Jean-Léon Gérôme……..Diogenes Sitting in His Tub……1860

On the Cynics and Dogs (1937)

There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named.

First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads.

The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it.

The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy.

The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies.

So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them.

Dudley, Donald R. (1937). A History of Cynicism from Diogenes to the 6th Century A.D. Cambridge.

Etymology of “Cynic”

1670s, “philosophy or doctrines of the Cynics” (indifference to pleasure, stoicism pushed to austerity, asceticism….

1550s, “one of the ancient sect of philosophy founded by Antisthenes,” from Latinized form of Greek kynikos “a follower of Antisthenes,” literally “dog-like,” from kyōn (genitive kynos) “dog” (from PIE root “kwon-“dog”).

Supposedly the name is a reference to the coarseness of life and sneering surliness of the philosophers, and the popular association even in ancient times was “dog-like” (Lucian has kyniskos “a little cynic,” literally “puppy”).

But more likely it is from Kynosarge “The Gray Dog,” the name of the gymnasium outside ancient Athens (for the use of those who were not pure Athenians) where Antisthenes (a pupil of Socrates), taught. Diogenes was the most famous.