John William Waterhouse, Diogenes (1882)
872 words
Translated by Guillaume Durocher
One cannot know what a man must lose to have the courage to defy all conventions; one cannot know what Diogenes lost to become the man who allowed himself to do everything, who turned his most intimate thoughts into acts of a supernatural insolence, as would a god of knowledge, at once libidinous and pure. No one was more frank; an extreme case of sincerity and lucidity, as well as an example of what we could be if education and hypocrisy did not restrain our desires and actions.
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John William Waterhouse, Diogenes (detail), 1882
1,044 words
Trans. Guillaume Durocher
Translator’s Note:
The following is drawn from Pierre Hadot, Qu’est-ce que la philosophie antique ? (Paris: Gallimard, 1995), pp. 170-74. The title is editorial.
Scholars still debate whether Antisthenes, a disciple of Socrates, was the founder of the Cynic movement. (more…)
Luca Signorelli, “Empedocles,” Orvieto Cathedral, 1502
6,530 words
Part 2 of 2
Author’s Note:
The following text is a transcript by V. S. of a lecture on the presocratic background of Aristophanes’ Clouds. (more…)
48:29 / 435 words
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Topics discussed in this second and final installment on the philosophical background of Aristophanes’ Clouds: (more…)
