Remember, if you can, a moment when you have been speaking with someone and you land on something about which they are passionate, and you see their face light up and their eyes sparkle.

I can think of several such moments, but one which stands out was a couple of hours spent with my young god-son, enjoying his gallopingly enthusiastic discourse in response to my question: ‘Can you explain why Pokemon is so special?’ He had that flash in his eyes the Dante mentions.

‘The mingled virtue shines through like the flash

In our eyes when we think of joyful things.’

‘Per la natura lieta onde deriva

la virtù mista per lo corpo luce

come letizia per pupilla viva.’

Source: Dante,The Divine Comedy (Paradise, Canto 2), trans. Clive James (New York: Liveright Publishing, 2013), p. 358

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