[4,10] ὁ δὲ οὐδένα ἀνθρώπων ὑπῄει θωπεύων, ἀλλὰ τἀληθῆ
πρὸς ἅπαντας λέγων καὶ οὐδεμίαν δραχμὴν κεκτημένος ὡς ἐβούλετο
ἔπραττε καὶ τῶν προκειμένων οὐδενὸς ἀπετύγχανε καὶ τὸν βίον ἔζη
μόνος, ὃν ἡγεῖτο ἄριστον καὶ εὐδαιμονέστατον, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἠλλάξατο
τὴν ἐκείνου βασιλείαν οὐδὲ τὸν τῶν Περσῶν τε καὶ Μήδων πλοῦτον
(11) ἀντὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πενίας. διὰ ταῦτα δὴ δακνόμενος, εἴ τις αὐτοῦ
διοίσει ῥᾳδίως οὕτως καὶ ἀπραγμόνως ζῶν, καὶ προσέτι οὐχ ἧττον
ὀνομαστὸς ἔσοιτο, τυχὸν δέ τι καὶ ὠφεληθήσεσθαι νομίζων ἀπὸ
τῆς συνουσίας τἀνδρός, πάλαι μὲν ἐπεθύμει θεάσασθαι τὸν ἄνδρα
(12) καὶ συγγενέσθαι αὐτῷ· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἧκεν εἰς Κόρινθον καὶ τάς τε
πρεσβείας ἀπεδέξατο τὰς παρὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ τἄλλα τὰ τῶν
ξυμμάχων διῴκησεν, ἔφη τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν ὅτι σχολάσαι τι βούλοιτο,
καὶ ᾤχετο, οὐκ ἐπὶ θύρας τοῦ Διογένους· οὐ γὰρ ἦσαν αὐτῷ θύραι
οὔτε μείζους οὔτε ἐλάττους, οὐδὲ οἶκος ἴδιος οὐδὲ ἑστία, καθάπερ
(13) τοῖς μακαρίοις, ἀλλὰ οἴκοις μὲν ἐχρῆτο ταῖς πόλεσι, καὶ ἐνταῦθα
διέτριβεν ἐν τοῖς κοινοῖς τε καὶ ἱεροῖς, {ἅπερ ἵδρυται τοῖς θεοῖς},
ἑστίαν δὲ ἐνόμιζε τὴν γῆν ἅπασαν, ἥπερ ἐστὶ κοινὴ τῶν ἀνθρώπων
(14) ἑστία καὶ τροφός. καὶ τότε ἐτύγχανεν ἐν τῷ Κρανείῳ διατρίβων
μόνος· οὐδὲ γὰρ μαθητάς τινας οὐδὲ τοιοῦτον ὄχλον περὶ αὑτὸν
εἶχεν, ὥσπερ οἱ σοφισταὶ καὶ αὐληταὶ καὶ οἱ διδάσκαλοι τῶν χορῶν.
προσῆλθεν οὖν αὐτῷ καθημένῳ καὶ ἠσπάσατο. καὶ ὃς ἀνέβλεψε
πρὸς αὐτὸν γοργόν, ὥσπερ οἱ λέοντες, καὶ ἐκέλευσεν ἀποστῆναι
σμικρόν·
| [4,10] whereas Diogenes cajoled no men by flattery, but told
everybody the truth and, even though he possessed not a
single drachma, succeeded in doing as he pleased,
failed in nothing he set before himself, was the only
man who lived the life he considered the best and
happiest, and would not have accepted Alexander's
throne or the wealth of the Medes and Persians in
exchange for his own poverty.
(11) Therefore Alexander, being nettled to think that
anyone living so easy and tare-free a life was going
to surpass himself and in addition should be no
less famous, and thinking perhaps too that he world
receive some benefit from an interview with the
man, had long desired to behold him and converse
with him ; and when he had come to Corinth and
had received the Greek embassies and regulated the
affairs of the allies as well, he told his attendants
that he wished to have a little leisure and went off—
I will not say to the court of Diogenes, for he had
no court either great or small, nor house nor hearth
of his own as the well-to-do have, but he made the
cities his home and used to live there in the public
buildings and in the shrines, which are dedicated
to the gods, and took for his hearth-stone the wide
world, which after all is man's common hearth and
nourisher. On that day it happened that Diogenes
was all alone in the Craneion, for he had no pupils
at all nor any such crowd about him as the sophists
and flute-players and choral masters have. So the
king came up to him as he sat there and greeted
him, whereat the other looked up at him with a
terrible glare like that of a lion and ordered him to
step aside a little, for Diogenes happened to be
warming himself in the sun.
|