Sarpi And is it possible that you who cling so persistently to the actual have any faith in him?
Avaloros Since the invention of gunpowder, of printing and the discovery of the new world I have become credulous. If any one were to tell me that a man had discovered the means to receive the news from Paris in ten minutes, or that water contained fire, or that there are still new Indies to discover, or that it is possible to travel through the air, I would not contradict it, and I would give—
Sarpi
Your money?
Avaloros
No; my attention to the enterprise.
Sarpi
If the vessel is made to move in the manner proposed, you would like
then to be to Fontanares what Amerigo Vespucci was to Christopher
Columbus.
Avaloros
Have I not here in my pocket enough to pay for six men of genius?
Sarpi
But how would you manage the matter?
Avaloros By means of money; money is the great secret. With money to lose, time is gained; and with time to spend, everything is possible; by this means a good business may be made a bad one, and while those who control it are in despair the whole profit may be carried off by you. Money,—that is the true method. Money furnishes the satisfaction of desire, as well as of need. In a man of genius, there is always a child full of unpractical fancies; you deal with the man and you come sooner or later on the child; the child will become your debtor, and the man of genius will go to prison.
Sarpi
And how do you stand with him now?
Avaloros He does not trust my offers; that is, his servant does not. I shall negotiate with the servant.