Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.160 — Diogenes Laërtius on Ariston
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.160
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on Ariston
Ariston the Bald, of Chios, who was also called the Siren, declared the end of action to be a life of perfect indifference to everything which is neither virtue nor vice; recognizing no distinction whatever in things indifferent, but treating them all alike. The wise man he compared to a good actor, who, if called upon to take the part of a Thersites or of an Agamemnon, will impersonate them both becomingly. He wished to discard both Logic and Physics, saying that Physics was beyond our reach and Logic did not concern us: all that did concern us was Ethics.
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.160 (on Ariston), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.160b
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 notesAriston of Chios held that the goal is perfect indifference to everything that is neither virtue nor vice, treating all such things alike. The wise person is like a good actor who plays any assigned part, noble or ugly, convincingly. He thought logic and physics were useless or out of reach, and only ethics matters.
Older wording
- “end of action”
- — the ultimate goal of life
- “Thersites”
- — an ugly, abusive soldier in Homer's Iliad
- “Agamemnon”
- — the noble commander of the Greek army in Homer
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Duty and roles
- Acceptance and fate
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