Democritus of Abdera (ca. 460–360 B.C.)

In contrast to Anaxagoras, who was reputed to be dour of countenance, Democritus would be dubbed the ‘Laughing Philosopher’ “because of his inclination to laugh at human vanity”.^68A2 But he would also be styled ‘the Wise one’,^68A2 since he was the last -and one of the most significant- of the great Presocratics. He was born around 460, b.c., of well-to-do parents, in Abdera, Thrace. An intense and restless spirit, he would strive even as a young man to gain knowledge of other civilizations, investing his inheritance in visits to Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and possibly Ethiopia and India – lands where “he gleaned wisdom from people of all walks of life”.