Diogenes Laertius: Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Vol. 1 (Loeb)

Estienne), Menagius (Ménage), and Gassendi became his editors or interpreters. Before long, histories of philosophy began to be written, and pioneers like Stanley and Brücker did little more than rearrange and amplify the contents of his work. How great was the credit he enjoyed is shown by a trifling fact: some editors actually inserted in the text of Homer the hexameter line cited by him (vi. 63) in his Life of Diogenes the Cynic, although the verse is not found in any of our manuscripts of the Iliad and was apparently unknown to the Scholiasts Ancient commentators on classical texts..

And even when his authority had somewhat waned, sober critics still realized how much treasure was contained in this earthen vessel. The editors of the Palatine Anthology and its Appendix had long ago ransacked him for epigrams; when Meineke collected the fragments of the Comic poets, he found in our author much spoil; and there are in him many fragments of Timon too. Last but not least, the epistles and fragments of Epicurus, which form so large a part of Book X, have unique value.

To return to the author, whom we agree to call Laertius, trustworthy conclusions may, in default of other testimony, be drawn from the internal evidence afforded by his book. Something may thus be gleaned regarding his date, his poems, his mistakes and weaknesses, and his general method of working. He is clearly not writing from personal knowledge: from the nature of the case, he is borrowing, copying, making excerpts and citations. It is therefore only just to mention such traits of initiative or individuality as can be discovered, in order to avoid the mistake of regarding him as a mere unintelligent compiler or mechanical copyist.