I was momentarily glancing at the television earlier today. I did not have time to sit and watch a movie, but I happened to catch a few minutes of dialogue from the David O. Selznick-produced 1962 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night.

An annoyingly bumptious American is bothering the luminaries in the Divers’ glamorous European circles. Having been rebuffed by the famous composer, he turns to the Mitteleuropa aristocrat, and inquires, “What do you do?”

“I shoot.” the aristocrat curtly replies.

The American smiles. “Anything at all?”

“Lions in Africa; tigers in India; bolsheviks in Europe.”

“Haven’t you any ambition to do anything more serious?” the American sneers.

“I’m planning to restore the Holy Roman Empire.” comes the response.