Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum, R. D. Hicks (Translator), 2.6.58

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[58] There is an epigram of mine on him also¹:

Up the steep path to fame toiled Xenophon

In that long march of glorious memories;

In deeds of Greece, how bright his lesson shone!

How fair was wisdom seen in Socrates!²

There is another on the circumstances of his death³:

Albeit the countrymen of Cranaus and Cecrops condemned thee, Xenophon, to exile on account of thy friendship for Cyrus, yet hospitable Corinth welcomed thee, so well content with the delights of that city wast thou, and there didst resolve to take up thy rest.

Vitae philosophorum. Diogenes Laertius. R. D. Hicks (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1925.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access.

Current edition Perseus

Lives of Eminent Philosophers (English) (Diogenes Laertius. Hicks, R. D., editor. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1925.)

Editions (1)

Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων Perseus (Diogenes Laertius. Hicks, R. D., editor. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1925.) — 2.6.58 focus

[58] Ἔστι δὲ καὶ εἰς τοῦτον ἡμῶν ἐπιγράμματα τοῦτον ἔχοντα τὸν τρόπον·

οὐ μόνον εἰς Πέρσας ἀνέβη Ξενοφῶν διὰ Κῦρον,

ἀλλʼ ἄνοδον ζητῶν ἐς Διὸς ἥτις ἄγοι.

παιδείης γὰρ ἑῆς Ἑλληνικὰ πράγματα δείξας,

ὡς καλὸν ἡ σοφίη μνήσατο Σωκράτεος.

ἄλλο, ὡς ἐτελεύτα·

εἰ καὶ σέ, Ξενοφῶν, Κραναοῦ Κέκροπός τε πολῖται

φεύγειν κατέγνων, τοῦ φίλου χάριν Κύρου·

ἀλλὰ Κόρινθος ἔδεκτο φιλόξενος, ᾗ σὺ φιληδῶν

οὕτως ἀρέσκῃ· κεῖθι καὶ μένειν ἔγνως.

Notes on the current edition

Lives of Eminent Philosophers

1. Anth. Pal. vii. 97.

2. Or in plain prose: Not only for Cyrus’s sake did Xenophon go up to Persia, but because he sought the path which leads to the abode of Zeus. For, having shown that the great deeds of Greece are the outcome of his training, he recalled what a beautiful thing was the wisdom of Socrates.

3. Anth. Pal. vii. 98.

Diogenes Laertius Vitae philosophorum 2.6.58

R. D. Hicks (Translator)

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