Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.182 — Diogenes Laërtius on Chrysippus
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.182
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on Chrysippus
In person he was insignificant, as is shown by the statue in the Ceramicus, which is almost hidden by an equestrian statue hard by; and this is why Carneades called him Crypsippus or Horse-hidden. Once when somebody reproached him for not going with the multitude to hear Ariston, he rejoined, “If I had followed the multitude, I should not have studied philosophy.” When some dialectician got up and attacked Cleanthes, proposing sophistical fallacies to him, Chrysippus called to him, “Cease to distract your elder from matters of importance; propound such quibbles to us juniors.” Again, when somebody who had a question to ask was steadily conversing with him in private, and then upon seeing a crowd approaching began to be more contentious, he said: Ah! brother mine, thine eye is growing wild: To madness fast thou’rt changing, sane but now.
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.182 (on Chrysippus), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.182
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 notesChrysippus was physically unimposing, and his statue was nearly hidden by a horse statue next to it. Asked why he had not joined the crowd to hear a famous teacher, he replied that following the crowd would have meant never studying philosophy. He also told a quibbler to leave an old man alone, and he noticed a man become more combative once an audience arrived.
Older wording
- “equestrian”
- — showing a person on horseback
- “sophistical fallacies”
- — trick arguments that sound clever but are flawed
- “propound”
- — put forward for discussion
Themes and situations
- Reputation and others' opinions
- Learning and progress
- Pride and humility
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