“I was reflecting, in the first place,” replied Dantes, “upon the enormous degree of intelligence and ability you must have employed to reach the high perfection to which you have attained. What would you not have accomplished if you had been free?”

“Possibly nothing at all; the overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; misfortune is needed to bring to light the treasures of the human intellect. Compression is needed to explode gunpowder. Captivity has brought my mental faculties to a focus; and you are well aware that from the collision of clouds electricity is produced — from electricity, lightning, from lightning, illumination.”

From “The Count of Monte Cristo,” by Alexandre Dumas

In this masterpiece, two prisoners withered in solitary confinement in adjacent dungeons.  After many years, they managed to dig a tunnel and communicate with each other. The conversation highlights the power of the human mind. We can isolate ourselves from an oppressive world and create one of our own where we can thrive. In this era of smartphones, Facebook, TV, and other unending distractions, we need our time alone to reflect and advance in an ever more complex environment. Otherwise, as Abbe Faria remarked, our life’s efforts will “evaporate in a thousand follies.”