In “Regrets for my Old Dressing Gown, or A Warning to Those Who Have More Taste than Fortune” by Denis Diderot, it is written, “Poverty has its freedoms; opulence has its obstacles.” Diderot continues on to speak of Diogenes and Aristippus. These two men were Greek philosophers with opposite viewpoints. They had different beliefs with regard to how one should live their life. Diogenes always stuck to his morals and questioned mankind for their own, even though he himself was a beggar. He was a man with a clever and sharp tongue who taught others through his cynicism. Aristippus was a hedonist. This means that most, if not all, of his actions led to self-gratification. Whether it was indulging in food, wine or women, he always did it in excess and gluttony. He genuinely believed that his happiness and satisfaction was the most important thing in life and that obtaining those should never be delayed. There is a story about kings for each of the men that give an example of the differences between them.
“Diogenes was knee deep in a stream washing vegetables. Coming up to him, Plato said, ‘My good Diogenes, if you knew how to pay court to kings, you wouldn’t have to wash vegetables.’ ‘And,’ replied Diogenes, ‘If you knew how to wash vegetables, you wouldn’t have to pay court to kings.’”
Aristippus, on the other hand, was criticized heavily for being the “king’s poodle.” He would give into the king’s every whim in order to reap the benefits of being in a circle of importance and wealth, even if it gave him a bad name. Diderot relates these opposite ideologies to his dressing gown dilemma. He feels that his old gown was owned by him and granted him the freedom to do as he liked (such as with Diogenes) whereas he feels owned and controlled by the new gown (like Aristippus). In the end, sometimes it’s just best to stick with your vegetables than to be owned by a king.
~ JW
Diderot, Denis. “Regrets for my Old Dressing Gown, or A Warning to Those Who Have More Taste than Fortune.” Marxists.org. 2005. Web. 9 Sept., 2012.
O’Keefe, Tim. “Aristippus (c.435-356 BCE).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 22 July, 2005. Web. 9 Sept., 2012.
Quinn, David. “Teachings of Diogenes.” Optus Home. n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2012.
