Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.24 — Diogenes Laërtius on Zeno
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.24
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on Zeno
One day at a banquet he was reclining in silence and was asked the reason: whereupon he bade his critic carry word to the king that there was one present who knew how to hold his tongue. Now those who inquired of him were ambassadors from King Ptolemy, and they wanted to know what message they should take back from him to the king. On being asked how he felt about abuse, he replied, “As an envoy feels who is dismissed without an answer.” Apollonius of Tyre tells us how, when Crates laid hold on him by the cloak to drag him from Stilpo, Zeno said, “The right way to seize a philosopher, Crates, is by the ears: persuade me then and drag me off by them; but, if you use violence, my body will be with you, but my mind with Stilpo.”
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.24 (on Zeno), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.24
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 notesZeno treated abuse like an envoy dismissed without an answer, which means you receive it and do not respond, and he valued silence enough to give curious ambassadors that as his message. When pressed to follow someone by force, he pointed out that persuasion is the only thing that moves a philosopher's mind, since force might take his body but never his thinking.
Older wording
- “abuse”
- — insults or verbal attacks
- “envoy”
- — an official messenger
Themes and situations
- Speech and silence
- Insult and criticism
- Freedom
- What is in our control
- Being criticised or insulted
- Being angry with someone
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