materias hafce biliofas ad aures rejici, ut earum olla calore &c ficcitate fiia defendant : pituitofas vero per os &r nares evacuari, ut videlicet hi meams aperti humiditate pradidta a ficcitate prohibeantur. Hi canales ordinarii lunt, per quos confiieto natura: ordine cerebrum purgatur. Illic rurftim alii lunt, extraordinarii, per quos cerebrum, humorum copia pragravatum fe nonnunquam exonerat. Sunt autem oculi, Medulla fpinalis, et Nervi, unde paralylis oritur : quandoque et per 1 venas, &per arterias id contingit, dum humorum decubitus in parotides contrahitur. Hac autem excrementa particularia cerebri non fimt, hoc eft, medullaris fubftantia, aut de ventriculis ejusdem, fed potius de his vafis, de venis et arteriis videlicet, ex quibus tumores glandularum, opthalmiae, 3c aurium inflammationes lequuntur. Hac excrementa interim cerebri temperati, iii fubftantia lua nihilominus, et quantitate qualitate intemperata fimt. Tempora quo excernuntur fluida funtlubftantiafua, qua: non nimium cralla eft, nec humida : taliter in quantitate lua funt, nec enim copia abundanti luxuriant: in qualitate vero nec acrk lunt, necfidla: prafertim fi fuccefiu temporis a facultate lua concoquantur, Sc feparentur. Reftat breviter videre per quos condtidus excrementa quarti imus, et de cerebello purgentur. Non abs re erit nolle, hac excrementa pauca admodum elle, tam propter cerebelli duritiem, quam quod hujus iinus tenuilfimi fpiritus lint, &c finceri, jam omnimodo expurgati, ita ut id quod illic facile colligitur, facile etiam dilTipetur: id quod in cerebro non evenit, cumlithumidum, continens fuperfluitates nori modicas, atque ideo copiofa expurgatione necelle habet. Grandis, laboriofa, 8c non minus fuperioribus difficilis indagatio eft, nolle numerum, ufiim, 8c praftantiam ventriculorum cerebri. Ego vero intuens meoccurfum difcuilionishujus declinare hon polle: ut inde aliquid etiam adducam, cum Authore meo, dicendum qualiter ventriculos quatuor Galenus ftabiliat, fuperiores duos, quos anteriores vocat, unum in medio, quem communem nominat, ultimum deinceps, qui cavitas eft. Avicenna non nili tres aflignat : iupremum, medium, depoftremum. Verum quidem eft fub titulo unius priores duos ab eo mtelligi, cum unius adeo figura: lint, 8c fitus, et magnitudinis, et ftrudtura. Verlatiflimus alioqui Velalius reprehendit in hoc loco Galenum de ufu ventriculorum fuperiorum, idcirco quod hosfinus organa odoratus elle voluit, &c eofdem etiam pituitam in os cribriforme percolare. Author meus in defenfam Galeni ait, Imus anteriores in tantum organa odoratus appellari, quod ad eos odores ferantur, de quibus eligunt, rejiciunt, vel judicant, nec tamen propterea obftare quicquam, quin fi cerebrum eluvie mucofa refertum fit, in eos finusle fundat: cum pituita non raro quoquo verfum in cerebri corpus fe difpergat, prout fape in Apoplexia contingit, le diffundendo in nervos, &c in lpinalem medullam : unde paralylis. Argumentantur in contrarium alii, dicendo: extingui utique odoratus lenium, fi per hunc pituitola tranfcolatur materia, prout experientia docet. ReIpondetur ad hac, hoc de fluxione continua et magna humorum abundantia provenire, qui tum obftrudtionum in proceflibus caufafunt: non fecus ac in perpetua occlufione pororum qui in offibus fimt. Quidam Modernorum fuftinent anteriores ventriculos non ad praparandos fpiritus fadtos elle, cum fint excrementorum receptacula, ipiritumvero animalem cavitate fenfibili non indigere. His Galenus refpondet, ventriculos fuperiores ad purgationem Ipirituumminifterium fuum exhibere, et ad expurgationem materia: fuperflua. Ita per Ethmoidem odores afeendunt, et non minus fuperflua evacuantur. Sic emmvero de excrementis cerebri dicendum, qua per palatum et nares Ime intermiflione excernuntur, quod nullum omnino nocumentum nec odoratui, nec guftui adierant, fiquidem ciun moderamine defluxerint. Quod priftantiam et dignitatem horum ventriculorum, quifuperiores funt, attinet, ambigendum non eft; quin citeris ex omni ratione poftponendi lint, non quod citeri principalis facultatum ledes lint, fedquodin iis generatio (pirimum animalium fiat. C.3./.7. Totum hoc Galenus doce. Cum interim quatuor ventriculi fint, quiritar quis eorum potior Iit, et nobilior: vult Galenus Imus luperiores citeris elle ignobiliores, idque exemplo adolelcentis cujusdam demonftrat, qui Joniiin Civitate Smymenfi recepto vulnere in his linubus fiiperioribus, vita? &: ianitati reftitutus eft. Non cum tanta elevatione loquitur de his citatus Galenus dum de tertio et quarto trade ufu par&ac. inquintoenim capite ad tertium de locis ajfefUs Uum primatum pofteriori donat : hic verba ejus funt: Spiaep aatu. rptlts animalis in cerebri ventriculis, maxime in pofteriori continetur: quamvis non contemnendus fit medius. Ipfe etiam Hippocrates: poftremi quidem ventriculi vulneratio maxime omnium animal Lcdit, fecundo loco medii, minima ex anterioribus utrisque noxa contrahitur. Hoc id.em quod feStiones, collifones quoque faciunt. His omnibus ratio (iiffragatur, dum ventriculi ignobiliores apparent, qui majorem habent amplitudinem, Quartus Imus omniii anguflillimus eft,& minimus, Ipiritumque animalem lmcerum, delicatum, Sc omnimodo expurgatum continet. Reliqui duo pra?parando folum Ipiritui ferviunt: itaque omnium nobilillimus eft quem dixi. Videtur Galenus his contrarium lentire, illic ubi 5 .delocuaffe ait: Si aliquando tota anterior cerebri pars afficiatur, Ftu C 2. cM' ca qua funt circa fupremum ventrem (liipremum auue locis C. 1, tem eo Joco medium intelligit, nelcio ob quam rationem) ei conflit ire neceffie efl difeurfivas omnes ailiones vitiari. Si difcurlus in medio finu, ergo nobilior. Hic ergo prirogativam linui tertio allignare videtur. Sic in capite ultimo fabulam Vulcani exponens, cmn caput Jovis bipenni conquallallet, eum inde Minervam Deam Sapientia? traxille ait: per quod videtur non minus ventriculo tertio prirogativam hanc donare. Hanc dignitatem ftni&ura memorati ventriculi admirabilis indicat, dum vulnera occipitis minus periculola funt, quam qui in fyncipite hunt: ita (enti tHippocrates: Pluresex his, qui pofteriori capitis parte funt vulnerati, mortem effugiunt, quam qui anteriore. Conciliabitur itaque Galenus, li dixerimus: quod dum linum quartum priftantiorem elle inquit, Sc digniorem, hoc eum luo arbitratu dicere, dum autem de tertio ratiocinatur, eum lentendas aliorum fequi, et in particulari Nicrophyli, prifertimqued facultatibus pricipuis fuas fedes proprias non adIcriplit liciit alibi memoratum eft. In vulneribus occipitii raro admodum ventriculus quartus offenditur, dum carojiicut Sc cralfities, Sc durities ollis ve hementer refiftunt : fed in lyncipite, hoc eft in ventriculo tertio olla tenuiora lunt: Hinc Author meus ait: non erralle Galenum in hiftoria prifente cerebri totius, nili in mirabilibus ejusdem plexibus. Hoc os in homine usque adeo breve et parvum eft, ut pene oculorum aciem effugiat. Hunc plexum coronalemqui in ventriculis Cerebri luperior eft, cum Modernis quampluribus Rete mirabile nominat; dum ineo Spiritus vitalis attenuatur, et animalis certum quoddam rudimentum Sc praeceptum coiifequitur. Ex tot igitur operationibus, qui de interioribus Capitis proveniunt, nobile, lingulare, Sc elevatum hoc Compofitum, plus adeo quam quodvis aliud in humano corpore dicendum eft: Altillima rupes, in qua pricipua vicini civitatis conftrudba lunt propugnacula : nili malumus cum majori proprietate illud nominare, Metropolim famofam fubje&arum libi Regionum : vel Primum Mobile, fub quo reliqui fphiri inferiores moveantur, vel luminofum Solem, qui partes omnes, tam vicinas, quam longe diflitas, illuminet Sc perluftret vel Officinam ubi pungenriflima tela, aaitiflimarum cogitationum fabricentur: vel Ditifiimum Aerarium, de quo tot potentiarum Sc effedtuum thefauri depromantur, vel Compendium, in quo Univerfitatis totius negotia reftringannir, et epilogentur. Vel fontem perennem de quo copiofimmi rivi profluant, ad inundanda Sc fcecundanda prata membrorum tam qui propiora, quam qui longius collocata funt j Vel Principem abiolutum, qui de partibus libi fubditis homagium fidelitatis exigat, Caput, inquam, quod jure merito Principium,Dominatorem, Patronum, Antefignanum,Ducem,& Magiftram dixeris omnium eorum,qui humano corpore continentur: Mundus eft, propter quem Mundus creatus eft. Sc quidquid in his lphiris mortalibus Sc immortalibus concluditur: vivum fimulacrum, Sc Imago Altisfimi, qui in hac prodigium admirabile Omnipotentiae fui manifeftare voluit. Sed li tot,tamque inexplicabiles dotes in hoc contento includuntur: fi divina manus in interioribus tot mirabilia Sc ftupenda operata eft, unde ad dignitatem tantam profecit, nondisfimili gloria fcintillare. Video Continens, hoc eft Faciem, illam dico, in quam Creator Deus, fpiravit fpiraculum vita, et fattus efl Homo in animam vi ventem. Facies qui tali nomine infignita eft, quod univerfa operetur Sc faciat, prout j arn fupra determinatum eft Facies fine qua imperfefta,in anima line vitalitate, fine fpiritu reliqua membra poftrata jacerent: line qua tanqua truncus monftruofiis, inutilis, et abominabilLS, reliquu corpus omne decumberet; Facies qui imprimit, et exprimit objecta tam interna, quam externa, per quam Homo ab Irrationalibus diftingiiitur : qui fola radium circumfert Majeftatis, typum Sc copiam Originalis illius fupremi,quod beatitudinis noftn objedum in coelis eft: perquam folam cogitata interna producuntur: lola pulchritudo, Sc complementum corpons,per quam folam, et non per aliud, liti, triftes, fupplices, eredi, aut fubmiffi fumus: Hic prima eft quiplacet,qui attrahit, qui commovet,qui ampleditur,qui repudiat. Indicat hic fexum, itatem, decorem, Sc ftirpem: in qua manifeftiflima mortis Sc vici indicia defignantur. Jam vero quod partes ejus Anatomicas concernit, dehisintradatu de maxillis abunde ratiocinabimur. Supereft hic videre paucis,ad Encomium potius, quam Anatomicam ejusdem expolitionem, cur in eadem Facie omnes adeo lenius collocati, cur eorum quinque lint, Sc non plures: de quibus illud inpvimis dicendum eft, quod cum anima Hominis formarum 01 nnium prima fit, quotquot earum fub concavo Luni reperiuntur, eaquenobiliifima, quantumvis individa, polita in hoc Corporis Ergaftulo, eam nihilominus fine fenfuum adjumento inteliigere non polle. Cum his ratiocinatur, difeurrit, Sc lpeculatur: inter phantafmata Sc opiniones verfatur: unde non immerito Philosophus dixit; Nihil eft m IntelleSiu, quin prius fuerit in sensu. Cum igitur Caput fedes iit facultatum animalium, tum vero etiam domiciliumRationis, congruum erat ut lenfus omnes velut fatellitium libi fubditum, Sc tanquam aulifui miniftros principales imperio fuo obtemperantes, et in Regia cerebri libi allidentes haberet. Senilium vera numerus quinarius eft, qui numero Facies comparata ftellis. 3. de Anima. Td&llS et guftus iimpliciter necellarii ad Vitam. humero aliorum tot fimplicium inmiindo corporum correfpondet, carli, videlicet, &: quatuor Elementorum. Potentia villis juxta Platonicos elemento ftellari correlpondet, qute ftellte non minus oculi calorum nominantur: hx inquam facula: quarum objectum corpus Iplendidun) &c flammigerumeft, quamvis non urens. Odoratus objedaim igneum eft, omnia Equidem aromata calida funt: Auditus quidquid aereum eft, Guftus compolita aquea, Tadhis terrena. In univerfitate aurem quidquid continetur, in quinque objedadiftingui poterit, in colores, in fonos, odores, sapores. et qualitates omnes tradabiles tam primarias, quam lecundarias. Arrogant autem libi quod Peripateticus dixit: Media quibus fent imus quinque tantum modis alterari possunt. Inde profequitur : Medium cfle fenlum vel internum, vel externum: Externum aerem, vel aquam; Internum membranam et carnem: quorum illa pruna alterentur rebus externis, vcluti iis qua: luminofa funt, tunc enimvero objeda funt visus ; aut vero iis qua: rara funt, Sc mobilia, et tunc auditui ferviunt: aut vero iis qua: humiditatem cum decitate permifccnt, 6c ad odoratum pertinent, fubjiciendo libi carnem, et membranam ; aut vero temperiem qualitatum primariarum fequuntur. autmixtionem licci,& humidi: et tali modo illa quidem objeda tadus dicuntur, ha:c objeda guftus. Denique quinque folx fenfationes funt: tot enim earum neceflariaPerant, non plures: alise quidem fimpliciter et abfolute, alia: ad jucunditatem Se dulcedinem vita: abfolute neceflarii funt tadus, 5c guftus: Tudus fundamentum animalitatis eft (ita fentit philosophus ) guftus viciffim fundamentum eft nutritionis. linequa abfolute vivere nemo mortalium poteft: Vifus, Odoratus, Sc Auditus idcirco data ftint, ut vitam beatiorem, et magis tranquillam degeremus. Hi ergo quinque, ut ita dixerim, Favoriti funt magna: illius Reginas, anima nimirum; inter quos vifus/apicntium omnium judiao, propter eximias ejusdem utilitates et commoda, priorem fibi locum et prorogativam vendicat. Proflantiam illius &dignitatem quatuor res potilumumindicant.Primum varietas rerum, qua: repraftentantur: tum deinde modus aftionis inter omnes alias nobihftlmus: pon o convenientia Sc proprietas cujusq; objecti particularis, quo quafi lux divina adionum omnium eft: denique horum omnium certitudo. Omnium rerum vifibilium differentias vifus dcmonftrat, cum omne propemodum objedum coloratum fit, et visibile: hinc oculus, prseteripfum objedum multa fibi infuperadDicnicas et fcifcit, hoc eft, figuram, magnitudinem, numerum, motum, nnb,unri, ftaium, fitum, Se diftantiam: unde apnffimus dicitur ad inventionem difciplinarum. Intelledus ideas recipit, ab omni imperfedione materia: omnino liberas j oculos itidem species incorporeas, qua: per barbarifmum Intentionales vocantur- Intelledus uno eodemque tempore binas res invicem contrarias comprehendit, tum potiftimum, cuma falfo verum difeernit. sic potentia visus inter nigrum Sc album dijudicat. Intel. edus liberum mentis luae vigorem Se fortitudinem confervat, ita ut nulla ei vis hanc libertatem adimat: eandem quoque oculus praefefertin videndo, qui hbertns nihilominus exteris fenfibus negata eft: nares enim, et aures nunquam non aperra: funt, nec aliter poflunt; non fic oculi qui ad libitum clauduntur, Scaperiuntur (ficut in eorum anatomiadicendum eft) in nollro fiquidem beneplacito eft, videre, vel non videre. Nobiliffimum denique objedum ocu-lorum eft, lux nimirum, prxftantiflJma, communiffima, et notiflima qualitatum omnium ; Hac ratione motus Theopbraftus formam hominis ex vifu definiri ajebat: Anaxagotas ad hoc dixit natum hominem, ut videat. Multo plura his in Anatomia particulari oculorum dicentur. Debilem nihilominus in his et imperfedam perfpicacita» tem meam recognofco, unde ne a tanta luce cxcaccari mihi contingat, ab ulteriori Capitis indagme me retraho, qui opti menovi cum aquilis nec noduas nec talpas proportionem ullam habere. Tu qui magis oculatus es, conjice vifium tuum in Anatomicorum lucem, qui tibi ledionibus difertioribus, et clarioribus in hilce fibras profundius abllrufas, Sercpofitas uuein, ego interim accingor ad contemplanda )^!d^m“UtmJicMet ^“tumrupra torehdum nobis promptilTimani) cumabomni tuIt) symbol nos divina tutela vigilet (tumpnefertim ad fucSenrlmim Hominis Sjmboltoi Tom, I. ' ; T - '-uiiidu U1I1IUI1U mano auxilio deftituti fumus, lupra id quod antiquitus Marco Valerio Corvino accidit, cum in lingulari certamine cum hofte confligeret: caput armatum callide depinxit, cui corvus infidebat, adjungendo Epigraphen: Infperatum auxilium. Generofus miles, fk intrepidus dimicabat viriliter, fed fortafte fuperams ellet, nili corvus inopino adventu, et rostro, et unguibus adverlarium laedendo perterruillet, ut tandem luccubuerit. Hoc divinum liiblidium a S. Auguftino firnra id quod in nuptiis Cana: Galilaee hb.i.adverf, facftum eft, inhnuatur, dum redemptor nofter diviH&res. mfTimce matris lua: precibus qua? commenfalium curam agebat ( vinum, inquit, non habent) annuit, vocans eam mulierem: et quia in hydriis reliduum aliquid remanferat, evacuantur vafa, &c rurfum aqua adimplentur, exhinc admirabilis illa et prodigiofa Argumencranfmutatio apparuit. Ha:c autem ejus propria funt verba: Propter hoc properante Maria ad admirabile tum opporvini signum, ante tempus nolente participare comtunum. pe.ndii poculum, repellit dicens: Nondum venit hora mea: expeSlans eam, qua a patre fuit in opportunum auxilium pracognita. Fortificabat his le fuosque Philo Hebraus: bono, inquit, animo eflote fratres, ubi enim humanum cejfat auxilium, divina non deflituemur ope: neminem dereliquit Deus. ElevatiffimaMusafuaJoannesCiampolusin amaritudine liniftne fortuna; folabatur animam suam,in paraphrafi super pfalmum: Jf)ui habitat: de verfu illo : quoniam in me fperavit liberabo eumfic feriptum relinquens: Fiduccia confolata fo pur fon certo, Se la Reggia m e chiufa, Che fla tra facre mura il Cielo aperto E che far fordo a i voti il Ciel non s’ufa. it pede pauperum tabernas, regumque turres : alius i eodem fenfu fcripfit: zJMors nullo varcit honori: sntentia qua: limiliter a philolopho Pnoclide consirabatur dum ajebat: Communis omnes locus mait,tum pauperes tum Reges. Si quis le fortuna: totum dedicaflet, Iperans ab eaem Ubi bonum omne eventurum, lic ab authore uodam reprelentabatur: Juvenem figurabat, refcilim caput fuum fortuna: immolantem: hxc vero Fortuna in iolefeentis collo Leonis caput inferebat, tum etiam conftans. iputferpentis, Sc monftruoli praeterea animalis cu isdain i mentem fuam his verbis,exponens: Bellua t,ccec 'e Jiat uit, qui credit fe forti. Heec quatuor Caita in quatuor cyathis a Plutarcho exprella funt: 'ortuna, inquit, nobis cyathos exjiccantibus prabet : De tranquilf unum bonum infundat, tria mala minijlrat. Hi s ta(e amm&. iblcripfit Quintilianus cum ait: Cum fortuna ruere Decia. 4. ementia eft. Et Seneca : Suis contenta viribus in enit pericula fine Authore Nullum tempus ei ccrtm ef: in ipfs voluptatibus caufe doloris oriuntur. nevitabilis Idem Paradinus, manum armatam fica reprefenra Dei. tat, quajamjam caput quoddam perculliira eft: inferipiit autem hanc fententiam : Fcl in ara. volens indicare, vinditftam divinam ubivis locorum paratam ad caftigandos protervos efie, ubivis etiam locorum, quantumvis privilegiatalint, crimina fontium punienda. Id quod inter alios filio Francifci Sforza:, nomine Galeazzo contigit, qui etiam ante ipfam aram facram ab Andrea Lampuniano interfe&us eft. Hanc inamilTibilem vindittam verebatur propheta Regius, duminquiebat: 6)uo ibo djpiritu tuo,& quod facie tua fugiam ? Si ajcendero in c&lum tu illic es, et ea qua: fequuntur. Magifter ille morum Gabriel Simeon volens inferre fublimitates Regales, et eminentias per mortem adaquari vilitati plebejorum (unde et purpura Agefilai cum cineribus Ergafti Paftoris in ^/Iors o- una eadem lociatur) Calvariam hominis figuravit nnia ada:inter fceptrum, et Ligonem politam cum hac declaratione : Mors fceptra ligonibus aquat: quod omne iorat,i.Carab Horatio mutuatus eft, qui ait: Mors aquo pul Sinceritas cordis. Apud Diogen U-7 Inion, depetit. Confutat. Satira 17. Concordia quam Iit utilis. Mors& memoria ejusdem. 12. Mor. De vita Refur. Lib. 4. Hexaemeron. Redtitudo et Sinceritas. Sinceritas &c redbitudo animi potiffimum ex tranquilitate, et hilaritate vultus cbgnofcitur. Qua de caulajoannes Ferrus faciem repra? lentavit ridentem et venuftam, absqiie omni ruga, ligni ficarionem . apponens eum hac Epigraphe: Raro fallit. Hoc ipium Cleantes indicare voluit, dum ait: Ex Jpccie comprehenduntur mores. Et Euripides : Ad yultum boni viri ajpicere dulce est. Et Tullius : Inultus, ac frons animi efl anna, qua fignificant voluptatem abditam, et occultam. Quamvis Juvehalis nos aliter doceat : Fronti nulla pdes, inquit. Utique enim verificatur non raro : in vultu rolas apparere, tegi fpinas in corde. Arma gentilia et antiqua excellentiUima? Domus Trivultii, quae e tribus vultibus compotita lunt, indicando quantum ad felicitatem vitae, &c ad omnem inimicam poteftatem profligandam valeat concordia,anfam dederunt Antonio Trivultio, qui Atavus fuit Magni illius Joannis Jacobi, ut in vexillis militaribus tres lacies has repraefentarct : adjundbo lemmate : Mens unica. Et ha?ceft laurea illa tantopere celebratae lentendae Saluftianae: Concord a res parva crefcunt, difcordia ruunt. Zelantiflinms Calliodorus inter liios vel minimum indignationis fufurnun ferre non poterat, unde &: cuique iuorumajebat ; Summopere jurgia fuge, nam contra parem contendere anceps eft, cum Juperiore fur tofum > cum inferiore fordidum, maxime autem contra fatuum contentionem inire. Sancbus Gregorius Papa omne tanquam fordidum explodebat, quodcunque manu datur, vel recipitur, ubi cor maculatum efl: rixis 8c dillenlionibus : Munus, inquit, non recipiatur, nifi prius difcordia repellatur ab animo. Vere illud Davidicum experimento certiflimum efl: Ecce quam bonum, et ejuam jucundum habitare fratres in unum. Hoc ipfumS. Auguftinus innuit, qui tam fratribus Religiolis regulas, quam et univerfo Mundo praefcripl it, dum ait: Lites nullas habea-tis, aut quam celerrime finiatis, ne ira crefcat in odium, et trabem faciat de f e flue a. POtentillimum ffjrnum ad retinendum hominem a fofla praecipitii, et peccati ruina, memoria efl folia? lepulchralis. Veritas non folum quotidie in roflris iacris declamata, fed a Reufnero quoque intelletfla, qui depingi puerum fecit, incumbentem cranio humano: adjungendo 1'ignificationem cum hac Epigraphe : rive memor Lethi. In eundem lenium verba S. Gregorii incidunt, ubi inquit : Jfifuiconfiderat cjualis erit in morte, femper pavidus erit in operatione. atejueinde in oculis fui Conditoris vivit. Magnus ille Mediolanenfis Ecclelia? Archi-Epifcopus S. Ambrolius iic illud exprellit: Mors pro remedio nobis data efl. Si primi noftri parentes divinum illud vetitum obfervaiient : quacunque hora comedentis, morte moriemini, lucceilores luosin tantum mileriarum barathrum non praecipicalfent : fed tentatorlpirituscumluo: nequaquam moriemini, promittens ejus vitam, ad excidium conduxit, ex quo proinde origo decidii fubfecuta efl : iic Balili' us Seleucienlis meditatur : ^fljuarcns Sathan Protoplaflorum perniciem, conatur ab eis memoriam mortis eripere, nequaquam, inquit, moriemini. JUxta commune Axioma : Cum caput dolet, c at er a membra languent, quod quidam fapienter dixit : Et ego convenienter dico Iic mentem humanam elle oportere : defaecatam nimirum, et ab omni tenebrofo vapore partialitatis, Sc proprii commodi 1'eparatam, utfane et prudenter a&iones inferiores gubernare et dirigere pollic : liciit caput cfrm fanum efl, et purgatum, vitalitatem aqualiter in reliqua membra partitur ; hoc ipium Plutarchus intendit, cum ait : Mens cernit, mens audit, reliqua fur da, De Alexand cacaque fiunt, et rationis indigo, Pulcherrimum, fortitudine. arbitratu meo, quamvis compendiofum id, quod Euripides affert, dum Helenam formbflUimam deferiberet : Mens optima vates efl, ac bonum confiIn Helenk lium: Hoc idem encomio lingulari Seneca depraedicavit, dum ait : Cogita in te pr ater animum nihil effi mirabile, cui magno nihil efi magnum. Caput jure merito Caminus totius corporis appellandiun eft,ad quod exhalationes omnes, et flumina commeftibiliumalcendunt: dumque his prater modum gravatur, recidunt cum damno, et totius corporis incommodo. Quis non ex hoc dignitatem PerRedbaPrinfona? Principis figuratam videat, qui per modum cacipis operapicis tanquam verus caminus, quidquid exhalatiotionis de fuorum fubdicorum motu extollitur, in le recipit ? Jam vero li Princeps male ordinatus eft, nimiisque fumis et caliginibus repletus, non nili popularis perturbatio in membris ejus, in flatu, et corpore politico expedfcanda eft. Inculcat Socrates hoc Principi luo, ut mentem ab omni fecum illuVie puram teneat, dum ait : jrcrifjimos ejfe honores Princeps exide Principe, firmet, non qui in propatulo cum timore fiunt, fed quando fubditi apsid fe fioli mentern principis potius, quam fortunam admirantur. Et magnus Pythagoras pra?ex Lzertto. videns nocumenta, quae ex hac vaporum attradbione lecutura ellent, hcfcriplit : Princeps non ideo creatus efl, ut Iader ct, fed ut juvaret. Ut ha?c flumina reprimeret, Claudianus Honorium luumlic hortabatur : t Tunc omnia ‘fur a tenebis, Cum poter is Rex effc tui proclivior ufus -7 In pejora datur, fundet q3 licentia luxum, Sed comprime motus. Polb Cordis generationem, prout univerfa Medicorum lchola docet, in capite cerebrum generatur, quod ex lui natura frigidum &: humidum excellivo cordis calori opponitur. Proferam ego id, quod jam Protedbio ante me alius, intelligens nimirum in hoc loco Mariam Virginem gloriolimmam, qua? in myftico Eccleiia? ginis. Corpore, poftChriftum, quem in corde figuramus, primum libi locum vendicat : ha?c enim ardores cordis in juftiriaa?ftuantes contemperat. Conflagrare magnitudine criminum luorum jam Mundum oportuerat : hoc exprellit S, Anteimus : Dudum calum Sehm. de N*Cf terra rui flent, nifi Maria precibus fuflvntaffer. tlvQuod S. Bernardus mellifluus Iic expofuit: ut fiole Serm. dt Affiblato nihil luce fc it, fic fublata Maria, nihil d mfijfima tenebra relinquuntur: S. Auguftinus cum dulciloquio luo hunc lenium ita dedit : Autlnx peccati Eva, Auttrix meriti Maria Eva occidendo obfuit, Maria vivificando pro fuit, illa percufiit, ifia fianaviti De humiditate cerebri canities nafeitur: hxcvero Pietas eleeSapientum judicio prudentiam indicat, juxta oracumofyna, tilum divinum: Cani fiunt fenfus hominis : de calore mor. calvities oritur : Symbolum illud eft, prout fuo loco demonftrabitur, Eleemolynar: unde optimum eri:, ut homo ad hanc partem refledbendo, in frigiditate ‘Timorem Domini contempletur, in humidirate Pietatem. His virtutibus armatur homo rationalis, canquam telo pungenti flimo, cum quo et tempus, et oblivionem, tk. peccatum ferit. Hoc omne de ra8 1 rioiie. In Hermath. Imperium. Cuftodia. C.7. Divina myiteria. Tfal. i$o. Chriftus. adColojf, i. Serm. de Elia, E/>. f 8. in Mxtth. c. Super Mare. 6 rPf59Fervor devotionis. Cap. II. Defomn. Nabuih. de pro fagu. 1 3 y cif- 4S 7. Errores. -JK Triftitia.t: r • ii SuperFf. 18. A Suggeftio rione provenic 5 qua: ecerebro elicitur, <*c in eodem fundatur, unde <Sc Ingenium derivatur. T otun 1 illud Phoclides Philofophus explicuit. Ratio, inquit, hominis telam eft acutius ferro. Diligens obfervator Goropius feriptum reliquit, in primitiva lingua pronuntiationem, &c denominationem Capitis Ionum cdidille fimilem hui c: Heet, quod imperium, 8c dominationem indicat: idque non immerito, dum caput exteras corporis partes gubernat, et ditioni fuce iubjicit,prout opportunitas, et necdfitas exigit in unoquoque fuorum fenfuum (e exercens. Prxtcrea caput quoque cum hoc Nomine Huet exprellum fuit, quod Tutela, et Cuftodia interpretatur, non abs re, dum fine illius fablidio, extera membra non fecus ac militaris phalanx interrupto ordine hac illacque palantes habens milites, line Duce, rnani feftum incurrit periculum. Cum tot ergo tantisque praerogativis decoramm fit, mirandum noneft, iihoc Nomen Altillimo Deo adferibitur, prout legitur in Daniele, qui fub figura capitum divinam texit ellentiam, nec ea videre deteda diledus Apoftolus potuit, per hoc significans quantum inacceffibilis lit vel minima cognitio myfteriorum ejus, qua tantopere elevatafunt. Hoc inferre propheta Regius voluit, dum ait: Obumbrafti caput ejus in die belli: alludens myfterium paffionis, quod omnem intelledum humanum transfeendit. Infcripturis lacris per nomen Caput Chriftus Redemptor nofter lapius fignificatur. Paulus hoc inquit:Primum noftrum Caput eft Chriftus, nos que membra de membro: Sic Eucherius Se Ambrofius, prout S. Bernardus fentit, divinam ellentiam indicant. Vult S. Auguftinus, cum Maria Magdalena caput Chrifti lnimgere, idem elle, ac eum cum frudu bona operationis laudare. Origines conliderando Joannem Baptiftam decapitatum, vult in metaphora Chriftum intelligi a Judaifino derelidum, et a lege Judaeorum fublatum. Hieronymus Sc Hilarius idipfum referunt ad Judaeos gloriantes et praetendentes Chriftum a Prophetis feparatum : fuperhxc, gloriam Legis ab iisdem levatam elle. Caput aureum in Sacro Cantico memoratum, juxta Richardum de S. Victore, perfedum flatum charitatis, intentionem devotam, &: fervidum Cadi defiderium indicat. Supra id, quod in Levitico ordinatum eft. Caput Sacerdotis non radendum, Philo Hebraeus in lxcu lares illos invehimr, qui le negotiis ingerere eccleliaftricis non erubefcunL Id quod in Geneli de capite Jacob feriptum reperitur, quod lapidibus capite luo dormituras incubuerit,lubjungit Beda, intelligi polle hic principatum Chriltianilmi hmdatum et ftabilitumfupra Petram Chriftum, cum et ipfe Apoftolus dicat: Petra autem erat Chriftus. De Capitibus decalvatis filiarum Sion, quorum mentio fit in Ifaia, Jeremia et Ezechiele, Sancti Hilarius et Ambrofius errores Oratorum Sc Rabularum intelligunt, quorum infidelis dicacitas decalvatur, 6c denudatur, nihil habens de ornamentis Chriftianx veritatis et eloquentia?. Per caput opertum, licut in locis pluribus Regum, Efther &:Job legitur, Lirantis fraudulentiam intelligit, et dolum larvatum, quandoque velo pietatis religionis involutum. Magnus Mediolanenfis Eccleliae Archi - Epilcopus Ambrofius, de intrepiditate animi, qua mulier illa Apocalyptica continuit caput ferpentis, hanc moralitatem eruit, dum ait: lic omnino caput nafcentis fuggeftionis conterendum elle, ne in cor noftrum ulterius ferpendo irrepat. Applauferunt Auguftinus et Gregorius adioni Davidis, dum jadandam illam Goliathgigands truncato capite repreilit, ubi dicunt: intelligi polle per Goliath Luciferum, cui caput abi aS. Pfal. 1 r, j. tum eft, ut Chriftus effet caput gentium. Sed ne ultra de i. Reg. ariditate rivorum meorum guttas quasdam diftillem, fufticit in materiis hisce me de plurimis, qua? dici poflent,dixille pauca:Liberum relinquens Ledon fedul reftinguere fitim luam, h lic placuerit,in amoeniffimis verfionum facrarum, &c Glollatorum fontibus, de quibus fine intermillione dodrinae perennes icaturiunt. PRoverbia originem fuam vel ab experientia, vel ab ufu, vel etiam abufii, aut de partibus aut de proprietatibus humanis, vel de didis lapientibus aut vulgaribus traxerunt. Caput fcabere, ab inferiori- Cogitabunbus multis ad eos refertur, qui fixam mentem, muldus. tumquein cogitationibus filis abforpeam tenent: per quod tanquam per clari flimum radium oculus mentis illuftratur, ut homo videre bonum fuum poffit, et malum evitare. Inter alios id Quintilianus innuit: Cogitatio, inquit, paucis admodum horis c au fas etiam magnas complectitur. Et Marcus T ullius : In omnibus negotiis, priusquam aggrediar c, adhibenda eft p reparatio diligens. Et Euripides : Et qua longe abfunt, £r qua prope funt,confderari debent. Optimum documentum ad monendum, et corridendum Amicum cum trito illo adagio infinuatum fuit: Capite admoto: hoc eft, 111 ablentia Arbitram, Judicum,&extrapublicum,iinbcum iuavitace verborum, fine omni afperitate. Juxta divinum magifterium: St peccaverit in te frater tuus, corripe eum inter te, et ipfum folum. Quae veritas et gentilibus non ignota fuit, inter alios Euripides ait: Amor simpliciter objurgans magis premit. Propter quod Diogenes canis appellatus eft, qui cum nimia libertate edam in publico importuna reprehenfione mordebat. Pro verborum dulci moderamine faluberrima dodrina Chryfoftomi eft : Circa vitam tuam eft 0, aufterus, circa alienam benignus : audiant te homines parva mandantem, et gravia facientem. Venufta ficies,& alpedus comis, cui nihilominus didamen rationis delit, et qui judicio privatus fit, hoc dicio figurabatur: Caput vacuum cerebro. Et hxc eft Alfopicae vulpis fignificatio, qux ftatuarii of- ficinam ingrefla, atque illic formatum caput inveniens, fed vacuum videns, a fe projecit, dicendo: O quale caput: fed cerebrum nen habet. His objedis, eorumque blandimentis fallacibus fidem non habere admonet Lucilium fuum Seneca : Erras, Inquit, fi i florum, qui tibi occurrunt vultibus credis: hominis effigies habent, mores autem ferarum. Quafi diceret; Attende tibi, ferpens enim in viridi prato abfeonditur, illic podllimum, ubi te amoenitas florum arridebit. Quis credidillet unquam Alcibiadem fub cxlefti vultus decore, nutriville mores inferni? Amarus pavonum cibus eft, cum cantus nihilominus viventium fit faftus,& decor. Per Nutrices, qua? quandoque cunas in caput levant, ubi infantulus quiefeit, tk. de loco in locum transferunt, inferre Plato voluit, cum quanto affectu amicus amici fui commodis, <3c utilitatibus fervire debeat: unde et vulgare illud axioma ortum eft: Capite ge flare, hoc eft: omnem ad id cogitatum fuum applicare. Exadiflimum prxeeptum divinus Ariftoteles nos docet: didamque legem cum omni perfectione obfervare vult: Amicus fc debet habere ad amicum tanquam ad feipfum, quia amicus efialter ipfe. Et S. Auguftinus, amicum dimidium amms> O' medicamentum vita appellabat. Gerion olim, live propter compofitionem infolilib. 10. /»Hippol. Corredio remoca, privata. apud? latorum de Amic. Adulator. Facies ab opere diverla. Ep. 2®3- Cap. 10 de Republ. Vera amicitia. 4. Et hic. 3Confejf. Lib. 6. de Cht. Dei. Diftradfcio in negotiis. In Pfal. 8. Sur. in Vit. 23. April. Difficultas negotio rum. 3. Metamorph, Cognitio matura. Ethicorum. Vt ira lib. u, Sententia pedaria. tam membrorum, infpecie trium corporum figurabatur, five id fadhim alia decaufa, ut videlicet hominem pluribus negotiis diitradhim repraTentarent, occafionem autem proverbio dedit: Ertium caput. Similitudine infper a bajulis fumpta, qui fiepius onera fua ab humeris ad caput transferunt. Vitium hoc evagationis tantundempemiciofumeft, quantum e it utilis recolledtio, &. tot curarum depolitio. S. Auguifinus commentando lupra verfum pfalmi: niam tu Domine fu avts ac mitis, ita eum dilucidat : Nil (lultius, quam fi feipfum quisquam [educat: attendat ergo, et videat quanta, et qualia aguntur. Conlimilis huic aphonlmus est: Age quod agis. Inimicus nofter communis, ut nos a redo virtutis tramite aberrare faciat, non aliis potentioribus armis contra nos militat, quam diftradione mentis. Dixit hoc B. Aigydius in vita S. Francifci: Ditem oranti intendit cUmon, tanquam animatus prado. Ad indicandum hominem fic negociis fuis implicitum, et immerfum, ut non nili argre le inde eripere et extricare poiTit, ita ut in Labyrintho D.edaleo, vel in Ergallulo, vel in compedibus cC manicis fe elle credat, fuerunt qui adagium illud effinxerunt : nec caput, nec pedes. Innuentes usque adeo negocium hoc intricatum elle, ut principio et fine careat. Non eft vermis tantopere mordax ad confumenda &c rodenda corpora, quantum animabus alfligendis, &c mortificandis ejusmodi iunt intricata negocia: Ita fentit Ovidius : Attenuant vigiles corpus m' fer ab ile cura. Ad hos laqueos dillolvendos, et tales occupationes allumendas, quibus fuccefius non difficilis fit, hoc confilium Ariftoteles fuggerit : ln negotiis oportet unum negociari ad unum opus, quia melior eft cura intenta in unum, quam circa plura. Perfedfa rei cujusdam notitia fic exprimebatur olim : a capite usque ad calcem: quod his quoque verbis dici poterit: d capite ad pedes, ab ingreftu ad coronidem, a vertice ad talos. Quemadmodum autem, prout lupra relatum eft, negotiorum incompolita turba', in ns, qui veram eorum praxin ignorant, perturbationem animi adducit, ita et matura prcemeditatio tantundem expeditum iter habet ad eadem feliciter terminanda, &infecuritatem collocanda, ex quibus optimum judicium, et rerum quantumvis involutarum diferiminatio oritur. Magnus Peripateticus nofter fic ait: unusquisque bene judicat, quod cognofcit. In eundem fenfum Seneca, iracundum hominem vult prius de re quaque diligenter inquirere, qum in iram erumpat: totum infpice mentis tua adytum : etiamfi nihil mali falli poffit face fe. Et Quintilianus: Nofcat fe quisque non tam ex communibus praceptis, quam ex natura fua capiat confilium formanda aIHoms. Stupiditas qmedam, aut mentis infenfata durities, de ignorantia cralla exordium fuumfumens, in iis, qui pro cujusque ratiocinantis arbitrio et voluntate, vituperium et laudem fine diferimine cuique rei attribuunt, hoc adagio figurabatur : Caput fine lingua. Hoc idem Sententia Pedana infinuatur, qua olim Senatores determinationes fuas, pedelignificabant, Sc concludebant : unde Sc Senatores pedarii appellati funt,qui lapiendorum fe judicio conformabant. Talis erat Marci Tullii filius, qui nunquam os fuurn aperire ad fententiam dandam, vel mutire noverat, procul degenerando ab intelligentia patris fui. Horum calamitatem deplorabat Demofthenes, illic nimirum in Olyntho, ubi in ejusmodi plures invehens, declamabat : Homines focor des prafentia negligunt, futura bene fuccejfura putant. His adjungatur illud J uvenalis. Inguinis capitis, qua Jint difcrimina nefeit. Quod idem eft, ac fi dixerim: nefeire eum inter turpe et honeftum, inter nigrum et album diferimen. Similium converfationem hominum ne in fomnio quidem, ne dixerim in scholis suis Plato perferre po-de Scienti/ii terat, quos tanquam infideles rejiciebat: Nfaenti quid laudet, aut quid vituperet, non eft adbibenda fides. De merda Adienad, qu:e lapientia et fobrietate inftiudta erat, contra eos qui his finibus non tenebantur, fed de vitio nefando ebrietatis facrificabant, mufto domiti, Proverbium illud vibratum fuit: Capita quatuor habens: utpote quibus unicum objedtum, in varia multiplicatum apparet. Nec mirum eos canta videre, qui tot vitis oculos epotarunt: Hi fumo vini vaporolo tantopere lui compotes non funt, ut nil eis fubfiftere, fed eunda vacillare videantur. Enormitatem vitii hujus aureum Chryfoftomios fic super Gtn. deteftabatur: Ebrietas exc&cat fenfus voluntarius hom 29. efl damon: Ebriofo Afinus melior : Ebrietas quaSuPer Mntth„ dam Ira, Mater eft Scortationis j tene pe flas tam in ^om' <‘9' animo, quam in corpore. Natus eft inter fulmina Xom 1°™' Bacchus ( fic fabula; tradunt) hac prudenti mydiologia docendo, de abundantia vini fulgura procedere, qua; facile eidem deditos in cineres redigant. T Am a Primordio Mundi Hieroglyphica nata funt, in j ea videlicet hominum tetate, qus adhuc balluciens 'dici poterat, nondum habens characteres alios, quibus mentem fuam, aut fenilium animi exprimeret : itaque neceflarium eis erat, communibus inltrumentis, et rebus ad ufum, et utilitatem hominum fadis cogitata fua exponere. Inter alias autem harum inventionum maxime ferax, populatiflima ./Egyptiorum Regio fuit, ubi in parietibus interiora animi prodebant. Ha vero obiervationes d viris fapientibus, tanquam myfterio plens colleds funt, quas ego quoque prout rerum materies aut occafio exegerit, in medium adducam, ut figuratus homo meus ex omni adeo parte obfervata utilitate, curioforum oculis legendus proponatur. Igitur per Caput judicioli progenitores noftri tx Valeriano principium cujusque rei fignificabant, prout Caput de Capite. verum hominis principium eft. Sic Varro docet: Bonum Caput corporis eft initium, eo quod ab ipfo capiant principrincipium fenjiis, et nervi. Sic adagium fonat : pium. pifcem d capite primum putere. Caput itaque bene collocatum, bonam membrorum conftitutionem, et complexionem denotat j fic prout qusque res bonum habet principium, ita finem quoque ilium felicius confequitur : Dimidium finis, qui bene ccepit habet. Sic Mula poeta; Venulini fonat. Quam id ftudiosc obfervandum, et ledulo huic invigilandum fit, Peripateticus innuit: Principium quantitate eft Eltnch. 2. minimum, pote flate maximum, D hoc invento facile eft augere. Volebat Tullius initia a fuperis fumenda Uh, 2. de legib . elle: A Diis inquit immortalibus funt nobis capienda initia. Per Caput itidem res principalis figurabatur : Res princiunde Marcus Tullius ad Appium icribendo, fic ajcpalis, bat: An tibi obviam non prodirem f Primum Appio Claudio, demde Imperatori, deinde more majorum j deinde {quod Caput eft) amico ? Omne fibri principium Caput vocatur, fic nomen illud Berelith in feripturis idem eft, quod vulgariter Caput, aut vero in principio. Quidam facrorum interpretum per noDivina men Capitis filium Dei intellexerunt, quandoqui- principia dem per verbum ejus diviniffimiam mundus produ- incompteduseft. Et Adamantius, per Seraphim, qui binis heniibil ia, alis Caput Dei velabant, incompreheniibilia eilc mB 3 quit, Divina ientia. Religio. hb. 1 Parvus mundus. Itb. 4. Caput fup altare. ef_ inquit, nec detegi polle divina principia. £t cum Iit ellentiadivina omnium rerum tam carieftinm, quam terreftrium perfedillima, iic ab Eucherio nomine capitis appellatur. Quod tantopere interTgyptios v?nerationem tk reverentiam auxit (juxta id quod Hieronymus refert) ut injuriam Divinitati crederent fieri, liquidem qualecunque caput aut male cibatum, aut male tra&atumfuillet, mortuum uque ac vivum. Usque adeo Religio ab iis, qui non nili in oblcuro eam noverant, oblervata fuit: fecundum quod Plinius lenior fcriplit : Religione vita confiat: et in eundem fenfum Livius : Omnia projpera fequentibus Deos eveniunt, adverfa (pernentibus. Schola Platonica nobis feripto reliquit. Caput noftrum ad imilitudinem Mundi compolitum elle, atq, idcirco Microcofmum appellatum. Quis vero eft, qui hoc non fateatur ? dum illic ik imprelliones, &c Planetae, &tot negotia exercentur, et generantur? Illic anima? noftru, tanquam Ipiritiu informanti,duos dederunt circuitus : atque ideo membrum hoc partem divmillimam,& principium reliquarum partium appellarunt, utpote qua? huic in iervitium data? lunt. Et quemadmodum Deus iple per potentiam fuam, et prulentiam mundum replet univerlum, ita et deliciae illius Tunc converlari in orbe terrarum, prout liber fapientix teftificatur. Quantumvis autem huc probatione non indigeant, atidiatur nihilominus inter tantos Manlius: An dubiam cjl habifare Deum fub pectore noflro? In ccelumcjuc redire animam . c.