On the Magistrates and Republic of Venice

which have surpassed the Venetian republic by far in empire, dominion, and in the glory of military affairs and wars, none, however, can be compared with this one of ours in terms of its institutions and laws suitable for living well and happily, from which we see it has been brought about that no other has ever endured so long. When I consider this matter with myself, I am wont to wonder greatly at the wisdom, industry, and excellent virtue of spirit of our ancestors, and indeed their incredible love for their fatherland. There were some citizens in Athens, Lacedaemon, and Rome distinguished for the probity of their lives and for their piety toward the republic; but they were so few that, overwhelmed by the multitude, they did not profit their fatherland much. But our ancestors, from whom we received such a glorious republic, all to a man agreed in the zeal of forming and amplifying the state of the fatherland, with almost no regard for private interest and honor. Anyone will easily be able to make a conjecture of this matter—namely, that the Venetians were not at all ambitious men, but were concerned only for the benefit of the fatherland,