Niccolo's Smile & The Curriculum of Misfortune

"There are times when fortune inflicts wounds that simply won't heal, when the story of a life breaks into two distinct sections, a before and an after. Those who experience this sort of caesura discover that from a certain day on they are no longer the same person, they suffer an anguish they have never felt before, they discover personal resources they did not know existed, and they see the world and their fellow humans in a new and chilly light. They may find that they are stronger; they may find that they are more vulnerable; in any case, they find that they are different. Tremendous grief is like a wind that sweeps away small things, leaving the soul capable of perceiving only the great, unless that wind withers it up completely.

Fortune often amuses herself by thrusting people into situations in which they never expected to find themselves. Some are bewildered and perplexed, and lose their spirits; others take offense and rail against the cruel whims of destiny; others rise to the challenge and respond to the playfulness of the blindfolded goddess with games of their own, and rather than falling into a funk or knitting their brows, they enjoy the new turn of affairs and even manage to laugh at fate. When this happens, days that might easily have been filled with boredom and misery become memorable. Because the world is absurd, one must respond with even greater absurdities."

Maurizio Viroli, Professor of politics at Princeton University. from the book "Niccolo's Smile."

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