Κυνισμός
Cynicism
Translated by Marcelo Boeri7 Jan 2000Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
A philosophical school. Its definition [is] "a short-cut road to virtue".1 The goal of Cynicism is to live according to virtue, as Diogenes2 and Zeno of Citium3 say. The Cynics held that one should live frugally, eating the necessary foods, and should despise wealth and reputation and nobility of birth. Some of them were vegetarians, drank cold water and used occasional shelters and casks as their dwellings. They said that to have need of nothing is proper to a god, and to need [only] a few things is proper to those who are similar to gods. They also hold that virtue is teachable and that it cannot be lost.4
Greek original · Adler’s text
Κυνισμός· αἵρεσις φιλοσόφων. ὁ δὲ ὁρισμὸς αὐτοῦ σύντομος ἐπ' ἀρετὴν ὁδός. τέλος δὲ τοῦ κυνισμοῦ τὸ κατ' ἀρετὴν ζῆν, ὡς Διογένης καὶ Ζήνων ὁ Κιτιεύς. ἤρεσκε δ' αὐτοῖς λιτῶς βιοῦν, αὐτάρκεσι χρωμένοις σιτίοις, πλούτου καὶ δόξης καὶ εὐγενείας καταφρονεῖν. ἔνιοι δὲ βοτάναις καὶ ὕδατι ψυχρῷ ἐχρῶντο σκέπαις τε ταῖς τυχούσαις καὶ πίθοις καὶ ἔφασκον θεοῦ μὲν ἴδιον εἶναι τὸ μηδενὸς δεῖσθαι, τῶν δὲ θεῷ ὁμοίων τὸ ὀλίγων χρῄζειν. ἀρέσκει δ' αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν διδακτὴν εἶναι καὶ ἀναπόβλητον.
Betacode
*kunismo/s: ai(/resis filoso/fwn. o( de\ o(rismo\s au)tou= su/ntomos e)p' a)reth\n o(do/s. te/los de\ tou= kunismou= to\ kat' a)reth\n zh=n, w(s *dioge/nhs kai\ *zh/nwn o( *kitieu/s. h)/reske d' au)toi=s litw=s biou=n, au)ta/rkesi xrwme/nois siti/ois, plou/tou kai\ do/chs kai\ eu)genei/as katafronei=n. e)/nioi de\ bota/nais kai\ u(/dati yuxrw=| e)xrw=nto ske/pais te tai=s tuxou/sais kai\ pi/qois kai\ e)/faskon qeou= me\n i)/dion ei)=nai to\ mhdeno\s dei=sqai, tw=n de\ qew=| o(moi/wn to\ o)li/gwn xrh/|zein. a)re/skei d' au)toi=s kai\ th\n a)reth\n didakth\n ei)=nai kai\ a)napo/blhton.
Notes (4)
- See generally John Moles in OCD(4) s.v. Cynics.
- 1Actually, this definition belongs to the Stoic philosopher Apollodorus: see Diogenes Laertius 7.121, and kappa 2711. ↩
- 2Diogenes of Sinope (c.445-360): delta 1143. Despite what the Suda says, it is uncertain whether the Cynics were a established school or just a "philosophical movement". The fact that the Cynics never had any body of authoritative writings or doctrines reinforces the thesis that they never made up a real philosophical "school". ↩
- 3See zeta 79; Diogenes Laertius 7.87; Stobaeus, Eclogae 2.62.7-8, 77.16-19 (ed. Wachsmuth); Cicero, de finibus 3.61. ↩
- 4This passage reproduces, with minor changes, Diogenes Laertius 6.104-105. The Cynic lifestyle described here is attributed to Diogenes of Sinope; the thesis that virtue can be taught and cannot be lost was the work of Antisthenes. ↩
References
R. Bracht Branham & Marie Odile Goulet-Caze (eds.) The Cynics. The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and its Legacy (Berkeley/Los Angeles/London 1996)
Marie-Odile Goulet-Caze & Richard Goulet (eds.), Le cynisme ancien et ses prolongements. Actes du colloque international du CNRS (Paris 1993)
Marie-Odile Goulet-Caze & Richard Goulet (eds.), Le cynisme ancien et ses prolongements. Actes du colloque international du CNRS (Paris 1993)
Linked from1 entry
Neighbouring entries
Revision history6 revisions · last 4 Aug 2014
- Revised — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — David Whitehead
- more keywords — David Whitehead
- added primary note; augmented keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- added keyword — Catharine Roth
- modified translation, added cross-references — Catharine Roth
- Translated — Marcelo Boeri