It is said that Diogenes lived in a barrel, and all his possessions included the barrel, a cloak, a stick, and a bread bag. Once Alexander the Great visited him, asked him what he wanted, and promised to fulfill his wish. Diogenes replied: "I hope you will step aside and not block my sunshine." Alexander the Great later said: "If I were not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes."
He was lying on the bare ground, barefoot, unshaven, half-naked, looking like a beggar or a madman. But he is who he is, not anyone else. Early in the morning, he opened his eyes with the rising sun, scratched his itch, and went about his business on the roadside like a dog." He wiped his face by the fountain in the park and asked passers-by for help. He ate a piece of bread and a few olives, then squatted on the ground and munched, and scooped up a few handfuls of spring water into his stomach. He was unemployed and homeless, and the street was bustling with people everywhere. Customers, merchants, slaves, foreigners, he would hang around for an hour or two. Everyone knew him or had heard of him. They would ask him pointed questions, and he would answer them harshly. Answer. Sometimes they threw him some food, and he thanked them modestly; sometimes they threw pebbles at him in a playful way, and he yelled back, and they were not sure whether he was crazy. They were mad, but they were mad in different ways; they amused him.
He had no house, not even a hut. Life is too elaborate and luxurious. What is the use of a house? There is no need for privacy; there is no shame in natural actions; there is no need to hide them in bed and chairs and the like. Animals live healthy lives sleeping on the ground. Since nature has not provided us with proper clothing, the only thing we need is some kind of clothing to keep out the cold, so he has a blanket - Clothed about him by day and covered by night - he slept in a barrel, and his name was Diogenes. They called him the Dog" and called his philosophy Cynicism. He spent most of his life in the Greek city-state of Corinth, a wealthy, lazy, and corrupt city, where he sarcastically mocked the people and occasionally turned on one of their own.
His shelter is not made of wood, but a storage barrel made of soil. It was a broken barrel that had obviously been abandoned. He was not the first person to live in such a place, but he was indeed the first person to do so voluntarily, which was beyond everyone's imagination.
Diogenes was not a madman, he was a philosopher who expounded his doctrines through the creation of plays, poems and prose; he preached to those who were willing to listen; he had a group of people who admired him disciple. He teaches simply and clearly, both by precept and by example. All people should live naturally, he said, and what is natural means normal and cannot be sinful or shameful. Throw away those artificial customs; get rid of those red tapes and luxuries: only in this way can you live a free life. A wealthy man thinks he has a spacious house, fine clothes, horses, servants, and money in the bank. Not really, he was dependent on them, he had to worry about them, spend most of his life on them. They dominate him. He is their slave. In order to seize these false and flashy things, he sold his independence, the only real and lasting thing.
Many people are tired of social life and escape to small farms, quiet villages, or secluded caves, where they live a simple life. Diogenes did not do this. He is a missionary. He made it clear that his life goal is to "recast currency"②: to wipe away the gold and silver dust on human life, remove the mask of stereotypes and bad habits, and reprint the true value of human life.
In the 4th century BC, other great philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle mainly taught in their own private schools. But for Diogenes, laboratories and specimens, large classrooms and students, these all exist among all living things. He therefore decided to live in Athens or Corinth, where tourists from all over the Mediterranean were constantly coming. He did this deliberately in public in order to show the world what real life was.
He believes that most people in the world are half-dead, and most people are only half-human. At noon, in broad daylight, he walked through the streets with a lighted lantern, shining it in the face of anyone he met. They asked him why he was like this, and Diogenes replied: "I want to see if I can find someone."
Once, he saw a dignitary letting his servants help him put on his shoes. Eugenia said to him: "You will only feel truly happy when he wipes your nose: but this will have to wait until your hands are disabled."
A serious war once broke out, Even the Corinthians, who were confused and drunken, could not help but be horrified. They began to intensify their efforts and rebuild the abandoned fortifications.
Diogenes also pushed his old wooden barrel rolling around on the ground. "Seeing that you are so busy," he said, "I think I should do something too!"
He lived like this - like a dog, some say, because he had no regard for social norms and grinned and barked at those he despised. At this moment he was lying in the sun, contented and happy, happier than the king of Persia (as he often boasted). He knew he was going to have a distinguished visitor, but he remained unmoved.
The small square began to fill with a dark crowd. Servants, soldiers, clerks, officials, diplomats, they gradually formed a circle around Diogenes. He looked up, like a sober man surveying a group of shambling drunks, and he shook his head. He knows who they are. They were Alexander's slaves. The Macedonian king and conqueror of Greece was inspecting his new kingdom.
