Was the subject of various stories, which are now believed to have been libels. Diogenes (B.C. 412-323) was proverbial for his contempt for the ordinary rules of conduct. Apollonius, who lived about the beginning of the Christian era, was, similarly, credited with magic power, and singularity of dress and conduct. Lucretius (B. C. 95-51) was believed to have been driven mad by a love potion ; while Paracelsus was a compound of erratic knavery with astuteness, and Descartes had a well-grounded reputation for eccentricity.