| A fantasy about the life of Diogenes the Cynic
through the eyes of various contemporaries.
There is a good deal of material on the web about
Diogenes the Cynic. Most of it is based on Book 6,
Chapter 2 of Lives of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius (circa 200AD), which can be found
in translation in the Loeb Classical Library,
ISBN 0674992040.
This short fantasy does not try to recount every
anecdote known about its subject, but rather ones
that are not known. It is very likely that some of the
anecdotes in Diogenes Laertius' work have been
confused with ones about other eminent philosophers.
This fantasy is intended, rather, to investigate
its subject's character and motivation. What drove
Diogenes the Cynic to become a disciple of Antisthenes
and to believe that self-reliance was his best road
to happiness? I believe that the answer lies in his
feelings of guilt about his father.
The anecdotes in Diogenes Laertius' work tend to
concentrate on the scurrilous. This is natural in what is
essentially a tabloid work. However, they do not explain
their subject's reputation as a philosopher and as a
good man. I feel that there must have been a vulnerable
side to him, and that this might have been at the root
of the affection in which he came to be held.
I have tried to make the fantasy at least consistent with
the data, even in some cases where the data are not
self-consistent. I have been deliberately vague about
dating the events of Diogenes' life, and it may be that
some readers will spot some anachronisms. If they do I hope
that they will get in touch.
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