At only 20 years old, Alexander is much more mature and wise than his years. Like all Macedonians, he was a drunkard, but he generally tolerated it in moderation; he treated women with courtesy and chivalry. Like all Macedonians, he loved war; he was a very good commander, but not just a military automaton. He is good at thinking. At the age of 13, Alexander studied with Aristotle, the greatest Greek thinker, and absorbed the essence of Greek culture. Aristotle taught him poetry, philosophy, especially the form and application of government; in addition, he also taught him the methods of scientific research. Indeed, it was from Aristotle that Alexander learned to find the illuminating in the intricacies of things.
At present Alexander serves as the head of the League of Greek city-states founded by his father Philip II in Corinth. He was popular, respected and flattered everywhere. He is a generational hero. He had recently been unanimously elected as the commander of the expeditionary force, preparing to march into the ancient, rich and corrupt Asia. Nearly everyone flocked to Corinth to congratulate him, to serve under him, or even just to see him. Only Diogenes, who lived in Corinth, refused to see the new monarch. With the magnanimity that Aristotle had taught him, Alexander decided to visit Diogenes.
Alexander has a handsome appearance, piercing eyes, a strong body, wearing a purple cloak with gold, a majestic appearance, and a confident mind. He walked through the crowds on both sides and walked towards the "doghouse". As he approached, everyone stood in awe. Diogenes just sat up on one elbow. Everywhere he entered, everyone bowed and saluted him or cheered him. Diogenes said nothing.
There was a moment of silence. Alexander spoke first with a kind greeting. Looking at the poor broken barrel, the lonely rag, and the rough and slovenly figure lying on the ground, he said: "Diogenes, can I help you?"
"Yes, "The dog" said, "Stand aside, you are blocking the sun." "
There was a stunned silence. Slowly, Alexander turned around. Those elegantly dressed Greeks snickered. The Macedonian officers and soldiers decided that Diogenes was not worth mentioning, and they also used " He nudged and laughed. Alexander remained silent. Finally, he said calmly to the people around him: "If I were not Alexander, I would definitely be Diogenes. "They thought this statement was contradictory. But Alexander had his own reasons for saying this. He understood cynicism that others could not understand. He was what Diogenes called himself a "citizen of the world." Like Diogenes , he admired the heroic image of Hercules. While others were only working hard for their own interests, this hero was working hard for mankind. He knew that among the people alive in the world, there were only Alexander the Conqueror and Alexander the Great. The beggar Diogenes is free.
Translation Note: ① Diogenes (?~about 320 BC) Cynicism (a Greek philosophical sect that emphasizes ascetic self-satisfaction, He promoted the Cynic philosophy not so much by a complete ideological system but by personal example. He exposed the hypocrisy of most traditional standards and creeds and called on people to return to simplicity and nature. Life. Among the various now-lost works attributed to him are dialogues, plays, and a book called The Republic of France, which described an anarchist utopia in which people lived "naturally." "Life.
Alexander (Alexander III, the Great, 356 BC ~ 323 BC) King of Macedonia, an outstanding figure among the world's conquerors. During the Macedonian campaign to conquer Greece, he was only 18 years old Alexander played an extraordinary role. In 336 BC, his father Philip II was assassinated, and Alexander succeeded to the throne. In the same year, he sent his army south to Corinth to accept the oath of allegiance to him from the Greek city-states (except Sparta). In the spring of 334, Alexander conquered Asia Minor and defeated the Persian army. In the end, his expedition reached Egypt in the south and India in the east, covering a distance of 17,600 kilometers. He conquered most of the world known to Europeans at that time. He died in Babylon in the spring of 323 BC. , only 32 years old. Alexander changed the history of the world. He made ancient Greek culture rule in the Near East for 1,000 years.
② Long before Diogenes turned to philosophy, he and his father were Accused of counterfeiting currency, Diogenes did not hesitate to open up his "historical accounts" and give new explanations.
It can be seen here that Diogenes' cynicism also has a serious meaning.
③Hercules, the hero in Roman mythology, is the Heracles in Greek mythology. The son of Zeus and Alcmene, he was famous for his extraordinary strength and heroic deeds. The most famous one is that he went through all kinds of hardships, completed 12 drudgery (also known as great achievements), and finally won the fate of immortality like the gods of Olympus. After the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes was scolded by a bald man, he said: "I will never retaliate. I admire your hair, which has long since left your hateful head."
This means that humor and irony are the best responses. The ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes was traveling and came to a flooded river. He stood on the bank and was unable to cross. A man who often carried people across the river saw him in trouble, so he came over and put him on his shoulders, and carried him across the river in a friendly manner. He was very grateful to this man and stood on the river bank complaining that he was poor and could not repay those who had done good deeds. While he was thinking about this, he saw the man carrying someone else across the river. Diogenes stepped forward and said: "I don't need to thank you anymore for what happened just now. I know now that your indiscriminate behavior is just a quirk.
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