Foragraciousnoblemanin RenaissanceUrbino, thatmeant being able tofinishdancingthe most elaborate saltarello witha double hopanda self-deprecatory shrug.
Regrettably, most people cannot: Folks reflexively react to errors by either externalizing blame or, more problematically, hitting themselves with self-deprecatory, ad hominem invective.
His manifest brilliance and energy remain, along with the bravodo, but these days, the weapon he wields with visitors is likely to be self-deprecatory humor, not intimidation.
However the greatest stir, of course, was provoked by Peter Robinson's suitably self deprecatory account of his inadvertent plunge into the Koi carp fish pond in his back garden.