There was a man who lived in the sixteenth century called Lorenzo D’Medici. He was one of the better members of the famous (sometimes infamous) D’Medici family. They called him “Lorenzo the Magnificent” because he was a celebrator of the first magnitude. He would stage huge pageants and public spectacles at religious festival times. And all the people of the city of Florence would become involved in the celebration. One one occasion, he decided to stage the pageant of Pentecost in one of the city’s great churches. He liked realism in his drama and, consequently, he arranged for a system of wires and pulleys coming down from the ceiling so that, at a given time, real fire would come swooshing down. Unfortunately, the entire project backfired. On the day of Pentecost, as the great pageant unfolded, the fire came swooshing down right on cue. But it brushed against some flimsy stage hangings, igniting them. And the church burned to the ground.
I’m sorry for the…
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