Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice, Fool Me Thrice

            Understanding how the natural world works has advanced the human condition. These advancements have brought many diseases to their knees. For example, smallpox, a virus with a mortality rate near 30%, has inflicted pain on those who knew it since the 6^th century (WHO). People where so afraid to die from smallpox, that in the 1700’s people lined up and inhale scabs from infected persons. This process was called variolation and caused a less virulent infection with a lower mortality rate of 1%, while creating immunity to smallpox (CDC). Interestingly enough, people would line up with their children to take a guaranteed 1:100 gamble of death to avoid the 30% mortality rate of smallpox. Turbulent times like these have historically changed human behavior for better and for worse. Here I am going to dive into three other plagues, including the plague in Thebes, Athens, and Florence, and compare them to the Covid-19 pandemic on how they changed human behavior for better or for worse.

Since those days in the 1700’s, it took till 1975 to eradicate smallpox from the face of the earth (CDC). Unfortunately, the vast majority of sickness have not been eradicated and will not be anytime soon. An important question to ask is when will the next pandemic happen, and what will your response be to the situation. Hopefully, this short essay will influence what you will do.

Historically, pandemics have brought out some horrible traits of humans, mainly fear and selfishness. During the black plague in Florence, Boccaccio described the degeneration of social ties through fear when he wrote, “Tedious were it to recount, how citizen avoided citizen, how among neighbours was scarce found any that shewed fellow-feeling for another, how kinsfolk held aloof, and never met, or but rarely”(Boccaccio Paragraph 26) Looking back, one might be astonished of the striking similarity of social distancing that was practiced in Florence compared to today. Furthermore, it is known that social distancing is a good pubic health attitude to have during a pandemic. Why then did Boccaccio describe social distancing with a negative light? A report that came out in New York in early April might give some evidence of what Boccaccio meant in his description, “ An 86-year-old woman awaiting treatment for bowel blockage at a Brooklyn hospital yesterday died after being punched by a fellow patient — for not engaging in ‘social distancing’ amid the coronavirus, law enforcement sources told The Post on Sunday” (Moore). While social distancing can prevent the spread of such diseases, “shewed fellow-feeling” does not contribute to the cause of public health. During these pandemics, it is all too easy to become fearful and hurt our neighbors like this poor patient in New York.

Boccaccio describes the selfish side of the once moral society in Florence by saying, “The horror thereof brother was forsaken by brother, nephew by uncle, brother by sister, and oftentimes husband by wife; nay, what is more, and scarcely to be believed, fathers and mothers were found to abandon their own children, untended, unvisited, to their fate, as if they had been strangers” (Boccaccio Paragraph 26). Fear of being sick drove their society to abandon neighbors and family. History tells a similar fate in the plagues in Thebes and Athens. Covid-19 has not reached the point that causes family ties to be destroyed, but very well could depending on how the American society responds. It is not unreasonable to assume humans would follow the trend seen during the last three recorded plagues before Covid-19, if the pandemic today continues to worsen.

Now contrary to Boccaccio’s early description of morals being destroyed in the plague, he also described morals being uplifted. He described other events by saying, “Tis humane to have compassion on the afflicted” (Boccaccio Paragraph 2).  Acts of compassion were also recorded during the plague in Athens. One description by Thucydides said, “The awful spectacle of men dying like sheep, through having caught the infection in nursing each other” (Thucydides 276). While some people might run in fear, others run to the aid of the sick. This side of humans has also stayed true in the Covid-19 pandemic. We see doctors and nurses flying into hard-hit areas of the United States to render their services, knowing they will be at risk. These are people like Oedipus Rex, who calls out, “My poor children, what you desire is known and not unknown to me, for I see well that everyone is sick and being sick, still, not one of you is as sick as I am. For your pain comes upon the individual …. but my soul groans for the city” (Sophocles 13).

Pandemics have been shown to bring out the worst in humanity, but it doesn’t have to. History has repeatedly shown us that it is possible to have compassion during turbulent times. The choice is up to the individual. So, I ask you, will you be the husband or wife that abandons your family, or will you be the caretaker that demonstrates a level head and compassion? Let us all support each other in these times and be willing to serve those who need our help.

Works Cited

Boccaccio. “First Day - Introduction.” Decameron Web , Brown University, 15 Feb. 2010, 

www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=proe

m&lang=eng.

CDC. “History of Smallpox.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 30 Aug. 2016, www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html.

Moore, Tina, et al. “Elderly Woman Dies after Being Smacked for Not Social Distancing:

Sources.” New York Post, New York Post, 30 Mar. 2020,

nypost.com/2020/03/29/elderly-woman-dies-after-being-shoved-for-not-social-

distancing-sources/.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex: Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classics Series. Prestwick

House, 2005.

Thucydides, and Finley, M. I. The Portable the Greek Historians: the Essence of Herodotus,

Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius. Penguin Books, 1977.

WHO. “Smallpox.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 13 Jan. 2014,

www.who.int/biologicals/vaccines/smallpox/en/.