- 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-grc2:9.10.58-9.10.60
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-09-30
The account of Anaxarchus of Abdera, tracing his philosophical succession, his association with Alexander the Great, his martyrdom in a mortar by the tyrant Nicocreon of Cyprus, and anecdotes displaying his impassivity.
Ἀνάξαρχος Ἀβδηρίτης. οὗτος ἤκουσε Διογένους τοῦ Σμυρναίου· ὁ δὲ Μητροδώρου τοῦ Χίου, ὃς ἔλεγε μηδʼ αὐτὸ τοῦτʼ εἰδέναι ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδε. Μητρόδωρον δὲ Νεσσᾶ τοῦ Χίου, οἱ δὲ Δημοκρίτου φασὶν ἀκοῦσαι. ὁ δʼ οὖν Ἀνάξαρχος καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ συνῆν καὶ ἤκμαζε κατὰ τὴν δεκάτην καὶ ἑκατοστὴν Ὀλυμπιάδα καὶ εἶχεν ἐχθρὸν Νικοκρέοντα τὸν Κύπρου τύραννον· καί ποτʼ ἐν συμποσίῳ τοῦ Ἀλεξάνδρου ἐρωτήσαντος αὐτὸν τί ἄρα δοκεῖ τὸ δεῖπνον, εἰπεῖν φασιν, ὦ βασιλεῦ, πάντα πολυτελῶς· ἔδει δὲ λοιπὸν κεφαλὴν σατράπου τινὸς παρατεθεῖσθαι1·
Anaxarchus of Abdera. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Smyrna, who in turn studied under Metrodorus of Chios; Metrodorus used to say that he did not even know this very fact, that he knew nothing. Metrodorus is said by some to have studied under Nessas of Chios, and by others under Democritus. At any rate, Anaxarchus accompanied Alexander, flourished around the 110th Olympiad, and had an enemy in Nicocreon, the tyrant of Cyprus. Once, at a banquet, when Alexander asked him what he thought of the dinner, they say he replied: "O King, everything is lavishly provided; but one thing was yet needed, that the head of a certain satrap should have been served up,"
ἀπορρίπτων πρὸς τὸν Νικοκρέοντα2. ὁ δὲ μνησικακήσας μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ὅτε πλέων ἀκουσίως προσηνέχθη τῇ Κύπρῳ ὁ Ἀνάξαρχος, συλλαβὼν αὐτὸν καὶ εἰς ὅλμον βαλὼν ἐκέλευσε τύπτεσθαι σιδηροῖς ὑπέροις. τὸν δʼ οὐ φροντίσαντα τῆς τιμωρίας εἰπεῖν ἐκεῖνο δὴ τὸ περιφερόμενον, πτίσσε τὸν Ἀναξάρχου θύλακον, Ἀνάξαρχον δὲ οὐ πτίσσεις. κελεύσαντος δὲ τοῦ Νικοκρέοντος καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν αὐτοῦ ἐκτμηθῆναι, λόγος ἀποτραγόντα προσπτύσαι αὐτῷ3. καὶ ἔστιν ἡμῶν εἰς αὐτὸν οὕτως 〈ἔχον〉· "πτίσσετε, Νικοκρέων, ἔτι καὶ μάλα· θύλακός ἐστι· πτίσσετʼ· Ἀνάξαρχος δʼ ἐν Διός ἐστι πάλαι. καί σε διαστείλασα γνάφοις ὀλίγον τάδε λέξει ῥήματα Φερσεφόνη, ἔρρε μυλωθρὲ κακέ. "
casting a taunt at Nicocreon. The latter, nursing a grudge, after the king's death, when Anaxarchus while sailing was driven against his will onto Cyprus, seized him, cast him into a mortar, and ordered him to be pounded with iron pestles. But he, paying no heed to the punishment, uttered that famous saying: "Pound the pouch of Anaxarchus; Anaxarchus himself you do not pound." When Nicocreon ordered his tongue to be cut out as well, it is said that he bit it off and spat it at him. And our epigram on him runs thus: "Pound on, Nicocreon, even more vigorously; it is a pouch. Pound on; but Anaxarchus has long been in the house of Zeus. And Persephone, having torn you with the carding-combs, will shortly speak these words to you: 'Begone, vile miller!'"
Οὗτος διὰ τὴν ἀπάθειαν καὶ εὐκολίαν τοῦ βίου Εὐδαιμονικὸς ἐκαλεῖτο· καὶ ἦν ἐκ τοῦ ῥᾴστου δυνατὸς σωφρονίζειν. τὸν γοῦν Ἀλέξανδρον οἰόμενον εἶναι θεὸν ἐπέστρεψεν· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔκ τινος πληγῆς εἶδεν αὐτῷ καταρρέον αἷμα, δείξας τῇ χειρὶ πρὸς αὐτόν φησι, τουτὶ μὲν αἷμα καὶ οὐκ "ἰχὼρ οἷός πέρ τε ῥέει μακάρεσσι θεοῖσι." Πλούταρχος δʼ αὐτὸν Ἀλέξανδρον τοῦτο λέξαι πρὸς τοὺς φίλους φησίν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλοτε προπίνοντα αὐτῷ τὸν Ἀνάξαρχον δεῖξαι τὴν κύλικα καὶ εἰπεῖν "βεβλήσεταί τις θεῶν βροτησίᾳ χερί."
This man, on account of his impassivity and easy-going nature in life, was called the 'Happy Man'; and he was able with the greatest of ease to bring people to their senses. At any rate, he corrected Alexander when the latter fancied himself to be a god. For having seen blood flowing from a certain wound of his, he pointed with his hand toward him and said: "This is indeed blood, and not 'ichor, such as flows in the veins of the blessed gods.'" Plutarch, however, says that Alexander himself said this to his friends. But on another occasion as well, Anaxarchus, while drinking a toast to him, pointed to the goblet and said: "One of the gods will be struck down by a mortal hand."
- 58ἔδει δὲ λοιπὸν κεφαλὴν σατράπου τινὸς παρατεθεῖσθαι
A counterfactual expression formed by the impersonal imperfect ἔδει and the perfect passive infinitive παρατεθεῖσθαι ('the head of a satrap ought to have been served up [but was not]'). λοιπόν functions adverbially in the sense of 'for the rest' or 'the only thing remaining.'
- 59ἀπορρίπτων πρὸς τὸν Νικοκρέοντα
The nominative participle ἀπορρίπτων agrees with the implied subject of the preceding indirect speech infinitive εἰπεῖν (Anaxarchus), demonstrating nominative concord with the subject of the infinitive. ἀπορρίπτω is used metaphorically for 'tossing out a barb/taunt.'
- 59λόγος ἀποτραγόντα προσπτύσαι αὐτῷ
The impersonal idiom λόγος [ἐστί] ('the story goes / tradition holds') introduces an accusative and infinitive construction. The masculine accusative aorist participle ἀποτραγόντα agrees with the unexpressed subject of the infinitive προσπτύσαι (Anaxarchus in the accusative).