On page 186 of his text, DeWitt cites this interesting quote from Diogenes of Oinoanda: "The secret of happiness is in the diathesis, of which we are sole arbiters." The quote is cited as fragment 57 from the inscription, but apparently a different numbering system is being used by Martin Ferguson Smith here, nor do I find the numbering to be the same in Chilton's "Diogenes of Oenoanda - The Fragments." Both of these works post-date DeWitt, so he must have been working from another source. Does anyone know a good cite for this or know the equivalent in Smith's translation?
Tracing Down A Passage On Diathesis / Attitude
SUNDAY WEEKLY ZOOM - 12:30 PM EDT - Ancient Text Study: De Rerum Natura by Lucretius -- Read the post for our December 7, 2025 meeting -- or find out how to attend.
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A follow-on observation about working with (1) the choice of attitude and also (2) the choice in the particular instance:
(page 193 of the text)
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I've written on this in my Diogenes' blogs, and I've gone back to it and cited it often. It relates to PD 20. Here's the relevant portion:
QuoteConsistent with what’s been said before, in Fragment 112 Diogenes states that the “sum of happiness is our disposition, of which we are masters”, by which he argues against choosing a career in military service–which produces dangers to our lives and health–or public speaking–which produces nervousness and insecurity. The idea is that we can more easily be self-sufficient in our pleasure if we retain our ability to control our mental disposition.
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Kalosyni
February 27, 2023 at 5:39 PM Moved the thread from forum The Inscription Text 2 to forum Diogenes of Oinoanda. -
Cassius
September 1, 2023 at 8:08 AM Moved the thread from forum The Inscription of Diogenes of Oinoanda (sub-folder) to forum The Inscription of Diogenes of Oinoanda.
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