William D. Desmond is a lecturer in the Department of Classics at Trinity College, Dublin.
“In his thought-provoking The Greek Praise of Poverty: Origins of
Ancient Cynicism, William D. Desmond proposes that the chief reason
for this widespread appeal and longevity is that, for all its
flamboyance, Cynicism in fact had deep roots in traditional Greek
culture, and in particular in Greek suspicions of wealth, and
praise of frugality and the simple life . . . erudite, scholarly
and mostly well-written.” —Times Literary Supplement
“Desmond's book shows impressively how the cynics were not,
contrary to what one might think, marginalized in Greek society.
They represent a strand of thought that appears (if Desmond is
right) very influential, and raises intriguing questions about the
degree of influence their thought may have had on some of the early
church fathers, as well as Christian anchorites and monks.”
—Milltown Studies
"Through a comprehensive analysis of wealth and poverty in
classical Greek thought, Desmond recounts two concurrent themes.
The first illuminates the Greek understanding of the virtue of
poverty, running mainly from Hesiod to Aristotle, through
concentrating on the late fifth and early fourth centuries'
historical, comedic, and philosophical writings; the second
illuminates this understanding's continuation in Diogenes and
Cynical thought in general." —First Things
"In this investigation of the early stages of Cynicism in the
classical period (450-323 B.C.), Desmond argues that figures such
as Antisthenes and Diogenes were not cultural outcasts or marginal
figures, and that the Cynic movement had deep and significant roots
in the 'Greek praise of poverty' and the virtues that it could
inspire." —New Testament Abstracts
"The ancient Cynics have long been seen as exceptional and outside
the margins of Greek culture. William Desmond makes a powerful
argument against this perception, by searching for the origins of
Cynic ideas and attitudes within mainstream Greek culture and
society. He examines a wide number of different texts, ranging from
Homer to Hesiod to the tragic poets, Thucydides, Herodotus,
Xenophon and of course Plato and Aristotle. . . This is a very
successful and interesting book that deserves to be read by a wide
audience." —Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"According to Desmond, democratic populism, Greek heroism, and a
philosophic yearning for absolute truth--forerunners of Cynic
asceticism--all derive from the virtue of frugality. . . .
Philological and philosophical, Desmond draws widely from the
original Greek sources and argues persuasively for his provocative
conclusions." —Choice
“Sets the thoughts of such Cynic philosophers as Antisthenes and
Diogenes in the context of a Greek tradition of ambivalence toward
wealth.”—The Chronicle of Higher Education
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