Diogenes Quotes

“He once begged alms of a statue, and, when asked why he did so, replied, "To get practice in being refused."”

“I know nothing, except the fact of my ignorance.”

“It takes a wise man to discover a wise man.”

“I am called a dog because I fawn on those who give me anything, I yelp at those who refuse, and I set my teeth in rascals.”

“Poverty is a virtue which one can teach oneself.”

“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.”

“I am looking for an honest man.”

“As houses well stored with provisions are likely to be full of mice, so the bodies of those that eat much are full of diseases.”

“Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others, while itself is insensible of the music.”

“Asked where he came from, he said, "I am a citizen of the world."”

“Virtue cannot dwell with wealth either in a city or in a house.”

“On being asked by someone how he could become famous, Diogenes responded: 'By worrying as little as possible about fame”

“The sun, too, shines into cesspools and is not polluted.”

“When two friends part they should lock up each other's secrets and exchange keys. The truly noble mind has no resentments.”

“There is a false love that will make you something you are not.”

“Most men are within a finger's breadth of being mad.”

“Calumny is only the noise of madmen.”

“The only way to gall and fret effectively is for yourself to be a good and honest man.”

“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you've got an audience.”

“Solon used to say that speech was the image of actions; . . . that laws were like cobwebs, - for that if any trifling or powerless thing fell into them, they held it fast; while if it were something weightier, it broke through them and was off.”

“Young men not ought to marry yet, and old men never ought to marry at all.”

“Education gives sobriety to the young, comfort to the old, riches to the poor and is an ornament to the rich.”

“When Alexander the Great addressed him with greetings, and asked if he wanted anything, Diogenes replied "Yes, stand a little out of my sunshine."”

“It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours.”

“Being asked where in Greece he saw good men, he replied, "Good men nowhere, but good boys at Sparta."”