Of what use is a philosopher who doesn't hurt anybody's feelings?
DiogenesRead
I have nothing to ask but that you would remove to the other side, that you may not, by intercepting the sunshine, take from me what you cannot give.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that one should not obstruct the happiness or opportunities of others if they cannot offer the same in return.
In this quote, Diogenes expresses a desire for others to stay out of his way so that they do not hinder his happiness or personal growth. He emphasizes the importance of allowing individuals to pursue their own sunshine, or joy, without interference, particularly from those who cannot contribute positively to their lives. It serves as a commentary on self-awareness and the ethical responsibility of individuals to allow others to flourish without unnecessary obstructions.
Themes
HappinessFreedomSelf-AwarenessOpportunityInterference
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to encourage personal growth.
More from Diogenes
All quotes βThe art of being a slave is to rule one's master.
DiogenesRead
As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task.
DiogenesRead
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.
DiogenesRead
We come into the world alone and we die alone. Why, in life, should we be any less alone?
DiogenesRead
All things are in common among friends.
DiogenesRead
Similar quotes
Only when it is seen that what decides each individual's destiny is whether or not God decides to save him from his sins, and that this is a decision that God need not make in any individual case, can one begin to grasp the biblical view of grace.
J. I. PackerRead
There's no greater tragedy than an equal intensity, in the same soul or the same man, of the intellectual sentiment and the moral sentiment. For a man to be utterly and absolutely moral, he has to be a bit stupid. For a man to be absolutely intellectual, he has to be a bit immoral.
Fernando PessoaRead
All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind.
Khalil GibranRead
Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.
Simon WiesenthalRead
The day before is what we bring to the day we're actually living through, life is a matter of carrying along all those days-before just as someone might carry stones, and when we can no longer cope with the load, the work is done, the last day is the only one that is not the day before another day.
Jose SaramagoRead
Since each person, as an individual, is the not-being of the other, it is never possible to eliminate non-understanding completely.
Friedrich SchleiermacherRead