Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

​Chrysippus, son of Apollonius, from Soli or from Tarsus—as Alexander says in his Successions—was a pupil of Cleanthes. Formerly he used to train for the long-distance race; then, having attended the lectures of Zeno, or, as Diocles and the majority say, of Cleanthes, he broke away from him while he was still living, and became no ordinary figure in philosophy. He was a talented and exceptionally acute man in every department, so much so that he differed from Zeno in most matters, and indeed from Cleanthes as well, to whom he used often to say that he needed only to be taught the doctrines, and that he would find the demonstrations for himself. Yet he used to feel remorse whenever he spoke sharply against him, so that he continually repeated these verses: "In all else I am born a fortunate man, except toward Cleanthes; in this I am not blessed."

​He became so renowned in dialectic that most people thought that if dialectic existed among the gods, it would be none other than that of Chrysippus. But while he was exuberant in his subject matter, he did not achieve a polished style. He was also more industrious than anyone, as is clear from his writings; for their number exceeds seven hundred and five. He multiplied them by treating the same doctrine repeatedly, writing down everything that occurred to him, revising multiple times, and making excessive use of citations of testimonies. Consequently, when in one of his treatises he cited almost the entirety of Euripides' Medea, and someone was holding the book in his hands, to someone inquiring what he had, he replied: "Chrysippus' Medea."

​And Apollodorus of Athens, in his Collection of Doctrines, wishing to show that the works of Epicurus, written from his own resources and without citations, are far more numerous than the books of Chrysippus, says in these very words: "For if anyone should strip from the books of Chrysippus all the alien material cited in them, his papyrus roll will be left empty." Such is Apollodorus' remark. And the old woman who attended him, as Diocles says, used to say that he wrote five hundred lines a day. Hecaton says that he turned to philosophy when his ancestral property was confiscated to the royal treasury.

​He was also insignificant in bodily stature, as is clear from the statue of him in the Ceramicus, which is almost completely hidden by the equestrian statue nearby; whence Carneades used to call him Crypsippus. When he was reproached by someone for not studying with Aristo along with the multitude, he said: "If I paid heed to the multitude, I should not be studying philosophy." And to a dialectician who was attacking Cleanthes and proposing sophisms to him, he said: "Cease dragging the old man away from more substantial matters, and propose such things to us, the young." Again, when someone was discussing an inquiry with him calmly in private, but on seeing a crowd approach began to grow contentious, Chrysippus said: "Alas, my brother, your eye is troubled; swiftly have you turned to frenzy, though but now in your right mind."

​Nevertheless, in drinking bouts he remained quiet while unsteady on his feet, so that his maidservant said: "Only the legs of Chrysippus are drunk." He was so proud that, when someone asked, "To whom shall I entrust my son?" he replied, "To me; for if I supposed that there were anyone better than myself, I should be studying philosophy under him." Hence, they say, it was said of him: "He alone is endowed with understanding, but the rest flit about like shadows;" and: "For if there had been no Chrysippus, there would have been no Stoa." Finally, as Sotion says in his eighth book, he attended the Academy and studied philosophy alongside Arcesilaus and Lacydes.