54
On seeing near the Painted Porch a statue with its hand cut off, he remarked that it was pretty late in the day for the Athenians to be honouring Cynegirus Brother of Aeschylus, who lost his hand at Marathon, and the Painted Porch was so called from a fresco by Polygnotus representing the battle. with a bronze statue.
55
Noting that Rufinus the Cypriote (I mean the ‘lame man of the school of Aristotle) was spending much time in the walks of the Lyceum, he remarked: “Pretty cheeky, I call it—a lame Peripatetic (Stroller)!”
56
When Epictetus rebuked him and advised him to get married and have children, saying that a philosopher ought to leave nature a substitute when he is gone, his answer was very much to the point: « Then give me one of your daughters, Epictetus!”
57
His reply to Herminus the Aristotelian deserves mention, Aware that, although he was an out-andout scoundrel and had done a thousand misdeeds, he sang the praises of Aristotle and had his Ten Sentences (the Categories) on his tongue’s end, Demonax said: “Herminus, you really need ten sentences!”
58
When the Athenians, out of rivalry with the Corinthians, were thinking of holding a gladiatorial show, he came before th.m and said: “Don’t pass this resolution, men of Athens, without first pulling down the altar of Mercy.”
59
When he went to Olympia’and the Eleans voted him a bronze statue, he said: “Don’t do this, men of Elis, for fear you may appear to reflect on yotr ancestors because they did not set up statues either to Socrates or to Diogenes.”
60
I once heard him say to..., the lawyer, that in all likelihood the laws were of no use, whether framed for the bad or the good; for the latter had no need of laws, and the former were not improved by them.
61
From Homer the one line he most frequently quoted was: Idler or toiler,’ tis all one to Death.’ Iliad 9, 320.
62
He had a good word even for Thersites, calling him a mob-orator of the Cynic type.
