Cynics
a sect of philosophers among the Greeks, so called from their snarling humor, and their disregard of the conventional usages of society; the name being probably derived from the kyōn, a dog. According to some authorities, however, cynic is formed from Cynesarges, the name of the gymnasium in which Antisthenes expounded his system. He taught that the true dignity of man consists in wisdom, and wisdom in independence of mind; that pain and labor, and even infamy, are benefits; and that labor, pleasure, on the contrary, is an evil.
His doctrine of the supreme good is a life according to virtue, which consists in action. He condemned all civil institutions, despised the ties of kin or country, and saw in wedlock no higher or better end than the propagation of the species. The most famous of the Cynics, besides their founder, were Diogenes of Sinope, Crates of Thebes with his wife Hipparchia, and Menippus. At length the sect became so disgusting from their impudence, dirty habits, and profligacy, that they ceased to be regarded with any respect, and passed into obscurity. The great merit of this system is that it paved the way for the establishment of Stoicism.