-doque venire? ia Adhanccapitis lublimemdignitatfem magnam authoritatem tribuit Helichius Hierofolymitanus: ob Dignitas terrena. Principi reverentia debetur. I/Mi fervans ritum facrum, in lege veteri celebrem, per quem caput vidtimu lupra altare collocabatur, nobilius corde uftimatum, cor enimirafeibilis, &concupifcibilis fons eft, itaque non immerito fe caput a corde feparavit: pofthuc iubjungit: Non decet autem mentem folum dtvidi, Jcd efl e velati vinculum, quod ajfeSlus nojlros ad fanam rationem adjungat, at fe devinciat. Dum de culefli ad principatum terreftrem defeenditur, hunc Aigyptii adumbrare volendo, caput proponebant vel fiilcia regia vel diademate, vel camauro cindtum: Porro Artemidori fequaces, 8c fodales, quamvis vana luperltirione, liquidem ejusmodi caput in lomno cuidam appareret, futurum Dominium 8c Principatum portendere crediderunt. Cum quanta igitur reverentia caput noftrum conliderandum et honorandum eft, cum tanta quoque revereri, metuere, &: honorare Principes oportet, tanquameosqui luminaria lunt mundi: lucerna? politu lupra candelabrum, civitates fandu fupra montes collocata?. Imo et ipla omnipotentia divina Principibus prophetas fuos viros lapientillimos ablegavit, iisdemqueiplis, per figuras et unigmata locuta eft. Curtius etiam, qui tanta de principatu fcriplit, hoc pruceptum dedit : 0 '0 [equio mitigantur imperia. Longe quidem a proportione Architebtonica, vicinam nihilominus in contemplatione, a cceleftibus rebus dependentiam rerum terrenarum elle, ut antiqui ob oculos ponerent. Imaginem Serapidis Dei repra?fentarunt, per quam moles mundi intelligebatur, led qua? loco capitis ingentem ca?lo vaftitatem portabat. In gratiam quoque Nicocreontis, Regis Cypri fequentes verius addiderunt: Sum Deus, ut difeas, talis, qualem ipfe docebo. Colefiis Mundus Caput efl, Mare venter opacum, Terra pedes, aures ver famur m athere fummo, Lux oculi, quam Solis habet jplendentis Imago, Hinc Palladem de Capite Jovis prodeuntem de Contemculo defcendille fibulati lunt: prudenter nos inftrupiatio Para'ehdo, cogitationes noftras ad culum lemper dired]ji. ttas elle oportere, ficut diredum eft caput noftrum. Ad hoc S. Ignarius Loyola refpiciens exclamabat : G)uhm fordei mihi tellus, dum c silum afl>icio ! et S. Zenon Epifcopus Veronenlis: Jjhiamdiu, inquit, Ser. de Manytethrum umbra profumunt, quamdiu fumofarum fib. urbium nos carcer includit? Et S. Cyprianus ? fefiinemus ingredi in illam beatam requiem. Aliaque iniuper centum millia fidelium. Propter quod et infideles, illi fiimptuofiflimis delubris prufati Serapidis imaginem decorarunt: Et in Alexandriavilum fuit ejusdem limulacrum tam procera? magnitudinis, ut ambabus manibus duos ponderofos luftineret parietes de ligno et metallo conftrudos : 'Ut nihil non complecteretur-, lubj unxit Valerianus, quod terra vel proferat, vel intra vifcera abditum occultavit. Adus naturalis, quo quisque mortalium, dum ei Salus vita?, periculum ludionis imminet, objeda manu caput tuetur, a celebrioribus, tSc notioribus terra? Nationibus pro Hieroglyphico receptus fuit: unde et Aigiptiis lolemne erat in quocunque ludu vel inopino cafule capiti devovere, per illud jurare,eidemq-, fe commendare. Hinc Tiberius Gracchus olim falutem populo devovere volens, hoc fidiilimo figno in Capitolio comparuit. Sic Ariftophanes ab Anacarnanis poftulabat: Etfi jufla non profatus fuero, manu fupra caput impofita, quaque univerfus approbet populus. Ipfa adeo portenta ca?li his fuffragari videntut ; quandoquidem Ca?faris ftatua? in templo omnes fulmine de culo milio in caput percullu, prufagium deftrudionis Sc ruina? principatus hujus fuerunt qua? etiam poft Neronis mortem evenit. Usque adeo Romani olim prudentillimum Alexandri Severi et Antonini pii filii ejus regimen acceptum et gratum habuerunt, utfimulacra tk piduras cum bino capite, fimul invicem jundoreprufentaverint. Huc in annulis, tk monilibus portaProfperita' bantur, huc auro <Sc argento imprimebantur : proImperii. utGruci et Macedones in figura Alexandri fecerunt: ita ut matronu illuftres pro ornamento, et mundo muliebri his figuris, tk monilibus uterentur. Huc fuperftitio a Chryloftomo Magno reprobatur, invehente in illam cum prophetico dicSto: Mendaces filii hominum in flateris. Huc bina capita dixerim ego elle oportere, providentiam in bono, 8c prucautioneminmalo, cum axiomate philofophiu naturalis: Bonum ex integra caufa, malum ex quocunque defieflu. Diodorus volens Mufarum lignificare impullum, quu videlicet cum fuavi quadam violentia.ad fe pQ^t2.> Genium attrahunt, Caput Fuminu reprufentavit, quu capillos in fronte contortos, vel involutos, aut quali per humeros expanfos monftrabat. De his Sulmoneniisajebat : Efl Deus m nobis, agitante calefcimus illo: Sedibus othereis (pintus ille venit. Et elevarilllma pcnnaCommendatorisT efti fic exprimebat: A me di quei lumi IA Infiuen ce cor te fi Genii inflillaro a Cafle mufeamico: Si lungo i duo gr an fiumi Aufido, et Imeno apprefi Urattar con ‘Tofe a man plettro pudico, Tungi da rei co (lumi Folfi il pie vergognofo, &dove fiorfi Reqnar virtude, m amor. sto jo cor fi, Inulrimis, vel primis Corinthi viciniis inveniebatur olim Liba.de Conscierat. ad Eugentum Obftinatio in peccato, absque pavore peccati. Occultare [e ad ailalcum inimici. In Ef. \n hifloria S axonum. Sui ipfius cuftodia. In quodam Serm. De arte amandi. olim caput mulieris usque adeo deforme, et horridum, utipfe terror, fi ad fui expreffionem, fimulachrum ei vel imago eligenda fuillet, invenire aliud monftruofius illo non potuillet. Paufanias vir literatus, et Legislator ibidem nominatifllmus legem promulgavit, per figuram hanc, intelligi oportere imaginem, terroris. Quidam illud imaginem eile Capitis Medufe voluerunt, Domitianus ex hinc volens quandoque iis, qui fe non alio oculo, quam exterioris apparentia: intuebantur, terrorem incutere, &fe formidabilem reddere, caput hoc in pedore portabat. Hoc eorum obverfandum ellet oculis, qui dum male operantur, divinam juftitiam poli tergum filum collocant. Sed nimium, pro dolor ! verificatur illud, quodS.Bemardus ait : Cor durum eft, quod nec compunctione Jcinditur, nec ' pietate mollitur, nec movetur precibus, nec minis cedit, exemplis non inducitur, beneficiis induratur, flagellis non eruditur, et ut in brevi cunCti horribilis mali mala compleCtar, ipfumefl quod nec Deum timet, nec homines reveretur. Obfervarunt Aftronomi intra decem gradus Scorpionis afcendentis fupra Horizontem Caput quoddam omnino deforme, et cum prominendis fiuis tortuosum, fiipcr hac cavitates usque adeo male compositas &inamvenas, ut, fi fieri pollet, hac portentosa deformitas ipfi adeo cceIo terrorem incuteret. Confiderando peffimam figni hujus qualitatem, et afpedum ejus horrificum, dixerunt profati Astronomi, ab hoc inftrudionem moralem nos deducere polle, ut nimirum noverimus ab allaltu inimicorum pra:cavere, qui non fecus ac lignum illud in medio blanditiarum, et amplexuum, eludunt, decipiunt, et opprimunt. Pra:ceptum politicum eft Principi contra hujusmodi occultos hoftes, non minus, quam contra inimicos exercitus praemunitum elle oportere, fi vel minimum prudentis fenfum pofiideat. Chrytostomus etiam minimos horum adverlariorum obfervare moms, eloquentia fiua docet: ubi tam in campo verfare gladium, quam in templo pastorali pedum polle videtur. Nihil, inquit, perniciofius est, quam hoftem, quamvis imbecillum contemnere. Et Vegetius nos inftruit: quod adverfaruts reconciliatus etiam vehementer cavendus fit. Universum hoc etiam de invifibili inimico intelligi poterit, qui, juxta Apoftolum, tanquam Leo vorax, circuit quarens, quem devoret. Cum per natura: legem, ad lui tutelam quisque fe pradervare, et defendere poflit, idipfiun Aigyptii indicarunt, cum bina aut depi&a aut fculpta capita expofuerunt, virile alterum, quod introrfiun lpedlabat, alterum muliebre, quod circa exteriora objefta pupillam oculorum circumgyrabat. Horus Appollo figuras et significationes confimiles, usque adeo perfpicuas elle dixit, ut ulteriori expofitione, aut externa inferiptione non indigeant. His imaginibus, cum fuperftitiofa, dixerim. Religione, prophani idolorum cultores Diis infernalibus defunctorum animas commendabant, adjundtis literis duabus D. et M. Si cum hac cautela incederent hi, qui paffionibus filis in tranfverfum rapiuntur, et feducuntur, non tam incaute fspius aperto pedore in telahoftium, in globos lediales, in gladios et infidias incurrerent. Per commune proverbium S. Bernardus nos, quantum dodtrina hsc cuique hominum proficua lit, inftruit dum ait: Solet dici, bonum cafiellum cuftodit, qui feipfum fervat, et obfervat. Dumque nos amare docet Ponti Incola, fic ait: Non minus eft JAirtus, quam quarere, parta tueri: Cafus ineft illic: hic erit Artis opus. Corroborat qua: di&a funt Hieroglyphicum prudentis, quod a fapientibus Romanis in fimulacro Jani bicipitis figuratum fuit : cujus finis erat ut reJanus, prsfentaretur memoriam fidelem confer vandam prsteritorum, et futurorum eventum cum fagacitate prsvidendum. Unde juftiflima eft, et nonabs Prudentia» re, de eodem fubjeCto Perfii exclamatio : O Janae d tergo quem nulla ciconia pinxit. Inde templum quod Antevorta, et Poftevorta appellatum, 8c a Romanis cum fingulari judicio apertum fuit. Sed de his figuris maturius in fecunda parte integri hominis ratiocinabimur : quod prsfens attinet adhuc illud referendum eft, quod Demofthenes in Apudstobt* Olyntho ait : Non tam videndum quid in pr&fentia umblandiatur, quam quid deinceps fit e re futurum. Et Plutarchus: Prudentia non corporum fed rerum eft injpeElio. Sed hic le&orem meum primitus ad vivum fontem Ediics Ariftotelics tranftmitto: imo vero advenas perennes gloriolillimi DoCtoris Angelici Divi Thoms de Aquino denique ad id quodcunque pofteritati imprellum, 8c latiori deferiptione diffufiim reliquit Comes Emanuel Thefaurus in Plfilofophia lua morali. Porro ut antiquitus, in uno fimul omne tempus TemporsU colligatum reprslentarent, prsteritum, prsfens, et futurum, inunobufto terna capita figurarunt. Sic Hefiodi interpres ratiocinatur. Inventio hsc, prout refert Paufanias, Alcamenis eft: Et de Luna Virgilius: Luna, Tergeminamque Hecatera, et l^irginis ora Diana. Uthsc tempora fedulo dilpiciamus, &prsvideamus. Sapiens nos exhortamr dicendo : Omnia tempus habent: Et hinc: Tempus plantandi, et tempus evellendi quod plantatum eft. Hic Cardo major eft, ut in Mundo vivere bene noverimus: Tempori parcere, id eft, opportunitatis locum expeClare, optimi, et prudentis eft, fic Marcus Tullius inquit. Et Ovid. Dum licet, et flant venti navis eat. Sic vulgo dicitur: Dum ferrum candet, cudendum eft. Sed nimium vera funt qus S. Bernardus inquit : N ihil pretio fi us tempore, fed heu! nihil vilius hodie invenitur QUamvis jam et vulgo notiffimuin fit, nihilominus ego, ne ab ordine mihi pnelcripto, in Principio Oftentuum et Prodigiorum difcedam, non polium quin illud tantopere decantatum commemorem, de quo inprimis mencionem Plinius habet: vilib. 28. c. 2, delicet tum cum prima Romane Urbis fundamenta Fundamenjacerentur, in ruinis hifce profundis inventum fuille taRomat. caput, recenti fanguine tindhim, conlperfum, et quali diftillans, itauta bullo noviter avulfmn credi potuerit : quod futura: felicitatis huic urbi omen fuerit, pra-iagiens eam non tantum Romani Imperii, sed totius iniuper orbis Caput futuram. Sic enimvero pluries, qiue nobis contigille fortuito cafii videri pollimc, divina pratordinatione diriguntur, ut Mundus his moneatur, et in futurum fibiprofpiciat Variis adeo Altillimus uti mediis confuevit, quibus hominem adfevocet. Non cafu quodam, fed ad inftrudlioVocativo nem et difciplinam converfionis olim in afigypto divina, plaga; Pharaonis contigerunt: in Rubo flamma. Columna nubis, et ignis. Virga prodigiofa, manus repente leprofe. Mons fumigans, et horum fimilia. Sed cum ejusmodi portentis non corrigerentur, ecce illud Salomonis experientia comprobatum elt: Uiro Proverb.c.19, qui corripientem dura cervice contemnit, repentinus ei fuperveniet interitus, et eum fan itas non sequetur. Propter quo fagacitate opus eft, ut hac prasfagiapoffint intelligi: ficut nec illud Amalecits fortuitum fuit, cum fceptrum, Sc Regalem Saulis paludem Regi Prafagia. lib. x. Hift, Caput in tempeftate delapfum. Mutatio Regiminis. E[>. ad Bovillum. Unde monstra. 1 6 Regi David, tum quidem adhuc Duci turma: militaris, ad pedes projecit, iedhic rurium Lectorem meum, li de hac materia eivifimi fuerit ampliora nolle, ad Davidem meum mu ficum armatum ablego. Bugattus fcripto reliquit: ante mortem Barnaba Viicontis, qua: paucis pcfthac fubfecutaeft: in palatio ejusdem incendium occepille, atque inter atra flammarum volumina comoaruilie Caput. quod ipiiun quoque ardere vilum lit, idque multo temporis (patio non dilparuille. Sic Anno Domini noltri millelimo quingentefimo quadragelimo quinto, tum cum Henricus Dux BrunIvicenlis cum Duce Saxonico belligeraret, in civitate Argelia exotica* magnitudinis grando delapLi eit, inter hos autem glaciales globos, caput quoddam reterens imaginem Saxonici Ducis inventum eft, a quo poftea Brunluicum m'bs et Regio debellata fuit. Seducftor lpiritus, ut animos ad cultum lui quamtumvis prophanum alliceret, decidentibus calo laxis, jumentis humana voce loquentibus, cumque aliis diverlorum generum monltris, porro in victimis luis, quas quandoque omnino inter manus Sacrificantium disparentes reprafentabat, non lolum militares viros, fed ipfas adeo matronas ad lacrificia, ad Lupercalia, ad Ledlifternia, ad Saturnalia, 8c ad innumeros ejusmodi ritus gentiles currere, Sc properare fecit. Unde et in pluribus locis Livius refert, quod majoribus hoftiis placata ftnt Numina . De tonitru autem 8c fulminibus, qua quali quotidiano eventu decidebant Poeta inquit : Difc it cjuftitiam moniti, et non temnere divos. lpia quoque omnipotentia Divina, quamvis inter candelabra aurea, lacerdotali indumento vel podere veftita, in labiis Iliis nihilominus gladium utraque parte acutum portat : et hic ille ei! de quo propheta meminit : Si acuero ut fulgur gluti, um meum, oS arripuerit judicium manus mea. Utque hunc gladium metuamus Regius Propheta inquit : Nift converf fueritis gladium fuum vibravit, arcum tetendit, et paravit. Felix qui ex ejusmodi magifterio novit emolumentum fuum capere. Dum Galba Provinciam Tarraconenfem introiret, et in vicinia publici fani caput infantis immolaret, idipfum continuo Sc ex improvifo in lenilem canitiem transmutatum fuit, cum infolito circumdantium ftupore, unde dc Harufpices de hoc lplo prafagierunt, futuram propediem ftatus et regiminis mutationem; id quod etiam fublecutum efl. Non minus prodigiofiim fuit Caput ihud, quod pontificia tiara redimitum compamit non modico tempore in acre, circa annum Chri(fi quingentelimum odavum. Relationes Cracov lenies recenfent. in Sarmatia Anno Domini millelimo fexcentelimo vicelimo tertio e flumine Villula c aquile pilcatores pileem humano capite lpedtabilem. Sagaciflima inventio, qua: de manu ingeniofiflima Creatoris procedit ! verum enim eft, quod poeta inquit : l^uait m humanis divina potentia rebus. Sic deledatur Deus operibus fuis nobiliflimis, &: pulcherrimis, contraria omnino producere. Eveniunt monftra vel excellii, vel defeclu natura: : dum vel nimium eft quod operatur, vel dum in toto, aut parte quadam totius deficit j hinc eadem pulchritudo, juxta fententiam ejus, qui Amator Lama: fuit, eo quod videatur terminos concinnitatis excedere, intuendo et membrorum proportionem monftruola appellata fuit. Oh delle Donne altero, e raro moftro ! Hinc cum in domum Xandii introduceretur > atque in ingrellu luo dElopus, hic Carbo animatus, e Phrygia usque adeo difformis, <Sc tam prodigio(z turpitudinis appareret, univerfa familia conturbata obftupuit, da materfamilias ingenti vociferatione virum liium inclamat: Unde hoc mihi monftrum attulifii? Monftruolum appellari confueverat ingeniiun D. Thoma: Aquinatis, tanquam quod communes intelligentia humana limites tranliret, et omnino etiam optimis praftaret: vera aquila, qua fixis oculorum pupillis intendere poterat in lolem illum, quem tam condigne portabat in peclore. Nero monftrum crudelitatis nominatus fuit. Hoc etiam nomine transmutationes vel Metamorphoies nominantur : unde Ovidius de fororibus Phaetontis in populos arbores transmutatis inquit : Affuit huic monftro proles fthenclcta Cygnus . Sic Gygantes, et Pygmati, fic qua pracocia et pramatura linit in homine, vel mixtis, vel animalibus, vel plantis, vel petris, vel in lignis, quidquid aut excedit, aut deficit in communi natura curfii, monftrum, aut monftruofum dicitur: Lac praterea nomina fortiens : Oftentum, Portentum, Prodigium, Miraculum. Inde iis inharendo, &c concludendo qua lupra jam relata funt, pro coronide hujus capitis vel capituli referam id quod Ilidorus fcripfit: Monftrum ita nuncupatur, Lj^ 2> or^ quia aliquid futurum monftrando homines moneat \ quapropter nonnulli hac ratione dubii monftrum quaJi moneflrum appellarunt, vel quia monendo aliquod myfterium diviru ultionis pr.tmonftret, vel quia aliquid ftngulare a ftngulis obfervetur, et propter admirationem digito monftretur. Ipfa adeo Iris in pulchritudine fua prodigiofa nos exhortatur ut Factori fuo debitas referre gratias de tot benefadtis erga nos non definamus: quod fi minus fa&um fuerit, intuendo eam ut arcum incurvatam, utique de irafeente Deo habemus, quod vereamur, cui nunquam deerunt fagitta, ad feriendos impios, qui vitam luam male degunt. A. PAgani olim barbaro omnino, fuperftitiofb,\ imo <k nefando ritu Larunda Dea, vel Mania, qua Deos Lares genuit, humanum Caput litarunt, opinati hoc lacrificio nefando penates fuos ab omni invaiione hoftili fecuros fore : qua impietas e medio fublata, dc penitus a Junio Bruto Conlule abolita fuit, qui ftatuit ut in vicem Capitum humanorum capita papaverum immolarentur et dedicarentur. Hoc cruentum nihilominus idololatraram facrificium mftru&ionem prafefert maxime utilem et moralem patribus familias &: quibuscunque aliis, quibus domus cura concredita eft, ut videlicet fe laribus fuis dedicent, mentem fuam dc cogitata fua ad domefticorum et domus totius adificationem et gubernaculum dirigant-fui &: fuorum indefeflam follicitudinem gerant, expenlas cum receptibus fuis ponderando : tantopere morigerati, et disciplinatifint, ut nemo habeat, quod de prapoftero agendi modo conqueratur. Ad hunc fcopum collimant Doftrina Peripatetici noftri, in Ethica: ubi ceconomica, herilis, familiaris, et monaatica vita &: regimen defcnbuntur. Imo et Apoftolus Pau Regimen domus. Epift. ad Tim. c.j. jipud.Phaar. Memoria mortis in Conviviis. 24. 12. Moral Fortitudo contra adverlitates, et passiones. 6. JEneid. De irae. 3. Paulus definiens Epilcopi boni munera, inter alias virtutes eidem necellarias requirit : ut fu a domui bene prapofitus Jit, jufta illatione inferendo, fi quis autem domui fu a praejfe nefeit, quomodo Ecclefut Dei diligentiam habebit? Sic Prienenfis Bias inquit: Optima illa domus efi, in qua talem fe proflat Dominiis, qualem foris leges cogunt. Et Cleobolus apud Diogenem: Priusquam domo quis exeat, quid alturus jit apud fe perrrafiet : rurfus cum redierit, quid egerit recogitet. Et Pythocles: Oprime conjiituta domus, in qua fuperfuum nihil abundet, et necessarium nihil defit. In more politum Celti' antiquitus barbara gens habuit, de hoftium occiforum corporibus amputare capita, atque eadem evacuata, Sc exiccata, tum deinde auro tedla in conviviis Sc folennitatibus proponere, iisdenique pro poculis, dc patinis uti. Si tantundem, quantum cum luorum hoftium calvariis agebant hi barbari, Chriitiani quoque inuniverlum mortuorum fuorum capita in conviviis exponerent, fi, inquam in his lautis epularum lolemnitatibus defiindtorum memoria Eepius revivifeeret, et tanquam Ipeculum convivantium oculis proponeretur, fortallis eorum menfie frugalius plandtu, quam ebrietate aliisque iniuper indecentiis, rixis, dilcordiis, &: perturbationibus inordinatis, qui ex ebrietatis vitio derivant replerentur. Sic Moraliita eos, qui talibus menfis absque omni metu allident, cum lient in ipfo limine lepulchri, vellicat ? Jfuia incertum e[t, quo loco te mors expellet, tu omni loco illam expctla. Et Gregorius : confiderat quali s erit in morte, femper pavidus erit in operatione. Arieti, utpote primo Zodiaci figno, Sc quod ejusdem caput lit, &: omnem in eo potentiam, fortitudinem, &: vigorem pollideat, antiquiores Astronomi Caput amgnarunt, dicendo: Eos qui lub hac conftiturione in trino, aut lextili nati fuerint, optime lituatum caput, bene fanum, fine doloribus, line fluxionibus habituros. Sed ego potius hoc Caput optime flabilitum dixerim, quod plenum generofitate, et virili fortitudine, finiltris tortum calibus, vel palfionum violentiis contrallare noverit. Obdurandum adverfus urgentia, in luis Emblematibus exclamat moraliflimus Alciatus. Dicebat Diogenes ad magiftrum Ilium fe percutientem: Non tantum tibi virium erit ad me feriendum, quantum roboris ell dorfo me6 ad fuftinendum. Et hoc ell illud unde Aineam fuum animabat Sibylla apud Mantuanum. Du ne cede malis, fed contra audent ior ito. Quod vero attinet palfionum vidtoriam, et clavi Herculis, et fcuta Atlantis, et igides Palladis, Ancilia Numi, ipecula Ubaldi, annuli Melilfi, convenientes ad hoc allegorii funt. De his etiam Bernardus ait : Major ejt viEloria hominum, quam Angelorum : Angeli fine carne vivunt homines in carne triumphant. Portentolum erat videre Senecam ( prout ipfe de feiplo refert, dum de viifroria fenfus, et de hominis irafeibili loquitur) fufpenfa in acre manu, qui flagellum tenebat, cailigaturumfervum immorigerum, dumque in hoc a£tu deprehenliis, interrogaretur, quid hoc rei? relpondit : Exigo poenas ab Iracundo. Ut intentiones, et affedus, et palfiones humani exprimerentur, a fapientibus llatuarum, 8c Scarlattini Hominis Symbolici 'Tom. I. fimulacrorum ullis, una cum variis corporis et membrorum dilpolitionibus inventus fuit, quibus vel ftuporem, Vel confidentiam, vel amorem, vel odium, aliasque in homine pndominantes qualitates figurabant. Statuariorum, et fymbolici artis peritorum hic gloria eil, e pidlis telis fuis, et lapidibus Iculptis etiam line voce humana loqui potuille. Cum ergo affedlus, et commotiones animi ad hominem fpe&ent, non fine lingulari defedtu, 8c imperfectione propoliti operis hujus foret, de his nil meminiile, fed cum filentio priteriille. Ut cum facilitate et delectatione duarum nobis Dolor lihumanarum qualitatum notitia daretur, quarum ncia ima non nego, media ell, odiofa, 8c noxia, duo Capita Joannes Baptilla Porta, nobis videnda demlibr.de dit, quorum alterum fixis oculis, et melancholico Fort. lit. notis. intuitu terram Ipedlabat, alterum hilare et jucundum cilos intuebatur : in horum uno dejectionem animi notabat, tum cum curarum ahxietate deprimitur, et languentibus oculis in terram fixus, fe in hafce tenebras praecipitare velle, alterum ad tranquillitatem illam gloriae alpirare de approximare videtur, quae ell finis et meta humanae vita: iloltra? In altero horum Synterefis culpae recognofcitur, qua: Synterefis tanq lam gladius fupra caput Demadis Rei fufpenfa in Innocen» rr. initatur: alterum per modum Apodis ultra nubes tia. le volam fuo levans, inferiptionem illam judiciosam confecumm ell: Defpicir ima. Alterum non fine ratione dici poterit Cain aliquis fratricida, impius, perfri&ae frontis, et inhumanus, alter econtra manfuetus Abel, plenus tranquilitate, et amoenitate vultus. Hic velut Democritus femper ridens, prout eum Poeta loquentem introducit: E vanita, 0 Mortali Brufin, Delie miferie voflre, Dalle affhte pupille Con infimo dolor gron dare il pianto » Alter velut Heraclitus femper plorans, in antro Trophonii fepultus, quem nec menfa: Luculli, nec Panchaia: amoenitas, nec Tempe consolari potient. De uno eorum ajebat Marcus Tullius: Ego semper hac opinione trattus fui, ut eum, qui nihil commfiJn rit, sibi nullam poenam timere exiflimdrim: de Altero sapiens ait: fugit impius nemine perfequente: Quibus S. Bernardus adjungit: Infernus quidam, prov lg et carcer an ima efi, rea confici entia. Serm. di Porro ad eorum frangendam &: terrendam impieaijjumpt. tatem, qui non verentur detecto sarcophago, et lapide lepulchrali amoto, defunCtorum famam sub terra dilacerare, inlculpi talibus faxis MeduEe caput iacobon in antiqui voluerunt, cujus capilli degenerabant in coApo/og de lubros. Prudens enim vero inventum, ex eo quod Z’"* i*”* infamis carnificina eil fevire in corpora mortuo^on mur' rum, quorum anima: quotidianum implorare fubtimurandum dium non ceilant. Cum Larvis non luttandum, m°rtuiSi» ait Moralilla Alciatus. Viliffimum pecus leporum ell, qui pedes Leoni mortuo vellicant, fic recenlet Homerus: Non fianttum efl viris interfettis infuitare. Ad hujus vitii deformitatem luculentius demonftrandam, ejusmodi homines Plato canibus aquiparat, quijatfrum in fe lapidem mordent, cujus hxc verba funt : JJ)uid putas eos, qui ita fe gerunt, tib. $. de differre a canibus, in jacio s lapides fivienribus, eo Repub. qui jecerit pratermiffo ? Intellexit ManaflesRex, cur fibi videntium nomen propheta* adlcifcant : Hic enim Ifaiam prophetam c medio fuflulit, confcindens vivi corpus ferra, C et et pofthac fe in forma quinque capitum depingi, et fculpi fecit : ftulte ratus, /e totum Mentem eile, non pravifo pracipitio fuo, et infelici/lima morte, et condemnatione fua. Solet hoc evenire temerarie pra/umentibus, qui cum fe omnia nolle arbitrantur, nil omnino norunt. Id palam exprellerunt Mythoiogi in fabulis Icari, et Phaetontis. Etiam infima fortis hominum hac fententia e : eos qui alta contemplantur, cadere. Inaqualitatem tam Archite&onicam, quam moralem 6c numericam inter homines fuftulit S. Auguftinus his verbis pulcherrimis: De Civit . Dei Jatlantiam tolLu, CA erimus pares. Hugo Cardinaeap. a. jis ejusmodi progeniem hominum fequentibus verLib. de Ani. gls explodit : lnfipcns, quid tibi prodejl vana gloria memoria, fi ubi es, torqueris, ubi non es, latu daris ? In gratiam vulgi (quamvis id a multo tempore jam periti viri, 6c fapientes noverint) id quod feCaput Aditquitur apponam: nempe Calvaria montem ( lic tm m monte Nauclerus opinatur) idcirco appellatum eile, quod Calvar ia. in ea folia, m quam crux Chrifti collocata, et in qua cruce Redemptor mundi affixus fuit, calvaria vel caput hominis inventum fuerit, idque volunt protoparentis noftri Adam fuille. Voluit per hoc lapientia divina et infallibilis indicare, quod illic ubi caput hoc condemnationis noftra origo fuit, ibi per merita tam excelli sacrificii pofteritati falus exoriretur; et ubi per lignum mors vidtorio/a intravit, per lignum delfrueretur. De primo S. PauVita $C Salus inquit: Aicut m Adam omnes moriuntur, ita his per et inChriflo vivificabuntur: De lecundo ficEccleChriftura. /ia canit : qui in ligno vincebat, in ligno quoque vin1« Cor. . ceretur: quod myfterium prafatus Apostolus Paulus optime concludit: fattus cjl primus hamo Adam in animam viventem, noviffimus Adam m fpiritum vivificantem. Et paulo infra: Primus homo de terra terrenus, fecundus homo de calo caleflis. Supra quod Super hunc j]lc{oms ClarusUt cum audimus Adam illum priorem factum m animam viventem, id eft, ut ft corpus animale, quod nunc circumferimus, confderemuspoferiorem Adam pr&flantiora allaturum, qua fprritus appellatione vocanda fint. TTEroicus non minus, quam utilis et decorofus JL Jl lemper a: Hamatus fuit ullis humanas partesdnonetis imprimendi, ut per orbem univerfum magnanima gefta, heroicaadtiohes tran/currerent, et aternitatem quondam confequerentur: ftimulus proinde generoiis pedtoribus daretur ejuscemodi illuftribus fadtis, unde fama nominis nunquam intermoritura nalcatur, devovere animum. Pracipue tamen hac gloriola memoria Principibus refervata eft. Sic videlicet excellentia figurati magnificatur, in hujusmodi fymbolis virms fimul et adtio connectuntur, ejus, qui in uuoque horum vel tanquam literatus, vel tanquam Heros de/udavit. In moneClementia C;1 quadam area Caput Julii Calaris corona civica Principis, decoratum cernitur, quod clementiam ejus figurat: Principibus enim quam maxime convenit tales erga cives fiios fe exhibere. Hanc clementiam, tanquam praclari/Iimam Principum dotem iisdem Vopifcus allignavit : Prima, inquit. Dos Imperatorum Clementia. Et Diogenes lcriptum reliquit: Contubernales juflitia fient pietas, cP clementia. His potilfima olim /acrificia Athenis, in altari eisdem deftinato, mactabantur. In quibusdam praterea nummis humanum caput monftrabatur lauro redimitum, quod pharetram, aut telum in occipitio luo portabat, fronte ftellam contingens. Per hac intelligi confervaPier, lib.z 3. toris Apollinis beneficium influxum volebant, Hieroglyph. (prout Valerianus fentit) ftella autem virtutem radiorum ejus denotabat. Porro 6c caput aliud spedabatur pelle caprina coopertum, habens in faucibus luis fulmen, et in occipite arcum: ex altera Vigilantia, moneta facie imago Pega/i apparebat, et fagitta alata : qua fimulacra mentibus hominum reprafentabant, non folum Principis, fed omnium etiam eorum, qui regimini populorum praftituti funt, in rebus agendis, et ad fublevandos fubditos indefeflam celeritatem,& promptitudinem. Septem petra quas Alti/fimus Zacharia Pj;opheta monftravit, feptem principams figurabant: ha infuper /eptem oculis dotata erant, licut et virga quajeremia propheta monftrata ftiit. Non usque adeo in exercitiis navigationis fua intentus eile potuit Palinurus, tum cum infortunia calamitofa temporis imminerent, ut non in unico oculi nidhi in naufragium inopinum incurreret, qui tamen juxta Virgilium : .... Clavumque adfxus, &hstrus Nunquam amittebat, oculosque fub aflra tenebat. Docti/Iimus Erizzus oblervav it in monetis Antonini Pii caput matrona plenum majeflatis idque coronatum, qua corona c multis turribus compofita erat, in limilitudinem Dea Opis, quam fibula docent. Laodicea, Hac figura fortitudo, &: propugnacula Laodicea civi&tis reprafentabanmr, qua tot annis impavide hoftibus fuis reftitit. Ex altera parte caput hominis erat, quod in occipite caduceum Mercurii monftrabat, per qua promptitudinem obedientia fua, tum et pacem, et erga principem fuum fubmilfionem denotabat. Talem eile oportet Vafallum, juxta mentem Pythagora: Subditi non tantum morigeri Principes, fnr, fed amahtes etiam fuorum magiflratuum. Hac &c fubditi. in fe invicem correlativa fiunt patris ad filium, imo capitis ad membra: atque idcirco ( prout Ca/Iiodojrus meminit) Membrum fcqui debet caput. Caput arietinis cornibus inligne, per supra memoratum observatorem Jovis lignum erat apud Amonitas Gentem ferocem: cum aries apud veteres inflrumenmm bellicum, &c fortitudinis lymbolum Cornua infuerit. Imo vero cornu infigne honoris erat : non /igne houno id loco Propheta Regius inquit: Exaltabuntur noris. cornua fttfii. Exaltetur Deus cornu falutis mea. Sic cum fabula referunt Jovem Nutricis Amalthaa AbundanComucopia, omnigenis bonis adimplefle, Mytho-tiadeUrlogis campus apertus eft dicendi : abundantiam probium fortivenire, liquidem civitates, et regionum limites ficatione cum fumma vigilantia muniantur, &: cuftodiantur. provenit. Hoc ipfum per Numina tutelaria intelligitur. Natui. Co Caput hominis venuftum, et juvenile, mediam Mytkol, inter virihtatem et adolelcentiam praieferens atatem, lnnumifinate exprelliim, idque corona cin- 6him, unde ramus lauri egrediebatur, Solem denotabat, qui folus inter planetas coronam portat, cui etiam Laurus dedicata eft,quod in amoribus Daphnes, qua in Laurum converiaefl:,veteres indicare voluerunt. Idem ipfe Sol per caput radiatum in medio templi quadrati exprimebatur, quali lucidillimum fimulacrum hoc, per mundi ambitum idcirco volvatur, ut in gratiarum adtionem fibi debitam, facrificia ab hominibus, per hoc mundi templum ornati/limum exigat. Eadem imago Solis per faciem juvenilem, cui nulla in mento barba erat, figurabatur, tum vero etiam De Sole Hiercglyph. Gratiarum actio. Philip, i. Victoria pbtenta. Hie rogi Roma Caput Mundi. Lib. Hieroglyp. Saturnus Agricultura; Inventor. Lib. 1. num. cap. Bonum Sc malum. Lex contra Adulteros. fparfos habens capillos, duos ab auribus fiiis ferpentes pendulos reprafentans, prout jam memoratus Audior annotavit: exponens nil elle in terrarum orbe tam remotum, quo radii folis, (quos difperfi crines referunt ) non pertingant: Sc quia Sol artatis detrimentum &: caducitatem nullam novit, Adole-fceiltulum eum, et imberbem elle voluerunt. Refert itidem Valerianus vidifle fe in numilmate, veteri fculptam faciem, coronatam radiis, balatam infuper manum, qua; in acrem levabatur, indicans prima orientis folis itinera. Tanta erat huic Datori luminum Sc obfervacio, Sc miniftratio, Sc adoratio. Interim gratiarum adtio, fpeciofiflfma Sc acceptiflima eft monetarum omnium, qua donari poilimt ; atque ideo Marcus Tullius ajebat: Cui gratia referri non potefl, quanta debetur, habenda tamen efl quantam maximam animi nojlri capere pofjint. Quandoque Capita monetis imprefia, cafus militares cum felici fuccellu terminatos figurabant. Sic in numismate quodam Imago Claudii Calaris, juxta mentem prafati Erizzi, vidloriam illam quam Romani adverfus Barbaros impetrarunt, ligni ficavit. Ad victoriam hanc exprimendam, Valerianus vir do&ffifiiuus, caput mulieris alatum, cum capillitio retorto demonftrabat, allerens fe idipfum in quam plurimis monetarum infculptmn obfervafle. In his ipiis idem Caput muliebre, fed coopertum callide apparebat: de quo non pauci dixerunt, eiie illud effigiem vel imaginem Urbis Roma, qua; virtute armorum Iliorum Caput Orbis effecta elt: ex altera parte vultum ilium infculplit Julius Cadar, fed in figura Martis: alludere volens, debere originem luam Romanos huic numini belligero. Quidam etiam non irrita cogitatione prafagierimt, Romam Caput fidei Chriftiana futuram, ubi Caput Apoffolorum Petrus primariam pontificiam ledem luam collocavit, ubi hac eadem fides gigantea, Sc gloriola membra fua extendit, Sc non lecus ac Davidica illa vitis, potius quam illa fabulofa Aftyagis a mari usque ad mare extendit propagines fitas : atque adeo Petrus Petra nominatus., eft, immobile Capitolii faxum relpiciente Redemptore noftro. Inventa lunt moneta; quadam, qua; ex una parte duplicem faciem in cervice una inonft rabant : dum ex altera figura navis cerneretut. lineas Vicus diligens horum infignium obfervator, per binam faciem hanc, honores, et facrificia dedicata Saturno vult intelligi, qui videlicet mortalibus ufum tam agricultura, quam plantandi, putandi, Sc. conlervandi vices edocuit. Rurluin alii per hoc intelligi volunt lapientem Legislatorem, ante cujus confpedfcum ftare, inquiunt, oportet faciem boni Sc mali, ad reprimenda damna unius, Sc. ad commoda alterius procuranda. Commentati funt alii per hoc utriusque fortuna;, tam profpera, quam adverfantis tanquam fluminis decurfum figurari, ut quisque noverit, tam per citatos vortices, quam per placatas undas felici navigatione ad portum funm appellere. De Tenedo Nummus comparuit, qui ex uno latere duo capita monftravit, ex altero lecurim, cum hac circulari inlcriptione: fccuns Tenedia: explicatio lemmatis hujus, vel proverbii inde derivavit. Rex Provincia; illius ieveriffimis legibus, Sc poena capitis mul&abat adulteros, fadum eft: autem ut genuinus ejusdem filius hujus criminis reus deprehenderetur: quidquid pro eo plebs intercede-ret, ut in Yiiceiubusiuis propriis poenam hanc moderari dignaretur, inflexibilis ad hac pater, coram omnium oculis palam eum pledti capite imperavit: Sc ut hac adtio leveritatis retinaculum ellet e ftr cenata; liventia: in populo, prafatas monetas elaborari juflit, cum pramemorata inferiptione: Verum enim est, quod literatiflimus Vir Camerarius ait: Lib. j. amor urit adulte f Relliquias Domina, relliquiasque domus. Et juxta lententi am Ambrolii: Adulterium natura Lib. r. de injuria efl : Hoc enim etiam feris, ac barbaris dete Abram, flabile. Huic legi fimilis illa fuit, quam Seleucus promulgavit: ut adulteris excavarentur oculi: deprehenditur filius ejus, ne utrumque oculum amitteret, Pater pro filio unum perdere maluit. C^Uin quanta devotione proftratum humi non j oporteret efle hominem, ad referendas Creatori luo grates, qui non folum ei divinum Ipiritum fuum inlpiravit, dum animam dedit, non folum eum de peccati iervitute, fundendo fanguinem luum, redemit: propter quem folum cadi fabricati funt, qui in hunc mundum tot bonorum feracem locatus, divitiis elementorum gaudet, equorum qualitatibus Oompolitus eft : in hunc mundum, inquam, in tot mixtis ftecundilm: prater hac nihilominus etiam in herbis, in arboribus, in frudribus, in foliis, Sc in Eloquentia floribus, quali in tot voluminibus conftitutionem Arboriinu humanam, conditionem fuam, Sc llatiim, Sc asiones, demotus, Sc imaginem fuam cognoffiit. Propter quod Sc fagacillimi indagatores, medicinas, ad reprimenda mala fua, congrua invenerunt. Ditiffi- ma Natura, Sc provida omnino, qua signatufis etiam externis eos, qui horum scientiam habent admonet, ut in tempore luo Alexipharmaca Sc Reperculliva remedia adhibere malis fuis non negligant, quibus utique propter Protoplafti peccamm lat abimdanter lubjicimur. Quot folia, tot lingua filfit, qua cum eloquentia non verborum fed fidiorum, nobis utile noftruminfinuant, imo bonum noftrum, felicitatem, Sc commoda noftra, Sc experientia nos docent, le oratores elle non verbis, fed fadlis fcecundos. Benefica Creatoris nollri manus, cuique plantarum, Sc herbarum virtutem luam indidit : Sc in ipfo cortice lignatura fua nobis. exprellit ea, qua fub eodem continentur. Dixerim ergo ftudium hoc non minus cateris inperfedlo. .Botanico utiiitafcc plenum elle, ut videlicet in cognitione lignaturarum, de quibus didtumeft, virtutes herbarum nolle elaboret, Sc ab externis adinterna penetrare fatagat. Hic ergo, ubi de Capite n-y hi fermo eft, de harum virtutum nonnullis mccindtam mentionem fadluriis fum: ut videlicet nec Ledlori meo, nec libro copia rerum earum defit, quasliic deducere prafiunpfi. Primum libi locum vendicat Nux juxta eorum, qui maxime fenfati funt, opinionem. Nux arbor fortuna eft, qua quandoque inveteratum illiud axioma falfiim reddit: Nux cjuafi nex, et nux a riotendo: utpote qua cortice fiio utilitatem fuam adfert. Hac integram humani capitis figuram hareditavit. In exteriori Sc herbofo nucis cortice, tota pericranii jqux f]crha forma apparet; in cortice duro, parte videlicet ejuscura dem folidiore cranium figuramr. In pellicula irtteqs riore qua nucleum ambit, quis non meningem, aut piam matrem ut cum vulgo loquar, circumdantem cerebrum, quod in nucleo repraffentatur, cognofcat? Non igitur mirum, fi decodlio corticis, aut externi involucri aptiffima tingendis capillis eft. Et quod his potius eft, lal inde extra&us potentiffimum remedium eft, pro pericranii vulneribus. C 2r Prouti etiam Phylici docent, fiquideni nucleus contulus fuerit, Sc pulfui applicitus, Alexipharmacum elle adverlum venena, et cephalalgiis mederi. Nux Indica etiam cum magnitudine fua limilitudinem capitis refert, atque ipiiim pene caput adaquat, unde edam fi oleum ex eadem extraxeris, corrigendis capiris vitiis Sc defedibus, potens medicina eft. Flos pceonia: colledhis, Sc intra folia ejusdem admodum grandia reftrichis, non folum prolatam jfimilitudinem gerit, fed etiam in hilaris luis, nili melius dixerim juncturis, qua; eundem reftringunt, vera quxdam effigies Commiilurarum Lambdoidum, Sc redarum, velfagittalium reprxfentatur: Hinc etiam pro infirmitatibus cerebri, et radices e jus, et femina, et flores, 8c folia cum utilitate adhibentur. Serpit Sc in altum levatur Betonica, Sc Stoechades, quali cum rotunditate foliorum, et floris: diceres per Iulum quendam imitari velle figuram fupra memoratam : unde nec a medicamentis excluduntur, qua caput concernunt. Capitatum papaver, tum et poma Cydonea, ficut Sc cucurbita Sc melopepones eandem portare videntur capitis imaginem : unde Sc a Medicorum Schola, inter prxfervativa, Sc lenientia adhibentur, ad capitis dolores mitigandos. Inter alias Anrirrhinonfylveftre, <Sc quod flore fuo, Sc femine calvariam humanam prxfefert, prxftantiffimum propulfandis capitis doloribus medicamen elle compertum eft. Sic verum illud, quod cenfet Ofvaldus Crollius, Magnam illam Matrem Naturam, lemper ad fer virium noftrum applicatam, lemper beneficam ignaturii elle. Omne, quod occultum ejl, inquit, et intnnfe u. cum, fert illius extrinficam figuram, tam in finfibilibus quam infenfibihbus creaturis : tacentibus nobis loquitur vel uti quibusdam natura, ac ingenium cuj usque et mores revelat. Quas igitur gratiarum adiones, quam gratimdinem referet homo huic dextera: Dei altiflimx, qua terram dedit filiis hominum, prout Regius pfalmifta canit? SUblimillimus, utililTimus, Sc generofiffimus fcopus, ad quem mortalium genus in omni tempore £c in omni acate potiflimiim colliniavit Religio Religio in est. Sapienter enim de calo eunda nobis provenire quanta apud le ftatuerunt, propter quod Sc voca diis fuis voarftimatio-verunt, vidimas immolarunt, Sc facrificia obtulene fit habiriint. In iplis adeo primordiis feculi hoc Reges Phari ta. demonftrarunt, qui pyramidibus eredis, in quibus Hieroglyphica fculpta erant, numinibus fuis memoriam beneficiorum acceptorum infcriplerunt : Sc quamvis illis fupremi Entis, hoc eft DEI, notitia nulla eilet, in immolandis nihilominus vidimis fuis veraci pietate quadam non caruerunt, Sc compolitione precum fuarum uli funt. Elevatillima hxc virtus eft, fienim a fine fuo fpecificantur adiones noftrx, hxc pro fcopofuo cultum habet alti/limi Dei : Etich. 