Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.16 — Diogenes Laërtius on Zeno
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.16
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on Zeno
He used to dispute very carefully with Philo the logician and study along with him. Hence Zeno, who was the junior, had as great an admiration for Philo as his master Diodorus. And he had about him certain ragged dirty fellows, as Timon says in these lines: The while he got together a crowd of ignorant serfs, who surpassed all men in beggary and were the emptiest of townsfolk. Zeno himself was sour and of a frowning countenance. He was very niggardly too, clinging to meanness unworthy of a Greek, on the plea of economy, If he pitched into anyone he would do it concisely, and not effusively, keeping him rather at arm’s length. I mean, for example, his remark upon the fop showing himself off.
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.16 (on Zeno), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.16
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book VII, tr. R. D. Hicks (Loeb, 1925). Text: Perseus Digital Library (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesA mixed portrait of Zeno as a careful debater, as a teacher with scruffy followers according to a mocking poet, and as a stern, frugal man who criticised people briefly and kept them at arm's length. Biographical colour with no direct advice.
Older wording
- “niggardly”
- — stingy
- “fop”
- — a man overly concerned with his clothes and looks
Themes and situations
- Speech and silence
- Simplicity and frugality
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