Diogenes or On Tyranny

Diogenes or On Tyranny (Ancient Greek: Διογένης ἢ περὶ τυραννίδος, romanized: Diogenēs e peri turannidos, Oration 6 in modern corpora) is a speech delivered by Dio Chrysostom between AD 82 and 96, arguing for the superiority of the cynic lifestyle, through a contrast between the life of Diogenes and that of the Persian king, the prototypical tyrant.

These people use the special human characteristic of wisdom (sophia) to achieve pleasure (hedone), instead of manly bravery (andreia) and justice (dikaiosyne) (29).

Diogenes' lifestyle is summarised (30-33), as the avoidance of expense (polydapane) and business (pragmateia) and the use of things that strengthen his body and meet the demands of his appetite.

All states are undesirable to him - war or peace, prosperity or hard times - since they all could lead to threats to his regime and life (50-53).

If disaster should befall the world, he will be able to live comfortably in the wilderness: For all the food I need will be provided by apples, millet, barley, vetch, the cheapest lentils, acorns in the ashes, and the cornel berries, with which Homer says Circe feasted Odysseus' companions, which is enough to feed even the largest animals.The opposition of the Cynic philosopher with the monarch was probably already a topos of earlier Cynic literature.