4 Magnifica fiunt, ficut et honorabiles, qua deorum caufia fiunt dedicationes, feribebat Philosophus. De honore illis debito, ipfam pene elevatiflimam sapientiam xmulando, dodilnmc scripferunt, non inter ultimos, sed primos numerandi philofophi, Linus, Orpheus, Tales, Mufxus, quos Zoroafter ftellarum omnium indagator inter Deos adorabiles annumeravit. Ve lfid e et Sic Aigyptii, prout Plutarchus Sc Diodorus voojuule. lLlnt, res eximias, Sc negocia ponderis magni, monumenta templorum, icripturarum interpretationes, prxmia, Sc muldas, adferibi facerdotibus, per eosdem gubernari, tradari, dividi, et concludi voluerunt: Denique, prout M. Tullius inquit, omnes 6. Aci . in religione moventur, et deos patrios, quos a majoriVerrem, bus acceperunt, colendos fibi diligenter, et retinendos arbitrantur. Unde Sc ego in horum confideratione, opus hoc meum, Sc obtufum, Sc lumine fuo deftitutum arbitrarer, nifi de facriflciis quoque, Sc dedicationibus, (quamvis eorum milii pauca admodum occurrant) nonnihil etiam afferam, de iis videlicet, qua: pro cultu numinum de partibus humani corporis fada funt. Jovi itaque, tanquam Cadorum Capiti, quidam Caput deantiquitus Caput obtulerunt: arbitrantes, quod ficut dicatum fub illo (de quo Lucretius inquit : fupner efi quodJovi. cumque vides, quocunque moveris) extera Deorum turba verfatur, fica Capite extera quoque membra dependere: opinio, quam ita fixam elle oportet in iis, qui Deum adorant, ficut ei lubftantialeeft, rationalem elle. Jjfua Dii vocant, eundem, lic vociferantur non Chriftianorum, fed paganorum lcholx. Ita vero Sc verba Senecx in hunc lenium mordacia Sc pungentia funt, qux prxterire nequeo, dum de penna gentili volatum Chriftiani adverto. Prope Deus efi: tecum efi, intus efi : Ita dico Lucili : fiacer inter nos Seneca ad fur itus fidet, bonorum, malorumque nofborum obLucilium, fervat or, et cufios : hic prout a nobis tr ablatus efi, ita nos ipfie trabi at. Bonus vero vir fine Deo nemo efi. Quidam intuendo in circulum folis, dum nubibus fuis cindtus, fele hominum afpedui videndum prxbet, Sc in eodem fimilitudinem capiris figurantes (a quo etiam, tanquam a capite, fonte, Sc origine Caput dequadam omne bonum noftrum derivare non cellet) dicatum habere eum itidem in generatione hominum partem Soli, principalem, juxta illud: Sol et homo generant hominem: illi vota fua folverunt, Sc prxfatam majorem partem caput nimirum fub dominio ipfius collocarunt. Quanto potius igitur, Sc quanto utilius Anima Chriftiana fe Redemptori fuo devovet: qui Solem Chriftus fiuum oriri facit fuper bonos et malos: prout inquit Sol. Apoftolus? Hic verus foleft, de quo propheta MaMalachias. lachias inquit: Orietur vobis timentibus nomen meum Sol juJhtia: Atque idcirco huic supremo soli nostro plus quam Achxi, plus quam habitatores Heliopoleos, plus quam Arcades (de quibus Pomponius, Sc Melas, Sc Suidas, Lactantius, et Macrobius Sc alii meminerunt) oportet ut Chriftiani laetificemus, dedicemus non tantum caput, sed Sc corda nostra. In hunc modum Gloriofiflimus inter Sandos Antonius S. Antonius Patavienfis feripto reliquit: Sol est Chriftus, qui InPatavienfis. cem inhabitat inacccjfibilem: cujus claritas omnium Sanbtorum radiolos, fi ei comparentur, obfufiat, et In Apocal. denigrat, fifihua non eft Sanblus, ut efi Dominus. Confiderando virtutem Sc potentiam Arietis, quippe qux in ejusdem capite lita est; (Etenim fi hanc partem exceperis, non habet unde le defendat, vel offendere pollit) Cum prxterea lignorum Zodiaci Caput caput lit: ubi fol, pro communi Mathematicorum arietis. Sc Aftronomorum lententia, curfum anni novi orditur: fapienter ftatuerunt hunc parti illi hominum, capiti nimirum patrocinari. Propter quod fub felicihujus conftellatione natos, immunes a fluxionibus, abfceflibus, catharris, epilepfiis, et horum limilibus futuros ominantur: ficut contrarium evenire iis, qui eam male pofitam Sc fituatam, fub orientis porta invenerint. Hic ego dixerim imitandum Refiftennobis hoc animal elle, ut videlicet opprefllonibus, Sc dum Inforinfortuniis fortiter refiftamus. Melius enim Naumnils cleri peritia patet, ubi fludus, Sc ferocitas tempestatis defxviunt. Spetlaculum fove dignum, in Seneca, quit Seneca, videre hominem in affiibhonibus pofitum. Reftitit magnanimi ter his fortunx liniftrx cafibus Propheta Regius, dum inquiebat: Impulfus, everfus fum ut caderem: Dominus autem fufcepit me. Memoriam immortalem nominis lui pofteritatitransmii erunt, ambuftamanu, Scavola, Cocles fupra pontem, Curtius in voragine, Gracchi, Meffalla, 8c Corvini ciun hoftibus conflictati : et Anaxarcus, contufus et contritus ab Anacreonte Tyranno, tum cum ajebat: tundite Anaxarcum Jidera celfa petit. Bonum e it limilem eile Lima, de qua fcriptum : Oppojita Clarior : aut vero flumini, de quo illud refertur : Quanto pia fi rattien, vie pias smgroffa. Ita lilium inter Ipinas: magis redolet : et rofa odorem fuum fpargir: Oppojitis fragrant ior. Non minus quoque Palma de leipfa loquens introducitur: adverfum pondera furgo. Sub lus oppreflionibus vegetiores et firmiores in perlecutione Algyptiaca apparebant Hebrai : unde in fcripturis divinis relatum eit : Quanto opprimebat eos, tanto magis multiplicabantur, et crefcebant. Ita Seneca in Hercule luo furente ait: Seneca. HuSjepuam flygias fertur ad undas Inclita virtus. yiv ite fortes. Hac JLethaos fitva per amnes Hos Fata trahent. Sed cum fummas Exiget auras confumpta dies, Iter ad superos gloria pandet. confcendendum decorofum gloria clivum, et vidorem fele demonftrandum, et ad jubilandum in excellis honorum faftigiis, in quibus (olis aeternitatem jfiuna adipilcitur homo, feverifSmi Hiftoria. Duces fuerunt femper viri illuftres heroicis adionibus fuis inclyti, qui virtutiun, et meritorum fiuorum alis innixi, illuc nobis iter ftraverunt, et callasapplanarunt: Qui plus quam Atlantis fcutum,de nebulosis ignorantias tenebris nos expediendo, iicut Dii Terminii in triviis difficillimarum ambagum redtum nobis tramitem demonftrarant. Fuerunt hi veraces Ariadnae, qui Theleis in labyrintho dubiofo difficultatum intricatis felicem exitum edocuerunt. Hoc ipfiim Imperator Leo, tanquam feveriflimum praJlpud BeiercePami dedit filio fuo. Eu per hiflorias veteres ire ne linch. Iit, h. recufa ibi reperies [me labore, qua alii cum labore Utftor. collegerunt. Magna utilitas, magna securitas, nolle viam ingredi, cujus terminus gloriofus iit, qua nullis fit prasdonibus infefta, nullis occupata monftris, non anceps, non periculofa, fed direda, amoenitate, et fecuritate plena. Inter Heroes fiapientiffimi, dum non ignorarent, non minus Mundo proflituras eilhiftorias, quam ipfa armorum gefta, e Belliducibus fadi Hiftoriographi, depolito gladio, pennam arripuerunt, et chartas atramento tinxerunt : atque illic certo quodam modo torrentibus fanguinis inundare campos fecerunt. Sic vidorias Luas defcripferunt Moyies, Jofue, Gedeon, Neemias, David, Salomon, Job. Ipfa adeo divina omnipotentia in habitu feriba apparuiile videtur, tum, cum eum Ezechiel propheta libi Deus in havifumeileteftatuseft: Ve[ itum lineis, et atramenbitu feriba. tanum ad renes ejus. T entet quantum volet nos in pulverem redigere edax rerum tempus, coniumat ipia marmora, &c celiiffimas rupes cum profundiilimis vallibus adasquet, et in nihilum deducat: Hiftoria nihilominus has moles renovatura eft, 8c rurfum humi ftrata fublimabit : redintegrabit in memoriis geftorum hominem,quamvis jam corruptum, quamvis corrofiim, abolitum. Idcirco Sc ego nonpoffum quin hic reiterem verba Tullii, jam alibi memoVe Orat. rata : nimirum quod : Hiflona ej} tejlis temporum, lux veritatis, vita memoria, magiflra vita. Hoc ipfiim ego mecum ponderans, ubicunque ratio poftulaverit, tam in partium hominis, quam in totius delcriptione capitulum fadurus fiuin proprium: non tamen eousque in longum evagabor, ut qua: potiorafimt lilentio pratereantun Fuit inter Scythas olim gens, qua’ ficut a communi Caput lonhominum genere et climate fuo, et vivendi medio gum. do, «Sc moribus diftabat,ita et fingulare deledamentum habebat, ipfa quoque membrorum conftitutione et figura corporis dilcrepare. C)b quod etiam ciun inter eos infans natus eiiet, prehendebat utraq-, manu nutrix tenelli caput, idque fortiter premendo in longitudinem ludum figurabat; ik ne in pristinum ftatum luiun feniim dehiberetur, ik rurium fe contraheret, linteaminibus, et falcibus 111 eadem forma conftridum confervabat. Hic ufus Hipp.de Aert pofthac, &hoc artificium, beneficio temporum, &c Au.toc. statum in naturam degeneravit: ex hinc proverbium quoddam exortum eft, ut liquando in ejusmodi formato oblongo capite compareret homo, continuo reperiebantur qui dicerent: oportet hunc Macrocephalum Scytham efle. Sic enim vero apud hanc gentem, qui produceret, prolongaretque frontem luam, et majoris animi, &|generoiioris, tum etiam majoris virtutis credebatur. Subjungit igitur Author ille: Hunc non tam Longis amplius capitibus najcuntur, quemadmodum prius, lege per incuriam hominum non amplius durante. Pericles grandis ille Orator, &. Miles, qui virtute armorum fiiorum, 8c literarum, tam vicinas quam longe dillitas iibi lubjugavit provincias: qui vibrante gladio luo ejaculari fulmina videbatur, fed non minus etiam perorando, fulgur jaciebat ex oculis. De hoc memoria eft, eum usqueadeo oblongum habuilie caput, ut intuitu reliquarum corporis partium lymmetriam omnes excederet, 8c deformitatatem incurreret : unde etiam fadhim, ut ubicunque ftatua ejus eredfca ellent, aut pileo quodam, aut callida: tedta viderentur, ne vitium illud capitis ( lic ajunt ) fpedtantium oculis patefeeret. Hac igitur corporis torma, otiolis Sc malevolis garriendi caulam luggellit: unde 6c Poeta’ Athenienfes, et reliqui contra eum liniftre aftedti, propter eandem Plutarch, in capitis amplitudinem per detradbionem latyricam Pertch eum Schinocephalmn appellabant. T eleclides item faceta quadam ironia illudendo ei (in quo nihilominus a vero non aberrabat) eum capite gravatum ledere dixit, cum tot negotiis pra’gravatum lupportare v ix pollet. Detradbor ille interim hoc alio reberei is, eum 111 opem confilii,& parcum lagacitate intelligi voluit. Sic enimvero in omni atate critica vafrities fagittas fuas vibravit: in hoc loco autem pro fcopo fuo fi. Detradtio. bi elegit virum inter heroes, non tantum fui, led et fecuiorum praueritoruin, aque ac venturorum pralbantillimum. Videant igitur, qui regimini Reipublica praiunt cum quanta libi cautela agendum lit, ii ik vitia corporis ik natura iri cenfuram cadunt, ubi nullum nec meritum nec demeritum eft: quid cum iis luturum erit, qui aut fponCautela tanea mente, aut incuria quadam, in damnum plepro minibis peccaverint? Lucerna, qua: ad illuftrandum exftris pubi polita lunt, ventorum datu agitantur: iple adeo cis. loiincurfu oblervatores habet j Phenomena, qua vitia natura lunt, curiolius examinantur. Quin &c arundines Midam habere aures afininas loquuntur. Progreditur hac cenluracnuca adcolum usque, et ad iputa decrepitarum vetularum, dum fila lua de fuio trahunt. Sonat fchola Magni Stagyrita, quod : C 3 parvus error m principi eribus c(l prafentia mala in lingua habere, Jnfita ob Thcatr. viu hum. fit maximus. leilatio mulio lic de cythara fua nos Euripides docet. Non eft aura peftiientior alia, qua’ totius amicitia campum infectat, et venuftiffimos Ipei flores marcidos reddit, proVuguftinus ait. Detratlio e(l venenum amiDicebatTeleclides memoratus decitato Heroe: de hoc capite cndcc ahno, hoc cft fefquipedali, magnum oriturum efle tumultum. Refert Suidas de Philocle, Nepote vEfchyli (hic autem nefcio, ii textus mendofus non eft. humicum ponens, pro Comico) qui caput oblongum habebat, Caput upuet criftauum infimilitudinem upupa: unde Halmion, uaii falinator, vel acrimonia diCtus fuit: deduCta 'talle comparatione et Metaphora ab ave illa folitaria& foetente. Annales Sarracenorum recenlent, Mahomethum Legiflatorem, et primum Turearum Imperatorem, Caput habui Ile enormiter magnum, et faciem intermixtam colore rufo, et albo. Indecens tinCtura, ubi anima tantopere nigra erat, qua: tot animarum ruina et jam antehac fuit, &eft hodiedum, Sc deinceps futura erit: et in hoc cranio tam fpatiolo, tanquam in aula vacua liberum fuit fpiritui rebelli pro voluntate fua incedere quippe qui illic habitaculum fuum fixerat: poterat illic pro libitu luo extendere figuras, et formas iiiiquilTimarum legum luarum, quas ad Catholica: veritatis exterminium excudere, et promulgare aulus eft. Verus Goliath corde non corpore, qui ab innocentc paftorculo humi proftratus eft. Ubi virtus AlciHimi opifex eft, illic c formicibus prodeunt veri Myrmidones, qui metuendos alioquin orbis domitores defedelua deturbare norunt. Berlinchius vir doCtiffimus refert: non paucis abhinc annis in Belgia: urbibus, oftentui publico circumlatum fuille infantem, gracili omnino, et fubtiliffimo corpore, led capite usque adeo infigniter magno, ut amplitudinem vafis, ad menfuram modii usque capacis, ada:quaret, vix puer ille aratis fute annum unum expleverat. Illud ipfum caput ad fimilitudinem fluxus et refluxusm aris, jam intumefee-bat, jam rurfus comprimebatur: dum ab intro fubtus membranas humor aqueus dii currere, inflari, 8c elevari videbatur. Monftmm prodigiofum: Cc quia a coniueto natura: curfu exorbitavit, in detecftu luo Spes vana, propediem collapfum eft. Sic et vitam ephemerem habent fpes capitis noftri, quae inconftanti viciffitudine, non fecus ac decrefcens acfuccrelcens Oceanus, periodis luis nunc extollitur, nunc procidit. Alludebat adipes Capitis noftri eloquentiillma mula Commendatoris Teftii: VagaSoondo p en f iero Dove v.u, Cr d’onde torni, e che pretendi? ui fu tale leggiero Ora parti, ora torni, orpoggi, or fcendi: Et nel tuo moto c terno Sei lijjion dc tamorofo inferno. Sic illud velificatur, quod: Spes temeraria plerumejue homines fallit. Sicut Euripides ajebat. Pindarus vigilantium fomma ha:c nominabat. Etiam vicinus eft naufragio, qui navem luam ad Caput bona fpei dirigit. Non minus curiofa, quam faceta erat inter antiquos conliietudo, qua Athenienllum quaque domus utebatur : qua: de Gimcia etiam fuccellu tempor um Romam usque migravit: videlicet tum cum ad patronos fuos primum ingrederentur mancipia, ierv itura. Ut enim eos vel ad servitutem animarent, vellit, orumonefubjedtionis, et onerum qua: portanda ellent, memiraium. mllent,eorum capicadiverli generis et farmentis, et Apud Stobeum ibi. Caput fer fruCtibus, Sc nucibus, et beta, &c caftaneis, et leguminibus aliisque inluper rebus onerabant: quos cum poftea lic oneratos per univerfam domum traduxiflent, Ik in cubile eorum pervenillent, onus illud in pavimentum cadere linebant, idque catachyfmum nominabant, hoc eft effufionem, profimdendo id quod in capite gellerant; hocque illis poftea pro mercede erat,quamdiu in eadem domo morabantur. Unde Demas cum Siro luo rurliim reconciliatus illic in Terentio ajebat. Huc ad me Sire, ut tibi caput demulceam: Perfundere unguento frudi ib m. Hxc ceremc^ia pro ligno abundantia: annualis habebatur. Hujus conluetudinis Theopompus taliter Qe[ c.c.c,, meminit: Verlificatores, vel poeta: pra’miabantur, antiq, leclion. imo vero delibuti &c uncti unguentis variis: lic &c ex Suida. matrona: civitatis Segefta:, tum cum Diana: flmulachrum pro more portaretur, redimire caput iuum corona de diveriis floribus contexta, variisque unCicero in Arguentis delibuta confue verant, atque ita exornatae vironecos et compita transibant, idolum fuum profequentes. Hinc Themiftii pater ut Epicurum, quamvis falso, percelleret, inculans eum lenluali voluptati datum efle ( de quo ne fomniare quidem ei in mentem venit, qui voluptatem nullam ftabilemnili intelleCfus, et animi agnovit ) vas ei unguentarium lupra caput effudit, fragranda odoris eum tingens: volens per h.ec mollitiem ejus vellicare, qui tamen lemper durum ik inflexibilem, adverfus delectamenta fenluum fe praebuit. De hoc ulu fortalle Novendiales ceremonia derivata: lunt, in quibus, prout Athenaeus reccnlet ex Gellio, novem continuatis diebus, patresfamilias fttccindti mantilibus, manicisque replicatis, accumbere fervos fuos facieb.int, illisque fervidum pra:bebant, illorum fe imperio iubjicientes. Quid plura ? Pes Pra Spes prtemii vigorofillimum calcar eft ad quod vis mn* lub jugale ammafetiam tardillimum incitandum. Id quod ipfe quoque Altiflimus iape in ele&is luis praefluit, dum iis gloria fua portas referavit: prout patriarcha Jacob, &c Stephano contigit. Propheta regius vir optimus,per hoc le lingulariter ad bene operandum pelleCtum elle fatetur: Inclrnavicor meum ad faciendas juftific at iones tuas propter retributionem. Veritatem hanc inter alios Marcus T ullius agnovit, dum ajebat: Ncc domus, nec refp. fare De natura poffunt, fi in ea nec rette fadtis pramia extent ulla, nec ^>eorum. fupplicia peccatis. Nec tantum in uis fatyris Juvenalis ablorptus fuit, ut non renumerationi locum luum tribueret. enim, inquit, virtutem amSatyr. io plettitur, ipfa pr&mia fi tollas? Non veretur carduelis quamvis fubtilillimo pede luo hirfutas cardui fpinas calcare tk premere, cum Iperet ex ejusdem femine le cibandum. Exponebant fe olim durilHmis et periculofilEmis confliCtibus viri bellatores, dum ob oculos libi ponerent, ftmplices lauros, et quercuum frondes: certam enim nominis lui libi immortalitatem ex viridantibus his, et perennibus foliis Ipondebant. Incertis fluCtibus maris, Sc infeftationibus piratarum fe committit de litore luo procul navigans ratis,quia portum fuum libi promittit. Cum fudore vultus lui, infatigabilis arator glebas kindit, eo quod in tempore fascundam meilem libi de labore liio futuram augurat: denique lic ait Ponti infelix inP Trt' cola; ftdus Eleg. ij. Non parvas animo dat gloria vires: Et facunda facit pcdlora laudis Nmor. Hac fpealleCtus Pallas Spartanus (referente Pau- In pbocitu, fima) ferociter dimicabat, ik jam corde fixum tenebat, Tarentum urbem tum quidem ditiilimam, omnique genere abundantia, ii ullla alia illuftrem expugnare: fed fpe fua delufus e fi;, dum non minori valore et animoiitate exercitus ejus a loci incolis Civitas aupropulfatus et proftratus eft. Hic aliquando mceftigurio capta, da et dolore plenus, mfmus uxoris fuce (cui nomen dEthra) caput inclinaverat, quod illa pedhne mundabat, tum cum ille amarillime fleret, memoria repetens qure perdidillet: junxit illa lacrymas fuas, quas calidas deftillabat incumbentis caput. Tumenimvero in memoriam ei rediit, quod ab oraculo quondam audierat, futurum ut civitatis et campefttium, potiretur, fiqtiidem ei ab Afthra iiiper caput pluvia decidiilet : fufcepit augurium, colledisque rurfiim ordinibus, nova vi aggreifus, et extrema aufus, muros et urbem usque adeo in anguftias compulit, ut paucis eam diebus ditioni fuce liibjecerit. O fi Chriftiani noftri et mentem, et aures ad oraculum fuurn adverterent, dum ad corda eorum pulfat, plantarent utique vidoriofum vexillum fuurn in civitate illa fanda, quce utique dc ipfa vim patitur, Infpirado quam violenti rapiunt. Hoc pundum tale eft, divina. ut concionem integram mereretur : fed cum id jam inldtuu mei non fit, nec hic fitfeopus meus preeeipuus, ad paucas admodum, et fuccindas me reflexiones reftringo. Idfolum referam, quod de Diledo in Cantico Canticorum recenfetur, qui ad portam anima; fanda; pullando ftabat, dum illa pigritando veftimenta fua inquirebat; cum vera jam compofita eflet, prompta voluntate exiit, fed: ille declinaverat. Ruina totius Hierofolyma; qua: Salvatori noftro lacrymas extorlit, aliunde non contigit, teftante ipfo Redemptore, quam: quod non cognoverit tempus vifitatioms fua. Homo nonnunquam iplis infenlibilibus rebus infenlibilior eft. De rofa feribitur: Dejlafi a/lojpuntar dei, primo raggio: hoc eft: ad primum Solis radium excitatur: et Claudianus de magnete Claud.: Arcanis trahi tur pemma de conjuge nodis. De magnete. Ad primum Auftri flatum Laurus germinat: ipsa aftra influentiis filis loquuntur. Unde laudabiliter ab homine fieret, fi quandoque internis commotionibus, quibus ad bonum incitatur, locum daret: haenim funt illa memorata pluvia y£thra. Loquebatui ut Poeta, nihilominus ut Chriftianus Commendator Teftius, quando Matdiaiun Sacchettum fic affari voluit: puelle, Matteo, che miri Entro al opaco velo Dela notte brillar faci fuper ne, E che in perpetui giri Parte fiampan nel Cielo Con lumino fo pie flrade et er ne. Parte a lialtri Zaffiri Del firmamento immobilmente inferte, Han piuflabde ardor,fedi piu certe: Otiofe pitture, Stampe in utili d’oro Non fion, qual fe le crede il volgo in fano, Piove da raggi loro Jfhtagiu. t ’ lnfluffi omnipotente mano. Denique quam bonum eft imitari exemplum Apoftolorum Andrea et Petri, qui unica hac Redemptoris et fimplici voce : Venite pofi me, factam vos fieri pifcatores hominum, relittis retibus fecmi fiunt DoS. Gregominum. Supra quod S. Gregorius inquit : nulla eum rius. fecijfe miracula viderant, nihil abeo de pr&mio at er na. retributionis audierant, et tamen ad unum Domini praceptum fecuti fiunt eum. 2? Salutatio vita' civilis &r politica fundamentum eft: hac omnium negotiorum, hac commerciorum et tractatuum pofta eft. Hac vitam focialem mfti tuit, &ioiidat. Cum hoc ligno cor loquitur, ajquc facunde, ac maxime elaborata eloquentia. Hac tam faciliorum praeteritorum, quam modernorum confuetudo eft : unde et ad omnem occurliim, et caput fuurn difeoopenebant, et levabant. Quidam naSalutatio nu, quidam nutu le explicabant: potillima tamen deteblo capars detecto capite : per quod iecreta iuciina Iliorum pire, cordium fe palam facere credebaut; lic nos Varro f apud Plinium docet. Quandoque edam id fanitads lib. zS.eo(.6. intuitu liebat. Multi enim in juvenili atate adliuc vegeta, detedlum caput contra frigus, et calorem, conducere ianirati arbitrabantur: Ego idiplum Medicorum fcllola dilcutiendum relinquo. DeAigypdis refernir, eos femper nudato inceffille capite," et robulboris lanitatis fuilie,cum c contra Periiani operto capite femper imbecilliores, et infirmiores corpore viliiint. Illud certum eft de Hannibale, et de Julio Caelare lingulariter id recenferi, ut aliorum HeImperatoroum non meminerim ( quod infatigabiles ad ardores& Belliresiolis, adventos, ad grandines, ad gelu, ad pluducescapite vias, ad omnem temporis injuriam invidi detecto femper defemper capite in militaribus expeditionibus luis comcedo, paruerint : demonftrando, fe line caffide ferreum caput, de adamantinum in caftris filis Sc inter arma animum geftare. De Mallmiila Numidarum Rege, qui RomanoGeniat. ditrum potentiam fregit, &ad praicipitium ruina: fua: ruml-7-‘-i9pene propulilfet; recenfet Alexander, nec eumaftu, nec frigoribus, nec temporum vicifimidine, ncc cali inclementia adduci unquam potuille, ut caput fuurn operiret. Idem de Adriano refernir, et Severo, principibus tanti vigoris, ut in graviffimis hyemis cem-peftatibus nunquam caput vel pileo, vel alio tegumento operuerint. Sed quodialtutationem attinet, recenfet Egnatius, Petrum Laurentii Celfi, Ducis lib. 9. t.,2. Veneti Pacrem eousque obftinatum fiiiife, ut nunquam perfuaderi potuerit adoccurfumfilii fui difeo- operire caput filum: unde ut hic errorpublicus tollerenir, crucem auream in capitis fui tegmine affigi juilit, ut Patri occafio ellct, fe detegendi occurrente filio Duce, refpiciendo ad lignum hoc redemptionis noftra. Icaque omnino utihilimafalutatio eft, et ne cellaria, quippe qua confervat, imo et inftituit, familiaritates, amicitias, societates, affinitates, contubernia: efficitque ut homo per hac ad cognitionem, et confortium lui fimilis perducatur. S. Paulus eos C«f. 12. Romanos, qui nunc in arte magiftri felit, de hoc vehementer admonitos elle volui edum ait: 'honore invicem f revomentes: fillicimdine non pigri. Bonum enim elfe cenfiiit, imo&adfalutem animarum proficuum, per hujusmodi reverentiam inclinationem animi benevolam demonftrare adverfus proximum fuurn ; procul ab afpericate et duritie morum, et (refluum, qua quandoque rixarum, et querelarum incentivum elfe folent. A Philofophis moralibus hac reciproca reverentia definitur: quod iit: honor exhibitus m teflimonium virtutis. Et Aquia. ?«. j,. neniis inquit: Revererieft adhss timoris, et ut debetur Deo, eft ailm Utris. Ipla adeo irrationabilia animantia hujus rei nobis prabent exemplum. Admirabile in hoc examen apum eft: de quibus libri memorant, quod in venefatione &fubmiifione et»a Duces luos le emutemur obfecjniis: quod cum illo fuperiori convenit: honore provenientes. Eximia eft Elephanti proprietas, qui ad primum Luna ortum fe tanquam luminis hujus Adorator profternic. In petit. Conful. Loriacio vana, ut non dixerim, temeritas eft, JTsquiparanda iis, qua maxime vetantur, de exterioribus lignis hominis, interna ejus penetrare velle. Qui id pnefumpferit, ad hoc le praeparet, ut in Veliivii luminolis vorticibus mortem nancifcatur: et naufragus in abylium maris demergatur et rurium dictum illud redintegret: O Jbtffe tu me cape, cjuia teipfum non capio. Sapientia Salomonis infinuat: Sicut aqua profuud.t, Jic cogitationes in corde viri. Quis eft qui fundum fluminis non tranfuaderefolum, led& prolpicere poflit, cum turbidum eft, Sc inundatione intumefcens? Quis credidillct in corporetam exiguo Alexandri Magni domicilium suum collocasse animum, qui capacitate sua mimdum univerfiim poffidaret? Subinluliis et turpibus membris Faunorum Sc Sylvanorum, prarftantillimx quandoque virtutum Idea: deprehenfiefunt, Sc cultum venerationis debita: obtinuerunt? Quoties fub cadefti forma corporis infernale monftrum vitiorum latuit? Fatui lunt, qui de cortice externo le profunda qualitatum internarum rimari polle gloriantur. Siquidem ars talis dari pollet, fruftra Momus in pedboribus hominum feneftrellam deiideraflet, ut& cogitata Sc corda hominum videri pollent. Hinc Sc Trina illa, Cv Sextilia ab Aftronomis pra: lignata, fiepius in momento temporis in quadratum, Sc oppolitiones noti vas convertuntur. Cum eadem facilitate, qua le ludum cadum in obnubilum commutat, etiam mens hominum involvitur, Sc obnubilatur. Magna voce nos Apoftolus Joannes exhortatur, ejusmodi ligna corporis forinlecus Ipe&abilia ad formandas genituras limiles non trahere, nec prafcriptiones inde, aut allerta producere: Molite, inquit, judicare Jecundum faciem, fedjuflum judicium judicate. Ha’c mihi adverlum eos Icribere occurrerunt, qui per Phylionomias Sc fomnia ratiocinari pradumunt de internis hominum, atque inde lignificata quadam bene lolidata deducere. Negari interim nequit, accidentali quadam dilpolitione de ftatu, infirmitate, vel fanitate hominis indicia fumi polle. Fultus ac frons, amm&janua, ejUA fignipcat voluntatem abditam. lic Marcus Tullius icr ipto reliquit. Motus enim Ira, Sc limi lia externa qua accidunt, antequam loris promineant, prius fedem fixerant in corde. Dabimus itaque ligna phy lionomica. Sc lomniorum, qua Sc ante me ab aliis annotata et figurata lunt. Dixerunt itaque, qui antiquitus jam talibus corporis indiciis le applicarunt: Caput grande, excedens cateram membrorum proportionem, indicare hominem pigrum, et mente ftupidum: licut Sc exiguum nimis oc gracile fatuitatem Sc ftultitiam notare: idquenon Imeratione, illic enim vapores nimii levantur i hic vero exiguitas Organi, Sc Receptaculi, nutrimentum debitum impedit, ut cognitionis perfectionem maturare non queat. Scriplerunt quidam, fi vertex capitis promineat, ita ut in limilitudinem pini terminari videatur, taliter natum, inverecundum fine fra:no, &: Ime pudore palfionum fiiarum futurum elle: et ut verum fateamur cum ibidem magna fiat Ipirituum attradtio, qui in lummitate illa nimium acuta reftringuntur, et uniuntur, fieri non poteft, ut temeritatem, et inconlideratam proterviam non eliciant. Caput crafliim, Sc in fuperficie fua planum, &: adaequatum, omnem morum pravitatem Sc licentiam portendit: tanquam illic in Ipatiofo campo, audacia. arrogantia, Sc affedtuum inaequalitas vagari, Sc dilatari liberius pofiint. Concavum in anteriore parte fraudulentiam, dolum, tSc effrontem excandelcentiam notat. Dixerim id rationem quandam habere phylicam:Ira enim in hoc ventriculo comprefla, sicut ignis fubtus terram, aut in tormento bellico conclusus, quanto plus obstaculi invenit, tanto vehementius exploditur, et viam sibi aperit, feriendo. Caput bonam humorum temperiem Sc constitutionem indicans tale est: proportionatum videlicet cum reliquo corpore:quamvis lint,qui afferant, fi in longum protendatur, maturitatem Sc prudentiam designare. Talis erat Pericles,homo sagacissimus: tales etScytha:, Sc Parthi, prout supra memoratum est. Hac sunt qua cum vanitate observantur in homine, cum experientia quotidiana in contrarium militet: cogitta enim mortalium, non fecus ac Maris unda sunt, inquit Gregorius, quarum nec origo, Morat. nec medium, nec finis reperitur. Mare mens hominis, (jf cjuafi fiuclus maris cogitationes metitis: jungatur his educatio, qua plerumque ordinem natura interturbat. et pervertit: adjungantur Sc fines, qui adtiones hominum fpecificant,Sc tanquam fcopi funt, ad quos humana’ cogitationes colliniant : quamvis Ovidius dicat: Heu cjtiam difficile e jl crimen non 2. Metam, prodere vultu! In vultu enim et ego non negaverim Bonus Sc tanquam in Tribunali accufationes Synterefeos appa- malus ex rere :unde Sc Cleanthes illic apud Diogenem ait: vultuco- Ex specie comprehenduntur mores. gnofcunQuod iomnia attinet, cum quanta de his vanitate cor. Cardanus in Interpretationibus luis Icripfit, tantum- Cleanthes, dem averitate nullatenus aberravit,cum ait, eos qui alioquin fomniandi conluetudinem non habent, liquidem repente fomniare coeperint, aut morti, aut faltem longiturna: infirmitati vicinos elle. Id reor fenfit, ob abundantiam humorum, qui heterogenei aut mconcodti, in tali corpore detinentur, fomniarunt itaque, aut in vanum oblervarunt, qui dicunt: fomniare de capite, Principatus eventuri indicium Caput vielle, autDominii, Honoris, Ingenii, Gubernaculi, {Q1T1 per et Regiminis domeftici. Huic fententia: Sc ego fub- {omnium fcriplerim: liquidem per harc dici volunt: omnes hos inchoans Principatus, dcCelfitudines terreftres oriri Sc evanePnncipafcere ut fomnium, velphantalma. Dixit hoc PfalCUm. mifta Regius: Dormierunt fomnumfuum, et nihil invenerunt omnes viri divitiarum in manibus fisis. pfal. 72. Et paulo infra de eadem materia: Felut fomnium ibidem. Domine in civitate tua imaginem illorum ad nihilum redioes. De hac negociorum turba, de his dignitatum humanarum faftigiis, de hoc ambitu gloria:, qui terminum non invenit, S. Balilius Seleucienlis Epifcopus fic inquit: Mox una febris, aut certe pleuritis abrclib. 4 Hexaeptum hunc e medio hominum coetu rapuit, et fiplcn dor meron. ille majcflatis et gloria, ad mfomnii fimilitudinem momento dijp aruit. Et S. Chryloftomus. Fabula qu&Ex Patre damefi vitanofira. In scena aulao fublato variet aMarttneng. tes dijfolvuntur, et omnia corufcante luce avolant p0fJilm fomnia. Interrogatus Diogenes tum, cum in agone piumrchus ' vita: fus conftitutus ellet, Sc quafi fomnoientus inin Con/olatidormifceret, a Medico luo, qualiter haberet, relpononeadApoldit : Nullam fentio molefiiam, nam frater fororem ^on' anticipat, forantis mortem: Recordor Sc me quoque in flerenti adhuc a:tate mea fic cecinille : Vita noftra fomniis eft. Giaccion Debe, Mumantio, Ilio, e fagunto, E le moli cti alz.o Memfi fuperba: Fatte fpoglie dei tempo, or copre I Erba Nea le grandez.z.e lor refla un sol punto. Quanta: utilitatis lint charade rum notce. C. 2f Tai di chi dorme a /e pupille apunto II finno lufinghier pompe riferba: Ma tolto at dolce Lnganno, oh come acerba Sparvela gloria, arido i honor confunto! Dorme il regnante, e d’ alta vite mtanto Dn ramo a quel potente il crin circonda, Che pia alfigho portende augufio il manto. Si dei fafto mondan fotto ala fronda Chi fi adagia, rvmira il legno{ oh quanto Di morte alfine al A quilon fis fronda. C. INgeniosissima (fi ulla unquam inter homines fadta est) inventio charaderum fuit, tam necessaria (ut reliquorum non meminerim) potidimum Principibus, utpote quibus negotiorum iumma &c ellentia conficitur literis: dum ubi fua interdie viderint, celant qua: volunt, promilcuam plebem rurfiim autem quibus volunt, eadem propalant. His nil tam pernitiofum est, quam ii de pedore fuo iacrato exeuntes, prophana* plebi fe divulgaverint, atque ita ie malevolorum oculis expofuerint, fapientillinia, inquam,inventio, manifeftare feipfum, nec tamen cognofci, iicut Ulylles nube tedus. Sic sapienter Demaratus cum Lacedamoniis ulus est. Senatus Spartiatarum cum Belliducibus fuis, Hiftieus cum mancipiis, Bedacum Principibus, Trithemius cum focis aereis: Harpago in ventre timidi leporis coni ilia magnanimitatis abicondit. Denique his ad compoi itionem Veteris Teftamenti, per quod novum figuraretur, ipie altiffimus uti voluit. His a me rite ponderatis, qui univeriitatis utilitati servire intendo, 8c qui a Phyfionomicis inftrudus sum, et praeleram ab ingenioiiilimo viro Joanne Baptista Porta, qualiter fagaces quidam &c acuti, fe in variis corporis membris contingendo majores et principaliores Alphabeti literas exprellerint: unde etiam qua: volebant integra dida concinnare poterant, atque ita hac quahmuta eloquentia invicem fabulabantur:Ego, inquam,non ad horum intelligentiam, sed qualiter antiqui notas fuas defignaverint, expoliturus fum: ne liquando in lapidis cujusdam aut monumenti inferiptionem quis inciderit, nec propter fenfuscombinationem, Sc interpretationem, prima fronte involutam &confidam fe expedire pol- fit, vehementius in duritiem obfcuritatis offendat, quam in laxum ipfum. Propterquod,cum contingendoCaput C. literam lignificare voluerint: Quidha’clitera fola, quid conj unda cum aliis indicaverit, paucis expediam. C. itaque folum line copula alterius liter# lequentia verba denotat: Comitia, centum, Cajus, caufa, condemno. CA. AM. Caufa amabilis. C. B. Civis bonus: Civis Corynthius. C. C. Calumnia caufa. C. C. E. Caufa conventa efl. CC. Circum. CCC. DE. Tercentu, Duplex, CCC. Tp. Tercentum Terra pedes. C. C. F. Cajus, Caji filius. CS. Caufa. CA,velCAM. Camillus. CAE. Cafar. CJE. AJA. GG. Cafdrea Augufla. CAR. COfV. Carijfima Configi. CARIS. Cariffimus. CB. Commune bonum, Civis bonus. CC. Ducenti. CCER. Caufam claram Regi. CR. Contrarius. CC. confilium capit : Cefft calumnia: Caufa contractus. CS. Cujus. CDC. Quadringenta condemnatur. C D. Condignum : Quadrirtgentum. CEL. Celeres. CEN PE. vel CEAfS. PP. . Cen for perpetuus. CEN. A. Cen foris arbitratu. C. E. N. T. Centuria : Centurio. C. E. N. T. JA. Centuriones. C.F. Cajiflms. C F R. Caufa filice Regis. C H. - Cufios hortorum : Cufios Haredum. C M. Centum Scarlattim Hominis Symuolici Tom. I. millia. C I C. Cicero C. I. C. Cajus f alius Cafar. C. T. IN. Cubitos tres invenies. C f. vel C. 1. P. P . Cippius feu terminus, ut, ad tertium Cippium, feu lapidem. CIJA. Civitas, Civis. C 1 NCaufa fuffctta. cc.c CCI. P. Cubitos duos invenies plumbum. C.C.Caju Claudius. C E. JA.Clariffmus JAir. CE. F. Clariffima foemina vel familia. CE. Claudius. C.E.D.B. E. Caufam Eaudabilem. C. E. CajiEibertus, vel Eiberorum. CEBCE. Con liber u Clarijfima. C. MAR. P. Caput margine pleno C.M.Comus. CME. Centum millia. CMS. Comis. CM. Civis malus. CM. vel CA. M. Caufa mortis. COM. Comitia. CMS. Caufa malt fui. CME. Crementum multum. CME. XII. Camelos duodecim. CN. Cneus. C. N. Caj/ss nofler. CN.E. Cnei Eibertus.CO. Conjugi.C.O. Civit as omnis: Controverfa. COM. OB. Comitia obdurata. CON. Confutaris. CON. SEN. E. OR. P. QfR. Conjenfu Senatus, equeflris ordinis, populique Komani. CONS. vel CS. Confit liari us. COE. vel CE. Colonia : Coloni . COEE. Collega : Collegia. COE. Collega : Colonia: Columen. COEE.FABR. Collpoium Fabrum. C.O. H. Cohors. CONjV.Conjunxit. CONfJA. O.Conjugi obfequentiffmx. C 0 Nf~U G. M. Conjugii Mercurii CONX. Conjux.CONEIB. Conlibertus: Con liberta. CONTUB. Contubernalis. COR. Cornelius. COR. Corpus. CORN. R.F. Cornelia Regis filia. CORN. A VRS. Coronas aure as. COS. Con fui. COS.QffAR, vel IIII. Conful quarto. COSS. DESSIG. Confules defignati. CSS. Confulis. Confularis. COS. DES. Conful Dcfignarus. CP. Civis Publicus, C. P. Caffa publica. CPS. Capfa.CP .Caufa petitionis: Caufa pofuit. CPRSS, Cupreffi. C. R. Civis Romanus . CR. Creticus : Crifpus : Contraibas. C. R. C. Cujus Rei Caufa. C. R. C. P. Cujus rei caufapromifit. CS. Communis. CS. A. Cafiar Auguftus. CS. IP. Cafat Imperator, C. S. S. Cum fuis fervis. C. S. FE. Cum fuis filiis. C. S. H. Cum fuis Heredibus. C. S. P. E. Cum fua pecunia efl. CTS. Controverfia. CT. V. O. A. B. Civitas vita omnia aufert bona. C. JA. Centum viri : Clariffimus vir: Cafii Virginum. CIJA. Civis: Civitas. Civitas, CEE. Cultores, CVR. Curionum: Curiarum. Cur for. C. X. IN. AR. Cubitos decem ihvenies argentum. C.XX.1N. ADR. M. Cubitos viginti invenies aurum mirabile. Quot myfteria difcooperit, quot thelauros effodit, qua abfeondita revelata h#c admirabilis charaderum inventio, quorum indagatio nec pauca eft, nec brevis, nec expedita? Scio apud Authores antiquos, te his plura inventurum esse. Nihilominus haec qua: pradento,parca non sunt, quippe qua: plurium Authorum leduram, et fatigationem tibi in compendium redigunt. Sequuntur. In materia Adjundorum vel Epithetorum, documenta multa 8c prafferiptiones, per occasionem partium, 6c membrorum humanorum tibi occurrent, ex quibus facile videre tibi liceat, quam neceilana lint, quanerque virtutis pradata Epitheta, tam in Necessitas, arte poetica, quam oratoria: cum ex his de cor, et pulufus et qua duritudo omnis formetur. Epithetum enim est, quod litates Epi- propritates significat, interiora exponit. Illud denithetorum» que est, quod unit, dividit, separat, incorporat, declarat, et implet didionem, et periodum omnem. In Hypotypofi potillimum, aut deferiptionibus, pars eilentialis nominari poterit: per hanc enim objeda quali ante oculos statuuntur. Epithetum est, quod qualitates, conditiones, etc eiientias rerum reprarientat. Sicut in Terentio, quem citat famosissimus Co. Emanuel Thesaurus (cujus diffuliori ledtura: te remitto) qui Phormionem introducit haec dicentem:Nonno- vi hominem: cui Pamphilius respondet; Faciam ut nofcas: Magnus, rubicundus,cnjpus, craffus, eafus. Qua circumflantia:, in deferiptionibus evidentiamadjungunt objedtis,dulcedinem orationi, cognitionem partis de toto. Ut ergo hunc Tractatum tam copiosum cum omnibus circumstantiis fuis, &per atteflationem autliorum maxime illustrium concludam,primus mihi obviam procedit Martinus Capella qui caput rutilans apellat. Jffuod rutilum circum caput gejlabat. Pontanus illud Auricomum vocat: Praradiat caput Auricomum, rofeusque per auras, it decor. Strozzius illud honestum appellat: At procera caput cervix fu Ic ibat honestum. Tibullus nitidum: Nec nitidum tarda compferit arte caput. Purum Ovidius: Eonga probat facies capitis difcrimma puri. Flavum Virgilius: Summa flavum caput extulit unda. Ro- (eum Textor:Et rofeumpubens oculis, herba caput. Venale Juvenalis. Et prabere caput domine venale fub hafla. Idem ipse vacuum appellat: Nacuumque cerebro jam pridem caput. Invilum denuo Ovidius. Protinus invisum nec petet ajlra caput. Indeploratum idem. Indeploratum Procere caput. Horatius illud perfidum vocat. Obligafli persdum votis caput. Ab eodem inlanabile vocatur. Si tribus Antyciris caput infanabile nunquam Eon fori Eyctno commiferit. Laurigerum a Politiano: Eaungerum morti subjicere caput. Manto impavidum vocat. Impavidum- r que ultro caput ad tormenta reportat. Ruinofiun ab eadem nominatur: Fecla rumorum caput inclinare videbat. Ab eadem funeftum: Funcflum dirumque caput. Adhuc ab eadem implume: Implume caput Grande a Prudentio: Grande per infirmos caput excifur a miniflros. Eximium ab eodem: Servajfet caput eximium, sub Ime, beatum. Hostile a Statio. Spetlat atrox, hoslile caput. Furiale ab eodem. Obnubit furiale caput. Ab eodem adhuc venerabile. Meritaque caput venerabile quercu. Si heee tibi forte non luffecerint, copiosius Authores evolvere placeat, ex quibus tibi major fuppellex luppeditabitur. Solet Convivalis Menla, pofl cibos, necessarios, et madteas fuccoias, ut commenfialium palatus indulcoretur, inter bellaria, laporolissimos, et exquifitilfimos fiudeus proponere. Ego itaque pariter in hocTradtatu meo, in hac menla, non Lotophagorum, aut La-ftrygonum, quamvis humanis membris inftrudta, in apparatu bellariorum, fi non prout oportet, laltemin ellentia, hoc est, ad manum fiem-per habens Authores quibufeum loquor, tibi satisfacere fatagam. Et hi ipli Coci Atheniensies fiunt, quos omni scientia ad certum quendam terminum inftrudtos volunt, li fides habenda Magno Maficardio, qui Authores nominat, Athenaeum et Plutarchum. Itaque ut ego te non fine frudlu quodam dimittam, in cujusque Tradatus fine pro conclusione tibi Oden quandam poeticam offeram, qua: fi aliunde, et non de calamo meo prodierit, ficio te fipiritum aut dulcedinem in ea desideraturum non elle. Sed fi paupercula Mula mea tibi donum hoc dedent, precabor te, ut cum eam incultam, et infiulfiam adverteris, infirmitati compatiaris: siquidem etiam in habitu quandoque veteri, aut nimium prolixo, aut in lacerna vili comparuerit, nolfie oportet me Protheum non elle, qui versicolorem me pnebeam, fiemper idem lum. Nec in diebus meis histrionem unquam egille memini, ut quotidie glorier, me indumenta mea, et personam tranfimutare. Invidus fium iis, qui imitantur funambulones, tam perite fiupra funes choreas ducentes. In tanta autem vivacitate, cogitationum in tot quorundam conceptibus, et influentiis, quisque quantum potest, bilancem in a: quipondio teneat: li autem in unam vel alteram partem inclinaverit, videat ne impingat, &c Ce contubernalium rifioni exponat. Non ignoro et hic ollam mihi fiat bullientem non efle. Ad omnem nihilominus greflum pedum meorum intentus fium, ne forte procidam, cum noverim in terram hic cecidille, mortaleelle, sicut jam videre licuit. Libet mihi pedibus potius incedere, quam equo effreni, aut refradario me committere: qui me de lella excutiat, cum ficiam Hippogryphos Atlantis, et Chymreras Bellerophontis fabulofas elle. Pauci et rari fiunt, qui fiupra dorfium Pegafi fialtare noverint: et fiquidem ille cum ungvulafiua effodere Caffalium fontem potuit, quem lateat cuique fialtem licitum elle fontem hunc attingere? Hic cum perennis fit, pauperi irque jc diviti potum minillrat: qui etiam diun equi ungvula tactus Fuerit, tam pauca, quam multa luggerit: tam cui datum eft fiolis ungvulis intralle, quam totum fie immerfille. Fateor parfimoniam pedis mei, qui non nili intingere ungues potuit. Id totum retuli, ut benigne ledor occafio tibi detur, qua mihi compati velis, fiquidem ubi de deliciolis Pindi convallibus meliores irudus non attulero, quam quos tibi in hoc loco obtulille me vides: Argumentum tale etl. Laus Capitis. Supra sententiam Philonis, ubi ait: Ubicunque fate/litium Regium efl, ibi Rex fatellitio Jhpatus fedem habet. Sed totum anima fatcllitium, sensuum nempe organa in capite sta funt. Del medemo suo Autore eccelsa Imago, A cui pur volle il Creator Sovrano, Ne lia gr and opra efercitar la mano, Se flejfo in lei d'effgiarfi vago. Sfavilli il Sole, e folgoreggi il Fago, Futto e creato al beneficio humano: Infufe l’Alma in lui: celefle arcano: Onde foffe di glorie altero, e pago. Come qualos di chi mirar s’avenne Sotto al suo Redi purpurati Eroi, Glorioso Senato in Di folenne, In fmil guisa a miniflri fuo i Principi numerar subditi ottenti e, Se potenz.e vitali il capo in noi. Nome compiuto: Giovanni Bovio. Keywords: implicature di ‘animale parlante’, ‘un tono, una figura’ – homo symbolicus, Aristotele, Grice – i gesti e suoni degli animali sono signi – i suoni e i gesti dell’uomo sono simbolo. Non e manifestazione – delo – chiaro – la manifestazione o rivelazione appertiene all’animale – nell’uomo il simbolo e arbitrario, e ‘ad placitum.’ NB Refs.: Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, “Grice e Bovio,” The Swimming-Pool Library, Villa Speranza, Liguria, Italia.

