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he encouraged young men towards philosophy, and especially those whom he considered to be suitable for philosophy, the most beautiful young men. For they say that the well-formed are also clever. Therefore, there was a belief among the Athenians that Socrates was a pederast because he selected the well-formed. And Plato is found, both in the Theaetetus and everywhere, speaking thus from Socrates, that “Theaetetus is beautiful” and “Charmides is beautiful.” Therefore, Plato openly gives the impression in his dialogues that Socrates was suspected of being such a person because of such, so to speak, counter-questions, that, “You are indeed beautiful, but not in appearance but in soul.” And it was suspected that he also associated with Alcibiades according to shameful love. But those who speak about Socrates say that he associated with everyone not according to passionate love but according to divine love. 4.23 The twenty-third story is the one about Plato's gluttony. And it is this. Plato the philosopher, hearing that Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily was a man of great genius, sailed to him. And the current commentators on Plato say that he sailed for two reasons, both to investigate the fire given forth in Etna, and to persuade Dionysius to practice philosophy. But the blessed Gregory says that Plato went away to Sicily for this reason, because of the luxury of Dionysius's banquets. And he takes as proof the fact that he was sold. And he was indeed sold, having been given by Dionysius to Pollis the Lacedaemonian admiral who was then staying there. Then Pollis, having come to Aegina, sells him for fifty minae to Anniceris. 4.24 The twenty-fourth story is the one about Xenocrates's fondness for dainties. And it is this. Xenocrates and Aristotle were disciples of Plato, who also succeeded him in his school. And Xenocrates created the Stoic sect, and Aristotle the Peripatetic. And it is said that Xenocrates was so self-controlled that even when living luxuriously he was not moved towards sensual pleasures because he had, it says, so ordered his passions to obey reason. Therefore the blessed Gregory accuses him of being gluttonous and a lover of dainties and of refusing nothing to eat as a philosopher. 4.25 The twenty-fifth story is the one about Diogenes's chatter. And it is this. Diogenes was a Cynic philosopher. And he was called "Cynic" from a metaphor of land-dogs. For just as these dogs have something both protective and discerning (for they distinguish their own people from strangers, and they guard their own people), so too did he imitate the discerning and the protective. And he guarded the doctrines of philosophy, and he distinguished the suitable from the unsuitable for philosophy. This Diogenes, therefore, being such a person, was naturally outspoken. Therefore he would rebuke rulers and famous men and every person, supposedly for the sake of the good. But in rebuking, he rebuked in a rather witty and comical manner. Looking to this, therefore, the blessed Gregory says that Diogenes was more of a buffoon and a deceiver than a philosopher. And "chatter" is the deceit that proceeds from wittiness. 