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Diogenes' teachings of what is right and wrong. Diogenes of Sinope is a shocking ancient Greek philosopher. From the biography of Diogenes

The Rise of Cynicism

Diogenes of Sinope became a symbol of the Cynic movement. Diogenes was an older contemporary of Alexander. One source says that he died in Corinth on the same day as Alexander in Babylon.

Diogenes surpassed the fame of his teacher Antisthenes. This was a young man from Sinope on the Euxine, whom Antisthenes disliked at first sight; he was the son of a money changer with a dubious reputation, who was in prison for damaging a coin. Antisthenes drove the young man away, but he did not pay attention to it. Antisthenes beat him with a stick, but he did not budge. He needed "wisdom", and he believed that Antisthenes should give it to him. His goal in life was to do what his father did - “spoil the coin,” but on a much larger scale. He would like to spoil all the “coin” available in the world. Any accepted stamp is false, false. People with the stamp of generals and kings, things with the stamp of honor and wisdom, happiness and wealth - all these were base metals with a false inscription.

Diogenes decided to live like a dog, and therefore he was called "cynic", which means canine (another version of the origin of the name of the school). He rejected all conventions concerning religion, manners, clothing, housing, food, and decency. They say that he lived in a barrel, but Gilbert Murray assures that this is a mistake: it was a huge jug, such as were used in primitive times for burials. He lived like an Indian fakir, by alms. He declares his brotherhood not only with the entire human race, but also with animals. He was a man about whom stories were collected during his lifetime. It is widely known that Alexander visited him and asked if he wanted any favor. “Just don’t block my light,” Diogenes replied.

Diogenes' teaching was in no way what we now call "cynical", quite the opposite. He ardently strived for “virtue,” in comparison with which, as he argued, all earthly goods are worthless. He sought virtue and moral freedom in freedom from desire: be indifferent to the blessings that fortune has bestowed upon you, and you will be free from fear. Diogenes believed that Prometheus was rightly punished for bringing to man the arts that gave rise to the complexity and artificiality of modern life.

Diogenes not only strengthened the extremism of Antisthenes, but created a new ideal of life of extraordinary severity, which became paradigmatic for centuries.

One phrase can express the entire program of this philosopher: “I am looking for a person,” which he repeated with a lantern in his hands among the crowd and in broad daylight, provoking an ironic reaction. I'm looking for a man who lives in accordance with his purpose. I am looking for a person who is above everything external, above social prejudices, above even the whims of fate, who knows and knows how to find his own and unique nature, with which he agrees, and, therefore, he is happy.


“The Cynic Diogenes,” an ancient source testifies, “repeated that the gods gave people the means to live, but they were mistaken about these people.” Diogenes saw his task as showing that a person always has everything at his disposal to be happy if he understands the requirements of his nature.

In this context, his statements about the uselessness of mathematics, physics, astronomy, music, and the absurdity of metaphysical constructions are understandable. Cynicism has become the most anti-cultural phenomenon of all the philosophical movements of Greece and the West in general. One of the most extreme conclusions was that the most essential needs of man are those of animals.

Only the one who is free from the greatest number of needs is free. The Cynics tirelessly insisted on freedom, losing their measure. In the face of the almighty, they were bordering on recklessness in defending freedom of speech." parrhesia". "Anaideia", freedom of action, was intended to show all the unnatural behavior of the Greeks. In one luxurious house, in response to a request to maintain order, Diogenes spat in the owner’s face, noting that he had not seen a more nasty place.

Diogenes defines the method and path leading to freedom and virtues with the concepts of “asceticism,” “effort,” and “hard work.” Training the soul and body to the point of readiness to withstand the adversities of the elements, the ability to dominate lusts, moreover, contempt for pleasures are the fundamental values ​​of the Cynics, for pleasures not only relax the body and soul, but seriously threaten freedom, making a person a slave to his affections. For the same reason, marriage was also condemned in favor of free cohabitation between a man and a woman. However, the Cynic is also outside the state, his fatherland is the whole world. "Autarky", i.e. self-sufficiency, apathy and indifference to everything are the ideals of cynic life.

Due to the large number of contradictory descriptions and doxographies, the figure of Diogenes today appears too ambiguous. The works attributed to Diogenes that have survived to this day were most likely created by followers and belong to a later time. Information has also been preserved about the existence of at least five Diogenes in one period. This greatly complicates the systematic organization of information about Diogenes of Sinope.

The name of Diogenes, from anecdotes and legends in which it belonged to the ambivalent figure of a sage-buffoon and integrated extensive fiction, was often transferred to the critical works of other philosophers (Aristotle, Diogenes Laertius, etc.). On the basis of anecdotes and parables, an entire literary tradition of antiquity arose, embodied in the genres of apothegmata and chrys (Diogenes Laertius, Metroclus of Maronea, Dion Chrysostom, etc.). The most famous story is about how Diogenes was looking for an [honest] man during the day with a lantern (the same story was told about Aesop, Heraclitus, Democritus, Archilochus, etc.).

