Diogenes of Babylon - Works

Works

Cicero calls Diogenes "a great and important Stoic." In the works of the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus found in carbonized papyrus rolls recovered from the ruins of the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, Diogenes is discussed more frequently than any philosopher besides Epicurus himself.

He was the author of several works, of which, however, little more than the titles is known:

  • Διαλεκτικὴ τέχνη - Dialectic Art.
  • On Divination.
  • On Athena.
  • Περὶ τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡγεμονικοῦ - On the Ruling Faculty of the Soul.
  • Περὶ φωνῆς - On Speaking.
  • Περὶ εὐγενείας - Οn Noble Βirth.
  • Περὶ νόμων - On Laws.

In addition, it appears from Philodemus that he wrote extensive works On Music and On Rhetoric. Some aspects of his views on these two subjects are recoverable from the critical remarks to be found in Philodemus' works on these two subjects. There are several passages in Cicero from which we may infer that Diogenes wrote on other subjects also, such as duty, the highest good, and the like.

Read more about this topic:  Diogenes Of Babylon

Famous quotes containing the word works:

    “I meet him at every turn. He is more alive than ever he was. He has earned immortality. He is not confined to North Elba nor to Kansas. He is no longer working in secret. He works in public, and in the clearest light that shines on this land.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “In doing good, we are generally cold, and languid, and sluggish; and of all things afraid of being too much in the right. But the works of malice and injustice are quite in another style. They are finished with a bold, masterly hand; touched as they are with the spirit of those vehement passions that call forth all our energies, whenever we oppress and persecute..”
    —Edmund Burke (1729–97)

    “The works of women are symbolical.
    We sew, sew, prick our fingers, dull our sight,
    Producing what? A pair of slippers, sir,
    To put on when you’re weary or a stool
    To stumble over and vex you ... “curse that stool!”
    Or else at best, a cushion, where you lean
    And sleep, and dream of something we are not,
    But would be for your sake. Alas, alas!
    This hurts most, this ... that, after all, we are paid
    The worth of our work, perhaps.”
    —Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)