"A soldier seeks for weak spots in the
armor."
"I know him," said Leonardo Donato, "and there _is_ one fault. It limits
his power to achieve; it increases his absolutism. It is
near-sightedness--smallness of vision."
"Draw him strongly," said Giustinian, in a tone of concentrated wrath.
"Let us measure our foe before we meet."
"There are no books Borghese hath not read; there is no point of view
but that which he doth teach, no appeal from the law as he interpreteth
it. _It is a fault of unity_. One power--the Church; one duty--its
aggrandizement; one prince--temporal and spiritual alike; one unvarying
obedience. All is adjusted to one centre; it is the simplification of
life!"
There was an ominous silence and an evident wish to change the theme,
and the company readjusted itself by twos and threes. The Senator
Morosini turned graciously to Marcantonio. "It hath been told in
Venice," he said, "that the Lady Marina was received in Rome with marks
of very special favor."
"The introduction of our Reverend Father Paolo had preceded her," the
young secretary answered lightly, bowing in the direction of the friar,
who sat apparently lost in thought.
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