4.26 The twenty-sixth story is the one about the one who dwelt in the jar. And this is able to be explained in many ways; for this too is about Diogenes. It is said, then, that in the winter he would dwell in a jar in the evening because of the cold, but in the daytime he would go out because of the sun. Wherefore also once, when he was warming himself, Alexander the Macedonian stood over him, casting a shadow on him, and saying: “Tell me, Diogenes, what do you want me to grant you?” And he said: “Grant me this, to stand a little out of my way so that I may be warmed.” So this is either the story, or the one that happened in the time of the Ptolemies. And the one that happened in the time of the Ptolemies is this. A certain Sotates, an Alexandrian philosopher, was standing in a certain place in the sun, delousing himself. Ptolemy, having seen him from above from some lookout point, came down in order to take him to the palace. But Sotates, seeing him, went into a fragment of a lying jar, and hid from Ptolemy. But later some slandered this man as unfortunate. But others say that Ptolemy himself also uttered this iambic verse: “I want a drop of Fortune rather than a jar of sense,” hinting that that jar is full of sense

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μειράκια προετρέπετο ἐπὶ φιλοσοφίαν, καὶ μάλιστα ἃ ἐνόμιζεν εἶναι πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν ἐπιτήδεια τὰ περικαλλῆ μειράκια. τοὺς γὰρ εὐμόρφους λέγουσιν εἶναι καὶ εὐφυεῖς. ἦν οὖν δόξα παρ' Ἀθηναίοις ὅτι παιδεραστὴς ἦν ὁ Σωκράτης διὰ τὸ ἐπιλέγεσθαι τοὺς εὐμόρφους. εὑρίσκεται δὲ ὁ Πλάτων καὶ ἐν τῷ Θεαιτήτῳ καὶ πανταχοῦ οὕτω λέγων ἐκ Σωκράτους, ὅτι Καλὸς ὁ Θεαίτητος καὶ Καλὸς ὁ Χαρμίδης. ἄντικρυς οὖν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἔμφασιν παρέχει ὁ Πλάτων, ὅτι Σωκράτης ὑπωπτεύθη εἶναι τοιοῦτος διὰ τὰς τοιαύτας, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἀντερωτήσεις, ὅτι, Καλὸς μὲν εἶ, ἀλλ' οὐ τὴν ὄψιν ἀλλὰ τὴν ψυχήν. ὑπενοήθη δὲ ὅτι καὶ τῷ Ἀλκιβιάδῃ συγγίνεται κατὰ τὸν αἰσχρὸν ἔρωτα. οἱ δὲ περὶ Σωκράτους λέγοντες λέγουσιν ὅτι συνεγένετο πᾶσιν οὐ κατὰ τὸν ἐμπαθῆ ἔρωτα ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν ἔνθεον. 4.23 Εἰκοστὴ τρίτη ἐστὶν ἱστορία ἡ κατὰ τὴν Πλάτωνος λιχνείαν. ἔστι δὲ αὕτη. Πλάτων ὁ φιλόσοφος ἀκούων ὅτι μεγαλοφυὴς ∆ιονύσιος ὁ τῆς Σικελίας τύραννος, ἔπλευσε πρὸς αὐτόν. καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐξηγηταὶ νῦν τοῦ Πλάτωνος λέγουσιν ὅτι ἔπλευσε διὰ δύο αἰτίας, ἵνα καὶ ἱστορήσῃ τὸ ἐν τῇ Αἴτνῃ πῦρ ἀναδιδόμενον, καὶ πείσῃ ∆ιονύσιον φιλοσοφῆσαι. ὁ δὲ μακάριος Γρηγόριός φησιν ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο ἀπῆλθεν ὁ Πλάτων ἐν Σικελίᾳ, διὰ τὴν πολυτέλειαν τῶν ἀρίστων ∆ιονυσίου. καὶ ποιεῖται τεκμήριον τὸ καὶ πραθῆ ναι αὐτόν. ἐπράθη δὲ τῷ ὄντι, δοθεὶς ὑπὸ ∆ιονυσίου Πόλλιδι τῷ ναυάρχῳ τῷ Λακεδαιμονίῳ διάγοντι τηνικαῦτα ἐκεῖσε. εἶτα ὁ Πόλλις ἐλθὼν εἰς Αἴγιναν πωλεῖ αὐτὸν πεντήκοντα μνῶν τῷ Ἀννίκερι. 