Diogenes Laertius

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• Joshua J. Mark recommended this book on 09 December 2011

  Diogenes Laertius' work on the lives of those philosophers who came after Socrates has long been criticized and, often dismissed, as more fiction than fact. Perhaps Laertius does repeat, uncritically, stories heard or read and, yes, he is sloppy and haphazard in his references and citations. Even so, the work is valuable in preserving works and ideas which, otherwise, would have been lost. The book is also simply very entertaining reading. The scenes between Plato of Athens and Diogenes of Sinope are among the best. For example, "Others tell us that what Diogenes said was, 'I trample upon the pride of Plato,' who retorted, 'Yes Diogenes, with pride of another sort'." Diogenes of Sinope criticized Plato for excessive pride and for being a `phony' while Plato looked down on Diogenes with disdain for being crude and unmannerly. These stories, and the many others, are well worth reading for anyone in the ancient philosophers but, also, just for anyone interested in some very entertaining stories.

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