Philoxenus Chose Quarries Over Flattery

Dionysius I, the ruler of Syracuse from 405 to 367 B.C., wrote poetry that did not always impress other writers at his court. When the poet Philoxenus criticized one of his poems, Dionysius punished him by sending him to the quarries for a day. After releasing him, Dionysius read another poem aloud and asked for his opinion again. Philoxenus answered, “Take me back to the quarries.”

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