 

Luigi Speranza – GRICE ITALO!; ossia, Grice e Bozzelli: la ragione conversazionale e l’mplicatura conversazionale di Lucano – su Catone il Giovane – Catone in Utica – scuola di Manfredonia – filosofia pugliese -- filosofia italiana – Luigi  Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, The Swimming-Pool Library (Manfredonia). Filosofo pugliese. Filosofo italiano. Manfredonia, Foggia, Puglia. Grice: cf. tragic dialogue – Oreste a Pilade – and Enea’s Niso e Eurialo’ – Grice: “Not to mention the rape of Lucrezia, and Romolo killing Remo, and the rest of it.” -- Grice: “You’ve got to love Bozzelli; at Oxford, it would be difficult to find an English philosopher interested in English tragedy, but Bozzelli’s expertise is ‘tragedia romana’ – Ercole and the rest! Philosophically, Bozzelli speaks indeed alla Aristotle of the tragic – alla Nietzsche, too – since ‘lo tragico’ is possibly a philosophical category – On top,  if I have been called a mimetist, so is Bozzelli – ‘lo tragico’ becomes an adjective, and qualifying ‘imitation’ – Aristotle’s principle for mimesis and tragedy as meant for catharsis – with Bozzelli, it is ‘imitazione tragica.’ He wisely skips (almost) the Middle Ages and reviews ‘tragedia romana’ and how it becomes ‘tragedia italiana’!” Noto per essere stato l'estensore della Costituzione del Regno delle Due Sicilie. Dopo le scuole secondarie dagli Scolopi, Studia a Napoli. Laureatosi, entra nell'amministrazione statale: uditore giudiziario presso il Consiglio di Stato. Entra nella sopraintendenza della Salute, dapprima come ispettore generale e poi come segretario. Nello stesso tempo si dedica all'attività metafisica. Pubblica "Poesie varie" una antologia di versi scritti secondo il gusto del XVIII secolo. Di sentimenti liberali, prese parte ai moti costituzionali che gli costarono dapprima la prigione e successivamente un esilio che trascorse in Francia. Durante l'esilio espose in numerosi saggi le sue concezioni politiche di liberale moderato, fautore di una monarchia costituzionale e avverso al programma democratico-radicale. Scrisse inoltre saggi filosofici di etica e di estetica. Rientra in patria. La fama di grande cultura e di integrità morale acquistata durante l'esilio, lo garante un grande prestigio all'interno del partito liberale delle Due Sicilie. La sua popolarità divenne ancora più grande dopo un nuovo periodo di prigionia assieme a Carlo Poerio e a Mariano d'Ayala. Pertanto, dopo l'inizio dell'insurrezione siciliana e incaricato dal presidente Serracapriola di preparare il decreto reale che fissa i principi costituzionali. Nominato ministro degli Interni, in sostituzione di Cianciulli, con l'incarico di stendere il testo della Costituzione.  Dapprima  fautore, con Poerio ed Ayala, dell'idea di ripristinare la Costituzione napoletana. Tuttavia, poco dopo si convinse della necessità di stendere carta costituzionale completamente nuova, un compito che porta a termine da solo e in soli dieci giorni. La costituzione delle Due Sicilie approntata da lui e composta di 89 articoli. Rcalca di fatto sia la Costituzione francese (eccetto nei punti in cui si trattavano le autonomie locali) che la Costituzione belga. La sua Costituzione venne tuttavia criticata immediatamente dai democratici perché non offer sufficienti garanzie di libertà ai cittadini, limita i diritti elettorali su base censuale e lascia al Re ampi poteri discrezionali. Venne escluso dal governo costituzionale di Troya per divergenze sulla politica estera (e contrario alla guerra contro l'Austria). Partecipa invece, come ministro degli Interni e dell'Istruzione Pubblica, al governo Spinelli costituito dopo il colpo di mano di Ferdinando II. Sebbene il suo'intento e quello di mitigare la reazione regia e affrettare il ritorno alla legalità, venne accomunato dall'opinione pubblica nel discredito del governo delle Due Sicilie, nonostante fosse sostituito agli Interni con Vignali per ordine dello stesso Ferdinando II. Si ritira a vita privata avendo come unica fonte di reddito la pensione maturata per essere stato consigliere di stato. Con la conquista del Regno delle Due Sicilie il nuovo Regno d'Italia gli revoca anche questa. Supremo Magistrato e Soprintendenza Generale di Salute delle Due Sicilie, Giornale di tutti gli atti, discussioni e determinazioni della Sopraintendenza Generale e Supremo Magistrato di Sanità del Regno di Napoli. In occasione del morbo contagioso sviluppato nella città di Nola. Napoli: nella Stamperia Reale. Poesie varie. Napoli: da' torchi di Giovanni de Bonis. La strega di Manfredonia. Napoli: Guida. Della imitazione tragica presso gli antichi e presso i moderni: ricerche del cavalier Bozzelli. Lugano: Ruggia. Dizionario biografico degli italiani. Per quanto voglia rifrugarsi attentamente negli annali della filosofia romana, risalendo fino all'epoca in cui la conquista della Macedonia menò con altri a Roma Panezio, e per mezzo di essi fe’scintillare i primi raggi di una positiva coltura filosofica tra quei feroci repubblicani, è difficil cosa il concepire quali sono ivi le origini, quali segnatamente i progressi del concetto del tragico. – CATONE UTICENSE: tragedia? TRAGEDIA PRETESTA – INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA? LA MORTE DI DIDONE? IL FRATRICIDIO DI REMO? GL’ORAZI E I CURIAZI – MARCO – COROLIANO? L’ASSASSINIO DI GIULIO CESARE? Non possiamo di rettamente giudicarne da ciò che tentarono in questo genere Andronico e Gnevio, Ennio e Pacuvio, i quali precedettero il principato di Ottaviano; perchè le loro opere non sono giunte insino a noi. Lo stesso è a dirsi relativamente a quelle che furono scritte alquanto più tardi, quali, a cagion d'esem pio, furono la Medea di Ovidio e il Tieste di Vario, con altre molte che le ingiurie de' tempi ci hanno ugualmente involate. Questo fatto notabile ci vien però attestato da Orazio, che alla sua età la moltitudine interrompea spesso ne' teatri la rappresentazione di una favola tragica, per chiedere che se le desse invece a spettacolo un combattimento di fiere o una pugna di accoltellanti: ond' egli stimava che ciò scoraggiasse o distraesse i poeti dall'intraprendere quella carriera. Ecco i suoi versi all'uopo: Saepe etiam audacem fugat hoc terretque poetam, Quod numero plures, virtute et honore minores, Indocti, stolidique, et depugnare parali, Si discordet eques, medio inter carmina poscunt Aut ursum, aut pugiles: his nam plebecula gaudet. Il fatto dee tenersi per innegabile. Orazio lo afferma sto ricamente; nè può supporsi ch' ei si piacesse di mentire in faccia a ' suoi proprii contemporanei, ed allo stesso Augusto, a cui quei versi erano indirizzati. Ci vorrà intanto esser per messo di non consentir di leggieri nella induzione ch'egli ne cava, dando quel disordine, vergognoso invero a un popolo incivilito, a motivo di scoraggiamento ne' poeti. È certo che una simile plebecula esisteva pur essa in Atene, quando la tragedia vi nacque; e, gridando d 'impazienza che tal novità non avea niente a fare con Bacco, ella ben avrebbe gradito di veder piuttosto satiri, col volto intriso di feccia di vino, avanzarsi giocondi sopra ornate carrette per divertirla con racconti osceni e con ditirambi da ebbri. Non però Eschilo ne fu smagato. Forte del sentimento ardito che lo ispirava, e della profonda conoscenza che acquistato avea del cuore umano, ei seppe con la occulta seduzione operata da' suoi prodigiosi dipinti, innalzare il popolo insino a lui; e riem piendolo di maraviglia e di stupore, obbligarlo ad accoglier le sue opere co ' più straordinarii applausi, per cosi produrre una rivoluzione istantanea nella maniera di sentire, non già guasta, ma non ancora educata, del pubblico, in fatto di tragedia. E un simil fenomeno fu osservato poco tempo dopo, rela tivamente alla commedia greca. Il basso popolo, avvezzo a udir sulla scena il licenzioso linguaggio Aristofane, e a vedervi rappresentate sconce o grossolane situazioni, benchè sempre condite di un lepore comico ammirabile, mal sofferse che Cratino, cangiando sistema per la ingiunzione delle nuove leggi che miravano a reprimere quello scandalo, gli offrisse a spettacolo più decenti orditi; e un giorno andò fino a scacciarlo dal teatro con tutta la comitiva de' suoi attori. Chi non lancerebbe a piena mano i motteggi e il disprezzo su tanta corruzione di gusto e di costumi? E questo esempio frattanto non valse a scoraggiar Menandro, il quale, creando la nuova commedia, la depurò delle antiche sozzure, e ne fu coperto di lodi. Il popolo adunque s'increbbe non del decoro dell'azione, perchè lo applaudiva in Menandro, bensi del poco senno e della insipidezza onde Cratino, che era un me diocrissimo poeta, si avvisò di adombrargliela: ed era natu rale, se non lodevole, ch' ei preferisse le lascivie che gli te neano sveglio ed ilare il sentimento, ad una decenza freddis sima che lo facea sbadigliar di noia. Or fu il citato disordine che impedi ad un Eschilo di apparire, o non piuttosto la man canza di un Eschilo che suscitò un tal disordine in Roma? Questo problema non è sfuggito' a' critici moderni: e, benchè tutti lo abbiano riguardato da un solo aspetto, e non forse il più sicuro, ciascuno ha pur tentato di scioglierlo a suo modo. Interpretando a capriccio, ed oltre misura esten dendo il frizzo di Orazio, alcuni hanno attribuito quella penu ria di tragici presso i Latini alla grande ignoranza del popolo, il quale, avviluppato nelle sole abitudini di una vita pratica e materiale, non offria stabil presa a' poeti da esaltarlo ad alti concepimenti con lo spettacolo di azioni drammatiche. Altri ha soggiunto che ciò inoltre derivasse dall'affluenza de' tanti stranieri ammessi a cittadinanza, i quali aveano tras formata la città di Roma in un miscuglio informe di nazioni senza omogeneità nelle maniere di credere, di vivere e di sentire. I più arditi alfine, risalendo a cagioni ancor più uni versali, han pensato spiegar l'enigma con la mancanza presso che ivi assoluta di tradizioni eroiche, di abbaglianti remini scenze, di antichità remote, le quali, ricongiungendo l'ori gine delle umane razze a quella delle razze celesti, furono si feconde di nazionale orgoglio e di spontanee ispirazioni presso i popoli della Grecia. Esaminiamo in breve ciò che può es servi di falso e di vero in queste diverse ipotesi. Innanzi tutto, allor che gli eruditi con si franco animo attribuiscono il difetto di tragici ne' Latini alla grande igno ranza del popolo, par ch' essi non abbiano presente di quella storia se non lo splendido periodo in cui le vacche di Evandro ivano mugghiando non custodite per le strade ancor de serte di Roma. Se non che la curiosità dell'osservatore non è suscitata che dal vedere quel difetto continuarsi nel cosi detto secolo di Augusto, il quale vantò storici ed oratori e naturalisti e filosofi e giureconsulti di tanta eccellenza; e pro dusse in breve spazio di anni nobili poesie di ogni genere, se non di conio eccelsamente originale, ritemprate almeno con felicità portentosa e con mirabile forza d'immaginazione. Quando dunque con la parola popolo non voglia significarsi una frazione infinitesima della società, quella pretesa igno ranza in tanto apogeo di coltura intellettuale rimane incom prensibile, come l'idea di un vasto incendio che si súpponga scoppiato senza materie combustibili atte a servirgli di ali mento. Ed a chi volesse limitar l'accusa ad un solo oggetto, domanderei, onde tanta cecità in quel popolo per la ' sola poesia tragica, in mezzo a tanto e si dilicato senso di ammi razione per tutte le altre arti gentili? Noi ignoriamo alle opere drammatiche di qual poetonzolo il popolo impaziente facesse l ' oltraggio di cui parla ORAZIO. Quel si discordet eques, che questi non obblia d'indicarne a motivo, può interpretarsi in tante maniere !.... È certo non esservi memoria che ivi fosse interrotta del pari la rappresen tazione delle commedie di Plauto e di Terenzio: ed è sopra tutto nota la lusinghiera accoglienza che il primo eccitava sempre da parte degli spettatori. Taluno ha preteso che ciò dipendesse dalle troppo libere immagini onde talvolta questo comico solea rifiorire il suo dialogo: ma, non essendo questa libertà da imputarsi al nodo de ' suoi orditi, è poco presumi bile ch'ei fosse unicamente applaudito per l'espressione licenziosa degl’ornati. Senza che il divulgato aneddoto, che un fre mito di assenso e di approvazione universale si levò un giorno nel pubblico, udendo dire a un personaggio teatrale, Homo sum, nihil humani a me alienum puto, prova interamente il contrario: anzi ci dà a divedere di qual gusto squisito e di qual diritto senso morale fossero allora dotate le genti latine; poiché quel motto, riunendo in sė poetica bellezza a filosofica verità, par dettato alle muse latine nella santa scuola di Ari stide e di Focione. In quanto al concorso degli stranieri ammessi a cittadi nanza, per effetto del quale si è voluto far di Roma una Ba bele, in cui per la diversità de' linguaggi l'uno per poco non intendea più l'altro, mi sia permesso di riguardarlo come una esagerazione di dati e di conseguenze ugualmente privi di rea lità. Allor che il dritto di cittadini romani concedevasi a in tere popolazioni, come avvenne a molte del Lazio e prima e dopo lo stabilimento della repubblica, queste non trasmi gravano subito, a guisa di mulacchie, per andarsi ad attendare nel recinto de'sette colli: e allor che si conferiva quel dritto a semplici individui, eran questi ordinariamente principi e magnati che il senato volea rendere a sè benevoli, soffre gando loro quel titolo reputato, come avvenne a tanti celebri Germani, Celti ed Iberi, i quali essi stessi non sempre lascia vano le loro patrie per dimorare stabilmente in Roma. Nella sola classe de servi, il numero degli stranieri era immenso per l'abuso delle conquiste: ma nè il teatro era instituito pe’servi o frequentato da servi, nè la potenza de liberti usciti del loro seno, che infestarono Roma delle loro turpitudini, appartiene al secolo di cui qui si tratta. Una massa di veraci e purissime antiche razze romane esisteva dunque in quel centro di universal dominio, a cui i tragici poteano indiriz zarsi con buon successo: e l'osservazione che siegue ne dará evidentemente la prova. I latini scrittori non ebbero tutti la culla alle falde del Tarpeo; ne vennero dalle diverse regioni d'Italia, e sin dal l'Asia, dall'Africa dalla Spagna: ' e non dettavano al certo le loro opere ne' dialetti municipali o nelle straniere favelle 1 CICERONE, VITRUVIO, ORAZIO, OVIDIO nacquero in quel che oggi chiamasi regno di Napoli: Catullo, LIVIO (si veda), Cornelio Gallo, VIRGILIO (si veda), in quel che oggi chia masi regno Lombardo - Veneto: Plauto e Properzio nacquero nell'Umbria, Sal Justio ne' Sabini, Tacito in Terni, l'ersio in Volterra, Plinio il giovinc in Como: Fedro fu trace, Terenzio cartaginese; e più tardi Columella, Seneca, Marziale, Lucano, furono spagnuoli, ec., ch'essi erano stati avvezzi a balbettar nell'infanzia, ma in quella lingua nobile, purgata, numerosa, che, parlata gene ralmente in Roma, ogni di s’illeggiadriva e si magnificava nelle strepitose discussioni del fòro e della tribuna. Or come spiegar questo fenomeno allor che si niega ivi l'esistenza di un fondo, e di un fondo estesissimo di ingenua romana gente, la quale avesse quella rigorosa omogeneità nelle maniere di credere, di vivere e di sentire, senza cui una lingua nè sì forma, nè s'ingrandisce, nè si conserva? Era dunque per incantar le orecchie de' non Latini, che quegli scrittori avean cura di esprimersi nel più gentile latino idioma? era con la grammatica scarmigliata e con la mozza fraseologia de' Germani, de' Celti, degl'Iberi e de' Britanni di quella età, che si giudicavano meritevoli di elogio le tante sublimi opere di poesia, di storia e di eloquenza che videro ivi la luce? E può mai supporsi composta d'ignoranti o barbari quella folla di popolo che, siccome TACITO narra, uditi un giorno in teatro alcuni versi di VIRGILIO, tutta si levò in piedi con entusiasmo spontaneo, e fecegli riverenza come se fosse stato Augusto? Ne’ teatri di Roma erano stabiliti seggi distinti pe'con soli, pe’ senatori, pe' pontefici, pe' tribuni, pe' magistrati d'ogni ordine e d'ogni specie, e fin anche per le vestali; chè sotto il principato di Tiberio troviamo un decreto del senato, con cui si conferisce a Livia il privilegio di seder tra le vestali negli spettacoli. E dee dirsi che i vecchi sopra tutto li fre quentassero; essendo ivi legge antica, la quale obbligava i giovani, ovunque nelle sale degli spettacoli un vecchio si pre sentasse, a levarsi immediatamente in piedi, e cedergli il luogu per venerazione. Di questa massa principalmente for mavasi colà dunque il pubblico de' teatri: ed a questa massa dovea senza fallo aver Terenzio la mente, allor che asseriva non esser altro lo scopo di un poeta drammatico, se non quello di far gradire al popolo spettatore le favole ch'egli or diva; onde esclamò nel prologo dell’Andriana: Poeta cum primum animum ad scribendum appulit, Id sibi negoti credidit solum dari Populo ut placerent quas fecisset fabulas. Or io ripeto: era per lusingare un popolo di barbari e d'igno ranti che quel Cartaginese mettea tanto studio nel portar la favella de’ Latini al sommo della grazia e dell'eleganza, era per lusingar barbari ed ignoranti che Lelio e Scipione, rino mati a quei giorni per saviezza, per virtù e per credito, con fortavano questo poeta de' loro benevoli aiuti e de’ loro illu minati consigli? È fuor di dubbio finalmente che ad attingere svariate ma terie di rappresentazioni tragiche i Romani ebbero anch'essi dovizia di memorie nazionali ed eroiche; ove guerre di pas sioni, assedi di città, imprese di vendetta, mutamenti di sta ti, ratti di donne, e fratricidi e commozioni e rovesci e ma raviglie di ogni specie si succedono e si confondono ad im prontar di poetica grandezza le più lontane origini di quel popolo. Nè al mio soggetto fa ostacolo che quelle famose tra dizioni siensi trovate spoglie di storica certezza dalla nuova scuola in questo genere, che, aperta dal Vico in Italia, ė stata poi continuata dagli Alemanni. Verità o favole, storie positive o allegorie inventate per vaghezza di portenti, basta per me il sapere che eran generalmente divolgate e facean parte delle credenze pubbliche de' Romani a' tempi della loro intellettuale coltura. Per quanto infatti si tenga oggi per as surda la venuta di Enea in Italia, è pur vero nondimeno, e TACITO non isdegna di attestarlo gravemente, che la famiglia de' Giuli, perché supposta discendere da quel Troiano, si ri guardava di buona fede come del sangue di Venere. Le menti anzi con tal fervore si pascevano di siffatte finzioni, che dopo averle vagheggiate in quei vecchi canti rozzissimi che ne ser barono da prima le oscure reminiscenze, le videro un giorno con applauso universale rinfrescate di si egregi colori ne' qua dri dell’Eneide, la quale può da questo lato considerarsi co me un vasto tesoro delle più remote antichità latine. E se non vi ebbe tra’ Romani quella profusione di celesti discendenze onde i Greci avean abbellite le origini delle loro più insigni razze principesche, pur nondimeno una illusione prestigiosa, capace ivi d'imprimere forte movimento a tutte le facoltà poetiche, preoccupava tenacemente gli spiriti. E fondavasi nell'immagine di Roma, per memorandi oracoli riguardata come potenza eterna, invincibile, dominatrice; in nanzi a cui tutti i popoli della terra doveano tardi o presto piegar la fronte sommessi; che i numi stessi del cielo non aveano forza di abbattere; che la religion civile avea riposta finalmente a simbolo d'immensità fra le tenebre misteriose onde nell’Olimpo era inviluppato lo stesso Destino. Sicché ad un Romano bastava il tenersi parte integrale di questa città per credersi di discendenza più che celeste, e trovar nell'esaltazione di cosi nobile sentimento l'alito animatore di tutte le grandi imprese nelle arti della pace, come in quelle della guerra. E a far della tragedia una creazione indigena, oltre all'abbondanza delle loro nazionali antichissime vicen de, oltre a quel fermento di orgoglio che l'immagine di Roma suscitava in tutti, i Romani ebbero il medesimo o pri mitivo impulso che per facili associazioni d'idee la fe ’ nascere dalle feste di BACCO ne' Greci; avendo pur essi posseduto in certa guisa i loro Epigeni e i loro Tespi negli autori di quelle rinomate favole Atellane, che veniano rappresentate sopra palchi ambulanti nelle pubbliche solennità. Rimosse adunque come false o mal distinte le spiegazioni addotte sinora intorno all'oggetto che ci occupa, e sino a quando da’ricercatori dell'antichità non ne sieno poste innanzi delle meglio fondate, a me non resta che di attenermi al nudo fatto, quello cioè che grandi e veri tragedi mancarono assolu tamente a Roma per trasportar l' animo anche de' più ritrosi nella sublimità di questo genere di produzioni; e non conve nir quindi trattar con troppo di asprezza il popolo che osò far sene beffe. Nè poi questo fatto è realmente unico: chè lo veggiamo più volte ripetuto nella storia delle lettere moder ne. Or domando: trovandoci spiacevolmente arrestati dalla penuria di siffatte opere presso i Romani della età di OTTAVIANO, scenderemo noi ad attinger ivi contezza di quest'arte dal solo teatro di Seneca, apparso in tempi ne'quali, non che annien tata ogni reliquia dell'antica virtù, libertà ed altezza di so ciali condizioni, la stessa lingua che risonò con si dolce fre mito ne’versi di Catullo e di Orazio, di Lucrezio e di Virgilio, cra caduta quasi che pienamente nel fango? In verità, se per avventura il popolo romano potesse risorgere alcun poco da quel sepolcro che si erge smisurato al par di lui nella immensità de' secoli, e ricollocarsi gigante qual era nel periodo della sua letteraria grandezza, non so se oserebbe assumer senz' onta titoli di gloria per l'arte tragica, indicando unicamente codesto suo retore famoso, che rubò non saprei donde la maschera di Melpomene per introdursi sconosciuto nella schiera degli eminenti e benemeriti cultori di lei. Eppure, avendo egli acquistata una celebrità che nel suo genere assomigliasi di molto a quella di Erostrato, non è più concesso a' di nostri di tacerne, senza destar maraviglia ne' più timorati. Ognun rammenta che il Corneille, il Racine e l'Alfieri, benchè, grazie alla dirittura delle loro menti, uscissero incontaminati dalla compagnia di questo autore, non però sdegnarono di corteggiarlo: ognun rammenta che fra quei veterani dell'erudizione classica, i quali dal decimoquinto secolo in poi attesero con si lunghe vigilie a impinguar di chiose, di comenti e di elucubrazioni d'ogni specie tutte le opere de' Latini, i più valenti si fecero suoi campioni. Ma vi è alcun lume a trarre dall'autorità di questi ultimi, quando noi li veggiamo per troppa carità di patrocinio avvolgere i loro panegirici in mille ampollose stranezze, e storti giudizi; e contraddizioni evidentissime? Eccone in breve alcun passeg giero esempio. Giulio Cesare Scaligero sostiene che le tragedie di Se neca non sono per maestå in nulla inferiori a quelle di tutti i Greci, e che anzi per ornamenti e per grazia superano di molto le tragedie di Euripide. Questa bestemmia, uscita francamente dal labbro autorevole del patriarca de' dotti, non fu combattuta nel suo general dettato: ma i confratelli di lui della medesima scuola non si peritarono d'indebolir la, accapigliandosi bizzarramente fra loro per emendarla ne' particolari. Non si può senza rimanere attoniti percorrere quel che ne scrissero a vicenda Giusto Lipsio, Daniele Einsio, Giuseppe Scaligero, ed altri moltissimi che sarebbe infinito il citare. Uno trova la Tebaide si bella da crederla degna del secolo di Augusto; l'altro prendendo scandalo di questo giu dizio, la estima indegna della stessa penna di Seneca. Questi antepone la Troade a quanto sul medesimo argomento ci ha uno, di più alto fra i Greci; quegli la dichiara bruscamente opera di un poeta da bettola. Qui si esalta come magnifica l' Ottavia; lå si deprime come la più vil cosa della terra. E avvisi di tal sorta, non pur diversi, ma del tutto opposti fra loro, baste rebbero da sè soli a spandere il discredito su quel teatro: pe rocchè il bello è come il vero; e la natura doto gli uo mini, con più o meno di piezza, ma indistintamente tutti, della facoltà di scernerlo dovunque splende: sì che dissen sioni cosi risaltanti non possono altrimenti spiegarsi, che at tribuendole tutte a un inesplicabile delirio. Noi non vorremo a ogni modo, usando di un metodo che il buon senso condanna, nè accoglier cieche prevenzioni con tra il teatro di Seneca, sol perchè i giudizi che se ne fecero da molti sono fra loro contradittorii; nè cercar troppo innanzi ne'motivi da cui que' giudizi medesimi derivarono in tempi ne' quali era vastissima l'erudizione, ma non ancor nata la critica. Astretti a parlarne un po' minutamente, non foss' altro per indicarlo a' giovani poeti come uno scoglio fu nesto, a cui senza pericolo di naufragio non è lor permesso di avvicinarsi, il nostro cammino intorno a questo autore sarà più spedito e più breve. Indagheremo da prima di qual tempra fossero le potenze costitutive del suo ingegno, le tendenze morali che il dominavano da presso, le filosofiche dottrine ond’ era inflessibilmente preoccupato, e qual necessaria in fluenza esercitassero le particolari circostanze del secolo in cui visse, a rafforzare ed estendere queste predisposizioni del suo essere. Scendendo in seguito all'esame imparziale de' fatti, ci avverrà forse di scoprire ch ' ei fu il discepolo ingegnoso nelle cui mani ebbero sviluppo ed incremento i germi delle innovazioni di cuiEuripide fu l'inventore; e ch'egli pervenne ad esagerarle ne' più strani modi, a crearne delle più mo struose ed ardite, ed a svolger cosi l'attenzione pubblica dalle originarie bellezze ond'Eschilo e Sofocle aveano rivestito que sto ramo dell'arte. In assai fresca età SENECA era stato condotto di Cordova sua patria nella capitale del mondo; e correano forse gli ultimi anni del regno di Augusto. Vi fece i suoi studii sotto la dire zione di quei celebrati retori e filosofi, i quali prendeanvanto d'insegnare a'loro allievi tutte le scienze umane e di vine: concutiebant foecunda pectora, ut inde omnigenas cogitationes exprimerent. Dotato di uno spirito severo, vi goroso, penetrante, abbracciò le dottrine della setta stoica che ancor predominava in Roma; dedicossi alla carriera del fòro, ove acquistò riputazione di felice oratore, e mancò poco che un tal successo non gli riuscisse funesto, perchè suscitò le gelosie del frenetico Caligola. Fu avido di gloria e di sape re; ma e altresì di onori e di ricchezze; e a procacciarsi que st' ultimo intento gli era mestieri di un mecenate. Ne trovo uno efficacissimo in Domizio Enobarbo, rinomato a quei tempi per credito e per potenza, perchè del sangue de' Cesari: ed è fama che Seneca gli pervertisse la moglie, quasi a dargli un pronto attestato di riconoscenza per la protezione ottenutane. Se non che la nerezza di questo attentato pare attenuarsi nel rammentare che quella moglie fu Agrippina, il cui nome non venne mai registrato per avventura nel novero delle vestali: tal che non può determinarsi con sicurezza s'ei fosse il sedut tore o il sedotto. Ne’primi anni dell'impero di Claudio, accusato da Messalina di aperta complicità nelle turpitudini di Giulia, nipote di quel principe, fu esiliato duramente in Corsica, fosse vera o non vera la sua colpa. Ivi compose il suo libro de Consolatione, in cui adulò bassamente l'imperadore, e lo indirizzò a un costui favorito liberto, perchè quei servili omaggi non si restassero ignorati e senza effetto: il che non impedi che più tardi, non avendo più cagioni da temerne, gli scrivesse contro una velenosissima satira. Non si potrebbe definir net tamente s'ei mentisse innanzi alla sua coscienza quando pro fuse le lusinghe o quando scagliò le ingiurie: è certo che, toccando in cosi brusca guisa i due opposti estremi, non mo strò di avere un culto troppo edificante per gl'interessi della virtù e della verità. Intanto Agrippina avea lanciato l'inco modo marito nella eternità; e, divenuta sposa di Claudio suo zio, dopo l ' uccisione di Messalina, sua prima cura fu di ri chiamar Seneca dall'esilio. Reduce in Roma, ei fu accolto festosamente in corte, decorato delle insegne pretorie, e dato a precetlor di Nerone, il quale tenne a fortuna il poter apprendere da tanto maestro le scienze morali, le lettere genti li, e l'arte di regnare, a cui Agrippina sua madre occulta mente lo destinava. Ignoro quai progressi facesse quel giovinetto eroe nella pratica della virtù: so che non ne fece molti nelle lettere, perchè fu pessimo poeta e scrittor da nulla: e si segnalò solo nella perizia del canto e della musica, che non gli furono cer tamente insegnati da Seneca. Quindi è che, proclamato impe radore ad esclusione di Britannico, più prossimo erede del trono, bisognò a Seneca dettargli le orazioni, le lettere, i re scritti da recitarsi o da inviarsi al senato: e divenne questa per lui una nuova sorgente di gloria, essendosi divulgato in Roma che que' lavori eran suoi, e che Nerone parlava imboc cato. La voluttà che egli traea da questo genere di distrazioni intellettuali, si trasformò subito per esso in cosi dolce abitu dine, che, avendo quel pietoso principe ucciso prima il fra tello e poi la madre, ei non seppe resistere al solletico di scri verne le apologie da comunicarsi a’ Padri, in nome di lui: e non già ch'egli approvasse quei misfatti, ciò disdicendosi a filosofo; ma per non defraudar forse il popolo romano di una elegante perorazione in favor del fratricidio e del matricidio. Si può comprendere quanto ei si rendesse caro al suo augusto allievo per cotai servigietti, a ' quali aggiugnevansi quelli di essergli sempre intimo consigliere nelle alte cure dello stato, e talvolta per indulgenza verso la troppo fragile gioventù, anche mezzano in qualche intrigo d'amore con le sue liberte. Fu quindi colmato di ricchezze, che Tacito porta fino a trenta milioni di sesterzii; si fabbricò magnifiche abita zioni in villa ed in città; tolse in isposa la bella Paolina; e cercò di obbliare nell'opulenza i dispiaceri che gli cagiona vano i piccoli traviamenti a cui Nerone lasciava di tanto in tanto trasportarsi per eccesso di zelo in vantaggio del buon [Fu alla morte di Claudio, che Seneca, immemore de' mendicati favori, onde questi lo avea ricolmo, gli detto contra, sotto il titolo di Apocolokintosis, la satira di cui è detto pocanzi. Fa meraviglia che Agrippina potesse in questo li bello veder con tanta indifferenza smascherate le brutture di una Corte, di cui essa era l'arbitra. Ma vi si parlava della grand'anima di Nerone, il quale dovea succedere al defunto principe, come il più degno: e ciò spiega tutto l'enigma.ordine; traviamenti che Seneca vedea col medesimo occhio del suo collega Burro, morens et laudans. Non per ciò i suoi principii stoici cambiarono d'indole; anzi si tennero sempre incontaminati. Nuotando nelle ricchezze, scrivea su di una tavola d'oro con uno stiletto di diamante massime nobilissime in lode della innocente povertà: e, ritraendosi dalle stanze di Nerone, opere della più pura morale sgorgavano dalla sua intelligenza ad esaltare i preyi- della virtù e dannare il vizio all'obbrobrio de'secoli. Ma era Seneca veramente stoico? Intendiamoci. La filo sofia stoica fu coltivata in Atene nella sua parte teorica e nella sua parte pratica. Que' savi che la professavano, aspirando a un cotal sommo bene di cui si erano formata un'idea miste riosa, spregiavano gli onori, le ricchezze, le delizie della vi ta, e viveano intemerati e paghi solo di quell'interno con tento che vien luminoso e spontaneo da una coscienza in pace con sè medesima. Da gran tempo era stata introdotta in Ro ma; e, per analogia di abitudini austere, vi fiori pura e splendida fino alla morte dell'ultimo Romano, il quale bestem miando la virtù per impeto d'indignazione, parve segnar quasi direi il cominciamento alla decadenza di quelle famose dottrine. La filosofia pratica di Epicuro, se non pur forse quella di Aristippo, sottentrava destramente a tenere il cam po: e ad assicurarle il trionfo concorreano tutte le volontà, quantunque per diversi motivi: chè quell' efferato Governo aveva interesse di evirar tutti gli animi con la corruzione, per comprimere gradatamente le forze politiche dello stato, e cosi dar base alla concentrazione di un poter unico ed assoluto: ed il popolo avea bisogno di sommergersi in tutta l'ebbrezza de' piaceri sensuali per non sentir l ' acerbo contrasto fra una servitù divenuta inevitabile, e una libertà, che, di fresco spenta, non erasi ancor tutta obbliata. Per quanto però la depravazione de' costumi fosse gene rale e progressiva, le rimembranze della filosofia stoica non erano poi del tutto cancellate: ne restavano ancora le teorie astratte, i pomposi dettati e l’esteriore affettazione de’modi: e quei ne faceva più solenne apparato che più tendeva precipito samente a seppellirsi in tutte le iniquità della vita domestica e sociale. Pur nondimeno, quando sotto i successori di Augu sto le persecuzioni inferocivano, e Roma erasi trasformata in un miserando teatro di stragi e di rapine, lo stoicismo parve risorgere a metter vigore negli animi per un solo oggetto il disprezzo della morte. Il suicidio, quest'atto si altamente riprovato dalle più sante leggi della natura e della religione, rivesti la falsa maschera di una virtù, che per nuove malva gità di tempi fu abbracciata da moltissimi. Da prima fu ispi rato da tenerezza paterna. Le condanne per imputazioni poli tiche importavano la confisca de’ beni a vantaggio de’delatori: ma il senato pendeva per la regola che un individuo non per desse il suo patrimonio, quando preveniva la condanna con morte volontaria: si che, appena un Romano sentivasi accu sato, si affrettava subito ad uccidersi, per non gittare i suoi figliuoli nella miseria. E non vi era da nutrire speranze illu sorie; perché la semplice accusa era in quei tempi una sen tenza di morte. Tiberio contraddisse; dimostrò al senato esser quella una regola scandalosa ed assurda; sarebbe mancato co' premii il coraggio a' sostegni dello stato; e intendea con questo nome indicar le spie e i delatori. Questa prima cagione di strutta, non però i suicidi diminuirono in numero ed in fero cia: restava un altro non men potente motivo a renderli po polari ed onorati: quello cioè di sottrarsi all'infamia di cadere sotto la scure del carnefice. Accesi da questo sentimento che rammentava i bei giorni della romana fierezza, vedeansi uo mini, rotti ad ogni perversità, morir da forti dopo esser vi vuti da vili. Le storie latine son piene di siffatte risoluzioni che imprimono un particolar carattere di sopraumana costanza a quei popoli, e di cui non vi ha che pochissimi esempi presso gli altri popoli dell'antichità, anche de'più famosi e magna nimi. Erano anime maschie, gigantesche nelle virtù come ne' delitti, che riunivano in sè tutti i contrari: nobili pre cetti, azioni scelleratissime, vite degradate, morti eroiche e generose. Seneca fu stoico in questo senso, perchè in que sto solo senso lo furono tutti i suoi contemporanei. Or cer chiamo di ritornare al nostro proposito con un'altra general considerazione, che metterå suggello a tutte le precedenti. ne, La fantasia non può supporsi disgiunta dagli affetti, dalle opinioni, dalle abitudini dell'uomo: chè anzi questa facoltà non sembra attinger vita se non dal concorso di tutti i feno meni sensitivi, i quali agiscono in essa per conferirle tempra e serbianze analoghe, e su i quali essa reagisce dal suo canto ad estenderne e rafforzarne l'indole: si che, immedesimati in un sol tutto indivisibile, rivestono in comune caratteri, at titudini e colori identici. Un essere morale non si forma inol tre da sè solo e indipendentemente dagli altri esseri di simil natura che lo circondano. Rarissimi sono i casi, ove pur ve ne abbia di positivi a citarne, in cui un uomo, ergendosi come gigante isolato sulla terra, ben altro che ricevere la menoma impronta dalle condizioni de' suoi tempi, sembra de stinato a comunicar loro le sue proprie fattezze, e a divenirne a un tratto l'arbitro e il modello. Nelle ordinarie occorrenze della vita, l'uomo, considerato sotto tal rispetto, può dirsi come il lento prodotto dell'azion progressiva che in esso eser cita il secolo in cui si trova; onde, ritrattane in sé l'immagi ei lo rappresenta al vivo nelle sue moltiplici maniere di vivere e di sentire. Seneca, non ostante il suo fortissimo e riflessivo inge gno, era precisamente di questa tempra; e non avea in se nulla di straordinario che lo rendesse capace di luttar con le circostanze per imprimer loro una direzione più alta. Mancava sopra tutto di quel carattere d'indipendenza che la storia ci mostra come dote inerente a tutti i grandi poeti. La condotta che ei tenne con Claudio lo prova; e in quella cheadottò con Nerone, vi è peggio. Non arrossendo in prima di asserire che Nerone col suo regno lietissimo avea fatto obbliar quello di Augusto, andò poi sino a chiamarlo amantissimo della veri tà, modello d'innocenza, benevolo e clemente a'suoi stessi nemici: e non seppe scuotere la polvere de' suoi piedi, e ri trarsi da quella fogna di nequizie, se non quando la morte violenta di Burro gli fe' prevedere la sua, e sentir la neces sità insuperabile di rassegnarvisi. Quindi la sua fantasia, svi luppata e quasi direi nutrita in mezzo a tante nefandigie, non poteva esser troppo abile a sfangarsene per trasportarsi in altri elementi, e vagheggiarvi la creazione dal suo lato pill splendido. Egli stesso par che fosse ingegnoso a spezzarne le ali con quella sua trista inclinazione ad ammassar tesori: per chè lo veggiamo accusato in Tacito di rapace, e in Dione di prestatore ad usura. E se queste imputazioni son false, con vien dire almeno che il suo procedere fosse tale da dar facile presa a simili calunnie. Basterà dunque collocarlo nella sua propria sfera per riassumere in brevi detti quali esser potessero le disposizioni del suo spirito nell ' intraprendere la carriera tragica. Vide i principati di Tiberio, di Caligola, di Claudio e di Nerone: e questo nobile quadrumvirato non era certamente fatto per ispi rargli nozioni troppo rallegranti sulla dignità della natura umana. Ovunque ei volgesse lo sguardo, non iscopriva che orrori; e profondo indagatore qual erasi delle più occulte pas sioni del cuore, non ravvisava intorno a sè che depravazione di sentimenti, sete d'oro e di dominio, tendenze alla ven detta ed alle stragi, tanto da non poter egli rappresentarsi l'uman genere, se non come una congrega di mostri, bale strati sulla terra dal genio del male, perchè vi si divorassero a vicenda. Preoccupato quindi come attore e come spettatore più nella conoscenza degli uomini che in quella dell'uomo, egli dovea per necessità sentirsi tratto a rigettare in un mondo d'illusione ogni specie d'infortunio, che, derivante da for tuiti casi, potesse rannodarsi poeticamente alla segreta in fluenza di una fatalità invisibile: e a non veder quaggiù di positivo e di reale se non delitti e virtù in contrasto, carne fici e vittime in azione, e sempre il più debole schiacciato con perfidia o con violenza dal più forte. Non altrove in fatti che su queste basi egli attese ad innalzare il suo tra gico edifizio. Determinata cosi l'idea fondamentale che dovea servir di unico anello agli orditi, era geometricamente inevitabile che a riempirli con analoga successione di parti, gli fosse pria d'ogni altro mestieri di spingere ancor più oltre il sistema di conferire intensità concentrata alle situazioni, a' caratteri ed agli affetti, onde in tal guisa tutto concorresse ad isolar le im magini per rappresentarle ne' loro nudi e più rilevati contor ni. Quindi nelle sue sceniche figure vi ha sempre, se cosi è permesso di esprimersi, un esagerato lusso di anatomia, ed una secchezza di commessure che colpisce e non incanta: nulla è in esse tracciato sopra linee ondeggianti, ove l'occhio possa riposarsi con equabile digradazione di movimenti; nulla è la sciato ad arte nelle ombre da esser supplito dalla fantasia dello spettatore. La materia de' suoi componimenti, definita per ciò appunto sin da' suoi primi sviluppi con metriche dimensioni, e le più volte attinta più da' tesori della scienza che da quelli della poesia, non poteva allora che rivestire forme rigide, scarne e prive di calore e di vita; perché non si riferiva ad alcuna flessibile immagine che dominasse da lunge a spander vaghezza ed armonia di variati colori ne' suoi dipinti. E ciò spiega nettamente il biasimevole abuso che ei fe'de' monologhi, in cui talvolta si avviene a comprender l'esposizione intera di una tragedia. Il monologo è certamente in natura. Quando le passioni fermentano, l'uomo si piace a disvelare a sè stesso i sentimenti da cui la sua anima è coster nata; e riesce così a comprimerne o a rinfiammarne l'impe to, secondo che la ragione esercita in esso un impero più forte o più debole. Ma questa rivelazione ha pur essa le sue leggi rigorose ed inviolabili. Perché abbia luogo, bisogna che in quel momento gli affetti si trovino in un certo stato di equi librio e di moderato temperamento che loro permetta di rive stir forme possibili di linguaggio. Per l'opposto, le passioni attualmente in tumulto sono mute; perchè aggorgandosi con veemenza per le vie dell'anima, la rendono incapace di espan dersi di fuori e di manifestarsi con altra eloquenza che con quella di un convulsivo silenzio: sopra tutto quando esse son prossime a risolversi in atti esterni, perchè allora si opera e non si parla; e l'azione scoppia in tanto più spaventevole, in quanto fu meno preceduta da quella loquacità importuna che l'annunzia più romorosa che devastatrice. È sol quando mo strasi grave di calma passeggiera e bugiarda, che la tempe sta minaccia una più desolante rovina. A ciò si aggiunge che la rivelazione degl ' interni affetti è propria dell'infelice e non del colpevole: poichè il primo, as sorto ne’dolori che gli vengono da vicissitudini accidentali ed estranee, sembra ne' suoi solitari lamenti voler interrogare Dio e l'universo intorno alla cagione de' suoi infortuni; dove il secondo, il quale opera per impulsioni di volontà consapevo le, apprestasi a compiere il meditato delitto, ma rifuggendo sempre dal trovarsi troppo in presenza del suo delitto; altri menti se gli solleverebbe la coscienza, e le più volte sarebbe distolto dall'iniquo disegno diconsumarlo. Quindi avviene che in questo ultimo caso il personaggio è tratto sovente a discor rere con sè stesso, non di affezioni, ma di avvenimenti: e questo in poesia drammatica è un assurdo; perchè gli avve nimenti sono di loro essenza inalterabili, e, considerati nu damente in sè medesimi, non ribollono mai nell'anima a segno da indurci a rivelarli partitamente a noi stessi per alleviarne il peso. Or si osservino da presso i monologhi di SENECA: sono spessissimo declamazioni fuori natura, det tati da intemperanza prosuntuosa di far pompa di parole, o di narrar fatti che il poeta non sa rinvenir mezzi migliori da comunicare al pubblico; e agghiacciano la immagina zione, perchè interamente privi di convenienza e di verità poetica. Si richiedea l'occhio penetrante di Aristotile per disco prire che in Euripide i cori deviavano talvolta dalla loro bel lissima ed originaria istituzione; ma non vuolsi tanto corredo di sagacità per discernere ne' cori di Seneca un simile difetto; perchè vi è portato sconciamente all'estremo, e snatura l'in dole di questa preziosa macchina teatrale per cosi ridurla scientemente ad un vano frastuono di cantici estranei all'azione rappresentata. Sono ivi d'ordinario introdotti a tener veci di sinfonie per indicare i trapassi da un atto all'altro; e quindi senza alcun legittimo scopo in quanto al fondo dell'arte; se già non fosse per dar pretesti all'autore di sfoggiar la sua abilità nella lirica. Nè vorrò qui ripetere a lungo quanto dissi nel precedente capitolo intorno alle cagioni che spogliarono il coro tragico, si efficace ne' due primi Greci, di ogni specie di drammatico prestigio. Basti aver sempre innanzi agli occhi, che questo era un danno inevitabile per qualunque poeta, il quale, pari al tragico latino, tendesse unicamente verso un genere di immagini esclusivo di ogni conforto di pompa e di espansione. Non potendo io cessar mai d'insistere sopra un oggetto che reputo importantissimo, mi sia dato di riassumerne per un'ultima volta il senso. Lo spettacolo delle sventure, dipendenti da' casi della vi ta, eccita, per l'infelice che ne soffre, una serie di compas sionevoli simpatie, le quali si prolungano di là da' recinti del teatro, e si risvegliano con forza tutte le volte che noi ci fer miamo a riflettere sul nulla della condizione umana: per con seguenza i cori riescono splendidissimi ed utili a preparare, ad accendere ed a protrarre quelle tumultuose affezioni che il poeta seppe far nascere in altri. Per l'opposto, lo spetta colo della distruzione del più debole derivata dalla malvagità del più forte, eccita meno simpatie di pietà per l'oppresso, che sentimenti di abbominio per l'oppressore: e queste non son durevoli, perchè richiamano a non so quale immagine di desolante necessità, la quale concentra l'anima in sè stessa, e non lascia luogo alla fantasia di svagare in alcuna idea di possibilità che la vittima avesse potuto sfuggire al carnefice: quindi allora non vi è alcun partito a trarre dall'intervento de' cori; perchè le passioni odiose non han nulla di effusivo da esigere imperiosamente che si dispongano personaggi in termedi per farle passar con rapidità e veemenza nell'animo degli spettatori. Non vi ha dubbio esser questi propriamente difetti che appartengono alla sola esecuzione: ma io non mi sono tratte nuto alquanto ad indicarli, se non perchè li veggo suggeriti dalla stessa particolare idea che l'autore si elesse a guida, ed a cui si ricongiungono strettamente come necessari effetti di una cagione aperta ed immutabile. E non da altro fonte derivò pure quello smisurato lusso di motti, di sentenze e di arguzie, di cui Seneca si piacque d'ingemmare con tanta pro fusione le sue tragedie, le quali da questo aspetto rassomi gliano ad una collezione di aforismi spessissimo empi e sto machevoli. L'asprezza delle situazioni si presta difficilmente ad una calda ed espansiva magniloquenza; e sembra esigere di siffatti modi saltellanti di linguaggio, che dieno scolpiti ri salti ad attitudini si rigorosamente stentate. Nè gli era biso gno di molta tensione di spirito per rinvenirne in abbondan za: bastava frequentar, come lui, le anticamere de'potenti, per ammassarne de' più spaventevoli, si veramente che ne' suoi personaggi vien rappresentata piuttosto la natura de' Latini de' suoi tempi, che la natura umana in generale: e in cotal guisa perdė fin anche il merito della invenzione. Procuriamo di somministrarne in breve una prova. Quel suo celebre si recusares, darem, dato in risposta da un principe malvagio a chi gli chiedea la morte per uscir di tormenti, non è in sostanza che il feroce motto di Tiberio, il quale osò dir freddamente a coloro che gli domandavano in grazia di far perire un Romano ch'ei perseguitava: Adagio; non l'ho ancor perdonato. Quel detto del suo Atreo: Mise rum videre volo, sed dum fit miser, appartiene di diritto a Caligola, il quale prendea diletto ad assister personalmente alla tortura delle sue vittime, per pascere i suoi sguardi nel veder messe in pezzi le loro membra: e sdegnavasi contra i car nefici che non erano abbastanza lenti nella esecuzione de' loro nefandi incarichi: e Seneca dovè udirlo più volte dallo stesso Nerone, il quale non ordinava l ' assassinio di un infelice, se non dicendo à' suoi satelliti: Fategli sentir la morte; tal che nella congiura di Pisone un suo sgherro si vantò di aver tronca la testa di un cospiratore con un colpo e mezzo. Quell'ini quo tratto della sua Medea, Perfectum est scelus — vindicta nondum, era l'espressione favorita di tutti mostri che da Silla in poi aveano insanguinato Roma. Se si confrontassero alfine le sentenze di Seneca con quelle qua e là rapportate da Tacito e da Svetonio, si troverebbe ch'esse in gran parte sono di origine storica, più che formate dalla sola riflessione del tragico. Nė la ricca merce che in questo genere gli offrivano i suoi contemporanei, gli era pur sufficiente: spigolava ne' Greci at tentissimo; e dovunque scorgea una massima atroce, era in gegnoso ad annerirla più oltre per appropriarsela. Euripide, a cagion di esempio, fe’ dire ad Eteocle nelle Fenisse, che se per possedere un trono bisognava violar la giustizia, era pur bello il divenire ingiusto: massima che il buon Cicerone dolevasi di udir sempre ripetere da Cesare, come se Cesare avesse potuto aver massime di diversa specie. Ma Seneca la trovò gretta e leggiera: una semplice violazione della giustizia avea per lui certo che di vago e d'indeterminato che non rilevava troppo l'orrore della immagine: gli bisognò quindi ritoccarla per darle maggior precisione; e fe' dire più netta mente a Polinice: Pro regno velim patriam, penates, coniu gem flammis dare. Per la patria e i penati s'intende; rap presentano il capro espiatore di tutte le colpe d'Israele: ma quella povera Argia che gli avea somministrato un esercito floridissimo, avrebbe mai potuto credere che il tenero marito fosse disposto in ricompensa a gittarla tutta vivente nelle fiamme per ottenere un trono? Non per ciò Seneca mancò sempre di altissimi dettati. Quel Siste ne in matrem incidas, profferito dal cieco Edipo, allor che dopo la morte di Giocasta ei brancolando cercava una via per uscir di quella reggia contaminata, esprime un terror profondo di cui è difficile immaginar l'eguale. Si è tanto ammirato quel Medea superest, imitato in seguito con tanta felicità dal Corneille: ma ne' frammenti che di lui ci ri mangono delle Fenisse, vi è un tratto di simil natura che a me sembra non meno poetico ed eloquente. Antigone, per metter calma nell' esule padre, gli dice affannosa: nell' uni verso intero che più ti rimane a fuggire? Me stesso, risponde Edipo con fremito disperato. Ed è immagine bellis sima, perchè disvela come lampo tutta la tremenda condizione di quell' infelice famoso. Nella stessa tragedia, Edipo, volendo nell'eccesso del suo delirio uccidersi, sollecita Antigone a porgergli il ferro col quale ei versò il sangue paterno; ed ac cortosi del silenzio di lei, esclama con impeto: hai tu quel ferro, o i miei figli lo han conservato per essi con la mia corona? E questa terribile e veramente tragica idea riceve lume dagli amari motteggi, ond' ei riversa le sue imprecazioni sugli empi fratelli, che, dopo averlo bandito del regno, sel contendeano fra loro con le armi: Me nunc sequuntur: laudo et agnosco lubens..... Exbortor aliquid ut patre hoc dignum gerant. Agite, o propago clara; generosam indolem Probate factis..... Frater in fratrem ruat.... Ciò prova senza equivoci che, almeno nel linguaggio, Seneca non mancò al certo di bei momenti di forza. Ma che va le? È forza d'un ingegno fantastico ed intemperante, che non conosce modi, non ammette leggi, e confonde spesso il su blime con lo strano. Perocchè talora, imbattendosi in un alto concepimento, non gli giova esprimerlo d'un sol tratto; ei vi ritorna le mille volte, lo stempera in mille diverse guise, ne amplifica le forme con mille ricercati contorni, ed an nientando gli effetti di prima impressione, produce sazietà e disgusto: tal altra, per troppa smania di dire e di ripetere e di girar lungamente intorno ad un medesimo dettato, inciampa senza far colpo, e va sino a render puerili e ridicoli i più tra gici caratteri; perchè le immagini di spavento ch' ei cerca di eccitare, si risolvono allora prestamente in concetti ed in arguzie di spirito, e da'concetti e dalle arguzie si passa a poco a poco a vere scene di farsa. Nè vi ha uopo d'indagarne al trove la cagione che in quella perenne boria di mostrarsi nuovo ad ogni costo, e di prender dagli aridi campi di una prevenuta intelligenza quel che non sa troppo facilmente rin venire ne' regni fertilissimi di una spontanea immaginazione. Siemi concesso di trarne un solo esempio dalle medesime Fenisse. Edipo annunzia di voler morire; ma non per le ragioni che altri per avventura supporrebbe: ama le tenebre, e desi dera procurarsene di foltissime nella notte del sepolcro, per chè quelle della sua cecità non gli sono abbastanza profonde. Antigone piange in udir questa risoluzione; non si costerni dunque l'amata figlia; non più si muoia; eidecide di piantarsi ritto sul pendio di una rupe a proporre indovinelli a’ viandanti. A questo nuovo disegno le lacrime di Antigone si aumenta no, perchè vede allora nel padre, non più indizi di cordoglio, ma di demenza; si consoli dunque la infelice, non si rinnovi la storia della sfinge. Si crederà forse ch'egli le promet tesse di sopportar con dignità e rassegnazione la sua sventu ra? No: per render la calma a quella sconsolata donzella, e