![]() “If you would only have washed vegetables, you wouldn’t have to be subservient to Dionysius.” “If you had only paid court to Dionysius you wouldn’t have to wash your vegetables” ![]() Plato, seeing Diogenes eating his supper of lentils and bread remarks that: In another anecdote we have - and one of the many Plato-related anecdotes - Diogenes is approached one evening by the great prince of philosophers. The two endeavours were inherently connected. He was determined to be free not just of society’s demands upon him but even of his body’s demands on his soul. Diogenes more than exemplifies this principle. Cynic comes from the Ancient Greek meaning dog and this has been attributed to the fact that its members lived like dogs. Our modern word cynic derives from this ancient school of which Diogenes is the most famous philosopher. In winter, you could find him hugging icy statues and walking barefoot in the snow, while in summer you could find him rolling in hot sands.Īccording to many sources, this is where the term Cynicism comes from. He put his body through rigorous training to put up with the elements. This simplicity of living demanded a strong dose of self-control from Diogenes. Even this proved too luxurious one day, when he saw a boy drinking water from his hands he threw away the cup saying the boy had outdone him in simplicity. His possessions amounted to a cloak, a walking stick, a cup and a wallet to store food in. He shunned all possessions, status and wealth and strived to live a life of ascetic simplicity. When he first came to Athens, he took up residence in an upturned wine cask in the agora - the marketplace of Athens. Diogenes ruthlessly applied this simple rubric to every aspect of his life. According to this popular story, Diogenes walked through Athens in broad daylight carrying a lighting lamp, saying that he was looking for an honest man.Simplicity manifests itself in two intertwined ways in the philosophy of Diogenes-the philosophical and the physical.įor this godfather of Cynical philosophy, living the good life is easy - it’s just a matter of stripping away all the bullshit, of cutting away everything that is unnecessary. The inspiration for the last movement came from the best legend surrounding Diogenes. The death of Diogenes and the philosophies which he left behind inspired the middle movement. ![]() According to tradition, Diogenes died at Corinth on the same day as Alexander the Great (323 B.C.). Alexander is said to have been so struck with the Cynic's self-possession that he went away remarking: If I were not Alexander, I should wish to be Diogenes. You can step out of my sunlight, the philosopher replied. Alexander then asked him what way he could serve him. Then Diogenes said: And I am Diogenes the Cynic. Alexander opened the conversation with: I am Alexander the Great. In the first part it is Diogenes meeting with Alexander the Great. The composition is made up of three pieces following into each other without a break, and each based on a traditional story about Diogenes. Diogenes is generally considered the founder of the Cynics, an ancient school of philosophy. The title of the composition is derived from the Greek philosopher, Diogenes of Sinope (±400 B.C.).
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