Antikrisis: A Short Rejoinder and Defense

What indeed should I say about this—that you suspect and write, with quite a bite original: "non sine morsu"; a metaphor for sharp or stinging criticism, that I am some disciple of Menippus A 3rd-century BCE philosopher known for his satirical and mocking writing style, which blended prose and verse. the Cynic Philosopher? It is well known that he was a slave by birth and left behind nothing particularly worth remembering except for some nonsensical trifles original: "Nænias"; literally "dirges" or "songs of mourning," but used here to mean trivial or foolish writings.—wills, letters, and that sort of nonsense filled with frequent wit and Cynic The Cynics were a school of ancient Greek philosophers who famously rejected social conventions and often used biting sarcasm to criticize others. sarcasm.

Indeed, there is a danger that it might occur to someone to throw a similar remark at you, like the famous one Plato made about Diogenes Diogenes of Sinope, the most famous of the Cynics, who lived in poverty to prove his independence from social needs.. When Diogenes trampled upon Plato’s cushion, he said he was "trampling on Plato’s pride." Plato replied, "You trample on it, but with a different kind of pride." Plato’s point was that Diogenes' extreme humility and rejection of comfort was itself a form of vanity and arrogance.

One must fear, therefore, that someone—noticing that my own anger or lack of restraint is being scolded by your angry and pompous letters—might say the same to you: "You rebuke anger and insolence, but with a different kind of anger and insolence." Furthermore, though you are more irritable, you do not merely "get angry." To be sure, you act your part quite skillfully, just as that actor Lucian Referring to the satirist Lucian of Samosata, who wrote a famous account of a tragic actor who became so immersed in the role of the mad Ajax that he became violent. mentions, who while playing the role of Ajax A Greek hero of the Trojan War who, in a fit of madness, attacked his own allies. smashed the heads of one or two people, to the terror of the others. But he was acting behind a mask; you act with a bare face—unless you imagine that I do not know you. But if that face...