from The Art of Worldly Wisdom Start with someone else’s and end with your own. cxliv Start with someone else’s and end with your own.
It is a political means to one’s own ends. Even in matters of heaven, Christian teachers emphasize this holy cunning. It is an important deception, and the foreseen advantage serves as a temptation to influence the will of the other. We appear to be doing well for ourselves, but in fact we are only leading others on. One should never advance unless one has covered oneself, especially where the ground is treacherous. Similarly, it is useful to avoid this blow against those who always say no at first. This is because when your version is presented to them, the difficulty of conceding more does not occur to them. This advice belongs to the rules xiii on rethinking, which cover the most subtle maneuvers of life.
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