Diogenes laertius, author of a biographically arranged history of greek philosophy in ten books that also deals with the persian magi, especially in the first book on the origins of philosophy. An english translation of diogenes laertiuss lives of the. Diogenes laertius asserts that pythagoras later visited crete, where he went to the. Long before our own day of selfhelp books offering twelvestep programs and other guides to attain happiness, the philosophers of ancient greece explored the riddle of what makes a life worth living, producing a wide variety. He is credited by some with originating the cynic way of life, but he himself acknowledges an indebtedness to antisthenes, by whose numerous writings he was probably influenced. This rich tradition was recast by diogenes laertius into an anthology, a miscellany of maxims and anecdotes, that generations of western readers have consulted for edification as well as entertainment ever since the lives of the eminent philosophers, first compiled in the third century ad, came to prominence in renaissance italy. Diogenes laertius on plato diogenes laertius lived 3rd century, c. Diogenes of sinope biography childhood, life achievements. Lives of the eminent philosophersbook viii wikisource. Diogenes laertius divides the philosophy of the greeks into the ionic, beginning with anaximander, and ending with theophrastus in which class, he includes the socratic philosophy and all its various ramifications. Most of the text in this book is devoted to the anecdotes concerning diogenes s life and sayings.
It appears that diogenes was also engaged into the banking business helping his father. Book 10 contains the life and doctrines of epicurus. This rich tradition was recast by diogenes laertius into an anthology, a miscellany of maxims and anecdotes, that generations of western readers have consulted for edification as well as entertainment ever since thelives of the eminent philosophers, first compiled in the third century ad, came to prominence in renaissance italy. Lives of the eminent philosophers diogenes laertius. The first complete english translation in nearly a century. Iamblichus claims that pythagoras died when telauges was very young, and that telauges eventually married bitale the daughter of damo, his sister. English translation socrates out of his senses, 1771. The lives and opinions of eminent philosophers by diogenes laertius. Having now completed our account of the philosophy of ionia starting with thales, as well as of its chief representatives, let us proceed to examine the philosophy of italy, which was started by pythagoras, son of the gemengraver mnesarchus, and according to hermippus, a samian, or, according to aristoxenus, a tyrrhenian from one of those islands which the athenians held. According to diogenes laertius, pythagoras was the first person who invented the term philosophy, and called himself a philosopher.
His life, therefore, was lived with extreme simplicity, inured to want, and without shame. Nothing is known about his life, but his surviving lives and opinions of eminent philosophers is a principal source for the history of greek philosophy. Diogenes, archetype of the cynics, a greek philosophical sect that stressed stoic selfsufficiency and the rejection of luxury. Diogenes laertius, vitae philosophorum viii, 40 dycearchus says that pythagoras, having repaired to metapontus temple of the muses, died there after fasting for forty days. A look at the history and significance to raphaels the school of athens, in the foreground, pythagoras sits with a book and an inkwell, also. The philosophy of pythagoras university of illinois archives.
Diogenes laertius gives his fathers name as bloson or heracon. Like his doctrines, the life of pythagoras also becomes a mirror. Socrates diogenes laertius, circa 225 famous trials. And we have written a sportive epigram on him, which is couched in the following terms. Im currently reading lives of the eminent philosophers by diogenes laertius translated by r. Mar 23, 2020 lives of the eminent philosophersbook i. He also frequently focuses on trivial or insignificant details of his subjects lives. The lives and opinions of eminent philosophers by diogenes. His political and religious teachings were well known in magna graecia and influenced the philosophies of plato, aristotle, and, through them, western philosophy. Even his real name is in question, as some scholars have suggested laertius is a penname chosen to distinguish himself from the numerous other persons named diogenes at the time. The lastnamed author says that according to the magi men will live in a future life and be immortal, and that the world will endure through their invocations. Zeno, the son of mnaseas or demeas, was a native of citium in cyprus, a greek city which had received phoenician settlers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving lives and opinions of eminent philosophers is a principal source for the history of ancient greek philosophy.
Diogenes laertius was a biographer of the greek philosophers. Diogenes laertius 3rd century ad is the primary source for the surviving complete letters of epicurus and for biographical and other pertinent information about him. Diogenes gives his own life and opinions in christoph martin wielands novel socrates mainomenos 1770. Hicks in 1925 and there is some pretty interesting stuff throughout. He wrote about the lives of the eminent philosophers, via what he had heard about them, what he had read about them from others, or of their works, etc. There is a number of interesting anecdotes on the lives of antisthenes, diogenes of sinope, monimus, onesicritus, crates of thebes, metrocles, hipparchia, menippus and menedemus. The lastnamed author says that according to the magi men will live in a future life and. Pythagoras of samos was an ancient ionian greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of. Diogenes laertius pronounced dieojuhneez leyuhshus. Read lives of the eminent philosophers by diogenes laertius by diogenes laertius available from rakuten kobo. He continually simplifies philosophies, wrongly assesses various philosophers importance and relates unbelievable anecdotes. Diogenes of sinope by individual philosopher philosophy. Publication date 1925 topics philosophers, ancient, philosophy, ancient publisher. Knowledge of his life is clouded by legend, but he appears to have been the son of mnesarchus, a gem.
