Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
Page 38
92 Anaximenes of Lampsacus (c. 380–320 BC) was a rhetorician and historian; he accompanied Alexander on his Asiatic expedition.
93 Another reference to Dionysius II, tyrant of Syracuse, who received Plato at his court in the 360s BC, and, according to contemporary gossip, enriched him with handouts.
94 A lyric poet, active in the last quarter of the fifth century BC, Diagoras was notorious for his atheism.
95 Diogenes is punning on the names of two well-known centaurs. Cheiron was reputed to be wise, Eurytion lustful.
96 Phryne was a beautiful Athenian courtesan, able to subsidize gold statues from out of her earnings.
97 Meaning that he will denude the tree of figs.
98 Nearly the same expression is found at 6.45: beets were apparently considered an unmanly food.
99 A play on words: Tegea was a city in Arcadia; tegos is Greek for “brothel.”
100 Another pun, using the double meaning of labē—a hilt, as well as an opportunity to seize a prize—to impugn the giver’s motives.
101 A “suppositious son” was one passed off on another set of parents, presumably to avoid family scandal. Diogenes makes an untranslatable pun on the word hypobeblēmenos, which can mean both “passing as” and “lying under.”
102 The Greek word that Diogenes uses is cosmopolitēs, the root of the English “cosmopolitan.”
103 Enaridzō means “despoil”; eranidzō means “host a potluck supper.” Diogenes framed the wordplay in the form of a Homeric hexameter, though the line here given is not found in surviving texts of Homer.
104 A deity said to be a combination of the Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis. His worship was just reaching the Greek world during the later part of Diogenes’ life.
105 Iliad 3.65, spoken by the Trojan prince Paris about the “gifts” he has received from Aphrodite, good looks and an aptitude for soft living. The quote casts Antipater’s cloak as part of the same decadent lifestyle.
106 The value of a mina was about six hundred times that of an obol.
107 Odyssey 1.157 and 4.70.
108 The point of the remark is unclear.
109 The Greek word translated as “pupil” has a doublet that means “girl.” The word “ruin” takes on a sexual meaning if the latter word is understood here.
110 Demeter was the goddess of grain (and hence of food generally), Aphrodite of sexual love.
111 The word Diogenes Laertius uses is askēsis, the root of the modern “ascetism.” The word literally means “training,” a discipline of both mind and body. We see Diogenes the Cynic adhering to this askēsis in his rejection of bodily comforts, and in forcing himself to perform tasks like embracing statues covered in snow, or walking across hot sand.
112 With his primitivism, ruggedness, and fierce devotion to autonomy, Heracles was a kind of ethical model for the Cynics.
113 These ideas appeared in the most notorious of Diogenes’ works, his Republic. It is now lost but its contents were summarized by Philodemus of Gadara, a prominent Epicurean active in Rome in the first century BC.
114 In mythology, Thyestes was tricked into consuming his own children as a stew. The tragedy Diogenes mentions presumably used this episode to illustrate the arbitrariness of cannibalism taboos.
115 The word translated “son of Lucian” is probably corrupt.
116 No Scirpalus is known from this era. It is possible the name arose as a corruption of Harpalus, the Macedonian nobleman who served as Alexander the Great’s treasurer, then absconded with some of his funds and briefly led a mercenary army.
117 Phocion, a prominent Athenian general and statesman during most of the fourth century BC, had philosophic ambitions and also studied with Plato.
118 A philosopher of the Megarian school (c. 380–300 BC) and teacher of Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism. Diogenes Laertius discusses the life and views of Stilpo at 2.113–20.
119 A poetic meter where each foot has four short syllables, giving the impression of swift forward motion.
120 A river that ran through Athens.
121 The brothers referred to are probably dogs, who are imagined taking nourishment from the flesh of Diogenes’ corpse. Cynic philosophers were often referred to as “dogs” in antiquity.
122 That is, on the same calendrical date in different years.
123 This Olympiad began in 288 BC.
124 This episode is described at 6.30–32 and 6.74.
125 The life and views of Crates of Thebes (c. 368/65–288/85 BC) are discussed at 6.85–93.
126 One of the islands in the southeastern Aegean.
127 An Athenian soldier (c. 430–c. 354 BC), historian, essayist, and admirer of Socrates. His most famous surviving work, Anabasis, recounts the march of the Ten Thousand, a mostly Greek mercenary troop hired by Cyrus the Younger, from Cunaxa, near Babylon, back to Greece. Diogenes Laertius discusses his life and views at 2.48–59.
128 Alexander employed Onesicritus as a top officer in the fleet that he built to sail down the Indus River and westward along the coast of Iran, in 325 BC. Many fragments survive of Onesicritus’ account of India, thanks to quotations by the geographer Strabo.
129 The Cyropaedia or Education of Cyrus, extant today, describes the life of Cyrus the Great of Persia, ruler in the sixth century BC, not that of Cyrus the Younger, under whom Xenophon served.
130 This work has not survived.
131 A different person than the famous playwright.
132 Meaning Diogenes of Sinope, discussed at 6.20–81.
133 Crates’ imaginary city is named after the knapsack often carried by Cynics as a sign of their disdain for material goods. The paradisical description that follows is written in Homeric meter and style.
134 A Mediterranean perennial that produces a yellow legume.
135 This Olympiad began in 328 BC.
136 Not the philosopher discussed at the start of this book, but Antisthenes of Rhodes (fl. c. 200 BC).
137 Telephus, a son of Heracles, was depicted in a lost tragedy by Euripides going about in the guise of a beggar, seeking a cure for a spear wound that would not heal.
138 The precise amount is given differently in different manuscripts. A talent comprised six thousand drachmas, or the wages of over fifteen years’ labor for an unskilled worker.
139 The gap in the text has been variously filled by editors with verbs meaning “visited” or “destroyed.” In favor of the latter is the fact that Alexander the Great razed the city of Thebes in 335 BC; Crates had by that time relocated to Athens but his house was presumably leveled (see 6.93). However, Philip, Alexander’s father, was dead before the time of Hipparchia’s birth, so he could have neither visited her house nor destroyed it. Thus no emendation seems able to make good sense of the sentence.
140 A sister of Metrocles and wife of Crates, Hipparchia was a significant philosopher in her own right. She was admired for her passionate adherence to the principles of Cynic virtue. Diogenes discusses her life at 6.96–98.
141 “Ephebe” denotes a youth in late adolescence, on the verge of adulthood. Such youths were required by many Greek cities to undergo military training.
142 Euclides of Megara (c. 480–380 BC) founded the Megarian school. Diogenes discusses his life and views at 2.106–12.
143 Grasping someone by their knees was a gesture of supplication in the ancient world.
144 Demetrius of Phalerum (b. c. 350 BC) was an Athenian politician, orator, and Peripatetic philosopher who studied under Theophrastus. Diogenes discusses his life and views at 5.75–85.
145 A disciple of Aristotle, Theophrastus became head of the Lyceum after Aristotle’s death. Diogenes discusses his life and views at 5.36–57.
146 Homer, Iliad 1.591, in which the god Hephaestus recalls how his father, Zeus, hurled him from Olympus.
147 Menedemus of Eretria (c. 339–265 BC), a pupil of Stilpo and Phaedo, was the founder of the Eretrian school of philosophy. His life and works are discussed at 2.125�
�44. He should be distinguished from the Cynic Menedemus discussed at 6.102–5.
148 The founder of Stoicism. Diogenes discusses the life and views of Zeno at 7.1–160.
149 The text of the second line is uncertain.
150 Alexander had destroyed Thebes after its rebellion against Macedonian rule in 335 BC. It was later rebuilt under Alexander’s successors.
151 The Cynic philosopher and wife of Crates of Thebes. Her life and views are discussed at 6.96–98.
152 Theophrastus (c. 370–288/86 BC) was a follower of Aristotle and became head of the Lyceum after Aristotle’s death. His life and views are discussed at 5.36–57.
153 Mediterranean perennial that produces a yellow legume.
154 The verse is from Homer’s Iliad 18.392; it occurs in the passage where Achilles’ mother, Thetis, asks the god Hephaestus to make her son a new set of armor. “Hephaestus” is here used by metonymy for fire.
