"
"Nor the justice, I trust also, good Jacopo. There is a beauty and a
harmony in the manner in which the social machine rolls on its course,
under such a system, that should secure men's applause! Justice
administers to the wants of society, and checks the passions with a
force as silent and dignified, as if her decrees came from a higher
volition. I often compare the quiet march of the state, contrasted with
the troubled movements of some other of our Italian sisters, to the
difference between the clatter of a clamorous town, and the stillness of
our own noiseless canals. Then the uprightness of the late decree is in
the mouths of the masquers to-night?"
"Signore, the Venetians are bold when there is an opportunity to praise
their masters."
"Dost thou think thus, Jacopo? To me, they have ever seemed more prone
to vent their seditious discontent. But 'tis the nature of man to be
niggardly of praise and lavish of censure. This decree of the tribunal
must not be suffered to die, with the mere justice of the case. Our
friends should dwell on it, openly, in the cafes, and at the Lido. They
will have no cause to fear, should they give their tongues a little
latitude. A just government hath no jealousy of comment."
"True, Signore."
"I look to thee and thy fellows to see that the affair be not too
quickly forgotten. The contemplation of acts such as this, will quicken
the dormant seeds of virtue in the public mind.
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