Paris Hilton found the Bible–or at least “The Bible for Dummies”/”Idiots Guide to the Bible,” according to inside sources–and the self-help blockbuster “The Secret” while incarcerated, but rival starlet Lindsay Lohan has decided to outdo her frenemy‘s literary forays by keeping Machiavelli’s “The Prince” close at hand while in rehab.
As the troubled starlet told Britain’s Tattler (via TMZ.com), “I was going out with someone, and they said I should read Machiavelli and I was like, ‘nah,’ and then I was, ‘OK, I’ll read it’ and now it is always with me.”
A work of political advice, advocating very harsh use of power in the consolidation and maintenance of authority, “The Prince” is perhaps best known for this bit of, well, Machiavellian advice: “It is best to be both feared and loved, however, if one cannot be both it is better to be feared than loved.”
Sure, we applaud Lohan, who just finished a six-week stint at Promises in Malibu, for tackling a classic piece of literature and avoiding the cliched works of self-help gurus. But let’s leave your “Mean Girls” persona on the big screen where it serves you best. A book that espouses “an understanding that apparent cruelties and vice may be essential to maintaining stability and power,” may not be the best guide for a recovering addict and enfant terrible.