He says, “I have learned the secret of freedom, which is to become a slave on my own. What Diogenes says to them is significant. The way you have put yourself in our hands is unbelievable. With great hesitation and fear they take out a pair of handcuffs and put them on Diogenes’ hands, saying, “It is something incredible. They have never seen such a man, shouting at them, “Where are the handcuffs? Take them out of your bags!” And he speaks as if he is the master and they are his slaves. His captors are amazed, and their confusion is worse. And here are my hands.” Saying this he stretches his two hands to them. Where are the handcuffs? Take them out of your bags. I have been watching you anxiously discussing and preparing an elaborate plan which is all useless. Diogenes laughs and says, “Why make such a fuss about it? You are fools you should have just asked me and I would have agreed. The merchants are embarrassed and hesitatingly tell him that they wanted to capture and enslave him. He folds hands and giggles, saying, “What do you want? What is your intention?” But instead they find Diogenes standing quietly and serenely in his place with not a trace of fear or agitation on his face. They would not have been surprised if he had resisted them. Prepared for a good fight, they surround him from all sides, but Diogenes confounds them in a strange way. After much discussion among themselves, they decide to make an attempt. A slave like Diogenes would fetch a fabulous price in the slaves’ market. So the traders are afraid of Diogenes, but their greed is equally strong. That’s why Machiavelli says in his book The Prince, that to be on the offensive is the best defense.
A fearful man is always afraid that if he does not dominate others, others will dominate him. He loves everybody’s freedom as much as he loves his own. A really fearless person never tries to dominate others. Only a fearful person wants to frighten and dominate others just to assuage his own fear. In fact, one who wants to overpower another person is essentially a weak and fear-stricken person.
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