The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
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put the ring in our nose as they have put the ring in the nose of all the millions of 
Neapolitans and other Italians in this country. 
“For this reason I forgo my vengeance for my dead son, for the common good. I swear 
now that as long as I am responsible for the actions of my Family there will not be one 
finger lifted against any man here without just cause and utmost provocation. I am 
willing to sacrifice my commercial interests for the common good. This is my word, this 
is my honor, there are those of you here who know I have never betrayed either. 
“But I have a selfish interest. My youngest son had to flee, accused of Sollozzo’s murder 
and that of a police captain. I must now make arrangements so that he can come home 
with safety, cleared of all those false charges. That is my affair and I will make those 
arrangements. I must find the real culprits perhaps, or perhaps I must convince the 
authorities of his innocence, perhaps the witnesses and informants will recant their lies. 
But again I say that this is my affair and I believe I will be able to bring my son home. 
“But let me say this. I am a superstitious man, a ridiculous failing but I must confess it 
here. And so if some unlucky accident should befall my youngest son, if some police 
officer should accidentally shoot him, if he should hang himself in his cell, if new 
witnesses appear to testify to his guilt, my superstition will make me feel that it was the 
result of the ill will still borne me by some people here. Let me go further. If my son is 
struck by a bolt of lightning I will blame some of the people here. If his plane show fall 
into the sea or his ship sink beneath the waves of the ocean, if he should catch a mortal 
fever, if his automobile should be struck by a train, such is my superstition that I would 
blame the ill will felt by people here. Gentlemen, that ill will, that bad luck, I could never 
forgive. But aside from that let me swear by the souls of my grandchildren that I will 
never break the peace we have made. After all, are we or are we not better men than 
those pezzonovanti who have killed countless millions of men in our lifetimes?” 
With this Don Corleone stepped from his place and went down the table to where Don 
Phillip Tattaglia was sitting. Tattaglia rose to greet him and the two men embraced, 
kissing each other’s cheeks. The other Dons in the room applauded and rose to shake 
hands with everybody in sight and to congratulate Don Corleone and Don Tattaglia on 
their new friendship. It was not perhaps the warmest friendship in the world, they would 
not send each other Christmas gift greetings, but they would not murder each other. 
That was friendship enough in this world, all that was needed. 
Since his son Freddie was under the protection of the Molinari Family in the West, Don 

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