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I've never read the book, so perhaps I'm missing the point, but -- surely then the Guild points out they've always known where the Patrician lives and where his

I've never read the book, so perhaps I'm missing the point, but -- surely then the Guild points out they've always known where the Patrician lives and where his wife had her hair done and so forth? And the Patrician says, ahem quite right what was I thinking? We'll maintain what we agreed. I mean, in US urban areas back in its heyday, everyone knew who the mafia were. But that didn't prevent them from doing their mafia thing.

bombcar 2y ago
In the books the Patrician is a politician who was trained as an assassin (who have their own guild, and after many incidents refuse to take contracts on the Patrician because it's not worth their life). What he's doing there is turning the thieves into the watch - they have a permitted level of theft they can do, normal people can buy "guild passes" which immunizine themselves from even that level of theft, and the Thieves' Guild comes down exceptionally hard on unlicensed thieves. And the Patrician is unmarried. They're quite fun to read as Pratchett has a good handle on the "balance of power" negotiations that the Patrician engages in; he plays various power groups off against each other in such a way that he is always the second worst problem to deal with, and taking him out would make it worse.
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Terr_ 2y ago
The most important factor in that the Patrician (Havelock Vetinari, as a joke on the Medicis) ensures that almost everyone agrees that his continued rule is marginally better than upsetting the status-quo... And in some cases allows opposition to succeed just enough to make people regret it. Part of this rests on the ancient Guild of Assassins, which requires a certain amount of style and also has a very very dim view on anyone threatening their monopoly on killing-for-profit. Their price for going after Vetinari is high enough to discourage most bidders, and Vetinari is a skilled (mostly non-practicing) alumnus that can largely protect himself from them. ______ > “I see you're very comfortable here,” said Vimes weakly. > “Never build a dungeon you wouldn't be happy to spend the night in yourself,” said the Patrician, laying out the food on the cloth. “The world would be a happier place if more people remembered that.” > “We all thought you had built secret tunnels and suchlike,” said Vimes. > “Can't imagine why,” said the Patrician. “One would have to keep on running. So inefficient. Whereas here I am at the hub of things. I hope you understand that, Vimes. Never trust any ruler who puts his faith in tunnels and bunkers and escape routes. The chances are that his heart isn't in the job.” [...] > "You see,” he said, “it’s always the case, is it not, that should a city be overtaken by violent civil unrest the current ruler is thrown into the dungeons? To a certain type of mind that is so much more satisfying than mere execution." > “Well, okay, but I don’t see—” Vimes began. > “And you look at this door and what you see is a really strong cell door, yes?” > “Of course. You’ve only got to look at the bolts and—” > “You know, I’m really rather pleased,” said Lord Vetinari quietly. > Vimes stared at the door until his eyebrows ached. And then, just as random patterns in cloud suddenly, without changing in any way, become a horse’s head or a sailing ship, he saw what he’d been looking at all along. A sense of terrifying admiration overcame him. > He wondered what it was like in the Patrician’s mind. All cold and shiny, he thought, all blued steel and icicles and little wheels clicking along like a huge clock. The kind of mind that would carefully consider its own downfall and turn it to advantage. It was a perfectly normal dungeon door, but it all depended on your sense of perspective. > In this dungeon the Patrician could hold off the world. All that was on the outside was the lock. All the bolts and bars were on the inside. -- Guards! Guards!

bombcar 2y ago

In the books the Patrician is a politician who was trained as an assassin (who have their own guild, and after many incidents refuse to take contracts on the Patrician because it's not worth their life). What he's doing there is turning the thieves into the watch - they have a permitted level of theft they can do, normal people can buy "guild passes" which immunizine themselves from even that level of theft, and the Thieves' Guild comes down exceptionally hard on unlicensed thieves. And the Patrician is unmarried. They're quite fun to read as Pratchett has a good handle on the "balance of power" negotiations that the Patrician engages in; he plays various power groups off against each other in such a way that he is always the second worst problem to deal with, and taking him out would make it worse.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

Terr_ 2y ago

The most important factor in that the Patrician (Havelock Vetinari, as a joke on the Medicis) ensures that almost everyone agrees that his continued rule is marginally better than upsetting the status-quo... And in some cases allows opposition to succeed just enough to make people regret it. Part of this rests on the ancient Guild of Assassins, which requires a certain amount of style and also has a very very dim view on anyone threatening their monopoly on killing-for-profit. Their price for going after Vetinari is high enough to discourage most bidders, and Vetinari is a skilled (mostly non-practicing) alumnus that can largely protect himself from them. ______ > “I see you're very comfortable here,” said Vimes weakly. > “Never build a dungeon you wouldn't be happy to spend the night in yourself,” said the Patrician, laying out the food on the cloth. “The world would be a happier place if more people remembered that.” > “We all thought you had built secret tunnels and suchlike,” said Vimes. > “Can't imagine why,” said the Patrician. “One would have to keep on running. So inefficient. Whereas here I am at the hub of things. I hope you understand that, Vimes. Never trust any ruler who puts his faith in tunnels and bunkers and escape routes. The chances are that his heart isn't in the job.” [...] > "You see,” he said, “it’s always the case, is it not, that should a city be overtaken by violent civil unrest the current ruler is thrown into the dungeons? To a certain type of mind that is so much more satisfying than mere execution." > “Well, okay, but I don’t see—” Vimes began. > “And you look at this door and what you see is a really strong cell door, yes?” > “Of course. You’ve only got to look at the bolts and—” > “You know, I’m really rather pleased,” said Lord Vetinari quietly. > Vimes stared at the door until his eyebrows ached. And then, just as random patterns in cloud suddenly, without changing in any way, become a horse’s head or a sailing ship, he saw what he’d been looking at all along. A sense of terrifying admiration overcame him. > He wondered what it was like in the Patrician’s mind. All cold and shiny, he thought, all blued steel and icicles and little wheels clicking along like a huge clock. The kind of mind that would carefully consider its own downfall and turn it to advantage. It was a perfectly normal dungeon door, but it all depended on your sense of perspective. > In this dungeon the Patrician could hold off the world. All that was on the outside was the lock. All the bolts and bars were on the inside. -- Guards! Guards!