Cleomenes the Cynic
Cleomenes(/kliːˈɒmɪniːz/;Greek:Κλεομένης;fl. c. 300 BCE) was aCynicphilosopher. He was a pupil ofCrates of Thebes,[1]and is said to have taught Timarchus of Alexandria and Echecles of Ephesus, the latter of whom would go on to teachMenedemus.[2]
He wrote a work onPedagogues(Παιδαγωγικός) from whichDiogenes Laërtiushas preserved an anecdote concerningDiogenes of Sinope:[3]
Cleomenes in his work onPedagoguessays that Diogenes' friends wanted to ransom him, for which he called them simpletons, for, he said, lions are not the slaves of those who feed them, but rather those who feed them are at the mercy of the lions, Fear, he added, is the mark of the slave, whereas wild beasts make human beings afraid of them.
The importance of this anecdote is that it is an early reference to the story of Diogenes being captured bypiratesand being sold intoslavery,lending credence to the idea that the story may well be true.
Notes
[edit]- ^Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 95. The list of pupils at vi. 95 are at the end of the Life ofMetrocles,but probably refer to Crates. Cf. R. Bracht Branham, Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé, (2000),The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy,page 392
- ^Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 95
- ^Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 75
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