E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Syb’arite (3 syl.).
A self-indulgent person; a wanton. The inhabitants of Syb’aris, in South Italy, were proverbial for their luxurious living and self-indulgence. A tale is told by Seneca of a Sybarite who complained that he could not rest comfortably at night, and being asked why, replied, “He found a rose-leaf doubled under him, and it hurt him.” (See RIPAILLE.)
1
“All is calm as would delight the heart
Of Sybarite of old.”
Thomson: Castle of Indolence, canto i.
Sybarite. The Sybarites taught their horses to dance to the sound of a pipe. When the Crotonians marched against Sybaris they began to play on their pipes, whereupon all the Sybarite horses drawn out in array before the town began to dance; disorder soon prevailed in the ranks, and the victory was quick and easy.