The main source of information about Diogenes is the treatise “On the Life, Teachings and Sayings of Famous Philosophers” by Diogenes Laertius. While asserting that Diogenes of Sinope has unsystematic views and a lack of teaching in general, Diogenes Laertius nevertheless reports, referring to Sotion, about 14 works of Diogenes, among which are presented as philosophical works (“On Virtue”, “On the Good”, etc.), and several tragedies. Turning, however, to the vast number of Cynic doxographies, one can come to the conclusion that Diogenes had a fully formed system of views. According to this evidence, he, preaching an ascetic lifestyle, despised luxury, was content with the clothes of a tramp, using a wine barrel for housing, and in his means of expression he was often so straightforward and rude that he earned himself the names “Dog” and “crazy Socrates.”

There is no doubt that in his conversations and everyday life, Diogenes often behaved as a marginal subject, shocking this or that audience not so much with the aim of insulting or humiliating them, but rather out of the need to pay attention to the foundations of society, religious norms, the institution of marriage, etc. d. Affirmed the primacy of virtue over the laws of society; rejected belief in gods established by religious institutions. He rejected civilization, in particular the state, considering it a false invention of demagogues. He declared culture to be violence against human beings and called for man to return to a primitive state; preached the community of wives and children. He declared himself a citizen of the world; promoted the relativity of generally accepted moral norms; the relativity of authorities not only among politicians, but also among philosophers. Thus, his relationship with Plato, whom he considered a talker, is well known. In general, Diogenes recognized only ascetic virtue based on imitation of nature, finding in it the only goal of man.

In later tradition, Diogenes' negative actions towards society were, more than likely, deliberately exaggerated. Therefore, the entire history of the life and work of this thinker appears as a myth created by many historians and philosophers. It is difficult to find unambiguous information even of a biographical nature. Thanks to his originality, Diogenes is one of the most prominent representatives of antiquity, and the Cynic paradigm he set later had a serious influence on a variety of philosophical concepts.

Let copper grow old under the power of time - yet your glory will outlive the centuries, Diogenes: You taught us how to live, being content with what you have, You showed us the path, which is not easier.

Exiled Philosopher

It is believed that Diogenes began his “philosophical career” after he was expelled from his hometown for damaging a coin.

Laertius mentions that before turning to philosophy, Diogenes ran a coinage workshop, and his father was a money changer. The father tried to involve his son in making counterfeit coins. Doubting Diogenes took a trip to Delphi to the oracle of Apollo, who gave advice to “do a reassessment of values,” as a result of which Diogenes took part in his father’s scam, was exposed with him, caught and expelled from his hometown.

Another version says that after the exposure, Diogenes himself fled to Delphi, where, in response to the question of what he needed to do to become famous, he received advice from the oracle to “do a reassessment of values.” After this, Diogenes went to wander around Greece, ca. 355-350 BC e. appeared in Athens, where he became a follower of Antisthenes.

Incidents from the life of Diogenes

  • Once, already an old man, Diogenes saw a boy drinking water from a handful, and in frustration threw his cup out of his bag, saying: “The boy has surpassed me in the simplicity of life.” He also threw away the bowl when he saw another boy who, having broken his bowl, was eating lentil soup from a piece of eaten bread.
  • Diogenes begged for alms from the statues “to accustom himself to refusal.”
  • When Diogenes asked someone to borrow money, he did not say “give me money,” but “give me my money.”
  • They say that when Alexander the Great came to Attica, he naturally wanted to get acquainted with the famous “outcast”, like many others. He found Diogenes in Crania (in a gymnasium near Corinth) while he was basking in the sun. Alexander approached him and said: “I am the great King Alexander.” “And I,” answered Diogenes, “the dog Diogenes.” “And why do they call you a dog?” “Whoever throws a piece, I wag, whoever doesn’t throw, I bark, whoever is an evil person, I bite.” “Are you afraid of me?” - asked Alexander. “What are you,” asked Diogenes, “evil or good?” “Good,” he said. “And who is afraid of good?” Finally, Alexander said: “Ask me whatever you want.” “Move away, you are blocking the sun for me,” said Diogenes and continued to bask. They say that Alexander allegedly even remarked: “If I were not Alexander, I would like to become Diogenes.”
  • When the Athenians were preparing for war with Philip of Macedon, and bustle and excitement reigned in the city, Diogenes began to roll his barrel in which he lived through the streets. When asked why he was doing this, Diogenes replied: “Everyone is busy, so am I.”
  • Diogenes said that grammarians study the disasters of Odysseus and do not know their own; musicians fret the strings of the lyre and cannot control their own temper; mathematicians follow the sun and moon, but do not see what is under their feet; rhetoricians teach to speak correctly and do not teach to act correctly; finally, misers scold money, but they themselves love it most of all.
  • Diogenes’ lantern, with which he wandered in broad daylight through crowded places with the words “I’m looking for a man,” became a textbook example back in antiquity.
  • One day, having washed himself, Diogenes was leaving the bathhouse, and acquaintances who were just about to wash were walking towards him. “Diogenes,” they asked in passing, “how is it full of people?” “That’s enough,” Diogenes nodded. Immediately he met other acquaintances who were also planning to wash and also asked: “Hello, Diogenes, are there a lot of people washing?” “There are almost no people,” Diogenes shook his head. Returning once from Olympia, when asked whether there were many people there, he replied: “There are a lot of people, but very few people.” And one day he went out into the square and shouted: “Hey, people, people!”; but when the people came running, they attacked him with a stick, saying: “I called people, not scoundrels.”
  • Diogenes continually engaged in handjobs in full view of everyone; when the Athenians remarked about this, they say, “Diogenes, everything is clear, we have a democracy and you can do what you want, but aren’t you going too far?”, he replied: “If only hunger could be relieved by rubbing your stomach.”
  • When Plato gave a definition that had great success: “Man is an animal with two legs, devoid of feathers,” Diogenes plucked the rooster and brought it to his school, declaring: “Here is Plato’s man!” To which Plato was forced to add “... and with flat nails” to his definition.
  • One day Diogenes came to a lecture with Anaximenes of Lampsacus, sat in the back rows, took a fish out of a bag and raised it above his head. First one listener turned around and began to look at the fish, then another, then almost everyone. Anaximenes was indignant: “You ruined my lecture!” “But what is a lecture worth,” said Diogenes, “if some salted fish upset your reasoning?”
  • When asked which wine tastes best to him, he answered: “Someone else’s.”
  • One day, someone brought him to a luxurious home and remarked: “You see how clean it is here, don’t spit somewhere, it will be all right for you.” Diogenes looked around and spat in his face, declaring: “Where to spit if there is no worse place.”
  • When someone was reading a long work and an unwritten place at the end of the scroll already appeared, Diogenes exclaimed: “Courage, friends: the shore is visible!”
  • To the inscription of one newlywed who wrote on his house: “The son of Zeus, victorious Hercules, dwells here, let no evil enter!” Diogenes added: “First war, then alliance.”

