Post by firefolk on Sept 21, 2008 16:48:47 GMT -5
Someone asked me at work today if I'd rather be able to fly or turn invisible and I (of course) said, fly. His response was, "But if you could turn invisible, you could get away with anything!"--which naturally made me think of the old story of Gyges. Now. . . Plato was a wise man, and I heartily agree with his premise: that a man of poor character will do whatever he can get away with. But the specifics of the Gyges storyline leave me with some serious questions. To wit: we're told that by virtue of being invisible, Gyges is able to kill the king, seduce the queen, and take over the country. So--how, exactly, does this work? Killing the king, sure, that's easy, you're invisible. Then what? He appears in the bereaved queen's bedchambers and says, "Hey baby, I can turn invisible," and she throws herself at him? I mean, the ring doesn't make him rich or good-looking or well-spoken, does it?--and a man who would murder someone while invisible isn't likely to be any of those things to begin with, is he? (Well--maybe rich.) But then what? Are we seriously expected to believe that some landless unwashed peasant materializes on the throne and proclaims that he's just murdered the king and is now the tyrant of the land, and the legions just fall right into line? Really? I hope he at least used the Joker's "disappearing pencil" trick on the Captain of the Guard first. The truth is, folks, if you find a magic ring that turns you invisible, you're much more likely to go live in a cave and strangle goblins in between eating still-wriggling fish for the better part of half a millenium, until Ian Holm finally shows up and steals it. All in all--if the choice ever comes up--I would definitely advise you to go with being able to fly.