Diogenes Quotes

“By worrying as little as possible about fame.”

“Democritus says, "But we know nothing really; for truth lies deep down".”

“No man is hurt but by himself.”

“He has the most who is most content with the least.”

“Aristotle dines when it seems good to King Philip, but Diogenes when he himself pleases.”

“When asked what was the proper time for supper: If you are a rich man, whenever you please; and if you are a poor man, whenever you can.”

“All things are in common among friends.”

“Boasting, like gilded armour, is very different inside from outside.”

“It was a favorite expression of Theophrastus that time was the most valuable thing that a man could spend.”

“Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards.”

“The great thieves lead away the little thief.”

“The Sun visits cesspools without being defiled.”

“Man is the most intelligent of the animals - and the most silly.”

“Why not whip the teacher when the pupil misbehaves?”

“To Xeniades, who had purchased Diogenes at the slave market, he said, "Come, see that you obey orders."”

“The sun too penetrates into privies, but is not polluted by them.”

“As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task.”

“Antisthenes used to say that envious people were devoured by their own disposition, just as iron is by rust. Envy of others comes from comparing what they have with what the envious person has, rather than the envious person realising they have more than what they could have and certainly more than some others and being grateful. It is really just an inability to get a correct perspective on their lives.”

“I threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at the trough.”

“We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.”

“The question was put to him, what hope is; and his answer was, "The dream of a waking man."”

“The most beautiful thing in the world is freedom of speech.”

“The art of being a slave is to rule one's master.”

“We are more curious about the meaning of dreams than about things we see when awake.”

“Good men nowhere, but good boys at Sparta.”