Xenophanes and the Pythagoreans (D.L. IX, 20 = 21 A 1 DK)

Abstract

According to Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Xenophanes of Colophon, poet and philosopher of the 6th–5th centuries BC, was sold into slavery by the Pythagoreans Parmeniscus and Orestades (D.L. IX, 20 = 21 A 1 DK). This testimony has long been a source of concern to Hellenists, taking into account the high reputation that Pythagoras and his school gained in the history of European culture and philosophy. The paper provides a critical review of all the proposed corrections to the fragment in question. In the first part it considers conjectures and emendations made by the editors and translators Diogenes Laertius’ text since the Renaissance. Particular attention is paid to Ambrogio Traversari (1386–1439), the first translator of the Vitae philosophorum, whose translation already reveals a reluctance to follow the literal meaning of the testimony. The second part of the paper examines the restoration of the text proposed by Hermann Diels, which is still the most influential. The third part discusses the position of some modern scholars who, while refusing to correct the text of Diogenes Laertius, continue to suspect him to be mistaken. As a result, the paper shows that all corrections of Diogenes’ testimony, according to which Xenophanes was sold into slavery by the Pythagoreans, are vulnerable to criticism, and that consequently its literal reading may be correct.