Guardian | Vonnegut on Madness

I recall when I pondered buying from a gift shop a pretty object sacred to believers in a faith I knew nothing about. Only kidding, I asked the woman who waited on me if she thought it would bring me bad luck if I treated it disrespectfully. Only kidding, she replied, “That depends, I would think, on how many hostages you have given to fortune.”

I found her answer so unexpectedly eloquent and poignant that I supposed it to be a quotation. I have since looked it up. It was written by Francis Bacon, and reads in full: “He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune.”