# Antisthenes explained — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

> Chapter companion for The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius.

## What happens

This chapter details the life, teachings, and legacy of Antisthenes, the Athenian philosopher who became a pupil of Socrates and founded the Cynic school. It covers his background, his emphasis on virtue and labor, his sharp wit and apothegms, his role in the development of Stoicism, and his extensive writings.

## Themes in this chapter

### Virtue and Self-Sufficiency

Antisthenes taught that virtue is sufficient for happiness, can be taught, and is a weapon that cannot be taken away; he emphasized labor and self-sufficiency.

### Wisdom vs. Sophistry

Antisthenes, initially a pupil of the rhetorician Gorgias, later embraced Socratic philosophy and criticized sophistry, defining discourse as that which shows what a thing is.

### Origins and Succession of Philosophical Schools

Antisthenes is identified as the founder of the Cynic school and the original cause of the apathy of Diogenes, temperance of Crates, and patience of Zeno, laying foundations for Stoicism.

## Character check-ins

### Antisthenes

The subject of the chapter; an Athenian philosopher, pupil of Socrates, and founder of the Cynic school.

### Socrates

Antisthenes' teacher, from whom he learned endurance and indifference to external circumstances.

### Diogenes of Sinope

Visited Antisthenes during his illness, offering a sword as a means to end suffering.

### Plato

Mentioned as someone who spoke ill of Antisthenes, prompting Antisthenes' remark about a royal privilege.

### Xenophon

Praised Antisthenes as the most delightful and temperate of men in his Banquet.

### Zeno of Citium

Mentioned as one whose patience was influenced by Antisthenes' foundations.

## Key lines

> I would rather go mad than feel pleasure.

Antisthenes valued sanity and virtue over the pursuit of pleasure.

_Reflects his ascetic and anti-hedonistic philosophy._

> It is a royal privilege to do well, and to be evil spoken of.

Doing good while being criticized is a mark of nobility.

_Antisthenes' response to being told Plato spoke ill of him._

> That envious people were devoured by their own disposition, just as iron is by rust.

Envy consumes the envious person from within, like rust corrodes iron.

_A favorite saying illustrating the self-destructive nature of envy._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/antisthenes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters