ANTISTHENES
Antisthenes: translation
(c. 445– c. 360 BC)
A devoted follower of Socrates, but also considered (e.g. by Diogenes Laertius ) to be an important influence on the first famous Cynic, Diogenes of Sinope . He shared much of Socrates' ethical teaching, but with a rather hearty penchant for those states of self-sufficiency that are the result of effort and exertion. He is cited by Aristotle as having held a theory of language according to which there is no such thing as contradiction or definition, so he might leave the impression of an energetic country clergyman, although he lived a life of great self-denial.