darle ampio attestato della sua riconoscenza, ei le offre di volere a un cenno di lei traversare a nuoto l’Egeo, e andare a raccogliere nella sua bocca tutte le fiamme dell'Etna. Hic OEdipus ægæa tranabit freta, Jubente te; flammasque, quas siculo vomit De monte tellus igneos volvens globos, Excipiet ore. Or non doveva essere per Antigone un gran principio di con forto, udendo il cieco padre che per diminuire le angustie di lei vuol mostrarle di possedere il coraggio di Leandro e i pol moni di Encelado? Seneca finalmente sentiva in astratto, che non è poesia dove non è pompa d'immagini; e che la stessa semplicità, piuttosto che nuocere alla pompa, concorre a renderla più splendida e più evidente. Se non che obbliava che questo in dispensabile pregio di esecuzione prende la sua prima radice nell'indole stessa del soggetto, il quale spontaneamente la produce, come fiore ingenerato dal successivo sviluppo del germe che ne contiene in sè le forme vaghissime, benchè in visibili all'occhio nudo: ond'è che dove il soggetto non ne somministri gli elementi, il poeta si studia invano di crearla per sua sola opera dal nulla; specialmente allor che le dispo sizioni del suo animo lo traggono ad abbandonar le illusioni della fantasia per tutto concentrarlo nella sollecitudine di sfog giar dottrine e di annerir la natura. La sua infatti riesce sem pre pompa di esteriore apparenza, 0, per dir meglio, pompa sovrapposta e forzata, che, non ricongiungendosi per alcun legame al fondo dell'idea, degenera sovente in apertissima stravaganza, e vien come clamide imperiale, che, gittata sulle spalle di un satiro, contribuisce meno ad abbellirlo, che a farne risaltar più oltre la villana difformità. Ne addurremo più giù gli argomenti di fatto incontrastabili. Ei tolse tutti i soggetti delle sue tragedie dalla mitologia greca; nè l'Ottavia fa eccezione, perchè ormai gli eruditi convengono non esser sua. A raggiugner però quelle situa zioni richiedeasi il volo dell'aquila; ed il tragico latino avea per avventura un manto di piombo ancor più grave di quelli che Dante pone addosso a una schiera di dannati. Per valu tarne il merito in complesso, giovi poter distinguere anche in lui tre diverse maniere di concepire e di dipingere i suoi qua dri. Allor che il soggetto era di tal condizione fitta ed invariabile ch'egli non potea da verun canto cangiarne l'idea pri mitiva, s' industriava di farne un'amplificazione da collegio, e di acquistare in una specie di morbosa gonfiezza quel che dovea necessariamente perdere in forza ed in elevazione: e fu questo particolarmente il caso dell'Edipo. Quando alcuna materia se gli offriva da esagerare a suo modo l'immagine del delitto, ei sentivasi nel suo vero elemento a dar libero corso alle sue predilette tendenze: e ne diè prova nel trattar la Me dlea. Piacendosi alfine di spingere all'estremo la dipintura delle atrocità meditate, riprodusse il Tieste, quasi a chiuder la strada che altri confidasse di sorpassarlo in questo mo struoso genere. L'esame analitico di queste tre sole fra le sue tragedie giustificherà quanto finora si è detto intorno alla in trinseca tempra di questo autore. Edipo. Se un contagio sterminatore non si fosse ma nifestato in Tebe, che obbligo di ricorrere agli oracoli per ap prendere i mezzi di porvi un termine, i casi di Edipo non si sarebbero mai scoperti. Quindi Sofocle, nella magnifica espo sizione della sua tragedia su questo soggetto, parla di quel flagello, ma in poche linee: il sacerdote non ne fa menzione al re che a solo fine di spiegargli il motivo per cui tutto il popolo è accorso in atto supplice a implorare i consigli e l'aiuto del savissimo de'principi. Seneca per l'opposto, ob bliando esser quello un incidente su cui non bisognava molto fermarsi, giudicò necessario d'impiegar tutto il primo atto del suo tessuto a una minuta descrizione della peste onde la città è tribolata. Edipo, dopo aver accennata la maledizione che pesa sul suo capo di divenir parricida e incestuoso, senza che alcun ordine d'idee ancor lo esigesse, togliesi di raccon tare a Giocasta, che dovea pur supporsene istruita, i feno meni meteorologici onde quella calamità pubblica era disgra ziatamente accompagnata: calori eccessivi, calme soffocanti, torrenti disseccati, campagne isterilite, tenebre profondissi e in mezzo a questo disordine degli elementi, prodigi straordinari, apparizioni di ombre, spiriti ululanti la notte sull'alto de' tempii, e simiglianti. Usciti appena di questa prolusione di fisica sperimentale, l'autore ci introduce in una sala di clinica, menando il coro con una descrizione patologica della peste a fare una mala giunta a quella di cui ci gra tificò Edipo. Gli spasimi, le convulsioni, le febbri, l'abbatti mento delle forze, i gavoccioli, e fin la tosse che affligge gl' infermi, somministrano materie al suo canto: nė vi man cano pure i portenti: perchè le fontane versano sangue invece di acqua, forse per alcuna chimica trasformazione operata dagl'influssi del pestifero contagio. Creonte, che era stato inviato a consultar l'oracolo, giu gne al secondo atto per dire al re, che, a cessar que’mali, era volontà de’numi che l' uccisore di Laio fosse punito: nė tras cura di narrare a lungo le difficoltà incontrate dalla Pitia per destar lo spirito profetico nel suo seno e dare i responsi analoghi alle domande. Mentre il re lancia, come in Sofocle, le sue tremende imprecazioni contra il colpevole, il cieco Tire sia, seguito dalla sua figliuola Manto, che gli serve di scorta, vien sulla scena, non si sa da chi chiamato, traendosi dietro altri ministri di tempii con un toro e una giovenca per fare un sacrifizio nella reggia: e richiesto del nome dell'omi cida, protesta di non saperlo; ma i numi glielo rivelerebbero mediante quell'olocausto. La cerimonia è immediatamente disposta; e le particolarità che l'accompagnano, benchè visi bili a tutti, pur vi sono minutamente notate per mezzo di lungo dialogo tra l'indovino e la figlia, pieno di mistiche al lusioni a' futuri casi di Edipo e di Giocasta, e fin di Eteocle e Polinice, che son personaggi estranei all'azione. La fiamma del rogo scintilla de' più variati colori, ed è solcata di strisce sanguinose ed insolite, si divide in due da sè stessa, ed oltre ogni espettazione si spegne prima che le manchi l'alimento. Il vino offerto in libazione si cangia in lurido sangue, e globi di fumo si spiccano dall'altare e van rotando intorno al dia dema del re. La giovenca cade al primo colpo della scure; ma il toro spaventato sembra fuggir la luce del sole; e men tre stenta a morire, il sangue che gli sgorga dalle ferite, spandesi a coprirgli gli occhi e la fronte. Le viscere sono aperte alle vittime per leggervi il gran segreto: ma nulla vi si scorge al suo luogo, cuore, fegato, polmoni, tutto è in dis ordine: le leggi della natura vi appariscono violate: la gio venca inoltre ha concepito, e il frutto che porta nel ventre, é extrauterino; fenomeno di cui Manto pare istruita più che a vergine si convenisse. Compiuta però questa dimostrazione anatomica, il re crede invano aver tocca la meta de' suoi desiderii con la sco perta del reo; quel romoroso apparato di strane investiga zioni fu opera perduta: Tiresia dichiara esser tuttavia al buio della verità, e quindi bisognargli evocar da' regni della morte l'ombra stessa di Laio che gliela riveli. Ei parte infatti per adempiere in luoghi solitari questa specie d'incanto magico: e Creonte, che con altri fu deputato ad assistervi, ritorna ed apre il terzo atto col racconto di tutto ciò che quivi era avve nuto. Poco lungi da Tebe è una selvaggia boscaglia: ei ne descrive la posizione, gli alberi, le acque, e fino i venti che vi dominano. Tiresia ordina che vi si scavi un ampio fosso, che vi s'innalzi sopra un rogo, e vi si gittino molti animali in sacrifizio con le consuete libazioni di vino e di latte, men tr' egli intonando lugubri carmi con voce minacciosa, invoca gli spiriti ad uscir fuori dell'Erebo. Si odono allora urlare i cani di Ecate; la terra trema; e sprofondandosi apre le vora gini dell'abisso, in fondo al quale si veggono le pallide divi nità infernali passeggiar confuse con le ombre; e con esse le Furie armate di serpi, i fratelli nati da' denti del dragone di Dirce, la Sfinge che fu flagello di Tebe, e tutti i mostri spa ventevoli che abitano quel nero soggiorno. A cosi tetro spet tacolo gli astanti sono inorriditi: ma Tiresia, intrepido sem pre, invoca con maggior forza gli spettri, che a torme innu merevoli arrivano volando sulla terra, e si spandono con fre mito, lungo la selva. Ne sono indicati i nomi come in una rassegna di eserciti: e lo spettro di Laio, che sfigurato dalle ferite è l'ultimo ad apparire, annunzia infine con voce tre menda, che a rimuovere i disastri di Tebe, doveasi cacciarne Edipo, ad espiazione di aver egli ucciso il padre, e di essersi congiunto in matrimonio con la madre. Udita la narrazione di tanto prodigio, il re costernato esclama esser falsa l'accusa, perchè suo padre Polibo ancor vive, ed egli è lontano dalla sua madre Merope. Quindi sospetta che sia quella una calunnia di Tiresia per torgli lo scettro e darlo a Creonte, cui altresi ca rica di rimproveri e minaccia di morte. Si osservi di passaggio che questo sospetto è ragionato in Sofocle, perchè l'accusa vien dal labbro di un uomo qual è Tiresia: ma in Seneca è stolto, perchè quella rivelazione è fatta dall'ombra stessa di Laio che tutti hanno udita. Intanto Edipo, compreso di cruccio e di terrore, ricomparisce al quarto atto con Giocasta; e chiesti nuovi schiarimenti sulle circostanze della morte di Laio, sovviengli di aver egli ucciso un uomo pria di condursi a Tebe; e mentre alle risposte di lei i suoi timori si accrescono, un vecchio pastore corintio sopraggiugne a dirgli che Polibo avea cessato di vivere, e ch'egli era invitato ad occuparne il trono. A questo annunzio ei si piace che l'oracolo da cui fu minacciato di divenir parri cida, siesi pienamente smentito; ma, temendo egli tuttavia l'incesto, il vecchio lo affida, svelandogli che Merope non era sua madre, e ch'ei, ricevutolo bambino da un pastore di Tebe, lo fe ’ adottare in quella corte. Quest'ultimo è appellato per dichiarar la nascita di Edipo, e tutto alfine si scopre come in Sofocle. Al quinto atto un messo accorre a narrare che il re, dopo aver percorso da furioso la reggia, avea risoluto in prima di uccidersi: ma poi, avendo meglio e più filosoficamente pe sate le cose, erasi contentato di strapparsi gli occhi; e che, fatto cieco, ancor levava in alto la testa per assicurarsi s' ei lo fosse interamente, stracciando una per una le fibre che nelle cavità nude gli rimaneano, per impedir forse che qual che filamento muscolare non si trasformasse in nervo ottico a dar passagio alla luce. Edipo stesso apparisce in questo de plorabile stato; e Giocasta gli è a fianco per convincerlo che i suoi delitti erano sola opra del fato: se non che alle voci di lui, che inorridito cerca di allontanarla da sè, delibera an ch'essa di morire. In qual parte del corpo le conviene intanto ferirsi? Quistione essenziale in tanta circostanza; ond' ella la esamina con logica rigorosa, e si colpisce al ventre, che die ricetto a un figlio divenutole marito. A questo nuovo accidente Edipo riconosce sè stesso doppiamente parricida, avendo la sua disgrazia provocata la morte anche della ma Nell'Ercole all Eta di Seneca, Deianira propone presso a poco a sè stessa le medesime quistioni prima di uccidersi dre: e disperato abbandona la patria, invocando tutti i mali di Tebe a seguirlo nel suo esilio. Se per una di quelle insensate pratiche, usate nelle vec chie scuole di rettorica, un giovine studente fosse stato inca ricato dal suo maestro di fare un'amplificazione a sua guisa della greca tragedia di Edipo, io non credo che il mal senso delle descrizioni estranee all’azion fondamentale avesse po tuto esser spinto più oltre. Era serbato a Seneca il sommini strar compiuti modelli di siffatta specie di mostruosità: nė chiunque ha fior di gusto e di senno esigerà che io m'impacci a provargli un difetto sì aperto con appositi commentari; ba stando la nuda esposizione dell'ordito a convincerne senza più anche i meno veggenti. Un critico francese ha cercato di giu stificarne l'autore, allegando che quelle opere teatrali non erano destinate alla rappresentazione; e che in conseguenza il lusso delle descrizioni eterogenee avea per iscopo di ren derne meno inefficace la lettura in alcun privato crocchio di conoscitori, ove soleano venir declamate. Se non che la tra gedia è un particolar genere di poesia che ha le sue leggi sta bili e determinate: e non mi consente la ragione che queste leggi nella tragedia letta, possano esser diverse da quelle re putate indispensabili nella tragedia rappresentata. Quando uno e fisso è il genere, non può esso andar soggetto a variazioni pel vario ed accidental modo di darne conoscenza altrui. Se il poeta estimava che le ampollose descrizioni, bene o mal coerenti a un tragico tessuto, fosser le sole che avesser potuto fare impressione in un'adunanza di ascoltanti oziosi, potea comporne a suo bell'agio distaccate con titoli convenienti, senza contaminarne un'arte che non è fatta per accoglierle. Sarebbe cosi divenuto il precursore di Stazio, lasciando una collezione di Sylvæ, più o meno sopportabili, in luogo di scene tragiche meravigliosamente insopportabili. Medea. Sin dalle prime scene, sentendosi tradita e derelitta, Medea non respira che sangue ed eccidii: ma gli eccidii e il sangue non le sembrano ancora se non leggeris simo alimento al suo animo inferocito. Vorrebbe ritrovare un' atrocità nuova, sconosciuta, straordinaria, che facesse parlar di lei nella più lontana posterità. Nel vederla si libera ne' suoi spaventevoli disegni, la nutrice, che l'è da presso, non sa immaginare altre vie a calmarla, se non rammentan dole che per menar tutto a termine sicuro ella dee nasconder la sua collera; perocchè, ove questa si mostri di fuori troppo apertamente, ricade le più volte sopra colui che ne e animato, e distrugge i mezzi della vendetta. Massima infernale, ma vera; e posta leggiadramente in pratica da tutti i contempo ranei di Seneca. Il re intanto, che teme le arti e le insidie della irritata maga, vien cruccioso ad ordinarle di sgombrar subito da' suoi stati. Indarno ella fa lungo racconto di tutto il passato per mettere in risalto la iniqua condotta di Giasone e la ricompensa infame onde l'ingrato la rimerita de' tanti be nefizii ricevuti; indarno cerca di muovere in quel principe tutt' i sentimenti capaci di piegarlo a rivocare quella dura ri soluzione; questi si rimane inflessibile; e nel ritrarsi dalla scena consente solo a permettere, com' ella ferventemente chiede, che almeno i due suoi figliuoli continuino a dimorar ivi col padre, e che diesi a lei un giorno di tempo per ab bracciarli, e disporsi ad abbandonar per sempre quelle re gioni: favore di cui ella gode nel suo segreto, giudicando bastarle quello spazio a poter tutta rfversar la sua ira contro i suoi implacabili persecutori. Giasone offresi allora con bizzarro monologo a far com prendere che il re minaccia morte a lui ed a' suoi figli, ov'ei nieghi d'impalmar Creusa: nė vi ha cenno che in parte spie ghi o giustifichi questo mezzo speditissimo di concludere un matrimonio; se già qualche maligno spirito non voglia sup porre che Creusa fosse incinta, onde, a salvarle la fama, si obbligasse il profugo seduttore a scegliere fra il talamo nu ziale e la scure. Medea, che di lui si accorge, gli va incontro scoppiante rabbia e dolore. A' veementi rimproveri di lei egli dice che il re l'avrebbe fatta perire, s' ei non lo avesse in dotto a contentarsi di scacciarla solamente dal regno: la solle cita quindi a sottrarsi tusto allo sdegno di chi ha il potere di opprimerla. A fin di scoprire il lato debole del cuore di lui, ella finge di cedere, ed implora che non le sia vietato di menar seco que’ medesimi figliuoli che pocanzi pregava il re a lasciare in cura del padre; e compiacendosi nell'udire esser sulla scena, per lui impossibile di staccarsi da quei fanciulli, si restringe a chiedergli di poter dar loro l'ultimo addio; grazia che il re le avea di già conceduta. Rimasta sola, medita il disegno di disfarsi della rivale, inviandole in dono una veste avvelenata; e corre a farne confidenza alla sua nutrice. Questa rivien e narra i prodigi operati da Medea per compiere il suo funesto disegno. Con le sue arti magiche avea nelle sue stanze attirati il dragone della Colchide, l'idra uccisa da Ercole, e i più mostruosi rettili della terra; e ne' loro veleni, misti a sangue di uccelli impuri ed a fiamme divoratrici, avea confuso i succhi di quante erbe narcotiche allignano sulla faccia del globo. Dopo questa relazione, che è lunga e minuta più che non bisognerebbe a descrivere anche il laboratorio di un farmacista, la maga ella stessa riapparisce; e invocando Ecate con orribili scongiuramenti a discendere dal cielo per assisterla, si ferisce al braccio per far del suo sangue una libazione alla Dea. Terminato cosi l'incantesimo con un sa lasso, intinge in quel liquore la veste già preparata, e manda i figliuoli a farne presente a Creusa. L'effetto è subito prodotto. Un messo viene a raccontar distintamente che l'incendio si è manifestato nella reggia al solo contatto di quel dono fatale, e che il re e la figliuola vi sono rimasti amendue spenti. Medea, che in udir tale annun zio gioisce di aver colto il primo frutto delle sue trame, si dispone a coronar l'opera, uccidendo i figli, per cosi vendi carsi delle perfidie del marito. Questi era corso con gente d'arme a sorprenderla: ma ella erasi rifuggita co ' due fan ciulli e la nutrice sull'alto della casa. Di là parlando a sè stessa intorno a quel che le conviene di fare, dice che il de litto è compiuto, ma non ancor la vendetta; trucida furi bonda uno di quei disgraziati, e ne gitta il cadavere sangui noso a Giasone che dal basso la mira imprecando e fre mendo: e mentr' egli la scongiura inorridito a conservare almen l'altro in vita, ella lo trafigge sotto i proprii occhi; e chiamandosi dolente di non averne avuti che due soli ad immolare, vuol cercar nel suo seno se vi sia il germe di qualche altro figliuolo per istrapparselo a brani dal fondo delle viscere. Innalzandosi alline sul suo carro magico, Ricevi, dice al marito insultando, ricevi i tuoi nati; io mi slancio al di sopra delle nuvole. Si, quei le risponde, assorto nel raccapriccio e nella disperazione; và per gli alti spazii dell' acre ad attestare all' universo che non esiste al cun Dio: Per alta vade spatia sublimi ætheris Testare nullos esse, qua veheris, deos. Tratto divino !.... esclamava un critico: veramente, ripigliava un altro scherzando sulle parole, non vi è nulla che sia men divino ! Sull'indole di questa ributtante favola drammatica dissi altrove abbastanza: e qual pessimo governo Seneca ne facesse ad ancor più oltre annerirla ed a gonfiarla di vento, ciascuno può giudicarne da se medesimo. Non è intanto superfluo il notare una circostanza che sembra sfuggita costantemente a' dotti illustratori di questo tragico antico. Orazio inculcava severamente a ' poeti di non mai dare a spettacolo una Medea che trucida i figli al cospetto del popolo; poichè un simile atto da far fremere sterilmente la natura, dee riuscir più or rendo che tremendo per chiunque non abbia rinunziato ad ogni sentimento di umanità. Che Seneca infrangesse un cosi savio precetto, chi ben conosce la tempra della sua fantasia ne comprenderà facilmente i motivi. Ma donde Orazio lo trasse? Questo fu per me sempre un enigma. Un precetto che vieta una difformità in poesia, è come una legge che vieta un delitto in politica: suppongono amendue che un dis ordine abbia esistito per lo passato, e mirano ad imporre un freno affinché non si riproduca nell'avvenire: e non vi ha esempio in cui la giurisprudenza civile fulmini un'azione che non ha mai avuto luogo nella condotta degli uomini, come non vi ha esempio in cui la critica letteraria basimi un difetto di gusto del quale non vi è traccia nella storia delle arti. L'in duzione a trarsi da questo principio è semplicissima. Orazio non potea certamente aver letta la sconcezza, ch' ei riprova con si grave dettato intorno a Medea, nè in Euripide il quale avea saputo evitarla, nè in Seneca il quale fioriva quando egli era già spento. In conseguenza è a dirsi, ch ' ei la scor caso, gesse in qualcuno de' poeti latini suoi predecessori o contem poranei, le cui opere sono a noi sconosciute. E in questo che io lascio agli eruditi di verificare, non possiamo nel precettor di Nerone ravvisar nè anche l'esistenza di una facoltà, disgraziatamente assai comune; quella cioè di saper ritrovare da sè stesso una turpitudine. La predilezione de' Latini per la favola di Medea costi tuisce inoltre un fenomeno che merita ugualmente di esser notato. In Grecia non imprese a trattarla che il solo Euri pide; e dopo di lui una tragedia sopra il medesimo soggetto, che non è pervenuta alla posterità, fu scritta da un tal Neo frone, di cui non ho mai saputo novella. In Francia non è da citarsi che la Medea del Corneille; poichè i tentativi di Pe louse, di Longepierre e di Clement sono ormai obbliati. Nella sola polvere degli archivii se ne additano due in Italia, una del Torelli, l ' altra del Gozzi: e parlo fino al 1820; perchè, se altre ne sieno apparse dopo, lo ignoro, e non ho mai cu rato d'informarmene. Non ne apparvero, a quanto io creda, fra gli Alemanni e fra gli Spagnuoli; e può dirsi nè anche fra gl' Inglesi; poichè quella del Glower non è calcata sulle memorie antiche. Questo poeta, in ciò di squisito senso, benchè non di alta sfera nel resto, osò con fermo proposito guastar piuttosto la tradizione ricevuta, che denigrare con una esagerazione si assurda il prezioso carattere di madre: ei suppose che Medea uccidesse i figli in un eccesso di frene tico delirio che le impediva di riconoscerli. E ritornata in sė stessa, la dipinse preda alla disperazione per l'involontario attentato, anzi che lieta e trionfante di aver dato opera a una vendetta che innanzi ad ogni essere ben costituito dalla na tura dovea necessariamente colpir di preferenza il di lei pro prio cuore. In Roma per l'opposto par che non vi fosse poeta tragico il quale non avesse tentata una Medea. Vi si segnalarono Ennio, Pacuvio, Accio, Ovidio, Seneca, Materno ed altri: e Tertulliano parla di un Osidio Geta, che nel primo secolo dell'era cristiana compose tutta di versi di Virgilio una nuova Medea, di cui lo Scriverio si è dato l'inutile pena di raccogliere alcuni frammenti. Con queste tendenze di ferocia ne' drammatici latini, vi è poi tanto a stupire che ivi la sana tragedia non mai prosperasse con la dignità richiesta? Tieste. La scena è nella reggia di Micene; e l'azione si apre con l'Ombra di Tantalo, la quale, tratta sulla terra da una delle Furie infernali, è da essa spinta a metter odio e furore nell'animo de'due fratelli Tieste ed Atreo, suoi discen denti, onde seguano fra loro i più orribili misfatti. Al solo aggirarsi dello spettro in quelle mura fatali, Atreo, che vi tenea scettro, è subitamente invaso da fieri desiderii di ven detta contra Tieste, che gli ebbe un tempo pervertita la sposa ed involate le ricchezze, e che állor viveasi profugo in terre straniere nella più estrema miseria. Memore de' torti rice vuti, ei non più spira che minacce di esterminio: e trattiensi a parlar con uno schiavo suo conſidente intorno al modo più sicuro da immolar l'abborrito fratello all'ira che lo investe. Il ferro per lui è arma di tiranni volgari: ei vuol supplizii e non morte; poichè nel suo regno la morte debb' esser consi derata come una grazia. Meditando un eccesso che possa spa ventar gli uomini e la natura, ei risolve di richiamar Tieste dall'esilio con finte proteste di pace e di obblio del passato; ed attiratolo cosi nella reggia, trucidargli a tradimento i figli, e preparargliene pasto neſando in una cena notturna. Ei va gheggia lungamente il suo infernale disegno; e già ordina i mezzi da eseguirlo. Tieste, sollecitato da iniqui messaggi, cade nella rete insidiosa; e, costretto dall'indigenza, presen tasi con tre suoi figli in Micene, non senza terribili presenti menti di ciò che possa ivi essergli ordito di atroce. Atreo, che ne è subito avvertito, affrettasi ad incontrarli ebbro di esultanza nella certezza di aver finalmente le vittime fra i suoi artigli; e coprendo il suo empio pensiero, avanzasi con benevolo sembiante ad abbracciar Tieste ed a chiedergli il bacio fraterno. A udirlo, era quello per lui un vero momento di felicità; onde bisognava deporre gli antichi rancori, e non più ascoltar che la voce della pietà, della concordia e del sangue. Tieste si precipita a' suoi piedi, implora il suo per dono, e tra le lagrime della tenerezza e del pentimento lo prega di accogliere sotto la sua mano protettrice quegl' inno centi giovinetti. Da prima ei ricusa di accettar la metà del regno che il re gli offre con simulati affetti: si terrebbe felice di vivere suo suddito, e di poter espiare i suoi falli co' suoi fedeli servigi: ma cede alfine alle iterate insistenze del per fido Atreo, il quale, invitandolo a cingere sul suo capo vene rando il diadema reale, annunzia con espressioni di doppio senso che, a suggellar la pace tra loro, ei va intanto a disporre un sagrifizio. Questo inviluppo in sè occupa i tre primi atti della tragedia. Al quarto un messo appare sbigottito, e con le più rac capriccianti particolarità narra il già consumato eccidio al coro. Innanzi tutto ei descrive la parte remota del palazzo ove so leano soggiornare i principi di quella contrada, ed a lungo enumera gli straordinari ed incredibili portenti di cui quel sito sembra essere il magico ricettacolo. Ivi Atreo erasi con dotto in segreto con suoi fidati sgherri, trascinandosi dietro i figliuoli del fratello, ch'egli stesso avea già carichi di catene, ed a foggia di vittime inghirlandati di fiori e di bende. Or rendi altari vengono al momento eretti, arde l'incenso, le libazioni versate spumeggiano, la scure tocca il capo di que' mi seri, e tutte le formalità di un ordinario sacrifizio son diligen temente osservate. A tal sacrilego apparato, ed a'cupi urli di Atreo, che pronunciando funebri preghiere intuona l'inno della morte, la vicina selva trema: la reggia sembra crollar dalle fondamenta, il vino effuso cangiasi tosto in sangue, il dia dema cade tre volte dal fronte del re, il quale pari a fame lica tigre avventasi su i tre indifesi nipoti, e l'un dopo l'altro trafiggendoli, spande il terrore ne' circostanti satelliti. Ciò compiuto, egli strappa loro le viscere per leggervi entro i presagi del destino; mette finalmente in pezzi le loro membra ancor palpitanti, ne prepara col fuoco l'infame cena, e la fa recare a Tieste, che ignaro degli eventi, lo attendea nelle sale dell'ordinario convito: e cosi quel padre infelice, che in abito festivo crede per la prima volta gustar la voluttà della con cordia con lo snaturato fratello, divora le carni de' propri figliuoli. A questa immonda narrazione, che può star leggia dramente a fianco delle additate nelle due precedenti trage die, il coro prorompe in esclamazioni analoghe allo spavento di cui si trova compreso. Il quinto atto ci rappresenta il ritorno di Atreo, il quale, dopo aver pasciuto i suoi sguardi in quella mensa infernale, vien fuori gridando con frenetica ed orribile compiacenza: Æqualis astris gradior, et cunctos super Altum superbo vertice attingens polum, Nunc decora regni teneo, nunc solium patris. Dimitto superos: summa votorum attigi. e Ma il fatto atroce non ancora lo appaga: gli bisogna compiere il lutto di un padre, rivelandogli il tremendo mistero, a fin di saziarsi di vendetta in veder gl' impeti del suo disperato dolore. All'appressarsi quivi di Tieste, ei da prima si cela per udirne il solitario linguaggio: indi si mostra; ed invi tando il fratello a finir seco di celebrar quel giorno di letizia, gli offre una tazza di vino in cui è misto il sangue de' prin cipi uccisi. Questi, contento in parte della riacquistata pace, e in parte agitato da oscuri perturbamenti di animo, chiede affannoso che gli sia concesso di porre il colmo al suo giubilo abbracciando i figliuoli. Atreo lo tien sospeso con espressioni equivoche, e lo sollecita sempre più a bere in quella tazza: se non che a quel misero, nel riceverla, sembra veder fuggire il sole, scuotersi la terra, sconvolgersi gli elementi; e rinno vando le istanze di rivedere i figliuoli, il mostro si scopre, glie ne gitta a ' piedi le teste sanguinose, dicendo: gnatos ecquid agnoscis tuos? Qui Seneca ritrova uno di quei felici motti, per la cui vibrata energia è solamente notabile: peroc chè Tieste ansante a cosi nero attentato, non richiama in se gli accenti smarriti, se non per esclamare, agnosco fra trem !.... e cade in delirio smanioso. Credendoli solamente uccisi, ei domanda con fremito di poterne almeno seppellire i cadaveri; allor che l'empio gli svela ch ' ei li avea già divo rati, e gli narra tutto lo scempio che si era studiato di farne. Le furie di Tieste e le insultanti risposte di Atreo, che gode a quello spettacolo di orrore, chiudono la scena. Vi ha certa memoria che una tragedia di Tieste fosse anche stata scritta da Euripide, la quale va fra le tante di quel teatro che si sono sventuratamente perdute: e Seneca forse l'ebbe sott'occhio, ad attingerne per lui, non foss' altro, la stomachevole idea. Quali forme particolari di dramma tica esecuzione il Greco poi avesse adottate con destrezza per temperar l'orribile del soggetto fondamentale, non vi ha sto rico indizio da poterne rettamente decidere. Altrove si è però notato, che non ostanti le tendenze di quel poeta per la di pintura degli eccessi dolosamente criminosi, tendenze che fra le sue mani pervertirono si bruttamente l'arte, il popolo di Atene gli era pur tuttavia di costante freno a non lasciarsi precipitare in troppo aperte mostruosità; ed ei più volte ne avea fatto a suo danno e scorno il crudele esperimento. Può in conseguenza tenersi ch' ei procurasse di velare in gran parte le incredibili atrocità onde le vecchie tradizioni aveano corredato a' posteri quel famoso avvenimento de' tempi eroici della Grecia; e che Seneca s ' industriasse al suo solito di anne rirlo oltre misura, frastagliandolo a modo proprio con quella sua fantasia pregna dello spettacolo reale di tutte le più turpi enormezze. Alcuni han creduto infatti, che la descrizione di quella parte della reggia di Micene ove si finge che Atreo spegnesse i nipoti, fosse fedelmente ritratta da quella parte del palazzo de' Cesari in Roma, che Nerone avea destinata alle sue laide passioni e crudeltà segrete. È possibile ancora che Seneca traesse altre ispirazioni alla sua opera dalla tra gedia latina, che, siccome Ovidio narra, Vario e Gracco com posero insieme su i casi di Tieste, e che probabilmente è la stessa in seguito divulgata sotto il solo nome di Vario, di cui la storia di quel secolo ci ha serbata rimembranza. A ogni modo, il fatto vero o non vero su cui si fonda questo tragico lavoro, non meritava esser cosi rilevato in tutta l'asprezza delle sue giunture e l'abbominevole nudità delle sue forme, che in un secolo in cui i più esecrandi at tentati e le più truci e inudite vendette facean parte integra e special delizia della vita pubblica e privata di ogni uomo. Col sicuro presentimento che a' suoi contemporanei non ne sarebbe incresciuta la dipintnra, Seneca lo tratto senza velo: e i suoi sforzi nel dare alcun contrasto di luce a quelle tene bre infernali, restarono inefficaci. I tre giovinetti sacrificati all'ira dello scettrato cannibale di Micene, non muovono che una pietà volgare e ſuggevole, poiché cadono pari a mutoli agnelli che il famelico lupo divora mugolando nelle sue grotte di sangue. Nè alcuna di più eminente ne muove pure lo sten tato ritorno di Tieste sulle vie della virtù e della giustizia, si perchè un tal ritorno può sospettarsi dettato dalla pienezza delle sue miserie, e si perchè il suo violento e consumato in cesto con la sposa del germano, è un fatto di sua essenza ir reparabile, e non si cancella o ripurga per pentimenti per lacrime. L'orror cupo e nefando che spira il carattere di Atreo, è l'unico affetto che domina e inviluppa ferocemente l'azione: se non che, soffocando a un tratto tutte le potenze dell'anima, le addormenta in uno stupor convulsivo, che di strugge ogni vitalità di sentimento negli spettatori, ed abban dona il personaggio alla sola compagnia di sè medesimo. E conviene saper grado all'autore di aver nell'ordito messa giù ogni maschera d'ipocrisia. Conscio che il suo Atreo è un mo stro fuor di natura, ei lo allontana diligentemente da ogni specie di contatto con la natura. In lui, niuno di quei palpiti precursori che si associano al concepimento di un grave e spaventevole delitto; niuno di quei terrori salutari che arre stano involontariamente la mano armata di un pugnale omi cida; niuno di quei rimorsi che la rea coscienza genera a un tempo e ritorce contro a sè stessa innanzi allo spettacolo di una già eseguita scelleratezza. A che infatti porre in mostra gli ordinari fenomeni del cuore umano per attaccarli a un essere al cui tipo la tempra dell'umanità rimansi compiuta mente estranea? Ma usciamo alfine di questo pattume: i comentari sono superflui dove i fatti parlano da sè in guisa, che ad ogni uomo di mente sana e di cuor non guasto è facil cosa il valu tarli. Ne mi rimane intorno a questo autore se non a preve nir brevemente qualche obbiezione che molti per avventura saran tentati di oppormi. Alcuni, per esempio, col bel romanzo del Diderot alla mano, diranno che io in questo esame ho troppo annerito il carattere morale di Seneca; ed a costoro, senza inutili contese, lascio piena libertà di alimentare la loro passione pe' romanzi, e di farsene un idolo: l’umana viltà sovente ha deificato tanti mostri, che aggiugnervi anche quello il quale, giusta la grave testimonianza di un Tacito, diede apertamente opera, se non a concepire, a consumare almeno un matricidio, non dee poter cagionare alcun nuovo scan dalo. Altri, con l'autorità di Marziale e di Sidonio Apolli nare, diranno, dall'altro canto, che vi ebbero tre fratelli conosciuti sotto il nome di Seneca; e che il teatro venne ascritto sempre, non al primo che fu precettore di Nerone, ma bensì ad Annio Novato, ch'era il secondo. Potrei rispon dere che uomini dottissimi in fatto di latina erudizione, quali sono un Giusto Lipsio, Erasmo, Einsio, i due Scaligeri, ed altri non pochi, attribuirono al filosofo gran parte di quelle trage die, senza lasciarsi punto illudere dalla circostanza ch'esse fos sero state pubblicate col nome del fratello: e ch'egli real mente vi abbia cooperato, lo attesta Quintiliano, il quale net tamente lo addita come autore della Medea. Potrei soggiu gnere che, ove quelle tragedie si paragonino attentamente con le prose del filosofo, basta la più leggera critica per rav visar nelle une e nelle altre le medesime tendenze di spirito, le medesime pretensioni di dottrina, spesso il medesimo fondo di pensieri, più spesso ancora le medesime stentate forme di lingua e di stile. Se non che tutte queste discettazioni erudite sono di niuna importanza per me. Quando anche mi si dimostri con matematica evidenza che le persone eran diverse, niuno potrà luminosamente provarmi che la tempra delle anime non fosse la stessa. Nelle mie investigazioni è stato in me principal di segno di apprendermi, non all'individuo materiale, che in teressa la storia degli uomini più che la.critica de' tempi, ma bensì all' individuo astratto, che vien come lucido specchio in cui fedelmente si riflettono le sembianze di un secolo con tutte le caratteristiche impronte, e tenaci abitudini, e maniere sue proprie di sentire, di pensare e di vivere. Se infatti biz zarria taluno volesse attribuir quel teatro ad altro poeta con temporaneo, a Lucano, per esempio, ch'era figlio del terzo fratello di Seneca il filosofo, cangerebbe egli mai lo stato della quistione? Il famoso cantore della Farsalia non fe' onta all' egregio zio: prese parte attiva in una congiura celebre, che mise Roma tutta in commozione; e, scoperto appena, tentò fuggir morte, denunziando vilmente i suoi complici, tra per i quali era sua madre: condannato indi a perire, perchè non era facile il placar Nerone per simil genere di meriti, affetto eroica fermezza; e ne’momenti supremi declamò versi allu sivi al suo stato; e del sangue che gli usciva dalle segate vene fe ' generosa libazione a Giove liberatore. A che andar più oltre mendicando prove, fatti e ravvicinamenti? Eran tutti cosi: ed il mio scopo essenziale si fu di chiarire, che ingegni educati disgraziatamente in mezzo a realità prosaiche e ributtanti, non poteano produrre che opere drammatiche ributtanti e prosaiche. Le ingenue ispirazioni della natura esigono am piezza di spazii congiunta a splendore di analoghe circostanze; e le grandi fantasie non si sviluppano al certo nelle piazze de' patiboli. La morale di questa filosofia escritta da un altro napoletano esiliato per i moti politici; che merita anche lui almeno un breve ricordo in questa storia: B.. La sua vita ha molti punti di contatto con quella dello scrittore del quale abbiamo ora finito di parlare; e meriterebbe uno studio speciale. B. nacque in Manfredonia. Era a Napoli a studiar leggi sotto Michele Terracina e Nicola Valletta. Si laureò avvocato; ma presto abbandonò la car riera forense, essendo stato nominato per concorso Uditore del Consiglio di Stato. Ispettore generale della Sopraintendenza generale di salute; e l'anno seguente per lo zelo e l'operosità dimostrata in occasione della peste di Noia, pro mosso Segretario generale della stessa Sopraintendenza e nominato cavaliere. Presentato dal Parlamento in una terna per Consigliere di Stato; ed ebbe infatti questo alto ufficio nel di cembre di quell'anno. Nel successivo fu nominato Commissa rio civile per l'approvvigionamento delle truppe in Abruzzo. Ma, caduta la libertà, dovette anch'egli cadere; e fu imprigionato, quindi proscritto. Si rifugia a Parigi; donde passò a Londra, per tornarvi. E a Parigi quindi Traggo le notizie biografiche di lui da un clogio funebre, scritto su informazioni fornitedalnipoteomonimo di B.: Sulferetrodelcav. B. i, paroledette  nella Congrega dei ss. Anna e Luca dei professori di belle arti, dal l'architetto CASAZZA. Napoli, Cons,;opuscolo di 8 pp.in-4.°posseduto dalla Società napoletana di Storia patria. Diluinon sidicenulla nell'opuscolo, del resto per tanti rispetti deficientissimo, di FONTANAROSA, I Parlam.nas. napol. mem.edoc., Roma, Soc.D. Alighieri, nel qual anno gli fu dato finalmente di ri tornare a Napoli. Dove riprese la carriera forense,e rimase tutto il resto di sua vita. Per sospetto di cospirazione, e arrestato e tradotto nel forte di S. Eramo; ma riottenne subito la libertà, anzi acquisto la fiducia di Ferdinando II. Il quale lo n o mino socio ordinario della R. Accademia delle scienze morali e più tardi Presidente perpetuo dell'intera Società Borbonica, ora Reale; e lo chiamò a far parte del Ministero, come ministro del l'interno. E d egli redasse lo statuto. Si ritirò nell'aprile e fu n o minato un'altra volta Consigliere di Stato.Ma nel maggio tornò al potere e condusse la reazione che seguì all'infausto 15 di quel mese. E ministro resto, da ultimo col portafogli dell'Istruzione. Quindi si ritrasse a vita privata,in una villa della collina di Posillipo, dove fini i suoi giorni. Come scrittore è particolarmente noto per le sue ricerche Della imitazione tragica presso gli antichi e i moderni, dove in tese a combattere la tesi difesa dallo Schlegel nel suo Corso di lette ratura drammatica.Ma eglifuanche poeta non mediocre, eau tore di parecchie altre soritture di estetica; fra le quali meritano speciale menzione le seguenti: De l'esprit de la comédie et de l'in suffisance du ridicule pour corriger les travers et les caractères, pubblicata a Parigi; Cenni estetici sulle origini e le vicende della poesia ebraica, nonchè due memorie lette al l'Accademia di Napoli: Cenni cstetici sulle origini e le doti del teatro indiano; In quale dei cinque sensi a noi conosciuti è da scorgere il proprio ed efficace organo della bellezza. Il solo titolo di questa memoria basta, mi pare,a farci intendere che razza di estetica fosse quella di B.. Annunzia un trattato di estetica, pubblicandone l'introduzione in una rivista La 1.a ediz, fu fatta a Lugano. L'edizione corrente è quella del Le Monnier. Ma fral'anael'altracen' è una seconda corretta e daccresciuta di un capitolo sul teatro, Napoli, Vaglio, in quella Biblioteca italiana pubblicata per cura di B. Fabbricatore, che accolso anche la Storia generale della poesia del Rosenkranz, tradotta dal De Sanctis. E l'editore annunziava che all'Imitazione avrebbe fatto seguire altri 2 voll.contenenti scritti del tutto inediti di B. Sull'Imitazione, v. ULLOA,Vedilesuo Poesievarie, Napoli, De Bonis; e intorno ad esse ULLOA, e l'articolo di V. IMBRIANI nel Giorn. napol. della domenica.  Milano, Vodi il suo art. Filosofia dell'estetica nel Progresso ma disgraziatamente il manoscritto gli fu involato, come ci dice un biografo, nella prigione di S. Eramo. Anonimo uscì un suo Esquisse politique sur l'action des forces sociales dans les différentes espèces de gouvernement, che egli aveva mandato m a noscritto da Londra a un suo amico di Brusselle, e fu da questo pubblicato a sua insaputa. Fu lodato dal Tracy e il nome dell'autore scoperto in una recensione che ne fece con lode il Daunou nel Journal des Savans; onde valse a prolungare l'esilio del Boz zelli, non potendo le idee liberali sostenute in quel libro essere approvate dal governo di Napoli. E molti brevi scritti inseri in riviste straniere, durante l'esilio,e negli Atti dell'Accademia a Napoli, che non giova qui ricordare; essendoci qui proposti soltanto di dare una notizia d'una sua più notevole opera: Essais sur les rapports primitifs qui lient ensemble la philosophie et la morale,stampata a Parigi e ristampata col ti tolo più breve De l'union de la philosophie avec la morale; la quale rappresenta davvero un tentativo storicamente considerevole. B. si prefigge in essa lo scopo di dare alla scienza della morale quell'ordine rigoroso, quell'unità sistematica, che erano stati raggiunti, secondo lui,dalla filosofia speculativa dopo Bacone, ossia da quando essa cominciò a fondarsi sull'esperienza: di fare perciò della morale, che si trattava ancora sotto la forma vaga d'una raccolta di osservazioni staccate, una vera scienza filosofica. Perchè, egli dice,« la philosophie n'est pas seulement (1) Una sessantina di saggi dice il Casazza, che ne dovette avere innanzi l'elenco. Ma noi non no conosciamo cho pochi: e menzioneremo solo il Disegno di una storia delle scienze fllosofiche in Italia dal risorgimento delle lettere sin oggi (ostr. dagli Atti dell'Ac cademia di sc.mor.e pol.di Napoli); dove sono alcune considerazioni superfi ciali intorno alle tendenze spiccatamente filosofiche delle menti del mezzogiorno d'Italia e a quel giusto mezzo che,quasi per il loro vivo senso artistico, gli Italiani in generale avrebbero, secondo l'A., mantenuto tra le dottrine estreme del materialismo e dello spi ritualismo astratto. Noi non conosciamo che questa 2." odiz. di Paris, Grimbert et Dorez. Anche in questa ediz.,del resto,il titolo ripetuto dopo un Discours prélimi naire è Essais sur les rapports ecc.E a quest'edizione si riferiscono le nostre citazioni.Il PICAVET (Lesidéologues, Paris, Alcan), dandouna brevissimanotiziadellibro, che cita Essaisecc.,dà la data del 1828. Ma dev'essere una svista. La data è data dal Casazza e dal cenno che su B. si trova nella Grande encyclopédie. Sul libro, si cita una recensione del Lanjuinais nella Revue encyclopédique, vol.26.o Il Casazza infine dice che il nipoto omonimo già ricordato « con rispettosa ossequenza al nomo dello zio,or ora porrà allo stampe la traduzione dell'opera Saggio sui rapporti,ecc.>, la clef de la morale,elle en est l'essence même ».Non disconosco che importanti concezioni rigorose della morale c'erano già state in Germania après les ramifications de la doctrine de Kant. M a non erano che concezioni di unitari, com'egli chiama gl'idealisti; di unitari o teisti, o assoluti. E ormai è chiaro di quale filosofia l'autore intendesse parlare, volendo filosofica la morale. Egli insomma voleva per questa qualche cosa che potesse paragonarsi agli scritti concernenti la teorica della conoscenza (philosophie egli dice) di Locke, di Condillac, di Destutt de Tracy: ces trois écrivains qui semblent se succéder exprès pour ajouter l'un à l'autre, pour serrer de plus en plus l'analyse et l'enchaînement des faits, pour que l'erreur echappée à la pour suite de l'un soit atteinte par l'autre jusque dans ses derniers retranchemens; ces penseurs enfin qui brillent comme trois points lumineux dans l'histoire de l'esprit humain, et qui éclairent la route de la vérité,pour empêcher que personne ne puisse plus s'égarer dans le vague des hypothèses. Le azioni umane, la cui direzione costituisce l'oggetto della morale, non sono apprezzabili se non a patto che si riferiscano alle affezioni che le determinano. La scienza della morale, per tanto, si fonda sulla conoscenza delle cause per cui tali affezioni si generano, si succedono, si coordinano: si fonda, oggi si direbbe, sulla psicologia. E come il principio d'ogni fatto spirituale è nella sensazione, bisogna cominciare da questa. La sensazione è un fenomeno del nostro essere,che avviene internamente,dentro di noi. Questa è una verità intuitiva,at testataci dalla coscienza. Il numero delle sensazioni è infinito; ma esse entrano fra di loro in certi rapporti; il che non sarebbe possibile senza un sostegno, un centro, un principio generale e permanente di tutte queste affezioni.È un'induzione questa asso lutamente necessaria, perchè unica. Noi non conosciamo diret tamente questo qualche cosa che è la base delle sensazioni; m a lo scopriamo per i suoi effetti, come la prima condizione di essi, come una potenza particolare,che sipotrà indifferentemente chia mare essere senziente, anima, spirito, intelligenza, sensibilità. Ma non pare conoscesse le opero oticho di Kant o de'suoi epigoni. Di Kant cita solo le Considerazioni sul sentimento del bello e del sublime; e, salvo errore,nella tradu zionefrancesedol Koratry.L'accennochesifa a p.464eseg. allamorale disinteressata di Kant non prova una cognizione diretta delle opere kantiane.  Ma la sensazione rappresenta sempre qualche cosa di estra neo all'essere che sente: non si potrebbe concepire in noi la pre senza d'una sensazione, spogliata da ogni rapporto con oggetti dif ferenti da noi.Sicchè bisogna convenire,che vi sono realmente causc esteriori che noi conosciamo soltanto dai loro effetti su noi, e che sono la seconda condizione, non meno indispensabile della prima, per lo sviluppo della sensazione: e il loro insieme si dirà natura, mondo, universo, o, più semplicemente, esistenze che ci sono estranee. Per ammettere queste esistenze l'argomento più luminoso, secondo B., è che quando mancano certe date sensazioni, non accade mai d'imbattersi negli oggetti che possono produrle. Ognun vede che l'argomento è molto debole, per non dir nullo: ma infine « tous ceux qui se tiennent dans les bornes d'une espèce de doctrine pratique et de simple sens commun, en sont pleinement d'accord ». E questo è verissimo. Contentiamoci, ad ogni modo, per la scienza dell'anima e dell'universo,diqueste semplici verità d'induzione: e rinunziamo alle ricerche metafisiche sull'essenza dell'anima e sul principio generatore dell'universo. L'impossibilità d'una soluzione scienti fica dei problemi metafisici è dimostrata dal fatto che non ci sono due pensatori che abbiano dato una stessa soluzione: quot capita totsententiae.Se oggi, dice B., sisaqualche cosa dichiaro in questa materia, si deve piuttosto ai lumi della religione po sitiva che ha tagliato i nodi con la sua autorità. La sensazione non importa semplicemente la rappresentazione di cause esterne,l'appercezione delle qualità dell'oggetto, ma an che una immancabile alternativa di dolore o di piacere. Una sen sazione che non s'accompagni con un'emozione gradevole o in cresciosa,è un'astrazione senza realtà. La sensazione è tutta la sensazione: ossia fatto rappresentativo oggettivo e fatto emotive. Del resto, B. ammette la oggettività della cosa, ma non ammette quella dello qualità: « Dans la réalité, une sensation ne représonte rien en elle-même, parce qu'ellen'estriendesemblableàl'objetquilaproduit -- chia come fisica; e i positivisti d'oggi e gli altri agnostici non hanno nessuna la nuova conclusione È la vec de 'critici negativi di ogni m e t a della sottomissione rità religiosa. È la conseguenza ragione di scandalizzarsi forze della ragione. di B. logica e fatale all'auto della sfiducia nellesoggettivo. Donde la vera classificazione delle facoltà dell'anima inintuitiveeattive;leunestrumento dellaconoscenza,lealtre dell'azione.Le forme rappresentative sono icaratterifilosoficidella sensazione; i fenomeni di piacere e di dolore, i caratteri morali. Il piacere e il dolore ci sono noti immediatamente, perchè li proviamo: m a la ragione del loro accadere è impenetrabile. In compenso,la loro conoscenza è nettae distintaper modo che a nessuno è possibile confondere l'uno con l'altro; anzi ognuno sente il piacere come un'affezione di natura diametralmente op posta al dolore. Ora, l'idea di sensazione è inseparabile da quella di m o vimento. Già essa, consistendo in fondo in un cangiamento di stato, ossia in un passaggio da uno stato ad un altro, non può avvenire senza movimento ! Ma essa stessa poi genera un m o vimento; e come essa ha un doppio carattere morale, secondo che è piacevole o dolorosa,è chiaro che determinerà una doppia specie di movimenti. Quei fenomeni esteriori e visibili che si osservano nell'uomo investito dalla gioia o dalla tristezza, non sono che una conseguenza organica d'un primo movimento che si determina per tali sentimenti nell'anima. E per analogia con i movimenti che si vedono nel corpo, noi possiamo dire,che ilm o vimento correlativo dell'anima ora è espansivo,ora è coercitivo: espansivo quando si tratta di piacere, coercitivo quando sitratta di dolore. B. combatte la vecchia dottrina edonistica epicu rea, rinnovata da VERRI (si veda) nel suo Discorso sull'indole del piacere e del dolore, che il piacere con sista nella cessazione del dolore.Che significa che ildolore cessa? Il dolore,come il piacere,è un carattere della sensazione: sicchè può cessare se cessa la sensazione dolorosa. E se cessa la sen sazione, non può esserci nè anche il piacere; perchè anche il piacere è carattere della sensazione, e non può esser prodotto da niente. E poi: contro la dottrina del Verri sta l'esperienza comune degli oggetti, parte noti come causa diretta di sensa (1) Ecco perchè e in che senso B. distingue la scienza della morale dalla filosofia. Vedi LOSACCO, Le dottrine edonistiche italiane, Napoli, Atti della R. Acc. di Sc. mor. e pol. di Napoli, dove appunto sarebbe stato opportuno ricordare le osservazioni fatte al Verri da B.    zioni gradevoli, e parte, di sensazioni dolorose: gli uni e gli altri come forniti di caratteri dipendenti dalle loro qualità par ticolari ed intrinseche. Se il piacere fosse generato dalla cessa zione del dolore, delle due l'una: si dovrebbe ammettere cioè, o che in natura non esistono oggetti piacevoli di nessuna specie, e che tutto l'universo non è che una causa unica e continua di dolore; o che, se alcun oggetto piacevole esiste, esso dev'essere considerato come una creazione inutile o come un'aberrazione e una mostruosità fuori dell'ordine normale delle cose. E in verità non si può concepire niente di più strano e di più assurdo.Certo, bisogna riconoscere che il piacere attinge un maggior o minor grado d'intensità secondo che succeda a un dolore più o meno vivo,o più o meno rapidamente cessato. Ma il piacere è uno stato positivo, come il dolore. Nè vale ricorrere come fa il Verri a quei dolori oscuri, equi voci, quasi inconsci, che egli dice dolori innominati, per ren der ragione di quei piaceri che l'esperienza non ci mostra come successivi a un dolore. L'affermazione di siffatti dolori è asserzione vaga, dice B., epocodegna dellaseverità dell'analisi: contraddetta dal fatto delle serie di sensazioni associate, tutte piacevoli. Ma torniamo ai gradi dello sviluppo dell'anima. Il primo è dunque quello attestatoci dal sentire:ossia l'attitudine dell’a nima a sentire, o sensibilità propriamente detta. Questa facoltà, come ogni altra, è attiva, checchè ne dica il Laromiguière. In fatti, dire facoltà passiva è una contradictio in adiecto: perchè fa coltà viene da facere, sinonimo di agere; ed è perciò lo stesso che attività. La sensibilità si dice passiva, perchè le sensazioni sono necessarie e come imposte: non essendo in poter nostro di evi tare l'eccitamento degli stimoli esterni, nè, una volta eccitati, di non provarne le impressioni sensibili. M a il senso non è semplice recettività; ei non ha niente di simile a un corpo fisico in riposo che riceva un urto meccanico da un altro corpo che è in movimento. L'anima nell'atto che riceve quel dato stimolo, risponde all'impressione esterna, facendo nascere la sensazione, cioè « B. ha ragione di notare al Verri che oltre e meglio di Platone, Montai gne, Cardano e Magalotti, avrebbe potuto citare tra coloro che avevano sostenuto la sua dottrina, Epicuro: pel quale il vero piacere era appunto oneExipeous Tavtos toj a d yoovtos (DIOG. L.). Vediunmio articolonellarivistaLa Criticadir. da CROCE,In questa facoltà del senso tutte le altre trovano il prin cipiodellorosvolgimento.Datoilcarattereespansivo delpiacere, bisogna ammettere nell'anima una specie di attività differente da quella del senso. L'essere senziente pel piacere « ne sent pas simplement; il s'élance dans sa propre modification, et s'efforce à tout prix de s'y attacher ». C'è qui uno sdoppiamento d'atti vità:un'attivitàsente, eun'altrasisforzadiconservareuno stato.. L’una e l'altra sono facoltà elementari;e la seconda dicesi volontà. Di qui si vede che lo sviluppo della volontà comincia dalla prima sensazione piacevole; poichè il dolore è coercitivo. M a il dolore ha un'altra funzione. Il piacere sviluppa la doppia attività dell'anima sensitivo -v o litiva; il dolore la sola attività sensitiva. Sicchè ilsuccedere del dolore al piacere non può riuscire indifferente all'anima; la quale non può non raffrontare i due stati, e sentire la loro diversità. Ora, sentire questa disparità tra isuoi modi di essere,non è sen tire gli stessi modi di essere separatamente, e ciascuno per sè. Questo nuovo sentire è quindi l'effetto d'una terza facoltà, ele mentare anch'essa, dell'anima;è ciò che dicesi propriamente un giudizio. 