Culture

In 16th-century Italy there lived Lodovico Gonzaga, a 16-year old seminarian who was very fond of playing ball. Once a certain priest passing by wondered if for a future priest the youth was too keen on his pursuit and asked him: 'What would you do if you learned that in half an hour the end of the world was coming?' To which Lodovico replied: 'I'd play on.'

According to the Russian thinker Georgy Fedotov, the importance of culture lies in precisely that: we go on playing ball on the verge of Doomsday...

Vladimir Barsky, Chromaticism (1996)