Menippus, of Gadara in Coele-Syria, Greek cynic and satirist, lived during the 3rd century BC. According to Diogenes Laërtius (vi. 8) he was originally a slave, amassed a fortune as a money-lender, lost it, and committed suicide through grief. His works (written in a mixture of prose and verse) are all lost. He discussed serious subjects in a spirit of raillery, and especially delighted in attacking the Epicureans and Stoics. Wikipedia
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