This is volume ii of the lives of eminent philosophers and it has, among many others, sections on pythagoras, parmenides, heraclitus, zeno, epicurus and diogenes this last is the philosophercynic, not our author diogenes laertius, who is really little more than a sophisticated gossip. Diogenes laertius lived probably in the earlier half of the 3rd century ce, his ancestry and birthplace being unknown. Ionian from anaximander to theophrastus and chrysippus, including the socratic schools and italian from pythagoras. Diogenes laertius, lives of eminent philosophers, book i. Diogenes was a native of sinope, son of hicesius, a banker. Lives of the eminent philosophers ebook by diogenes. A biography of pythagoras homework example april 2020. Diogenes himself notices the agreement between favorinus and idomeneus of lampsacus, a much earlier author, for he was a disciple of epicurus, whom he knew from 310 to 270 b. The doxographies in diogenes laertius that are concerned with pythagoras, empedocles, heraclitus, and democritus are preceded by fairly extensive biographies, whereas biographical information about the. Porphyry, life of pythagoras 12 thales led pythagoras to sail to egypt and meet with the priests of memphis and diospolis, because it was they who instructed him in those disciplines, for which he was called a sage by the people. Uh i am sorry, but i am not aware of any evidence from any ancient source that pythagoras did not use the names of the gods in his philosophy. This text was converted to electronic form by data entry and has been proofread to a low level of accuracy. He lived as a beggar in the streets of athens and made a virtue of extreme poverty. Those who went to hear him at night were no less than six hundred.
But eubulides in his book on diogenes says that diogenes himself did this and was forced. This is volume ii of the lives of eminent philosophers and it has, among many others, sections on pythagoras, parmenides, heraclitus, zeno, epicurus and diogenes this last is the philosophercynic, not our author diogenes laertius, who is really little more than a. The lives of the philosophers, by diogenes laertius, is the most comprehensive ancient account of the lives of the early greek philosophers. Long before our own day of selfhelp books offering twelvestep programs and o. He is said to have been the first man who trained athletes on meat. Diogenes laertius, life of the philosophers viii, 15. Diogenes laertius carefully compiled his information from hundreds of sources and enriches his accounts with numerous quotations. Nothing is known about his life, apart from his authorship of the lives of the eminent philosophers. Now pythagoras, as heraclides, the son of sarapian, relates, died when he was eighty years of age. Lives of the eminent philosophers by diogenes laertius, translated by. Little is known about the thirdcentury historian of philosophy, diogenes laertius. Eurymenes was the first man, according to the statement of favorinus.
Diogenes is the primary model for the philosopher didactylos in terry pratchett s small gods. An english translation of diogenes laertiuss lives of the philosophers this is a successful 2008 neh summer stipend proposal, authored by professor john palmer, department of philosophy, university of florida. Diogenes believed that virtue can only be exhibited through actions rather than words. Diogenes was born on 412 bc in the greek colony of sinope on the south coast of the black sea.
Diogenes laertius, lives of eminent philosophers, book viii. He himself used to say that he remembered being, in trojan times, euphorbus, panthus son who was killed by. He learned the egyptian language, and also journeyed among the chaldaeans and magi. Diogenes laertius who state that polycrates was still in control of samos when pythagoras returned there.
The section numbers in the greek text are shown in red and the section numbers in the translation are shown in green. Diogenes laertius, with his vague allusion to oenopides, immediately alerts us to the characteristic methodology of biographers and their. Lives of eminent philosophers, vol 2, books 610 by. Pythagoras humanities libertexts libretextshumanities. Lives of the eminent philosophers by diogenes laertius. The modern form diogenes laertius is much rarer, used by stephanus of byzantium, and in a lemma to the greek anthology. Diogenes himself notices the agreement between favorinus and idomeneus of lampsacus, a much earlier author, for he was a. Lives of the eminent philosophersbook ix wikisource.
Zeno of citium in diogenes laertius book seven this volume is a revised translation of the complete text of book seven about zeno of citium and the stoics, taken from the lives and opinions of eminent philosophers written around ad by the graeco roman author diogenes laertius the life of zeno is accompanied by a complete. Pamela mensch is a translator of ancient greek whose works include the landmark arrian. The first is entitled the life of py thagoras and contains the four biographies of pythagoras that have survived from antiquity. His reputation is controversial among scholars because he often repeats information from his sources without critically evaluating it. Click download or read online button to get diogenes laertius book now. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Diogenes laertius download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Lives of the eminent philosophers by diogenes laertius diogenes laertius, translated by pamela mensch, and edited by james miller. It was by personal example rather than any coherent system of thought that diogenes conveyed the cynic philosophy. His followers positioned themselves as watchdogs of morality. Diogenes of apollonia, son of apollothemis, was a natural philosopher and a most famous man.
