Diogenes Laertius
Native of Laerte in Cilicia, was a biographer of ancient Greek philosophers.
That virtue was sufficient of herself for happiness.
They say that the first inclination which an animal has is to protect itself.
Once Diogenes, who was washing vegetables, ridiculed him as he passed by, and said, "If you had learnt to eat these vegetables, you would not have been a slave in the palace of a tyrant." But Aristippus replied, "And you, if you had known how to behave among men, would not have been washing vegetables."
The question was once put to him, how we ought to behave to our friends; and the answer he gave was, "As we should wish our friends to behave to us."
Epimenides was sent by his father into the field to look for a sheep, turned out of the road at mid-day and lay down in a certain cave and fell asleep, and slept there fifty-seven years; and after that, when awake, he went on looking for the sheep, thinking that he had been taking a short nap.
The question was put to him, what hope is; and his answer was, "The dream of a waking man."
Writers differ with respect to the apophthegms of the Seven Sages, attributing the same one to various authors.
Among what he called his precepts were such as these: Do not stir the fire with a sword. Do not sit down on a bushel. Do not devour thy heart.
Another of his sayings was, that education was the best viaticum of old age.
It was a favourite expression of Theophrastus that time was the most valuable thing that a man could spend.
He used to say that it was better to have one friend of great value than many friends who were good for nothing.
The road to Hades is the easiest to travel.
Bias used to say that men ought to calculate life both as if they were fated to live a long and a short time, and that they ought to love one another as if at a future time they would come to hate one another; for that most men were bad.
Nothing can be produced out of nothing.
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.
Being asked whether it was better to marry or not, he replied, "Whichever you do, you will repent it."
Protagoras asserted that there were two sides to every question, exactly opposite to each other.
When he was praised by some wicked men, he said, "I am sadly afraid that I must have done some wicked thing."
When Thales was asked what was difficult, he said, "To know one’s self." And what was easy, "To advise another."
Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, "To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws."