Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.167 — Diogenes Laërtius on Dionysius
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.167
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on Dionysius
At the outset of his career he was fond of literature and tried his hand at all kinds of poetry; afterwards he took Aratus for his model, whom he strove to imitate. When he fell away from Zeno, he went over to the Cyrenaics, and used to frequent houses of ill fame and indulge in all other excesses without disguise. After living till he was nearly eighty years of age, he committed suicide by starving himself. The following works are attributed to him: Of Apathy, two books On Training, two books. Of Pleasure, four books. Of Wealth, Popularity and Revenge How to live amongst Men. Of Prosperity. Of Ancient Kings. Of those who are Praised. Of the Customs of Barbarians. These three, then, are the heterodox Stoics. The legitimate successor to Zeno, however, was Cleanthes: of whom we have now to speak.
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.167 (on Dionysius), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.167
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 notesDionysius left Zeno for the pleasure-seeking Cyrenaics and lived indulgently, and he reportedly died by starving himself at nearly eighty. A list of his works follows, and Cleanthes is named as Zeno's true successor.
Older wording
- “heterodox”
- — departing from the accepted doctrine
- “houses of ill fame”
- — brothels
- “Cyrenaics”
- — followers of a school that held pleasure to be the goal of life
Themes and situations
- Pleasure and pain
- Death and mortality