The Mandrake

“CALLIMACO. God— I know—that's absolutely right. But what can I do, then? What plan can I pursue? I mean, where can I turn? I mean— God! —don't you see— I've got to have a plan, I've got to do something—even if its something insane, or dangerous, or even ruthless of evil! Because I would much rather die than go on living like this! If I could sleep at night, I mean if I could eat, if I could talk, if I could enjoy myself in any way at all, I'd be more patient, I could wait— I could wait for a more favorable moment; but there's no escape for me; there's no relief anywhere; and if I can't find immediately some plan to hang on to, I will certainly die in convulsions and frenzy; and when I realize that this may be the moment of my death, then I lose all my fears and hesitations, and I just can't wait to throw myself totally into the most bestial course of action! Yes, bestial! Bestial, cruel, and degraded! I'm ready— I'm ready—
LIGURIO. Please— Don’t say such things— Can’t you try to control your impetuosity?
CALLIMACO. You can see very well that precisely in order to control it I’m allowing my mind to range freely over all these various thoughts. In this way, you can see, I’m not doing any harm. But I mean it, I’ve got to have some hope to chew on —I don’t care if it’s even a false hope!— just anything to take this pressure off my brain—

- Machiavelli, The Mandrake, trans. Wallace Shawn"

- undated entry from the winter 2006/7 diary of junior United States Senator from Illinois Barack Hussein Obama II