The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
But Panætius and Sosicrates say, that his only genuine writings are his
letters; and that all the rest are the works of Ariston the Peripatetic.
VIII. It is said that he, being bald, got a stroke of the sun, and so
died. And we have written a jesting epigram on him in Scazon iambics, in
the following terms:—
Why, O Ariston, being old and bald,
Did you allow the sun to roast your crown?
Thus, in an unbecoming search for warmth,
Against your will, you’ve found out chilly Hell.
IX. There was also another man of the name of Ariston; a native of Julii,
one of the Peripatetic school. And another who was an Athenian musician.
A fourth who was a tragic poet. A fifth, a native of Alæa, who wrote a
treatise on the Oratorical Art. A sixth was a peripatetic Philosopher of
Alexandria.
LIFE OF HERILLUS
I. Herillus, a native of Carthage, said that the chief good was
knowledge; that is to say, the always conducting one’s self in such a way
as to refer everything to the principle of living according to knowledge,
and not been misled by ignorance. He also said that knowledge was a habit
not departing from reason in the reception of perceptions.
On one occasion, he said that there was no such thing as a chief good,
but that circumstances and events changed it, just as the same piece of
brass might become a statue either of Alexander or of Socrates. And that
besides the chief good or end (τέλος[95]), there was a subordinate end
(ὑποτελίς) different from it. And that those who were not wise aimed at
the latter; but that only the wise man directed his views to the former.
And all the things between virtue and vice he pronounced indifferent.
II. His books contain but few lines, but they are full of power, and
contain arguments in opposition to Zeno.
III. It is said, that when he was a boy, many people were attached to
him; and as Zeno wished to drive them away, he persuaded him to have his
head shaved, which disgusted them all.
IV. His books are these. One on Exercise; one on the Passions; one on
Opinion; the Lawgiver; the Skilful Midwife; the Contradictory Teacher;
the Preparer; the Director; the Mercury; the Medea; a book of Dialogues;
a book of Ethical Propositions.
LIFE OF DIONYSIUS
I. Dionysius, the Deserter, as he was called, asserted that pleasure
was the chief good, from the circumstance of his being afflicted with
a complaint in his eyes. For, as he suffered severely, he could not
pronounce pain a thing indifferent.
II. He was the son of Theophantus, and a native of Heraclea.
III. He was a pupil, as we are told by Diocles, first of all of
Heraclides, his fellow citizen; after that of Alexinus, and Menedemus;
and last of all of Zeno. And at first, as he was very devoted to
learning, he tried his hand at all kinds of poetry. Afterwards, he
attached himself to Aratus, whom he took for his model. Having left Zeno,
he turned to the Cyrenaics, and became a frequenter of brothels, and in
other respects indulged in luxury without disguise.
IV. When he had lived near eighty years, he died of starvation.
V. The following books are attributed to him. Two books on Apathy; two
on Exercise; four on Pleasure; one on Riches, and Favours, and Revenge;
one on the Use of Men; one on Good Fortune; one on Ancient Kings; one on
Things which are Praised; one on Barbarian Customs.
These now are the chief men who differed from the Stoics. But the man who
succeeded Zeno in his school was Cleanthes, whom we must now speak of.
LIFE OF CLEANTHES
I. Cleanthes was a native of Assos, and the son of Phanias. He was
originally a boxer, as we learn from Antisthenes, in his Successions.
And he came to Athens, having but four drachmas, as some people say, and
attaching himself to Zeno, he devoted himself to Philosophy in a most
noble manner; and he adhered to the same doctrines as his master.
II. He was especially eminent for his industry, so that as he was a
very poor man, he was forced to undertake mercenary employments, and
he used to draw water in the gardens by night, and by day he used to
exercise himself in philosophical discussions; on which account he was
called Phreantles.[96] They also say that he was on one occasion brought
before a court of justice, to be compelled to give an account what his
sources of income were from which he maintained himself in such good
condition; and that then he was acquitted, having produced as his witness
the gardener in whose garden he drew the water; and a woman who was a
mealseller, in whose establishment he used to prepare the meal. And the
judges of the Areopagus admired him, and voted that ten minæ should be
given to him; but Zeno forbade him to accept them.
They also say that Antigonus presented him three thousand drachmas.
And once, when he was conducting some young men to some spectacle, it
happened that the wind blew away his cloak, and it was then seen that
he had nothing on under it; on which he was greatly applauded by the
Athenians, according to the account given by Demetrius, the Magnesian,
in his essay on People of the same Name. And he was greatly admired by
them on account of this circumstance.
They also say that Antigonus, who was a pupil of his, once asked him why
he drew water; and that he made answer, “Do I do nothing beyond drawing
water? Do I not also dig, and do I not water the land, and do all sorts
of things for the sake of philosophy?” For Zeno used to accustom him to
this, and used to require him to bring him an obol by way of tribute.[97]
And once he brought one of the pieces of money which he had collected in
this way, into the middle of a company of his acquaintances, and said,
“Cleanthes could maintain even another Cleanthes if he were to choose;
but others who have plenty of means to support themselves, seek for
necessaries from others; although they only study philosophy in a very
lazy manner.” And, in reference to these habits of his, Cleanthes was
called a second Heracles.
