# Chrysippus — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers character guide

> Chrysippus in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Chrysippus of Cnidos

**First appearance:** 0070-chrysippus

## Snapshot

The Stoic workhorse who wrote seven hundred books, quoted whole tragedies as filler, and said he only needed the dogmas so he could invent the proofs.

## Who they are

Chrysippus, third head of the Stoa, was so formidable a logician that people said if the gods practiced dialectic it would be his. He was slight of build, so obscure beside a nearby equestrian statue that Carneades called him Crypsippus, hidden horse, yet he wrote five hundred lines a day and corrected himself so relentlessly that one critic claimed removing his quotations would leave his pages blank. His stubborn independence, his refusal to follow the crowd to Ariston's lectures, and his touching loyalty to old Cleanthes make him the engine room of Stoicism rather than its public face.

## In the story

### [Carneades](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/carneades)

Stoic philosopher whose works Carneades studied and replied to; Carneades said 'If Chrysippus had not lived, I should never have existed.'

### [Book VII: The Stoic Doctrine of Virtue and Indifferents](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/book-vii)

Key Stoic philosopher; argues virtue can be lost, defines justice by nature, and discusses preferred indifferents.

### [Zeno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/zeno)

Follower of Zeno who wrote on the division of philosophy and Stoic doctrines; mentioned in the context of logical and natural philosophy.

### [Chrysippus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/chrysippus)

Main subject of the chapter; a prolific Stoic philosopher, student of Cleanthes, known for his dialectical skill and vast writings.

### [Eudoxus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/eudoxus)

A physician who accompanied Eudoxus to Egypt; also a pupil of Eudoxus.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters/chrysippus
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters