You must obey me, although I am a slave; for, if a physician or a navigator were in slavery, he would be obeyed.
Diogenes, Fourth Century BCE, to Xeniades.
Diogenes of Sinope, known affectionately to Aristotle as "The Dog," was a cynic philosopher with a sharp tongue. Despite his infamous "incident", described above in the nodes of Sinator and JerboaKolinowski, Diogenes cannot be denied the life of strict self-control and abstinence that he led. He exposed himself to extreme heat and cold, and survived upon the merits of a very simple diet, afforded mostly by the charity of others. He distingushed himself through contempt of riches and luxury, wearing a rough cloak and making porticoes and other public places his home. Historical documentation is meager. (See cynicism, katallen's node).
Life of the Dog Philosopher
Diogenes was born, as the name Diogenes of Sinope would imply, in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea. His father was a minter of coins, and when Diogenes sullied the coins with base metals he was expelled from the city. He took with him his slave who escaped upon arrival in Athens.
In Athens, Diogenes sought
Antisthenes as a mentor. He was so persistent that Antisthenes beat him with a stick.
Diogenes persisted more. Antisthenes became his mentor.
The records of Diogenes' philosophy are slightly less meager than the records of his very existence; he noted that those who are accustomed to a life of pleasure are disgusted when confronted with the opposite, and those accustomed to a lack of pleasure derive pleasure from the contempt thereof. He called demagogues the lackeys of the people. He said bad men obey their lusts (his "incident" comes fondly to mind) as slaves obey their masters. He called love the business of the idle and said lovers derive their pleasure from their misfortune.
Cheerful guy.
Diogenes shied from philosophizing, preffering to attempt a life of complete autonomy. He derived great pleasure, it is said, from living in a tub. On a journey to Aegina, he was captured by pirates, shuttled to Crete, and sold as a slave. A man named Xeniades purchased him and, glimpsing the wit both accentuated by and cloaked behind the cantankerous exterior, sent him to Corinth, set him over his own children, and entrusted him with the household.
Historians are unsure as to the manner or time of Diogenes' death. It is believed that his life ended in Corinth, after roughly ninety years, probably from simple decay of body. Over his tomb, a pillar of marble capped with the image of a dog was raised. Fellow people of Sinope also contributed, erecting other pieces near the giant dog pillar.
Notable Actions and Confrontations
"Had I not been Alexander, I should have liked to be Diogenes."
Alexander the Great, who died on the same day as Diogenes, 323 BCE.
One day he called for men, and when people collected he offered the whimsical response of beating them with his staff. His explanation: "It was men I called for, not scoundrels."
He ended a discourse by squatting and releasing his bowels before his hearers.
Alexander the Great once asked him: "Are you not afraid of me?"
"Why, what are you?" Diogenes replied. "A good thing or a bad?"
"A good thing."
"Who, then, is afraid of the good?"
http://www.benbest.com/philo/diogenes.html
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/d/diogsino.htm