Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.15 — Diogenes Laërtius on Zeno
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.15
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on Zeno
After Zeno’s death Antigonus is reported to have said, “What an audience I have lost.” Hence too he employed Thraso as his agent to request the Athenians to bury Zeno in the Ceramicus. And when asked why he admired him, “Because,” said he, “the many ample gifts I offered him never made him conceited nor yet appear poor-spirited.” His bent was towards inquiry, and he was an exact reasoner on all subjects. Hence the words of Timon in his Silli: A Phoenician too I saw, a pampered old woman ensconced in gloomy pride, longing for all things; but the meshes of her subtle web have perished, and she had no more intelligence than a banjo.
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.15 (on Zeno), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.15
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 notesA king explains what he admired in Zeno: the many gifts he offered neither made him conceited nor made him grovel. A rival poet's mocking verse then pictures Zeno as a proud, grasping old man, showing how critics portrayed him.
Older wording
- “poor-spirited”
- — timid or servile, lacking proper self-respect
- “Silli”
- — a satirical poem by Timon mocking philosophers
Themes and situations
- Pride and humility
- Wealth and poverty
- Virtue and character
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Handling success
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