4.24 Εἰκοστὴ τετάρτη ἐστὶν ἱστορία ἡ κατὰ τὴν Ξενοκράτους ὀψοφαγίαν. ἔστι δὲ αὕτη. Ξενοκράτης καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης μαθηταὶ τοῦ Πλάτωνος, οἵτινες καὶ διεδέξαντο αὐτοῦ τὴν διατριβήν. καὶ ὁ μὲν Ξενοκράτης ἐποίησε Στωϊκὴν αἵρεσιν, ὁ δὲ Ἀριστοτέλης τὴν Περιπατητικήν. λέγεται δὲ ὅτι οὕτω σώφρων ἦν ὁ Ξενοκράτης ὅτι καὶ τρυφῶν οὐκ ἐκινεῖτο πρὸς τὰ ἀφροδίσια διὰ τὸ οὕτω, φησίν, τάξαι τὰ πάθη ὑπακούειν τῷ λόγῳ. ὁ οὖν μακάριος Γρηγόριος κατηγορεῖ αὐτοῦ ὡς λαιμάργου καὶ ὀψοφάγου καὶ μηδὲν παραιτουμένου ἐσθίειν ὡς φιλοσόφου. 4.25 Εἰκοστὴ πέμπτη ἐστὶν ἱστορία ἡ κατὰ τὴν ∆ιογένους στωμυλίαν. ἔστι δὲ αὕτη. ∆ιογένης Κυνικὸς ἦν φιλόσοφος. Κυνικὸς δὲ ἤκουσεν ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τῶν χερσαίων κυνῶν. ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ κύνες οὗτοι ἔχουσί τι καὶ φυλακτικὸν καὶ διακριτικόν (διακρίνουσι γὰρ τοὺς οἰκείους τῶν ξένων, καὶ φυλάττουσι τοὺς οἰκείους), οὕτω καὶ οὗτος ἐμιμεῖτο τὸ διακριτικὸν καὶ φυλακτικόν. καὶ ἐφύλαττε μὲν τὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας δόγματα, διέκρινε δὲ τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους καὶ ἀνεπιτηδείους πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν. οὗτος οὖν ὁ ∆ιογένης, τοιοῦτος ὤν, ἦν εἰκότως εὐπαρρησίαστος. ἤλεγχε οὖν καὶ δυνάστας καὶ ἐλλογίμους καὶ πάντα ἄνθρωπον δῆθεν διὰ τὸ καλόν. ἐλέγχων δέ, ἀστειότερον καὶ γελοιοδέστερον ἤλεγχεν. πρὸς τοῦτο οὖν ἀποβλέψας ὁ μακάριος Γρηγόριος, λέγει ὅτι ὁ ∆ιογένης γελοῖος μᾶλλον ἦν καὶ ἀπατητικὸς ἢ φιλόσοφος. στωμυλία δέ ἐστιν ἡ κατὰ ἀστειότητα ἀπάτη προερχομένη. 4.26 Εἰκοστὴ ἕκτη ἐστὶν ἱστορία ἡ κατὰ τὸν ἐνοικοῦντα τῷ πίθῳ. ἔστι δὲ αὕτη πολλαχῶς δυναμένη ἐξηγηθῆναι· καὶ αὕτη γὰρ περὶ ∆ιογένους ἐστίν. Λέγεται οὖν ὡς ὅτι ἐν τῷ χειμῶνι οὗτος πίθον μὲν ᾤκει ἑσπέρας διὰ τὸ κρύος, ἡμέρας δὲ ἐξῄει διὰ τὸν ἥλιον. διὸ καί ποτε θερμαινομένου αὐτοῦ, ἐπέστη Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μακεδών, ἀποσκοτῶν αὐτῷ τοῦ μὴ θερμαίνεσθαι, καὶ λέγων· Εἰπέ, ∆ιόγενες, τί βούλει σοι χαρίσωμαι; ὁ δὲ εἶπε· Τοῦτό μοι χάρισαι, τὸ μικρὸν ὑπεκστῆναί μου ἵνα θερμανθῶ. Ἢ οὖν αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἱστορία, ἢ ἡ γενομένη ἐπὶ τῶν Πτολεμαίων. ἡ δὲ γενομένη ἐπὶ τῶν Πτολεμαίων ἐστὶν αὕτη. Σωτάτης τις Ἀλεξανδρεὺς φιλόσοφος ἵστατο ἐν τόπῳ τινὶ ἐν ἡλίῳ φθειριζόμενος. τοῦτον ἄνωθεν ἔκ τινος ἀπόπτου θεασάμενος ὁ Πτολεμαῖος, κατῆλθεν ἵνα αὐτὸν λάβοι εἰς τὰ βασίλεια. ὁ δὲ Σωτάτης, ἰδὼν αὐτόν, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς κλάσμα πίθου κειμένου, καὶ ὑπεκρύβη τὸν Πτολεμαῖον. ὕστερον δὲ ὡς ἀτυχῆ τοῦτόν τινες διέβαλλον. ἄλλοι δὲ λέγουσιν ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ Πτολεμαῖος καὶ τὸ ἰαμβεῖον τοῦτο ἐπεφθέγξατο· Θέλω Τύχης σταλαγμὸν ἢ φρενῶν πίθον, αἰνιττόμενος ὅτι ὁ πίθος ἐκεῖνος μεστός ἐστι φρενῶν