Diogenes Laertius — Life and teachings of Epicurus
Diogenes gathers accusations, replies, anecdotes, the will, a catalogue of writings, letters, and doctrinal outlines. His book is the most extensive source for Epicurus’ life and preserves most of his completely surviving texts. Documents quoted within it must be distinguished from the narrative connecting them.
Understanding the text
The author probably wrote in the third century CE and drew on conflicting earlier traditions. His sympathy toward Epicurus sometimes shapes the presentation and refutation of criticism.
Book X of Lives of Eminent Philosophers; testimony composed centuries after Epicurus.
Key points
- 01
Documentary layers
A quoted letter and a biographical summary have different status. Identifying each change of voice makes interpretation more reliable.
- 02
Reputation as conflict
Accusations of debauchery and portraits of austerity belong to a polemical history. Neither should be adopted without examination.
- 03
An act of preservation
Without this book, our knowledge of Epicurean physics and ethics would be profoundly different. Transmission determines what we can call a corpus.
How to read it
Read the biographical sections 1–34, then identify the boundaries between letters, commentary, and the Principal Doctrines.
Editions & sources
- Consult the reference 1perseus.tufts.edunew tab
- Consult the reference 2raw.githubusercontent.comnew tab
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method ↗