Dionysius I was a tyrant who ruled the Sicilian city of Syracuse for 38 years in the fourth century BCE. He lived amid complete opulence, and his life lacked for no luxury then available. How happy was he' Some centuries later, the Roman writer and statesman Cicero tried to answer that question in his book Tusculan Disputations, which centered on one of Dionysius's court flatterers, a man named Damocles. Damocles asserted that, given all of the power, fame, wealth, and pleasure the tyrant enjoyed, no one could possibly be happier. As Cicero relates the tale, Dionysius was amused by this assertion and asked Damocles if he would like to share the royal experience and judge its happiness for himself. Damocles enthusiastically accepted, and was immediately offered a bed of gold on which to recline and be attended by servants keen to fulfill his wishes. Then, however, as Damocles was enjoying every imaginable luxury, a shining sword was let down from the ceiling above his head, suspended...
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