Bion of Borysthenes Quotes
Bion of Borysthenes was a Greek philosopher of the third century BC, the son of a freedman and a courtesan, who reinvented the ancient diatribe as a vehicle of moral instruction. Born on the Black Sea coast and educated successively in the Academy, the Cyrenaic school, the Cynic tradition, and the Peripatetic, he traveled across the Greek world as an itinerant lecturer, mocking the pretensions of courtiers, philosophers, and ordinary men alike. The quotes below are attributed to Bion of Borysthenes, organized by topic.
Bion of Borysthenes on Death
-
Attributed to Bion of Borysthenes:
“The road to Hades is easy; one can travel it with one's eyes shut.”
-
“Boys throw stones at frogs in fun, but the frogs do not die in fun, but in earnest.”
Variant translation: Boys throw stones at frogs for fun, but the frogs don't die for "fun", but in sober earnest. | As quoted by Plutarch , Moralia , xii. 66 -
“Variant translation: Boys throw stones at frogs for fun, but the frogs don't die for "fun", but in sober earnest.”
Boys throw stones at frogs in fun, but the frogs do not die in fun, but in earnest.
Bion of Borysthenes on Freedom
-
“Good slaves are free, but bad free men are slaves of many passions.”
As quoted by Stobaeus, iii.1.18
Bion of Borysthenes on Happiness
-
Attributed to Bion of Borysthenes:
“Even fortune cannot rob a wise man of what he never claimed to own.”
Bion of Borysthenes on Justice
-
“It hurts the bald-head just as much as the thatched-head to have his hairs plucked.”
As quoted by Seneca , On Tranquility of the Mind
Bion of Borysthenes on Knowledge
-
“As quoted by Stobaeus, iii.1.18”
Good slaves are free, but bad free men are slaves of many passions. -
“How stupid it was for the king to tear out his hair in grief, as if baldness were a cure for sorrow.”
As quoted by Cicero , Tusculan Disputations , iii. 26 -
“As quoted by Cicero , Tusculan Disputations , iii. 26”
How stupid it was for the king to tear out his hair in grief, as if baldness were a cure for sorrow. -
“As quoted by Plutarch , Moralia , xii. 66”
Boys throw stones at frogs in fun, but the frogs do not die in fun, but in earnest. -
“As quoted by Stobaeus, iii.10.37”
Love of money is the mother-city ( metropolis ) of all evils.
Bion of Borysthenes on Mind
-
“As quoted by Seneca , On Tranquility of the Mind”
It hurts the bald-head just as much as the thatched-head to have his hairs plucked.
Bion of Borysthenes on Virtue
-
“Avarice is the mother-city of all evils.”
As quoted by Stobaeus, iii.10.37 -
Attributed to Bion of Borysthenes:
“Old men should give advice; young men, action; everyone else, silence.”
-
Attributed to Bion of Borysthenes:
“He who tries to please everyone pleases no one.”