Diogenes and the Honest Man

          Upon the limestone tiles sat the tub where one Diogenes, the philosopher, rested. The scent of hay, slashed and drenched by the unmistakable aroma of filth, decorated the interior of this man-made cocoon with a repelling quality. Onions, beautifully dressed in a thin layer of copper, were lying on the ground, coated in freckles of humid dirt, within almost immediate reach of the philosopher’s right hand in what poorly resembled a pyramid. The lamp, however, stood lit and proud, showing signs of decay around the corners of its very base. Strokes of negligence had corroded the frame of the lamp in blooming nebulas of rusty iron flakes, with nothing but the very wax and wick of the candle to be left unchanged.

          The metallic hairs pouring down from his head and chin distilled a faint smoky fragrance that insinuated a clear disregard for personal hygiene, but, in the end, it was his harsh coal-spotted skin along with his coarse clothes that led one to believe that this man had nothing to live for.

          How deceiving can an image become once a man is convinced of seeing only what he wants to see! One had to just slightly tweak his mind in order to truly appreciate the wisdom in his disguise. Diogenes knew better, for even a brick in all of its insulting simplicity wants to be something else; even a brick, as stiff and irrevocably dull as it may be, may turn into a magnificent monument when a higher idea surrounds it and fills it complete.

          His eyes, one had to just gaze into them to see how rich and powerful this man was. His eyes were like beautiful mantelpieces surrounding a bright, dancing fire which would never cease to burn; like the petals of the hibiscus that curl away in prudent yet flamboyant shapes, exploding in a vibrant, flaming crimson hue. This was a man with an idea within him and, indeed, his idea had already taken over him.

          It is said that Diogenes, an influential member of the school of Cynics, would wander among the streets of Athens while holding a lamp in broad daylight in the search of an honest man. Diogenes’ pivotal principle was to live life in harmony with nature, so that we would never fall in self-deceptive ways. The practical goods, he called them.

          He laughed at men keen on literature and other arts, for they mourned the scars of many characters but neglected their own, and at priests who preached the values of a humble life to the mass for being surrounded by gold and silk; the orator teaches how to enforce truth but never how to practice it. It was hypocrisy and self-deception that he felt great disdain for.

          Actions are to be taken in order to fulfill the principles of any sincere philosophy, for ideas aspire to transcend the merely physical; actions are the statues erected from the virtue of good thought, and from the lack thereof as well. Society tends to bend, with overwhelming pressure perhaps, the endoskeleton of our very own philosophical foundation, but upon its numbing grasp we are to remain true to the essential qualities that make up who we are.

          Diogenes would never falter on his fight against the vulgar sophistications of the social life and the clearest instance is described in the following anecdote of the moment when the philosopher met Alexander III:

Alexander the Great and Diogenes

“The king opened the conversation with "I am Alexander the Great," and the philosopher answered, "And I am Diogenes the Cynic.” Alexander then asked him in what way he could serve him. "You can stand out of the sunshine," the philosopher replied. Alexander was so struck with the Cynic's self-possession that he went away remarking, "If I were not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes.”

He who remains true to himself shall always bestow some of its magnificence upon anything surrounding him. 

          This is what true leaders are made of. A concoction made out of self-confidence and an unapologetically burning passion for being themselves.  Alexander the Great did not intimidate Diogenes simply because Diogenes was great himself. Conviction in thyself shall thrust the true power within to run amok. Do not succumb to the pressure of being anything other than yourself, for the true genius is he who recognizes his own truth to be universal.