Diogenes Quotes

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

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

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

“The Sun visits cesspools without being defiled.”

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

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

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

“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.”

“I pissed on the man who called me a dog. Why was he so surprised?”

“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.”

“Once he saw the officials of a temple leading away some one who had stolen a bowl belonging to the treasurers, and said, "The great thieves are leading away the little thief."”

“I am looking for an honest man.”

“No man is hurt but by himself. ...Literally by how he interprets what happens to him. If he focusses on how it could have been better, he will be hurt. If he focusses on how it could have been worse, he will be happy. The same is true for women too.”

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

“He lit a lamp in broad daylight and said, as he went about, "I am looking for a human."”

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

“The chief good is the suspension of the judgment [especially negative judgement], which tranquillity of mind follows like its shadow.”

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

“One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings”

“People who talk well but do nothing are like musical intruments; the sound is all they have to offer.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“All things are in common among friends.”

“Wise kings generally have wise counselors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one.”

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

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

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

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

“I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels.”

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

“Love comes with hunger.”

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

“The great thieves lead away the little thief.”

“To arrive at perfection, a man should have very sincere friends or inveterate enemies; because he would be made sensible of his good or ill conduct, either by the censures of the one or the admonitions of the other.”

“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.”

“He was seized and dragged off to King Philip, and being asked who he was, replied, "A spy upon your insatiable greed."”

“Perdiccas threatened to put him to death unless he came to him, "That's nothing wonderful," Diogenes said, "for a beetle or a tarantula would do the same."”

“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.”

“Nothing can be produced out of nothing.”

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

“The health and vigor necessary for the practice of what is good, depend equally on both mind and body.”

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

“There is only a finger's difference between a wise man and a fool.”

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

“If you are to be kept right, you must possess either good friends or red-hot enemies. The one will warn you, the other will expose you.”

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