In fact, there have been cases
where exile was an absolute blessing as it was to Diogenes, who by his exile
was transformed from an ordinary citizen into a philosopher, and instead of
sitting idly in Sinope, he busied himself in Greece, and in the pursuit of
virtue came to surpass the philosophers.
My first impressions of Diogenes were that he seemed
a bit of a clown, and some of his more outrageous antics could easily offend my
tame Catholic sensibilities.
As the years passed, however, I was drawn to this odd
character more and more. I came to recognize that his eccentricity was intended
to wake us from our slumber, and that I only found him crude because I had been
more interested in appearing refined than actually being virtuous.
The Cynics, like Antisthenes, Diogenes, and Crates,
had much in common with the Stoics, and I often think of the two traditions as
being sister philosophies. The Socratic mission inspired them both, and they shared
a commitment to the life of virtue, in harmony with Nature, and free from any attachment
to circumstances.
The Cynics, however, pulled out all the stops, and
their mockery of institutions and customs had a radical and iconoclastic component;
the rich, fashionable, and powerful considered them especially impudent and shameless.
When I found myself slowly becoming ever more out
of the loop, the Cynics, the “dog-like” philosophers, started becoming more
like my friends.
Exile did not make Diogenes a philosopher, but it offered
Diogenes an ideal opportunity to make himself into a philosopher. After his
father was involved in a scandal in Sinope, Diogenes was cast out from the
city, losing both his citizenship and his property. Starting again in Athens,
he now pursued a simple life, and dedicated himself to seeking virtue above all
other things.
It is also said that Diogenes was later captured by
pirates during a journey, and then sold as a slave. The story has it that this
was when Xeniades of Corinth purchased Diogenes, impressed by his insistence
that he would be best suited for a household that needed a master.
Those who love Stoicism and Cynicism will know exactly
what Diogenes meant by this, that to govern men is really nothing else than
helping them to learn right from wrong. This Diogenes certainly did, by
educating the children of the family in character.
I can only imagine what may have gone through the
man’s mind, facing such a complete upheaval of his life, not once but twice. First,
he lost his home, and then he lost his home again, along with the very
ownership of his body. His response never ceases to amaze me.
What did Diogenes do in these situations? He used
them both to gain a greater mastery of his own soul, to practice decency,
temperance, and honesty in everything he faced, never hesitating to demand that
others should aspire to the same. He cared very little for where he was, or
what he had, and stood only on who he was.
Diogenes was surely the sort of fellow we would now
call difficult, inappropriate, and scandalous. The offense and outrage,
however, will only come from our own recognition that he has called us out,
that he was able to live in practice what we will only pretend to honor in
theory. He hits us where it hurts. He wasn’t about writing books and scratching
his chin, he was about getting his hands dirty and doing the job.
This is the sort of opportunity that can come from
exile!
Written in 12/2016
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