14. Queste del senso, del volere e del giudizio sono le tre fa coltàprimitivedellospirito;le leggi,perdirlacon Dugald Ste art, della nostra costituzione mentale. Esse non sono distinte per modo che ciascuna di esse sorga a misura che condizioni particolari del suo sviluppo vengano sucessivamente a verificarsi; perchè l'essere sensitivo è uno; e fin dalla sua prima risposta aglistimoliesterni,eglisielevaintuttalapienezzadellesue potenze, come me che sente, me che vuole, e me che giudica. Pure, come l'esperienza umana non si occupa affatto delle esistenze in quanto indipendenti da ogni rapporto con noi (non le afferma, nè nega), cosi per la nostra esperienza non importa che le fa coltà primitive dell'anima siano tutte e tre originarie: essa non  fenomeno sui generis, che si riferisce all'oggetto esterno, senza però rassomigliargli e senz'aver nulla di comune con esso » (1).Il cheèattivitàenonpassività.– Sicché quest'argomento del La romiguière per togliere la sensazione dal seggio in cui il sensi smo, fino a quella che il Picavet chiama la seconda generazione di ideologi, l'aveva collocata, come fonte e base di ogni prodotto dello spirito, non ha alcun valore.) tien conto nel me che sente,del me che vuole,nè del me che giu dica:questi me non ancora sirivelano; sono,ma per noi come non fossero. Per tenerne conto,sì da non ammettere nessuna gra duazione,nessuno sviluppo nella formazione dell'anima, la filoso fia dovrebbe spingere l'analisi al di là di ciò che si è manifestato alla nostraanimainun modo positivoereale. Insomma, B. afferma, come sa e come può,la necessità razionale di conci-. liare il concetto dell’a-priori dell'anima col concetto dello sviluppo di essa. In questo sviluppo la volontà ha una parte importantis sima,come s’è visto. Senza la volontà l'anima non potrebbe che sentire, e non si eleverebbe mai all'altezza del giudizio. E poichè volontà senza piacere è impossibile, il piacere è il cardine e il centro della vita dello spirito. Esso è l'unico motivo del volere: e B. non accetta nulla della dottrina del Locke che il volere sia determinato da un'inquietudine attuale. Il dolore non cimuove,macimortifica. Il dolore ci muove quandofuoridi noi ci sia qualche cosa di piacevole il cui acquisto ci prometta un sollievo. Ma allora non è propriamente il dolore il vero motivo, anzi quella sensazione piacevole che l'oggetto esterno ci fa pregustare. Il dolore come tale è assolutamente quietivo: nessuno può volervisi sottrarre senza l'esperienza d'uno stato diverso, che sarà quindi il reale motivo del voler suo. Non ci sono desiderii vaghi di liberarsi da dolori attuali senza saper nulla dello stato in cui si cangerebbero. Si ha sempre un'idea dello stato diverso che si desidera. Condillac disse bene. Les besoin ne trouble notre repos, ou ne produit l'inquiétude, que parce qu'il déter mine les facultés du corps et de l'âme sur les objets, dont la privation nous fait souffrir. Nous nous retraçons le plaisir qu'ils nous ont fait: la réflexion nous fait juger de celui qu'ils peuvent nous faire encore; l'imagination l'esagere; et, pour jouir, nous nous donnons tous les mouvemens dont nous sommes capables. Toutes nos facultés se dirigent donc sur les objets dont nous sentons le besoin ». Or questo,osserva B., non è che un commento di Locke; il quale, indicando il dolore come causa delle nostre determinazioni,esige che v’abbia nello stesso teinpo fuori di noi quel tale oggetto piacevole che ci promette un sol lievo. Ma in questo modo è un aperto tradirsi, è ammettere di fatto ciò che con tanta fatica si combatte in teoria. Si, è « pour jouir, come dice Condillac, que nous nous donnons tous les m o u vemens dont nous sommes capables ». Il vero motivo dunque delle determinazioni volitive è quel l'oggetto volibile posto fuori di noi,di cui parla lo stesso Locke. Ma come s'ha da intendere questo fuori di noi? Non certo nel senso spaziale: perchè in questo senso l'oggetto resta sempre fuori del soggetto che lo sente. Qui si tratta invece di posizione nel tempo; vale a dire, l'oggetto è fuori di noi in quanto non è ancora, può in avvenire esser posseduto da noi: in quanto rispetto a noi è un oggetto futuro, laddove l'oggetto goduto può dirsi presente e attuale. Di qui il principio, su cui  B. insiste a lungo e difende da ogni possibile obbiezione, che il motivo di tutte le azioni umane sia la sensazione piacevole dell'avvenire. Or donde, dato un unico motivo possibile, tanta varietà nelle azioni umane? Egli è che l'anima, a cominciare dalla sensa zione,non è,come fu già osservato,uno strumento passivo.Un'af fezione poi, com'è data dalla sensazione, non resta immobile e inerte nell'anima,che la elabora e la spiritualizza, decomponen done gli elementi costitutivi (un oggetto nelle sue varie qualità di cui non è che l'insieme) per distinguere questi l'uno dall'altro, e d'ognuno farne un centro d'associazione d'altre affezioni o m o genee che concorrono a fissarvisi. Quindi un intreccio di vincoli per cui le rappresentazioni sono fra di loro legate; e quindi una maggiore o minor forza in ognuna a seconda del più o meno stretto collegamentocon altre;ecorrelativamente,una maggioreominor facilità in ciascuna di esser ricordata e come d'esser proiettata pel futuro.Ora questa forza intrinseca dell'anima,elaboratrice dei materiali dell'esperienza sensibile,non pervenendo a uno stesso grado in tutti gl'individui e in tutte le età, è chiaro che confe rirà un contenuto diverso al motivo del volere,e produrrà quindi la varietà delle azioni. Insomma, essendo identica in tutti la natura dell'anima e identici gli organi esterni che le porgono alimento, si genera ne'diversi individui un diverso contenuto psi cologico, da cui dipendono le determinazioni del motivo in so unico dell'umano volere. « Certo, dice con enfasi B., quell'inflessibile Bruto che condanna a morte i suoi figli, e che con occhio fermo assiste all'ese cuzione della sua terribile sentenza,sarà un essere inconcepibile  ma [Essai troisième, chap. I e II.   fuori del primitivo concetto della grandezza romana. Egli si slan cia attraverso la notte dell'avvenire, e vede per quell'esempio di giustizia spiegarsi sotto isuoi occhi,in una successione magnifica, cinque secoli di gloria e di prosperità; vede la nazione più colos sale uscirne tutta intera e coprire della sua potenza la faccia della terra; e concezioni che spaventano le anime comuni, rien trano per le anime straordinarie nei rapporti immutabili del l'esistenza dell'universo ». Il principio delle azioni umane, dunque, è la sensazione piacevole di un oggetto futuro: o con termine più semplice, il piacere. E la storia ce ne fornisce una conferma evidente. L'ori gine della società non è che l'effetto di tale principio. Esso conduce il selvaggio dalla caccia alla pastorizia, quando l'esperienza gl'insegni che le intemperie o le malattie potranno impedirgli un giorno di procacciarsi la preda necessaria al vitto: ed egli provvede all'avvenire impadronendosi, quando può, di gran numero di animali pacifici, per esempio di cervi, e li conserva vivi, per potersene nutrire al bisogno. Esso fa sorgere accanto alla pastorizia l'agricoltura, quando l'uomo conducendo gli armenti alla pastura, acquistata la conoscenza degli alberi e delle piante, comincia a sperimentarne l'uso, e a poco a poco a calco larne ivantaggi che ne può ricavare con la coltivazione.Esso mena il pastore e l'agricoltore a scambiarsi i prodotti superflui della loro diversa operosità,segnando quindi la data della più potente rivo luzione nell'insieme dei loro bisogni e delle loro facoltà. Quindi, dividendosi sempre più il lavoro e moltiplicandosi gli scambii, sempre quell'identico motivo aduna insieme ad abitare in un sol luogo consumatori e produttori, e crea le città. Poscia perfe ziona le arti, regola le industrie, e fa nascere perfino le scienze. È questa la molla segreta di tutto l'umano progresso. 18. E che è la proprietà se non un sostegno dell'avvenire? E a che si ricerca e si stabilisce, se non per assicurarsi il piacere futuro? La proprietà è necessaria appunto perchè è necessario cotesto sostegno dell'avvenire. E coloro che declamano contro la proprietà, esaltando la comunanza dei beni, non sanno che si di cono, e si stenta a credere che parlino in buona fede. E che? La comunanza dei beni esclude forse la proprietà? Una massa di mezzi di sussistenza appartenente a una colonia intera senza appartenere agl'individui che la compongono,è inconcepibile.La  proprietà individuale ci sarà sempre, sebbene ridotta al libero uso che ciascuno può fare dei beni comuni; perchè in quest'uso è assicurato appunto a ciascuno il sostegno dell'avvenire; che è la vera sostanza del concetto di proprietà. Ma cogliendo il frutto, non s'è padroni di tagliare l'albero che lo produce. Ma l'albero non è per ciò sempre una proprietà,alla quale ognuno ha diritto di ricorrere, quando vuol soddisfare la fame? Ma questo diritto appartiene egualmente a tutti gl'individui della colonia. Ma da quando in qua la solidarietà del possesso ha distrutto il diritto di proprietà, che ciascun solidale ha sullo stesso fondo? E tanto è vero questo modo di vedere che,quando questa massa di beni comuni cessi, per dissensi o usurpazioni, di soddisfare ai bisogni di tutti gli individui della comunanza, cessa anche di essere una proprietà, pel solo fatto che nessuno più vi riconosce l'appoggio del suo avvenire;e allora ognuno per sussistere fa assegnamento sul suo lavoro personale, e si crea una proprietà a sè, di cui gli altri non partecipano punto il godi mento. Declamare, dunque, conchiude il nostro scrittore, contro la proprietà è pigliarsela colle affezioni costitutive del n o stro essere. Pretendere la proprietà con la comunanza dei beni, è giuocar di parole, é appigliarsi a una differenza, che rispetto alla nostra natura sensitiva è nulla. E che è la legge se non una garenzia dell'avvenire? Tutte le definizioni diverse date da CICERONE (si veda), da Montesquieu, da Grozio, da Rousseau contengono forse ciascuna una verità,ma par ziale e incompleta. La legge non è una semplice volontà, nè un pensiero generale, nè un'astrazione filosofica: ma « una potenza sempre attuale, sempre formidabile,che nasce dal bisogno di con servare inviolabili le affezioni più generose dell'anima. La pro prietà basterebbe come sostegno dell'avvenire;ma questo soste gno è ad ora ad ora scosso dalla violenza e della mala fede, con tro le quali urge appunto la garanzia delle leggi. Certo la legge provvede a un vizio della convivenza civile; e Tacito ha ragione: corruptissima republica,plurimae leges! 20. E se si riflette, la stessa religione rispecchia quel fonda mentale motivo di tutte le umane produzioni. Non è religione quella del selvaggio, che, atterrito dal rimbombo del tuono nel mezzo della tempesta,si prosterna innanzi al corruccio d'un Dio che ei si rappresenta posto sulla cima delle nubi; o del selvaggio  che all'apparire del sole vedendo sorridere la natura, adora in ginocchio l'astro luminoso, ond'egli fa la dimora sacra d'un Dio benefattore: perchè il vero sentimento religioso è ben altrimenti profondo. Religioso è l'uomo la cui anima si espande a tutto ciò che v'è di più tenero e di più simpatico nei rapporti della natura vivente, e sdegnando fieramente i limiti d'una tomba fredda e silenziosa, innalza le sue più nobili aspirazioni oltre il confine del tempo e dello spazio: l'uomo virtuoso che l'ingiustizia dei suoi simili ha gettato nelle tribolazioni dellavita,eche,non vedendo se non nella morte il termine delle proprie miserie,apre l'anima alle illusioni lusinghiere d’un'altra vita imperitura,e sospira la calma che si ripromette di trovarvi.Negli uomini diquesta tem pra conchiude il Bozzelli s'eleva il santuario della reli gione, dond'essa apparisce raggiante delle speranze più consola trici. La religione nasce pertanto come l'infinito dell'avvenire(1). Disse lo Shaftesbury, che il primo ateo dovette essere certamente un uomo triste e malinconico. Il contrario anzi è vero, secondo il nostro romantico scrittore. Le reveries seducenti della tristezza malinconica fecero nascere la religione; e l'ateo è un 21. Tutta l'umanità dell'uomo,dunque,cidice,che ogni deter minazione dello spirito procede dal bisogno d'un piacevole avve nire. E in questo bisogno perciò occorre cercare il reale fonda mento di quel fatto umano,che è a sua volta la morale. L'etica di B. è,come ognun vede,schiettamente edo nistica. E come ogni edonista, B.  concepisce la morale come un fatto naturale,ed è risoluto avversario del concetto normativo di essa. « L'homme, egli dice, ne doit être que ce qu'il est: la règle de sa conduite ne répose que sur les lois de sa constitution fondamentale... Dire que l'homme doit être par choix une cose tout-à-fait différente,de ce qu'il est par essence, c'estprétendre qu'unarbrefait pour produiredespommes,pro duise des poulets ou des poissons. E direbbe invero benissimo se questa concezione realistica della morale egli non riattaccasse alla veduta metafisica dell'antico edo nista,che honeste vivere est secundum naturam vivere; e se ricer  cui cuore freddo e gretto è incapace di allargarsi deliziose d'un'anima alle espansioni tenera e gentile. La réligion et l'irréligion ne constituent en dernière analyse qu'une simple sibilité question de sen essere il cando nell'uomo stessoilfondamento effettivo dellamoralità,egli non si mettesse innanzi l'uomo nella sua nudità primitiva. L'uomo ancor nudo, il bestione di cui parla Vico, non ha ancora moralità, è ancora natura: e bisogna aspettare, per dir così, che si vesta, perchè diventi quell'essere nella cui costituzione una concezione realistica della morale possa trovare il fondamento di fatto di questa.Ad ogni modo,vediamo come quest'uomo ancor nudo acquisti col solo motivo del piacere la moralità, secondo B.. 22. La morale non è che una continuazione, o, se si vuole, un'applicazione dell'analisi fin qui fatta delle forze operanti nello spirito, Si rifletta. Se tutti gli oggetti circostanti fossero uni formemente piacevoli,per obbedire alla propria natura, ed essere quindi completamente felice, l'uomo non dovrebbe che abbando narsi agl'impulsi della sua volontà spontanea. Ma, pur troppo, questa età dell'oro non è che nell'immaginazione di Esiodo e de gli altri poeti antichi che la descrissero. Purtroppo, le cose e gli stati sono ora piacevoli e ora dolorosi; e l'uomo, che non ab bia accumulato una sufficiente esperienza, spesse volte s'inganna: crede di seguire il piacere, e si trova innanzi il dolore: e procede sempre nella vita come naviglio in mezzo all'Oceano,ora favorito dal bel tempo, ora sbattuto dalla tempesta. Ma i disinganni e i dolori lo rendono riflessivo, distruggono in lui quel naturale abbandono agl’impulsi ciechi del volere; lo rendono sempre più prudente, e più difficile nelle determinazioni future. Gli farebbero contrarre l'abito della perplessità e della irresoluzione, se non soccorresse il giudizio,che solo ha il po tere di leggere nell'avvenire fondandosi sul passato,ed è in grado perciò di fornire una garanzia all'anima che vuole, mostrandole il bene verace, incoraggiandola, rassicurandola. Il giudizio, ricercando sempre i rapporti del mondo esterno con l'uomo a fine di garentire il volere per il futuro, accumula via via un gran tesoro di fatti positivi; che non restano patri monio esclusivo dell'individuo che ne fa esperienza,ma si comu nicano nelle famiglie, e si ereditano di generazione in genera zione; moltiplicandosi col tempo per l'esperienza degli altri in dividui;permodo cheinfinel'uomo sitrova riccodituttiimezzi che occorrono ai suoi vasti bisogni. L'analyse de la pensée a dissipé les romans,a désenchanté les osprits,a montré l'homme dans sa nudité primitive >Se non che questo fardello di esperienza che cresce sempre, non può crescere indefinitamente: perchè finisce con essere in sopportabile alla memoria. E che avviene? Una parte di esso va lentamente perdendosi nell'oblio.È vero che intanto nuove espe rienze aggiunge di proprio l'individuo; m a è tutto un versar acqua nella botte delle Danaidi.almeno sarebbe,se In queste massime, in questi apoftegmi, in tutte queste gene ralizzazioni è la morale, una morale pratica, che diventa scienti fica quando tutti i precetti, tutte le massime sono coordinate e messe d'accordo tra loro,ridotte a sistema e subordinate a un'idea unica e centrale. La morale, insomma, si riduce a una precet tisticadiprudenza;ogni imperativo,potremmo direcon Kant,è ipotetico. Come accade che la morale apparisca qualche cosa di di verso? B. spiega anche la psicogenia del concetto corrente della morale, come di un insieme di obblighi superiori, imposti alla nostra natura sensibile e non derivati affatto da questa. Una volta formate le massime generali, è naturale che, invece di fare ai figli delle lezioni pratiche richiamando o narrando tutte le singole esperienze, si preferisca d'imprimere nella loro memoria quelle regole determinate che essi potranno poi applicare nel loro interesse secondo i casi della vita; giacchè in tal modo siri sparmierà tempo e fatica,e sarà tanto di guadagnato per l'inse gnamento che si vuol dare. M a come fare accettare tali regole ai figli? La loro vera giustificazione sta nell'insieme dei casi par ticolari, da cui sono estratte. E rifare la storia di quei casi è impossibile; tanto varrebbe continuare nel vecchio sistema, e la sciar da banda le regole. Si pensa ad imporle incutendo per esse un rispetto stabile e profondo, col dare ai fanciulli un'idea m i steriosa della loro natura ed origine. Non si presenta la verità tutta nuda: si crede anzi di ren  CAPITOLO V tervenisse di genio, che, fatta una cernita non in l'opera degli uomini dotati d'una gran mobilità sieme tutti i catenano e fondono masse di quelle esperienze simili e quindi generalizzando con finezza e profondità carico di fatti individuali, in caratteri coloriti e sfumati casi particolari intere di tali esperienze, e le rendono al pubblico cui originariamente mero di parole partenevano,secondo lafineosservazione in piccol n u ap del La Bruyère, coniate, chiare e precise, in apoftegmi per dir cosi, in massime ed eleganti, in pensieri ingegnosi semplici: con cui si sostituisce e minuziosi. da tutti il pesante e forza, messi in, in   derla più bella vestendola e abbigliandola in costume da teatro. Si dice che quelle regole hanno un'origine soprannaturale, che sono innate in noi; che ognuno le porta impresse nel cuore. E vera mente come figure rettoriche queste espressioni, dice B., potrebbero correre. Si può dire, infatti, che Dio ci abbia dato queste regole nel senso che egli ci ha fornito i mezzi di scoprirle e constatarle; si può dire che siano innate in noi, nel senso che noi siamo dotati delle facoltà adatte a farcele scoprire. Ma così potrebbe dirsi egualmente,che Dio ci ha comunicate le leggi del moto,e che esse sono impresse nelnostrocuore,per ciò solo che ci ha così fatti da apprenderle mercè l'esperienza e la rifles sione. 24. Non già che le leggi morali sieno convenzionali e arbi trarie. Esse sono fisse e invariabili nell'ordine eterno delle cose; dipendono dalla nostra natura sensibile; come le leggi fisiche ap partengono intrinsecamente ai corpi.Noi non possiamo cangiarle, nè sottrarci ad esse. Ma l'origine loro nel nostro spirito non è differente in nulla dall'origine dei concetti che pure abbiamo delle leggi fisiche. Certo, nel mondo fisico, sarebbe meglio limitarsi a insegnare a un contadino come, coltivando e curando erbe ed alberi sel vatici,i nostri padri pervennero col lavoro a sostituire alla fine, per la nutrizione, frutti più dolci e più succulenti alle ghiande e alle radici. Ma in pratica,è indifferente che gli si dica al con trario,che tutto si deve al solo dono degli Dei; e che a Minerva dobbiamo l'ulivo, a Cerere le biade e a Bacco la vite.Il sistema è diventato falso,perchè si è esagerato; e a forza di voler cavare tutto dai cieli,s'è finito col farne scendere perfino il delitto e la corruzione. Ma oggimai, pare a B. che meglio si farebbe dicendo il vero ai giovani; mostrando loro come quelle regole di morale che, si additano ad essi, non sono altro che la quintessenza del l'umana esperienza accumulata a prezzo di infiniti dolori; e che seguirle è fare il proprio interesse, perchè esse insegnano i mezzi di sfuggire al dolore. La morale di B. è per questo essenzialmente intellet tualistica come quella di Socrate. Esser virtuoso è sapere: sa (2) Ma la fonte diretta è HELVELTIUS; il quale già aveva detto che bisogna « décou vrir aux nations les vrais principes de la morale; leur apprendre qu'insensiblement en   per veramente. E come Hobbes scrisse un libro De computatione seu logica, bisognerebbe scriverne un altro: De computatione seu ethica: perchè non si tratta anche in morale che di un calcolo. Ma a questo punto B. prevede un'obbiezione: la vostra morale è impossibile, perchè, incatenando la volontà al piacere, voi avete distrutta la libertà che è la condizione sine qua non della morale. Intendiamoci: bisogna distinguere libertà da libertà. Io ammetto, egli dice accordandosi pienamente col Borrelli, lalibertà,ma comepotenza d'agiresecondole determinazioni (lella volontà, senza che alcuna forza estranea Questa libertà d'agire esiste, ed è assoluta; perchè non vi sono ostacoli estranei di nessuna natura che le si possano opporre.Non ve ne sono fisici; perchè, p.es., l'impossibilità di saltare un fiume dipende dalla limitazione naturale delle nostre facoltà muscolari, ossia da condizioni del nostro essere. Non ve ne sono morali, a maggior ragione: perchè il non poter derubare, il non poter as sassinare la gente, è un ostacolo alla determinazione del volere, più che all'azione; del volere, che trova il proprio interess e nel non determinarsi mai per ciò che può distruggere la sua felicità.Non ve ne sono,infine,sociali;perchè lostato sociale,checchè ne dica Rousseau, non importa la menoma limitazione della libertà natu rale; perchè chi consideri le leggi civili secondo il fine per cui sono istituite, esse non possono che essere d'accordo coi motivi della volontà di tutti gl'individui per le quali sono dettate. E se in pratica, scrive il liberale del '20, si osserva il contrario, la colpa non è del principio:ora si parla della società, non delle società Qui il Nostro ha un'osservazione preziosa, che avrebbe vivificata tutta la sua etica, se egli se ne fosse ricordato a tempo, e che ci fa desiderare il suo Esquisse politique, che non ci è riu scito di vedere.Il concetto dello stato di natura in cui ogni uomo èlupoall'altrouomo,pare a B. un romanaffreur;esime raviglia che sia mai potuto entrare nella testa di un essere ragio traînées vers le bonheur apparent ou réel la douleur et le plaisir sont les seuls moteurs do l'univers moral; et quo lo sentiment de l'amour de soi est la seule base sur laquelle on puissojeterlesfondements d'une moraleutile» (Del'esprit). Anche per Helveltius la virtù era un calcolo, e il vizio un effetto dell'ignoranza. Senza opponga ostacoli. questa libertà la felicitàsarebbe impossibile; e sarebbe quindi anche impossibile la morale) nevole. Il vero stato di natura, egli dice, non è che lo stato so ciale: e ciò è così semplice, cosi chiaro, così intuitivo che non è mestieri dimostrarlo. Ma l'osservazione è quasi guastata dal commento:che sarebbe stata un'inconseguenza quella della natura di aver fatto l'uomo per la felicità e per la società che ne è la condizione fondamentale, e avergli conferito insieme tali diritti (ipretesi dirittidinatura,abbandonati,secondo Rousseau, perla sicurezza di altri diritti acquistata con lo stato sociale) da esser egli obbligato a disfarsene tosto per compiere il suo vero destino. Tutte le limitazioni, insomma, sono limitazioni del volere, o del corpo stesso dell'agente: non sono mai estranee ad esso; e. non si può dire mai, quindi, che importino una restrizione della libertà di agire. Quanto questo agente, considerato non solo come volere,ma anche come organismo corporeo,sappia di crudo m a terialismo, non occorre spiegare. Era la tendenza intrinseca di tutto il pensiero bozzelliano, che dalla sola sensibilità si proponeva di cavare anche ciò che ha natura essenzialmente superiore. Dunque, libertà di agire, si: ma se si pretende anche li bertà di volere, il Nostro non dubita di affermare che un tal concetto è parto d'immaginazione indelirio. La libertà presup poneilvolere;enonpuòquindi esser presupposta da essa, perchè, per esser libero, bisogna prima volere; laddove la libertà del volere importerebbe che si fosse liberi prima di volere. L'argo mentazione qui è evidentemente viziosa, avvolgendosi in un cir colo: giacchè si vuol dimostrare che l'unica libertà è quella di agire, e contro quella di volere si toglie una ragione dalla li bertà di agire. Giacchè solo rispetto all'agire la volontà precede la libertà. Ma B. domanda che significhi la frase libertà di vo lere. Se si crede, egli dice, che si possa volere senza motivi, ciò è assurdo. Si vuole perchè si sente; mancando la sensazione pia cevole, la facoltà di volere resta inattiva, demeure en silence.Non si può volere, senza voler qualche cosa, senza un fine: voler nulla è non volere. E non è possibile nessuna distinzione tra fine e motivo. Se poi s'intendesse per volere libero un volere non impedito da ostacoli, non si direbbe nulla di positivo; perchè gli ostacoli possono opporsi ai movimenti comandati dal volere, non al volere. Il volere è come il pensiero: nessuno e nulla può comprimere la libertà del pensiero in se stesso, che non è suscettibile di nessuna opposizione diretta.Impedire si può la mani festazione del pensiero, con la parola o con gli atti. Il concetto d'una possibile determinazione contraria a quella effettivamente datasi, è assolutamente arbitrario: perchè la v o lontà indipendente dalle sue reali ed effettive determinazioni, qual'è quella cui tale possibilità si riferisce,è un'astrazione senza nessun fondamento di realtà. La volontà è volta per volta determinata in maniera neces saria. « L'uomo non può volere che il piacere: non è padrone di volere il dolore, perchè dolore e volontà s'escludono a vicenda. Questa risposta è perentoria. Questa necessità del volere però, lungi dal contrastare la morale, è la sola che possa salvarla. Data la libertà del volere, ogniideadimoralesar ebbeannientata. E laragioneèovvia. Questa libertà importa che la volontà sia indifferente al piacere e al dolore; epperò, che quelli che si dicono oggetti piacevoli, e quelli che si dicono oggetti dolorosi producano di fatto impres sioni analoghe. In verità, non si potrebbe volere il dolore senza ammettere insieme che questo possa produrre sull'anima un'im pressione simile a quella prodotta dal piacere. M a questo sarebbe distruggere ogni differenza, e quindi ogni distinzione di male e di bene, e ogni ragione di merito o di demerito delle nostre azioni, ogni fondamento insomma della morale.Importerebbe inoltre, con la possibilità di scegliere il male, una certa relazione invariabile tra i bisogni umani ed il male, come ve n'ha di certo tra i bi sogni e il bene: onde non sarebbe una colpa l'abbandonarsi al male. Ne inganni il fatto che, malgrado la ripugnanza naturale,il vo lere si determini talvolta pel male; ciò accade perchè il male si presenta allora sotto l'apparenza di bene, e il dolore riveste non di rado a'nostri occhi le forme seducenti del piacere. La stessa morte al suicida stanco di soffrire apparisce come una liberazione o un sollievo,e perciò appunto un piacere. Rousseau, ostinato libe rista, in un momento di felice ispirazione esce in un'affermazione importantissima e tanto più preziosa, in quanto è fatta da lui: « Non, egli dice,je ne suis pas libre de ne pas vouloir mon propre bien,je ne suis pas libre de vouloir mon mal: mais la liberté con siste en cela même que je ne puis vouloir que ce qui m'est con venable,ou que j'estime tel.S'ensuit-ilque je ne suis pas mon maître,parce que je ne suis pas le maître d'être un autre que moi?» Ora, si può modificare ilpuntodivista:maquestoè verissimo: che libertà vuol dire e deve voler dire esser se stesso, non già poter esser altro che sè. B. insiste molto nel combattere tutte le astrazioni, tutte le creazioni,come direbbe Hegel, dell'intelletto astratto nel campo dell'etica. Perciò egli richiama l'attenzione sul parallelo sviluppo dei bisogni e delle conoscenze umane corrispettive, per cui è possibile che i bisogni sieno soddisfatti, attraverso i secoli. I bisogni crescono sempre e si complicano; crescono e s'affinano insieme le conoscenze relative; anzi il desiderio di nuovi piaceri stimola a nuove conoscenze, e le nuove conoscenze suscitano e creano nuovi desiderii e nuovi bisogni. I bisogni sono oggi infi nitamente di più e maggiori che una volta; e la loro soddisfazione è certamente più difficile; e quindi più difficile la felicità. La vita d'una volta era un navigare su un lago tranquillo,donde si discopra con uno sguardo la ridente e pittoresca riviera; la vita d'oggi è un traversare un oceano tempestoso e pieno di scogli,i cui confini si confondano con l'immensità dello spazio. Ma non pertanto quei moralisti che, per assicurare agli uomini la felicità, vorrebbero farli risalire, a ritroso degli anni, verso lo stato di semplicità primitiva in cui li pose la natura, rassomigliano al medico che chiamato a curare un'indisposizione, visto che è s e m plice effetto di vecchiaia, imputasse al malato la decadenza da quella prima età in cui questi mali sono ignoti,e gli consigliasse per tutto rimedio di tornare agli anni fiorenti della giovinezza. V’ha una successione di età come per l'uomo fisico così pel morale;come per l'individuo, così per l'umanità.L'uomo col suc cedersi dei secoli passa di condizione in condizione, si trasforma naturalmente; e tornare indietro è impossibile; concepire il ritorno è sogno seducente dell'uomo dabbene, che crede possibile tutto ciò che l'immaginazione gli presenta come desiderabile. Nello stesso errore cadono stoici ed epicurei,dimezzando l'uomo e creando un essere fittizio non corrispondente punto alla realtà. Gli uni credono di poter assicurare la felicità all'uomo, spogliandolo di tutti i bisogni, e facendolo impassibile a tutti i piaceri, intento unicamente a non so quale virtù selvaggia, posta non come d'ordinario in un luogo alto e difficile,ma addirittura in una regione eterea al di là della na ra umana, e appena accessibile agli slanci d'una immaginazione ardita e malinconica. Gli altri vorrebbero sottrarre anch'essi l'uomo alla inquietudine dei bisogni suggerendogli il carpe diem, il partito di appigliarsi ai piaceri più prossimi per procurarsi la voluttà del corpo e l'in dolenza dell'anima.I Cinici e i Cirenaici,precorrendo queste dot trine, le avevano di già screditate esagerandole. L'uomo di Z e none è un'astrazione; perchè l'uomo come essere sensibile non esiste che pel mondo esterno, al quale deve lo sviluppo della sua sensibilità; e non può chiudersi in se stesso e rinunciare a tutte lesensazioni,come dovrebbe,persottrarsiatuttiibisogni.L'uomo segregato dall'universo e divenuto come una statua, è l'uomo sna turato, l'uomo distrutto. Così l'uomo di Epicuro, che rinunzia alle più alte soddisfazioni per pascersi dei piaceri più facili, con trasta con ogni idea di progresso, di attività umana: è mezzo uomo ancheesso; èsimileall'aquila,che,dotatadialiper slan ciarsi verso la luce fiammeggiante del sole, preferisse di sbaraz zarsene per somigliare ad un rettile. M a già queste opposte dottrine ci dicono che oggetto unico della morale è per tutti il piacere; principio unico da cui partono e a cui tendono tutte le azioni umane. La virtù selvaggia degli stoici non è che il pegno simulato d'un piacere infinito; « e il torto di Epicuro non è.di aver fondato la morale sulla voluttà, per chè la voluttà è certo il sinonimo del piacere; ma di averne pro stituito l'idea,e tagliato lepiù splendide ramificazioni. Lo si combatte grossolanamente, laddove si tratta di rifiutare il senso stretto che egli vi lega: perchè infine la pratica della virtù è essa stessa una voluttà (4); e come dice con molto acume Montaigne: pour être plus gaillarde, nerveuse,virile, robuste,elle n'en est que plus sérieusement voluptueuse. L'uomo,insomma, è tutto l'uomo,e il piacere, motivo delle sue azioni, non esclude nessuna forma di piacere. Di qui è chiaro che tante saranno le forme di piaceri, quante sono le attività o gli stati dell'uomo; perchè altrettanti saranno i suoi bisogni. B.distingue nell'uomo la sua esi stenza animale e la sua esistenza sociale: le due condizioni, egli Non occorre qui notare la inesattezza storica di questa interpretazione del pensiero di Epicuro.E già nell'inesattezza il Bozzelli è in buona compagnia;perchè anche Kant pensava lo stesso) dice, che lo comprendono e costituiscono tutto intero. Quindi i piaceri sono classificabili in piaceri animali e piaceri sociali.La de duzione degli uni risulta dal già detto. Donde gli altri? Anche B. accetta la teoria della simpatia morale:il piacere degli al tri è nostro piacere,per l'identità di natura tra noi e i nostri simili. M a questi piaceri animali e sociali sono in relazione fra loro. Quali naturalmente prevalgono? E qui il Bozzelli rifà la solita critica dei piaceri egoistici,animali. Questi piaceri si riferi scono ai bisogni fisici, che non hanno nessuna latitudine, nè spa ziale nè temporale. Le condizioni della materia ne fissano i limiti. Portano sempre con sè sazietà e disgusto.Il godimento ne dissipa tutta l'attrattiva.Non hanno successione,nè continuità:si gene rano e svaniscono come fenomeni effimeri e staccati. Nascono col bisogno, e finiscono col bisogno:saziata la fame, la vista sola dei resti del pasto è importuna e sgradevole.Il letto, sollievo all'uomo stanco,diviene tormentoso a chi vi debba restare a lungo senza interruzione. Il fasto viene a noia, e dopo averne lungamente goduto,si cerca la campagna e idisagi.Questi piaceri insomma sono, per dirla con Plutarco, come aurette di venti graziosi che spirano le une su una estremità, le altre sull'altra estremità del corpo, e passano e svaniscono incontanente: così breve ne è la durata; simili alle stelle che si vedono la notte cadere dal cielo, o traversarlo da un punto all'altro, essi si accendono e si spengono sulla nostra carne in un istante. Dipingete un quadro con le tinte contrarie; e avrete la rap presentazione dei piaceri sociali.Di qui ilmaggior pregio (edoni stico, s'intende) e la naturale prevalenza dei piaceri sociali sugli. Nell'espressione di piaceri sociali, questa designazione ha però un senso molto largo: altri direbbe sentimenti spirituali. L'autore infatti li contrappone ai piaceri animali, dicendo questi jouissances directes du corps, e quelli jouissances directes de l'ame. Gli o g getti dei primi « consistent dans tout ce qui et rapport à l'entretien matériel de la vie et auxagrémensimmédiatsdessons»; glioggettideglialtriconsistonoinvecein «toutce qui a rapport à cette correspondanco, harmonique des sensibilités, en vertu de laquelle noussympathisonsavec les jouissances aussi bien qu'avec les sauffrances de nos semblables; etnousnous tentons poussésàaugmenter lesunes, àsoulagerlesautres,ànousréjouir du bonheur,à nous afsiger du malheur de notre prochain.  Il quale, come il Nostro, non s'accorge combattendo L’ORTO, che ancheL’ORTO cosi critica i piaceri sensuali. Vedi l'opuscolo di Plutarco, (he non si potrebbe ri vere felicemente secondo la dotlrina di Epicuro.)animali. Di qui la superiorità della morale sopra le fisiche incli nazioni ad essa contrarie. 34. Tutti i piaceri sociali si risolvono in quelli della giustizia e della beneficenza. La giustizia è il riconoscimento della invio labilità della proprietà, di cui s'è già parlato. La beneficenza è la sodddisfazione degli altrui bisogni, sentiti come nostri per effetto della simpatia. I due fatti si suppongono e quindi s'in tegrano a vicenda. La beneficenza è una conseguenza della giu stizia; che ha luogo quando uno o più individui dell'aggregato sociale a cui apparteniamo, non abbiano quel sostegno dell'avve nire, che è la proprietà. E del pari la giustizia è una conseguenza della beneficenza, poichè se siamo benèfici per non soffrire con altri, non possiamo violare quella giustizia che è la condizione della proprietà. Questi due fatti sono la base della società,di ogni ocietà, vuoi domestica,vuoi civile,vuoi politica: sono la pratica della virtù. Ma che è propriamente virtù, e che è vizio? Il Bozzelli richiama un principio notissismo di psicologia: che l'abitudine at tenua la coscienza e quindi il grado di piacere e di dolore pro dottoci dalle impressioni; e osserva che non si può perciò fuggire il dolore abbandonandosi al piacere, se non si vuol fare come il medico che per guarire la malattia uccide l'ammalato. Bisogna lottare contro il dolore, per disarmarne la violenza, acquistando l'abito di soffrirlo, e quindi affrontando il dolore, anzi che vol gergli le spalle o accasciarsi sotto il suo peso: m a occorre i n sieme lottare contro i piaceri per impedire che l'abitudine digo derne non ne distrugga ilbeneficio,usandone quindi con prudente moderazione. Epperò occorre dare all'anima tal forza di carattere che le permetta di padroneggiare la tempesta delle passioni. E quella tempra acquisita, che rende l'anima capace di soggiogare con successo tutti i dolori, e restare ferma contro le seduzioni dei piaceri che tentano di snervarla, è quel che  B. dice propriamente virtù; e il contrario,vizio. Insomma, la virtù è l'arte di godere. Fermezza nei dolori,moderazione nei piaceri, sono i suoi caratteri; come debolezza nei dolori, intemperanza nei piaceri,sono i caratteri del vizio. Quindi il grande uffizio della pedagogia: che imprima alla fibra animale, quand'è ancor tenera e flessibile, e all'anima, quand'è ancor nuova e accessibile a tutte) le affezioni, una serie di abitudini che le rendano atte a quella fermezza e moderazione,che crea insomma la virtù. La quale, secondo il B., è unica e indivisibile, se si distingue dagli atti virtuosi,in cui può manifestarsi.Per la povertà naturale del linguaggio o pel desiderio di nobilitare cose ordinarie e comuni,si decora sovente del nome di virtù ogni qualità ac quisita a forza di fatica e di studi e perfezionata dall'abitudine di un lavoro continuo e ostinato. E in questo senso,per esempio, in Italia si dice che un pittore,un musico,un ricamatore, un fa legname e perfino un muratore ha della virtù; e qualche volta si aggiunge, ed è un'espressione più felice, che ha questa virtù nelle mani. M a tale virtù non si può confondere con la virtù morale: la quale non è indirizzata*a vincere ostacoli che si oppongano alle mani: ma è solamente quell'energia abituale dell'anima che signoreggia dolori e piaceri, schermendosi dai primi per non re starne vittima, e tenendosi lontana dai secondi per serbarne la freschezza. Ogni altra accezione del termine virtù è falsa, o equi voca,od esagerata. Queste le linee principali della concezione etica bozzel liana: alla quale non si possono per certo negare ipregi della coe renza, del rigore e dell'acume filosofico. È vero che l'originalità si riduce a ben poco, quando si pensi alla dottrina di Adamo Smith (Teoria di sentimenti morali) e a quella di Helvetius (Trattato dello spirito): delle quali è come una contaminazione. Dal l'una è tolta di peso la teorica della simpatia; dall'altra il pretto edonismo e lo spiccato intellettualismo: e questi tre sono i tre ele menti principali e costitutivi dell'etica che abbiamo esposta.Ma è innegabile tuttavia,che B. ha saputo fondere insieme que sti elementi e imprimervi uno stampo proprio, formandone un si stema ben organato e compiuto: tale che la letteratura contempo ranea francese e italiana non ha nulla da mettervi accanto.Con ciò, s'intende, non si dice che è tutto vero quello che B. crede tale.Ma farne la critica sarebbe inutile ormai che quella po sizione è di lungo tratto oltrepassata. Era stata,anzi,oltrepassata prima che B. pensasse a scrivere: ma in una parte della storia delle idee, che non entrò nella sua cultura di ideologo. È noto quale importante parte all'educazione attribuisce l'Helvetius.Cfr.A Piazzi, Helvetius nel Dizionario illustr, di pedagogia dei proff. Martinazzoli e Credaro; e l'arti colo dello stesso, Le idee filosofiche e pedagogiche di U. Adr. Helvetius, nella Rivista di filosofia scientifica. The grand exception to this generally bleak depiction of characters is CATONE (si veda), who stands as a Stoic ideal in the face of a world gone mad (he alone, for example, refuses to consult oracles to know the future). Pompey also seems transformed after Pharsalus, becoming a kind of stoic martyr; calm in the face of certain death upon arrival in Egypt, he receives virtual canonization from Lucan. This elevation of IL PORTICO and Republican principles is in sharp contrast to the ambitious and imperial Caesar, who becomes an even greater monster after the decisive battle. Even though Caesar wins in the end, Lucan makes his sentiments known in the famous line Victrix causa deis placuit sed Victa Catoni. The victorious cause pleased the gods, but the vanquished [cause] pleased Cato. CATO A TRAGEDY. ADDISON. IL  CATONE TRAGEDIA  DEL SIGNORE ADDISON.Addison. Salvini  CATONE: TRAGEDIA ADDISON. CATONE TRAGEDIA. ADDISON. SALVINI. FIRENZE, Neftenus. Con \UM Stftr.  A iattanza di Scaletti. Catoni autem quum ìncredibilem trihuijjet Na*  tura gravitatevi, eamque ipfe perpetua con*  [tanna roboravìjjet, femperquc in propth  Jtto fufceptoqut confili permanfijfet,  tnoriutidum potim, quam tyranni  vultus afpiciendui fuit. Cic.de Officlib. x.cap.jn ALL' ILLUSTRISSIMO SIGNORE &c.  Enrico Mylord Colerane.  iBajtrifàm Signore E molte bbbligazioni, che  io protetto alla gentilezza di VS. Illuftriflìma, e la fperienza  avuta da' primi Letterati di emetta  Città del suo profondo sapere, già predicato dalla Fama, ed ammirato da   i etti elfi per mezzo della fua dotta con-  venzione, mi fpirano un umile ar-  dire di dedicarle la celebre Traduzione della infìgne Inglese tragedia  del Catone, che addio efee di nuovo col fuo fteflò Originale alla luce;  ficuro che Ella 1’accetterà di buon  animo, come fuole, eftimatore giuftiifimo, doverofamente incontrare  tutte le buone e belle opere degl' in-  gegni più follevati, e come proveniente da chi fi pregia d* effere   Di VS. Illuftrifsima  Ewotiffino e Obbligai iffmo Servitù?* Scaletti . La presente Tragedia del Catone, parto felici/fimo del nobile fpirito delSig. Ad-  m V di fon, efendo per comune eftimazione  de* dotti de IT Inglefe Idioma, sì per la fublimita  àe % concetti, che per la finiffima leggiadrìa dello ftile, uno de' più rari poetici componimenti,  che in fimil genere abbia mai riportato il gra-  dimento e l’applauso universale ; non e maraviglia, che f ralle Nazioni più eulte ella abbia  incontrato il genio di alcuni ingegni più folle-  vati y i quali di buona voglia abbiano impiega-  to tutte le forze del loro talento per trafportarla  ciafeuno nel proprio nativo linguaggio. llSig.Hul-  Un, per foddisfare al dejiderio impaziente del  Pubblico, che bramava di vederla renduta più  univerfale per mezzo di una traduzione Fran-  zefe, s' impegno a intraprenderla in ver fi ; ma  non ebbe terminata la prima Scena dell’Atto primo, che modeflamente fe ne ritiro, allegan-  do per fua difefa, che egli non fi ftntiva di forze cosi gagliarde per profeguire una fatica così nfpra e [pino fa. Ed in fatti, come offerva  giudiziofamente Boyer, il quale, tutta in- !  fera in profa la traduffe „ può il Traduttore 1  „ f* ^ro/à girel*, r he ha detto Addison ; ma non può dirlo in verji, e  spezialmente in lingua Franzefe, ove necef-  „ fastamente fa di meflieri il mutare, iltroncare, e t aggiugnere. La lingua Inglese, come egli dice, Nativo effondo di Francia, emula  della Greca e della latina, non foffre qualunque  benché minima fuggezione, nata per se medesima fertile, calzarne, ed efprimentifftma nel colorire i caratteri di quei foggetti, de' quali ella  prende ad efprimere i fentimenti ; laddove per  lo contrario la lingua Franzese, raffinata continuamente da nuove regole, e da nuovi coflumignon ammettendo alcuna di quelle temerità,  giuflamente chiamate felici, reputa come difet*  ti le vive immagini delle efpreffioni, e fe figure  un poco gagliarde e fublimi fono appreffo di queU  la Nazione in iftima di ftravaganze e d’errori.  Oltre di che il numero e P armonia, per cui leggiadramente rifuonano gP Inglefi poetici componimenti, non poffono così di leggieri efere trasportati nel ver/o Franzefe, a cagione della fchiavitù della rima, da cui non mai fi fan potuti  liberar qué* Poeti : e di quel gran verfo di dodici e di più /illabe % che chiamano Alefandrino:  il qual verfo conviene, particolarmente alla Tragedia sì poco % quanto poco fe le conviene P Efa-  metro, cui Ariftotile in qucfto genere di Poesia  fortemente condanna* Ufano gP Inglefi una spezie di verfi, appellati verfi bianchi, cioè puri e  netti di rima, i quali coflando di cinque piedi,  corrijpondono appunto al verfo Jambico degli  Antichi y che fecondo Ariffotile fembra e fere fia-  to dettato dalla natura medefima per frammi-  fchiarfi più facilmente nella conv erf azione y e nel  ragionamento famigliare, che ì il proprio ca-  rattere del Dialogo, in cui fi rapprefentano le  Tragedie. Così privo del forte foffegno e della  tfprejftone e del verso > difperando il SigMuUin  di poter venire felicemente a capo nella intra-  prefa verfione, lafcio Ubero il campo ad altro  fpirito 9 o più ardito o più attivo del fm > cui più  agevolmente potejfe fot tire quefta nobile impre-  fa . Frattanto pero > perche il Tubblico non reftajfe a fatto privo della lettura di qucfto inge-  gnofiffimo componimento, il fiprannominato Sig.  Boyer fi contento di pubblicare la fua verfione   in in profa, impreffa Londra per  Air. Giacomo Toh fon : della quale, quantunque fedele, perocché priva della sua naturale armonio/a bellezza, poffiamo dir giallamente, cta e/-  /# è mancante del fuo più chiaro spleudore. Quefle d'ufi citila pero di non esprimere felicemente i [entimemi più vivaci e gagliardi degli  fr ameri liuguàggi, in qualunque maniera fi fieno rapprefentati, non le pruova certamente il  no (irò toscano idioma, il quale > giù a la f rafie  del noftro celebraùjftmo DATI (si veda) di dolcezza e di eleganza non cede al ftcuro ad alcuna delle lingue vive, e colle morte più cele-  „ tri contende di parità, e forsè aspira alla  5 > maggioranza: se pure non vogliamo dire affilatamente con SALVI SALVIATI (si veda) ati$  che siccome la lingua latina ha dolcezza minore che la greca non ha; così nella nojlra, non  ritrovando fi quella pronunzia difficultofa efpiacevole, che nella greca si trova, accagionatagli  dagli accoppiamenti multiplici delle confonanti,  j quali comunemente rendono a/prezza ; n£ no*  Siri vocaboli, come in quella addiviene, quefta  durezza non e che rade volte 0 non mai . Ala  non efendo, queffo. luogo qppropofito per difcorrere  difufamente delle lodi del noftro volgare  Idioma, e particolarmente per effere (lata que-  fi a materia trattata con tanta aggiuflatezza,  con tanto gufto e di fornimento non folo dà* fo-  pr -accennati chiarirmi autori, ma inoltre  cora da Varchi, da Buorti watt ci, e da altri,  che niente più ; mi riftrignerò a dir brevemente  quanto appartiene a quefla prefente Tragedia:  cui fe non ha goduto la bella forte di e fere (la-  ta trapiantata felicemente nel? Idioma Franze-  fe> renduto per altro oramai qua fi che neceffa-  rio air wtiverfale letteratura ; la ha ben ritrovata nel no Uro linguaggio per la fu a maravi-  glia efpreffione y fecondità, e dolcezza. Vin*  figne w flro e non mai abbaflanza lodato Salvini, quegli   „ che d' alto fapere il petto pregno   „ Scorre a fua voglia il dotto e bel paefe  „ Dell' alma Grecia, e cui fon lievi imprefe  ^Spogliarla d' ogni fuo più caro pegno;  ( come di lui con aurea Tofana eloquenza can-  to P inclito Segretario della Reale %A ce ad ernia  di Frància, P cibate Regnier Des-31arais, )  tratto dalla fama di queflo nobiHfimo componi-  vi eutO) e dejiderofo di contemplarne neff Origi+  1 t naie naie le fue rare bel Uzze, (limo lene rivoltare  tutto il fuo (ìndio a riajjumere P Inglefe Idioma,  da e/lo può a quel tempo traforato : lo che nel  breve giro di foli due mefi, non tanto per la  fua pertinace fatica, quanto per lo metodo eti-  mologico, fuo famigli ariffimo e quaft che naturale, in tal maniera gli venne fatto, che francamente P attività penetrandone, poti con mae*  jlofa franchezza tutte le difficuìta fuperare,  che nel tradurre queir Opera altrui fi erano at*  tr aver fate. Vedeva egli, come pratichi/fimo del  tradurre [ avendo arricchito delle fue {limati^  lifjime traduzioni la noSlra favella di tutte le  foavi, leggiadre, fièli mi, ed eleganti maniere,  che negli immenfi tefori de' Greci Toeti fi /lavano chiufe, e per così dire nafcofe] quanto a  tal fatto ella fia capaci fflma ; maneggevole per  fe medefima e fendo, e atta qual molle cera a  rapprefentar fedelmente i concetti, le parole, e  le ftefe efprefioni ; anzi, ciò che ì più malagevole, Paria ftejfa, il colore, e 7 carattere di  tutte quelle fembianze, che dagli Autori, che fi  prendono a tradurre, furono impreffe nette loro  compofizioni . Contribuigli a queflo inoltre non  poco la finora dolcezza del noftro maggior verfi Tofcanó, il quale, oltre al non ejfere in fimili componimenti inceppato, per così dire, e riftretto dalP orpellato vincolo delle rime, rifponde il più delle volte in certo modo per la fua  mi fura a una fpezie degli Jambici degli Anti-  chi, i quali, come fi e detto di [opra, /limati  furono tanto proprj della dramatica, che di  niuno altro mai non fi fervirono più facilmente  tutti gli antichi Greci t latini poeti . Impegnatoli adunque il no/Ir o Salvini nella verfione  di quefta eccellente Tragedia: e sì per la pafto-  ftta della lingua y da effo tante volte in fimili  congiunture fperimentata : e sì pel maeflofo con-  certo de % ver fi, in cui la traduceva, a lei pro-  priijfimi, quanto altri mai, felicemente venutone a capo, vemie nelle mani degl’accademici Compatiti della Citta di Livorno, da' quali nel Carnovale recitata con bella  maniera, e con maeflofo apparato ; per la viva-  ce efprejfione, e per la fedeltà fmcerijftma fu  tanto ammirata da i Sig. Inglefi dimoranti in  quel Torto, che (limolarono il medeftmo a per-  metterne la pubblicazione, fuc ceduta /' anno appreso in Firenze per mezzo delle Stampe de 9  Guidacci e Franchi, con applaufo univerfale de   t * gli 3( sii )fr   £/' Intendenti deW uno e dell' altro linguaggio,  mot* //* atteflano i Sig. Giornalifti di Venezia  nel loro Tomo XXll.pag.^/^. Ma per non derogare all’ingenua modeflia del no/Iro chiarij/t-  ino Traduttore non ini pare fuor di propofito il  ripetere in queflo luogo, e colle fue flejje parole,  /' obbligazioni che egli profeta ad alcuni nobili  /piriti Inglefi, che non poco gli conferirono a  perfezionare quefta verfione ; primizia, come  egli la chiama, del fuo fiudio in queW Idioma:  „ E perche ( dice egli nella Prefazione al Lettore  » appo Sia alla prima edizione ) fecondo il famoso detto di PLINIO (si veda) eft plenum ingenui pudoris, fateri per quos profeceris ; non debbo  „ non confeflare, molto dovere al già Inviato  J9 noftro d Inghilterra, genero fo ed ornato Ca-  yy valsere y Sig. Giovanni Moles-Worth, fitto i  „ cui aufpicj quefta mia traduzione nacque, e  „ al dotto Sigi Lochart, ambedue delle finezze „ della noftra Lingua intendentifsimi .  