Chapter Two
VIRTUES; THE GREATEST LIE
There are many things within this world that do not exist; though we have been forced to believe in such things. One prime example of this would be virtue: the greatest lie there is, in my opinion - for we have been tricked into believing that virtue is something that we must always strive towards. That we must always match our state, and society, in its opinion of what is good.
I put forth to you: virtue, while it can be used, has no real consequence in itself. By helping another, you do not receive anything of physical value. While there are those whom would argue that you may gain a friend, one must always realise that there is no such thing as true friendship within the world of power: for while it is better to be both loved and feared by others, if one were to choose between being loved by a friend, or being feared - they should choose to be feared.
For while love is false, and may be revoked at any time; fear is true, and cannot be revoked for as long as you have the power to assert fear upon others. Fear.
Thus, virtue and good-will carry no reward.
However, do not misunderstand me by thinking that I argue against virtue entirely. It has its uses, and is a tool, as I have already stated: virtue can be used to alter the belief of others - for all men and women prefer a leader that correlates with their image of good. No man nor woman wishes to have a tyrannous leader whom would do them wrong.
Therefore, one may use virtue in order to gain a good public opinion, and thus improve their standing - for it is more important to be followed by the public, even through fear, than it is to be followed by your own competitors: allies. There is no such thing as an ally, just as there is no such thing as a true friend: all men seek power, and you would be an obstacle to that power - and just as a man would remove a log blocking his cart's journey, so would a man remove you from blocking his climb in power.
And to those that claim they do not seek power: you must understand that it is often they whom are the most powerful. For a man who carries no suspicions will never be suspected: you must never reveal your true intents, in order to keep those around you confused. You must also refrain from allowing anyone to know what your true character is - you must learn to act, and act well.
An indifferent mask is harder to inspect, than an emotive one.
And so you must understand and learn entirely, that virtues are non-existent in that they provide no real reward; they are nothing but conceptual tools, to use for your own advantage. While the tool does not reward you itself, it can be used to reward you; just as a smithing-hammer has no reward within itself, but it can be used to create a reward through the art of smithing.
Thus, I also put forth to you one of your most important lessons: in order to succeed, you must learn how not to be good.
By being good, you will earn absolutely nothing but the appeasement of your own person; of which only exists in such a state due to your false-belief in the value of virtue. However, by projecting yourself as good, you will earn much more: infinitely more, compared to the nothing you would earn otherwise.
Examples of this can be found in any good leader; their projection, for it is not true - else they are not at all ambitious and thus a simple asset to the world, of being good is often a falsehood of their true identity and person. They will project a person that is not themselves, in order to cause others to trust and believe in them. They will also use others, quite wisely, to do their less good work - so that they may achieve greatness without being weighed upon by poor public opinion: a topic I shall come to discuss.
