Lorenzo il Magnifico is crossing my mind surprisingly often as of late. His famous stanza is very close to my heart (“Di doman’ non c’è certezza,” September 1, 1988). Still, I feel increasingly uncomfortable with its two first lines. Youth? But I am also uncomfortable with my own contribution to his poetry (“The Felicitous Stanza,” January 25, 2015). Old age? Although it is obvious that what applies to youth also applies to old age, only the last two lines of the stanza make me comfortable at this juncture:

Chi vuol esser lieto, sia;
Di doman’ non c’è certezza.

Yes, yes. Lorenzo il Magnifico has something important to say to humans of all ages. As well as all times, I hasten to add. If you wish happiness, be happy right now, for there is no certainty about tomorrow. Period. Having lived from 1449 to 1492, when he was the patron of a good number of Renaissance artists of great renown, Lorenzo de’ Medici knew what he was talking about. Even half a millennium ago, things were clear to the best and the brightest. Which is perhaps why his stanza keeps ricocheting through my mind so many centuries later. Humans, these two lines say it all. Any attempt to circumvent the old wisdom will end up nowhere. That is, in the proverbial dust.