An English Translation of Diogenes Laertius's Lives of the Philosophers

FAIN: FT-56006-08

John Anderson Palmer III
University of Florida (Gainesville, FL 32611-0001)

I have been invited by Princeton University Press to prepare a new English translation, with introductory and supporting materials, of Diogenes Laertius's Lives of the Philosophers. The ten books of Diogenes' Lives (3rd c. A.D.) constitute the only work surviving from antiquity to present a comprehensive overview of philosophy from its earliest origins down through the development of the major Hellenistic schools. It is thus the major extant example of ancient philosophical historiography. This new translation will be the first English version based on a critical edition of the Greek text. A reliable and modern English version of this seminal work will not only benefit specialists in philosophy, classical studies, and the history of European thought, but it will also be a valuable resource for the curious and intelligent lay reader. An NEH Summer Stipend will enable me to devote my attention full time to this ambitious project at a critical early stage.