STAND OUT OF MY SUNLIGHT
























“My mouth is full of decayed teeth,
and my soul of decayed ambitions.”

James Joyce

Almost all of us know about Alexander-the-Great; but, few of us – probably none – know about Diogenes-the-Cynic. At least, I did not know about him (Diogenes) till a few minutes ago. I accidentally stumbled upon him when I was looking for a few quotes about Alexander… Yes, the ‘Great one’!


The quote that introduced me to Diogenes was this:

“If I were not Alexander, then I would wish to be Diogenes."


The story goes like this…

It was in Corinth (Greece) that a meeting between Alexander-the-Great and Diogenes is supposed to have taken place. They exchanged only a few words…

While Diogenes was relaxing in the morning sunlight, Alexander, thrilled to meet the famous philosopher, asked if there was any favour he might do for him...

Diogenes replied, "Yes, stand out of my sunlight."

Alexander then declared, "If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes."

"If I were not Diogenes, I would still wish to be Diogenes," Diogenes replied.

In another account of the conversation, Alexander found the philosopher looking attentively at a pile of human bones. Diogenes explained, "I am searching for the bones of your father but cannot distinguish them from those of a slave!”
(Source: Wikipedia)

What an interesting irony! One’s obsession was to conquer the whole world. Other’s obsession was to renounce and denounce everything, torture himself and live in wretchedness…

Alexander thought, he would succeed in his all-consuming obsession and, ‘one day’, be the Supreme ruler of the world… His fall did not come from an enemy Emperor, but from his own illness. The End!

The fall of Diogenes was bought about by none else but himself… He was brutally harsh on himself. The End!

Both lived in their illusionary worlds… Both went disillusioned!

We need both – the Alexander and the Diogenes - to show us the danger of self-glorification and self-mortification. We need both of them to show us the path of moderation…  To keep us sane, humane and grateful.

Hence, I loved the dialogue between the two ‘fanatics’:
Alexander: “If I were not Alexander, I should wish to be Diogenes!”
Diogenes: “If I were not Diogenes, I would still wish to be Diogenes!”

No one knows how true was this Before-Christ story… But, who cares?

There is truth in the irony… There is something abiding, timeless!

So, if, today, an Alexander stands before me and asks, “Tell me O ‘poor’ soul, what favour can I do for you?”, I would still say what Diogenes said, “Yes, stand out of my sunlight.”

And, if a Diogenes stands before me and asks, “Tell me O ‘poor’ soul, “What favour can I do for you?”, I would still say what he himself said, “Yes, stand out of my sunlight!”

The ‘sunlight’ is our only hope…

Yes, the ‘bones’ of our forefathers are the same!

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: www.pixels.com

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