Aphorisms

  • Treat nobles like fire; don't stand too close or too far from them.
  • When extending your hand to friends, do not clench your fingers into a fist.
  • Poverty itself paves the way to philosophy; What philosophy tries to convince in words, poverty forces us to implement in practice.
  • The slanderer is the most fierce of wild beasts; The flatterer is the most dangerous of tame animals.
  • Philosophy and medicine have made man the most intelligent of animals; fortune telling and astrology - the craziest; superstition and despotism - the most unfortunate.
  • Those who keep animals must recognize that they serve the animals rather than the animals serving them.
  • Death is not evil, for there is no dishonor in it.
  • Philosophy gives you readiness for any turn of fate.

Literature

  • "Anthology of Cynicism"; edited by I. M. Nakhova. M.: Nauka, 1984.
  • Diogenes Laertius. "On the life, teachings and sayings of famous philosophers." M.: Mysl, 1986.
  • Kisil V. Ya., Ribery V. V. Gallery of ancient philosophers; in 2 volumes. M., 2002. ISBN 5-8183-0414-0.

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    • DIOGENES OF SINOPE- DIOGENES OF SINOPE (Διογένης ὁ Σινωπεύς) (c. 408 c. 323 BC), the founder of Greek cynicism (along with Antisthenes), one of the most famous and original Socratic moralists. The name of D. in the history of Greek philosophy is firmly associated with... ... Ancient philosophy

    - (c. 404 c. 323 BC) ancient Greek philosopher, student and follower of Antisthenes. The sphere of philosophical interests was aspects of moral and ethical relations, interpreted by D.S. in the spirit of cynicism, and of an extremely rigoristic sense. Because of… … History of Philosophy: Encyclopedia

    - (c. 404 c. 323 BC) ancient Greek philosopher, student and follower of Antisthenes. The sphere of philosophical interests were aspects of moral and ethical relations, interpreted by D.S. in the spirit of cynicism, and of an extremely rigoristic kind. Because of… … The latest philosophical dictionary

    Modern encyclopedia

    - (c. 400 c. 325 BC) ancient Greek Cynic philosopher, student of Antisthenes; practiced extreme asceticism, reaching the point of eccentric foolishness; the hero of numerous jokes. He called himself a citizen of the world (cosmopolitan). According to legend, he lived in... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    Diogenes of Sinope- (about 400 about 325 BC), ancient Greek Cynic philosopher, student of Antisthenes; practiced extreme asceticism, reaching the point of eccentric foolishness; the hero of numerous jokes. He called himself a citizen of the world (cosmopolitan). According to legend,... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

    - (about 400 about 325 BC), ancient Greek Cynic philosopher, student of Antisthenes; practiced extreme asceticism, reaching the point of eccentric foolishness; the hero of numerous jokes. He called himself a citizen of the world (“cosmopolitan”). According to legend, he lived... Encyclopedic Dictionary


Introduction

Diogenes of Sinope (IV century BC) is considered the most brilliant Cynic philosopher. The name of this philosophical movement - Cynics, according to one version, arose from the name of the Athenian gymnasium Kinosargus ("sharp dog", "frisky dogs"), in which Socrates' student Antisthenes taught (V-IV centuries BC). It is Antisthenes who is considered the founder of Cynicism. According to another version, the term “cynic” is derived from the ancient Greek word “kyunikos” - dog. And in this sense, the philosophy of the Cynics is “dog philosophy.” This version is consistent with the essence of Cynic philosophy, whose representatives argued that human needs are animal in nature and called themselves dogs.

