Monimus (; ; 4th century BC) of Syracuse,

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

, was a Cynic philosopher.

Biography

According to

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; , ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Little is definitively known about his life, but his surviving book ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek ph ...

, Monimus was the slave of a

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

ian money-changer who heard tales about Diogenes of Sinope from Xeniades, Diogenes' master. In order that he might become the pupil of Diogenes, Monimus feigned madness by throwing money around until his master discarded him. Monimus also became acquainted with Crates of Thebes. Menander claimed that Monimus held three beggar's wallets instead of one; this may have been intended to imply that Monimus was three times as much of a Cynic as others, or might have been a satire implying that he was more fond of money than was considered proper for a Cynic philosopher.

Philosophy

According to both Diogenes Laërtius and Sextus Empiricus, Monimus abolished the criterion, meaning that he rejected the idea that there was any standard of judgment for attaining knowledge. According to Sextus Empiricus, Monimus was like Anaxarchus because they "compared existing things to a scene-painting and supposed them to resemble the impressions experienced in sleep or madness." Monimus was famous for saying that "everything is vanity" (τῦφος, ''tuphos'', literally 'mist' or 'smoke'). In book two of ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161–180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Composition Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' i ...

'',

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

writes: According to Stobaeus, Monimus also said that "it was better to lack sight than education, because under the first affliction, you fall to the ground, under the latter, deep underground," and he also said that "Wealth is the vomiting of Fortune."

Works

According to Diogenes Laërtius, Monimus wrote two books: ''On Impulses'', and an ''Exhortation to Philosophy'', and he also wrote some jests mixed with serious themes (presumably related to Cynic-style '' spoudogeloia''). Another work by Monimus, ''A Collection of Wonderful Events'', is quoted by

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

.Clement of Alexandria, ''Exhortations'', 3.1

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monimus 4th-century BC Greek philosophers Classical Greek philosophers Ancient Syracusans Cynic philosophers Philosophers of Magna Graecia Metic philosophers in Classical Athens Hellenistic-era philosophers in Athens