/lit/ - Literature

A young man contemplating marriage sought advice from Diogenes. "Should I marry?"

"Marriage is too soon for a young man"

"Would you have me wait then until I am old."

"Oh no, Marriage is far too late for an old man."

"What am I to do then? I love the girl."

"Love is a luxury no one can afford. It is for those who have nothing better to do."

"What should we be doing then?"

"To seek freedom. But it is not possible to be free if you have a wife and children."

"But having a wife and family is so agreeable."

"Then you see the problem, young man. Freedom would not be so difficult to attain were prison not so sweet."

"You mean to be free is to be alone?"

"We come into the world alone and we die alone. Why, in life, should we be any less alone?"

"To live, then, is terrible."

"No, not to live, but to live in chains."

>>3546077
Goodnight.

>>3508664
Guy you're responding to here. Anal guy's recommendations are pretty good, but I would especially stress Hellenistic philosophy and my favourites the Cynics.

This is a great introduction that offers you information on all the Hellenistic schools, listening to all of them will make you a more informed, wise and happy person in every way:
http://www.historyofphilosophy.net/hellenistic

I've been trying to collect works on the Hellenistic schools, but I haven 't got into it thoroughly enough to recommend anything apart from the Cynics, who are my greatest and true love. For my Cynic library, visit my Mediafire:

http://www.mediafire.com/?zp2ppnxjwj28c

There's a .txt there with the best way to go about it, but I'll save you a few seconds and say Classical Cynicism is probably what you want to read first. It's a scholarly, contemporary text that offers a very thorough and comprehensive view on Cynicism in Ancient Greece and Rome. The Cynics are known as possessing the 'shortcut to virtue' and therefore the good life. While I can't claim to be a proper Cynic (I'm still too decadent and comfortable for that) applying their ideas in multiple ways to my life has served me well.

For a quick preliminary taste of delicious Diogenes anecdotes visit this page:

http://members.optushome.com.au/davidquinn000/Diogenes%20Folder/Diogenes.html

A heckler in the crowd shouted out, "My mind is not made like that, I can't be bothered with philosophy."

"Why do you bother to live," Diogenes retorted, "if you can't be bothered to live properly?"

>>3483171
That's how it should be done. Spending time with a dog teaches you more than some shitty audiobook anyway.

>>3327699
>How does one criticize consumerism without sounding like an edgy teenager?
be like this

Honesty works as long as you're willing to walk the walk. Most aren't.