- Source
- Diogenes Laertius. Hicks, R. D., editor. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1925.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.8-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0004.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.4.84
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-09-27
The origin and writings of Diogenes' pupil Onesicritus are compared with those of Xenophon, followed by a brief list of other disciples: Menander, Hegesias, and Philiscus.
Ὀνησίκριτος· τοῦτον οἱ μὲν Αἰγινήτην, Δημήτριος δʼ ὁ Μάγνης Ἀστυπαλαιᾶ φησιν εἶναι. καὶ οὗτος τῶν ἐλλογίμων Διογένους μαθητῶν. ἔοικε δέ τι ὅμοιον πεπονθέναι πρὸς Ξενοφῶντα. ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ Κύρῳ συνεστράτευσεν, οὗτος δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ· κἀκεῖνος μὲν Παιδείαν Κύρου, ὁ δὲ πῶς Ἀλέξανδρος ἤχθη1 γέγραφε· καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐγκώμιον Κύρου, ὁ δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου πεποίηκε. καὶ τῇ ἑρμηνείᾳ δὲ παραπλήσιος, πλὴν ὅτι ὡς ἀπόγραφος ἐξ ἀρχετύπου δευτερεύει2. Γέγονε καὶ Μένανδρος Διογένους μαθητής, ὁ ἐπικαλούμενος Δρυμός, θαυμαστὴς Ὁμήρου, καὶ Ἡγησίας Σινωπεὺς ὁ Κλοιὸς ἐπίκλην, καὶ Φιλίσκος ὁ Αἰγινήτης, ὡς προειρήκαμεν.
Onesicritus: some say he was an Aeginetan, but Demetrius of Magnesia says he was from Astypalaea. He too was one of the distinguished pupils of Diogenes. He seems to have experienced something similar in comparison with Xenophon. For while that man campaigned with Cyrus, this one campaigned with Alexander; and while that man wrote the *Education of Cyrus*, this one wrote *How Alexander was Reared*; and while the former composed an encomium of Cyrus, the latter composed one of Alexander. In style also he is very similar, except that he ranks second, as a copy compared to the original. There was also Menander, a pupil of Diogenes, who was called Drymus and was an admirer of Homer; and Hegesias of Sinope, surnamed the Dog-collar; and Philiscus of Aegina, as we have mentioned before.
- 6.4.84πῶς Ἀλέξανδρος ἤχθη
The aorist passive ἤχθη from ἄγω here carries the sense of being "reared" or "educated" (akin to παιδαγωγεῖν), rather than the basic meaning of being led or brought. It directly matches the thematic content of Xenophon's *Education of Cyrus* (Παιδεία Κύρου) in the preceding parallel clause.
- 6.4.84ὡς ἀπόγραφος ἐξ ἀρχετύπου δευτερεύει
A figurative construction where δευτερεύει ("holds second place", "is inferior") is qualified by ὡς ("as") and the prepositional phrase ἐξ ἀρχετύπου ("from an archetype"). It presents the analogy of a copy derived from an original being naturally secondary/inferior to it, expressing that Onesicritus' works were an inferior imitation of Xenophon's.