Biography of Diogenes of Sinope

Diogenes of Sinope (lived in the 4th century BC, a contemporary of Alexander the Great) is the most brilliant and famous theorist and practitioner of Cynic philosophy. It is believed that it was he who gave the name to this philosophical school (since one of Diogenes’ nicknames is “kinos” - dog). In fact, the name comes from the word "Kinosart" - a hill and gymnasium in Athens, where Antisthenes taught his students.

Diogenes was born in the city of Sinope, an Asia Minor city on the shores of the Pontus Euxine (Black Sea), but was expelled from his hometown for making counterfeit money. Since then, Diogenes wandered around the cities of Ancient Greece, and lived for the longest time in Athens.

If Antisthenes developed, so to speak, the theory of cynicism, then Diogenes not only developed the ideas expressed by Antisthenes, but also created a kind of ideal of cynic life. This ideal included the main elements of Cynic philosophy: preaching the unlimited spiritual freedom of the individual; demonstrative disregard for all customs and generally accepted norms of life; renunciation of pleasures, wealth, power; contempt for fame, success, nobility.

The motto of all Cynics can be considered the words of Diogenes: “I am looking for a man.” According to legend, Diogenes, endlessly repeating this phrase, walked among the crowd with a lit lantern in broad daylight. The meaning of this act of the philosopher was that he demonstrated to people their incorrect understanding of the essence of the human personality.

Diogenes argued that a person always has at his disposal the means to be happy. However, most people live in illusions, understanding happiness as wealth, fame, and pleasure. He saw his task precisely as debunking these illusions. It is characteristic that Diogenes argued the uselessness of mathematics, physics, music, science in general, believing that a person should know only himself, his own unique personality.

In this sense, the Cynics became successors of the teachings of Socrates, developing to the limit his idea about the illusory nature of the ordinary human idea of ​​​​happiness, good and evil. No wonder Plato called Diogenes “the maddened Socrates.”

True happiness, according to Diogenes, lies in the complete freedom of the individual. Only those who are free from most needs are free. Diogenes designated the means for achieving freedom with the concept of “ascesis” - effort, hard work. Asceticism is not just a philosophical concept. It is a way of life based on constant training of body and spirit in order to be prepared for all sorts of adversities in life; the ability to control one’s own desires; cultivating contempt for pleasure and pleasure.

Diogenes himself became an example of an ascetic sage in history. Diogenes had no property. At one time, emphasizing his contempt for human habits, he lived in a pithos - a large clay vessel for wine. Once he saw a boy drinking water from a handful, he threw the cup out of his bag, saying: “The boy has surpassed me in the simplicity of his life.” He also threw away the bowl when he saw a boy who, having broken his bowl, was eating lentil soup from a piece of eaten bread. Diogenes asked for alms from the statue, and when asked why he was doing this, he said: “To accustom himself to refusal.”

The philosopher's behavior was defiant, even extremist. For example, when he came to one luxurious house, he spat in the owner’s face in response to a request to maintain order. When Diogenes borrowed money, he said that he only wanted to take what was owed to him. And one day he began to call people, and when they came running, he attacked them with a stick, saying that he was calling people, not scoundrels. Emphasizing his difference from those around him and expressing his contempt for them, he repeatedly called himself “Diogenes the dog.”

Diogenes considered the ideal and goal of life to be the achievement of a state of “autarky” (self-sufficiency), when a person comprehends the vanity of the external world and the meaning of his existence becomes indifference to everything except the peace of his own soul. In this sense, the episode of the meeting between Diogenes and Alexander the Great is characteristic. Having heard about Diogenes, the greatest sovereign wished to meet him. But when he approached the philosopher and said: “Ask what you want,” Diogenes replied: “Do not block the sun from me.” This answer precisely contains the idea of ​​autarky, for for Diogenes everything, including Alexander, is completely indifferent, except his own soul and his own ideas about happiness.

Already in ancient times, the teaching of the Cynics began to be called the shortest road to virtue. And on the grave of Diogenes a marble monument was erected in the form of a dog with the inscription: “Even bronze wears out over time, but your glory, Diogenes, will never pass away, for only you were able to convince mortals that life in itself is sufficient, and show the simplest path life."

Diogenes of Sinope (circa (412 BC - June 10, 323 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher, a prominent representative of the Cynecus school, student and follower of its founder Antisthenes. He went down in history, first of all, for his eccentricity and asceticism.

The main source of information about Diogenes of Sinope is Diogenes Laertius, a late antique historian of philosophy who presumably lived in the 2nd-3rd centuries and wrote the treatise “On the Life, Teachings and Sayings of Famous Philosophers.” The presentation of philosophical views in this treatise is sometimes inaccurate, interspersed with funny biographical anecdotes (including clearly fictitious and even obscene).

