Of what use is a philosopher who doesn't hurt anybody's feelings?
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good friends offer guidance, while enemies challenge us, both being crucial for personal growth.
This quote by Diogenes highlights the importance of both friends and enemies in a person's life. Good friends provide support and wisdom, helping an individual grow and learn, while rivals or enemies challenge us, prompting self-reflection and accountability. Together, they play a critical role in shaping one's character and decisions.
Themes
FriendsEnemiesSelf-PreservationGrowthWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on personal development, one might use this quote to emphasize the value of diverse relationships.
More from Diogenes
All quotes βThe art of being a slave is to rule one's master.
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I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.
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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.
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Man is the most intelligent of the animals - and the most silly.
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Similar quotes
It is well there is no one without fault; for he would not have a friend in the world. He would seem to belong to s different species.
William HazlittRead
Verily, great grace may go with a little gift; and precious are all things that come from a friend.
TheocritusRead
Friendship, then, like the other natural loves, is unable to save itself. In reality, because it is spiritual and therefore faces a subtler enemy, it must, even more wholeheartedly than they, invoke the divine protection if it hopes to remain sweet. For consider how narrow its true path is. Is must not become what the people call a "mutual admiration society"; yet if it is not full of mutual admiration, of Appreciative love, it is not Friendship at all.
C. S. LewisRead
Good friends are hard to find and impossible to forget.
John GreenRead
I never had intimate friends, and the few who came close are in New York. By which I mean they're dead, because that's where I suppose condemned souls go in order not to endure the truth of their past lives.
Gabriel Garcia MarquezRead
I don't want to be your friend, baby. I am your friend.
Ernest HemingwayRead