Would You Willingly Lock Yourself In a Room For Fifteen Years for $2 Million?

Anton Chekhov tells a story (The Bet) of a banker and a lawyer. The two made a bet. The banker bet $2 million that the lawyer couldn't stay 15 years inside a cell. The lawyer wagered his freedom.

This was self-imposed imprisonment which hinged solely on the lawyer's word. The banker reasoned that being forced was different from willing submission. The idea that he could free himself at anytime but being constrained by the conditions of the bet would be enough to drive the lawyer crazy and quit.

In a sense, $2 million dollars would be as nothing to the rich banker. The bet was simply a whim of a well-fed man. On the part of the lawyer, it was more of greed.

The conditions were stringent. The lawyer was not allowed to step out the door. He could not see people, hear human voices, or received letters and read newspapers.

However, he was allowed to have a musical instrument, read books, write letters, drink wine, and smoke tobacco. He could communicate only via notes passed through a small window built for the purpose. If he escaped even if only for a fraction before the time, the banker would be freed from his obligation to pay.

Over the years, the banker almost lost all of his wealth. His greatest fear was that he would be broke after he gave away the two million, and the lawyer would ridicule him. The self-confident banker has become a mere shadow of his former self.

For his part, the lawyer became a cynic. He abhorred the things of the world. His readings enabled him to master many languages, the classics, and literature written by well-known authors. History and the sciences. And yet, he despised even the books that gave him his knowledge. He had assumed a superior attitude, and he scorned all that the world has become, the good along with the bad. His knowledge had corrupted him. He was also physically frail and his body became a mere wisp of what he used to be. Old before his time.

But, what was very significant about his life inside the cell was how his readings fired up his imagination. He went places, climbed mountains, and made love to beautiful women. But, it was also his imagination that altered his thinking.

Ordinary men would think that his confinement had made him lost his mind. But, the lawyer gave up his right to the $2 million! It was the crowning glory of his disavowal of all things worldly. He made the decision to leave his cell 5 minutes before the time to free the banker from the conditions of the bet.

It would appear that both men were losers in this bet. But, the banker has learned a lesson in humility. There are things that money can't buy. As for the lawyer, you can never sell your freedom for anything. While the mind maybe free, the host in which it resides would still feel the physical shackles of confinement. The mind will eventually fail as the physical host fails.