Day #349
Was Diogenes of Sinope (400-325 B.C.) happy?
Diogenes was a Cynic. Cynics in that day were people that lived without the trappings of ordinary life. (Different than today’s cynics.) Diogenes and his followers believed that it did not take a lot of earthly possessions to live well. It is possible Diogenes may have taken his philosophy to the extreme. He admired dogs. He preached that dogs are unashamed of bodily functions, were not picky about what they ate, and cared little for where they slept, all admirable traits in his mind. This led him to choose a wine barrel as his home. It’s possible my cat eats better than Diogenes did. Diogenes even gestured with his middle finger to those who would presume to insult him over his lifestyle. (Apparently the middle finger has a long history.) Once Alexander the Great paid a visit to Diogenes (Diogenes was a famous philosopher after all). Alexander found Diogenes bathing in his wine barrel. Alexander offered to give him anything he wanted, Diogenes was reported to have said “Please get out of my sunlight.” It is not know if he showed Alexander the middle finger, I suspect if he had, this story might have ended differently.
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