At the beginning of the thirteenth century the Venetian nobility was the most powerful and opulent class in the world, as well as the most polished and enlightened, and were everywhere held in the highest consideration as men, soldiers, and diplomats. In the history of the Republic one fact stands forth prominently,--the devotion of Venetians to Venice,--devotion to the Republic, and to her elevation to the highest ideal of which they could conceive. To this end her sons directed all their powers, and were willing to sink their personality in her aggrandizement. {91} Not in a spirit of humility, for never a prouder race existed; but it was the pride of patriotism which moved them,--pride if by any act they could add to the stature of the Republic. Not in any spirit of sacrifice, for they felt it no hardship to spend and be spent if only the name of Venice could thereby be made more resonant wherever it was spoken. Venetians were united in one aim,--that Venice should be the most beautiful and most powerful of cities. And so it happens that in the voluminous records of her history and life, while they give a vivid realization of the thought, energy, and power which thousands of her sons must have possessed and must have dedicated to her glory; while as one reads he may almost hear the hum of her busy life and feel the throbbing of her pulses, little prominence is given to individuals. It is not of men nor of family that we read; it is of Venice, first, last, and always. Often as the names of Contarini, Michieli, Ziani, Dandolo, and Tiepolo appear, no one family ever held absolute power, or was independent of the others. Was this the result of their jealousy of one another? Perhaps; and it answered a great end. Never was Venice at the mercy of a race like the Medici or Visconti; and when the great ambition of her sons was turned from personal exaltation and centred in the good of the State, it became an overmastering passion, and could but produce glorious results. Ten times it happened that the Republic was on the verge of ruin; and as many times did its leaders in Council, Senate, and College, together with the Doge, stake all they possessed for the preservation of Venice, and always with success.