In his collection “Jacula Prudentum,” also known as “Outlandish Proverbs,” English poet and clergyman George Herbert (1593–1633) included “Living well is the best revenge.” When I first heard this aphorism years ago, I imagined a nerd mocked and harassed in high school who goes on to invent some high-tech wonder, become a billionaire, and spend his evenings sipping Lagavulin and laughing at the bullies he left in the dust.
Which is not what Herbert had in mind.
