Diogenes Quotes

“It is you who are dogs, when you stand round and watch me at my breakfast.”

“The great thieves are leading away the little thief.”

“When someone reminded him that the people of Sinope had sentenced him to exile, he said, "And I sentenced them to stay at home."

“When asked why people give to beggars but not to philosophers, he replied, "Because they expect they may become lame and blind, but never that they will become philosophers."

“To one who asked what was the proper time for lunch, he said, "If a rich man, when you will; if a poor man, when you can."

“When someone boasted that at the Pythian games he had vanquished men, Diogenes replied, "Nay, I defeat men, you defeat slaves."

“When the slave auctioneer asked in what he was proficient, he replied, "In ruling people."

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

“He was going into a theatre, meeting face to face those who were coming out, and being asked why, "This," he said, "is what I practise doing all my life."

“Everything belongs to the gods; the wise are friends of the gods; friends hold all things in common; therefore, everything belongs to the wise.”

“Seized and dragged before King Philip, and asked who he was, he replied, "A spy upon your insatiable greed."

“To the question what wine he found pleasant to drink, he replied, "That for which other people pay."

“Plato had defined Man as a featherless biped. Diogenes plucked a chicken and brought it into the lecture room, saying, "Behold Plato's man!"

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

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

“When Perdiccas threatened to put him to death, Diogenes said, "That's nothing wonderful, for a beetle or a tarantula could do the same."

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

“To one who said, "Most people laugh at you," he replied, "And so very likely do the asses at them; but as they don't care for the asses, so neither do I care for them."

“Asked what he had gained from philosophy, he replied, "This at least, if nothing else: to be prepared for every fortune."

“Asked why gold is pale, he said, "Because it has so many thieves plotting against it."

“Asked what was the right time to marry, he replied, "For a young man not yet, for an old man never at all."

“Asked what was the most wretched thing in life, he replied, "An old man destitute."

“Asked what creature's bite is the worst, he said, "Of those that are wild, a sycophant's; of those that are tame, a flatterer's."

“Asked what he would take to let a man give him a blow on the head, he replied, "A helmet."

“He said he imitated the trainers of choruses, who set the note a little high to ensure that the rest hit the right note.”