Diogenes Laërtius Quotes

3rd-century Roman biographer of Greek philosophers

Diogenes Laërtius (fl. c. 3rd century AD), was a biographer of ancient Greek philosophers. His Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, in ten books, is still extant and is an important source of information on the development of Greek philosophy. The period when he lived is not exactly known, but it is supposed to have been during the reigns of Septimius Severus and Caracalla.

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Native Name: Διογένης ὁ Λαέρτιος

Alternative Names: Diogenes Laertius

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When a man reproached him for going into unclean places, he said, "The sun too penetrates into privies, but is not polluted by them."

Asked from what country he came, he replied, "I am a citizen of the world."

When asked what wine he liked to drink, he replied, "That which belongs to another."

Once he saw a youth blushing, and addressed him, "Courage, my boy! that is the complexion of virtue."

When asked what he would take to let a man give him a blow on the head, he said, "A helmet."

Diogenes lighted a candle in the daytime, and went round saying, "I am looking for a man."

A man once asked Diogenes what was the proper time for supper, and he made answer, "If you are a rich man, whenever you please; and if you are a poor man, whenever you can."

Plato having defined man to be a two-legged animal without feathers, Diogenes plucked a cock and brought it into the Academy, and said, "This is Plato’s man." On which account this addition was made to the definition,—"With broad flat nails."

Be of good cheer," said Diogenes; "I see land.

All things are in common among friends.

One of the sayings of Diogenes was that most men were within a finger’s breadth of being mad; for if a man walked with his middle finger pointing out, folks would think him mad, but not so if it were his forefinger.

Bury me on my face," said Diogenes; and when he was asked why, he replied, "Because in a little while everything will be turned upside down.

Diogenes would frequently praise those who were about to marry, and yet did not marry.

When asked what learning was the most necessary, he said, "Not to unlearn what you have learned."

When he was praised by some wicked men, he said, "I am sadly afraid that I must have done some wicked thing."

Diogenes Laërtius Quotes

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