King Amasis of Egypt (570 - 526 B.C.) in answer to criticism that he partied too much: "People with bows string them when they need to use them and unstring them when they've finished with them. If they kept them strung all the time, the bows would break, and then they wouldn't be able to use them when they needed them. It is no different with people's temperaments. Anyone who is serious all the time and never allows himself a fair measure of relaxation will imperceptibly slide into madness or at least have a stroke. I am well aware of this, and that's why I divide my time between the two."
According to Herodotus, that is. Decided on a whim a while back that I would read Herodotus' histories and it has proved to be fascinating, and--at times--titillating. I highly recommend them so far.
Posted by Alan at February 6, 2003 07:25 AM