According to a Greek proverb that has its roots in Hippocrates' Decorum, “leisure is the mother of all evil.” The absence of leisure denotes the existence of a higher priority, of attention to more pressing concerns, such as security and the procurement of the essentials for survival. Accounts of the origins of states usually begin with such circumstances. Individuals band together because alone they are unable to defend themselves and provide everything that they need to stay alive. Once threats are dealt with, enemies repelled, and the essentials secured, leisure permits human beings to rearrange their priorities and pursue less pressing objectives. At such times, original alliances dissolve, allegiances shift, actors are reshuffled, factions form, and bad habits return. Such is Hobbes's account of the rise of philosophy. He claims that in the beginning, men were busy “procuring the necessities of life, and defending themselves against their neighbors.” Once their efforts bore fruit and great commonwealths arose, however, leisure became possible, and with it philosophy, which