Diogenes

Diogenes, commonly called the Cynic (412-323 B.C.), was a native of Sinope, in Pontus. His father was banished for coining, and the son accompanied him, going to Athens, where he was attracted by the fame of Antisthenes, and wished to become his disciple, and not even blows could deter him from his desire. From being an epicure and a sybarite, he advanced to the extreme of asceticism, but his tact enabled him to retain his influence over the Athenians. His principle seems to have been that the practice of self-government leads to every other good, but with him this self-government entailed contempt for everything that may distract the mind from the practice, including art and literature. On a voyage to AEgina he was taken prisoner by pirates and sold into slavery, and was bought by a Corinthian named Xeniades, who, won by his character, set him free, and made him tutor to his children. It was at this time, if ever, that his celebrated interview with Alexander the Great took place, having for result that Alexander said if he were not Alexander he would be Diogenes. Of the different stories told about him - for instance, his living in a tub - they may or may not be true: probably not, though Landseer leads us to believe that the tub-life was contemporary with the Alexander episode. Shakspeare seems to have embodied the popular idea of Diogenes in Apemantus.