Famous Diogenes Laertius Quotations

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"'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.'"
by Laertius Diogenes
"[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."
by Diogenes the Cynic
"All is flux, nothing stays still."
by Heraclitus
"All things are in common among friends."
by Laertius Diogenes
"Aristotle was once asked what those who tell lies gain by it. Said he, That when they speak truth they are not believed."
by Laertius Diogenes
"Blushing is the color of virtue."
by Laertius Diogenes
"Chilo advised, not to speak evil of the dead."
by Laertius Diogenes
"Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not."
by Epicurus
"Democritus says, But we know nothing really for truth lies deep down."
by Laertius Diogenes
"Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods."
by Socrates
"He used to say that it was better to have one friend of great value than many friends who were good for nothing."
by Laertius Diogenes
"He said that there was one only good, namely, knowledge and one only evil, namely, ignorance."
by Laertius Diogenes
"I am a citizen of the world."
by Laertius Diogenes
"I have gained this by philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law."
by Aristotle
"I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance."
by Socrates
"It takes a wise man to discover a wise man."
by Laertius Diogenes
"Know thyself."
by Thales
"Know the right moment."
by Pittacus
"Liars when they speak the truth are not believed."
by Aristotle
"Nothing can be produced out of nothing."
by Laertius Diogenes
"One ought to seek out virtue for its own sake, without being influenced by fear or hope, or by any external influence. Moreover, that in that does happiness consist."
by Diogenes Laertius
"Pleasure is the beginning and the end of living happily."
by Epicurus
"Reason is immortal, all else mortal."
by Pythagoras
"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."
by Laertius Diogenes
"The descent to Hades is the same from every place."
by Anaxagoras
"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth."
by Diogenes Laertius
"The goal of life is living in agreement with nature."
by Zeno
"The mob is the mother of tyrants."
by Laertius Diogenes
"The question was put to him, what hope is and his answer was, The dream of a waking man."
by Laertius Diogenes
"There are two sides to every question."
by Protagoras
"There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance."
by Socrates
"Time is the image of eternity."
by Laertius Diogenes
"We have two ears and only one tongue in order that we may hear more and speak less."
by Laertius Diogenes
"When Thales was asked what was difficult, he said, 'To know one's self.' And what was easy, 'To advise another.'"
by Laertius Diogenes
"The market is a place set apart where men may deceive each other"
by Diogenes Laertius
"The only good is knowledge, the only evil is ignorance."
by Diogenes Laertius


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