155 That is, those of the Cynics.
156 A city in Thrace.
157 One of Alexander’s former generals, Lysimachus (c. 355–281 BC) became king of Thrace and, eventually, Macedonia.
158 Theodorus belonged to the school of hedonist philosophy founded by Aristippus of Cyrene. His life and views are discussed at 2.97–104.
159 The verse is from the climax of Euripides’ Bacchae (line 1236); Agave, mother of Pentheus, proudly describes herself this way after she goes over to the worship of Dionysus and, in a deluded state, tears apart the body of her son.
160 The original letters of Crates do not survive, though a large number of extant pseudepigraphical letters bear his name.
161 The Phoenicians were a Semitic people dwelling principally on the Levantine coast of the Mediterranean.
162 A Greek-speaking region on the southern edge of the Black Sea.
163 That is, he amassed a sum large enough to buy his own freedom and to qualify for citizenship (or, perhaps, to bribe his way onto the citizen rolls).
164 Menippus was the originator of Menippean satire, a humorous mixture of poetry and prose. Meleager of Gadara wrote satires in the first century BC and hence was not at all contemporary with Menippus.
165 The term “dog” is used here for Cynic. Menippus is not elsewhere associated with Crete.
166 This Menedemus should be distinguished from Menedemus of Eretria, discussed at 2.125–44.
167 A disciple of Epicurus known for composing several critiques of other philosophies, arguing that it was impossible to live by their doctrines.
168 A kind of high boot, worn by tragic actors on stage.
169 A Stoic philosopher (c. 320–c. 250 BC) whose life and views are discussed at 7.160–64.
170 Homer, Odyssey 4.392.
171 The work does not survive. At 6.16–17, Diogenes lists among the writings of Antisthenes several works whose titles refer to Heracles.
172 The life and views of the Stoic Zeno of Citium (335–263 BC) are discussed at 7.1–160.
173 The tribōn, a rough outer garment, would normally be worn over a softer tunic or chiton, but Cynics were known for wearing it against the skin (see 6.13 and corresponding note).
Book 7
ZENO
335–263 bc
ARISTON
c. 320–c. 250 bc
HERILLUS
3rd cent. bc
DIONYSIUS
c. 328–248 bc
CLEANTHES
331–232 bc
SPHAERUS
3rd cent. bc
CHRYSIPPUS
c. 280–207 bc
Bronze handle from a cista (toiletry box), fourth century BC, Etruscan.
Zeno
1 Zeno, son of Mnaseas (or of Demeas), was a native of Citium in Cyprus, a Greek city that had received Phoenician settlers. He had a neck that bent to one side, as Timotheus of Athens says in his work On Lives. And Apollonius of Tyre says that he was lean, longish, and swarthy; hence someone called him an Egyptian vine, as Chrysippus says in the first book of his Proverbs. He was thick-legged, flabby, and weak. This was why, as Persaeus says in his Convivial Reminiscences, he declined most dinner invitations. He delighted, they say, in green figs and sunbathing.
2 He was a student, as was mentioned earlier, of Crates.1 Next, they say, he attended the lectures of Stilpo2 and Xenocrates3 for ten years, according to Timocrates in his Dion; and those of Polemon4 as well. Hecaton, and Apollonius of Tyre in the first book of his work On Zeno, say that when he consulted an oracle about what he should do to live the best life, the god replied that he should have intercourse with the dead. Grasping the oracle’s meaning, he read the works of the ancients.
3 He became a student of Crates under the following circumstances. Transporting a cargo of purple dye from Phoenicia to the Piraeus, he was shipwrecked. On reaching Athens (he was then a man of thirty), he sat down in a bookseller’s shop. The bookseller was reading aloud the second book of Xenophon’s Memorabilia,5 and Zeno was so pleased that he asked where such men could be found. At that very moment, fortunately, Crates happened to be walking past. Pointing him out, the bookseller said, “Follow him.” From then on he studied with Crates, proving in other respects well suited for philosophy, though he was bashful about adopting Cynic shamelessness. Hence Crates, who wanted to cure him of this, gave him a pot of lentil soup to carry through the Cerameicus.6 And when he saw that Zeno was ashamed and tried to keep it hidden, he struck the pot with his cane and broke it. As Zeno was running away, the soup streaming down his legs, Crates said, “Why run away, little Phoenician? Nothing terrible has happened to you.”
