Demonax

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.

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) !”

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!”

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 !”

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.”

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.”

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.