Diogenes' childhood and youth

According to Diogenes Laertius, the future ancient Greek philosopher was born in 412 BC, in the city of Sinope, located on the Black Sea coast. Nothing is known about Diogenes' mother. The boy’s father, Hykesius, worked as a trapezite - that’s what money changers and money lenders were called in Ancient Greece. Diogenes' childhood passed through turbulent times - conflicts constantly broke out between pro-Greek and pro-Persian groups in his hometown. Due to the difficult social situation, Hykesius began to counterfeit coins, but the meal was quickly caught red-handed. Diogenes, who was also about to be arrested and punished, managed to escape from the city. And so began the guy’s journey, which led him to Delphi.

In Delphi, tired and exhausted, Diogenes turned to the local oracle with the question of what to do next. The answer, as expected, was vague: “Reconsider values ​​and priorities.” At that moment, Diogenes did not understand these words, so he did not attach any significance to them and went on wandering.

Barrel of Diogenes

The road led Diogenes to Athens, where he encountered the philosopher Antisthenes in the city square. It is not known how their acquaintance took place, but Antisthenes struck Diogenes to the core, and Diogenes aroused a feeling of hostility in Antisthenes. Then Diogenes decided to stay in Athens to become a student of the philosopher.

Diogenes did not have money (according to some sources, it was stolen by his comrade Manes, with whom Diogenes arrived in Athens), so he could not afford to buy a house or even rent a room. But this did not become a problem for the future philosopher: Diogenes dug next to the temple of Cybele (not far from the Athenian agora - the central square) a pithos - a large clay vessel, in which the Greeks stored grain, wine, oil or buried people. And he began to live in pithos. Later historical and artistic tradition replaced the “pithos” with the “barrel”, which was more familiar to Europeans, which served as the basis for the expression “Diogenes’ barrel.” One day the boys destroyed his house and the Athenians provided him with a new pithos.

Philosophy of Diogenes

Although not immediately, Diogenes managed to become a student of Antisthenes, the founder of the Cynic school. The elderly philosopher could not get rid of the persistent student even after beating him with a stick. And ultimately, it was this student who glorified Cynicism as a school of ancient philosophy. Diogenes still lived in his barrel, but not at all because he could not earn a living.

The philosophy of Diogenes was based on asceticism, the renunciation of all living goods, and the imitation of nature. Diogenes proclaimed the ideal of asceticism using the example of a mouse that was not afraid of anything, did not strive for anything and was content with little. Diogenes' life in a clay jug - pithos, and the use of a cloak instead of a bed illustrated this principle. The only things he had were a bag and a staff. Sometimes he was seen walking barefoot in the snow. He only asked Alexander the Great not to block the sun for him. The meaning of asceticism was that true happiness lies in freedom and independence

Diogenes did not recognize states, politicians, religions and clergy, and considered himself a cosmopolitan - a citizen of the world.

Shocking

Diogenes shocked his contemporaries, in particular, he ate in the square (in the time of Diogenes, public eating was considered indecent) and openly engaged in masturbation, saying: “If only hunger could be relieved by rubbing the stomach!” During a conversation with Alexander the Great, the philosopher called himself a dog, but Diogenes called himself that way before. One day, several townspeople threw him a bone like a dog and wanted to force him to chew it. However, they could not predict the result - like a dog, Diogenes took revenge on bullies and offenders by urinating on them.

There were also less extravagant performances. Seeing the incompetent archer, Diogenes sat down near the target, saying that this was the safest place. Standing naked in the rain. When the townspeople tried to take Diogenes under the canopy, Plato said that they shouldn’t: the best help for Diogenes’ vanity would be to not touch him.

Disputes with Plato

Diogenes argued with Plato on several occasions. Once, trampling a mat, he exclaimed: “I am trampling Plato’s arrogance.” When Plato said that man is “a biped without feathers,” Diogenes plucked the rooster and called him Plato’s man. Plato, in turn, called him “the maddened Socrates.” Objecting to Plato’s teaching about the essence of things, Diogenes said: “I see the cup, but not the cup.” Seeing the meager lifestyle of Diogenes, Plato noticed that even in slavery to the tyrant of Syracuse Dionysius, he did not wash his own vegetables, to which he received the answer that if he had washed the vegetables himself, he would not have been in slavery.

It is also known about the conflict with other philosophers, including Anaximenes of Lampsacus and Aristippus. In between skirmishes with competitors, Diogenes continued to do weird things and answer people's questions. One of the philosopher’s eccentricities gave the name to another popular expression – “Diogenes’ lantern.” The philosopher walked around the square with a lantern during the day, exclaiming: “I am looking for a man.” In this way he expressed his attitude towards the people around him.