Da quefta Verfione ne efcì toffo in Venezia  un altra, ftampata peH Coletti, della quale  non fa di meftieri il parlarne, per effere in efta  in più parti travi fata la prima, troncando mol-  to del r e cit amento, sì per fervire, come dice il fuo Imprefario, al gufto moderno del Teatro Ita-  li ano, ricucendola a foli tre Atti ; dovecch},come  fono tutte le antiche, ella è compofla di cinque:  sì ancora per lo continuo fnervamcnto della for-  za e della energia, cagionatole dalla mutazione  delle parole e de' ver fi, folo per piacere all'  orecchio del comun Topolo, che pago e contento  di quel femplice titillamento e prurito, non penetra addentro nel midollo e nella foftanza del-  la materia . Ma per ritornare alla nojlra, appena ella  fu e f cita felicemente alla luce, che divenuta ra-  rifjìma non fu poffibile ritrovarne ne pure m  filo efemplare per foddisfare alle continue in-  ftanze, che giornalmente da tutte le parti ne  erano fatte ; onde conofcendo io da gran tempo  quanto gli amatori delle lettere fojjero defide-  rofi di vederne una nuova impresone, finalmente mi fon rifoluto di farla comparire di nuo-  vo alla luce, arricchita dello (lejfo fuo Originale  lnglefe. Ne perocché fieno molti filmi quegli, che  alla cognizione di quel nobil linguaggio non fi  fono per anco affacciati, giudico io, che fia per  efjere alt univerfale difaggradevole quei/o mio  penfamento, potendolo almeno ciafcuno riputar- *3( xiv )fr   /<? utili fsimo a chi di ejjo procura adornar fene,  mentre, m/ /» giw occhi può  contemplare come le maeflofe maniere dell' uno  e delP altro linguaggio maraviglio/amente fi  corrifpondano : lo che certamente fenza il con-  fronto o fenza l } oftinata fatica di uno Studio  indefejlo non fi può confeguire giammai . Per lo  che fe quefta intr apre fa riftampa farà accolta  benignamente dagli amatori delle lettere y ficco-  me io lo fpero, mi darà animo a dar fuori al*  tre cofe di ftmil genere, dallo (lefjo celebre Tra-  duttore [ cui altro non e a cuore che il giovare  e il far cortefia a que* nobili ingegni, che fi ftu-  diano di apprender le lingue, e trame da ejfe  il meglio ed il fiore per arricchirne la propria ]  lavorate dico da ejfo con non minor fedeltà e fe*  licita di quefta pr e finte, e le quali per anco non   fono alla luce . ATTORI   Del Dramma. CATONE.  LUCIO Senatore .  SEMPRONIO Senatore.  GIUBA Principe di Numidia .  SIFACE Generale de' Numidi.  PORZIO ) r .,. ~ . MARCO ) Fl g lluoh dl Catone •   DECIO Ambafciator di Cefare.  MARZIA Figliuola di Catone.  LUCIA Figliuola di Lucio.  Ammutinati, e Guardie. La Scena fi rapprefenta in una gran Sala nel  Palazzo del Governatore di Urica .   <3( * )8»    p5 0 u>/7^ the So»l by tender Strokes of Arp y  fig| f;i r*//S? /Zrr G*///**, W /<? mendthe Heart >  7o Mankindtn cotifctous Virtue bold,  Liwe oer eacb Scene, and Be isohat tbey he bold:  Tot thts the Tragic>Mnfe firfi trod the Stage,  Commanding Tears to Jlream thro euery Age ;  Tyrants no more the ir Savage Nature kept,  And Foes to V trtue monderà how tbey ivcft .  Our Atttbor shunt by *vulgjtr Springs to mwc  The Heros Glory, or the Virgin s Love;  In ptytng Love ive but our JVeaknefs show,  And -wild Ambttton isoell deferves tts ÌVoe.  Here Tears shall flo-w from a more genrons Caufe y  Sucb Tears as Tatrtots shed f or dying Lawsi  He bidsyour Breafts witb Ancient Ardor rife > And Del Sig. POPE  Alma fvegliar con madri tocchi d'arte,  Erger Jo fpirto, ed emendare il cuore,  Far l'uomo in fua virtù franco ed ardito,  Ch'ogni feena fi a norma di Aia vita,  E s' ingegni effer ciò eh' ivi fi mira ì  Qucfto, quando da prima entrò in Teatro,  Fu di Tragica Mufa il fin fublime;  Per quefto comandò, che in ciafeun tempo  Le lagrime a diluvj ne correderò.  I Tiranni, non più fieri e felvaggi :  E ; nimici a virtù ftupiano, come  Contra lor voglia disfaceanfi in pianto.  Sdegna V Autor per volgar modi muovere  Nelle femmine amor, gloria negli uomini.  In donare all'amor la pietà nottra,  Non facciam che moftrar noftra fiacchezza :  E fiera ambizion metta fuoi guai .  Da più nobil cagion qui feorreranno  Le lagrime: tai lagrime, quai fpargono  Di Patria amanti fu fpiranti leggi.  Rcfpirin voftri petti antico ardore «   Ai E flit  And calli forth Roman Drops from Brtthb Eyet.  Vtrtue conferà in human Sbape be drawt,  What Plato Tbougbt, and GodMe Caio Wat:  No common Objetl to your Sigbt dtfplayt,  Bnt wbat wttb Pleafure Heavn tt felf furueys >  A brame Man ftrttggling tn the Stormi of Fate y  And greatly falltng wttb a falli ng State !  li bile Caio giva bit little Settate Laws,  IVbat Bojom beati not in bis Country i Caufe ?  li bo feet btm aft, bnt crrviet enjry Deed t  Wbobeart bim groan y and doei not witb to bleedt  E*vn when proud Cafar 'midft triumpbal Cari,  The Spaili of Nat ioni, and the Pomp of Wars, .  Ignobly Vain, and impotently Great,  Òbowd Rome ber Cato t Figure drawn in State 5  Ai ber dead Fatbert revrend Image paft y  The Pomp wat darkend, and tbe Day oercaft,   The Trinmpb ceatd Teart gmb % d from enfry Eye ;   Tbe M r orl£t great Viclor paft unbeeded by ;  Her Latt good Man de] e eie d Rome adord,  And bonottrd C&fart Ufi tban Catat Sword,   Britaìnt attend : Be Wortb Itke tbif approdi d,  And ibow yon bave tbe Virine to be mcwd.  Wttb bonejl Scorn the firft favi d Cato miewi     Rome  £ ftillln Roman pianto occhi Britanni.  In forma umana è qui Virtù ritratta :  Quel che Platon pensò, fu il divin Cato.  Non oggetto comun fi fpiega in vifta ;  Ma ciò che il Gel con fuo piacer rimira .  Un uom prode, che lotta del dettino  Traile temperie, c grandemente cade  Mifto a ruine di cadente Stato.  Mentre dà leggi al fuo picciol Senato  Catone, e qual mai fcn non batte allora  Nella gran caufa della Patria fua ?  Chi oprar lo mira, e non invidia l'opra?  Chi miralo fpirar, nè morir brama ?  Pure allora, che Cefarc fuperbo  Tra i carri trionfali, e tra le fpoglie  Delle nazioni, e pompa della guerra,  Ignobil vano, e fattamente grande  Moftrò a Roma del fuo Caton V imago j  Del Padre fuo la reverenda imago,  Mentre ch'ella pattava, era feurata  La pompa, e'1 dì rannuvolato, e bruno:  Il Trionfo ceflava :da ciafeuno  Occhio fcn gian le lagrime fgorgando;  Ed il sì grande Vincitor del Mondo  Pattava fenza pur etter guardato :  L* ultimo fuo prod' uom Roma adorava  Abbattuta, dolente, e più la fpada  Di Caton, che di Cefare onorava.   Britanni, a un merto tal donate plaufo,  E moftratevi d'efferne commoffi,  Se tanto di valore ancor ci retta .  Con bello sdegno il primo Cato vide     ìearning Arti from G ree ce, wbom $he fubdnd  Our Scene frecarionfly fubjtfts too lovg  On Frencb Transattoti y and Italtan Song .  Dare to bave Senfe your fehes', AJfert tbe Stage \  Be jnttly ivartrìd isottb your ow» Native Kage .  Sue b Plays alone sbonld pleafe a Brtttsb Ear,  As Catos felf bad not dtjdaind to bear .  CATO  Roma da Grecia vinca apparar l'Arti.  Troppo lunga ftagion la noftra Scena  Di Francia da i teatri, e dell 1 Italia  Ha mendicato V umil fuo foftegno .  Voftre forze provate, ed al Teatro  Voftro la fua ragion ne richiamate.  Accefi fiate del nativo foco.  A Britannico orecchio, folo quelle  Opre deggion piacere, che Io (ledo  Catone d'afcolcar non sdegnerebbe. AT.    «3C 8 )S»  Portius, Marcus.     He Dawn isover-cafl 5 tbe Mornìng ìovSrs\  And bcavily in Clouds brings on tbe Day  Tbe grcatjb* import ant Day\big r witb tbe Fate  Of tato and of Rome. Our Fatbefs Deatb  Wouldfill tip ali tbe Gtuìt ofCivil ÌVar,  And clofe tbe Scene of Flood . Already C&far  Has ravaged more tban balf ebe Globe 9 and fees  Mankind grown tbin by bit definiti tue Sbordi  Sbottld he go furtber > Humbcrs isoould be wanting  To form new Battelt, and fupport bis Crimet .  Te Gods, wbat Hawock does Ambition make  Among your Works !  Marc. Tby fteddyTemper, Portiate   Can look on Guilt, Rebellion, Fraud, and Gufar,  In tbe cairn Ligbts of mild Fbìlofopby ;  Tm tortured^ e<vn to Madnefs, we* I tb/nk  On tbe prottd Vtchr :  evry  i Porzio, e Marco. Scura è V Alba, ed il mattino è fofco,  E lento in nubi fuor fen* efce il giorno,  Il grande e forte dì, pregno del Fato  Di Cato e Roma ; la morte del noftro  Padre, la reità della civile  Guerra ornai tutta porteria al colmo,  E chiuderla la fanguinofa fcena .  Già Cefar più della metà del Mondo  Ha faccheggiato : e fcorge Y uman genere  Scemato dalla Tua micidial fpada .  S'egli oltre andafsc, mancheria alle nuove  Battaglie gente a (ottener Tue colpe.  Dei ! qual ruina Ambizion cagiona  Tra le voftre opre !  Marc. Porzio, la tua fredda   Immobi! tempra a rimirar pur vale  Retà, Ribellione, Frode, e Cefare  Di mite fapienza a queto lume?  Crucciato io fon, e mi fmarrifeo, quando  Io penfo a quel fuperbo vincitore.   B To-    «K io )*   ti) ry ttme bis named  Thci*falìa rifcs to my Vttw — / fee  Tb Infnlting Tyrant frane tng oer the Fìelà  Stro isSJ-wttb Romcs Cttt^ens, anddrencb'dinSlangbter,  Hts Horfe's Hoofs wet wtth Vatrtctan Blood.  Oh Fortms, // (bere not fome cbofen Curfe y  Some btdden Tbunder in the Stores of Heaifit)  lied isotib uncommon Wratb, to blaft tbe Man  Wbo o-wcs bis Greatncfs to bis Country s Rum ?   Por. Beli eie me, Marcus, '/// an tmplous Greatnefs,  And mtxt vjttb too mucb Horrour to be enmyd :  How does tbe Lufire of our Fatbers Atltons,  Jbwgb tbe dark Cloud of Ills tbat coDer htm,  Break out, and bum witb more triumfbant Brigbtnefs I  His Suff nngs fbtne y and fpread a Glory round htm >  Greatìy unfortunate, he figbts the Caufe  Of Honour, Virine, Liberty, and Rome.  Hts Sword nc"er fili but oh tbeGutlty Head}  Oppreffton, Tyranny, and Fowr tifar fi,  Draw ali tbe Vengeanee of bis Àrm mponem .   Marc. Wbo kn<rws not tbis ? Bue wbat can Cato do  Agatnfl a World, a bafe degenerate World,  Tbat coarti tbe Toke, and bows tbe Neek to Cafar t  Peni up in Ut tea be mainly forms  A foor Epitome of Roman Greatnefs, .  And, eowerd wttb Numidìan Guardi, diretti  A fiable Army, and an emfty Senatc,  Remnants  <(».»> *   Tofto che *J nome luo gìugne al mio orecchio 3   Farfalla al'a mia villa fi prcfenta :   Veggio calcar V infultator tiranno   II laitricato campo di Romani   Cadaveri, e inzuppato in civil ftrage,   E di fangue patrizio bagnate   Degli orgogliofi fuoi cavalli V unghie.   Scelta maledizion non avvi, o Porzio,   Nelle armerie del CicI fulmin riporto   Di non comune ira di Dio vermiglio,   Ad abbattere, a ilruggere queir uomo,   Che della Patria fua lui le ruine,   Erge ( oh beati Iddii ! ) la fua grandezza?   Por£ Certo, Marco, eh' è quefta empia grandezza,  E ha troppo ortor per effere invidiata.  Quanto del noftro Padre i fatti illuftri,  De i mali, che *J circondan, tra le nubi,  Spuntan brillanti di più chiara luce/  Di gloria 1* incorona il Tuo (offrire .  Sfortunato, maggior di fua feiagura,  Ei combatte collante per la caufa  D 1 Onor, Virtute, Libertate, e Roma.  Sovra rea teda foi cadde fua fpada:  L* oppreffion, la tirannia fol traforo  Sopra lor, del fuo braccio la vendetta.   Marc. E chi noi *i fa ? ma che può far Catone  Contr' ad un Mondo, un vile e guado Mondo,  Che a Cefar piega il collo, e corre al giogo?  Di Romana grandezza ei forma indarno  Pover compendio in Urica rifpinto:  E da guardie Numidiche attorniato  Una ficvol Armata, ed un Senato   B 2 Voto Remnants of mìgbty Battei: fongbt tn matti .  By Heavns, /ivi Virtues,jo/nd witb fucb Sttccefs }  Diflratl wy very Soul : Our Fatber s Fontine  Wond almoft tempt ut to renounce bis Frecepts.   Por. Remember -wbat our Fatber oft bas told us :  Tbe Ways of Heavn are dark and intricate ^  Fu^led in Ma^es, and perplext ivttb Errors Our Under si andtv.g traces 'em in wain y  Lofi and brwtlderd in tbe fruttlefs Searcb 5  Nor fees ikutb bow mucb Art tbe Wtnitngs run,  Nor wbere tbe reguìar Confufion ends .   Marc. Tbefe are Suggeftions of a Mind at Eafe:  Ob r erti us, dtdft tbott tafle b«t balf tbe Griefs  Tbat wrtng wy Soul, tbou coudfl not talk tbus coldly .  Fajjìon unpttyd, and fuccefslefs Love,  Flant Dagpers tn my Heart, and aggravate  My otber Grtefs . Were but wy Lucia hnd! Por. Tbou feeft not tbat tby Brotber is tby Rivai:   Bnt I wufl bidè ìt .for I know tby Tewper . [ afide  Novj, Marcus y »0u>, tby Vtrtues on tbe Froof:  Fut fortb tby tttwofl Strengtb, >work evry Nerve,  And cali up ali thy Fatber tn tby Soul:  To quell tbe Tyrant Love, and guard tby Heart  On tbts iveak Side, nvbere moft our Nature fails,  Would he a Conqucft isoortby Catos Son .   Marc. Fort ìris, tbe Council wbicb I cannot taie y  Ioftead of beali ng, but npbraids wy Weaknefs .  Btd me for Honour pi unge into a iVar  Of tbtchft Foety     and *3( '3 )S»   Voto dirige, riraafuglio e avanzo   D'afpre battaglie combattute invano.   Oh Ciel ! tali virtù con tai fucceflì   Confondon V Alma : la maligna forte   Del noftro Padre, a' begli fuoi precetti   Quafi di rinunziarci tenterebbe.  For%. Del noftro Padre ti rammenta quello   Ch' ei ci dicea fovente: che del Cielo   Sono feure le vie, ed intrigate:   Noftro intelletto le rintraccia indarno,   Perfo e fmarrito nella vana inchiefta .   Nè vede con quant'arte i giri vanno,   Nè dell* ordin confufo il termin feorge .  Marc. Pender fon quefti d' oziofa mente .   Porzio, fe la metà guftato avefli   Di quei dolor, che V alma mi trafiggono,   Freddamente così non parlerefti .  Paftìon non compatita, amor fgradito   PafTanmi il cuore, e gli altri duoli aggravano .   Oh fe a me fuffe Lucia pietofa !  Tor%. Non vede che '1 fratello è fuo rivale :   Uopo è eh' io il celi : il genio tuo conofeo . a parte   Or, Marco, ora al cimento è tua virtude.   Prova tutta tua forza, opra ogn' ingegno,   Spira nell* alma tua tutto il tuo Padre .   Vincer Y amor tiranno, e *1 cuor guardare Da quella debol parte, ov* uom più manca,   Conquida fia da figlio di Catone .  Marc. Porzio, il configlio, eh' io prender non poffò,   Non fana, nò, rinfaccia mia fiacchezza .   Fa che Y onor comandi di cacciarmi   In guerra tra foltiflìmi nemici,   E cor-  W r*/& ou certa/ n Dcatb }  Then fbalt tbou fee that Marcus is not JIo jj  To follali) Glory f and confefs bts Fathcr .  Love is not to he reafond down y or lofi  In htpb Amhttton, and a Tbtrfl of Greatnefs >  'Tss ficond Ltfc, tt grows into the Soni,  Warms evry Vein y and beati in evry Fulfe y  I feel it bere : My Refolutton meltt    Por. Beboldyoung ]uba, the Numidi an Vrinceì  Wtth bow mucb Care be forni s bimfelf to Glory,  And breaks the Fiercenefs of bts Native Temper  To copy out our Fatber s brigbt Examplt .  He loves our Stfter Marcia, greatly lovet ber,  Hts Eyes, bis Looks, bis Acltons ali betray it :  But fidi the fmotherd Fondnefs burns wttbtn bìm y  When moti tt fwells and lahours for a Veni,  The Senfe of Honour and Dejire of Fame  Drive the big FaJJìcn back into htt Heart,  Wbat ì fball an Afrtcan, fiali Jubas Ueir  Eeproacbgreat CatosSon, and fbo-jj the World  A Virttte voantivg in a Roman Sotti f   Ma re. Fortius, no more ìyonr Words leave Stings befana* em.  lVben-e % rc did Juba, or dtd Fort in s, fhow  A V ir tue that bat caji me at a Dtftance,  And tbrown me out in the Furfnitt of Honoar ì   Por. Marcus, I know tby generous Temper weli ;  Fling but tV Appe arance of Dtfbonour on it,  Itftrait takes Fire, and mounts iato a Bla^e.   Marc. A Brothers Suff rtngs clatm a Brothers Fity. Por. jitized     E correr frettolofo a certa morte y  Vedrefti alior, che Marco non è pigro  A feguir gloria, ed a ritrar dal Padre.  Amor non cede, nè a ragion, nè ad aita  Ambizion, nè a fete di grandezza .  Alma novella egli è della ftefs* Alma :  Scalda ogni vena, e batte in ciafcun pollo.  II Tento io qui : disfatto è il mio coraggio .   for^. Mira il Giovine Giuba, di Numiviia  Il Principe, con quanta cura ci forma  Se medefmoalla gloria, e la natia  Fierezza frena, a far vedere in lui  Del noftro Padre il vivo illuftre efempio.  La noftra fuora Marzia egli ama, e molto  L* ama : il dicon fuoi fguardi, atti, e fembianti j  Ma chiufo il fuoco pur gli arde nel petto.  Quand* ei più crefce, ed a sfogarfi a (pira,  Sentimento d' onor, defio di fama  Spingon la fiamma a ritornare al cuore.  Che! un Affricano, ed un di Giuba erede  Rinfaccerà del gran Catone al figlio,  E potrà al Mondo tutto ancor moftrare  Una Virtù, che in cuor Romano manca ?   Marc. Porzio, non più : voflre parole lafciano  Puntura dietro a lor : quando mai Giuba,  O Porzio ancor, mi trapaflaro tanto  Nella virtudc, e dell' onor nel corfo ?   Tor^ Marco, la gencrofa indole tua  Io ben ravvifo> che fe pur sù quella,  Di difonor la minima favilla  Cada, ella prende fuoco, e forge in fiamma .   Marc. Vuol fraterno foffrir pietà fraterna.   Por^. Il     Digitized by Google     <8( ><* )&   Por. Hfdi; n faows I psty tbee : Beboìd my Eyes   ESn wbilfl I (peak Do t bey not faim in Te ars ?   Il ere bttt my Heart as naked to thy Vieiv y  Marcus isùonld fee it bleed in bis Babai f .  Marc. Why tbendcft treat me uriti Rcbukes, inftead  Of k/ud condoliti^ Cares and friendly Sorrow ?   Por. 0 Marcus, did I know tbe ÌVay so e afe  Tby troubled Heart, and mitigate thy Tatns,  Marcus y belic<ve me 7 / couìd die to do it .   Marc. Tbou beft of Brothers, and tbou befl of Fiìends !  Pardon a weak diftemperd Soul, tbat fwells  JVitb fudden Gufls, and finis as foon in Cahns,   Tbe Sport of Paffions But Sempronitts comes :   He muli not find tbts Softnefs bangi ug on me .  Sempronius folus.   COnfpiracies no fooner fboud b: forni d  Tban executed . JVbat means Portius bere ì  I IHe not tbat cold Toutb. I muft dtjìemble,  And [peak a Language foreign to my Heart . Sempronins, Portius.   Semp. Good Morroiu Porttus ! Ut us once embrace,  Once more embrace ; "ubtlfl yet we botb are free.  To Morrou) fboud noe tbus exprefs our Fr/endfbip,  Eacb mtght recede a Slave into bis Arms :  Tbis Sun perbaps, tbts Morntng Suns tbe lafl  Tbat ere f ball rife on Roman Liberty .   Por. My Fasber bas tbts Morntng calN togetber   To Por^. II Gel lo si', s' io n 1 ho pietade. Mira  Or gli occhi miei: non nuotan' effi in pianto?  Ah fe il mio cuor nudo a tua vifta fufle,  Marco il vedria in fua metà piagato.   Marc. Or perchè sì trattarmi con rimprocci,  Di blande cure, e duol compagno in vece ?   Tor%. O Marco, s' io poteffi V affannato  Tuo cuor calmare, et addolcir le pene,  Marco, credilo a me, per ciò morrei.   Marc. Ottimo tu fratello, ottimo amico!  A un turbato perdona e fiacco cuore,  Tofto gonfio in tempefta, e tofto in calma,  Delle paflìoni fcherzo... Ah ! vien Sempronio :  Che in quefto mal decoro ei non mi nuove . parte. Sempronio folo*   Scmpr. Z*^ Ongiure non più tofto handa formarO, 1   Che efeguirfi. Che vuol mai qui Porzio ?  Di quello giovan la flemma m' è noja .  Diflìmular m' è d' uopo, e ragionare  In (tran linguaggio, e dal mio cuor diverfo.   Sempronio y e Forato.  Sempr. Buon giorno, caro Porzio : ora abbracciamoci :  Un' altra volta ancor, mentre fiam liberi:  Forfè avrfa, fe doman noi ci abbracciaffimo,  Uno fchiavo ciafeun tra le fue braccia .  Qyeft' Alba forfè, e quefto Sol fia il fezzo,  Che forgerà fu libertà Romana .  Tor^ In q 11 ^* hi* povera mio Padre   C Que- To poor Hall bit little Roman Settate,   ( T£f Lcanings of Pharfalta ) to confale   Ifyet he can oppofa the migbty Torrent   Tbat bear s down Rome, and ali ber Gods, ècfore />,   Or muti at lengthgvvc up the World to Cafar.   Sempr. Noi ali the Pomp and Majefly of Rome  Can rat fa ber Senate more tban Catos f re fame %  Hit Vtrtues render our Affcmbly awful,  Tbey ftrike ntsth fometbmg Itke religioni Fear  And make enfn Cafar trcmble at the Head  OfArmies fin fa d witb Conqaeft : 0 my Portiti,  Could I but cali tbat ivondrous Man my Fatber y  Woùd but t'by Sifter Marcia he propitiont  To tby Friend / Vowt : I migbt he blefad indeedi   Por. Alas ! Sempronio, woud/i tbou talk of home  To Marcia, wbitti ber Fatbert Lifes in Danger ?  Tbou migbift at ivell court the pale trembling Veftal,  Wben fbe beboldt the boly Fiume expiring .   Sempr. The more Ifae the Wonders ofthy Race   The more Tm charm d . Tbou maft takcòeed y my Portimi  Tbe World bai ali its Eyet on Catos Som.  Tby Fatbert Merit fan tbe* up to View,  And fbowt tbee in tbe f aere ft poi ut of Ltgbt,  To make tby Virenti ir tby Fomiti confatemi. Por. Welldoft tbou feem to check my Lìngring bere On tbit importuni Hour FU Jlruit avuay,   And -nobile tbe Fatbert of the Semate meet     In Quefta mattina il picciol fuo Senato  [ Avanzi di Farfalia ] adunar vuole,  A confuicar fe ancora ei puote opporfi  Al torrente, che in giù precipitofo  Roma porta e i fuoi Dei : o pure al fine  Cedere il Mondo a Cefare . Sempr. Di Cato  La prefenza fol può Roman Senato  Erger non men, che maeftà di Roma .  Noltra affemblea fan reverenda Tue  Virtudi, e infpiran un devoto orrore.  E fanno ancora Cefare tremare  Alla tefta d' altiere vincitrici  Armate: Porzio mio, oh s' io potetti  Padre appellar qucnV uom maravigliofo,  E propizia la tua Sorella Marzia  A i voti fu (Te dell* amico tuo ;  Veracemente io mi faria beato .   ?or£. Ah Sempronio, vuoi tu parlar d' amore  A Marzia, or che la vita di fuo Padre  Sta in periglio ? tu puoi carezzar anco  Una Veftale pallida tremante,  Che già miri fpirar la fanta fiamma .   Semfr. Quanto le meraviglie di tua ftirpe   10 feorgo, tanto più ne fon rapito .  Prenditi guardia, Porzio : il Mondo tutto  Tien gli occhi fuoi fui figlio di Catone.   11 merito paterno ponti in vifta,   E ti moftra di luce al più bel punto,  A far più chiari tuoi vizj o virtudi .  Por%. Incolpi con ragion la mia lentezza  Su queft* ora importante ... Or ora io parto :  E mentre i Padri del Senato fono   Ci In clofe Belate, to iveigb tV Eventi ofJFar,  TU ammcte the Soldtcrs drooptng Courage,  Wttb Lowe of Freedom, and Contempt of Life.  TU tbunder tn thetr Ears their Country s Caufe ?  And try to rouje up ali tbais "Roman tn *cm.   not tu Mori ah to command Succefs,  But veli do more y Scmprontus noe II deferve it . [ Exit •   Sempronius folus .   Cnrfe on the Stripling ! bow be Ape's bis Sire ?  Rmbitioufly fententious !  But I wonder  Old Sypbax comes not j bis Numidtan Genius  Is weli dtfpofed to Mtftbtef, were be prompt  And eager on it > but be muft be fpurrd,  And ciìry Moment qutckr.ed to the Courfe.  Cato bas ufed me 111 : He bas refufed  Hts Daugbter Marcia to my ardent Vorws.  Befides, bis baffled Arms and rutned Caufe  Are Barrs to my Ambition. Cafars Favour,  Tbat fboisSrs down Greatneff on bis Friends, wsll raife me  To Kome's firft Honours . If 1 give up Cato,  I clatm in my Reward bis Captine Daugbter .  Bnt Sypbax comes ! Syphax, Sempronius. Syph. Q Empronius, ali it ready,   O l v w founded my Numidi ans, Man ly Man,   Ami In ferrato contratto a bilanciare  Gli eventi della guerra j V abbattuto  E fcorrente coraggio de* foldati  Ergerò coir amor di lìbertade,  Col difprezzo di vita : al loro orecchio  Intonerò lacaufa della Patria,  Ciò eh 1 è Romano in lor, dettar tentando .  Non è dell* uomo i) comandar fortuna 3  Ma quel eh* è più, Sempronio, è il meritarlo, parte   Sempronio filo .  Maledetto Garzon ! come fuo Padre  Contraf fa egli, c 'I fentenziofo affetta !  Stupifco, che Siface ancor non viene .  Il fuo genio Numidico è ben atto  Alla cattività; fufs* egli pronto;  Ma d' uopo a ogni momento egli ha dì fprone .  Meco non ben Caton s* è diportato.  Rifiutato ha la fua figliuola Marzia  A gli ardenti miei voti : in oltre V armi  Sue abbattute e rumata caufa  Oftacol ranno all' ambizione mia .  Il favore di Cefare, ed il fuo  Piover grandezza fu gli amici fuoi  Alzerà me di Roma a i primi onori.  S* io tradifeo Caton, la figlia fua  Sarà mio premio. Ma Siface viene.   SCENA Ut   Siface, e Sempronio*   Sif. Q Empronio, tutto è prefto : ho io tentati  O Tutti i Numidi miei ad uno ad uno :   In     And fini Vw ripe for a Remoli : Tbcy ali   Complatn aloud of Catos Dtfcipltne,   And watt but the Communi to clange their Majler .   Sempr. Believe me, Sypbax, tberes no Time to wafie $  £<v'« wbilfi uh* [peak, wr Conqneror comes on y  And gatbers Ground upon us evry Moment .  Alasi tbou knowft not Csfars attive Soni y  Wttb r what 0 dreadful Courfe he rufbes on  From IVar to War : In vatn has Nasute forni à  Mounsains and Oceans to oppofe bis Pajfage ;  He Bornia^ s oer ali, vittortous in bis March,  Tbe Alpes and Pyreneans feuk before bim ;  Tbrottgb JVindSyand IVaves, and Ssorms y be works bis way,  Impattentfor tbe Battei: One Day more  Wtllfet tbe Vtttor tbnndring at our Gates.  But teli me y ba/ì tbou yet draivn oer young Juba ?  Tbat jltll ivoui recommend tbee more to C&far y  And challenge bette? Terms Siph. Alas ! bes loft,   He"s loft, Sempronius ; ali bis Tbougbts are full   Of Catos Vtrtues But TU try once more   ( For e<vry Inflant l expeil bim bere )  Ifyet I can fubdste tbofe ftubborn Principici  Of Faitb, of Honour, and I know not isobat,  Tbat bave corrupted bis Numtdiau Temper,  And ftruck tb* Infetti on into ali bis Sotti.   Sempr. Be fure to prefs upon bim evry Motive.  Juhas Surrender, finse bis Fatbcrs Deatb,  IVould give up Afrtck into Csfars Hands, Ani     In punto ci fono già d ammutinarti .  Dell* auftera di Caco difciplina  Fan tutti alti lamenti : ed a cambiare  Padron, non altro attendono, che il cenno.   Scmpr. Siface, tempo quì non è da perdere.  Mentre eh* uom parla > il vincitor s* accoda,  £ campo fopra noi prende a momenti .  L* attività di Celar non conofe?,  Che con tremendo corfo Io precipita  Di guerra in guerra : invan formò natura  Montagne e mari a opporli a fuo paffaggio :  Ei formonca in Tua marcia, e varca tutto;  SpiananG avanti a lui Pirene ed Alpi :  Per entro a i venti, e V onde, e le tempefte  La via fi fa bramofo di battaglia .  Un giorno più, porrallo a noftre porte.  Ma dimmi; hai guadagnato il giovin Giuba?  A Cefar ciò si ti farà più grato,  E ti farà più vantaggiofo. Stf. Ohimè !  E* perduto, Sempronio, egli è perduto.  Son tutti i fuoi pender delle virtuti  Pieni di Caro ... Ma io vo provare  Anco una volta [ perciocch' io V attendo  Qui a momenti ] s' ancor vincer poffo  Quelle m aflìme dure ed infleflibili  Di fe, d* onore, e di non so qu ai cofe,  Che r indole Numidica hangli guada,  E tutta 1* alma fua tinta ed infetta. Scmpr. Imprimigli ben ben ciafeun motivo .  Se Giuba fi rcndeffe, poicrf è morto  Il Padre fuo ; darebbe nelle mani  A Cefar Y Affrica, c farebbel Sire   Della      And mah btm Lord of balf tbe buruing Zone .   Syph. Bup is it trae, Sempronius, tbat your Settate  Is calfd togetber ? Gods ! Tbou musi b'e cauttous !  Cato bas piercing Eyes, andivill dtfcern  Oitr Brands, unles (bey re cover d tbtck isoitb Art .   Scmpr. Let me alone, good Sypbax, TU conceal  My Tbougbts in Fajjton ( *$$$ tbefureft *way > )  TU bello w cut for Rome and f or my Country,  And moutb at Cafar ttll I fbake tbe Settate .  Tour cold Hypocrtjjc's a ti ale Dewice y  A wotm out Trick: Wonldsl tbou betbougbt in Farne ftì  Cloatb tbyfetgnd Zeal in Rage, in Ftre, in Fury !   Syph. In trotb y tbotirt ablc to inftrutl Grey bairs,  And teacb tbe wily African Deceit !   Scmpr Once more, Le fare to try tby Skill on Jnba.  Mean *wbi!e FU baslcn to my Roman Soldiers,  Infame tbe Muttny, and under band  BlocJ »p tbeir Dijcontentt, tilt tbey break out  Unlocìid for, and dtf ebarge tbemfehes on Cato.  Remembcr, Sypbax, we muft work in Hafle :  O thrà wbat anxious Moment s pafs betwen  Tbe Btrtb of Flots 3 and tbeir laft fatai Periods .  Obi *tts a dreadful Internai of Time,  Ftltd up isottb Horror ali, and big witb Deatb !  Deftrutlton bangs on c*vry Word we fpeak,  On evry Tbougbt, *till tbe concludi ng Stroke  Determtncs ali, and clofes our Dcfign . ( Exit •   Syphaxfolus   TU try ifyst I can reduce to Reafon   Thit «3(   Della metà dell'infocata Zona.  Stf. E' egli ver, Sempronio, che 'J Senato   Vollro s* adunerà ? Sii ben guardingo :   Cato ha occhi sì acuti e penetranti,   Ch' egli fi accorgerà di noli re frodi,   Se ben non fi ricuoprono con arte.  Sempr. Lafciami far, Siface : afeonder voglio   Dentro la paffione i miei penfieri .   Quefla è la via la più ficura : io voglio   Aito gridar per Roma e per mia Patria   Contra Cefar, Anch' io fcuota il Senato .   Le fredde ipocrifie fon moda antica,   E ufato giuoco . Eflfer tu vuoi creduto   Sincero ? vedi il fimulato zelo   E di rabbia, e di fuoco, e di furore.  Stf Inver tu puoi infimi r vecchi anco fcaltri,   E infegnar frode all'Affocano ifteffo .  Sempr, A Giuba guadagnar tue arti impiega,   Mentre al Romano efercito m' affretto   A incoraggiar gli ammutinati, e loro   Odii infiammar, foffiando fottomano,   Finché impenfati rompan fopra Cato,   Vuolfi, Siface, qui celeritade.   Quanto angofeiofi padano i momenti   Fra '1 nafeer di Congiure, e '1 fin fatale !   Oh qua 1 dubbio intervallo, afpro, e tremendo,   Colmo tutto d' orror, pregno di morte !   Da ogni voce pende la ruina,   Da ogni penfier, finché P ultimo colpo   Termine ponga a perigliofa imprefa . farte .   Siface foìo.   Tentar vo*, s' anco pofso alla ragione   D Rad- TWj beadìlrong Youtb, andmake bìm fpurn at Cato.  Tbe Ttme a Jbort, Csfar comes rufbtng on ut   Bnt boldl young Julafeet me y and approdi bes .   .   » >   Juba, Syphax.   Jub. O Tpbax, / joy to meet tbee thus alone .   O ì ha*V* objemed of late tby Looks are falYn y  Cfcrcaft "ysottb gloomy Cares 5 and Dtfcontent >  77>f » /f // wrf, Sypbax, / coniare tbee, w,  Wbat are tbe T bonghi tbat hit tby Brow in Frownt y  And turn tbtne Eye tbus coldly on tby Prènce ?   Syph. Tèi not my Talent to conceal my Tbougbtt,   • Nor carry Smtlet and Sun-fbtne in my Face,  Wben Dtfcontent fits beany at my He art .  I baue not yet fo mucb the Roman in me .   Jub. Wby doji tbou caft ont facb ungenrout Termi  Againft tbe Lordi and Swreigm of tbe World ?  Doft tbou not fee Mankind fall down he f or e W,  And <rwn tbe Force of tbetr Superior Vtrtue t  li tbere a Nation in tbe Wtldi of Africk,  Amtdft our barren Rocki and burning Sandi,  Tbat doet not tremile at tbe Roman Name ì   Syph. Codi l uberei tbe Wortb tbat feti tbit People tip  Aboi)e your own Numtdidt tawny Som !  Do tbey noitb tottgber Sinewi bend tbe Bow ?  Orfltei tbe Jarveltn fwtfter to iti Mark,  Larvici) d from tbe Vsgour of a Roman Arm ?  W ho Itke our atl/ve African infiruiìt   Tbe     Digitized by Google     Raddurrc quello giovane ottinato,  E fargli in fine difpregiar Catone.  11 tempo è breve : Celare ne viene .  Ma ferma! Ecco Giuba. Egli s'accoda.  Giuba, e Siface.   Giti. Q Iface, io godo d' incontrarti folo .  O Toflervai poco fa turbato in vifta,  Di nuvolofe cure ofcuro il volto .  Dimmi, Siface, io ti fcongiuro, dimmi,  Quai penfier ti contristano la fronte,  E gir fan freddo fui tuo Prence il guardo ?   Sif. Non fon atto a celare i miei pontieri .  Non può fplendere il rifo in mio fembiante,  Quando affifo è nel cuor grave fconforto :  Non ho ancor tanto del Romano apprefo.   Gtub. Perchè cai voci ingiuriofe vibri  Contra i Sovrani Signori del Mondo?  L'uman gener non vedi avanti a loro  Proftrato confettar l'alto valore ?  Evvi Nazione infra i deferri d'Affrica,  Fra no fi re rupi ignude e a r ficee arene,  Che non paventi e tremi a) Roman nome?   Sif. O Dei ! qual meno è quel, che quello popolo  Solleva fopra i figli di Numidia?  Con maggior forza tendon eflì Parco,  O vola più velocemente al fegno  Dardo lanciato da Romano braccio?  Chi come l'agile Affricano, forma     «8( )fr B   T£<? fiery Stecdy and tratnt bim to bit Hand ?  Or guide s in Troops $V embattled Elepbant,  Loaden ujitb IVar ? Tbefe, tbefe are Arts, my Pance,  In nsAich your Zama does not ftoop to Rome .   Jub. Tbeje ali are Vtrtues of a meaner Rank,  Ftrfstttons tbat are flaced tn Bones and Nerva .  A Roman Soni ts bent on bigbet Vtews :  To avi li ^e tbe rude unpoltfb % d World,  Ani lay it under tbe Reftratnt of Laws j  To make Man mtld andfoctable to Mani  To cultivate tbe wild licenttous Savage  Witb Wtfdom, Dtjapltne, and ItVral Artt ;  TV Embelltfiments of Ltfe : Virtuet Uìe tbefe  Make Human Nature fbtne, reform tbe So*l y  And break our fierce Barbarìans tnto Men . Syph.Patieuce ktndHeavml—Excufe an old Mans wamtb  JVbat are tbefe -wond* rous civili ^ing Artt,  Tbts Roman Poltfb, and tbis fmootb Behaviour,  Tbat render Man tbus tratlable and tame t  Are tbey not only to dtfgmfe our Pafftons,  To fet our Looks at vartance vottb ottr Thougbtt,  To deck tbe Starts and Salita of tbe Sotti,  And break off ali itt Commerce wttb tbe Tongue ;  In fhort, to ebange ut into otber Creatura  Tbau isohat our Nature and tbe Gods dejignd ut ì   Jub. To Vtrtke tbee Dumb: Turn up tby Eya to£atoì  Tbere mayft thott fee to ivbat a Godltke Heigbt  Tbe Roman Vtrtues lift up mortai Man .  Wbile good, and jufi, and anxious for bis Frìends y  He % s fttll feverely bent agatnft bimfelf ;   Renouncing Sleepb, and Refi, and Food, and Eafe,   He *3( >9 )»  Il feroce deftriero, e Jo maneggia ?   Chi meglio in truppe guida gli Elefanti   A ramaelt rati, carichi di guerra?   Quefte fon, Prence mio, quelle fon Farti,   Per cui non cede Zama vofìra a Roma . Gtnb. Arti d'inferior ordine fon quefte,  Forza e perfezion d' o da e di nervi .  Più alto mira un'anima Romana ;  A formar rozzo e mal polito Mondo,  E fottoporlo al freno delle leggi,  E render l'uomo all'uom mite ed amico;  Con fenno e difciplina e nobili arti  Domefticar felvaggi, e ornar la vita.  Tali arti fplender fan natura umana,  Riforman l'alma, e i barbari fann' uomini.   S/f. O Cieli, fofferenza / d' un uom vecchio  Sia feufato il calor: quali fon quefte  Mirabili arti, e Romana vernice,  E pulito contegno, che cotanto  Fan domeftico l'uomo, e civilizzalo?  Buone non fon, che a mafeherar gli affetti,  E dal volto feordar fare i penfieri,  E frenar la natia voga dell'alma,  E romper Aio commercio colla lingua,  E in altre creature trasformarci  Contra il difegno di Natura e Dio.   Ciuk Perchè tu taccia, volgi gli occhi a Cato. In lui rimira, quanto predo a Dio Virtù Romana innalza un uom mortale. Per gl’amici follecito, indulgente, A fe fteftb fevero, il sonno niega, Il riposo, ed il comodo, ed il     Col- He ftriues witb TbnJI and Hungcr, Toil and Heat;  And wb:n bts Fortune fets before btm ali •  Tbe Bomps and Bleafures tbat bis Sortì can wifb y  Hts rtgtd Vtrtne wtll accept of none. Syph. Bcltcvc ine, Prtnce, theres not an African  Tbat tra'verfes our wafi Numtdtan Dejarts  In qtteft of Prey, and Iwes upon bis Bow,  Brtt better praclifes tbefe boafted Virtues.  Coarje are bts Meals, tbe Fortune of tbe Cbafe,  Amtdft tbe rttnmng Stream be Jlakes bts Tbtrfl,  ToiFs ali tbe Day, and at tb' approacb of Ntgbt  On tbe firft friendly Bank be tbrows btm down,  Or rejìs bts Head upon a Boti "ttll Morn:  Tben rifes frefb, pttrfues bis wonted Game,  And tf tbe followtng Day be chance to fini  A fiew Repafl y or an untafled Sprtng y  Bleffes bts Start y and tbtnks tt Luxury .   Jub. Tby Prejudices, Sypbax, wont dtf certi  Wbat Vtrtues growfrom Ignorance and Cboice y  Nor bow tbe Hero dtffers from tbe Brute .  But gtant tbat Otbers coti d witb equal Glcry  Look do cjn on Pleafuret and tbe Batts of Senfe 5  IV bere fiali we find tbe Man tbat bears Affiitlion,  Great and Majefttck in bts Griefs, ìtke Cato ?  Heaiins y wttbwbat Strengtb, wbat Steadtnefs ofMind,  He Triumpbs in tbe mtdft of ali bts Sujferings ì  How does be rife againll a Load of Woes,  And tbank tbe Gods tbat tbrow tbe IVetgbt upon btm \   Syph. T## Bnde y tank Bride y and Havgbttnefs of Soul ;  / tbink Colla fete combatte, e colla famcj  Collo ftento, col caldo : e quando ancora  Tutte le pompe ed i piacer del Mondo  A contentargli l'alma s' offerì fsero,  Sua rigida virtù rigctterebbegli.   S/f. Credimi, Prence: non ci è Affricano,  Che varchi noftre vafte erme contrade  Di preda a inchieda, e di fuo arco viva,  Che tai virtù meglio non metta in opra .  Rozzo mangiar ciò che gii da la caccia :  Nel corrente rufcel traflì la fete;  Tutto il dì (tenta, e quando vien la notte  Gettali filila prima amica ripa,  O fopra rupe la fua tetta pofa  Infino a giorno. Pofcia frefeo ci forge  A profeguir fuo giuoco: e fe'l vegnente  Giorno accade eh' ci trovi un nuovo pafto,  O fcaturire un non guftaro fonte,  Dio benedice, e crede effer ciò ludo.   Ginb. La tua prevenzion quelle virtudi  Da non faper prodotte, da queir altre, Che figlie fon d' elezione umana,  Nè dal bruto diftinguer fa l'eroe.  Ma porto che con egual gloria fprezzi  Altri i piaceri e il lufinghevol fenfo,  Dove fi troverà mai un Catone  Nel fuo dolore maeftofo e grande ?  Dei ! con qual fermo e valorofo cuore  Nel mezzo a i fuoi fofFriri egli trionfa,  Sotto T incarco de* fuoi guai s’innalza,  £ di quel pefo ne ringrazia i Numi / Sif. Orgoglio è quefto, e Romana alterigia, / ri/ffl the Romani cali tt Storci/m .   Had aot your Royal Fatber tbougbt fi b/ghty   Of Roman Virtù* y and of Catos Caufe y   He had not fui In by a Slave'; Hand inglorious:   Nor would bis slangbterd Army now baue lain   On Africk's Sands, dtsfigurd iutth their Wounds, To gorge the IFohes and Vttltures of Numtdta. Jub. IV by doft tboa cali my Sorrows np afrejb ?  My Fatber s Name brtngs Tears into my Eyes .   Syph. Oh, tbat youd profit by your Fatber s tilt !   Jub. JVbat ivortd(i tbou baie me do?   Syph. Abandon tato .   Jub. Sypbax, / fiori d be more tban twice art Orpban  Byfucb a Lofi. Syph. Ay, tbere's the Tie tbat binds you ! Toh long to cali bim Fatber . Marctas Cbarms  Work in your He art unfeen y and pie ad f or Cato .  No 'wonderyou are deafto ali I Jay .   Jub. Sypbax,your Zeal becomes importunate ;  httherto permitted it to rame,  And talk at large 5 but learn to keep it in,  Leaft tt fio» Id take more Freedom tban VII gfae it.   Syph. Sir, your great Fatber newer ujed me tbus .  Alas, he s Dead ì But canyou eer forget  The tender Sorrows, and the Pangs of Nature 3  The foud Embraces, and repeated Blvjjìngs,  Wbtch you dreisofrom bim in your laìt Fareivel ?  Sttll muft I chertfb the dear fad Remembrance,  At once to torture and to plcafe my Seul. Tic  Chiamata da lor, credo,- Stoicifmo.   Non avtfle il reale padre voftro   Tanto avuto concetto del Romano   Valore, e della caufa di Catone;   Non faria fenz'onor così caduto   Per man fervile: nè Tarmata Tua   Sconfitta giacerla fu gli arenofì   Campi d'Affrica, caica di ferite   A ingraffar gli avoltoi della Numidia.  Giub. Perchè vuoi rinnovar mio cruccio atroce?   Chiamami al pianto di mio padre il nome.  Sif. Oh profittale delle fue fciagure /  Gtub. Che vuoi eh' io faccia? S$f. Abbandonar Catone.  Giub. Orfano mi farei più di due volte.  Sif. Oh, il vincolo è quefto che vi lega !   D l'aerare di chiamarlo padre.   Di Marzia i vezzi opran fui voftro cuore * Quelli fon gli avvocati di Catone,   E a tutto quel ch'io dico vi fan fordo.  Giub. Siface, voftro zelo efee importuno. Fin qui di vaneggiare io t' ho permeffo,   E parlar largo; ora a frenarlo impara,   Nè voler franco effer più eh* io non voglio.  Sif. Sir; non sì meco usò voftro gran padre.   Laflb/ egli è morto: ed obbliar potete   I teneri dolori, e le trafitte   Di natura, ed i cari abbracciamenti   Le replicate benedizioni,   Ch'egli vi diede nelf cftremo addio ?   E' d' uopo eh* f accarezzi la foave   Trifta rammemoranza, onde ne fente   Tormento in uno, e compiacenza l'alma.   E II  . «J(34)ì»>  Tbe good old King, at parting, wrung my Hand 9   ( Hts Eyes brim-full of Tears ) tbeu figbtng cryd,   Prttbce be careful of my Som ! hts Grtcf   Swelfd uf fo htgb be coudnot utter more.   Jub. Alas, tby Story mclss away my Soni .  Tbat beft of Fatbers ! Ixrw /ball I dtfebarge  Tbe G rat nude and Duty, nsJbteb 1 o*we bim !   Syph. By ìaytng up bts Counctìs tn your He art .  Jub. Hts Counctìs bade me yteld to tby Dtretltons ;  Tben, Sypbax, cbtde me tu jevercjl Terms,  Vcnt ali tby Pajfton, and III fland tts fbock,  Cairn and unruffled as a Summer-Sea,  IV ben not a Breatb of IVtnd fltes oer its Sur face .   Syph. Alas, my Prtnce, ld guide you to your Safety .   Jub. I do beitele tbou ivoud/i i but teli me bovu ?   Syph, Flyfrom tbe Fate tbat follorws Cdjars Foes . Jub. My Fatber feornd to dot .   Syph. And tberefore dyd.   Jub. Better to die ten tboufand tboufattd Deatbs y  Tban isoound my Honour.   Syph. Ratber fay your Lame.   Jub. Sypbax y l ite promtsd to preferve my Temper .  Wby wilt tbon urge me to confefs a Fiume y  1 long bave fitfled, and woud fatn conceal? Syph. Beitele me, Prtnce > 'tts bard to conquer Love y  But eafie to drvert and break tts Force :  Abjence mtgbt cure tt, or a fecond Mtflrefs  Ltpbt up anotber Flame, and fut out tbts .  Tbe glowsng Dames of Zamds Royal Court  Have Faces flu[bt -witb more exalted Cbarms .  Tbe Sun, tbat rolls bis Cbariot oer tbeir Headt,  Works up more Ftre ani Colour tn tbetr Cbcckt:   WereIl buon vecchio al partir la man mi ftrinfe  [ Gli occhi pieni di pianto ] c fofpirando  Di ile ; Deh cura abbi del mio figliuolo .  E '1 gonfiato dolor così fe crollo,  Ch* egli più non poteo formar parola.  Gtub. Latto ! il racconto tuo mi ft r ugge 1* Alma.  Ottimo Padre / come potre* io  Adempir verfo lui i miei doveri ?   Sif. Gli avvifi fuoi nel voftro cuor ferbaee.   Gtub. Quefti tur di feguir gì* indrizzi tuoi.  Co' termin più feveri adunque bravami,  Siface : sfoga pur tutto il tuo sdegno ;  AH' impeto di lui ftarommi quieto  £ tranquillo, qual mar di (late, in calma \  Quando nè pure un venticcl 1* increfpa.   Sif. Prence, mia mira è fol voftra falvezza.   Gtub. C redolo j ma qual via ad effer falvo ?   Stf. De i nemici di Cefar fuggi il fato .   Gtub. Mio Padre ciò sdegnò . Stf. Perciò morio.   Gtub. Mille volte morrei, che fare oltraggio   Al mi* onor . Stf. Dite pure, al voftro amore .   Gtub. Data ho parola già di (tarmi quieto.  Perchè forzarmi a palefar la fiamma  Chiufa tenuta, e eh* io pur vo* celare?   Stf. Prence, amor fuperare è forte cofa;  Ma romperlo è leggiera, e divertirlo.  Lontananza lo farà, od altro amore  Accende un* altra fiamma, e eftingue quella.  Le Dame alla Real Corte di Zama  Splendono accefe d* un più bel vermiglio .  Il Sol, che fu (or tette il cocchio gira,  Le guance tinge in più vivace fuoco.   E 2 Quc-  Were yon ivìtb tbefe, my Prtnce,youd foonforget  The pale unripend Beauttes of the Nortb .   Jub. Tts not a Sett of Fatture:, or Compie xio» y  The Ttnfiure of a Sktn, tbat I admire .  Beauty [oon grows famtltar to the Louer,  Fades in h/s Eye y and palls upon the Senfe .  The nìtrtuous Marcia towrs abo*ve ber Sex :  True y [he is fair, [ Ob 3 bow dtutnely fair ì ]  But ftìll the ìcvely Matd improbe s ber Charmi  Wilb inward Greatnefs, «naffctled Wtfdom,  And Santltty of Manners . Catos Soul  Shtnes out tn enery tbtng (he atls or fpeakf,  Wbtle isoinning Mtldnefs and attrattive Smilcs  Dwell in ber Lookf, and -with becoming Grace  Soften the Rigour of ber Fatbers Vtrtues . Syph. How does yottr Tongtte gro-w u)anton in ber Praife §  Bnt on my Knees I begyoa isooud confider     Enter Marcia, and Lucia .   Jub. Bah ! Sypbax 5 f/V not fbe !  Sbe mowes tbis Way ;  And njttb ber Lucia, Lucius s fair Daughter,  My Heart beats tbick • I prttbee Sypbax lea<ve me .   Syph. Ten tboufand Cttrfes f alien on % em botb !  Mow wtll tbts W 'iman VMtb a fingle dance  UadOy wbat fw been laVrtng ali tbis wbile . [ Exit <  Jub»,  Quefte, fe con lor fofte, o Prence mio,   Farebbonvi obbJiar quelle del Norte   Beltà pallide, acerbe, ed immature.  Gtfib. Fattezze o colorito io non ammiro .   Saziati tofto di beltà 1* amante :   Appaffita ed intipida gli viene.   La cada Marzia il fedo Aio far monta:   E' bella pur, divinamente bella ;   Ma V interna grandezza, e fchietto fenno,   Santi coftumi crefcono i fuoi vezzi.   Spicca Catone in fue parole ed atti,   Mentre dolci attrattive, e dolce rifo   Albergan n»l Tuo volto, ed avvenenti   Grazie ammollifcono il rigor paterno.  S/f. Come facil ti (doglie voftra lingua   Nelle fue lodi ! Ma protrato a i voftri   Piedi vi priego, che contideriate . . .   Entra Marcia, e Lucia.   «   Cinb. Siface, oh ! non è lei ? ella quà viene   Colla bella di Lucio figliuola .   Palpita forte il cor : Siface, lafciami .  Stf Mille maJedizion vengano loro ! Disfarà tutto quel che ho fabbricato   Con una fola occhiata or quefta femmina, fatte      SCE-      Juba, Marcia, Lucia. Jub. T T AH cbarming Maid y bow does tby Beantby Jmootb  X~\ The Face of IV ar, and make ev'n Horror fmtle !  At Sigbt of tbee my He art jbakes off iu Sorro-wt 3  Ifeel a Daw» of Joy break tn npon me y  And f or a nobile forget tb % Approacb ofCtfar .   Ma r. Ifioud be grteiid,young Prime y to tbtnk my Prefence  Unbent your Tbougbtt y and (lackend Vw to Armt y  Wbtle y warm wttb Slaugbter, onr uttloriont Fot,  Tbreatens aloud, and calls you to tbe Fteld .   Jub. 0 Marcia, let me bope tby kind Concerni  Andgentle fVifbes follow me to Battei!  The Tbougbt *wtll gìwe new Vigonr to my Arm y  Add Strengtb and Weigbt to my defcendtng S-word y  And drive it in a Tempeft on tbe Foe.   Marc. My Prayers and IVtflet alwayt fiali attend  Tbe Friends of Rome, tbe glorious Caufe of Vtrtue,  And Men appronjd of by tbe Gods and Cato .   Jub. Tbat Juba may deferte tby piont Caret,  Mgare for c<vcr on tby Godltke Fatber,  Tranfplanttng y one by one, into my Life  Hit brigbt Perfecliont, Vi// / flint like bim .   Marc. My Fatber ne<ver at a Ttme like tbit   Woud lai o*t bts grcat Sotti in Wordt, and wafie Sncb   Giuba, Marcia, * Iw/*.   G/'^Z-. T 7 Ergin leggiadra, oh come tua beltade  V La faccia della guerra ammorbidifee,  E lieto rende ancor 1' ifteflo orrore !  Dal mio cuore il dolor fugge a tua villa;  Spuntar fento novella alba di gioja,  E Ccfare vicino intanto obblio. Mar%. M' increfeeria il penfar, giovane Prence,  Che de i voftri penfier Rendette 1* arco  La mia prefenza, c gli impigrire air armi;  Mente caldo di ftrage il Vincitore  Alto minaccia, e sì t* afpetta al campo.   Gtub. O Marzia lafcia, eh* io fperi, che tue  Cure cortefi, e generofe brame  M* accompagnino franco alla battaglia.  Quefto pcnfier, nuovo daranne al braccio  Vigore e forza, e pefo al mio fendente,  Che cadrà fui nimico in gran tempefta.   Mar%. Miei prieghi e voti gli amici di Roma  Seguiran tempre, di virtù la caufa,  E i pregiati da i Dei e da Catone .   Gtub. Per meritar le tue pietofe cure,  Sempre fido darà Giuba in tuo Padre,  Le iltuftri doti fue ad una ad una  Trapiantando in fe fteffo, finché giunga  A fimile fplcndor. Mar^, Mio Padre mai  Non avrebbe in un tempo come quello,  Logorato il fuo fpirito in parole, Sucb precious Moment* .  Jub. Tby Rtprocfs are imfi s   T/tf* wrtuous Matd > *o «yi Troops,   «^«(/ /ir* ffo/r langutd Souls witb Catos Vtrtue ;  If e' re I Uad tbem io the Fteld y wben ali  The lì ar Jball ftanà ranged m tts juft Array,  And dreadful Fomp : 1 ben wtll I tbtnk on ti: se l   0 lowely Matd, Tben wtll I tbtnk on Tbee !  And, in tbe Jbock of cbarging Hcfts, remember  U'bat glonous Deeds fboud grate tbe man, wbo bopes  Ter Marcia s Leve . Lue. Marcia, you re too federe :   Hgvd ccud you cbide te young goodnatured Prince,  And drt*vc htm f rem you witb fo ftern an Air,  A Prtnce tbat Icves and dotet on you to Deatb ?   Mar. T/x tberefore, Lucia, tbat 1 cbtde htm front me  Hit Air, bts Voice, bis Locks y and bonetl Sotti  Speak ali fo mwingly in bis Bebalf,   1 dare not truft my felfto bear btm talk .  Lue. IV ly ivi II you fighi agatnft fo fweet a Paffton y   And fi rei yeur Heart to fucb a World of Cbarms ?   Mar. Hciv, Lucìa, ivoudft tbou baie me fink away  In fleajing Drcams, and lofe my felf in Leve y  Wen enìry moment Catos Ltfes at Stake ?  Cafar comes arnid witb Terror and E^venge,  And atms bts Tbunder at my Fatbers Head :  Sboud not tbe fad Occafion fwallow up  My otber Cares, and draw tbem ali tnto it ?   Lue. Wby baie not I tbts Conftancy ofMtnd y     Wbo     Nè tanti cari momenti perduto.  Giub. Sono giudi i rimproveri, Donzella   Valorofa : nV invio alle mie truppe   Col valor di Catone a infiammar V alme.   Se mai ai campo condurrolle, quando   La battaglia fchierata fi preferiti   In fiera pompa ; in te terrò il penfiero,   Vaga Donzella, in te terrò il penfiero:   £ nel più forte della dura zuffa   Sovverrommi, quai fatti gloriofi   Un amante fregiar deggian, che afpira   AH* amore di Marzia. fané  Lue. Sete,o Marzia,   Troppo fevera. Come il cuor fofTrio   Di fgridar così buon giovine Prence,   E fcacciarlo con aria così torva,   Prence, che v' ama più della fua vita ?  Marifr Per quello, Lucia, da me lo difeaccio.   L' aria, la voce, il guardo, il gentil core   Parlan per lui con tal podente incanto,   Che d' udirlo parlare io pur non ofo.  Lue. Perchè combattere un fi dolce affetto?   Perchè indurare a tanti vezzi il core ?  Mar^ Come mai, Lucia, vuoi eh* io mi disfaccia   In piacevoli fogni e in folli amori,   Orche in cimento èognor vita di Cato?   Vien di vendetta e di terrore armato   Cefare, e di Caton mira alla teda   II fulmin fuo : la trifta congiuntura   Impiega tutti quanti i miei penfieri,   E sì gli unifee e rinconcentra in ella.  tue. Se tanti ho io così gravofi affanni,   F P<r- <3( 4» )&   Wio * fu mavy Grufi to try its Torce ?   Sure y Nature fot md me of ber fof tifi Mould y  Enfeebled ali my Sotti uoitb tender Paffions y  And funi me evn below my own vjeak Sex:  Pity and Love, by turns, opprefs my Heart .  Mar. Lucia, d sburtben ali tby Cares on me.  And let me [bare tby ma Vi re tir ed Diftrefs;  Teli me ix'bo raifes up tbis Confiicl in tbee ?  Lue. / need not blufb to nawe tbem, isjben I teli tbee   T bey re Marcia s Brotbers, and tbe Sons of Cato .  Mar. Tbty betb bebold tbee ^ub tbeir Sifters Eyes:  And often bave reveal d tbeir Vajfion to me.  But teli me, u bofe Addreft thott f amour ft mofl ?  Hong to btow, and jet I àrtad to bear it .  Lue. ì'/bicb is it Alarci a ^ijòesfor ?  Mar. For nei t ber —   And y et f or botb — Tbe Tcutbs bave equal Sbare  In Marcias Vifbes, and divide tbeir Sifleri  But teli meikb'ub of tbtm is Lucia s Cboicet  Lue. Marcia, tbey lotb are bipb in my Efleem,   But in my Love — li'by wilt tbou make menante hìm ?  Tbou intrisi ft it it a blid andfoolfb Paffion y  Pleasd at.d difgpfted v'itb it knemos not vubat .  Mar. O Lucia, I m ferplex % d 9 O teli me vobtcb   I mufl bereafter cali my bafpy Brotber ?  Lue. Suppofe 'twere Portins 3 coudyou blame my Cboicet  O Tortimi, tbou bafì fioln a^ay my Soul!  IV'ith vi bat a gractfid Tender ne fs be loves !  And breatUs tbe foftefi, tbe fincerefl Voisos ì  Complacency, and Trutb, and manly Sweetneft  Dj.)fll ever on bis Tofane, and fmootb bis TbotfghtS.  Marctts is ovtr-warm > Ih fond Compiami   Have     Digitized by Google     Perchè una tal fermezza non m' è data ?   Fcmmi natura di più molle parta,   Co' più teneri affetti infievoiimmi,   £ caricò Copra il mio debol fedo:   Pietà e Amor dittringommi a vicenda.  Mar%. Lucia, le cure tue fopra me pofa;   Mettimi a parte de* tuoi cupi affanni .   Dimmi, chi detta in te quello conflitto?  Lue. Non ho da aver rollar di nominare   I tuoi fratelli, e figli di Catone.  Mar%- Coli' occhio di lor fuora ambi ti mirano,   E il loro amor fovente hanmi fvelato .   Ma dimmi, qual de i due più favorifei?   Bramo faperlo, c pur temo d* udirlo.  Lue. Qual 1 è quegli, che Marzia brameria ?  Mar^. Niun de due, - e forfè anco amenduni - Di Marzia nelle brame hanno egual parte   I giovani, e dividon la forella.   Ma dimmi: Lucia qua* di loro elegge?  Lue. Marzia, ambo fon nella mia (lima grandi,  Ma nel mi* amor . . . perchè vuoi tu eh' io '1 nomini  Ben tu fai, come è cieco amore e folle,   II qual, ne fa perchè, vuole e difvuole .  Mar%. Lucia, io fon perplcffa. O dimmi, quale   Appellar deggia il mio fratel felice.  Lue. Se foffe Porzio, me 'n da re (le biafmo ?  O Porzio, m* hai involata Y alma mia .  Con qual leggiadra tenerezza egli ama !  Spira i difii più fchictti, e più gentili .  Verità, cortetla, mafehia dolcezza  Pulifcon le parole ed i penfieri .  Fervido è Marco, e impetuofi troppo   F 2 Sono     *3( 44 )fr  /firw mncb Farr.ejìnefs and PcJJton in tbem\   1 bcur bim ivitb a /cerei kind of Dread y   And tremile at bis Vebemence of Temper   Mar. Alas poor Tontb ! low cari fi tbou tbrow bim front the ?   Li: :ìa, tbou knormB not balf tbe Love be bears tbee\   H benecr be jpeaks of ti ce, bis Hearfs in Flames,   lls fendi ottt ali bis Soul in ewry Word,, 'mi tbixks, and talks, and looks like one tranfportcd.   Vnbappy Tontb! boiu v/ill thy CoUnefs raife. i. Nome compiuto: Francesco Paolo Bozzelli. Keywords: il tragico, il tragico latino, l’implicatura di Lucano, l’edonismo di Bozzelli, capitol su Bozzelli nella storia della filosofia italiana di Gentile – edonismo, morale, etica – costituzione napoletana. Refs.: Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, “Grice e Bozzelli,” The Swimming-Pool Library, Villa Speranza, Liguria, Italia.