He was one of the founders and the archetypical practitioner of the ancient greek philosophical school of cynicism. Diogenes laertius, lives of eminent philosophers, volume i. Lives of eminent philosophers, vol 2, books 610 by diogenes. Life of pythagoras by diogenes laertius excerpted from lives of eminent philosophers, viii, xii translated by kenneth sylvan guthrie pdf version he is said to have been the first man who trained athletes on meat. Lives of the eminent philosophers by laertius, diogenes. Pythagoras and pythagoreanism are treated on an extraordinarily. Diogenes laertius gathered his material from lost second or thirdhand. Eurymenes was the first man, according to the statement of favorinus, in the third book of his commentaries, who ever did submit to this diet, as before that time men used to train themselves on dry figs, and moist cheese and wheaten bread, as the same favorinus informs us in the eighth book of his miscellaneous history. Diogenes laertius lives of eminent philosophers ii. Reviewed 1262007 on the importance of gossip this is yet another loeb book where i have shamefully lost the companion volume.
Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving lives and opinions of eminent philosophers is a prin. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. According to tradition, he was the son of pythagoras and theano. Diogenes laertius was a greek writer who probably lived in the first half of the third century ad. Lives of eminent philosophers, volume i diogenes laertius. There is no information on his early life except that his fathers name was hicesias who was a banker by profession. Diogenes laertius, lives of eminent philosophers, book vii. The project gutenberg ebook of the lives and opinions of. Pythagoras made a journey to crete shortly after his return to samos to study the system of laws there. All of these works were written at a time when pythagoras. He also frequently focuses on trivial or insignificant details of his subjects lives while ignoring important details of.
Diogenes laertius, life of pythagoras, from lives of the. Lives of the eminent philosophersbook viii wikisource, the. While still young, so eager was he for knowledge, pythagoras left his own country and had himself initiated into all the mysteries and rites not only of greece but also of foreign countries. It discusses some specific features of diogenes picture of pythagoras. Lives of the eminent philosophers ebook by diogenes laertius. If pythagoras said he was a son of hermes and diogenes. Diogenes laertius lived probably in the earlier half of the third century ce, his ancestry and birthplace being unknown. Diogenes laertius, lives of eminent philosophers, book. Diocles relates that he went into exile because his father was entrusted with the money of the state and adulterated the coin.
The campaigns of alexander, herodotus histories, and plutarchs. The first is entitled the life of pythagoras and contains the four biographies of pythagoras that have survived from antiquity. Get this from a library the life of pythagoras iamblichus kenneth sylvan guthrie porphyry photius, saint patriarch of constantinople diogenes laertius. There are those who say that the study of philosophy had its beginning among the. The section numbers in the greek text are shown in red and the section numbers in the translation are shown in. Lives of eminent philosophers by diogenes laertius.
The life of pythagoras covers almost all of the sixth century. The ancient manuscripts invariably refer to a laertius diogenes, and this form of the name is repeated by sopater and the suda. Diogenes life was riddled with various controversies, he was very opinionated and spent his entire life engaging in efforts to disparage and deprecate social values, and to unmask the institutions of a corrupt society. In lives and opinions of eminent philosophers, diogenes laertius 3rd. His history, in ten books, is divided unscientifically into two successions or sections.
Of his life nothing is recorded, but according to the internal evidence in his work he must have lived in the 3rd century c. If one wants to detect an overall interest in diogenes life of pythagoras, they must certainly locate it in the pythagorean mode of life as reflected in the long lists of religious and ethical precepts. Lives of the eminent philosophersbook i wikisource, the. National endowment for the humanities division of preservation and access provided support for entering this text. Lives of the eminent philosophersbook viii wikisource, the free.
The complete pythagoras is a compilation of two books. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Diogenes laertius, lives of eminent philosophers, book i, prologue. He was, to be honest, not the most astute philosopher himself. Back in samos he founded a school which was called the semicircle. The same account of the conversation is summarized by iamblichus and diogenes laertius in their lives of pythagoras sic, although neither refers to. Publication date 1853 topics philosophers publisher london. This man, so great was his unpopularity at athens, almost lost his life, as demetrius of phalerum states in his defence of socrates. Diogenes laertius we have reports that democritus was a student of leucippus 9. Lives and opinions of eminent philosophers by diogenes. The earliest sources on pythagorass life are brief, ambiguous, and often satirical.
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