Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers (English) (XML Header) [word count] [lemma count] [Diog. Laert.].
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4.2.13

On Art, one book.

On the Gods, two books.

On the Soul, two books.

On Science, one book.

The Statesman, one book.

On Cognition, one book.

On Philosophy, one book.

On the Writings of Parmenides, one book.

Archedemus or Concerning Justice, one book.

On the Good, one book.

Things relating to the Understanding, eight books.

Solution of Logical Problems, ten books.

Physical Lectures, six books.

Summary, one book.

On Genera and Species, one book.

Things Pythagorean, one book.

Solutions, two books.

Divisions, eight books.

Theses, in twenty books, 30,000 lines.

The Study of Dialectic, in fourteen books, 12,740 lines.

After this come fifteen books, and then sixteen books of Studies relating to Style.

Nine books on Ratiocination.

Six books concerned with Mathematics.

Two other books entitled Things relating to the Intellect.

On Geometers, five books.

Commentaries, one book.

Contraries, one book.

On Numbers, one book.

Theory of Numbers, one book.

On Dimensions, one book.

On Astronomy, six books.

4.2.14

Elementary Principles of Monarchy, in four books, dedicated to Alexander.

To Arybas.

To Hephaestion.

On Geometry, two books.

These works comprise in all 224,239 lines.

Such was his character, and yet, when he was unable to pay the tax levied on resident aliens, the Athenians put him up for sale. And Demetrius of Phalerum purchased him, thereby making twofold restitution, to Xenocrates of his liberty, and to the Athenians of their tax. This we learn from Myronianus of Amastris in the first book of his Chapters on Historical Parallels. He succeeded Speusippus and was head of the school for twenty-five years from the archonship of Lysimachides, beginning in the second year of the 110th Olympiad. note He died in his 82nd year from the effects of a fall over some utensil in the night.

Upon him I have expressed myself as follows note: 4.2.15 Xenocrates, that type of perfect manliness, stumbled over a vessel of bronze and broke his head, and, with a loud cry, expired.

There have been six other men named Xenocrates: (1) a tactician in very ancient times; (2) the kinsman and fellow-citizen of the philosopher: a speech by him is extant entitled the Arsinoƫtic, treating of a certain deceased Arsinoƫ note; (4) a philosopher and not very successful writer of elegies; it is a remarkable fact that poets succeed when they undertake to write prose, but prose-writers who essay poetry come to grief; whereby it is clear that the one is a gift of nature and the other of art; (5) a sculptor; (6) a writer of songs mentioned by Aristoxenus.

4.3 Chapter 3. POLEMO (Head of the Academy from 314 to c. 276 B.C.) 4.3.16

Polemo, the son of Philostratus, was an Athenian who belonged to the deme of Oea. In his youth he was so profligate and dissipated that he actually carried about with him money to procure the immediate gratification of his desires, and would even keep sums concealed in lanes and alleys. note Even in the Academy a piece of three obols was found close to a pillar, where he had buried it for the same purpose. And one day, by agreement with his young friends, he burst into the school of Xenocrates quite drunk, with a garland on his head. Xenocrates, however, without being at all disturbed, went on with his discourse as before, the subject being temperance. The lad, as he listened, by degrees was taken in the toils. He became so industrious as to surpass all the other scholars, and rose to be himself head of the school in the 116th Olympiad. note

4.3.17

Antigonus of Carystus in his Biographies says that his father was foremost among the citizens and kept horses to compete in the chariot-race; that Polemo himself had been defendant in an action brought by his wife, who charged him with cruelty owing to the irregularities of his life; but that, from the time when he began to study philosophy, he acquired such strength of character as always to maintain the same unruffled calm of demeanour. Nay more, he never lost control of his voice. This in fact accounts for the fascination which he exercised over Crantor. note Certain it is that, when a mad dog bit him in the back of his thigh, he did not even turn pale, but remained undisturbed by all the clamour which arose in the city at the news of what had happened. In the theatre too he was singularly unmoved. 4.3.18 For instance, Nicostratus, who was nicknamed Clytemnestra, was once reading to him and Crates something from Homer; and, while Crates was deeply affected, he was no more moved than if he had not heard him. Altogether he was a man such as Melanthius the painter describes in his work On Painting. There he says that a certain wilfulness and stubbornness should be stamped on works of art, and that the same holds good of character. Polemo used to say that we should exercise ourselves with facts and not with mere logical speculations, which leave us, like a man who has got by heart some paltry handbook on harmony but never practised, able, indeed, to win admiration for skill in asking questions, but utterly at variance with ourselves in the ordering of our lives.

He was, then, refined and generous, and would beg to be excused, in the words of Aristophanes about Euripides, the "acid, pungent style,"



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