 

Luigi Speranza – GRICE ITALO!; ossia, Grice e Bozzetti: la raione conversazionale e l’implicatura conversazionale di Bruno contro I matematici – scuola di Borgoratto – filosofia piemontese -- filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, The Swimming-Pool Library (Borgoratto). Abstract. Grice: “I am surprised that Bruno is not given due philosophical status at Oxford – after all, the dreaming spires were the ONLY place where this Southern Italian philosopher was given any status at all!” -- Filosofo piemontese. Filosofo italiano. Borgoratto, Alessandria, Piemonte. Grice: “If Strawson is a Griceian, Bozzetti is a Rosminian – he philosophised on substance (‘il concetto di sostanza’ from the point of view of ‘gnoseologia,’ and also on ‘dialogue,’ and ‘piety,’ – he also speaks, like I do, of construction, and reconstruction, and indeed, ‘metaphysical reconstruction,’ one of my routines!” – “My favourite has to be his philosophy of dialogue.” -- Figlio di Romeo (uno dei Mille di Garibaldi, divenne colonnello e poi generale dell’Esercito Italiano) e da Edvige Griziotti De Gianani. I genitori erano originari dalla provincia di Cremona. Tutta la famiglia Bozzetti si sposta a Trapani, poi a Napoli, a Reggio Calabria, ad Ancona, a Genova e infine a Torino, seguendo le destinazioni del capofamiglia. Scrive delicate poesie, indirizzate ai suoi familiari. Si laurea a Torino. Entra nell’ordine dei Rosminiani. Novizio al Convento rosminiano del Sacro Monte Calvario di Domodossola (dove una sala è oggi a lui dedicata) e ordinato sacerdote. Si laurea a Roma. Insegna a Domodossola. Nominato Superiore Provinciale dei Collegi rosminiani e a Roma. Eletto Preposito Generale, cioè VII successore di Antonio Rosmini. Insegna a Roma. Sostenne e spiegò le tesi di Rosmini, in particolare quelle esposte nella Filosofia del diritto.   Sacro Monte Calvario di Domodossola, Via Crucis. La persona è soggetto di diritto, cioè cerca liberamente la verità e aderisce liberamente alla legge morale, su cui forma la propria coscienza e la consapevolezza di avere una destinazione o metier. Gl’Agiati pubblicano questo sintetico profilo di lui. Attratto dalla filosofia rosminiana che fa della “persona” il diritto sussistente ed il fondamento dello stato italiano, ripropose la metafisica del filosofo roveretano quale unica speculazione che sapesse inquadrare il problema dell'essere personale in un'organicità ontologica più comprensiva (il vivente). Filosofo costruttivo, capace di far convergere molteplicità ed unità, frammentarismo e organicità. Lettera di Rosmini, Risposta a Sciacca, Domodossola, Antonioli. Centro di studi filosofici di Gallarate. Dizionario biografico degli italiani. Nacque da Romeo, prima garibaldino poi ufficiale dell'esercito regolare. B. compì gli studi seguendo il padre nelle diverse residenze di Trapani, Napoli, Reggio Calabria, Ancona, Genova, Torino. In quest'ultima città conseguì la laurea in giurisprudenza, rivolgendo però maggiore interesse alla filosofia, in particolare al pensiero di Rosmini ("Fu una liberazione quando trovai nella Filosofia del diritto di Rosmini che la persona umana è il diritto sussistente. Notiamo bene: la persona non solo ha dei diritti ma essa è il diritto": Il valore della persona. Apparve dunque fondamentale al B. il concetto di persona come diritto sussistente, che gli rivelò il proprio esistere "come soggetto di tre esigenze fondamentali, inviolabili e inalienabili: la ricerca e il possesso della Verità, la libera adesione alla Legge morale con la conseguente formazione della coscienza, la consapevolezza di una destinazione eterna, oltre questa vita mortale. Dopo la laurea, entrò all'Istituto della Carità. Novizio al Calvario di Domodossola e ordinato sacerdote. Si laurea in filosofia a Roma. Incominciò quindi la sua esperienza educativa come insegnante di filosofia, di letteratura italiana, di teologia nelle scuole dell'Istituto della Carità. Fu superiore dei collegi rosminiani. Superiore provinciale, e infine superiore generale dell'istituto intero. B. pubblicò a Roma Il concetto di sostanza e la sua attuazione nel reale. Saggio di ontologia e metafisica. B. pubblica un volume su Rosmini SERBATI nell'aspetto estetico e letterario, Roma, che tratta della formazione e delle qualità dello stile di Rosmini e del suo merito come scrittore, e illustra la sua teoria estetica. Pubblica il saggio Rosmini nell'"Ultima Critica" di Ausonio Franchi, Firenze. B. pubblica La vita di Serbati. Dopo una serie di scritti minori (Tra noi e Dio, Domodossola; Nella Chiesa di Cristo; Lineamenti di pietà rosminiana, pubblica a Milano gli Sviluppi del pensiero rosminiano nella "Teosofia". In questo saggio il B. affrontava il problema dell'"ente nella sua totalità". Per Rosmini tutto il sistema del sapere umano ha tre principî: l'idea, l'anima, l'ente. La filosofia deve cominciare dal principio ideale, quindi procedere allo studio del principio subiettivo intelligente. Ma per raggiungere il suo compimento la filosofia deve studiare "ciò che è primo nell'ordine assoluto degli oggetti conoscibili, per sé, ossia l'ente … Così si arriva all'Ontologia". Il primo ontologico è chiamato da Rosmini "essenza dell'essere". Questa, una in se stessa, si trova determinata in una pluralità di forme: ideale, reale, morale. La conciliazione razionale dell'unità dell'essere e della molteplicità degli enti si ha "nella natura dell'essenza dell'essere, cioè nella sua virtualità". Il reale, secondo B., come già per SERBATI, è sentimento e ha origine per creazione. Il B. si richiama a questo punto alla dottrina rosminiana del sentimento fondamentale, che non è soltanto il sentimento fondamentale corporeo, ma è "la realtà dell'atto con cui noi ci sentiamo come esseri viventi, di una vita che è al tempo stesso spirituale e sensitivo-corporea". Pubblica a Roma Il problema ontologico nella filosofia rosminiana, che comprende il corso di filosofia teoretica tenuto dal B. nell'università di Roma, dove egli era stato nominato libero docente di filosofia per alti meriti culturali.  Pubblica La persona umana, corso di lezioni di filosofia morale tenuto all'università di Roma in quell'anno accademico. Il problema della persona era stato, come si è visto, il problema che aveva costituito il punto di partenza intellettuale del Bozzetti. Da questo problema iniziale, da cui era partito, il B. percorse la "traiettoria ontologica". Dalla persona all'essere ideale, dall'essere ideale a Dio da una parte e alle tre forme dell'essere dall'altra con tutte le principali implicanze. La "traiettoria sociale", che è l'altra traiettoria secondo cui si sviluppò il pensiero di B. sulle tracce della dottrina rosminiana, tornava a implicare il problema della persona, riconosciuta quale realtà che, per la presenza del divino, deve essere sempre tenuta presente non come ragione di mezzo, ma come avente ragione di fine. Tutti i possibili rapporti tra gli uomini - politico, giuridico, economico, affettivo - debbono fondarsi su questa concezione della persona. B. morì a Roma. Gli scritti del B. sono stati raccolti in G. B., Opere complete, a cura di Sciacca, Milano. Esposito, Il gran rifiuto di Rosmini, Rosmini e in Riv. rosminiana, replica di G. B.; Id., Il "gran rifiuto" di Rosmini; Replica a B., replica di G. B.; Sciacca, Rosmini e noi. Lettera al p. G. B., Il sec. XX, Milano Morando, Ricordando un educatore-filosofo: il p. G. B., in Rivista rosminiana, Riva, P. G. B. Il pensatore e il sacerdote, in Atti della Accademia roveretana degli Agiati, P. G. B., in Giornale di metafisica, La "persona" nel pensiero di padre B., in Iustitia, Ricordando p. G. B., Domodossola; Enciclopedia filos., G. B. Un giudizio di Siro Contri sulla filosofia neoscolastica”. Ilia ed Alberto” di Angelo Gatti.. Matematismo” in Rosmini? Rosmini-Serbati A.”, voce dell’Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. X, Città del Vaticano, Ente per l’E.C. e per il libro cattolico. A distanza di un secolo, Una recente critica del “Nuovo Saggio” da parte di G. Zamboni. A proposito di idealismo, La “realtà assoluta”. A. Rosmini e Roma, Roma, Istituto di Studi Romani. Ai margini di un Congresso. Affermazioni e tendenze. Amore e matrimonio. Angelina Lanz. Antonio Rosmini e l’ora presente. Camillo Viglino. Cenni biografici di A. Rosmini nel I volume dell’Edizione Nazionale. Che cos’è l’arte? Che cos’è l’Istituto della Carità. Che cos’è la materia? L’indagine filosofica. Che cos’è la natura? Parla il filosofo. Cino. Croce, Gentile e la filosofia dell’arte. Gentili (rec. Bessero Belti). Del rosminianismo di Manzoni. Fantasma e idea nella percezione ci sono. Fantasma e idea sono scoperti dalla riflessione nella percezione. Foscolo. Gesuitismo. Giuseppe Morando. Gregorio XVI e Rosmini, in Gregorio XVI, a cura dei Camaldolesi di S. Gregorio al Celio, Roma. Il “caso dell’Oregon” e il Tribunale politico di Rosmini. Il “gran rifiuto” di Rosmini, La vera ragione del rifiuto, Il capitano Pagani. Il fallimento della vita. Congresso nazionale di Filosofia. Il Papa e ANNUNZIO (si veda). Il principio unitario della filosofia rosminiana, in “Giornale di Metafisica” Il valore della persona. Il valore delle cose terrene. Intorno a Manzoni, La seconda moglie - Ancora sul rosminianismo di Manzoni - Manzoni e il Giansenismo. L’atteggiamento religioso dell’ottocento. L’economia nel sintetismo e nell’equilibrio di tutte le forze politiche e sociali. L’eredità del liberalismo nella mentalità contemporanea. L’Ermengarda di Manzoni. L’etica del Rosmini e Zamboni. L’opera d’arte e le tre forme dell’essere. L’ossessione del sesso. La “costante” nelle variazioni della filosofia. La “ragione”, atto costitutivo dell’uomo. La “religione della libertà”. La “vitalità” della logica di Rosmini. La concezione rosminiana dell’essere. La marchesa di Canossa e Rosmini. La moda e il pudore. La nostra realtà e l’altra vita. La pedagogia di A. Rosmini. La persona umana, Domodossola-Milano, Sodalitas. La Vita di Rosmini, 1. La giovinezza. Nel silenzio. La vocazione. In montibus sanctis. Laicismo. Le “difficoltà” dell’essere ideale, Una tentata difesa. Le tre ascensioni spirituali di Rosmini.  Leggende che si perpetuano. Lo Stato e la religione. Lorenzo Michelangelo Billia. Natura e soprannatura in rapporto alla realtà storica. Opinioni sul sistema di gnoseologia e di morale di Zamboni, Astrazione, analisi, trasparenza, Papini nel suo “S. Agostino”. Per finire. Perché Rosmini non è filosofo cattolico? Perorazione. Quando si parla di essere, Realtà e trascendenza nel progresso del diritto. Replica a B. C. Replica al Bonafede, Riassumendo le nostre discussioni gnoseologiche. Ricordando Capograssi. Risposta a Sciacca. Risposta alla lettera al Direttore. Rosmini e Hegel. Rosmini e i Gesuiti in un recente articolo della Civiltà Cattolica, La ricerca storica. Rosmini e i Gesuiti in una biografia di Roothaan. Rosmini e i Rosminiani nell’Enciclopedia Treccani. Rosmini e Kant, Il “superamento” di Rosmini. Rosmini e l’Università, Rosmini e Michaelstaedter, A proposito di un libro di G. Chiavacci. Rosmini ed AQUINO non possono andare d’accordo? – Interesse scientifico e interesse pratico - Ortodossia e metodo. Rosmini in un dizionario del Risorgimento italiano. Rosmini monofisita?  Rosmini nel diario di Collegno, Rosmini nell’“Ultima critica” di Ausonio Franchi.S. Francesco d’Assisi, Bozzetti G., AQUINO (si veda) e Rosmini, in “Coscienza”. Sempre sulla confusione fra idea dell’essere e idea dell’ente, Per fatto personale. Sopra una cortese discussione Zamboni-Chiarelli. Stato e Chiesa secondo C. A. Jemolo. Sul Filottete di Sofocle. Sul problema del male, la volontà e il male. Sul rosminianismo del Manzoni, L’innatismo nel dialogo “Dell’invenzione”,Sull’astrazione dell’Idea dal Reale. Sull’infinità dello spazio, il punto di vista è uno solo. Sull’ontologismo. Sulla moralità di Machiavelli. Sulla natura della conoscenza, Risposta a G. Rossi. Tolstoi. Umiltà del critico. Un libro significativo: Il Rosmini di Brunello. Un recente giudizio sulle “Cinque Piaghe” in Germania. Rosmini: l’asceta, il filosofo, l’uomo, l’amico, Roma, Studium. BRUNO, PARIS: PATER "Jetzo, da ich ausgewachsen,  Viel gelesen, viel gereist, Schwillt mein Herz, und ganz von Herzen,  Glaub' ich an den Heilgen Geist." -- Heine+  . It was on the afternoon of the Feast of Pentecost that news of the death of Charles the Ninth went abroad promptly.  To his successor the day became a sweet one, to be noted unmistakably by various pious and other observances; and it was on a Whit-Sunday afternoon that curious Parisians had the opportunity of listening to one who, as if with some intentional new version of the sacred event then commemorated, had a great deal to say concerning the Spirit; above all, of the freedom, the independence of its operation.  The speaker, though understood to be a brother of the Order of St. Dominic, had not been present at the mass--the usual university mass, De Spiritu Sancto, said to-day according to the natural course of the season in the chapel of the Sorbonne, by the Italian Bishop of Paris. It was the reign of the Italians just then, a doubly refined, somewhat morbid, somewhat ash-coloured, Italy in France, more Italian still.  Men of Italian birth, "to the great suspicion of simple people," swarmed in Paris, already "flightier, less constant, than the girouettes on its steeples," and it was love for Italian fashions that had brought king and courtiers here to-day, with great eclat, as they said, frizzed and starched, in the beautiful, minutely considered dress of the moment, pressing the university into a perhaps not unmerited background; for the promised speaker, about whom tongues had been busy, not only in the Latin quarter, had come from Italy.  In an age in which all things about which Parisians much cared must be Italian there might be a hearing for Italian philosophy.  Courtiers at least would understand Italian, and this speaker was rumoured to possess in perfection all the curious arts of his native language.  And of all the kingly qualities of Henry's youth, the single one that had held by him was that gift of eloquence, which he was able also to value in others--inherited perhaps; for in all the contemporary and subsequent historic gossip about his mother, the two things certain are, that the hands credited with so much mysterious ill-doing were fine ones, and that she was an admirable speaker.  Bruno himself tells us, long after he had withdrawn himself from it, that the monastic life promotes the freedom of the intellect by its silence and self-concentration.  The prospect of such freedom sufficiently explains why a young man who, however well found in worldly and personal advantages, was conscious above all of great intellectual possessions, and of fastidious spirit also, with a remarkable distaste for the vulgar, should have espoused poverty, chastity, obedience, in a Dominican cloister. What liberty of mind may really come to in such places, what daring new departures it may suggest to the strictly monastic temper, is exemplified by the dubious and dangerous mysticism of men like John of Parma and Joachim of Flora, reputed author of the new "Everlasting Gospel," strange dreamers, in a world of sanctified rhetoric, of that later dispensation of the spirit, in which all law must have passed away; or again by a recognised tendency in the great rival Order of St. Francis, in the so-called "spiritual" Franciscans, to understand the dogmatic words of faith with a difference.  The three convents in which Bruno lived successively, at Naples, at Citta di Campagna, and finally the Minerva at Rome, developed freely, we may suppose, all the mystic qualities of a genius in which, from the first, a heady southern imagination took the lead.  But it was from beyond conventional bounds he would look for the sustenance, the fuel, of an ardour born or bred within them.  Amid such artificial religious stillness the air itself becomes generous in undertones. The vain young monk (vain of course!) would feed his vanity by puzzling the good, sleepy heads of the average sons of Dominic with his neology, putting new wine into old bottles, teaching them their own business--the new, higher, truer sense of the most familiar terms, the chapters they read, the hymns they sang, above all, as it happened, every word that referred to the Spirit, the reign of the Spirit, its excellent freedom.  He would soon pass beyond the utmost limits of his brethren's sympathy, beyond the largest and freest interpretation those words would bear, to thoughts and words on an altogether different plane, of which the full scope was only to be felt in certain old pagan writers, though approached, perhaps, at first, as having a kind of natural, preparatory kinship with Scripture itself.  The Dominicans would seem to have had well- stocked, liberally-selected, libraries; and this curious youth, in that age of restored letters, read eagerly, easily, and very soon came to the kernel of a difficult old author--Plotinus or Plato; to the purpose of thinkers older still, surviving by glimpses only in the books of others—GIRGENTI (si veda), Pythagoras, who had enjoyed the original divine sense of things, above all, Parmenides, that most ancient assertor of God's identity with the world.  The affinities, the unity, of the visible and the invisible, of earth and heaven, of all things whatever, with each other, through the consciousness, the person, of God the Spirit, who was at every moment of infinite time, in every atom of matter, at every point of infinite space, ay! was everything in turn: that doctrine--l'antica filosofia Italiana-- was in all its vigour there, a hardy growth out of the very heart of nature, interpreting itself to congenial minds with all the fulness of primitive utterance.  A big thought! yet suggesting, perhaps, from the first, in still, small, immediately practical, voice, some possible modification of, a freer way of taking, certain moral precepts: say! a primitive morality, congruous with those larger primitive ideas, the larger survey, the earlier, more liberal air.  Returning to this ancient "pantheism," after so long a reign of a seemingly opposite faith, Bruno unfalteringly asserts "the vision of all things in God" to be the aim of all metaphysical speculation, as of all inquiry into nature: the Spirit of God, in countless variety of forms, neither above, nor, in any way, without, but intimately within, all things--really present, with equal integrity, in the sunbeam ninety millions of miles long, and the wandering drop of water as it evaporates therein.  The divine consciousness would have the same relation to the production of things, as the human intelligence to the production of true thoughts concerning them. Nay! those thoughts are themselves God in man: a loan, there, too, of his assisting Spirit, who, in truth, creates all things in and by his own contemplation of them.  For Him, as for man in proportion as man thinks truly, thought and, being are identical, and things existent only in so far as they are known.  Delighting in itself, in the sense of its own energy, this sleepless, capacious, fiery intelligence, evokes all the orders of nature, all the revolutions of history, cycle upon cycle, in ever new types.  And God the Spirit, the soul of the world, being really identical with his own soul, Bruno, as the universe shapes itself to his reason, his imagination, ever more and more articulately, shares also the divine joy in that process of the formation of true ideas, which is really parallel to the process of creation, to the evolution of things.  In a certain mystic sense, which some in every age of the world have understood, he, too, is creator, himself actually a participator in the creative function. And by such a philosophy, he assures us, it was his experience that the soul is greatly expanded: con questa filosofia l'anima, mi s'aggrandisce: mi se magnifica l'intelletto!  For, with characteristic largeness of mind, Bruno accepted this theory in the whole range of its consequences.  Its more immediate corollary was the famous axiom of "indifference," of "the coincidence of contraries."  To the eye of God, to the philosophic vision through which God sees in man, nothing is really alien from Him.  The differences of things, and above all, those distinctions which schoolmen and priests, old or new, Roman or Reformed, had invented for themselves, would be lost in the length and breadth of the philosophic survey; nothing, in itself, either great or small; and matter, certainly, in all its various forms, not evil but divine.  Could one choose or reject this or that? If God the Spirit had made, nay! was, all things indifferently, then, matter and spirit, the spirit and the flesh, heaven and earth, freedom and necessity, the first and the last, good and evil, would be superficial rather than substantial differences.  Only, were joy and sorrow also to be added to the list of phenomena really coincident or indifferent, as some intellectual kinsmen of Bruno have claimed they should?  The Dominican brother was at no distant day to break far enough away from the election, the seeming "vocation" of his youth, yet would remain always, and under all circumstances, unmistakably a monk in some predominant qualities of temper.  At first it only by way of thought that he asserted his liberty--delightful, late-found privilege!--traversing, in mental journeys, that spacious circuit, as it broke away before him at every moment into ever-new horizons. Kindling thought and imagination at once, the prospect draws from him cries of joy, a kind of religious joy, as in some new "canticle of the creatures," a new monkish hymnal or antiphonary.  "Nature" becomes for him a sacred term.  "Conform thyself to Nature"--with what sincerity, what enthusiasm, what religious fervour, he enounces the precept to others, to himself!  Recovering.  as he fancies, a certain primeval sense of Deity broadcast on things, in which Pythagoras and other inspired theorists of early Greece had abounded, in his hands philosophy becomes a poem, a sacred poem, as it had been with them.  That Bruno himself, in "the enthusiasm of the idea," drew from his axiom of the "indifference of contraries" the practical consequence which is in very deed latent there, that he was ready to sacrifice to the antinomianism, which is certainly a part of its rigid logic, the purities of his youth for instance, there is no proof.  The service, the sacrifice, he is ready to bring to the great light that has dawned for him, which occupies his entire conscience with the sense of his responsibilities to it, is that of days and nights spent in eager study, of a plenary, disinterested utterance of the thoughts that arise in him, at any hazard, at the price, say! of martyrdom.  The work of the divine Spirit, as he conceives it, exalts, inebriates him, till the scientific apprehension seems to take the place of prayer, sacrifice, communion.  It would be a mistake, he holds, to attribute to the human soul capacities merely passive or receptive.  She, too, possesses, not less than the soul of the world, initiatory power, responding with the free gift of a light and heat that seem her own.  Yet a nature so opulently endowed can hardly have been lacking in purely physical ardours.  His pantheistic belief that the Spirit of God was in all things, was not inconsistent with, might encourage, a keen and restless eye for the dramatic details of life and character for humanity in all its visible attractiveness, since there, too, in [238] truth, divinity lurks.  From those first fair days of early Greek speculation, love had occupied a large place in the conception of philosophy; and in after days Bruno was fond of developing, like Plato, like the Christian platonist, combining something of the peculiar temper of each, the analogy between intellectual enthusiasm and the flights of physical love, with an animation which shows clearly enough the reality of his experience in the latter.  The Eroici Furori, his book of books, dedicated to Philip Sidney, who would be no stranger to such thoughts, presents a singular blending of verse and prose, after the manner of Dante's Vita Nuova.  The supervening philosophic comment re-considers those earlier physical impulses which had prompted the sonnet in voluble Italian, entirely to the advantage of their abstract, incorporeal equivalents.  Yet if it is after all but a prose comment, it betrays no lack of the natural stuff out of which such mystic transferences must be made. That there is no single name of preference, no Beatrice or Laura, by no means proves the young man's earlier desires merely "Platonic;" and if the colours of love inevitably lose a little of their force and propriety by such deflection, the intellectual purpose as certainly finds its opportunity thereby, in the matter of borrowed fire and wings.  A kind of old, scholastic pedantry creeping back over the ardent youth who had thrown it off so defiantly (as if Love himself went in for a degree at the University) Bruno developes, under the mask of amorous verse, all the various stages of abstraction, by which, as the last step of a long ladder, the mind attains actual "union."  For, as with the purely religious mystics, union, the mystic union of souls with each other and their Lord, nothing less than union between the contemplator and the contemplated--the reality, or the sense, or at least the name of it-- was always at hand.  Whence that instinctive tendency, if not from the Creator of things himself, who has doubtless prompted it in the physical universe, as in man?  How familiar the thought that the whole creation longs for God, the soul as the hart for the water- brooks!  To unite oneself to the infinite by breadth and lucidity of intellect, to enter, by that admirable faculty, into eternal life-- this was the true vocation of the spouse, of the rightly amorous soul--"a filosofia e necessario amore."  There would be degrees of progress therein, as of course also of relapse: joys and sorrows, therefore.  And, in interpreting these, the philosopher, whose intellectual ardours have superseded religion and love, is still a lover and a monk.  All the influences of the convent, the heady, sweet incense, the pleading sounds, the sophisticated light and air, the exaggerated humour of gothic carvers, the thick stratum of pagan sentiment beneath ("Santa Maria sopra Minerva!") are indelible in him.  Tears, sympathies, tender inspirations, attraction, repulsion, dryness, zeal, desire, recollection: he finds a place for them all: knows them all [239] well in their unaffected simplicity, while he seeks the secret and secondary, or, as he fancies, the primary, form and purport of each.  A light on actual life, or mere barren scholastic subtlety, never before had the pantheistic doctrine been developed with such completeness, never before connected with so large a sense of nature, so large a promise of the knowledge of it as it really is.  The eyes that had not been wanting to visible humanity turned with equal liveliness on the natural world in that region of his birth, where all its force and colour is twofold.  Nature is not only a thought in the divine mind; it is also the perpetual energy of that mind, which, ever identical with itself, puts forth and absorbs in turn all the successive forms of life, of thought, of language even.  But what seemed like striking transformations of matter were in truth only a chapter, a clause, in the great volume of the transformations of the Spirit.  To that mystic recognition that all is divine had succeeded a realisation of the largeness of the field of concrete knowledge, the infinite extent of all there was actually to know.  Winged, fortified, by this central philosophic faith, the student proceeds to the reading of nature, led on from point to point by manifold lights, which will surely strike on him, by the way, from the intelligence in it, speaking directly, sympathetically, to the intelligence in him. The earth's wonderful animation, as divined by one who anticipates by a whole generation the "philosophy of experience:" in that, the bold, flighty, pantheistic speculation became tangible matter of fact. Here was the needful book for man to read, the full revelation, the detailed story of that one universal mind, struggling, emerging, through shadow, substance, manifest spirit, in various orders of being--the veritable history of God.  And nature, together with the true pedigree and evolution of man also, his gradual issue from it, was still all to learn.  The delightful tangle of things! it would be the delightful task of man's thoughts to disentangle that.  Already Bruno had measured the space which Bacon would fill, with room perhaps for Darwin also.  That Deity is everywhere, like all such abstract propositions, is a two-edged force, depending for its practical effect on the mind which admits it, on the peculiar perspective of that mind.  To Dutch Spinosa, in the next century, faint, consumptive, with a hold on external things naturally faint, the theorem that God was in all things whatever, annihilating, their differences suggested a somewhat chilly withdrawal from the contact of all alike.  In Bruno, eager and impassioned, an Italian of the Italians, it awoke a constant, inextinguishable appetite for every form of experience--a fear, as of the one sin possible, of limiting, for oneself or another, that great stream flowing for thirsty souls, that wide pasture set ready for the hungry heart.  Considered from the point of view of a minute observation of nature, the Infinite might figure as "the infinitely little;" no blade [240] of grass being like another, as there was no limit to the complexities of an atom of earth, cell, sphere, within sphere.  But the earth itself, hitherto seemingly the privileged centre of a very limited universe, was, after all, itself but an atom in an infinite world of starry space, then lately displayed to the ingenuous intelligence, which the telescope was one day to verify to bodily eyes.  For if Bruno must needs look forward to the future, to Bacon, for adequate knowledge of the earth--the infinitely little; he looked back, gratefully, to another daring mind, which had already put the earth into its modest place, and opened the full view of the heavens. If God is eternal, then, the universe is infinite and worlds innumerable.  Yes! one might well have supposed what reason now demonstrated, indicating those endless spaces which sidereal science would gradually occupy, an echo of the creative word of God himself,  "Qui innumero numero innumerorum nomina dicit."  That the stars are suns: that the earth is in motion: that the earth is of like stuff with the stars: now the familiar knowledge of children, dawning on Bruno as calm assurance of reason on appeal from the prejudice of the eye, brought to him an inexpressibly exhilarating sense of enlargement of the intellectual, nay! the physical atmosphere.  And his consciousness of unfailing unity and order did not desert him in that larger survey, making the utmost one could ever know of the earth seem but a very little chapter in that endless history of God the Spirit, rejoicing so greatly in the admirable spectacle that it never ceases to evolve from matter new conditions.  The immovable earth beneath one's feet! one almost felt the movement, the respiration of God in it.  And yet how greatly even the physical eye, the sensible imagination (so to term it) was flattered by the theorem.  What joy in that motion, the prospect, the music, the music of the spheres !--he could listen to it in a perfection such as had never been conceded to Plato, to Pythagoras even. "Veni, Creator Spiritus, Mentes tuorum visita, Imple superna gratia, Quae tu creasti pectora!"  Yes! the grand old Christian hymns, perhaps the grandest of them, seemed to blend themselves in the chorus, to deepen immeasurably under this new intention.  It is not always, or often, that men's abstract ideas penetrate the temperament, touch the animal spirits, affect conduct.  It was what they did with Bruno.  The ghastly spectacle of the endless material universe, infinite dust, in truth, starry as it may look to our terrestrial eyes--that prospect from which Pascal's faithful soul recoiled so painfully--induced in Bruno only the delightful consciousness of an ever-widening kinship and sympathy, since every one of those infinite worlds must have its sympathetic inhabitants.  Scruples of conscience, if he felt such, might well be pushed aside for the "excellency" of such knowledge as this.  To shut the eyes, whether of the body or the mind, would be a kind of dark ingratitude; the one sin, to believe directly or indirectly in any absolutely dead matter anywhere, because involving denial of the indwelling spirit.  A free spirit, certainly, as of old!  Through all his pantheistic flights, from horizon to horizon, it was still the thought of liberty that presented itself to the infinite relish of this "prodigal son" of Dominic.  God the Spirit had made all things indifferently, with a largeness, a beneficence, impiously belied by any theory of restrictions, distinctions, absolute limitations.  Touch, see, listen, eat freely of all the trees of the garden of Paradise with the voice of the Lord God literally everywhere: here was the final counsel of perfection.  The world was even larger than youthful appetite, youthful capacity.  Let theologian and every other theorist beware how he narrowed either. The plurality of worlds! how petty in comparison seemed the sins, to purge which was the chief motive for coming to places like this convent, whence Bruno, with vows broken, or obsolete for him, presently departed.  A sonnet, expressive of the joy with which he returned to so much more than the liberty of ordinary men, does not suggest that he was driven from it.  Though he must have seemed to those who surely had loved so lovable a creature there to be departing, like the prodigal of the Gospel, into the furthest of possible far countries, there is no proof of harsh treatment, or even of an effort to detain him.  It happens, of course most naturally, that those who undergo the shock of spiritual or intellectual change sometimes fail to recognise their debt to the deserted cause: how much of the heroism, or other high quality, of their rejection has really been the growth of what they reject?  Bruno, the escaped monk, is still a monk: his philosophy, impious as it might seem to some, a new religion.  He came forth well fitted by conventual influences to play upon men as he was played upon.  A challenge, a war-cry, an alarum; everywhere he seemed to be the creature of some subtly materialized spiritual force, like that of the old Greek prophets, like the primitive "enthusiasm" he was inclined to set so high, or impulsive Pentecostal fire.  His hunger to know, fed at first dreamily enough within the convent walls as he wandered over space and time an indefatigable reader of books, would be fed physically now by ear and eye, by large matter-of-fact experience, as he journeys from university to university; yet still, less as a teacher than a courtier, a citizen of the world, a knight-errant of intellectual light.  The philosophic need to try all things had given reasonable justification to the stirring desire for travel common to youth, in which, if in nothing else, that whole age of the [242] later Renaissance was invincibly young.  The theoretic recognition of that mobile spirit of the world, ever renewing its youth, became, sympathetically, the motive of a life as mobile, as ardent, as itself; of a continual journey, the venture and stimulus of which would be the occasion of ever new discoveries, of renewed conviction.  The unity, the spiritual unity, of the world :--that must involve the alliance, the congruity, of all things with each other, great reinforcement of sympathy, of the teacher's personality with the doctrine he had to deliver, the spirit of that doctrine with the fashion of his utterance.  In his own case, certainly, as Bruno confronted his audience at Paris, himself, his theme, his language, were the fuel of one clear spiritual flame, which soon had hold of his audience also; alien, strangely alien, as it might seem from the speaker.  It was intimate discourse, in magnetic touch with every one present, with his special point of impressibility; the sort of speech which, consolidated into literary form as a book, would be a dialogue according to the true Attic genius, full of those diversions, passing irritations, unlooked-for appeals, in which a solicitous missionary finds his largest range of opportunity, and takes even dull wits unaware.  In Bruno, that abstract theory of the perpetual motion of the world was a visible person talking with you.  And as the runaway Dominican was still in temper a monk, so he presented himself in the comely Dominican habit.  The eyes which in their last sad protest against stupidity would mistake, or miss altogether, the image of the Crucified, were to-day, for the most part, kindly observant eyes, registering every detail of that singular company, all the physiognomic lights which come by the way on people, and, through them, on things, the "shadows of ideas" in men's faces (De Umbris Idearum was the title of his discourse), himself pleasantly animated by them, in turn.  There was "heroic gaiety" there; only, as usual with gaiety, the passage of a peevish cloud seemed all the chillier.  Lit up, in the agitation of speaking, by many a harsh or scornful beam, yet always sinking, in moments of repose, to an expression of high-bred melancholy, it was a face that looked, after all, made for suffering--already half pleading, half defiant--as of a creature you could hurt, but to the last never shake a hair's breadth from its estimate of yourself.  Like nature, like nature in that country of his birth, the Nolan, as he delighted to proclaim himself, loved so well that, born wanderer as he was, he must perforce return thither sooner or later, at the risk of life, he gave plenis manibus, but without selection, and, with all his contempt for the "asinine" vulgar, was not fastidious. His rank, unweeded eloquence, abounding in a play of words, rabbinic allegories, verses defiant of prosody, in the kind of erudition he professed to despise, with a shameless image here or there, product not of formal method, but of Neapolitan improvisation, was akin to [243] the heady wine, the sweet, coarse odours, of that fiery, volcanic soil, fertile in the irregularities which manifest power. Helping himself indifferently to all religions for rhetoric illustration, his preference was still for that of the soil, the old pagan one, the primitive Italian gods, whose names and legends haunt his speech, as they do the carved and pictorial work of the age, according to the fashion of that ornamental paganism which the Renaissance indulged.  To excite, to surprise, to move men's minds, as the volcanic earth is moved, as if in travail, and, according to the Socratic fancy, bring them to the birth, was the true function of the teacher, however unusual it might seem in an ancient university. Fantastic, from first to last that was the descriptive epithet; and the very word, carrying us to Shakespeare, reminds one how characteristic of the age such habit was, and that it was pre- eminently due to Italy.  A bookman, yet with so vivid a hold on people and things, the traits and tricks of the audience seemed to revive in him, to strike from his memory all the graphic resources of his old readings.  He seemed to promise some greater matter than was then actually exposed; himself to enjoy the fulness of a great outlook, the vague suggestion of which did but sustain the curiosity of the listeners.  And still, in hearing him speak you seemed to see that subtle spiritual fire to which he testified kindling from word to word.  What Parisians then heard was, in truth, the first fervid expression of all those contending apprehensions, out of which his written works would afterwards be compacted, with much loss of heat in the process.  Satiric or hybrid growths, things due to hybris,+ insolence, insult, all that those fabled satyrs embodied--the volcanic South is kindly prolific of this, and Bruno abounded in mockeries: it was by way of protest.  So much of a Platonist, for Plato's genial humour he had nevertheless substituted the harsh laughter of Aristophanes.  Paris, teeming, beneath a very courtly exterior, with mordent words, in unabashed criticism of all real or suspected evil, provoked his utmost powers of scorn for the "triumphant beast," the "constellation of the Ass," shining even there, amid the university folk, those intellectual bankrupts of the Latin Quarter, who had so long passed between them gravely a worthless "parchment and paper" currency.  In truth, Aristotle, as the supplanter of Plato, was still in possession, pretending to determine heaven and earth by precedent, hiding the proper nature of things from the eyes of men.  Habit--the last word of his practical philosophy--indolent habit! what would this mean in the intellectual life, but just that sort of dead judgments which are most opposed to the essential freedom and quickness of the Spirit, because the mind, the eye, were no longer really at work in them?  To Bruno, a true son of the Renaissance, in the light of those large, antique, pagan ideas, the difference between Rome and the Reform would figure, of course, as but an insignificant variation upon [244] some deeper, more radical antagonism between two tendencies of men's minds.  But what about an antagonism deeper still? between Christ and the world, say!  Christ and the flesh?--that so very ancient antagonism between good and evil?  Was there any place for imperfection in a world wherein the minutest atom, the lightest thought, could not escape from God's presence?  Who should note the crime, the sin, the mistake, in the operation of that eternal spirit, which could have made no misshapen births?  In proportion as man raised himself to the ampler survey of the divine work around him, just in that proportion did the very notion of evil disappear.  There were no weeds, no "tares," in the endless field.  The truly illuminated mind, discerning spiritually, might do what it would. Even under the shadow of monastic walls, that had ever been the precept, which the larger theory of "inspiration" had bequeathed to practice.  "Of all the trees of the garden thou mayst freely eat!  If you take up any deadly thing, it shall not hurt you!  And I think that I, too, have the spirit of God."  Bruno, the citizen of the world, Bruno at Paris, was careful to warn off the vulgar from applying the decisions of philosophy beyond its proper speculative limits.  But a kind of secresy, an ambiguous atmosphere, encompassed, from the first, alike the speaker and the doctrine; and in that world of fluctuating and ambiguous characters, the alerter mind certainly, pondering on this novel reign of the spirit--what it might actually be--would hardly fail to find in Bruno's theories a method of turning poison into food, to live and thrive thereon; an art, surely, no less opportune in the Paris of that hour, intellectually or morally, than had it related to physical poisons.  If Bruno himself was cautious not to suggest the ethic or practical equivalent to his theoretic positions, there was that in his very manner of speech, in his rank, unweeded eloquence, which seemed naturally to discourage any effort at selection, any sense of fine difference, of nuances or proportion, in things.  The loose sympathies of his genius were allied to nature, nursing, with equable maternity of soul, good, bad, and indifferent, rather than to art, distinguishing, rejecting, refining.  Commission and omission; sins of the former surely had the preference.  And how would Paolo and Francesca have read the lesson?  How would this Henry the Third, and Margaret of the "Memoirs," and other susceptible persona then present, read it, especially if the opposition between practical good and evil traversed another distinction, to the "opposed points," the "fenced opposites" of which many, certainly, then present, in that Paris of the last of the Valois, could never by any possibility become "indifferent," between the precious and the base, aesthetically--between what was right and wrong, as matter of art?  The Fortnightly Review. Gaston de Latour.  rom Heine's Aus der Harzreise, "Bergidylle 2": "Tannenbaum, mit grunen Fingern," Stanza 10.  243. +E-text editor's transliteration: hybris.  Liddell and Scott definition: "wanton violence, arising from the pride of strength, passion, etc.". Nome compiuto: Giuseppe Bozzetti. Keywords: matematismo, monofisismo, interpersonale, implicatura interpersonale, il dialogo, fine razionale, la ragione come atto costitutivo dell’uomo, persona, uomo. Uomini, bruno contro I matematici. Morale, il problema del male, ill-will, liberta, legge morale, kant, Rosmini non e cattolico, Bruno. Refs.: Luigi Speranza, pel Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice, “Bozzetti e Grice,” The Swimming-Pool Library, Villa Speranza, Liguria, Italia.

 

Luigi Speranza -- Grice e Bozzi: ragione conversazionale – i visi di Warnock -- scuola di Gorizia – filosofia friulana – filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza (Gorizia). Filosofo friuliano. Filosofo italiano. Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. La percettologia. Citato da Ferraris (si veda) B. psicologo italiano, m. Bolzano. Psicologo italiano. È considerato uno dei principali studiosi italiani di psicologia della Gestalt, insieme a Metelli e a Kanizsa, di cui è stato allievo. Autore eclettico di numerosi saggi, ha approfondito il tema della percezione visiva da diversi punti di vista, come la percezione dei colori, dei suoni, ma anche del moto pendolare e di quello lungo i piani inclinati.  È stato professore di metodologia delle scienze del comportamento presso l'Istituto di Psicologia, divenuta in seguito Facoltà di Psicologia, a Trieste. A Bolzano, insegna aTrento.  Nel suo capolavoro, Fisica ingenua, B. descrive il suo metodo e i risultati delle sue ricerche attraverso uno stile narrativo che mischia i ricordi della sua vita con i risultati filosofici da lui ottenuti, facendo aderire lo stile narrativo con le sue teorie secondo le quali non è possibile rimuovere la percezione sensibile dall'osservazione dei fenomeni. Dedica la sua attenzione al lavoro sperimentale e a un programma teorico che contrasta quello psico-fisico. Isieme a Vicario, descrive un fenomeno acustico noto al giorno d'oggi con il nome “auditory streaming”, che nella psicologia della percezione musicale è alla base della formazione delle melodie. Altri saggi: Unità identità causalità. Una introduzione allo studio della PERCEZIONE, Bologna: Cappelli, Fenomenologia sperimentale, Bologna: Mulino, Fisica ingenua. Oscillazioni, piani inclinati e altre storie: studi di psicologia della percezione, Milano: Garzanti. Experimenta in visu. Ricerche sulla percezione, Milano: Guerini. Lipizer nei miei ricordi, Pordenone-Padova: Studio Tesi, Vedere come. Commenti ai §§ 1-29 delle Osservazioni sulla filosofia della psicologia di Wittgenstein, Milano: Guerini.  Further examples are to be found in the area of the philosophy of perception. One is connected with the notion of "seeing ... as." Wittgenstein observed that one does not see a knife and fork as a knife and fork.' The idea behind this remark was not developed in the passage in which it occurred, but presumably the thought was that, if a pair of objects plainly are a knife and fork, then while it might be correct to speak of someone as seeing them as something different (perhaps as a leaf and a flower), it would always (except possibly in very special circumstances) be incorrect (false, out of or-der, devoid of sense) to speak of seeing an x as an x, or at least of seeing what is plainly an x as an x. "Seeing... as," then, is seemingly represented as involving at least some element of some kind of imaginative construction or supplementation.Il mondo sotto osservazione. Scritti sul realismo, a cura di Taddio, Milano: Mimesis, B.: una biografia intellettuale (ed il tema dei saperi ingenui), su researchgate.net.  B.: Note sulla mia formazione, le mie esperienze scientifiche, le mie attuali posizioni, su gestalttheory.net. Portale Biografie  Portale Psicologia OrfanizzaBot PAGINE CORRELATE Brentano filosofo e psicologo tedesco Lewin psicologo tedesco Giovanni Bruno Vicario psicologo e scrittore italiano. Nome compiuto: Paolo Bozzi. Bozzi. Keywords: psicologia filosofica. Refs.: Luigi Speranza, “Grice e Bozzi,” The Swimming-Pool Library.