III. He was then very industrious; but he was not well endowed by nature,
and was very slow in his intellect. On which account Timon says of him:—
What stately ram thus measures o’er the ground,
And master of the flock surveys them round?
What citizen of Assos, dull and cold,
Fond of long words, a mouth-piece, but not bold.[98]
And when he was ridiculed by his fellow pupils, he used to bear it
patiently.
IV. He did not even object to the name when he was called an ass; but
only said that he was the only animal able to bear the burdens which Zeno
put upon him. And once, when he was reproached as a coward, he said,
“That is the reason why I make but few mistakes.” He used to say, in
justification of his preference of his own way of life to that of the
rich, “That while they were playing at ball, he was earning money by
digging hard and barren ground.” And he very often used to blame himself.
And once, Ariston heard him doing so, and said, “Who is it that you are
reproaching?” and he replied, “An old man who has grey hair, but no
brains.”
When some one once said to him, that Arcesilaus did not do what he ought,
“Desist,” he replied, “and do not blame him; for, if he destroys duty as
far as his words go, at all events he establishes it by his actions.”
Arcesilaus once said to him, “I never listen to flatterers.” “Yes,”
rejoined Cleanthes, “I flatter you, when I say that though you say one
thing, you do another.” When some one once asked him what lesson he ought
to inculcate on his son, he replied, “The warning of Electra:”—
Silence, silence, gently step.[99]
When a Lacedæmonian once said in his hearing, that labour was a good
thing, he was delighted, and addressed him:—
Oh, early worth, a soul so wise and young
Proclaims you from the sage Lycurgus sprung.[100]
Hecaton tells us in his Apophthegms, that once when a young man said,
“If a man who beats his stomach γαστρίζει then a man who slaps his thigh
μηρίζει,” he replied, “Do you stick to your διαμηρίζει.” But analogous
words do not always indicate analogous facts. Once when he was conversing
with a youth, he asked him if he felt; and as he said that he did, “Why
is it then,” said Cleanthes, “that I do not feel that you feel?”
When Sositheus, the poet, said in the theatre where he was present:—
Men whom the folly of Cleanthes urges;
He continued in the same attitude; at which the hearers were surprised,
and applauded him, but drove Sositheus away. And when he expressed his
sorrow for having abused him in this manner, he answered him gently,
saying, “That it would be a preposterous thing for Bacchus and Hercules
to bear being ridiculed by the poets without any expression of anger, and
for him to be indignant at any chance attack.” He used also to say, “That
the Peripatetics were in the same condition as lyres, which though they
utter sweet notes, do not hear themselves.” And it is said, that when
he asserted that, on the principles of Zeno, one could judge of a man’s
character by his looks, some witty young men brought him a profligate
fellow, having a hardy look from continual exercise in the fields, and
requested him to tell them his moral character; and he, having hesitated
a little, bade the man depart; and, as he departed, he sneezed, “I have
the fellow now,” said Cleanthes, “he is a debauchee.”
He said once to a man who was conversing with him by himself, “You are
not talking to a bad man.” And when some one reproached him with his old
age, he rejoined, “I too wish to depart, but when I perceive myself to
be in good health in every respect, and to be able to recite and read, I
am content to remain.” They say too, that he used to write down all that
he heard from Zeno on oyster shells, and on the shoulder-blades of oxen,
from want of money to buy paper with.
V. And though he was of this character, and in such circumstances, he
became so eminent, that, though Zeno had many other disciples of high
reputation, he succeeded him as the president of his School.
VI. And he left behind him some excellent books, which are these. One
on Time; two on Zeno’s System of Natural Philosophy; four books of the
Explanations of Heraclitus; one on Sensation; one on Art; one addressed
to Democritus; one to Aristarchus; one to Herillus; two on Desire; one
entitled Archæology; one on the Gods; one on the Giants; one on Marriage;
one on Poets; three on Duty; one on Good Counsel; one on Favour; one
called Exhortatory; one on Virtues; one on Natural Ability; one on
Gorgippus; one on Enviousness; one on Love; one on Freedom; one called
the Art of Love; one on Honour; one on Glory; The Statesman; one on
Counsel; one on Laws; one on Deciding as a Judge; one on the Way of Life;
three on Reason; one on the Chief Good; one on the Beautiful; one on
Actions; one on Knowledge; one on Kingly Power; one on Friendship; one on
Banquets; one on the Principle that Virtue is the same in Man and Woman;
one on the Wise Man Employing Sophisms; one on Apophthegms; two books
of Conversations; one on Pleasure; one on Properties; one on Doubtful
Things; one on Dialectics; one on Modes; one on Categorems.
VII. These are his writings.
And he died in the following manner. His gums swelled very much; and,
at the command of his physicians, he abstained from food for two days.
And he got so well that his physicians allowed him to return to all his
former habits; but he refused, and saying that he had now already gone
part of the way, he abstained from food for the future, and so died;
being, as some report, eighty years old, and having been a pupil of Zeno
nineteen years. And we have written a playful epigram on him also, which
runs thus:—
I praise Cleanthes, but praise Pluto more;
Who could not bear to see him grown so old,