Lives of the Eminent Philosophers

By: Diogenes Laertius, Pamela Mensch - translator, James Miller - editor

Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon

Everyone wants to live a meaningful life. Long before our own day of self-help books offering 12-step programs and other guides to attain happiness, the philosophers of ancient Greece explored the riddle of what makes a life worth living, producing a wide variety of ideas and examples to follow.

This rich tradition was recast by Diogenes Laertius into an anthology, a miscellany of maxims and anecdotes, that generations of Western readers have consulted for edification as well as entertainment ever since Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, first compiled in the AD third century, came to prominence in Renaissance Italy. To this day, it remains a crucial source for much of what we know about the origins and practice of philosophy in ancient Greece, covering a longer period of time and a larger number of figures - from Pythagoras and Socrates to Aristotle and Epicurus - than any other ancient source.

©2018 Oxford University Press (P)2018 Tantor

Great to have book

Have the full set of books by Diogenes Laertius,but nice to have this on Audible. When I finish my study of the Pre Socratics I go to sleep listening to this.Listen to it over and over.Very happy .


I listen to this.

For the first time Diogenes reader

If this is your introduction to this topic I would discourage you from listening this particular narrator. She misses or misunderstands some crucial dictions/ways of speaking. Sometimes she uses a sarcastic tone, for example when saying “such was the life…”,; or “so much for…”, when it is not intended to be sarcastic. Those phrases are meant to be downbeats. Paragraph closing or transitionary rhetorical devices that were very common at the time but are now arcane and unused in both speech and writing. A first time reader should opt for an online lecture or venture into the text themselves. Happy reading Classicists!

I hate the voice of that person reading

Why u guys use those voice put clear voice English is my second language and even in Spanish you guys have weird voice to

I got so much in love with these philosophers.

The spirit of this books talks to my soul. The narrator gives life to every story, I laugh, I wonder, I meditate, and I enjoy every minute. The anecdotes are so inspiring; the way of life each philosopher led is so interesting and so vivid that I feel as if those virtuous eminences are here in this very moment talking to me. I enjoy every syory from Thales to the great and wonderful Epicurus.

Could be worse ....

Diogenes Laertius' lives is flawed but beggars can't be choosers... The essays are a very nice addition...
The narrator is a really bad fit !!! Poor performance.