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Something I found interesting was that while scribes had not directly been affiliated with the church, yet religious worship was required in order for them to maintain their jobs. On page 135 and 136, Greenblatt states, “Through scriptures were expected to attend mass every day before work, their post was a secular one –they busied themselves principally with the business side of the papacy, the side that entailed rationality, calculation, administrative skill, and legal acumen”. I believe that this quote holds significance to the belief that educated individuals, such as scribes who were well adverse in writing and reading, are able to contribute more to society. 

Another interesting quote in the book was “ Poggio who represents himself as a character in the dialogue, argues that hypocrisy is better at least than open violence, but his friend Aliotti, an abbot, responds that it is worse, since everyone can perceive the horror of a confessed murderer,  but it is more difficult to defend oneself against a sly deceiver (148).” This particularly piqued curiosity in me, as I was led to decide what side of the argument I agree with. After some consideration, I do believe that I agree with Poggio that open violence is a more immediate danger–I also can see what Alotti was getting at.  

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I recognized a text to world connection regarding how the pope and his council lead Rome and how the United States government leads. For instance, in the novel it states, “All of this activity–far exceeding any other chancery court in Europe–required skilled personnel: theologians, lawyers, notaries, clerks, secretaries. (137)” These pieces of the Roman council or government are still prevalent in today’s government on both a local and federal level. In the U.S government, there are mnt checks and balances that have been installed to prevent one ruler from having all power or the ability to make corrupt decisions based on personal desire. Similarly, in the Roman government, there existed similar standards as mentioned throughout the chapter. Specifically, it states that practices such as “taking minutes” and “signing petitions” existed (137). It is interesting to learn that these practices have been used since the beginnings of organized government. 

Q- Who do you agree with in regards to the debate between Poggio and Aliotti? Is there any situation where hypocrisy is accepted or normalized?