Believe it not!
He has served you long and well. His years are many,
But they outnumber not the victories
He won for you. His hair is grey—’tis blanched
With hardship more than age. Would he now cast
The reverend mantle of his honors off,
To league with traitors? No—you need not fear him!
Loredano.
What boots all this? The guardian of the state,
Where he fears, punishes.