In particular, he highlights how Diogenes often returns to the theme of the fragility of the human body to poke fun at the philosophers, especially when addressing their deaths and erotic lives (often somewhat at odds with their lofty thought). In another literary essay, ‘Corporeal Humor in Diogenes Laertius’, James Romm explores Diogenes’ use of irony and humour. In ‘Diogenes’ Epigrams’, Kathryn Gutzwiller offers a literary evaluation of Diogenes’ striking quotation of his own epigrams throughout the Lives, and succeeds in showing them to be much more sophisticated than they appear at first. Rowland considers Diogenes’ influence in high artistic circles. In ‘Raphael’s Eminent Philosophers: The School of Athens and the Classic Work Almost No One Read’, Ingrid D. In ‘Diogenes Laertius: From Inspiration to Annoyance (and Back)’, Anthony Grafton examines the history of the critical reception of Diogenes Laertius, and in particular the development of philological methodology in response to the challenges posed by his text. They cover the influence of Diogenes Laertius on the arts and philology during the Renaissance, his style and literary art, political and ethical elements in the Lives, the manuscript tradition, his treatment of the history of philosophy, and his influence on Nietzsche and German classical scholarship in the nineteenth century. In addition to the splendid English translation, the book contains sixteen papers that act as a sort of Companion to Diogenes Laertius, orientating the reader with some of the most important scholarly issues pertaining to the Lives. It is, however, as a result an especially hefty tome – this is a book to be read on a solid surface. This all adds a wonderful extra visual dimension to the already kaleidoscopic text of Diogenes Laertius. There are particularly fascinating examples of artistic representations of Greek philosophers in the Indian, Arabic, and Japanese traditions. These include paintings, sculptures, coins, illuminated manuscripts, photography, all linked to what we are reading in Diogenes. There are 556 full-colour images, gathered from antiquity to the present day. It is beautifully produced – glossy paper, high quality printing, with a treasure trove of stuff far beyond a translation of an ancient author. It must be said that, as a physical object, the hardcover is a very impressive book indeed. The translation will serve as an excellent resource for scholars referring to Diogenes Laertius for the very important material he preserves concerning the history of Greek philosophy, and its high literary merits make it enjoyable for those who want simply to be entertained reading Diogenes’ quirky and idiosyncratic account of the lives of the Greek philosophers. The copious notes, helpfully placed beneath the translation on each page, are superb at giving required information on names, dates, places, technical terms, and so forth in a crisp and accurate manner. Given the number of vagaries, jokes, technicalities, and such that proliferate in the Greek, this is a most impressive achievement. The English translation by Pamela Mensch is lively, fresh, engaging, and eminently readable. In the present volume, Dorandi’s text is translated into English for the first time. Owing to the sterling work of Tiziano Dorandi, we now possess a superior Greek text of Diogenes Laertius’ Lives (Cambridge, 2013). Hicks largely used the 1850 text in the Didot series, while making amendments as he saw fit. Even for specialists, the Greek text is difficult, with problems in the manuscripts and many sequences that make little sense. But he himself in his letters, says that he is content with water and plain bread, and adds, "Send me a cup, so that if I wish to have a feast, I may have the means.For many of us, access to Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosophers has been predominantly through the 1925 translation by R. For he said that such a doctrine as that was suited rather for those who distrusted one another and that those who distrusted one another were not friends. G And Diocles, in the third book of his Overview, says that they all lived in the most simple and economical manner "They were content," says he, "with a small cup of light wine, and all the rest of their drink was water." He also tells us that Epicurus would not allow his followers to throw their property into a common stock, as Pythagoras did, who said that the possessions of friends were held in common. Click on the G symbols to go to the Greek text for each section. The section numbers in the Greek text are shown in red and the section numbers in the translation are shown in green. Book 10 contains the life and doctrines of Epicurus. The Lives of the Philosophers, by Diogenes Laertius, is the most comprehensive ancient account of the lives of the early Greek philosophers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |