II: Stoicism
Lives of the Stoics
Diogenes Laertius 7.1-38 (selections), 160-202 [11-1]
(selections)
- Zeno, the son of Mnaseas or Demeas, was a citizen of Citium on
Cyprus, a Greek town which had Phoenician settlers .... - As was said above, he studied with Crates; then they say that
he also studied with Stilpo and Xenocrates for ten years, according to
Timocrates in his Dion; but he also [is said to have studied with] Polemo.
Hecaton says (and so does Apollonius of Tyre in book one of his On
Zeno) that when he consulted the oracle to find out what he should do
to live the best life the god answered [that he would live the best life]
if he were to join his flesh with that of the dead. Seeing what this meant,
he read the works of the ancients.
He met with Crates as follows. On a commercial voyage from Phoenicia
to sell purple dye he shipwrecked near the Piraeus. He went into Athens
(he was thirty years old at the time) and sat down by a certain bookseller.
The bookseller was reading the second book of Xenophon's Memorabilia;
he enjoyed it and asked where men like that [i.e., like Socrates] spent
their time. 3. Fortuitously, Crates came by and the bookseller pointed
to him and said, "Follow this man". From then on he studied with
Crates, being in other respects fit for and intent on philosophy but too
modest for Cynic shamelessness .... - So he studied with Crates for a while; hence^1 when he wrote the
Republic too some people said in jest that he had written it 'on the tail
of the Dog' ....... In the end he left [Crates] and studied with those
already mentioned for twenty years; hence, they also say that he said "I
have had a good voyage this time, now that I have been shipwrecked."
But some say he said this about Crates. 5. And others say that he was
spending time in Athens when he heard about the shipwreck and [then]
said, "Fortune does me a big favour by driving me to philosophy." Some
say that he disposed of his cargo in Athens and so turned to philosophy.
l. We propose hothen for hote.
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