Diogenes often spoke unflatteringly about the inhabitants of Athens. One day Diogenes began to give a philosophical lecture in the city square. Nobody listened to him. Then Diogenes screeched like a bird, and a hundred onlookers gathered around. “This, Athenians, is the price of your mind,” Diogenes told them. - “When I told you smart things, no one paid attention to me, and when I chirped like an unreasonable bird, you listen to me with your mouth open.” Diogenes considered the Athenians unworthy to be called people. He mocked religious ceremonies and despised those who believed in dream-readers. He considered demagogues and politicians to be flatterers of the mob. He declared himself a citizen of the world; promoted the relativity of generally accepted moral norms.

Death of Diogenes

When the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC) took place between the Greeks and the Macedonian king Philip II, Diogenes left Athens, going by ship to the shores of Aegina. However, it was not possible to get there - the ship was captured by pirates, and everyone on it was either killed or captured. Diogenes was also captured. According to other sources, he took part in this battle, where he was also captured by the Macedonians.

The slave trade flourished in those days, so Diogenes also did not escape his fate - the slave market, where he was bought by the Corinthian Xeanides so that the philosopher would teach his children. It is worth noting that Diogenes was a good teacher - in addition to horse riding, throwing darts, history and Greek literature, the philosopher taught the children of Xeanidas to eat and dress modestly, as well as to engage in physical exercise to maintain their physical fitness and health.

Friends offered the philosopher to buy him out of slavery, but he refused, claiming that this illustrated the fact that even in slavery he could be “the master of his master.” But it is quite possible that Diogenes enjoyed a roof over his head and regular meals.

The philosopher died on the same day as Alexander the Great - June 10, 323, while in slavery under Xeanides. They buried Diogenes face down - as he asked. At his grave in Corinth there was a tombstone made of Parian marble with words of gratitude from his students and wishes for eternal glory. A dog was also made from marble, symbolizing the life of Diogenes. The epitaph read:

Let the copper grow old under the power of time - still
Your glory will survive the centuries, Diogenes:
You taught us how to live, being content with what you have,
You showed us a path that couldn’t be easier.

Personal life

Diogenes denied the family and the state, arguing that children and wives are common, and there are no borders between countries. Based on this, it is difficult to establish the philosopher’s biological children.

Works of Diogenes

According to Diogenes Laertius, the philosopher from Sinope left behind 14 philosophical works and 2 tragedies (in some sources the number of tragedies is 7). The works themselves have not survived; they are known thanks to other writers and philosophers who use the sayings and sayings of Diogenes. Diogenes' works include "On Wealth", "On Virtue", "The Athenian People", "The Science of Morals" and "On Death", and his tragedies include "Hercules" and "Helen".

Incidents from the life of Diogenes

A famous story has been preserved: when someone argued that movement does not exist, Diogenes simply got up and began to walk.

Once, already an old man, Diogenes saw a boy drinking water from a handful, and in frustration threw his cup out of his bag, saying: “The boy has surpassed me in the simplicity of life.” He also threw away the bowl when he saw another boy who, having broken his bowl, was eating lentil soup from a piece of eaten bread.

Diogenes begged for alms from the statues “to accustom himself to refusal.”

When Diogenes asked someone to borrow money, he did not say “give me money,” but “give me my money.”

When Alexander the Great came to Attica, he, of course, wanted to get to know the famous “outcast” like many others. Plutarch says that Alexander waited a long time for Diogenes himself to come to him to pay his respects, but the philosopher spent his time calmly at home. Then Alexander himself decided to visit him. And, finding Diogenes in Crania (in a gymnasium near Corinth), when he was basking in the sun, he approached him and said: “I am the great King Alexander.” “And I,” answered Diogenes, “the dog Diogenes.” “And why do they call you a dog?” “Whoever throws a piece, I wag, whoever doesn’t throw, I bark, whoever is an evil person, I bite.” “Are you afraid of me?” - asked Alexander. “What are you,” asked Diogenes, “evil or good?” “Good,” he said. “And who is afraid of good?” Finally, Alexander said: “Ask me whatever you want.” “Move away, you are blocking the sun for me,” said Diogenes and continued to bask. On the way back, in response to the jokes of his friends who were making fun of the philosopher, Alexander allegedly even remarked: “If I were not Alexander, I would like to become Diogenes.” Ironically, Alexander died on the same day as Diogenes, June 10, 323 BC. e.

When the Athenians were preparing for war with Philip of Macedon and bustle and excitement reigned in the city, Diogenes began to roll his clay barrel in which he lived through the streets back and forth. When asked why he was doing this, Diogenes replied: “Everyone is busy right now, that’s why it’s not good for me to be idle, but I roll pithos because I have nothing else.”

Diogenes said that grammarians study the disasters of Odysseus and do not know their own; musicians fret the strings of the lyre and cannot control their own temper; mathematicians follow the sun and moon, but do not see what is under their feet; rhetoricians teach to speak correctly and do not teach to act correctly; finally, misers scold money, but they themselves love it most of all.

Diogenes' lantern, with which he wandered in broad daylight through crowded places with the words “I am looking for a Man,” became a textbook example back in antiquity.

