Petrarch celebrated their greatness in conquering fortune and rising to the top. This was the biographical tradition which Niccolò Machiavelli turned on its head.
When I met Pattinson at the end of last year, press speculation about their relationship was reaching boiling point, but they didn't admit to the romance until February.
WHEN, a few years ago, word came that British bird lovers anxious about the decline of the house sparrow had appointed a sparrow tsar, it seemed that the tsar vogue must have reached its zenith.
Since then, interest in the U-bend has been growing. Its effect on happiness is significant-about half as much, from the nadir of middle age to the elderly peak, as that of unemployment.