The Great Pagliacci

A man was suffering from profound melancholy. He had seen the best doctors available and none were able to help him. He finally was referred to a physician famous for his powers to heal the soul. The doctor suggested that the man could find solace and end his melancholy in love. The man told the doctor that love was not the problem, that he was loved by many, many people.

The doctor’s next suggestion was that he should go on a voyage and experience other parts of the world. But the man responded that he had already visited every corner of the world. The doctor then recommended hobbies like arts or sports but the man's response to every one of the doctor's recommendations was that he had done all of those things and still had no relief. The doctor then suspected that the man was a compulsive liar. He could not have done all the things he claimed to have done.

But being an insightful man, the doctor had one final suggestion: “I have the perfect solution for you. You must attend the performance of the greatest comedian of our time. His performance will delight to the point of forgetting all your melancholy. You must attend the performance of the Great Pagliacci”.

The man looked at the doctor with great disappointment and said “If that is your final recommendation, I am indeed a lost man. There is no hope for me. You see, I am the Great Pagliacci”.