The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers · Character
Cleobulus of Lindos
Tyrant of Lindos and one of the Seven Sages, a poet and riddler who said the best test of men is gold, and that one should not laugh at a person in misfortune.
supporting
Also known as Chilo the Lacedaemonian
First appearance: Cleobulus
As a supporting figure in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Cleobulus of Lindos is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
The subject of the chapter; a sage of Lindus, known for his strength, beauty, philosophical sayings, and poetic works.
Cleobulus of Lindos ruled his city and wrote verse, and his maxims in Diogenes are a strange mix of the homely and the severe: honor old age, restrain anger, do not let your tongue outrun your sense, prefer punishment to disgraceful gain because the one hurts once and the other for life. He is credited with teaching the Athenians to regulate their days by the moon, and with forbidding Thespis to perform his tragedies on the ground that falsehood is unprofitable. His presence among the sages is a reminder that Greek wisdom was not only Athenian, and that a tyrant could also be a moralist.
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Relationship types
- Other
Character groups
- Diverse Pre-Socratics, Sophists, and Later Philosophers
- The Seven Sages and Wise Men
- Major Philosophers and Biographers
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Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
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- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
Monimus’s feigned madness and destruction of the money is the emotional and psychological peak because it dram…
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See Cleobulus of Lindos in Cleobulus