Great ability and good chances do not prevent a life of ruin.

Evidence

My soul dissolved in pity for his dark, lost, self-ruined life, as he left me and turned away in the blinding storm to the Snowy Range, where he said he was going to camp out for a fortnight; a man of great abilities, real genius, singular gifts, and with all the chances in life which other men have had. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 226

Categorization

• FICTION: The image of a ruined, gifted man walking off into a blinding blizzard toward the Snowy Range is a potent closing image for a story.
• APHORISMS: Talent and opportunity offer no protection against self-destruction — a hard, portable piece of wisdom.