One day, after washing, Diogenes was leaving the bathhouse, and acquaintances who were just about to wash were walking towards him. “Diogenes,” they asked in passing, “how is it full of people?” “That’s enough,” Diogenes nodded. Immediately he met other acquaintances who were also going to wash and also asked: “Hello, Diogenes, are there a lot of people washing?” “There are almost no people,” Diogenes shook his head.

Returning once from Olympia, when asked whether there were many people there, he replied: “There are a lot of people, but very few people.” And one day he went out into the square and shouted: “Hey, people, people!”; but when the people came running, Diogenes attacked him with a stick, saying: “I called people, not scoundrels.”

When Plato gave a definition that had great success: “Man is an animal with two legs, devoid of feathers,” Diogenes plucked the rooster and brought it to his school, declaring: “Here is Plato’s man!” To which Plato was forced to add “... and with flat nails” to his definition.

One day Diogenes came to a lecture with Anaximenes of Lampsacus, sat in the back rows, took a fish out of a bag and raised it above his head. First one listener turned around and began to look at the fish, then another, then almost everyone. Anaximenes was indignant: “You ruined my lecture!” “But what is a lecture worth,” said Diogenes, “if some salted fish upset your reasoning?”

Diogenes, seeing how the slaves of Anaximenes of Lampsacus were carrying numerous belongings, asked who they belonged to. When they answered him that Anaximenes, he was indignant: “And isn’t it a shame for him, owning such property, not to control himself?”

When asked which wine tastes best to him, he answered: “Someone else’s.”

One day, someone brought him to a luxurious home and remarked: “You see how clean it is here, don’t spit somewhere, it will be all right for you.” Diogenes looked around and spat in his face, declaring: “Where to spit if there is no worse place.”

When someone was reading a long work and an unwritten place at the end of the scroll appeared, Diogenes exclaimed: “Courage, friends: the shore is visible!”

To the inscription of one newlywed who wrote on his house: “The son of Zeus, victorious Hercules, dwells here, let no evil enter!” Diogenes added: “First war, then alliance.”

One day Diogenes begged for alms from a man with a bad character. “I’ll give you money if you convince me,” he said. “If I could convince you,” said Diogenes, “I would convince you to hang yourself.”

Someone reproached him for damaging the coin. “That was the time,” said Diogenes, “when I was what you are now; but you will never become what I am now.” Someone else reproached him with the same thing. Diogenes replied: “Once upon a time I wet my bed, but now I don’t.”

Seeing the son of a hetaera throwing stones into the crowd, Diogenes said: “Beware of hitting your father!”

In a large crowd of people, where Diogenes was also present, a young man involuntarily released gases, for which Diogenes hit him with a stick and said: “Listen, you bastard, having really done nothing to behave impudently in public, you began to show us your contempt for the opinions of the [majority]?

One day the philosopher Aristippus, who had made a fortune by praising a tyrant, saw Diogenes washing lentils and said: “If you had glorified the tyrant, you would not have to eat lentils!” To which Diogenes objected: “If you learned to eat lentils, then you would not have to glorify the tyrant!”

Once, when Antisthenes swung a stick at him, Diogenes, putting his head up, said: “Strike, but you will not find such a strong stick to drive me away until you say something.” From then on, he became a student of Antisthenes and, being an exile, led a very simple life.

Aphorisms of Diogenes

Poverty itself paves the way to philosophy. What philosophy tries to convince in words, poverty forces us to do in practice.

Philosophy and medicine have made man the most intelligent of animals, fortune telling and astrology the most insane, superstition and despotism the most unfortunate.

Treat dignitaries like fire: do not stand either very close or very far from them.

When extending your hand to friends, do not clench your fingers into a fist.

The slanderer is the most fierce of wild beasts; The flatterer is the most dangerous of tame animals.

Gratitude ages the fastest.

Death is not evil, for there is no dishonor in it.


“MY HOUSE IS MY BARREL” (DIOGENES OF SINOPE)

Diogenes of Sinope - ancient Greek Cynic philosopher, student of Antisthenes. Lived and worked around 400-325 BC. e. He was a very extraordinary person, and during his lifetime he became the hero of numerous tales and anecdotes. His father was a government money changer, and Diogenes sometimes worked with his father. But they were soon expelled for deceiving and robbing the people.

Having settled in Athens, he became a student of Antisthenes, who, according to legend, first drove Diogenes away with a stick, but then nevertheless accepted him, discerning in the young man a deep desire to know life as it really is. Since then, he began to lead a very peculiar lifestyle.

Diogenes lived an interesting and unusual life, dying at a very old age. There are many legends not only about his life, but also about his death. Some say that he ate raw octopus and fell ill with cholera, others say that he died of old age, deliberately holding his breath. Still others say that Diogenes wanted to divide the octopus among stray dogs, but they were so hungry that they bit him, and from this he died.

