Diogenes was a Cynic philosopher and a disciple of Antisthenes. He is noted for his contempt of luxury, riches, and honors; he fully renounced comfort and instead advocated a life of simple dedication to philosophical principles. Practicing self-control and a most rigid abstinence, he wore a coarse cloak, ate a simple diet, and relied upon handouts from others to survive. He is credited with a scandalous attack of convention entitled “Republic” that influenced
Zeno of Citium. Diogenes is said to have gone about with a lantern in the daytime, looking in vain for an honest man, and is famous for living in a large tub in the Metroum in Athens at one point in his life. Due to the resemblance between his self-sufficient ideal and
Henry David Thoreau’s sojourn at Walden Pond, Thoreau was called by some of his contemporaries the “American Diogenes.”