Diogenes Laertius

From Epicurus Wiki

Diogenes Laërtius [Διογένης ὁ Λαέρτιος], the biographer of the Greek philosophers, is supposed by some to have received his surname from the town of Laerte in Cilicia, and by others from the Roman family of the Laërtii.

Nothing is known of the circumstances of his life. He must have lived after Sextus Empiricus (c. 200 CE), whom he mentions, and before Stephanus of Byzantium (c. 500 CE), who quotes him.

The work by which he is known, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, was written in Greek and professes to give an account of the lives and sayings of the Greek philosophers. Although it is at best an uncritical and unphilosophical compilation, its value, as giving us an insight into the private lives of the Greek sages, justly led Montaigne to exclaim that he wished that instead of one Laërtius there had been a dozen.

In addition to the Lives, Diogenes was the author of a work in verse on famous men, in various metres.