The 48 Laws Of Power

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to

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the

ceremony,

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place

the

company

according

toll'l(’lV

res[7e(‘1lv('

rank.

One

may

well

judge

no

oneabxenlerlhimself."

Thermmarch

go

ve

way

tohis

grief

andthe

wholv

mvza

lionshaw

mg

nomixer

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res'am1<ledwithIris

cries:
Afler
his
example,

all(hecaurrinsrrmrad

intheir

different

zones.

Acourtistheson

of

place

where

everyone

is

either

mrrowfal,gav,

vr

mdi_fferem

10

every-

thing.jun

asthe

reign-

ingprincemay

think

fir;

or

ifuny

oneisno!

ucmally,

he

at

least

trips

to

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each

enlleavmxtornimicthe

muster.It 15

truly

said

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mmdmzimares

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showing

mm

human:

beings

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Butforusrerun:toom

subject.

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The

dmth

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avengedhim,

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264 LAW 32

OBSERVANCI:‘.OFTHELAW

The

cityvstate

ofVenice

was

prosperous

for

so

long

thatitscitizensfelttheir

small

republic

had

destiny

on

its

side.IntheMiddle

Ages

and

High

Re

naissance,

itsvirtual

monopoly

ontradetotheeastmadeitthewealthiest

city

in

Europe.

Underabeneficent

republican

government,

Veneliansen-

joyed

libertiesthatfewotherItalianshadeverknown.Yetinthesixteenth

century

theirfortunes

suddenlychanged,

The

opening

oftheNewWorld

transferred

power

totheAtlanticsideof

Europewto

the

Spanish

and

For-

tuguese,

andlatertheDutchand

English.

Venicecouldnot

compete

eco

nomically

and its

empire gradually

dwindled.The finalblowwasthe

devastating

loss ofa

prized

Mediterranean

possession,

the islandof

Cyprus,captured

fromVenice

by

theTurksin1570.

Now

noble

familieswentbrokein

Venice,

andbanks

began

tofold.A

kindof

gloom

and

depression

settledoverthecitizens.

They

hadknowna

glitteringpast~—-had

eitherlived

through

itorheardstoriesaboutitfrom

theirelders.Theclosenessofthe

gloryyears

was

humiliating.

TheVene—

clanshalfbelieved

thatthe

goddess

Fortune

was

onlyplaying

a

joke

on

them,

and

that

theold

days

would

soonreturn.Forthetime

being,though,

whatcould

they

do?

In 1589 rumors

began

toswirlaroundVeniceofthea.m‘valnotfar

away

ofa

mysterious

mancalled“ll

Bragadino,"

amasterof

alchemy,

a

manwhohadwonincrediblewealth

through

his

ability,

itwas

said,

tomul-

tiply

goldthrough

theuseofasecretsubstance.Therumor

spreadquickly

becauseafew

years

earlier,

aVenetiannobleman

passingthrough

Poland

hadheardalearnedman

prophesy

thatVenicewouldrecoverher

past

glory

and

power

ifshecouldfindamanwhounderstoodthealchemicart

of

manufacturinggold.

And

so,

asword

reachedVeniceofthe

gold

this

Bragadinopossessed——he

clinked

gold

coins

continuously

inhis

hands,

and

goldenobjects

filledhis

palace-somebegan

todream:

Through

him,

their

city

would

prosper

again.

MembersofVenice’smost

important

noblefamilies

accordingly

went

together

to

Brescia,

where

Bragadino

lived.

They

touredhis

palace

and

watchedin aweashedemonstratedhis

gold-making

abilities,

taking

a

pinch

of

seemingly

worthlessminerals and

transforming

itintoseveral

ouncesof

gold

dust.TheVenetiansenate

prepared

todebatetheideaofex

tending

anofllcialinvitationto

Bragadino

to

stay

in

Venice

atthe

city’s

ex-

pense,

whenword

suddenly

reachedthemthat

they

were

competing

with

theDukeofMantuaforhisservices.

They

heardofa

magnificentparty

in

Bragadindspalace

forthe

duke,featuring

garments

with

golden

buttons,

gold

watches,gold

plates,

andonandon.Worried

theymight

loseBra-

gaclino

(0

Martina,

thesenatevotedalmost

unanimously

toinvitehimto

Venice,

promising

himthemountainof

money

hewould

needtocontinue

living

inhisluxurious

style-~butonly

ifhecame

right

away.

Latethat

year

the

mysteriousBragaclino

arrivedinVenice.Withhis

piercing

dark

eyes

underthick

brows,

andthetwoenormousblackmastiffs

that

accompanied

him

everywhere,

hewas

forbidding

and

impressive.

He

took

up

residence

ina

sumptuouspalace

ontheislandofthe

Giudecca,