Dying, Diogenes gave the order not to bury his body, but to throw it so that it could become the prey of animals, or throw it into a ditch. But, of course, the grateful disciples did not dare to leave the mortal remains without burial - and buried Diogenes near the gate leading to Isthmus. A pillar was placed on his grave, and on the pillar was an image of a dog and a huge number of copper tablets, on which words of gratitude and regret about his death were carved. It may seem strange that a stone dog was placed on the grave. The fact is that during his lifetime Diogenes called himself a dog (the philosopher considered himself a Cynic, and “kinos” is translated from ancient Greek as “dog”), citing the fact that he would lick the feet of good people who gave him a piece of bread, and evil ones - bite mercilessly.

Diogenes composed many works, including “The Athenian People”, “The State”, “The Science of Morals”, “On Wealth”, “On Love”, “Aristarchus”, “On Death” and others. In addition, he wrote such tragedies as “Helen”, “Thyestes”, “Hercules”, “Achilles”, “Oedipus”, “Medea” and others.

As mentioned earlier, Diogenes of Sinope had an extraordinary mind and practiced extreme asceticism, sometimes bordering on eccentric foolishness. He preached a healthy lifestyle. The simpler and poorer a person lived, refusing many of the benefits of civilization, the higher and more spiritual he looked in the eyes of Diogenes. He called himself a citizen of the world and, according to ancient legend, lived in an ordinary clay barrel at the temple of the Mother of the Gods, deliberately depriving himself of numerous benefits.

Diogenes understood how to live when he accidentally turned his gaze to a mouse running past. She was free, did not need bedding, was not afraid of the dark, was content with simple food, which she obtained through labor and care, and did not strive to receive any pleasures, which Diogenes considered superficial and imaginary, only hiding the real essence.

In his so-called home - in a barrel - Diogenes slept, putting a cloak folded in half under him, which he then put on and wore. He always had a bag with him in which he kept simple food. If he sometimes did not have to spend the night in a barrel, then any other place, be it a square or bare damp earth, was equally suitable for Diogenes for eating, sleeping, and for long conversations with casual listeners.

Diogenes called on everyone to harden their bodies, but he did not limit himself to just one call, but showed by his own example how to harden. In the summer, he took off his clothes and lay for a long time on the hot sand, and in the winter, he jogged barefoot on the cold ground and hugged snow-covered statues.

Diogenes treated all people without exception with contemptuous ridicule - and said that sometimes it seemed to him that man was the most intelligent creature on earth. But when on his way he met people who boasted of wealth or fame, or who deceived the common people for their own benefit, then people seemed to him much more stupid than the rest of God’s creatures. He argued: in order to live properly, you must at least have reason.

Diogenes by nature was a kind of cynic (it’s easy to guess that “cynic” is a corruption of “cynic” by the Romans), not sparing himself or anyone else. He said that people are inherently evil and insidious - and at any opportunity they strive to push those walking next to them into a ditch, and the further, the better. But none of them even makes attempts to become kinder and better. He was surprised that people look into the distance, not noticing simple and everyday things that happen very close. He was irritated by the fact that they prayed to God for good health, while at the same time engaging in gluttony at numerous feasts.

The philosopher taught that people, if possible, take care of themselves, eat simple food and drink clean water, cut their hair short, do not wear jewelry or frilly clothes, walk barefoot as often as possible and remain silent as much as possible, with their eyes downcast. He considered people with eloquence to be empty talkers with a limited worldview.

Being a deeply religious man, Diogenes believed that everything that happens on earth is in the power of the gods. He considered the sages to be chosen people close to the gods, their close friends, and since friends have everything in common, then absolutely everything in the world belongs to the sages. He was sure that fate could be outsmarted if one showed courage and courage in time. He opposed nature to the law, and reason to human passions.

To those who were afraid of bad dreams, Diogenes said that it would be better for them to worry about what they do during the day, and not about the stupid thoughts that come to mind at night. But no matter how cynically he treated people in general and himself in particular, the Athenians loved and revered Diogenes. And when one day a poor boy accidentally broke his house - a barrel, this boy was subjected to severe punishment, and Diogenes was given a new barrel.

He often announced publicly that initially the gods gave people an easy and happy life, but they themselves spoiled and darkened it, gradually inventing various benefits for themselves. He considered greed to be the cause of all troubles - and he called old age, which overtakes a person in poverty, the most sorrowful thing in life. Diogenes called such a wonderful feeling as love the work of idlers, and noble and good-natured people as likenesses of gods. He considered human life to be evil, but not all life, only bad life.

He ridiculed fame, wealth and noble origin, calling all this the embellishment of vice. And the whole world considered it the only true state. Diogenes said that wives should be common and, therefore, sons should also be common. Denied legal marriage. He argued that everything exists in everything and through everything, that is, bread contains meat, vegetables contain bread; and in general, all bodies penetrate each other with the smallest particles through invisible pores.

Diogenes had many students and listeners, despite the fact that he was at least reputed to be an unusual and extraordinary person. They continued his work, thereby ensuring the development of the idea of ​​asceticism in philosophy.

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One day, the famous commander Alexander the Great was passing through Athens and stopped to look at a local landmark - the philosopher Diogenes. Alexander approached the barrel in which the thinker lived and offered to do something for him. Diogenes replied: “Don’t block the sun for me!”

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