Diogenes Laertius, Vitae philosophorum, R. D. Hicks (Translator), 9.1.12

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[12] However, Seleucus the grammarian says that a certain Croton relates in his book called The Diver that the said work of Heraclitus was first brought into Greece by one Crates, who further said it required a Delian diver not to be drowned in it. The title given to it by some is The Muses,¹ by others Concerning Nature; but Diodotus calls it²

A helm unerring for the rule of life;

others a guide of conduct, the keel of the whole world, for one and all alike. We are told that, when asked why he kept silence, he replied, Why, to let you chatter. Darius, too, was eager to make his acquaintance, and wrote to him as follows³:

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.) — 9.1.12 focus

[12] Σέλευκος μέντοι φησὶν ὁ γραμματικὸς Κρότωνά τινα ἱστορεῖν ἐν τῷ Κατακολυμβητῇ Κράτητά τινα πρῶτον εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα κομίσαι τὸ βιβλίον· 〈ὃν〉 καὶ εἰπεῖν Δηλίου τινὸς δεῖσθαι κολυμβητοῦ, ὃς οὐκ ἀποπνιγήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ. ἐπιγράφουσι δʼ αὐτῷ οἱ μὲν Μούσας, οἱ δὲ Περὶ φύσεως, Διόδοτος δὲ

ἀκριβὲς οἰάκισμα πρὸς σταθμὴν βίου,

ἄλλοι γνώμονʼ ἠθῶν, 〈τοῦ θʼ ὅλου〉 κόσμου τρόπιν ἑνός τε ξυμπάντων τε.¹ φασὶ δʼ αὐτὸν ἐρωτηθέντα διὰ τί σιωπᾷ, φάναι ἵνʼ ὑμεῖς λαλῆτε. ἐπόθησε δʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ Δαρεῖος μετασχεῖν καὶ ἔγραψεν ὧδε πρὸς αὐτόν·

Notes on the current edition

Lives of Eminent Philosophers

1. Plato, alluding to Heraclitus, speaks of Ionian Muses ( Soph. 242 e). He is followed by Clement of Alexandria ( Strom. v. 9, 682 P. αἱ γοῦν Ἰάδες Μοῦσαι διαρρήδην λέγουσι), and possibly, as M. Ernout thinks, by Lucretius, i. 657, where Musae is the ms. reading. But cf. Lachmann, ad loc.

2. Nauck, T.G.F. 2, Adesp. 287.

3. The request of Darius is mentioned by Clem. Alex. Strom. i. 65 οὗτος βασιλέα Δαρεῖον παρακαλοῦντα ἥκειν εἰς Πέρσας ὑπερεῖδεν. The story is not made more plausible by the two forged letters to which it must have given rise.

Diogenes Laertius Vitae philosophorum 9.1.12

R. D. Hicks (Translator)

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