Cardinal Antonelli turned his gleaming black eyes full on his companion. "_O generatio incredula!_ If you have not faith, you have not courage, and if you have not courage you will waste your life in the pursuit of emptiness! It is for men like you, for men of ancient race, of broad acres, of iron body and healthy mind, to put your hand to the good work and help us who have struggled for many years and whose strength is already failing. Every action of your life, every thought of your waking hours, should be for the good end, lest we all perish together and expiate our lukewarm indifference. _Timidi nunquam statuerunt trapaeum_--if we would divide the spoil we must gird on the sword and use it boldly; we must not allow the possibility of failure; we must be vigilant; we must be united as one man. You tell me that you men of the world already regard a disaster as imminent--to expect defeat is nine-tenths of a defeat itself. Ah, if we could count upon such men as you to the very death, our case would be far from desperate." "For the matter of that, your Eminence can count upon us well enough," replied Giovanni, quietly. "Upon you, Giovanni--yes, for you are a brave gentleman. But upon your friends, even upon your class--no. Can I count upon the Valdarno, even? You know as well as I that they are in sympathy with the Liberals--that they have neither the courage to support us nor the audacity to renounce us; and, what is worse, they represent a large class, of whom, I regret to say, Donna Tullia Mayer is one of the most prominent members. With her wealth, her youth, her effervescent spirits, and her early widowhood, she leads men after her; they talk, they chatter, they set up an opinion and gloat over it, while they lack the spirit to support it. They are all alike--_non tantum ovum ovo simile_--one egg is not more like another than they are. _Non tali auxilio_--we want no such help. We ask for bread, not for stones; we want men, not empty-headed dandies. We have both at present; but if the Emperor fails us, we shall have too many dandies and too few men--too few men like you, Don Giovanni. Instead of armed battalions we shall have polite societies for mutual assurance against political risks,--instead of the support of the greatest military power in Europe, we shall have to rely on a parcel of young gentlemen whose opinions are guided by Donna Tullia Mayer." Giovanni laughed and glanced at his Eminence, who chose to refer all the imminent disasters of the State to the lady whom he did not wish to see married to his companion. "Is her influence really so great?" asked Saracinesca, incredulously.