Two views of a marble portrait bust of Zeno, third century BC.
4 For a time he studied with Crates; and when, at that period, he had written his Republic, some said in jest that he had written it on the tail of the dog.7 In addition to the Republic, he wrote the following works:
On Life According to Nature
On Impulse or On Human Nature
On the Passions
On Duty
On Law
On Greek Education
On Sight
On the Universe
On Signs
Pythagorean Studies
Universals
On Expressions
Homeric Problems, five books
On the Recitation of Poetry
He also wrote:
Handbook
Solutions
Refutations, two books
Reminiscences of Crates
Ethics
5 These are his books. He finally left Crates and studied with the above-mentioned men for twenty years. Hence he is reported to have said, “I had a good voyage when I was shipwrecked.” Others, however, claim that Zeno said this in reference to his time with Crates. Some say he was spending time in Athens when he heard that his ship was wrecked, and he said, “Fortune does well to drive me to philosophy.” But others say that it was after he had sold his wares in Athens that he turned his attention to philosophy.
He used to give his lectures while walking up and down in the Painted Stoa (which is also called the Stoa of Peisianax, though it got its name—“Painted Stoa”—from the painting of Polygnotus),8 hoping to keep the place clear of crowds. It was there that under the Thirty, fourteen hundred citizens had been put to death.9 People now went there to hear Zeno, and this is why they were called Stoics. The same name was given to his followers, who had originally been called Zenonians, as Epicurus10 says in his letters. According to Eratosthenes in the eighth book of his work On Ancient Comedy, the name had formerly been given to the poets who spent their time there; it was they who made the name “Stoic” even more famous.
6 The Athenians held Zeno in such high regard that they deposited with him the keys of the city walls and honored him with a golden crown and a bronze statue. This latter honor was also accorded him by his fellow citizens,11 who regarded the man’s statue as an ornament of their city. Natives of Citium who lived in Sidon12 also claimed him as their own. Antigonus13 favore
d him, and whenever he came to Athens would attend his lectures and often invited him to his court. This offer Zeno declined, though he sent Antigonus one of his friends, Persaeus, son of Demetrius, a native of Citium, who flourished in the 130th Olympiad,14 at which time Zeno was an old man. Antigonus’ letter, according to Apollonius of Tyre in his work On Zeno, runs as follows:15
Zeno of Citium, by Sam Kaprielov, 2016. Oil on canvas, 76 × 61 cm.
7
King Antigonus to Zeno the philosopher, greetings.
In fortune and fame I consider myself your superior, but in reason and education your inferior, as well as in the perfect happiness you have attained. Therefore I have decided to ask you to come to me, in the belief that you will not refuse the request. Make every effort to join me, on the understanding that you will be the instructor not only of myself but of all the Macedonians collectively. For it is clear that whoever instructs the ruler of Macedonia and guides him on the path of virtue will also be training his subjects to be good men. For the leader’s character is likely, for the most part, to determine that of his subjects.
8,9 Zeno replied as follows:
Zeno to King Antigonus, greetings.
I welcome your love of learning insofar as you strive for that true education that aims at advantage, and not the common sort that tends to pervert men’s characters. The man who has yearned for philosophy and shied away from the notorious pleasure that renders effeminate the souls of certain young men, is manifestly inclined to nobility of character not only by nature but by deliberate choice. A noble nature that has received, in addition to appropriate training, the benefit of an ungrudging instructor will easily attain perfect virtue. But I am subject, due to old age, to bodily weakness. For I am eighty years old, and for that reason am unable to join you. But I am sending you some of my fellow scholars, whose souls are not inferior to mine, while their bodily strength is superior. If you associate with them you will not fall short of the conditions that contribute to perfect happiness.