Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.8 — Diogenes Laërtius on Zeno
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.8
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on Zeno
“Zeno to King Antigonus, greeting. “I welcome your love of learning in so far as you cleave to that true education which tends to advantage and not to that popular counterfeit of it which serves only to corrupt morals. But if anyone has yearned for philosophy, turning away from much-vaunted pleasure which renders effeminate the souls of some of the young, it is evident that not by nature only, but also by the bent of his will he is inclined to nobility of character. But if a noble nature be aided by moderate exercise and further receive ungrudging instruction, it easily comes to acquire virtue in perfection.
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.8 (on Zeno), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.8
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 notesReal education aims at benefit rather than at the corrupting counterfeit that serves only fashion. Someone who turns away from soft pleasures toward philosophy shows good character, and a good nature helped by moderate training and generous teaching can grow into full virtue.
Older wording
- “effeminate”
- — weak or soft, an old-fashioned insult
- “cleave”
- — hold closely to
Themes and situations
- Learning and progress
- Virtue and character
- Pleasure and pain
- Self-discipline and habit
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