One story he relished was that of how Zaleucus,19 prince of the Locrians of ancient Greece, reduced excessive spending in his realm. He ordered that any woman could be attended by several maids, but only when she was drunk, and that she could wear as many gold jewels and embroidered dresses as she liked, if she was working as a prostitute. A man could sport gold rings if he was a pimp. It worked: gold jewellery and large entourages disappeared overnight, yet no one rebelled, for no one felt they had been forced into anything.
